Withdrawal of U.N. Soldiers May Escalate Prevalent Rape Problem

Withdrawal of U.N. Soldiers May Escalate Prevalent Rape Problem

By Jared Kleinman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KINSHASA, DRC – Congolese laws against sexual violence are not being implemented and a withdrawal of United Nations peacekeepers from the country would make the struggle against rape “a lot more difficult,” the U.N. said.

Margot Wallstrom, the U.N. special representative on sexual violence in conflict, is visiting Congo, where thousands of women are raped every year, as the U.N. tries to persuade the government not to demand a hasty withdrawal of the U.N. force. Democratic Republic of Congo has advanced legislation in place to outlaw sexual violence but Wallstrom said the country’s capacity to implement it was “near zero.”

Acts of civilian sexual violence have become increasingly pervasive in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to a recent study released on April 15 by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and Oxfam America, an international relief and development organization.

The study’s analysis of violence trends over time revealed that although the total number of sexual assaults reported steadily decreased between 2004 and 2008, the number of civilian rapes increased seventeen-fold.

Aid agencies and rights groups accustomed to the violence and suffering during and since Congo’s 1998-2003 war, which left millions dead, have been shocked by reports of the scale and brutality of the rapes by rebel and government forces alike.

“These findings imply a normalization of rape among the civilian population, suggesting the erosion of all constructive social mechanism that ought to protect civilians from sexual violence,” according to the study. The study also demonstrates how sexual violence can be used as a tool to ignite terror.

Accurate figures for sexual violence are hard to come by as many rapes are unreported but the U.N. said at least 5,400 women had reported being raped in neighboring South Kivu in the first nine months of 2009 alone.

“Some of the results were shocking, mostly that the women are really attacked everywhere and that everyone is at risk” said Susan A. Bartels, a researcher at Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, emergency room physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and primary author of the report. “I was shocked by the number of women who were attacked in their own home, specifically at night when they were sleeping with their families.”

Government forces as well as a plethora of rebel forces are accused of the abuse. Last year, the U.N. Security Council gave the government a list of officers known to have raped women and girls.

With celebrations of the 50th anniversary of independence this year and elections next, Congo would like for the peacekeeping mission, known as MONUC, to start withdrawing within months and wants the last blue helmet out in 2011.

Wallstrom claims however that the peacekeepers, who are often criticized for not doing enough, were making a difference. “Women used to be scared to go to the market … Now a lot of people go, and peacekeepers go with them. It has brought economic development to the region,” she said, referring to North Kivu province. The withdrawal of peacekeepers in this region, no matter how controversial, may lead to dangerous results.

For more information, please see:

The Harvard Crimson – Sexual Violence on the Rise in Congo – 19 April 2010

Reuters – U.N. Fears Congo Pullout Will Hurt Fight Against Rape – 19 April 2010

Eurasia Review – New Report Shows Shocking Pattern Of Rape In Eastern Congo – Sunday, April 18, 2010

Three Leaders of Al Qaeda in Iraq Killed

By Bobby Rajabi

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq – On April 19 Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced that tow leaders of al Qaeda in Iraq were killed in a joint effort between Iraqi and United States forces. The Iraqi Prime Minister announced on Iraqi television that Abu Ayyub al-Masri and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, who led the organization, were both dead. The following day, the Iraqi government announced that another al Qaeda in Iraq leader, Ahmed al-Obeidi, was killed in the northern prvoince of Nineveh.

The deaths of Masri and Baghdadi were confirmed by pictures of both men before and after their deaths. Prime Minister Maliki explained that, “the attack was carried out by ground forces which surrounded the house, and also through the use of missiles.” The Prime Minister explained that a house in Thar-Thar was destroyed and two bodies were found inside. The bodies were found in a hole in which the two men were hiding. “Security forces surrounded the hole, and when they got them out they were dead,” said Maliki.

General Ray Odierno, the top American military commander in Iraq, explained the significance of the operation. Odierno explained that, “the death of these terrorists is potentially the most significant blow to al Qaeda in Iraq since the beginning of the insurgency. The US military explained that Masri had replaced Abu Musab al-Zarqawi as the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq and was “directly responsible for high profile bombings and attacks against the people of Iraq.”

On April 20 Iraqi military spokesman Major General Qassim al-Moussawi announced that Ahmed al-Obeidi was killed in the northern Iraqi province of Nineveh. General Moussawi said that Obeidi, also known as Abu Suhaib, was in charge of al Qaeda in Iraq’s operations in the northern provinces of Kirkuk, Salahuddin and Nineveh. General Odierno explained that Obeidi was the “the military emir” of the northern region of Iraq.

The BBC’s Jim Muir confirmed that the Iraqi government is now convinced that al Qaeda in Iraq is on the run. However, in the past when leaders were killed, the organization ensures that other men step in to fill their post. Muir explains that this ensures that decapitation of the organization does not lead to paralysis.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Third Iraqi Al-Qaeda Leader Killed: Iraqi Military – 20 April 2010

Al Jazeera – Al-Qaeda in Iraq Leaders “Killed” – 19 April 2010

BBC – Senior Iraqi Al-Qaeda Leaders ‘Killed’ – 19 April 2010

New York Times – Top Qaeda Leaders in Iraq Reported Killed in Raid – 19 April 2010

Children Killed in Afghanistan

By Alok Bhatt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – The continual violence between insurgency groups and US and Nato forces in Kandahar has recently claimed the lives of three youths, aged between eleven and fifteen.  The children were playing near a donkey cart in a residential locality, where their uncle, who had significant involvement in the election  of President Hamid Karzai, serves as a local chief.  The children jumped on the donkey cart and triggered a concealed explosive device.  The blast also injured two police officers and two civilians.  Screams were reported to  be heard from inside a nearby residential compound, and the scene after the blast has been described as “carnage”.

Explosions were apparently to a donkey fitted with a remote detonator.  The weight of the children upon the cart likely activated the detonator, resulting in the  explosion.  A Taliban leader claimed responsibility for the attack and also asserted that the attack actually took the lives of eleven people.  It does not seem to be reported, however, whether or not this count has been confirmed.  Furthermore, the Taliban agent divulging the alternate number did not identity the other supposed victims as either civilian or combatant, making the additional entailed human rights issues based on his information difficult to determine.

Previous reports expressed that only one boy had been killed while the two civilians and pair of policemen had been injured.  Further confusing the account of the blast, the Taliban fighter claiming responsibility for the attack asserted that the attack was intended to effect “foreigners”, and that eleven foreigners were successfully killed.  The purpose of the attack, however, was discovered to be a response to a US military strike that has been planned to remove Taliban presence from the Kandahar region.

The instances of attacks outside Kandahar carry severe implications for both  the effort to oust the Taliban and the right of civilians to live in peace.  Violence occurring in residential areas suggests that the perpetrators of such strikes have accumulated the resources and disposition to strike areas not directly involved in the conflict.  This has the effect of terrorizing non-combatants and leaving no areas immune to such attacks.  Such reckless regard for human life also signifies the difficulty of attempting to undermine a group that kills merely to demonstrate their presence.

For more information, please see:

Al-Jazeera – Children killed in Afghan blast – 19 April 2010

CNN – Donkey cart at police post, killing 3 children – 19 April 2010

Yahoo! News – Three children killed in Afghan blast – 19 April 2010

The Mandate for the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala is Ending

By Brenda Lopez Romero
Impunity Watch reporter – North America desk

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala – The International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala needs more support and must include the ability to go after corruption and organized crime.

The Commissioner, Carlos Castresana Fernández, noted that due to their work about 2,000 police officers, or 15 per cent of the force, have been discharged on corruption charges and one Attorney General, 10 Prosecutors and three Supreme Court Justices had been dismissed for lack of cooperation.  Additionally, 130 people had been jailed, including a former President as well as former Ministers of Defence, Finance and Interior.

Guatemala engage international support to strengthen its ability to provide structural protection for its citizens against human rights violations by non-state actors in the country.

Rigoberta Menchú, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate; Eduardo Stein, former Vice-President of Guatemala; and Gonzalo Marroquín, Director, Prensa Libre, and Vice-President, Inter-American Press Association are assisting the Commission’s interactions with the society to increase its credibility among the citizens.

Ms. Menchú said “the country was still living with the aftermath of 36 years of civil strife, and implementation of the peace agreement was only possible if impunity could be fought.”  Mr. Stein also noted that the Commission was started at the request of Guatemala as a member of the international community due to its legitimate concern for its citizens and to improve its justice system.  He emphasized that in 2009 there were about 6,000 assassinations, but fewer than 600 charged were being prosecuted, and the Commission has helped address this impunity.

However, the Commission’s mandate is ending and the remaining tasks are up to the Guatemalans citizens to control.

For more information, please see:

Guatemala Times – UN Commission in Guatemala fight against impunity needs more support – 20 April 2010

Taiwan News – Progress in UN fight against Guatemala corruption – 20 April 2010

UN News Centre – UN-backed war on impunity in Guatemala should be strengthened – commission head – 20 April 2010

Srebrenica Genocide Suspect Arrested in Croatia

By Kenneth F. Hunt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

ZAGREB, Croatia – A war crimes suspect alleged to have perpetrated genocide during the Srebrenica massacre during the Bosnian war was arrested April 19 crossing the border in Osijek, Croatia.

According to Bosnia and Herzegovina prosecutors, Franc Kos was part of the Tenth Reconnaissance Squad of the Republika Srpska Army during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War.

Allegedly, Mr. Kos participated in the Srebrenica massacre perpetrated against Bosnian Muslims during the Bosnian War. Some 8,000 Bosnian Muslims were killed in that notorious incident.

Mr. Kos, a Slovenian national, is the fourth member of the Tenth Reconnaissance Squad who has been arrested to date. Vlastimir Golijan, Zoran Goronja, and Stanko Savanovic were all taken into Bosnian custody in February 2008 for committing genocide at a Bosnian military base, but are yet to face trial on these charges.

The Tenth Reconnaissance Squad has a particularly nefarious record for impunity.  Dubravko Campara, the Bosnian prosecutor, claimed the Tenth Reconnaissance Squad was “the most notorious” Republika Srpska Army unit, during the recent custody extension hearing for Golijan, Goronja, and Savanovic.

Mr. Campara also hinted that efforts would continue to arrest the rest of the unit, including Mr. Kos, who was implicated by earlier testimony in front of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ITCY).

Drazen Erdemovic, a fellow Squad member, confessed to murders committed at a military base in Branjevo during the Bosnian War, and was sentenced to five years in prison.  Mr. Erdemovic also stated during his trial that Mr. Kos played a role in the Srebrenica massacre.

An international arrest warrant for Mr. Kos’ arrest was filed by Bosnia and Herzegovina soon after.

Bosnian prosecutors will now file an extradition request with Croatia in order to take custody of Mr. Kos for future impending prosecution. Slovenia and Croatia also are possible forums to prosecute Mr. Kos because he is alleged to have committed crimes against their nationals.

For more information, please see:

ASSOCIATED PRESS – Croatia arrests genocide suspect wanted in Bosnia – 20 April 2010

B92 – Srebrenica war crimes suspect arrested – 20 April 2010

BALKAN INSIGHT – Croatia Arrests Genocide Suspect Wanted by Bosnia – 20 April 2010