UN To Begin Investigating Human Rights Violations In Libya

UN To Begin Investigating Human Rights Violations In Libya

By Eileen Gould
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

GENEVA, Switzerland – United Nations investigators have announced that next week they would begin an inquiry into alleged human rights violations that have been committed by both sides of the conflict in Libya.  They will look into abuses both by Muammar Gaddafi’s loyalists and the opposition forces as well as those by any foreign parties to the conflict. Evidence resulting from this investigation will be shared with the U.N. war crimes tribunal.

The team of investigators, led by war crimes expert Cherif Bassiouni, will visit hospitals and prisons, and will be talking to civilians, combatants and anyone else who may provide information.  Bassiouni, an emeritus law professor at DePaul University in Chicago, stated that the work “will be done with complete impartiality”.

The U.N. team is comprised of three investigators – Bassiouni, Phillippe Kirsch, and Asma Khader.  Kirsch is a Canadian former judge of the International Criminal Court, and Khader is a Jordanian lawyer, who is also an expert in sex crimes.  Khader claims the team will look into rapes, including the case of Eman al-Obaidi, a Libyan woman who accused government militia of raping her.

These investigators will be cooperating with the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo.  The ICC is looking to see whether Gaddafi, his sons and his advisors have committed war crimes. He claims that well before the revolution spread from Tunisia and Egypt, the Libyan authorities considered killing unarmed protestors.

Actions by foreign powers will also be investigated. For instance, the Libyan government claims that civilians, including children, have been killed by NATO airstrikes.

This investigation was approved by the U.N. Human Rights Council on February 25.  The Council claims that attacks on civilians and arrests, as well as the detention and torture of peaceful demonstrators, may qualify as crimes against humanity.  According to Bassiouni, the Council’s mandate stipulates that all violations be reported, no matter who has committed the crimes.  Some say this may or may not reach the level of criminal accountability necessary to prosecute in the ICC. But Moreno-Ocampo is “100% certain” that the investigation into the government’s attacks on Libyan demonstrators will lead to charges of crimes against humanity.

For more information please see:
The Canadian Press – UN Says Its Libya Human Rights Abuses Investigation Will Cover All sides Involved in Fight – 08 April 2011

The Jerusalem Post – UN Rights Investigators to Start Probe in Libya – 08 April 2011

Reuters – UN Rights Investigators to Start Probe in Libya – 08 April 2011 

Obama Makes Promises in El Salvador

By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

Presidents Obama and Funes.
Presidents Obama and Funes.

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador—On a recent visit to El Salvador, U.S. President Barack Obama promised $200 million to aid the Central American nation in its war on drug trafficking and gang violence.  According to President Obama, this funding would go towards fighting the underlying causes of trafficking and gang membership, such as poverty and various social elements.  In addition to the $200 million promise, Obama also vowed to undertake new steps to increase trade and economic collaboration within El Salvador and Central America.

President Obama also announced the creation of the Central American Citizen’s Security Partnership after discussing the matter with Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes.  The Partnership is expected to fortify the court system within the country with the cooperation of countries like Chile, Colombia and Mexico.  The two leaders also discussed immigration, as two to three million Salvadorans live and work within the U.S.  Obama praised Funes’ “courageous work to overcome old divisions in Salvadoran society,” and said, “The U.S. wants to be a partner in this process.  We want El Salvador to be successful.”

Obama was accompanied by his wife and daughters on his trip.  He visited the National Cathedral in the capital, San Salvador, and saw the tomb of Archbishop Oscar Romero, a defender of the poor who was assassinated in 1980 after celebrating Mass.

Obama’s visit to El Salvador was the last of many visits to different Latin American countries, such as Chile and Brazil.  The visit was cut shorter than expected, as the president had to return to Washington early in order to handle the critical events taking place in Libya.

Though Obama’s promises have given many Salvadorans hope, some radical Salvadorans have been wary of the U.S.’s motives.  One student leader, using the alias “Ana Maria,” commented, “Obama is visiting El Salvador so that the U.S. can continue trying to control the Latin American region. . . .  [T]he reinforcement of the anti-narcotics division here [is] there to put down our social movements.  They are all part of maintaining a military position here—and we will continue to oppose it!”

The U.S. State Department lists El Salvador as one of the 10 most violent countries in the world.  It is estimated that last year there were almost 4,000 homicides in the country.

For more information, please see:

Axis of Logic-Dispatch from El Salvador: Obama’s Drug War Feels Eerily Familiar-5 April 2011

BBC-Obama pledges anti-drug funding on El Salvador visit-23 March 2011

AFP-Obama visits violence-plagued El Salvador-22 March 2011

Amnesty International Slams Yemen For Attacks on Protesters

By Eileen Gould
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SANAA, Yemen – Amnesty International released a report today on the human rights violations that have occurred over the last few months in Yemen. The report discusses the recent attacks on and repression of protesters, who do not support the rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh and who strive to eliminate the corruption and unemployment.

The most violent of these attacks occurred on March 18, when snipers fired on protesters in Sana’a, killing fifty-two people and injuring hundreds more. Protesters have since called this incident “Bloody Friday”.  Witnesses stated that most of those who were killed were shot in the head or the chest and died on site.

According to Amnesty, Yemen’s response to these attacks is “woefully inadequate”.  Although the government stated that it would investigate these attacks (and others), little information has been made available to the public as to whether any police force members are under being investigated. Furthermore, the impartiality and independence of the investigating authorities has been called into question.

As these attacks continue, Amnesty expressed its concern for the torture, unlawful killing, and other human rights violations occurring in Yemen. In addition, supporters of secession in the southern portion of the country have been held without trial, are unable to challenge the legality of their detentions, and are forbidden from speaking with their families.

It is the belief of this human rights organization that Yemen must deal with its “heavy legacy of impunity”.  The government should ensure that security forces do not use force against demonstrators who do not threaten their lives or the lives of others.  It should also provide detainees with access to their lawyers and families and should take steps to make sure that peaceful protesters are not tortured.

Amnesty made several recommendations to the international community, in particular, that authorities must be held responsible for the recent attacks on protesters, ninety-four of whom have been killed to date.  It suggested that President Saleh not be granted immunity by way of a political deal for these incidents.

The organization further seeks the suspension of the sale and transfer of weapons and arms to the security forces in Yemen, as they may be used in attempts to control the demonstrations.  The United States is the largest supplier of military and security equipment to Yemen.  Other countries involved in the sale of arms to Yemen include Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, the Russian Federation, France, Turkey, and the Ukraine.

For more information please see:
Amnesty International – Moment of Truth for Yemen – 05 April 2011

Amnesty International USA – Amnesty International Warns Against Political Deals to Give President Immunity for Brutality Against Protesters in Exchange for Handing Over Power – 05 April 2011

Monsters & Critics – Amnesty International urges external inquiry into Yemen – 06 April 2011

At Least 12 Dead in Yemen After Government Loyalists Attack Demonstrators

By Eileen Gould
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SANAA, Yemen – Yemen security forces and government loyalists attacked demonstrators in two cities yesterday, killing at least a dozen, and wounding many more.  These attacks are the deadliest since March 18, when supporters of President Ali Abdullah Saleh shot and killed at least fifty-two protesters.  As a result of this incident, many of the President’s top allies turned against him.

In Taiz, a city in southern Yemen, unarmed protesters were targeted by police forces, armed with guns and tear gas.  Government loyalists fired on the demonstrators from rooftops and on the street, when the protesters attempted to march on President Saleh’s palace.  Thousands of individuals, inspired by the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia, organized a sit-in, which has lasted for more than six weeks.   It is their wish that President Saleh leave office.

According to one government official, a clash between government supporters and protestors prompted the security forces to intervene.  The official claimed that the police only fired shots into the air.

Hospitals in Taiz have reported that they are running out of supplies and the equipment necessary to deal with the escalating violence.

Reports of the violence in Taiz have spread to other portions of the country, including Sanaa, where protesters marched on the city in response to the attacks.  At least five people were hurt by supporters, who threw stones at them.

In Hudaydah, a port city on the Red Sea, police also fired guns and tear gas on demonstrators, wounding at least 250 or as many as 400.  These protesters had tried to march on the presidential palace but the police prevented them from doing so.

The attacks have been condemned by the international community, particularly the United States.  The U.S. Department of State has described the violence as “appalling”.

President Saleh, who has been in power for thirty-two years, may step down but only after elections are held.  His term will expire in 2013.  Saleh claims he will discuss transitioning power to a new provisional government “according to the Constitution”.

For more information please see:
Al Jazeera – Protesters shot dead in southern Yemen – 4 April 2011

New York Times – Clashes Escalate in Yemen; at least 12 Are Killed – 4 April 2011

Voice of America – US Calls Violence Against Protesters in Yemen ‘Appalling’ – 4 April 2011

Washington Post – Yemen Security Forces Kill Protesters – 4 April 2011