Syria Defies U.N. Condemnation, Continues Attacks on Civilians

Syria Defies U.N. Condemnation, Continues Attacks on Civilians

By Zach Waksman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DEIR EL-ZOUR, Syria –The Syrian government launched new attacks against civilians today, continuing a siege on the eastern city of Deir el-Zour that had been ongoing for over a week.  At least 52 people have been killed so far.  The attacks come just days after the United Nations condemned the Middle Eastern country’s shocking strikes against protesters in Hama.

The Hama campaign, which killed an estimated 76 people last Sunday, drew international scorn.  Since then, anti-government protests have begun in coincidence with the beginning of Ramadan, a holy month on the Muslim calendar.  During this time, in an effort to prevent such sentiment from growing into a revolution, the government has placed Hama and Deir el-Zour under siege.  Today’s attack is an escalation of the siege; power and phone lines have reportedly been cut.

According to one activist in Deir el Zour who spoke anonymously to the Washington Post, “Humanitarian conditions in the city are very bad because it has been under siege for nine days.  There is lack of medicine, baby formula, food and gasoline. The city is totally paralyzed.”

This action took place despite widespread disapproval from multiple sources.  Wednesday, the United Nations Security Council issued a unanimous presidential statement that “condemned the widespread violations of human rights and the use of force against civilians by the Syrian authorities.”  Today, the Arab League joined the many who spoke out against the actions taken by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, calling for a national dialogue.

Human Rights Watch, an independent organization that observed the situation, considered the resolution a sign of isolation by the Syrian government.  “The Security Council’s unanimous statement shows that Syria can no longer count on even its close allies to support its crackdown on peaceful protesters,” said Peggy Hicks, the organization’s global advocacy director. “President Bashar Assad needs to listen to the council’s strong message, and end the attacks by his security forces in Hama and across the country.”

Yesterday, Assad spoke to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon by telephone.  Ban was concerned about the mounting violence and civilian casualties.  During the talk, he called for an immediate end to the attacks.

In response to the condemnation, Assad defended the sieges by saying that the country was making progress and that the government had an obligation to deal with dissenters.  “Syria is on the path to reforms,” he said, quoted by state news agency SANA. “To deal with outlaws who cut off roads, seal towns and terrorise residents is a duty of the state which must defend security and protect the lives of civilians.”  As an example of such “outlaws,” SANA reported that earlier this morning, an armed terrorist group ambushed and fired on a military convoy.  An officer and two soldiers were “martyred” as a result.

The next message for Assad will be delivered Tuesday, when Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will meet with Syrian officials to discuss his present concerns.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera — Syrian army launches fresh assaults — 7 August 2011

SANA — Officer, Two Soldiers Martyred in Ambush Set by Armed Terrorist Group East of al-Rastan — 7 August 2011

Washington Post — Syrian troops intensify crackdown on eastern city, activists say at least 52 killed — 7 August 2011

CNN — Ban calls for an end to use of force on Syrian civilians — 6 August 2011

Human Rights Watch — UN: Syria Should Heed Council’s Call to End Attacks — 4 August 2011

Impunity Watch — Syrian death toll sparks condemnation and foretells future violence — 2 August 2011

GCR2P Welcomes the US Government’s Announcement on Mass Atrocity Prevention

Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
4 Aug 2011

The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect welcomes today’s announcement by the White House of a presidential directive on preventing atrocities. The decision of the Obama Administration to establish an inter-agency Atrocity Prevention Board is an important step that reflects the commitment of the government and the people of the United States to strengthen capacities to halt genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and ethnic cleansing. This decision is an important step in putting the responsibility to protect into practice and moving “never again” from rhetoric to reality.

“The Global Centre applauds the directive of President Obama in establishing this board. We see its establishment as crucial in advancing the Responsibility to Protect agenda internationally, and in making the promise of ‘Never Again’ a reality. In a world where innocent civilians continue to be at risk of mass atrocity crimes, we believe that this decision will play an important role in preventing another Rwanda, Cambodia or Srebrenica,” said Simon Adams, Executive Director of the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect.

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The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect was created in February 2007 to catalyze action to move the 2005 World Summit agreement on the responsibility to protect populations from genocide, ethnic cleansing, war crimes and crimes against humanity from principle into practice. See website: www.globalr2p.org/

Handing Qaddafi a Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free Card

Originally published in the International Herald Tribune
By Richard Dicker, 1 Aug 2011
When the United Nations Security Council unanimously referred the situation in Libya to the International Criminal Court prosecutor on Feb. 26, it made clear that impunity for crimes against humanity threatens international peace and security. The referral sent a strong message that systematic attacks with deadly force against peaceful protesters have criminal consequences.
Now, the governments that took the lead in the 15-to-0 Security Council vote — Britain, France and the United States — seem to be negotiating a deal that, if it goes through, would short-circuit justice by sidelining the court’s proceedings for victims in Libya.
Britain’s foreign secretary, William Hague, said recently that it was important for Muammar el Qaddafi, the Libyan leader, to relinquish all power, but that after that: “What happens to Qaddafi is ultimately a question for the Libyans.” This turnabout is enough to set even the nimblest diplomatic head spinning.
After setting the wheels of justice in motion, all Security Council members — and these three countries in particular — should be reaffirming the message that impunity is no longer an option, instead of proffering a get out of jail free card to end a military stalemate. Amnesty for mass atrocities, whether explicit or de facto, has no legal validity internationally.
Fortunately, we have moved past the point where governments can offer immunity to people implicated in serious international crimes. Indeed, the Security Council’s unanimous referral of the situation in Libya to the International Criminal Court reflects its choice to hold international criminals accountable, including senior officials.
On June 27, three judges at the I.C.C. issued arrest warrants for Qaddafi, his son Seif al-Islam Qaddafi, and Libya’s intelligence chief, Abdullah Senussi. They are wanted on charges of crimes against humanity for their roles in attacks on civilians, including peaceful demonstrators, in Tripoli, Benghazi, Misurata, and other Libyan cities and towns.
These warrants were an important step toward providing justice for the victims of the serious crimes in Libya.
Now that there is an independent international judicial process in place the process should be allowed to play out. Moreover, the I.C.C. prosecutor should apply the law impartially and investigate alleged crimes by the Libyan rebels as well as any committed by NATO forces. It is simply too late to turn back the clock.
An offer of amnesty to an accused sitting head of state can make the situation a lot worse by sending a signal that there will be no cost for slaughtering as many people as possible in the effort to cling to power. If more brutality works, the leader is home free. If it doesn’t keep him in power, there’s no penalty for having tried. This is an awful message to abusive leaders around the world — if they hang on long enough, tiring out the opposition forces, all will be forgiven.
While Qaddafi cannot be granted a formal amnesty for serious crimes committed in Libya, diplomats may be thinking of using a possible escape hatch contained in the I.C.C.’s treaty. Under Article 16 of the I.C.C. Statute, the Security Council may, citing the needs of international peace and security, defer the proceedings against Qaddafi for 12 months. This truly unfortunate provision authorizes political interference in a judicial proceeding, and it should be used only in exceptional circumstances.
Since a suspension under Article 16 is limited to a renewable 12-month duration, if the Security Council granted a deferral there would be enormous pressure to renew it after a year and then again at the expiration of each succeeding year. This would spawn the ugly optic of Security Council members voting each year for continued immunity for Qaddafi.
Of course, a deferral of an I.C.C. investigation also risks setting a dangerous precedent for accused senior officials from other countries. By effectively bartering away accountability for the most serious crimes under international law, the Council would be encouraging all those alleged to be responsible for major atrocities to negotiate, as Qaddafi is now attempting to do, to void the rule of law. Indeed, a deferral for Qaddafi may lead other accused war criminals such as President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan to renew his claim to suspend the I.C.C. warrant against him for crimes committed in Darfur.
In addition to renouncing judicial principle and creating a troubling precedent, a plan that gives Qaddafi a comfortable retirement (inside or outside of Libya) is short-sighted. Qaddafi, who holds no official government post and exercises enormous power through his presence, would remain a destabilizing figure, and the Libyan people would probably not feel free from fear and intimidation. Moreover, effectively amnestying the top leaders would also make it difficult, if not impossible, to prosecute anyone else in the regime for crimes committed there over 40 years of Qaddafi’s rule.
In the short-term, it is easy to understand the temptation to forego justice in an effort to end an armed conflict. But instead of putting a conflict to rest, a de-facto amnesty that grants immunity for crimes against humanity may just spur another cycle of grave abuses while failing to bring peace.
Richard Dicker is the international justice director at Human Rights Watch.

Pakistan Forces ‘Disappear’ Political Activists

By: Jessica Ties
Impunity Watch, Asia

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Pakistani security forces are holding and torturing political activists in the Pakistani province of Balochistan in an attempt to derail the separatist movement in that region.

Relative of those who have gone missing from Baluchistan protest in Islamabad (Photo Courtesy of World Wires).
Relative of those who have gone missing from Baluchistan protest in Islamabad (Photo Courtesy of World Wires).

Human Rights Watch Asia Director Brad Adams has stated that “Pakistan’s security forces are engaging in an abusive free-for-all in Balochistan as Baloch nationalists and suspected militants ‘disappear’ and in many cases are executed…the national government has done little to end the carnage in Balochistan, calling into question its willingness or ability to control the military and intelligence agencies.”

The Pakistani government has cracked down on the separatist movement in Balochistan since 2004 when rebels emerged to demand autonomy and a share of the profits from the region’s oil, gas and mineral sources. As a result, those who “disappear” are generally Baloch nationalist activists or suspected Baloch militants.

In a 132 page report by Human Rights Watch, “We Can Torture, Kill, or Keep You for Years: Enforced disappearances by Pakistan Security Forces in Balochistan”, it is stated that the government is responsible for most of the abductions and detainees are rarely, if ever, charged with any crime.

The report is comprised of over 100 interviews with former detainees, witnesses, lawyers, family of the “disappeared” and local human rights activists.

While the exact number of enforced disappearances is unknown Human Rights Watch reported that in 2008 Interior Minister Rehman Malik said at least 1,000 victims had disappeared in Balochistan. There is increasing evidence to suggest that many of those who have disappeared have suffered extrajudicial execution while in the custody of the government.

One former detainee, Mazhar Khan, described his abduction from a friend’s home in 2009 when armed men stormed into the home blindfolded both men and drove them to separate locations. Khan was questioned about the Baloch party and then held alone in a dark room for two months before being released on the side of a road. The fate of his friend is still unknown.

Another former detainee, Bashir Azeem, was detained on three separate occasions between 2005 and 2009.  He states that on one occasion his abductors “pushed pins under my nails, put a chair on my back and sat on top of it, and put me for 48 hours into a room where I could only stand but not move. When they took me out, my legs were so swollen that I collapsed on the floor and fainted.”

In some cases witnesses alleged that the detainers wore the same uniformed donned by members of various Pakistani intelligence agencies.  The arresting agency never identified themselves or informed the detainee of the basis for their arrest. Often, the abductors would beat, handcuff, blindfold and then drag the detainee into a vehicle before taking them to an unknown location. In each and every case investigated by Human Rights Watch, detainees who were released and their relatives reported torture and ill treatment while detained. Torture often included beatings with sticks or leather belts, hanging detainees upside down and prolonged sleep and food deprivation.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Pakistan Accused Over Separatists who ‘Disappear’ – 28 July 2011

BBC News – Pakistan Torturing Balochistan Activists, Report Says – 28 July 2011

Human Rights watch – Pakistan: Security Forces ‘Disappear’ Opponents in Balochistan – 28 July 2011

MSNBC – HRW: ‘Disappeared’ Still Haunt Pakistani Province – 28 July 2011

Journalist’s murder in the Dominican Republic draws criticisms regarding lack of protections

By Brianne Yantz
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic – Earlier this week, Jose Agustin Silvestre, a Dominican TV reporter, was kidnapped from his home in La Romana and found murdered a few hours later.

Slain journalist Jose Silvestre. (Photo Courtesy of Dominican Today)
Slain journalist Jose Silvestre. (Photo Courtesy of Dominican Today)

Several news reports indicate that four men grabbed Silvestre, beat him, and drove away with him in an SUV on Tuesday morning. He was discovered with several gun shot wounds to the head and abdomen.

Silvestre was the twentieth journalist killed in Latin America this year, and in the Dominican Republic alone more than 30 journalists and press workers have been attacked since January.

Silvestre was the host of “La Voz de la Verdad,” or “The Voice of Truth,” on Cana TV and published a bi-weekly magazine of the same name. He was well known for making controversial claims regarding drug trafficking in his hometown of La Romana. He had long been the target of death threats and just last week there had been a failed attempt on his life.

According to Dominican Today, Silvestre was to appear in a San Pedro court on the day of his murder to face libel charges filed by La Romana prosecutor Jose Polanco. Silvestre had accused Polanco of favoritism and corruption, and had also compared him to an alleged drug baron.

The murder of Silvestre brings concern for journalists’ freedoms regarding speech and expression. Journalism.co.uk reported that the Inter-American Press Society had recently highlighted the weakened press freedom standards in the Dominican Republic, which has been in steady decline over the past decade.

In an interview with Journalism.co.uk, Benoit Hervieu, head of the Americas desk at Reporters Without Borders, explained that the Dominican Republic was “the hidden face of drug trafficking” in Latin America and that those journalists who reported on the nation’s rampant political corruption or widespread organized crime often received death threats.

Irina Bokova, the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, was quick to condemn the Dominican Republic for Silvestre’s killing. She also insisted “a full investigation [needed to] be carried out into [his] case for journalists to be able to continue exercising their basic human right of freedom of expression.”

Susan Lee, the Americas Director at Amnesty International, expressed similar sentiments, arguing that those responsible must be brought to justice. She further called for better protections for journalists and for full disclosure regarding Silvestre’s death. “If it emerges that his death could have been prevented through better protection, the authorities must make that information public,” Lee stated.

Lee was adamant in her demand to protect those journalists who may be at risk. She argued such protections were vital because “journalists must be able to carry out their jobs without fearing for their lives.”

For more information, please see:

UN News Centre – Murder of Dominican journalist sparks condemnation from UNESCO – August 5, 2011

Dominican Today – Slain journalist Jose Silvestre buried amid cries for justice – August 4, 2011

Amnesty International – DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: JOURNALIST’S KILLING MUST SPUR BETTER PROTECTION – August 3, 2011

Journalism.co.uk – Twentieth journalist killed in Latin America this year – August 3, 2011

Dominican Today – Gunmen kill journalist who linked Dominican Prosecutor to drugs – August 2, 2011