High Court in the Philippines Delays Implementing the Responsible Parenthood Law

By Karen Diep
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

MANILLA, Philippines – On Tuesday, a decision by the Philippines’ highest court delayed the implementation of a reproductive health law providing free access to contraception and family planning.

Catholic Church not in favor of the “Contraception law.” (Photo Courtesy of BBC News)

According to The Washington Post, the court voted 15-5 in favor of 10 separate petitions to stop the implementation of the Responsible Parenthood Law and pend oral arguments until June 18th.

This law requires government health centers to offer universal and free access to most forms of contraceptives to everyone, particularly the Philippines’s poorer citizens, who comprise a third of its population. Prior to the Responsible Parenthood Law, access to contraceptives was expensive and contingent upon the political affiliation of one’s local government. The law also mandates sexual education in public schools.

While advocates of the Responsible Parenthood Law believe that it should be implemented to combat poverty and maternal mortality, petitioners questioning the law’s legality welcomed the high court’s decision.

On December 29, 2012, President Benigno Aquino signed the law after 14 years of campaigning by public health and women activists groups. Edwin Lacierda, the spokeman for the President Aquino, stated that the government respects the high court’s decision and is confident about supporting the law’s merits.

The country has a population of 94 million, 80% of whom are Catholic, and one of Asia’s highest birth rates.

The Responsible Parenthood Law has received much opposition from conservative groups in the country and the Catholic Church.

“For me it’s a good sign, a victory for those who are against the law,” said Bishop Arturo Bastes of Sorsogon.  According to CNN News, Bishop Arturo Bastes believed that Pope Francis, who was officially inaugurated on the same day of the court’s ruling, would be happy to hear of the delay.

According to Mellisa Upreti, a regional director at U.S. based Center for Reproductive Rights for Asia, the Filipino government made a few concessions in deference to the Catholic Church.

For instance, the law did not legalize all forms of contraceptives, including emergency forms of contraception. The Responsible Parenthood Law also contains a measure that permits private and religious-influenced hospitals, the leading providers of health care in the country, to refuse reproductive health services based upon its religious objections.

Despite these concessions, its opponents are still concerned.  However, the Responsible Parenthood Law has its supporters.

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago believes that the law is necessary to help people in the Philippines “escape the vicious cycle of poverty by giving them options on how to manage their sexual lives, plan their families and control their procreative activities.”

The court will reexamine the law in 120 days.

For further information, please see:

CNN News – Top Philippine court hits pause on divisive contraception law – 20 March 2013

BBC News – Philippine high court delays contraception law – 19 March 2013

Washington Post – Philippine top court halts contraceptives law until it hears arguments over religion, abortion – 19 March 2013

 

 

 

War Criminal Bosco Ntaganda Transferred to the ICC

By Hannah Stewart
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Congolese warlord Bosco Ntaganda was taken from the American Embassy in Kigali, Rwanda on Friday and placed on a flight to The Hague, where he faces charges in the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Congolese rebel leader Bosco Ntaganda. (Photo Courtesy of The Economist)

The litany of charges includes ten counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, accusing him of conscripting and using child soldiers, using rape as a weapon of war, keeping women as sex slaves, and massacring at least 800 people in 2002 and 2003.

Ntaganda, whose nickname is “The Terminator” for his ruthless nature in battle, became a symbol of impunity in Africa in the last decade.

He shocked the international community when he entered the embassy on Monday, removed his disguise, and asked to be sent to the ICC.  The Court said it “was the first time that a suspect has surrendered himself voluntarily to be in the ICC’s custody.”

Since Monday, the United States has urged Rwanda to help facilitate Ntaganda’s passage to The Hague.  However, Rwanda and the United States are not parties to the Rome Statute, and therefore neither country is a member of the ICC.  Nevertheless the United States says it supports the Court’s work.

As such, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame publicly stated his support for Ntaganda’s expeditious transfer to the ICC.

The ICC first indicted Ntaganda in 2006 for conscripting and using child soldiers during a 2002-2003 Congo conflict.  A second indictment, issued July 2012, accused him of a range of crimes including murder, ethnic persecution and rape.

Despite these indictments, Ntaganda joined the Congolese army in 2009 pursuant to a peace deal that allowed for him and his men to integrate into the military.  As a result, he lived freely in the North Kivu capital of Goma.  He often dined in top restaurants and played tennis, seemingly without fear of arrest.

Reports state that last year, when the agreement between Ntaganda and the Congolese government deteriorated, he and his troops defected.  His faction became known as “M23,” battling Congolese government troops in the country’s mineral-rich east.

While unconfirmed, it is believed that Ntaganda surrendered due to recent vulnerability.  Reports state that the M23 rebel fractured into two parts last month over the decision to bow to international pressure and withdraw from Goma late last year.  Ntaganda and Jean-Marie Runiga, opposed the retreat.  However, another rebel leader, Sultani Makenga, ordered the retreat and initiated peace talks with the Congo government.

Some speculate that Rwanda’s cooperation in Ntaganda’s transfer may come at a cost.  His testimony before the ICC could potentially reveal details of Rwanda’s alleged support for M23 during the Congo conflict.

“This is a good day for victims in the [Democratic Republic of the Congo] and for international justice,” said Fatou Bensouda, the prosecutor at the ICC.  Likewise, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called the transfer “an important moment for all who believe in justice and accountability.”

On Friday afternoon, the Court said in an e-mail that Ntaganda was “in the ICC’s custody.”

To learn more about Ntaganda’s crimes in interviews with his victims, please watch this short video uploaded by the Washington Post: “A Powerful Video on War Criminal Ntaganda”

For more information, please see:

AP News – International Court Detains Rwandan-Born Warlord – 22 March 2013

BBC – Bosco Ntaganda: Kagame Promises to Help Transfer to ICC – 22 March 2013

The Economist (blog) – A Surprising Surrender – 22 March 2013

The New York Times – War Crimes Suspect Leaves Congo for The Hague – 22 March 2013

Cameroon Among the Top For Most Aggressive Homosexual Prosecutions

By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

YAOUNDE, Cameroon – Cameroon has one of the most aggressive “homosexuality” prosecutions in the world, according to a report released Thursday by four human rights groups.

Local residents in Ambam, a small town in Cameroon, stand by during the trial of two women accused of homosexuality. (Photo courtesy of Huffington Post)

In cooperation with Alternatives-Cameroun, Association for the Defense of Gays and Lesbians (ADEFHO), and the Cameroonian Foundation for AIDS (CAMFAIDS), Human Rights Watch (HRW) conducted 10 case studies of arrests and prosecutions under article 347 bis of Cameroon’s penal code. Based on this statute, having sexual relations with the same sex is punishable by up to five years of imprisonment.

In their 55-page report, “Guilty by Association: Human Rights Violations in the Enforcement of Cameroon’s Anti-Homosexuality Law,” the human rights organizations revealed that at least 28 people have been prosecuted for same-sex conduct in Cameroon since 2010. Most of them were tortured, forced to confess, denied access to legal counsel, and subjected to “discriminatory treatment by law enforcement and judicial officials.”

The study also found out that most of the arrests were based solely on suspicion, while most of the convictions were based on little or no evidence.

One man from Limbre who was accused of being gay was beaten with an iron belt, in addition to being forced to swim in the gutter. Local police also burned plastic bags on his chest. Another detainee told the human rights groups that authorities had him “sleep naked on the floor and [they] beat him with clubs on his feet so severely that his toenails fell out.” Other men arrested for homosexuality were subjected to anal exams before being sent to jail.

According to the human rights groups, Cameroon’s anti-homosexual laws “violate international human rights standards and Cameroon’s own constitution”. In the first place, Cameroon ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) that protects the rights to privacy and non-discrimination. Secondly, as pointed out by HRW, Cameroon is a member of the Commonwealth, which has a charter that opposes discrimination on all grounds.

“Our government and our courts need to recognize that when it comes to Cameroon’s international human rights commitments, they cannot pick and choose on the basis of personal biases,” said Alice Nkom, president of ADEFHO.

Last month, the Association of Cameroon Roman Catholic jurists, a group of lawyers affiliated with the Catholic Church in Cameroon, expressed their support for the country’s anti-gay laws. According to the group, such laws prevent same-sex relationships which they, along with Archbishop of Yaoundé Simon-Victor Tonyé Bakot, describe as “a serious crime against humanity”.

The group’s chairperson, Sandrine Soppo, said that fighting homosexuality “is not a question of human rights violations . . . the question was about human dignity.”

 

For further information, please see:

ABC News – Report: Cameroon Officials Torture Gay Suspects – 21 March 2013

Huffington Post – Cameroon Officials Torture Gay Suspects, Says Human Rights Watch Report – 21 March 2013

Human Rights Watch – Cameroon: Rights Abuses in ‘Homosexuality’ Prosecutions – 21 March 2013

LGBTQ Nation – Report: Cameroon most aggressive country in prosecuting suspected gays – 21 March 2013

Africa Review – Cameroon Catholic lawyers vow to uphold anti-gay laws – 25 February 2013

Syria Revolution Digest: Thursday 21 March 2013

Please feel free to use this information, including videos, images and commentary, in your coverage of current developments in Syria. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at this email: ammar.abdulhamid@gmail.com. The Digest will also be posted on Blogger and Facebook.

 

Do the Right Thing!

Syrian Revolution Digest – March 21, 2013 

Who used chemical weapons? Was it even a chemical attack? Who committed this or that massacre, this or that assassination? It’s becoming increasingly difficult to answer these questions with certainty. Yes, when the world was busy not looking, or gazing with disbelief, feigned or sincere, things have gotten that murky in Syria. In general terms, we can still say with certainty that the regime is responsible for the bulk of it, but, when it comes to specific incidents, we simply cannot be that certain anymore. In an ultimate sense, the Assad camp will have to bear the moral, and legal, responsibility for putting us on the path towards this hell, but that’s for the history books. And there will always be controversy in this regard as well. Still, what we need to focus on today is the responsibility for stopping this mayhem and putting us on the path towards recovery. Here, U.S. and western leaders cannot but be involved. In fact, they have to lead. Without a no-fly zone, support to the rebels, and a political process, there could be no peace. No matter how murky things get and how deep the quagmire, the tools needed to help us out of it remain the same. Denial is not a virtue.

 

Thursday March 21, 2013

 

Today’s Death Toll: 181, including 10 women, 7 children and 4 under torture: 90 in Damascus and Suburbs including 42 in Iman Mosque bombing in the Mazraa Neighborhood, 35 in Homs, 15 in Aleppo, 13 in Idlib, 12 in Hama, 11 in Daraa, 2 in Hassakeh, 2 in Raqqa, and 1 in Deir Ezzor (LCCs).

 

Points of Random Shelling: 362. Warplanes shelling 29 points. Scud missiles 4 points. Surface-to-surface missiles 5 points. Shelling with explosive barrels 10 points. Cluster bombs strikes 6 points. Artillery shelling was reported at 115 points. Mortar shelling 117 points. Missile shelling 80 points (LCCs).

 

Clashes: 125. Successful rebel operations include shelling of Damascus International Airport, and targeting the Informatics Department in the Abbasid Square in Damascus City. In Raqqa province, rebels targeted the military airport near Tabqa with homemade rockets. Liberations of several key loyalist checkpoint and outposts in Daraa province in the towns of Hraak, Nawa and Daraa City (LCCs).

 

News

Damascus mosque blast kills 42 including senior Syrian imam State television and anti-government activists earlier had reported 15 dead. The television said a “terrorist suicide blast” hit the Iman Mosque in central Damascus, and Mohammed al-Buti, imam of the ancient Ummayyad Mosque, was among the dead. “The death toll from the suicide bombing of the Iman Mosque in Damascus is 42 martyrs and 84 wounded,” the health ministry said later in a statement.

Official: ‘Something went down’ in Syria, but it was short of chemical weapons … now analysts are “leaning hard away” from the notion that Syria used chemical weapons against its own people, a U.S. military official directly familiar with the preliminary analysis told CNN. here are “multiple indicators” for this emerging conclusion, an administration official said. That official told CNN “there are strong indications now that chemical weapons were not used by the regime in recent days.” The official would not detail the indicators but said it points to the preliminary U.S. conclusion that “weaponized chemical agents” were not used. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, were not authorized to publicly release details of the intelligence analysis.

U.N. to Investigate Chemical Weapons Accusations in Syria Mr. Ban said the investigation would begin “as soon as practically possible,” with various agencies of the world body developing a plan on how to proceed. He called on all sides in Syria’s two-year-old civil war to allow “unfettered” access to the United Nations team.

Democrats and Republicans unite around calls for more aggressive Syria policy As concerns grow about the possible use of chemical weapons in Syria, the debate is shifting rapidly on Capitol Hill as top Democrats and Republicans urge President Barack Obama to do more to support the Syrian opposition — even through military intervention. The latest example came late Thursday, when House Foreign Affairs ranking Democrat Eliot Engel (D-NY) and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI) introduced a new bill calling on the Obama administration to arm the Syrian rebels. Called the “Free Syria Act of 2013,” the legislation calls for increased humanitarian and economic assistance to the Syrian opposition as well as arms, training, and intelligence support to vetted rebel groups that share Western values.

Syria rebels take towns near ceasefire line with Israel “We have been attacking government positions as the army has been shelling civilians, and plan to take more towns,” said Abu Essam Taseel, from the media office of the “Martyrs of Yarmouk”, a rebel brigade operating in the area. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based group monitoring the conflict in Syria, said rebels had taken several towns near the Golan plateau, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and later annexed.

U.N. leader: Syrian civil war threatens cease-fire with Israel The development poses the most serious challenge to date to the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement, which set the terms for a strained, but stable, stalemate between Israel and Syria following the Yom Kippur War. For decades, it has helped to guarantee relative calm between Israel and Syria in the Golan Heights.

Obama should ask Jordan to take more Syria refugees: rights groups Jordan has given refuge to more than 360,000 Syrians but “routinely and unlawfully” denies entry to many, Human Rights Watch and Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic said in a statement. Palestinians who lived in Syria are regularly turned back by Jordanian border guards, the groups said, as are single Syrian men and refugees who arrive without identity cards.

Syria: Heavy fighting in Aleppo plagues lives of hundreds of thousands “There are tens of thousands of displaced people in the governorate with no income and no savings who depend on assistance to survive,” said Marianne Gasser, head of the ICRC delegation in Syria, upon her return from the governorate. “Apart from the pressing humanitarian needs, several roads, hospitals, schools, other public facilities and world heritage sites have been damaged. Essential public services such as the distribution of power and water have also been disrupted as a result of the heavy fighting that has plagued the governorate over the past nine months.”

Syria’s president makes rare public appearance SANA quoted al-Assad as saying: “Today Syria as a whole is wounded… there is no one that didn’t lose one of his or her relatives, a brother, father or a mother,” before insisting that the country is involved in “a battle of will and steadfastness,” calling on the audience to remain strong to protect others. It was the second public outing for the normally camera-shy al-Assad family in less than a week, after months out of the limelight: Asma al-Assad was spotted at a “Mother’s Rally” at the Damascus Opera House last weekend, scotching rumors she had fled the country for Russia, the UK or Jordan.

 

Special Reports

Two years into Syria’s civil war, no end in sight “I am not optimistic. I think the regime will never finish off the revolution and in the same way it is very, very, very difficult for the revolutionaries to finish off the regime,” he said… “The Syrian political uprising has mutated into carnage, into a nightmare, into a bloodbath,” said Fawaz Gerges, director of the Middle East Centre at the London School of Economics and Political Science. “If the conflict is prolonged, as many of us fear, I fear that the nation as a whole is at stake.”

Tony Badran: The end of Syria On its current trajectory, Syria is headed toward geographical fragmentation. As the security situation deteriorates and Washington persists in its refusal to lead, neighboring states will begin to carve out effective buffer zones inside the country. Once that process is complete, Syria will become a unitary state in name only.

From Istanbul with Dismay: Meetings with the Syrian Opposition Although concerns about sectarian tensions and extremist forces are real and completely legitimate, they are not a cause for inaction. In fact, further inaction — meaning, according to the Syrians I met, the continued policy of supplying nonlethal assistance — will only exacerbate existing problems and allow for other external forces to gain more influence on the ground. The United States is involved in this conflict, deliberately or not. Despite the direst of circumstances inside Syria, the people still evince a glimmer of hope for the democratic future of their country. It is not too late for the United States to meaningfully change the course of this conflict — but not likely to be achieved simply by the provision of food sealed with a stamp reading “Made in United States of America.”

Yossi Alpher: As Syria descends into chaos: challenges to Israel (PDF) Syria’s evolving collapse, and with it perhaps the collapse of Lebanon as well, is liable to confront Israel with significant military and political challenges. Military challenges range from Salafi border terrorism to attacks using strategic weaponry, whether in the hands of non-state actors or in a Samson-like scenario executed by a dying regime. Another fast-approaching development could conceivably place a residual Iranian-Hizbullah-Alawite entity directly to Israel’s north.

Syria Is Already More Violent Than Iraq: And its destruction will define the Middle East for years to come. While the challenge of providing for Iraqi refugees was daunting, the Syrian case is, if anything, more so. Syrians are scattered between a number of neighboring countries — Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, and Jordan — and the United Nations estimates that it only has 30 percent of the necessary funds to provide for refugees for the first half of 2013. The plight of Syrians displaced within their country is even worse: The vast majority of aid money does not reach rebel-held areas, held up by red tape at the U.N. relief agencies in charge of aid distribution.

 

My new paper, prepared for a briefing in Washington, D.C. that took place on January 15, 2013, is now out and is titled “Syria 2013: Rise of the Warlords.” It should be read in conjunction with my previous briefing “The Shredded Tapestry,” and my recent essay “The Creation of an Unbridgeable Divide.”

 

Video Highlights

 

This video shows the immediate aftermath of the explosion that killed the loyalist Imam Al-Bouti in the Iman Mosque in Damascus City http://youtu.be/mplDzfchi2Y

 

In Daraya, Damascus Suburbs, rebels have to fight to take back each apartment from loyalist snipers http://youtu.be/axGzYOofUow Tanks keep making their deadly rounds http://youtu.be/TgFOU-XpUdc , http://youtu.be/Zfl1j3KI7jI But the pounding of the city with rockets continues http://youtu.be/ybWCGmUPHy8 , http://youtu.be/hzfCXFaZnQI and on the nearby town of Moadamiyah http://youtu.be/zz46DfPIa0Y , http://youtu.be/yoniEHUdL3Y

 

Rebels in Barzeh, Damascus City, target a local security headquarters http://youtu.be/-LTuiMYPLj4

 

Meanwhile, the aerial bombardment of Eastern Ghoutah Region in Damascus Suburbs continues: Kafar Batna http://youtu.be/d_R78poTQok Sbeineh http://youtu.be/1lAmNvx-XCo

 

Scenes of chaos after the pounding of the Sukkari neighborhood in Aleppo city on March 20 http://youtu.be/0m2Pn9LIUPU Four buildings collapsed http://youtu.be/6H2-fORJNXs Despite the level of destruction, a child is saved http://youtu.be/Yu15cpS_RTc

 

Scenes of chaos after an aerial attack on the town of Talbisseh, Homs province http://youtu.be/_rPHiMih8IQ , http://youtu.be/A0-m_Qs0mCQ The initial explosion http://youtu.be/Nlu-PgwwPRM , http://youtu.be/-9yBPIoL5f0 The destruction http://youtu.be/Uvb6_PZpZpg

 

Homs city, scenes from the liberation of Al-Qarabees neighborhood http://youtu.be/CJVHrcz_zGs Meanwhile, the aerial pounding of rebel strongholds continues: Khaldiyeh http://youtu.be/YLFhlubzjKM , http://youtu.be/vL4xG0RWhX4

 

Rebels from the Syrian Islamic Front destroy a loyalist outpost in North Latakia http://youtu.be/7TZGTH2LQx4

 

Rebels capture of van transporting loyalist militias near the city of Hama. The fate of the prisoners remains unknown http://youtu.be/iv89eIXwz-g

 

 

London Court Rules Ban Against Christian Group Advertisement Lawful

By Alexandra Sandacz
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

LONDON, United Kingdom – The High Court ruled Transport for London lawfully ban a Christian group’s bus advertisement that suggests gay people could “change their sexuality” because it would “cause grave offense”.

The Core Issues Trust placed an advertising campaign on London buses carrying the slogan, “Not Gay! Ex Gay, Post Gay and Proud. Get over it!” (Photo Courtesy of The Independent)

On Friday, a judge found that Boris Johnson, chairman of Transport for London, did not abuse his position last April when he imposed the ban on the advertisement. Johnson denounced the “gay cure” advertisement as “offensive to gays”.

Transport for London refused to carry the Core Issues Trust advertisement because it would “likely cause widespread or serious offence to members of the public”, and it contained “images or messages which relate to matters of public controversy and sensitivity”.

Conversely, the recent court decision is viewed as a defeat for the Core Issues Trust group, a Christian charity. This Christian group funds “reparative therapy” for gay Christians, which it claims can “develop their heterosexual potential”.

Core Issues Trust posted ads on buses that stated, “Not Gay! Ex-Gay, Post-Gay and Proud. Get over it.” Many believe Johnson was “politically driven” when he blocked their ad.

Mrs. Justice Lang ruled that Transport for London’s process in placing the ban “was procedurally unfair, in breach of its own procedures and demonstrated a failure to consider the relevant issues”.

However, the judge stated that the unjust procedure was substantially outweighed by factors, such as, it would “cause grave offence” to those who were gay. It could, furthermore, be perceived as homophobic, “thus increasing the risk of prejudice and homophobic attacks.”

Although Justice Lang said she did not think an appeal would succeed, she acknowledged there were “compelling reasons” to allow one.

Following Justice Lang’s ruling, a Transport for London spokesperson said, “The advertisement clearly breached our advertising policy as it contained a controversial message and was likely to cause widespread offence to the public. This was borne out by the hugely negative public reaction the advertisement generated, including on social media and newspaper websites. We are taking steps to address the Judge’s comments regarding our internal processes.”

A Core Issues Trust spokesman stated, “We are grateful for the opportunity to make an appeal and the recognition of the issues around freedom of speech and conscience. We are particularly concerned about the fact ex-gay minorities are not recognized in the legislation of the Equality Act 2010.”

Gay rights group, Stonewall chief, Ben Summerskill, said, “Many people will be pleased by today’s decision. In a city where over half of gay young people face bullying at school, and where tens of thousands of gay people are subjected to hate crimes every year just because of the way they were born, it’s perfectly proper for a mayor to object to the use of such advertising in an iconic public setting.”

For further information, please see:

BBC – ‘Ex-Gay’ London Bus Advert Ban Ruled Lawful – 22 March 2013

The Guardian — Boris Johnson Ban on Christian ‘Gay Cure’ Ad Did Not Break Law, Court Rules – 22 March 2013

The Independent – Boris Johnson Wins Ruling Over Ban on Christian Group’s Controversial ‘Post-Gay and Proud’ Bus Advert – 22 March 2013

Christian Today – Court Hears Gay Bus Ad Case – 01 March 2013