Still No Clear Solution for the Rohingya Migrant Crisis

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar –

More than a month has passed since the Rohingya migrant crisis made international news headlines, but there is still no apparent progress in finding the migrants a permanent home. There is also no sign that Myanmar will seek to correct the conditions from which the Rohingya migrants fled.

In May, international attention was drawn to the Rohingya crisis after journalists took photos of migrants crowded onto boats and stranded in waters near Thailand and Malysia. The migrants were a mix of Rohingya fleeing from persecution in Myanmar and Bangladeshis fleeing from economic hardship in Bangladesh.

Myanmar did allow over 700 migrants to come back ashore in early June. Two of the migrants told Reuters that 200-300 of the migrants who came ashore were Rohingya. The rest were Bengladeshis. The Rohingya were kept inside a warehouse upon coming ashore and the Bangladeshis were driven away in buses. Journalists covering the story were asked to leave.

Migrants brought ashore in Myanmar in early June. (Photo Courtesy of Reuters)

Myanmar denies that it discriminates against the Rohingya, despite the fact that it does not grant the Rohingya citizenship rights. In the 1990s, Myanmar began issuing “white cards” that gave the Rohingya temporary residence and other limited rights, but not citizenship. White card holders were permitted to vote in Myanmar’s 2008 constitutional referendum and 2010 general elections. In a constitutional referendum earlier this year, however, Myanmarese President Thein Sein cancelled the white cards in response to pressure from Buddhist nationals.

Myanmar has also stated that persecution of the Rohingya is not the cause of the migrant crisis. Myanmar’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Wunna Maung Lwin has pointed to the number of Bangladeshis on the ship that was allowed to come aboard in May as proof that the crisis was a problem related to human trafficking in the region.

At an international meeting on the migrant crisis in May, the United Nations raised the issue of citizenship and other United Nations delegates blamed Myanmar for the crisis. Myanmar responded that it could not be singled out in regard to the crisis.

In early June, President Obama stated that Myanmar’s persecution of the Rohingya needed to come to an end in order for Myanmar to achieve its transition to democracy.

So far, Gambia and the United States have offered to help resettle the migrants.

Australia stated that it would not resettle the migrants. While Japan dedicated $3.5 million in emergency assistance to the migrants, it did not offer to resettle any of the migrants.

Neither China nor India, Asia’s two most populous countries, have offered to help the migrants either. Both China and India border Myanmar and are major trading partners with Myanmar. Neither country has put pressure on Myanmar to reevaluate its discriminatory policies against the Rohingya Muslims.

For China, Myanmar is a top source of foreign investment. Also, since the Rohingya do not have Chinese ethnicity, they are not of much concern to China. At a United Nations Security Council meeting last month, China stated that Myanmar’s treatment of the Rohingya is an internal issue for Myanmar to resolve.

In the past, India has offered aid and resettlement to refugees fleeing from Myanmar, and currently hosts more than 10,000 Rohingya.

Many in India and other Asian countries view the problem of refugees as stemming from Western imperialism. There is therefore a sense in such countries that responsibility for the refugees should be left to the West and institutions like the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Not many of the Asian countries are members of international conventions protecting refugees.

For more information, please see:

New York Times – China and India Are Sitting Out Refugee Crisis – 28 June 2015

Council on Foreign Relations – The Rohingya Migrant Crisis – 17 June 2015

Reuters – Myanmar Says Persecution Not the Cause of the Migrant Crisis – 4 June 2015

Reuters – Myanmar Lands 700 Migrants, U.S. Says Rohingya Should be Citizens – 3 June 2015

 

Proposed Anti-terrorist Law may Imprison Journalists

By Brittani Howell

Impunity Watch Reporter, The Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt—Under a potential new Egyptian law, Journalists may face up to two years in prison if they publish news that does not match the government’s report. An anti-terrorism law has been drafted and is waiting for the approval of Egyptian’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.

Protestor taped his mouth shut to symbolize persecution of journalists in Egypt, outside the court and prison in which Al Jazeera reporter Ahmed Mansour is held. June 22, 2015. (Photo Curtesy CNN).

The drafted anti-terrorism law lists twenty-five crimes, including twelve that are punishable by death. In addition, the law would create terrorist courts and reduce the number of appeals allowed by defendants in order to speed up the judicial process. The drafted law would also give police officers more protection from being held liable for the use of force in “anti-terrorist operations.”

The crack down on journalists is a response to reports of militant attacks. On one incident in particular, a militant attack on the Sinai Peninsula, news sources reported that dozens had been killed while a military official reported that seventeen people had been killed. Justice Minister Ahmed al-Zind stated, “The government has a duty to protect citizens from false information,” but should not be understood as, “a restriction on media freedom.”

The proposed bill requires two years for anyone who reports casualty tolls differently than the government report. The bill requires “intent” and “malice” in order to convict an individual of reporting death tolls contrary to government reports.

The Egyptian Journalists Syndicate argue that the drafted law violates Egypt’s Constitution, and that, “it appropriates the right of the journalist to acquire information from different sources and limits it to one side. This is a clear setback for the freedom of thought and press.”

At a press briefing, the Foreign Ministry urged foreign reporters to avoid using the terms “Islamist” and “jihadist” and to instead use the terms, “terrorists,” “savages,” “eradicators,” “destroyers,” and “slayers.”

Two days before the militant attacks on the Sinai Peninsula, the state prosecutor, Hisham Barakat, was killed in a car bombing. At the funeral President el-Sissi shouted, “Please, please we want prompt courts and fair laws… The trials and the laws won’t work in the matter and under these circumstances. This may work with regular people, but not these people. Only prompt laws will work.”

When Associated Press asked a judge if the rise in terrorist threats were linked to delays in court proceedings, the judge responded, “As if the jury is not to blame. This is not the causal relationship. Do they want to get the truth or take revenge on the suspect?”

For further information, please see:

ABC- Egypt to Pass Anti-terror Law Proposing Jail Time For Reporting Figures that Contradict Official Statements– 6 July 2015

Associated Press- Egypt Anti-Terror Bill Speeds Trials, Tightens Hand on Media– 6 July 2015

CNN- New Terrorism Law Could Target Journalists in Egypt– 6 July 2015

NY Times- Egypt Warns Journalists Over Coverage of Militant Attacks– 5 July 2015

Brazil Votes to Lower Age of Responsibility

By Kaitlyn Degnan
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BRASILIA, Brazil — The Congress of Brazil has voted in favor of a constitutional amendment that would lower the age of criminal responsibility in the country to age 16. The vote came just one day after Congress had voted down an earlier version of the amendment.

Students protest lowering the age of criminal responsibility (Courtesy of the BBC)

323 out of 480 legislators voted in favor of the amendment, taking a step towards changing the Brazilian constitution.

The amendment would change the Statute of Children and Adolescents of 1990, which details that children under the age of 18 cannot be held legally responsible for crimes committed. Under the old law, children found guilty of crimes that require a greater sentence than a warning or reparations are sent to detention centers for no longer than 3 years.

The change lowers the age of criminal responsibility to 16 for those children found guilty of “heinous crimes,” which includes rape, murder, and robbery followed by rape or murder.

The original version of the amendment included drug trafficking, aggravated robbery and terrorism as crimes with a lower responsibility age. The removal of these provisions allowed amendment to pass House.

The proposed change came about after a spike in high profile violent crimes perpetrated by under-18s.

The vote was highly controversial in Brazil, drawing criticism from President Dilma Rousseff and organizations such as Human Rights Watch. President Rousseff commented back in April: “We cannot allow the reduction of the age of criminal responsibility to 16 years old to 18 years old. The place for children is at school.”

Opponents have also criticized the speaker of the lower house, Edward Cunha, for pushing through a second vote on the amendment less than 24 hours after it was originally rejected.

Student groups across the country have also protested against the move.

Brazil has the fourth largest prison system in the world, and the prison population has increased by 33% since 2008. Overcrowding is a common issue in many of Brazil’s prisons, and the amendment’s critics say that the move will put children at risk in dangerous prisons. The amendment’s supporters insist that if the law passes, special detention centers for 16-18 year olds will be opened.

 

For more information, please see:

BBC – Brazil Congress in U-Turn on criminal age vote – 2 July 2015

The Guardian – Brazil’s congress reduces age of criminal responsibility to 16 – 2 July 2015

Prensa Latina News Agency – New Brazilian Dispute: Reduction of Age of Criminal Responsibility – 2 July 2015

TeleSur – Brazil Congress Votes to Lower Age of Criminal Responsibility – 2 July 2015

inNews – Brazil: Reduction in Age of Criminal Responsibility Jumps First Hurdle – 6 July 2015

 

 

Syrian Justice and Accountability Centre: International Day in Support of Victims of Torture

July 2, 2015

On June 26, people from around the world commemorated the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. Three years ago, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon recognized this day by saying: “On this International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, we express our solidarity with, and support for, the hundreds of thousands of victims of torture and their family members throughout the world who endure such suffering. We also note the obligation of States not only to prevent torture but to provide all torture victims with effective and prompt redress, compensation and appropriate social, psychological, medical and other forms of rehabilitation.”

The Syria Justice and Accountability Centre (SJAC) would like to recognize all the victims in Syria and around the globe who have died under torture, are currently suffering in detention, or have escaped the abuse and are now living with the physical and emotional scars. Those who have survived have endured indescribable violations that require immediate redress and attention. Torture is a crime under customary international law, meaning it applies to all countries whether or not they have acceded to international conventions banning torture. All perpetrators of such acts must be held accountable because there is absolutely no justification for inflicting this kind of suffering on another human being. By working to document the crimes committed, SJAC aims to create a pathway for Syrian victims to regain their dignity through justice against the perpetrators, leading to long-term peace for all Syrians.

The first commemoration of International Day in Support of Victims of Torture was in 1998, following a proposal by Denmark to acknowledge torture victims. The June 26th date was chosen because the United Nations Charter and was signed on that date in 1945 and the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment came into effect the same day in 1987.

For more information and to provide feedback please email SJAC at info@syriaaccountability.org.