By M.E. Dodge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

PHNOM PEHN, Cambodia — Amidst the trial of Khmer Rouge prison commander, Comrade Duch,the difficulty of such an undertaking in a country with a reputation for corruption and a compromised judiciary is apparent.  

Kang Kek Ieu, referred to as Kaing Guek Eav in tribunal filings, but better known by countrymen as, Comrade Duch, was responsible for running ehe infamous prison. At the site, Duch oversaw 15,000 supposed enemies of the revolution. It was at the camp where the inmates were tortured before being executed in the nearby “killing fields.”

At trial, Duch expressed  enthusiasm for the job at the notorious S-21 prison, and argued that he and his family would have been killed had he not carried out his superiors’ orders.

For nine months, French lawyer Francois Roux crafted a defense strategy of admission and apology that implied the team would seek a lenient sentence. But in the trial’s final moments, Duch and his Cambodian lawyer, Kar Savuth, broke with this posture, disputing the legitimacy of the court and calling for Duch’s immediate release. Even though the tribunal promised a more inclusive approach than its counterparts at the International Criminal Court at The Hague, instead, the trial ended with strike among Cambodian and foreign defense counsels. The disagreement signifies the difficulty and challenges of carrying out international standards of justice, especially in a country with a reputation for corruption and a deeply compromised legal system.

Over the last two years, claims of governmental interference and kickbacks have underscored the disadvantages of holding the tribunal in Cambodia. The turbulent negotiations in bringing about former Khmer Rouge leaders to justice began in 1997. By 2003, former-U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the extreme politicization of Cambodia’s judiciary required that the tribunal be held outside the Cambodian system. After much deliberation, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia was developed as a local tribunal, namely running under local laws, with the United Nations playing the role of a minor partner. After implementing this model, it is said that, “No one in the U.N. or elsewhere will ever copy the Cambodian model,” said Brad Adams, Asia head of Human Rights Watch. “It’s the lowest standard the United Nations has been willing to go.”  
  
 

For more information, please see:

The Boston Globe – Cambodia and its War Tribunal – December 6, 2009 

Los Angeles Times – Cambodia’s first war crimes trial marred by flaws – December 6, 2009

KI Media – KR Tribunal to instigate civil war in Cambodia?”: CWCI – December 6, 2009

By Michael E. Sanchez
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia 

SHARIFF AGUAK, Philippines- Civil rights groups in the Philippines have filed a legal challenge against the government’s imposing of martial law in the southern province of Maguindanao.  Late Friday Gloria Arroyo, the Philippines’ president declared military rule, citing a breakdown of order in the province. 

The Philippine armed forces and police say they are pursuing at least 3,000 men loyal to the Ampatuan clan.  The government has accused the clan of killing 57 people last week and inciting rebellion.

There has been criticism from pro-democracy groups, saying that imposing military rule is an overreaction by the government, setting a dangerous precedent which goes against the constitution.  This is the first time in 30 years that martial law has been imposed anywhere in the Philippines since late dictator Ferdinand Marcos declared it nationwide in the late 1970’s.

Harry Roque, a human rights lawyer said the legal challenge “questioned the constitutionality of the presidents declaration”.  Roque said the constitution, which was drafted after the Marcos dictatorship, allows for a declaration of martial law only “when there is a foreign invasion or when there is an actual taking up of arms for the purpose of overthrowing the Philippine government”.  However the situation in Maguindanao, according to Roque, was one of lawlessness, and did not fit into the constitutional requirements for imposing martial law.  He said “The task at hand now is to effectively investigate and prosecute those behind this dastardly act, rather than declare martial law”.

President Arroyo’s critics have also criticized the declaration of rebellion because it politicizes the crimes and allows suspects to be granted bail and presidential amnesty.  The security forces however, say that martial law has allowed them the freedom to move against the Ampatuan clan.  Officials have claimed that a series of raids have uncovered a vast cache of weapons and ammunition stored by Ampatuan supporters.  Commanders have also stated that the Ampatuan followers, numbering up to 4,000, are believed to be heavily armed and capable of carrying out bombing, arson attacks and abductions.

But many Filipinos are wary about the methods being used to do what should have been done long ago, according to Rachel Harvey, BBC’s South East Asia correspondent.

Some critics of the President say she may move to place the entire country under martial law in a bid to hold on to power after her term ends next year.

For information, please see:

BBC News- Philippine Forces Target 3,000 Clan Rebels – 7 December 2009

Aljazeera.net- Philippines Martial Law Challenged– 7 December 2009

Associated Press- Philippine Massacre Suspects Face Rebellion Raps-7 December 2009

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

SEOUL, South Korea – A rights group in South Korea is planning to file a petition demanding the arrest of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il with the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague.

This group, the Antihuman Crime Investigation Committee, is acting on behalf of 150 North Korean refugees who have defected to South Korea and wants the ICC to determine whether the systematic and widespread human rights abuses in North Korea constitute crimes against humanity.

Kim, the leader of a nation of 24 million people, rules with brutality.  According to U.S. State Department statistics, North Korea operates numerous political gulags with an estimated 150,000 to 200,000 inmates.

Jung Gyoung-il, member of another North Korean human rights activist group, spent three years in one of the gulags, in North Korea’s infamous Yoduk prison.  He said the soldiers beat him so badly that he falsely confessed to being a spy.

Prisoners carrying pails of human waste at Yoduk Prison in North Korea.  Courtesy of Fuji TV.

Jung said, “I once asked why veterinarians treat us, and the solders said, ‘You are animals, so medical treatment can’t be offered by doctors.’”

He added that prisoners lost their sense of humanity because the conditions are so cruel.

In addition to the harsh treatments in the gulags, defectors who are caught are also abused.  Lee Kyung-hee said when she was caught and brought back to North Korea from China, she was eight months pregnant.  After she gave birth, she was told by a soldier to kill her own baby. 

When she refused, she was beaten, and the soldier stood beside her prison bed and suffocated her baby. 

The refugees who belong to the activist group acknowledge that their chances of brining the North Korean leader to justice are slim, but they want the world to know about the atrocities that take place inside the isolationist state.

Furthermore, critics say that even if Kim is never brought to trial, the efforts of the activists would be a success.  Heo Man-ho, a political science professor at Kyungpook National University said, “Their actions are meaningful in awakening public opinion in the international community.”

Once the petition is filed, ICC officials said they would consider launching a preliminary examination on the alleged abuses in North Korea.

For more information, please see:

AP – Seoul activists want probe on Nkorean rights abuse – 3 December 2009

Los Angeles Times – North Korean rights groups want Kim put on trial – 4 December 2009

Times of the Internet – Group alleges Jong Il abuses rights – 4 December 2009

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

GENEVA, Switzerland– Following the UN General Assembly’s resolution heavily criticizing the human rights situation in North Korea last month, the Human Rights Council will conduct North Korea’s first Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on Monday.

Human Rights Watch is encouraging UN member states to put an end to the horrific human rights violations in North Korea at the upcoming UPR session.  Specifically, the organization has named executions, collective punishment and punishment of defectors among the human rights issues to be raised at the session.

In addition, Human Rights Watch has requested that Pyongyang allow international humanitarian agencies to monitor aid programs in North Korea to ensure transparency and accountability.

The organization has also asked that North Korean citizens be able to travel freely in and out of the country.  Human Rights Watch added that North Korea should stop punishing defectors who are forced to return.

Furthermore, the activist organization has stated that the North should ensure the rights of children set forth in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is a treaty North Korea ratified.

North Korea’s Permanent Ambassador to the UN Pak Gil Yon.  Courtesy of Getty Images.

Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said, “North Korea should take concrete measures to address human rights, not just pay lip service…The first step in that direction is participating in the UN system and inviting the UN rights experts to observe and advise.”

Moreover, North Korea routinely executes its citizens for stealing state property and stockpiling food, as well as other “anti-socialist crimes.”  Thus, Human Rights Watch said that the Human Rights Council should call for an end to North Korea’s death penalty system.

Under UPR, each UN member’s human rights record is reviewed every four years. North Korea has participated in the review process for other member states, but it has rejected resolutions from the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council condemning its own human rights violations.

Pearson said, “While North Korea has rejected UN resolutions against it, calling them a smear campaign, it has spoken up about other countries in the review process.  If it can dish out criticism, it should show that it can take it too.”

For more information, please see:

Daily NK – UN Passes North Korean Human Rights Resolution – 20 November 2009

Human Rights Watch – UN: Use Upcoming Rights Review to Press North Korea – 3 December 2009

JoongAng Daily – North to be under UN rights review – 4 December 2009

By Alok Bhatt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

KABUL, Afghanistan – Although one of President Obama’s first actions in office was to be to eliminate the so-called “black jails” from Afghanistan, it seems a new facility has opened as a separate part of  the recently renovated Bagram Air-Base.  The President’s promise produced significant friction with another statement in which he granted the military commanders in Afghanistan great discretion in how best to execute the U.S.’s agenda in the war-torn nation.  Despite the U.S.‘s deference to its military in making such decisions, the government has come under much criticism on human rights grounds due to the soul-breaking conditions of “black jails.”

The term “black jails”, coined by detainees in such confines, refers to a holding cells with only one light-bulb, no windows, and no amenities whatsoever.  Inmates at Bagram Air-Base, the U.S.’s largest establishment in Afghanistan, have been known to be imprisoned in black jails for weeks at a time.  During this detainment period, black jail prisoners have no access to the Red Cross, media, civilians, or any other significant human contact.  Moreover, the black jails are not actually connected to the large Bagram Air-Base, which currently houses over 700 inmates.  

The practice of placing prisoners in black jails began with the Bush administration and was supposed to have ended with Obama’s entry into office.  The continuing practice of throwing prisoners in black jails also runs afoul of the Obama administrations proclaimed ends of increased transparency regarding operations in Afghanistan and the preservation of the dignity of Afghan detainees.  Particularly after the renovation of the Bagram Air-Base, in response to the sharp criticism of the international community and  human rights organizations, the Obama administration made numerous statements that it would rectify the evils perpetrated by the Bush administration.  However, it seems the tension with the leeway given to military officials has undermined this purpose.

The Bagram Air-Base has been used to house Afghan prisoners since the early 2000’s, and the main facility was infamous for being a worse prison than Guantanamo Bay.  Inmates at Bagram received even less rights than those held in Cuba, and the inhumane practices received far less attention, allowing them to continue much longer and more insidiously.  The facility was renovated earlier this year to accommodate an increase in troops.  The renovation brought with it promises of openness with regards to its operation and fair treatment of inmates.

Following reports of two younger inmates published in the Bagram black jail facing abuse and other mistreatment, there will sure be further scrutiny of the U.S. military practices in Afghanistan to ensure that the rights of prisoners are no longer violated.

For more information, please see:

Al-Jazeera – ‘Black jail’ at Bagram prison site – 29 November 2009

Mother Jones – The ‘Black Jail’ – 30 November 2009

The New York Times – Afghans Detail Detention in ‘Black Jail’ at U.S. Base – 29 November 2009