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

By Michael E. Sanchez
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia     

 

BHOPAL, India- Indian officials have dismissed claims that the pesticide plant at Bhopal is still leaking dangerous toxins into the drinking water.  Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan stated that the plant was safe, contradicting claims in a new report.  

On 3 December 1984, thousands died after 40 tons of deadly methyl isocyanate gaw leaked from the US-owned plant.  Over half a million people were exposed to the gas, and as a result have suffered life-long chronic illness.

Speaking in an interview ahead of the 25th anniversary of the disaster, Mr. Chouhan said that the neighboring communities near the site had been supplied with clean drinking water.  “It took some time…But we managed this quickly, and we can say that we are providing 100% clean water.”

These statements are contradicted by a report by the Bhopal Medical Appeal (BMA) and the Sambhavna Clinic.  Their report says there is evidence that “there are still high levels of toxic chemicals in the drinking water supply in 15 communities near the old Union Carbide pesticide plant”.  The report says the water around the factory site in Bhopal still possesses unsafe levels of carbon tetrachloride, other organic pollutants, and other heavy metals.

The report claims that as a result, “the populations in the areas surveyed have high rates of birth defects, rapidly rising cancer rates, neurological damage, chaotic menstrual cycles and mental illness.”

While Mr. Chouhan insists that clean water was supplied to communities without running water, many residents said the water was insufficient and delivered too infrequently, forcing them to continue relying on contaminated ground water.

Sathyu Sarangi, of the Sambhavna Clinic said, “We have ample evidence, that there are many toxins still in the ground that have never been cleaned up…Each time it rains, the rain washes those toxins into the ground water, which many people still draw to drink.”

The Indian government has also drawn the ire of the people by attempting to turn the disused factory into a tourist spot. India’s environment minister, Jairam Ramesh mocked activists on a visit to the city by picking up a handful of waste and saying “see, I am alive.”

Sarangi says the government has been attempting to lure Dow Chemical, Union Carbide’s successor back to India and secure $1 billion of investment. In return, says Sarangi, the government plans to allow Dow to evade its responsibility to clean up the Bhopal plant site.  She said “This is all about the money. “Politicians in India would rather do this than fight for people who suffered.”

 

For information, please see:

BBC News- Officials Dismiss Claims Bhopal Site is Leaking Toxins–  1 December 2009

Guardian.co.uk- Bhopal Water Still Toxic 25 Years After Deadly Gas Leak, Study Finds– 1 December 2009

Nzherald.co.nz- Bhopal a Poisoned City 25 Years On– 2 December 2009

By Alok Bhatt
Impunity Watch Reproter, Asia

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – The Sri Lankan government has at least conceded to and begun releasing the remaining internally displaced persons from war-time refugee camps.  Over 120,000 Tamil ethnic minorities have been taking refuge in government-run camps since the late defeat of the Tamil Tiger insurgency group this May.  Despite international pressure from the U.N. and various NGO’s and other human rights organizations, the Sri Lankan government has been obstinate in the full release of IDP’s from the refugee camps. 

 The Sri Lankan government has cited concerns that estranged Tamil Tigers may be hiding among the civilian Tamils.  To supposedly ameliorate the potential problems of enemy militants among the non-combatant nationals, the Sri Lankan government executed a comprehensive screening program to identify and remove Tamil Tigers from the refugee camps.  The Sri Lankan government also claimed that landmines could be located in the vicinities outside of the refugee camps and refused to release IDP’s en masse until all of them were located and safely defused or detonated.  The effectiveness of these safety measures does not seem to have been reported, but, assuming the honesty of the Sri Lankan government, its willingness of to at last release IDP’s suggests success.  

Although the Sri Lankan government has finally folded to international pressure, myriad concerns persist.  Transport out of the camps poses a significant obstacle for many who were taken to camps far away from their home.  Also, many people who have had their homes destroyed by the war or monsoon season no longer have a place to go.  Many have opted to stay in the camps, since evacuation is not compulsory.  Rather, all restrictions on IDP’s have been lifted, enabling them to enter and exit the camp areas at their whim.  

Although the camp areas are essentially open ground for the IDP’s, Sri Lankan officials have issued statements declaring that the security levels within the camps will not decrease.  

The decision to release IDP’s comes after many unfulfilled promises by the Sri Lankan government.  The full release is a significant step towards the government actively reinstituting the liberties it took from hundred-thousands of Tamil ethnic minorities by subjecting them to the derisory conditions of the refugee camps.  IDP’s continually voiced complaints about unlivable environments and a scarcity of food, clothes, and shelter.  Furthermore, the monsoon season of the summer months made the transportation of aid and other amenities quite difficult.  

Following the recent release of IDP’s, the Sri Lankan government aspires to close the refugee camps completely by the beginning of 2010.  

For more information, please see:

Al-Jazeera – Sri Lanka opens Tamil Camps – 1 December 2009

BBC News – Sri Lanka war refugees leaving military camps – 1 December 2009

The Globe and Mail – Tamil refugees free to leave Sri Lankan Camps – 1 December 2009