By Michael E. Sanchez
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

DUSHANBE, Tajikistan- Human rights group Amnesty International has accused Tajikistan of failing to protect their women.  The group says nearly half of Tajikstani women are raped, beaten or abused by their families.  According to Amnesty, Tajikstani women regularly endure humiliation from the hands of loved ones, including their husbands and in-laws, resulting in many committing suicide.

The report urges the authorities to address it as a crime, not to dismiss it as a “private family matter.  The authors of the report say the government should introduce laws and support services to tackle domestic violence.  Andrea Strasser-Camagni, Amnesty International’s Tajikistan expert said “Women in Tajikistan are beaten, abused, and raped in the family but the authorities tend to reflect the societal attitude of blaming the woman for domestic violence.  They see their primary role as mediator, to preserve the family rather than protect the women and to safeguard their rights.”

Tajikistan, which borders Afghanistan, is the poorest former Soviet Republic.  Strasser Camagni also states that traditional Tajikstani family values, reinforced after the Soviet Union break-up, impose even further discrimination on women by narrowing their role to that of wife and mother, and pushing them to lowest job market sector.

Tajikstani women have limited rights and job opportunities.  Many women drop out of school and enter into marriages that are often polygamous or unregistered.  “Women are being treated as servants or as the in-laws’ family property…They have no-one to turn to, as the policy of the authorities is to urge reconciliation, which…reinforces their position of inferiority” said Strasser-Camagni in a statement.

Up to one million Tajikstani men travel abroad every year looking for seasonal work.  In many cases, they stop sending money or do not return home and leave their wives vulnerable to abuse by their in-laws.  Some men even divorce their wives by text message announcing they have separated.  Because of this many women are driven to commit suicide but relatives regularly cover up these incidents by presenting them as accidents.

Tajikistan has ratified relevant international human rights treaties, but has fallen short of its international obligation to protect women’s rights.

Amnesty International has called upon the Tajikistan government to: introduce effective domestic abuse laws, and carry out a nationwide public awareness campaign to address the practices of unregistered, polygamous, and early marriages.  They have also urged a removal of all barriers to girl’s education and address the root causes of girls dropping out of education.

For information, please see:

Reuters- Tajikistan Fails to Curb Abuse of Women: Amnesty– 23 November 2009

Amnesty International – Tajikistan Women Beaten, Abused and Raped in the Family-24 November 24, 2009

BBC News- Amnesty: Nearly Half of Tajik Women ‘Regularly Abused’– 24 November 2009

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

UNITED NATIONS – A UN report released yesterday blamed North Korea’s oppressive regime, which leaves its people to live in continual fear of repression by authorities, for the food crisis in North Korea.

The report said 9 million out of 24 million North Koreans are suffering from food shortages, and the World Food Programme is reaching fewer than 2 million people due to countries cutting international aid to North Korea because of Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile tests.

Calling North Korea’s human rights record “abysmal,” UN Special Rapporteur Vitit Muntarbhorn, a Thai academic, said, “The freedoms from want, from fear, from discrimination, from persecution and from exploitation are regrettably transgressed with impunity by those authorities, in an astonishing setting of abuse after abuse.”

Malnourished North Korean girls dying of starvation.  Courtesy of bloggers-unite.

He added, “It is the exploitation of the ordinary people which has become the pernicious prerogative of the ruling elite.  This is all the more ironic since it is reported that the economy has improved slightly over the past year, an indication that more resources could be available to help the population.”

The report provided that North Korea’s natural resources were more abundant than its neighbor, South Korea.  South Korean government estimated that undeveloped mineral reserves in North Korea are worth about $5.94 trillion.

Although North Korea’s food crisis usually stem from natural disasters which impact the production, the Thai professor said, “[North Korea] is not poor yet the money is not spent on the people.”

Apparently, North Korea’s exports last year totaled several billion dollars. 

North Korean deputy UN Ambassador Pak Tok-hun rejected the findings in the UN report saying the report is a “politically conspired document full of distortion, lies, falsity, [and] devised by hostile forces.”

North Korea farmers working in the fields.  Courtesy of AP Photo.

Pak added that pressuring his country was “totally useless” and emphasized “the pride in [North Korea’s] system to protect human rights.

Luckily, South Korea’s Unification Minister Hyun In-taek said Friday that South Korea will soon send a limited amount of humanitarian aid to ease North’s food shortage.

For more information, please see:

AFP – UN official slams “abysmal” NKorea rights record – 23 October 2009

AsiaNews – UN: human rights situation in North Korea “very bad” – 23 October 2009

CBC News – N. Korea regime to blame for food crisis: UN – 23 October 2009

Guardian – UN envoy says North Korea should feed its 9 million hungry citizens – 23 October 2009

Straight Times – S.Korean to resume limited aid – 23 October 2009

By Megan E. Dodge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

CHA-AM, Thailand – Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) are meeting under heavy security at a beach resort in Cha-Am. Representatives at this regional summit announced their official effort to engage in a new human rights watchdog.

The East Asian Summit group – is made up of member countries: Burma, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Talks at this summit seek to integrally include India, Australia, New Zealand, China, South Korea and Japan.

After the opening ceremony marking the convened national figureheads, leaders convened to discuss the economy, climate change, disaster management – and human rights. Some say the commission is in part a response to criticism that the region is weak on its efforts to curb human rights abuses by member nations such as Burma. Speculators, however, question whether it will have sufficient powers to make a real difference. Those who are weary on the effort have expressed that they believe the body will do little to deter human rights violators, because it has no power to punish members, according to one source.

Previously, Burma blocked activity by the Asean summit which attempted to call for an amnesty on behalf of detained Burmese democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. Furthermore, the organization’s Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, one of the central elements of the legally binding ASEAN Charter signed last year, was a disappointment to many rights advocates when it was limited to the promotion rather than the protection of human rights. Efforts this year have continued to hamper the endeavor. Back in April, Asian leaders were scheduled to hold the summit and propel the human rights initiative, however, anti-government protesters forced the meeting to cancel. Now, five member states -Burma, Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines and Singapore – refused to meet the five individuals chosen by civil rights groups to represent their countries.

Sister Crescencia Lucero, the Franciscan nun who was to have been the Philippines representative, stated, “I am very disappointed, and I see this as not only a rejection of me personally and the organization I represent, but as a rejection of the democratic process in the region.”

Regional politicians sometimes cite the European Union as their model, but their ambitions risk running aground on the vast political and social differences between the states, which range from the absolute monarchy of Brunei to the communist governments of Vietnam and Laos. Debbie Stothard, a human rights activist from Malaysia comments, “the commission has not been designed to be effective and impartial.” It It must be recognized though, the commission is still a considerable milestone for a region ruled by governments as diverse as the thriving democracy in Indonesia, the hermetic communist regime in Laos and the repressive military dictatorship in Myanmar.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Asian leaders launch rights group – October 23, 2009

Wall Street Journal – Summit to Test Japan-China Supremacy  – October 21, 2009

Cambodia News – Thailand Mounts Large Security Operation at Asian Summit – October 22, 2009   

Associated Press – Southeast Asia to have rights monitor – October 23, 2009

By Alok Bhatt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

KATHANKULUM, Sri Lanka – Approximately 6,000 Tamil ethnic minorities have at least been permitted to return home from refugee camps run by the Sri Lankan government.  Over 250,000 internally displaced Tamils were confined to derisory conditions in the government’s supposed sanctuary camp since the end of a 25 year war against the Tamil Tigers rebel group.  The Tamils now being released signify the largest number of liberated persons since the onset of the struggle between the government and the militant Tamil independence movement.  With the release of the encamped Tamils, Sri Lankan nationals finally have the opportunity to repopulate lands once in the control of the Tamil Tigers.  

Government forces dismantled the Tigers in May.  After establishing numerous safe-zones across Sri Lankan territory, the government escorted droves of Sri Lankan Tamils to its camps until the population could be screened for militants among the civilians.  The government also contended that they needed to detonate mines surrounding the vicinity of the camps.  

Although the Tamils were supposedly safe from enemy attack, food, water, and clothing quickly became scarce in the government’s camps.  Also, heavy rains and subsequent flooding raised further health issues as water-borne diseases were feared to spread among the confined Tamils.  Monsoon rains also increased the difficulty of transporting supplies as pertinent routes become submerged, or otherwise impossible to traverse. 

The Sri Lankan government has released statements demonstrating its intent to release nearly 40,000 internally displaced Tamils over the coming weeks.  These seemingly abrupt liberation measures have actually been realized after months of international pressure.  Reports of the subhuman living conditions at the refugee camps and occurrences of civilian mistreatment by military and government agents have garnered the attention of alarmed state and non-government organizations.  The U.N. has repeatedly chastised the Sri Lankan government for confining the Tamil minority citizens and failing to properly maintain and supply their camps.

Although significant evacuation processes are currently underway in Sri Lanka, the government must release approximately 270,000 Tamil internally displaced persons.  The government has not given a specific time-frame as to when it plans on completing the evacuation process.  However, it has suggested that compensation programs will come into effect in order to aid many of those who lost their homes.  However, given the government’s history of unsubstantiated promises concerning the fate of the Tamil IDPs, the projected results of the evacuation and repopulation program remain unknowable. 
For more information, please see:

BBC News – Thousands leave Sri Lankan camps – 22 October 2009 

CDIC – Sri Lanka releases 4,300 ethnic Tamils… – 22 October 2009  

Sri Lanka Guardian – Make Lankan Tamils free: CPI to Centre – 22 October 2009

By Alok Bhatt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

WEST JAVA, Indonesia – Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia, recently made a personal plea to Indonesian migration authorities to capture any asylum seekers headed towards Australian shores.  Following this request, Indonesian authorities intercepted a boat carrying over 260 Sri Lankan Tamil ethnic minorities en route to Australia.  The Indonesian vessel captured the Sri Lankan boat and escorted it to a West Java dock.
 
 
Photo courtesy of AFP

The Tamils, however, refused to leave the boat and began a hunger-strike which effectively ceased after the weekend. 

The Tamils were apparently so afraid of prosecution in Indonesian lands that they made empty threats to ignite or detonate their boat.  Alex, the unofficial spokesperson for the Tamils, however, confirmed that the Tamil boat did not actually carry any explosives.  Despite the threats, Indonesian authorities captured the Tamils’ boat.  The International Organization for Migration provided basic necessities to the Tamils during their stay in the Indonesian dock.    

Rather than go home to Sri Lanka, the Tamils desire to reach the Australian territory of Christmas Island.  Located south of Indonesian territories, Christmas Island has been a popular sanctuary destination for nationals of war-ridden countries such as Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.  The influx of asylum seekers into the area has reached thousands of refugees per year.        

The Tamils left their homes in Sri Lanka to escape social and quasi-sanctioned persecution.  Intense tensions between Tamils and the Sinhalese ethnic majority escalated after the Sri Lankan government’s upheaval of the Tamil Tiger rebel group.  Tamil militants have been fighting desperately for a separate state for over 25 years.   However, with the recent defeat of the sole Tamil fighting force, the Tamil minority essentially lost its power to assert independence, and many Sri Lankan Tamil nationals took flight to avoid the discrimination. 

Many Tamils were captured by Sri Lankan military personnel or law enforcement, then subsequently maimed and tortured.  Alex has related that many of the people on the boat suffer from burns and severed limbs.  The women and children among the group of over 260 Tamils have suffered from displacement and loss of family.  On these humanitarian grounds, they sought asylum in Australian territory. 

However, Kevin Rudd remains unmoved and obstinate.  According to the prime minister’s own statements, he refuses to support the people-smuggling that has been infiltrating Indonesian and Australian territories.  However, the people-smuggling was to ensure a safe escape for Tamil refugees who would have otherwise been persecuted by the Sri Lankan government. 

The fate of the occupants of the captured ship in Indonesia remains to be decided.     

For more information, please see:

The Age – Asylum boat had holes drilled in hull – 22 October 2009 

Al-Jazeera – Sri Lankan hunger strike fails – 18 October 2009   

BBC News – Australian PM seeking migrant help – 13 October 2009