Europe

Croatia Limits Humans Rights Of The Mentally Disabled

By Ricardo Zamora
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

ZAGREB, Croatia – The conclusion of a recent human rights report suggests that the Croatian government is forcing individuals with intellectual or mental disabilities to live in institutions which deprive them of their privacy, autonomy, and dignity.  The government has failed to provide alternative care options as promised to the European Union and the United Nations, according to Human Rights Watch.

The report, “Once You Enter, You Never Leave: Deinstitutionalization of Persons with Intellectual or Mental Disabilities in Croatia,” reveals the lives and living conditions endured by over 9,000 intellectually or mentally disabled people living in these institutions.

“Imagine always having to ask permission to leave the place where you live, having no privacy to take a shower, and no chance to decide what to eat or when to go to bed,” said Amanda McRae, fellow with the Europe and Central Asia division at Human Rights Watch and the author of the report.  “This is the reality for thousands of people living in institutions in Croatia,” she added.

While community-based programs in other countries show effectiveness in offering disabled persons a better quality of life than those living in institutions, Croatia has resisted in implementing such programs.  This resistance runs contrary to its position among the first countries to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.  The UN Convention expressly provides disabled persons the basic right to live in the community.  The report recommends that Croatia replace institutions with community-based programs in order to remain consistent with the Convention’s provisions.

“Real leadership on this issue will require a serious and sustained commitment to provide community-based housing and support for people with disabilities,” said McRae.

While up to 30 percent of persons live in these institutions by choice, Human Rights Watch cautions that such a choice is meaningless due to the lack of alternative options.

There are currently over 4,000 people with mental disabilities residing in institutions within Croatia.  While there are some community-based programs for the mentally disabled, there are only sufficient resources to support 16 people.  Similarly, while 5,000 people with intellectual disabilities are institutionalized, community-based resources for the intellectually disabled are able to support only 250 people.

The Croatian government plan for deinstitutionalization is part of its preparations for EU membership.  However, those plans have not yet been made public.  In the meantime, the number of institutionalized people continues to grow.

For more information, please see:

The Open Society Mental Health Initiative – Living Proof: The Right to Live In The Community – September 27, 2010

Human Rights Watch – Croatia: Locked Up, Limited Lives – September 23, 2010

UNHCR – Croatia: Unfulfilled Promises to Persons With Disabilities – September 8, 2010

Poland Urged To Investigate Detainee’s Treatment In CIA Prison

By Christina Berger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

WARSAW, Poland — The Open Society Justice Initiative urged Polish prosecutors last week to investigate the treatment of Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, the man accused of planning the 2000 attack on the USS Cole, at a CIA prison located in Poland. Amrit Singh, a senior legal officer with Open Society Justice Initiative, stated that al-Nashiri was the first CIA detainee to take legal action in Poland and expressed hope that Poland would launch a serious investigation into the treatment of detainees in their country in a continuing “quest for accountability.”

Al-Nashiri’s lawyers in Poland and the U.S. have made similar statements concerning their claim that Poland should do what they assert the U.S. refuses to. ”The American justice system has failed Mr. al-Nashiri,” said Nancy Hollander, al-Nashiri’s lawyer in the United States. ”The U.S. government has yet to provide any accountability for the illegal imprisonment or horrific torture to which U.S. agents have subjected him for almost a decade. Therefore, we are seeking to intervene in the investigation in Poland in the hopes that a court finally will recognize the injustice he has suffered.”

In response, the Polish government said that state prosecutors are already broadly investigating Poland’s possible role in the CIA’s global prison network. Jerzy Mierzewski, a prosecutor in Warsaw, stated that al-Nashiri’s petition does not necessarily require a separate investigation, but could be scrutinized as part of his office’s broader investigation.

Al-Nashiri claims he was imprisoned without a court proceeding, smuggled across borders, and then tortured in a manner violating the “most basic rules of the Geneva Convention.” He is still detained in Guantanamo today.

According to the AP, former U.S. intelligence officials speaking on the condition of anonymity have confirmed that al-Nashiri was taken to Poland’s CIA prison–code-named “Quartz”–before it was shut down in late 2003. Aleksander Kwasniewski, Poland’s president from 1995-2005, claims he was unaware of a CIA prison in Poland and Leszek Miller, Poland’s former prime minister, has denied that a CIA prison in Poland ever existed.

For more information, please see:

WARSAW BUSINESS JOURNAL — Prosecutors to investigate ‘CIA torture’ in Poland — 24 September 2010

AFP — USS Cole suspect wants probe of CIA sites in Poland — 22 September 2010

AP — Poles Urged to Probe CIA Prison Acts — 21 September 2010

VOICE OF AMERICA– Rights Group Seeks Polish Probe of CIA Detainee’s Treatment — 21 September 2010

Spain Still Opposed To Investigating Franco-Era War Crimes

By Christina Berger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

GENEVA, Switzerland – A representative from Spain told the UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday that they would not be investigating alleged war crimes committed during the Francisco Franco dictatorship in accordance with an amnesty law passed by the Spanish government in 1977.  Mexico had called on Spain in May at the Human Rights Council to punish those responsible for crimes committed during the Franco-era and provide the victims with a remedy.

The request from Mexico followed the controversy last April when high-profile Spanish judge, Baltasar Garzón, was ordered to stop investigating the crimes committed during the 1936-1951 Spanish Civil War for lack of jurisdiction.  Garzón was later suspended by the Spanish Supreme Court for overstepping the bounds of his authority, and he currently faces trial for investigating war atrocities without jurisdiction.  His appeal was rejected in early September.

International human rights groups made oral statements this week at the Human Rights Council, arguing against charging Garzón and petitioning Spain to provide redress to the victims of war crimes committed during the civil war.

Amnesty International strongly objected to charging a judge who launched his own investigation and urged Spain to “ensure that no amnesty law is applied to crimes against humanity.”

Human Rights Watch said to the council, “Spain is finally prosecuting someone in connection with the crimes of  the Franco dictatorship and the Spanish Civil War.  Unfortunately, the defendant in the case is Baltasar Garzón, the judge who sought to investigate those crimes.”

Human Rights Watch also pointed out that governments have a duty to afford victims of human rights abuses with “an effective remedy – including justice, truth, and adequate reparations.”  The human rights group believes Spain should repeal the 1977 amnesty law that prevents investigation into all crimes “of a political nature” committed prior to 1976.

No one has ever been held accountable for the deaths and forced disappearances of more than 100,000 people during the Franco regime between 1936 and 1951.

For more information, please see:

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH – Statement on Spain at the Human Rights Council – 24 September 2010

ABC – Spain rejects calls for probes into Franco-era crimes – 22 September 2010

KYERO – Spain Rejects Calls to Investigate Franco War Crimes – 22 September 2010

AP – Spanish judge indicted over Civil War probe loses on appeal – 7 September 2010

DEUTSCHE PRESSE-AGENTUR – Spain’s Supreme court confirms case against judge over Franco probe – 7 September 2010

BBC – Argentine court reopens Franco probe – 4 September 2010

ICTY Prosecutor Urges Continued Pressure On Serbia To Arrest Mladic

By Christina Berger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Serge Brammertz, the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), told reporters on Monday that it is vital to keep pressure on Serbia to hunt down former military chief, Ratko Mladic, who is wanted by ICTY for war crimes and genocide. Brammertz is worried about the implications for future war crimes prosecutions and international criminal justice if Mladic is not arrested and forced to stand trial for his crimes before the ICTY finishes its work in three years.

”The non-arrest of Mladic would be the worst signal you could give to all future tribunals,” Brammertz said to members of the Foreign Press Association in The Hague.  ”It would somehow give the signal to perpetrators that you can sit out international justice; that political interest is diminishing over time and that at the end of the day impunity prevails.”

He also stressed that that “those who are politically responsible” must “ensure the incentives are maintained.”  These remarks were geared toward the European Union, urging the EU to put continued pressure on Serbia to arrest Mladic.  Serbia applied to join the EU in December.  In June, Brammertz filed a report with the EU in which he criticized Serbia’s failure to find and arrest Mladic, and the EU then decided to wait before beginning review of Serbia’s application to join.  Serbia’s full compliance with the ICTY is a key condition, but there is a growing sense that Serbia’s bid to join the EU should be moved along as a reward for Serbia’s softening stance concerning Kosovo.

Stefan Fuele, the EU’s Commissioner for Enlargement, said that following the Kosovo resolution ”the time has come for the EU to tackle seriously the application of Serbia to join the European Union.”

Mladic has been indicted for the massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica in July 1995, as well as for the 44-month siege of Sarajevo in which 10,000 people died. He has been on the run since 1995.

For more information, please see:

AFP – UN Court laments failure to arrest Serbia’s Mladic – 20 September 2010

NEW YORK TIMES – Mladic Arrest Vital For War Crimes Courts: Prosecutor – 20 September 2010

NEW YORK TIMES – War Crimes Prosecutor: Keep Pressure on Serbia – 20 September 2010

RADIO FREE EUROPE – Prosecutor: Mladic Arrest Vital For War Crimes Courts – 20 September 2010

Greece Continues to Postpone Reform for Asylum Seekers

By Ricardo Zamora
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe Desk

ATHENS, Greece – The Greek government has failed to follow through on a January promise to reform its asylum system.  Under the current asylum procedure, Greece continues to recognize as few as 0.05% of asylum seekers as refugees in their first interview and leaves them with no guarantee against the risk of deportation back to their countries where they are subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment.

Human Rights Watch reports that Greece’s current policy is inconsistent with Article 39 of the EU’s procedures directive and articles 13 and 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.  Greek’s failure to adopt policies consistent with the EU directives have prompted the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to withdraw from participation in Greece’s asylum procedure.  Human Rights Watch is urging the UNHCR to reconsider.

Earlier this year Greece proposed a presidential decree to adopt relevant emergency reforms to address asylum issues.  However, the decree, which was previously postponed until September 1, 2010, has been postponed once more, making it unlikely to be implemented before the end of 2011.

“Despite its formal commitments, the Greek government has utterly failed to meet its most basic responsibilities to protect refugees,” said Bill Frelick, Refugee Program director at Human Rights Watch.  “The UN refugee agency has a mandate to protect refugees when a government is unable or unwilling.  It needs to step in now and take over processing asylum claims.”

But the delays are not entirely the government’s fault.  Serious domestic problems are also prohibiting Greece from being able to meet the demands of asylum reform proponents.  For example, the recent financial crisis has drained the government’s already scant resources, making it difficult to implement the changes set out in presidential decree.

Greece is also receiving burdens from the international arena.  Due to its location at Europe’s external border, it has to address over 10,000 requests by other EU nations wanting to funnel their own asylum seekers to Greece.  Thus, Greece has to process not only the asylum seekers of other EU nations, but its own as well.

“Greece is seriously and unfairly overburdened,” Frelick said.  “EU member states need to recognize that, stop sending migrants back to Greece, and reform the Dublin regulation.  Without that, the benefits of reforms in Greece will be undermined by ever greater numbers of returns from other EU states.”

For more information, please see:

Human Rights Watch – Greece: Asylum Reform Delay Unacceptable – September 20, 2010

Human Rights Watch – Open Letter to the Government of Greece on Reform of the Asylum and Immigration System – July 28, 2010

UNHCR – UNHCR Chief Gutteres Backs Planned Greek Asylum Reform – January 20, 2010