By Christina Berger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

PARIS, France – The French Senate passed a bill this week banning Muslim full-face veils in public.  The bill passed 246 to 1, and was passed by the lower house of France’s parliament in July.  The ban will be implemented in six months unless it is ruled unconstitutional.  The language of of the bill was carefully set so as to survive a constitutional challenge; the words “women” and “Muslim” are not mentioned in the bill’s articles, though it has widely been acknowledged that the ban will primarily affect about 2,000 Muslim women in France.

Some believe the main issue in the controversial bill is religion.  Supporters of the ban believe allowing the full-face Muslim veil in public is contrary to ideals of secularism in France.  Opponents of the ban believe it is indicative of islamophobia.

Raphael Liogier, the head of the Observatory of the Religious in Aix-en-Provence, told the Associated Press that the ban “will officialize Islamophobia” at a time when Muslims in France are already a hate target. ”With the identity crisis that France has today, the scapegoat is the Muslim,” he said.

Others believe the bill is a matter of women’s rights.  Supporters of the ban believe it is a move that will help liberate oppressed women.  Sihem Habchi, president of NPNS, said to the Associated Press Television News, ”How can we allow the burqa here and at the same time fight the Taliban and all the fundamentalist groups across the world?”  She went on to say that she’s Muslim and she shouldn’t have to disappear because she’s a woman.

Opponents of the bill who agree that the issue is a matter of women’s rights, make the argument that it’s about the right to choose.  M’hammed Henniche, the secretary-general of the Union of Muslim Associations in the Seine-Saint-Denis district north of Paris, told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that women should be not be told what to wear.  “We don’t have the right to forbid women from wearing the full veil.  We must always be on the woman’s side. We mustn’t treat a woman like a child,” he said.

If the bill’s legality is upheld by France’s Constitutional Council, wearing a full-face veil in public could result in fines of 150 euros for women and 30,000 euros for any men who force their wives to wear a full-face veil.  Some women potentially affected by the ban have vowed to either stay at home so as not show their face in public or if fined to bring the issue to the European Court of Human Rights.

For more information, please see:

CNN – French Senate approves burqa ban – 15 September 2010

BBC – French Senate votes to ban Islamic full veil in public – 14 September 2010

NEW YORK TIMES – French Senate Passes Ban on Full Muslim Veils – 14 September 2010

RADIO FREE EUROPE – French Senate Votes to Ban Full-Face Veils – 14 September 2010

By Christina Berger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

GENEVA, Switzerland – The 15th session of the UN Human Rights Council opened on Monday in Geneva.  Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, noted in her speech to the Council the occurrence of widespread worldwide human rights abuses and increasing attacks against human rights defenders.

Pillay provided updates to the Council on specific world situations and presented reports from the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights.  She noted the harsh conditions for migrants in Mexico and the increasing assaults in countries such as Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zimbabwe as a result of competition over natural resources.  Pillay also raised concerns over Israeli draft laws.

Some of Pillay’s harshest criticism was directed toward France’s Roma expulsion policy.  “Such measures can only exacerbate the stigmatization of Roma and the extreme poverty and exclusion in which they live,” she said.  “The often stereotyping and discriminatory rhetoric by officials and by the media when referring to the Roma in Europe is also an issue of grave concern.”

Larger countries did not escape Pillay’s criticism.  She denounced the US program of targeted killings of suspected terrorists as contravening “international norms set to protect the right to life and the rule of law.”  China was the subject of censure, along with Egypt, Libya, Syria, and Tunisia, concerning restrictions on civil society groups and activists.  Russia, along with Azerbaijan, was criticized for their failure to seek justice against perpetrators of attacks and murders of human rights defenders.

Much of Pillay’s speech focused on restrictions, harassment, and attacks against human rights advocates, lawyers, journalists, and organizers through various countries.  “I urge the Human Rights Council and the international community to support squarely and vocally human rights defenders.  In this context, I would also like to bring to the attention of the Council the vital need to ensure the safety and protection of defenders and other witnesses who cooperate with UN-mandated fact-finding and investigative initiatives.  Such protection must span the whole cycle of these missions’ activities and beyond.”

For more information, please see:

NEW YORK TIMES – UN Human Rights Chief Criticizes Big Powers – 13 September 2010

REUTERS AFRICA – UN rights chief hits Russia on murders of activists – 13 September 2010

UN HUMAN RIGHTS NEWS – Human Rights Council opens fifteenth regular session – 13 September 2010

UN NEWS CENTRE – UN Human rights chief voices concern over deportation of Roma from France – 13 September 2010

VOICE OF AMERICA – Widespread Human Rights Abuses Reported Worldwide as UN Council Opens – 13 September 2010

By Christina Berger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

BRUSSELS, Belgium – A court in Belgium ruled on Thursday that the raids police conducted in June of Catholic church buildings in Belgium were illegal.  The appeals court deciding the matter found that the high-profile police raids on church headquarters and other church property were disproportionate.  As a result, the seized documents, which included over 500 files and a computer detailing over 300 cases of alleged sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy, were unavailable for prosecutors to use in an investigation spanning several of years.

According to the AFP, the Archbishop of Belgium Cardinal Andre-Joseph Leonard, said in response to the court ruling that it is “in everyone’s interests that the fundamental rules of law are respected.”  He also said that he is “satisfied that clarity has finally been shone on this affair.”  At the time of the raids, the Pope described the raids as “deplorable”.

The seized files were the result of investigations conducted by an internal commission set up by the church. After the raids, members of the commission resigned, but a report of their findings up to that point was released on Friday.

The 200-page report details how serious sexual abuse of children by priests existed in almost every diocese in Belgium.  The allegations of abuse spanned five decades, and involved 327 males and 161 females.  The youngest case involved a two-year-old boy.  13 suicides and 6 attempted suicides have been linked to the abuse.

Most of the abuse detailed in the report occurred in the 1960s and 1970s.  Anything over 10 years cannot be investigated by Belgian authorities.

“The exposed cases are old, of course,” said Peter Adriaenssens, head of the commission and child psychiatrist.  “Society has developed. But there’s nothing to indicate that the number of pedophiles has diminished.  Where are they today?”

For more information, please see:

AFP – Belgian court bins church paedophile raids evidence – 10 September 2010

BBC – Belgium church abuse detailed by Adriaenssens report – 10 September 2010

CNN – Catholic Church in Belgium details widespread sexual abuse – 10 September 2010

NEW YORK TIMES – Pervasive Abuse Found in Belgian Catholic Church – 10 September 2010

NEW YORK TIMES – Priest Sex ABuse Linked to 13 Suicides in Belgium – 10 September 2010

BBC – Belgian church abuse raids ruled illegal – 9 September 2010

By Ricardo Zamora
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia – Russian human rights leader, Lev Ponomarev, 69, has been sentenced to administrative detention for the second time in two weeks.  The ruling came down yesterday after the Tverskoi District Court of Moscow found him guilty of “disobeying police orders.”  The city court handed Ponomarev the same verdict on August 25 for his first arrest, which came on August 22.  Ponomarev missed a scheduled meeting with senior member of the US National Security Council, Michel McFaul, today due to the sentence.

William Burns, the United States Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs who attended the meeting, was critical of the ruling.  “I should note that it is regrettable that Lev Ponomarev, who was supposed to be at the meeting, was not able to attend,” he said in remarks to the Interfax News Agency.  “The freedom of assembly is very important to the United States and very important for any democratic society.

The new ruling arises from Ponomarev’s participation in a peaceful anti-government protest, called “A Day of Rage,” in Tverskaya Square on August 12.  The hearing was delayed until yesterday due to health complications which sent Ponomarev to the hospital shortly after the August 12 arrest.

“A Day of Rage” was a rally where protesters demanded the resignation of Moscow’s mayor, Yuri Luzhkov, for interfering with freedom of assembly.  During the demonstration, two other individuals were arrested and charged with the same offense. While Ponomarev was undergoing medical treatment, those individuals served 3- and 4-day sentences, respectively.

Russian authorities allege that Ponomarev had “obstructed pedestrian traffic” by standing in the street while he spoke with journalists.  Other police officers added that Ponomarev resisted arrest by pushing an officer and stepping on the foot of another.

Ponomarev testified that officers treated him harshly, dragged him away, and threatened to hit him.  The Court found a video recording of the events to be inadmissible as evidence.

“We need to create a name-and-shame blacklist of judges and to make these public,” Ponomarev said.  He plans to appeal the ruling.

For more information, please see:

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH – Russia: Release Human Rights Defender – September 8, 2010

THE OTHER RUSSIA – U.S., Amnesty Intl. Criticize New Arrest Sentence for Ponomarev – September 8, 2010

ROBERT AMSERTDAM – Interview with Lev Ponomarev – August 30, 2010