News

Ex-Congolese Vice President Bemba Convicted of Witness Tampering

By Samantha Netzband 

Impunity Watch, Africa Desk Reporter 

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo– Ex-Congolese Vice President Bemba was convicted of witness tampering at the International Criminal Court.  Bemba and four members of his legal team were convicted on October 19th, just months after Bemba’s conviction for leading a campaign of rape and murder across the Central African Republic.  This was a ground breaking conviction for the International Criminal Court which has struggled with witness tampering since its inception.

Bemba at the International Criminal Court in March. (Photo Courtesy of The New York Times)

The Court’s conviction is based off of evidence that Bemba and his attorneys used a coded exchange in order to ensure testimony that was in Bemba’s favor.  Evidence shows that 14 witnesses were tampered with.  These witnesses testified in Bemba’s crimes against humanities case at the International Criminal Court.  Bemba was sentenced to 18 years in prison of the rape and murder of hundreds in the Central African Republic.

“No legal system in the world can accept the bribing of witnesses, the inducement of witnesses to lie or the illicit coaching of witnesses. Nor can the International Criminal Court,” Presiding Judge Bertram Schmitt said after the convictions were made.  This conviction strengthens the power of the International Criminal Court, showing that it takes witness tampering seriously.  Bemba and his attorneys could face up to five years in prison because of their convictions.

For more information, please see:

Deutsche Walle – ICC convicts DRC’s former vice president Bemba of witness tampering – 19 October 2016.

International Justice Monitor – Bemba and Four Associates Convicted for Witness Tampering – 19 October 2016.

The New York Times – Jean-Pierre Bemba, Congolese Politican Imprisoned for War Crimes, Is Convicted of Witness Tampering – 19 October 2016.

Reuters – Ex-Congolese VP Bemba convicted of witness tampering at war crimes court – 19 October 2016.

Nicaragua Canal Protested as a Threat to Human Rights

By Portia K. Skenandore-Wheelock
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

NICARAGUA — A $50 billion, 172-mile canal is expected to be built by a Chinese firm across Nicaragua with the purpose of connecting the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. The Panama Canal already accomplishes this but Nicaraguan officials say the canal is crucial to increasing global trade and the new canal can accommodate larger tankers, which the Panama Canal cannot, even with its current expansion. The proposed canal would be three times as long as the Panama Canal and twice as deep. The Nicaraguan government estimates that the revenues created by the project will be almost five times the country’s GDP and will pull more than 400,000 people out of poverty by 2018. The new canal would be an alternative to the Panama Canal, which is 102 years old and handles five percent of global maritime trade. The deal between Nicaragua and Wang Jing of HKND Group would give the firm consortium rights to operate the canal for 116 years. The company broke ground in 2014 but has made little progress since. There are suspicions that the firm may not have enough money to complete the project. There are also concerns that there may not be enough transport demand to support a second canal, especially one with numerous geographical barriers.

Nicaraguan farmers, environmentalists, and human rights groups are protesting construction of the canal. (Photo courtesy of the BBC)
Nicaraguan farmers, environmentalists, and human rights groups are protesting construction of the canal. (Photo courtesy of the BBC)

Nicaraguan farmers, environmentalists, and human rights groups are protesting construction of the canal. A coalition of farmers gathered 28,000 signatures in opposition to Law 840, which grants concession for the canal project. Both indigenous and peasant farmers are concerned the canal will ruin their crops, require evictions, and destroy the graveyards where their ancestors are buried. Rural residents like 39-year-old Francisca Ramirez are coming together to defend their rights, “I will not allow this area to be destroyed by a project which will only benefit a few, but will harm a vast number of people.”

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) says the canal is a threat to people, forests, and to Cocibolca Lake, Central America’s main fresh water reserve. So far, up to 120,000 peasants have no place to relocate to and they were given insufficient compensation for being forced off their land. President of FIDH Dimitris Christopoulos said, “Respecting nature and the rights of rural communities is not a luxury. It’s a duty. These projects will have a dramatic impact on the environment and on human rights. It is unimaginable to sell off territory as such. The government must back out.” The report cites environmental problems with hydrocarbon pollution, salinity, and turbidity. The report also says the canal deal breaches Nicaragua’s constitution and is denying citizens their rights to property, adequate housing, food, and water.

For further information, please see:

Amnesty International – “We Have Hope, we Have Human Rights, we will win This Fight” – 16 October 2016

BBC – Nicaragua Canal Scheme ‘Must be Dropped’ – 14 October 2016

Humanosphere – Nicaragua Canal: Rights Groups Protest Project That may Have Already Failed – 17 October 2016

Sky News – Nicaragua Canal Poses ‘Unimaginable’ Threat to Human Rights – 14 October 2016

 

France Abolishes Sterilization Law for Transgender People

By Sarah Lafen

Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Europe

PARIS, France — On Thursday, France passed legislation allowing transgender people to change their legal gender status without undergoing the process of sterilization.  The previous law required that the person wishing to legally change their gender provide proof that they had been surgically and irreversibly sterilized.  According to the group Transgender Europe, sterilization was historically necessary to prove that transgender people were serious about changing genders.  The UN has strongly condemned involuntary sterilization as a human rights violation.

Gay and transgender people in France have pressured the French government for years to change the law (Photo Courtesy of BBC)
Gay and transgender people in France have pressured the French government for years to change the law (Photo Courtesy of BBC)

Under the new law, transgender people in France will no longer have to provide proof of medical treatment when they are in the process of officially changing their gender.  The law will also allow emancipated minors to officially change their genders as well.

France is now one of a number of European countries to abolish the sterilization process for transgender people.  The activist group ILGA-Europe called the change “clear progress” that “another European country has dispensed with the shameful practice of sterilization.”  Sophie Aujean, a spokeswoman from ILGA-Europe, stated that “These are years of sparring that finally come to fruition” and that “There is no other population in the world that is asked to be sterilized apart from transgender.”

ILGA-Europe, however, notes that it is still unfortunate that transgender people in France must have a court legally recognize their gender change.  Other European countries including Denmark, Malta, Ireland, and Norway have all adopted laws that dispense with medical or judicial requirements of gender changes, relying on the principle of “self-determination.”  People in those countries simply have to inform authorities of their gender change.  Stephanie Nicot, head of the French LGBT Federation, admonished the fact that transgender people will still have to go through the court.  She stated that “We’re not offenders, and judges have more important things to do!”

2013 studies show that approximately two-dozen European nations still require sterilization, including Norway, Finland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium and Switzerland.  In Britain, Spain, and Germany, a psychiatric diagnosis of gender dysphoria or transsexualism is required in order to legally change gender.

 

For more information, please see:

The Independent — France Scraps Obligatory Transgender Sterilisation Law — 18 October 2016

BBC — Transgender Rights: France Scraps Sterilisation in Status Law — 14 October 2016

Fox News — France Passes Legislation Scrapping Transgender Sterilization Law — 14 October 2016

The Verge — Transgender People no Longer Required to Undergo Sterilization in France — 14 October 2016

NBC — French Law Scraps Sterilization for Transgender People — 13 October 2016

Anti-Gay Protesters March in Paris

By Sarah Lafen

Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Europe

PARIS, France — Thousands of protestors marched in Paris on Sunday to demonstrate their opposition to same-sex marriage laws.  Police estimated the crowd to be at approximately 24,000, however organizers of the event estimated the turnout to be about 200,000.  The protest was led by the anti-gay marriage movement “Manif Pour Tous,” which translates to “Protest for Everyone.”  Participants waved French flags and wore the movement’s colors – blue and pink.  Some brought signs which read “All together for the family” and “In 2017, I’ll vote for the family.”

Tens of thousands of protestors gathered on the streets in Paris on Sunday to protest same-sex marriage laws (Photo Courtesy of DW)
Tens of thousands of protestors gathered on the streets in Paris on Sunday to protest same-sex marriage laws (Photo Courtesy of DW)

In 2013, France’s socialist government legalized same-sex marriage in a movement they called “Marriage for All.”  The protestors on Sunday hoped to put pressure on right-winged politicians, who are about to take part in a presidential primary in November, to repeal the law if elected.  One 29-year old protestor stated that he wanted a “return to the principles of Christian civilization in terms of family, institutions and work.”  Manif Pour Tous also opposes surrogate pregnancies, assisted reproduction technology, and adoption by same-sex couples.

One hundred gay rights activists staged their own demonstration in opposition to the anti-gay marriage protest to “respond to the hate propagated by Manif Pour Tous.”  At the demonstration, same-sex couples kissed at the city’s central Place de la Republique.  The protest was also briefly interrupted when 13 people were arrested following a protest by six topless women from the activist group Femen.  Some of the women had the phrase “Hate is not a family value” written across their chests.

Former French President and 2017 presidential hopeful Nicolas Sarkozy stated that he would not repeal the law if he were to return to the presidency.  Sarkozy believes that “France has many other important issues to deal with such as security, terrorism and unemployment, rather than recreate conditions for another hysterical debate.”

Manif Pour Tous last orchestrated a large demonstration in 2013 against the Marriage for All law, claiming to have gathered 1.4 million people in the streets of Paris.

So far, none of the leading presidential candidates from the right-wing party have said they intend to repeal the same-sex marriage law if elected.

 

For more information, please see:

DW — Tens of Thousands Protest Against Gay Marriage in Paris — 16 October 2016

France 24 — Anti-Gay Marriage Protesters Return to Streets of Paris — 16 October 2016

Reuters — French Anti-Gay Marriage Protesters March to Revive Issue Before Polls — 16 October 2016

Yahoo — Anti-Gay Marriage Protesters Return to French Streets — 16 October 2016

Calais Children Make Journey to Britain

By Sarah Lafen

Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Europe

LONDON, England — The first group of children to leave the migrant camp popularly known as “the jungle” in Calais, France has traveled to Britain to be reunited with relatives.  On Monday, 14 children ranging in age from 14-17 left the camp and were brought by government officials and charity workers to a Home Office immigration facility in Croydon, which is in south London.  The children were held there before being reunited with family at various locations, including local churches.

A minor arrives in Britain via bus after leaving the Calais camp (Photo Courtesy of the LA Times)
A minor arrives in Britain via bus after leaving the Calais camp (Photo Courtesy of the LA Times)

These children are allowed to be reunited with family in Britain under a law called the Dublin Regulation, which allows children with close relatives in Britain to seek asylum there even if they also have asylum elsewhere.

Aid groups praised the transfer of the children after warnings that keeping the children in the Calais camp might put them at risk of being trafficked.  Rowan Williams, the former archbishop of Canterbury who has aided the efforts to transport the children to Britain, believes that Britain has “…the beginnings of some sort of response to what is still a hugely troubling and very, very urgent situation.” Williams urges that Britain can “offer secure environments for these children” as well as “a place of safety.”

The French and British interior ministers, Bernard Cazeneuve and Amber Rudd, have agreed to speed up the process of transferring children from the Calais camp to Britain.  While it is unknown exactly how many unaccompanied minors are living in the camp, the Red Cross estimates there to be about 1,000.  178 of these children have been identified as having relatives in Britain, however some are being held back from being transferred to Britain for bureaucracy reasons.

In a slightly separate process, Britain has been collaborating with French authorities to identify children who can be brought to Britain under an amended British immigration law known as the Dubs amendment.  Under this amendment, Britain will agree to take in “vulnerable unaccompanied child refugees” who arrived in the European Union prior to March 20, even if they do not have familial ties to Britain.

It is expected that dozens of more children will make the journey to Britain this week so they can be reunited with relatives.  Britain’s effort marks the beginning of its commitment to welcome migrant children into its borders before the Calais camp is permanently destroyed.

 

For more information, please see:

BBC — Families Speak of Their Joy at being Reunited with Calais Children — 17 October 2016

The LA Times — A Journey Through ‘Hell’: First Wave of Migrant Children from Calais Arrives in Britain — 17 October 2016

Reuters — First 14 Unaccompanied Children from Calais ‘Jungle’ Reach Britain — 17 October 2016

The Washington Post — 14 Migrant Children Arriving in UK from Calais Migrant Camp — 17 October 2016