News

Disappearances in Mexico Continue to Increase

By Brandon Cottrell
Impunity Watch, North America Reporter

MEXICO CITY, Mexico – The number of disappearances that go unsolved in Mexico continues to rise even though President Enrique Pena Nieto continually pledges to tackle this problem.  For example, just recently four people disappeared within six days from an area close to the United States border, which exposed again, “the cruel mix of state corruption and organized crime.”

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto (Photo Courtesy Reuters)

In February, Nieto’s administration revealed that between 2006 and 2012, 26,000 people have disappeared and not yet been found and that an additional 60,000 people have been killed during that span.  The administration also acknowledged that the authorities have not properly investigated these disappearances and often did not even carry out a basic investigation.

Several of the disappearances stem from marine checkpoints.  Eyewitnesses claim that they saw the marines force individuals into a military vehicle and drive towards a nearby base.  However, personnel at the base told the eyewitnesses that no civilians were being held.  Despite such a statement, the individuals taken are still missing and little progress has been made in finding them.

Rupert Knot, a researcher for Amnesty International Mexico, said that these “cases [are] languishing with the Federal Attorney General” and that the “prosecutors want the families to provide more evidence while [the prosecutors] do nothing to further the investigations.”  Additionally, the prosecutors say, “the eyewitness accounts prove nothing [because] naval authorities deny responsibility.”

Furthermore, corrupt law enforcement officers is a common problem as many officers work for the drug cartels.  For example, in a mass kidnapping and killing of thirteen young adults earlier this summer, and in a kidnapping of a man from his car, police officers were involved. The families of these victims say they do not trust Mexican authorities and hope for an independent international investigation.

Discouraged by the authorities’ investigations, there has been a movement sweeping across Mexico where the community itself carries out investigations.  The group meets regularly with prosecutors and use social media to raise awareness.  It also gives strength to the families of the victims and shelters those who want to investigate from the intimidation and pressure from the state to abandon the search.

Although Mexico has not submitted a required report pursuant to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons From Enforced Disappearance, which would detail what it is doing to solve these disappearances, Nieto has taken some action to remedy the problem, such as assigning new investigators and creating a new unit dedicated to solving the disappearances.  The Mexican legislature is also considering whether to “reform the military justice system once and for all, and ensure civilian justice to investigate and try all cases of human rights violations by the armed forces.”

 

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Mexico’s Disappeared Continues To Rise – 29 September 2013

Amnesty International – Mexican Senate Must End Impunity For Armed Forces’ Human Rights Violations – 27 September 2013

CNN – Fourth Officer Arrested In Mexico Mass Kidnapping Case – 25 September 2013

Daily Mall – Mexican Police Drag Man From Car And Kidnap Him In Broad Daylight – 27 September 2013

 

Thousands of Migrant Workers may be worked to Death in Qatar as the Gulf State Prepares for the World Cup.

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch, Middle East

DOHA, Qatar—Dozens of Nepalese migrant workers have died in Qatar in recent weeks, and thousands more are enduring horrendous labor abuses and poor labor condones. According to an investigation by the Guardian, thousands of Nepalese workers, the single largest group of laborers in Qatar, face labor exploitation and abuses that amount to modern-day slavery, as defined by the International Labor Organisation.

Dalli Kahtri and her husband, Lil Man, hold photos of their sons, both of whom died working as migrants in Malaysia and Qatar.(Photo courtesy of the Guardian)

At the Nepalese embassy in Qatar, at least 44 Nepalese workers died between 4 June and 8 August 2013. More than half of these workers died of heart attacks or heart failure related to overwork or from workplace accidents. Approximately 30 Nepalese migrates sought refuge at their embassy in Doha Qatar in order to escape the brutality of their employers and the deplorable working.

The international Trade Union Confederation has claimed that construction in Qatar ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup could cost the lives of at least 4,000 migrant construction workers. The group has said that at least a half-million migrant workers are expected to flood into Qatar to complete construction on stadiums, hotels and new infrastructure for the World Cup. These workers are expected to come from several countries, including Nepal, India and Sri Lanka.

The annual death toll among migrant workers could be as high as 600 per year, unless the state government steps into to enact reforms the ITUC claims. The ITUC has based its estates on current mortality statistics for Nepalese and Indian migrant workers.  Without changes in labor conditions, more workers are expected to die.

A spokesman for the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee said on Thursday that organizers of the 2022 World Cup were “appalled” by the Guardian’s findings in their investigation saying, “There is no excuse for any worker in Qatar, or anywhere else, to be treated in this manner.” He claimed, “The health, safety, well-being and dignity of every worker that contributes to staging the 2022 FIFA World Cup is of the utmost importance to our committee and we are committed to ensuring that the event serves as a catalyst toward creating sustainable improvements to the lives of all workers in Qatar.”

Claims of worker abuse and the large scale loss of human life among migrant workers in Qatar has sparked international outrage, including from the soccer community. Qatar has been told it must respect the rights of workers building the 2022 World Cup stadiums by the world professional footballers’ association, Fifpro.

Fifpro has called on Water to respect the rights of construction workers building the venues for the 2022 world cup. Brendan Schwab, Division Asia chairman for the organization said, “The 2022 FIFA World Cup was awarded to Qatar to promote football and, more importantly, football’s universal values in the Middle East. This can only be achieved if Qatar respects the rights of the key people who will deliver that World Cup: the workers who build the World Cup stadia and the players who play in them.”

For more information please see:

The Guardian – Qatar told to respect rights of workers building 2022 World Cup stadiums — 27 September 2013

NBC Sports – Qatar World Cup horror, as 4,000 migrants could be ‘worked to death’ – 27 September 2013

The Guardian – Qatar World Cup construction ‘will leave 4,000 migrant workers dead’ – 26 September 2013

The Guardian– Revealed: Qatar’s World Cup ‘slaves’ – 25 September 2013

 

 

 

 

Chemical Weapons Team Set to Begin Syrian Disarmament

By Thomas Murphy
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria – The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the global agency charged with enforcing the Chemical Weapons Convention, is preparing to send a team of twenty to Syria on Monday. The team will be responsible for setting up a base of operations, secure communications, and other basic necessities to begin the process of destroying Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles. Another team will follow a week later to begin the inspection process.

The headquarters of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague, Netherlands.

On Saturday, the OPCW agreed to a very ambitious schedule set forth by the United States and Russia, along with their Security Counsel counterparts, to destroy Syria’s chemical weapons. The plan sets a 1 November deadline for the dismantling of all chemical weapons production facilities and a 1 July deadline to destroy all chemical weapons stockpiles. Plans of this nature typically take years to complete, but under such pressing circumstances the OPCW hopes to complete the process in just nine months.

The OPCW, headquartered in The Hague, has handled the destruction of all chemical weapons under the Chemical Weapons Convention since it inception in 1997.  Syria’s membership has been accelerated and it will become the 190th party to the Convention on 14 October. The speed of situation presents a challenge for the OPCW, which typically deals with the disarmament of well-known quantities of US and Russian Cold War stockpiles.

“It’s kind of a 9-to-5 organization, in a way. It’s not a 24-7 organization, and it’s going to have to adapt to that,” said Faiza Patel, a former senior policy officer at the OPCW. “The organization is not really set up to be an investigative organization,” unlike the U.N. investigators who were sent to Iraq in the 1990s, she said. “It’s set up to do routine inspections that are based on the declarations that the states provide.”

Fortunately, most of Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles are “unweaponized”, according to US and Russian intelligence and Syrian statements submitted to the OPCW thus far. Essentially, the “vast majority” of nerve agent is in a liquid bulk form and much easier to dispose of compared to battlefield ready liquid or loaded warheads.

For further information, please see:

Washington Post – Inspectors from obscure agency ready to destroy Syrian chemical weapons – 28 September 2013

Wall Street Journal – Weapons Teams Get Set to Tackle Syria’s Chemical Arsenal – 28 September 2013

Time – U.S. and Russia Say Majority of Syrian Chemical Arsenal Is “Unweaponized” –  27 September 2013

Washington Post – Most of Syria’s toxins can be destroyed more easily than officials initially thought – 26 September 2013

Greece’s Golden Dawn Accused of Criminal Activity and If Convicted, May Be Gone

By Ben Kopp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

ATHENS, Greece – Greek authorities began arresting the Golden Dawn party’s leaders and supporters accused of creating a criminal organization, rather than a political party. Human rights groups have previously accused the group of links to attacks on immigrants.

Golden Dawn accused of organizing a criminal organization and links to attacks on immigrants and political opponents. (Photo courtesy of Washington Post)

Golden Dawn is Greece’s extreme-right political party with neo-Nazi roots. In May 2012, the party first entered parliament by capitalizing on the financial crisis, rising crime, and anti-immigrant sentiments. Often, Golden Dawn members and supporters were suspected of violence against immigrants and political opponents; particularly Communists.

The 18 September 2013 death of rapper Pavlos Fyssas sparked outrage and protests throughout Greece, which compelled a government-ordered investigation. After police arrested the suspect, he admitted to the stabbing and identified himself as a Golden Dawn supporter. While police examined cellphone records of the suspect and 300 others connected to the party, Golden Dawn denied any connection between themselves and the suspect.

In the 2012 general election, Golden Dawn won almost 7% of the vote. Despite the party’s denial of connection to Fyssas’s death, Golden Dawn has lost appeal in the past week.

Many Greeks have called for the government to ban Golden Dawn. However, Greece’s constitution does not allow political parties to be banned.

On 28 September 2013, Greek authorities arrested the Golden Dawn party’s leader, Nikos Michaloliakos, along with other lawmakers and supporters of Golden Dawn. The arrests are part of a government crackdown on the anti-immigrant party. This is the first time since the democratic restoration in 1974 that sitting members of Parliament have been arrested. The 17 lawmakers arrested were charged with forming a criminal organization.

At least one police officer was also arrested, in connection with accusations of law enforcement ignoring Golden Dawn violence and immigrant mistreatment.

Golden Dawn expressed outrage at the arrests in a text message to journalists: “We call upon everyone to support our moral and just struggle against the corrupt system! Everyone come to our offices!”

“It is an unprecedentedly dynamic response to a neo-Nazi organization,” government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou told The Associated Press. “The prime minister and the government were determined to deal with Golden Dawn solely through the justice system…We have succeeded in stripping them of their political cover and deal with them as what they really are, a criminal organization.”

Greece’s Supreme Court and anti-terrorist squad have begun handling the case. Unless convicted, Golden Dawn lawmakers will retain their parliamentary seats.

Recently, Golden Dawn suggested that its deputies might resign to provoke elections.

“Justice, stability, no elections,” said Prime Minister Antonis Samaras.

For further information, please see:

BBC News – Greece’s Golden Dawn Leader Michaloliakos Held in Crackdown – September 28, 2013

CNN International – Greece: Golden Dawn Party Leader and 4 Lawmakers Arrested, Police Say – September 28, 2013

Euronews – Greek Police Arrest Far-Right Golden Dawn Party Leader – September 28, 2013

Reuters – UPDATE 4-Greek Police Arrest Leader, Lawmakers of Far-Right Golden Dawn – September 28, 2013

Washington Post – Greek Authorities Arrest Leader, Others from Extreme Right Party in Escalating Crackdown – September 28, 2013

British Intended and Birth Mothers Seek Same Benefits as Birth and Adoptive Parents

By Ben Kopp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

LONDON, United Kingdom – The European Court of Justice advised a British woman that she and her British surrogate were entitled to the same maternity leave as birth and adoptive parents, under the EU Pregnant Workers Directive. In a separate advice, the ECJ stated that an Irish woman and her Californian surrogate were not entitled to maternity leave.

Intended and birth mothers may receive same benefits as birth and adoptive parents in the UK, pending review by the European Court of Justice. (Photo courtesy of the Independent)

In the U.K., while birth parents and women who adopt are entitled to the same maternity leave by statute, families who use a surrogate mother are not covered. However, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) advised that a British woman whose child was born to a surrogate mother was entitled to paid maternity leave.

In 2010, the Newcastle woman, C.D. used sperm from her partner to have a baby through a surrogate mother. Within an hour of the August 2011 birth, C.D. took over as the baby’s mother and began breastfeeding.

C.D. quickly discovered that her employer, National Health Service (NHS) was not obliged to pay for her maternity leave. On taking NHS to court, C.D.’s question went to the ECJ in Luxembourg, the highest tribunal for matters of EU law.

In response, ECJ Advocate General Juliane Kokott, who provides nonbinding legal advice, advised that both the intended and birth mothers should be permitted the same rights as birth and adoptive parents because surrogacy is legal in Britain. However, any maternity leave used by the woman who gives birth to the child must be deducted from the total leave taken by the mother. Nevertheless, each woman must receive at least two weeks.

According to Harriet Bowtell, an employment lawyer from Slater & Gordon, if the Court of Justice approves the Kokott’s opinion, the UK will be obliged to amend its equality act.

Although initial opinions are generally accepted as the basis for the final decision, another ECJ Advocate General, Nils Wahl reached the opposite conclusion of Kokott’s in a case originally taken to Ireland’s Equality Tribunal. Instead of two British women, Wahl’s case involved an Irish biological mother receiving a child born in California.

To prevent the exploitation of women in financial difficulty, eight EU member states prohibit surrogacy. These states also share a concern that surrogates would face emotional distress when forced to give up the child they carried to birth.

In the U.S., while the federal Family Medical Leave Act provides all workers at companies of at least 50 employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to take care of a relative, there is allegedly no federal right to paid maternity leave. As such, surrogacy laws vary between states, which may limit how much surrogate mothers can be paid; and surrogacy policies vary between employers.

If extended the protection of EU law, potential surrogates and parents who choose surrogacy will see a greater incentive to stay with that choice in the future.

For further information, please see:

Guardian – Intended and Birth Mother in Surrogacy Entitled to Maternity Leave, Says ECJ – September 26, 2013

The Independent – Surrogacy Mother Wins Maternity Leave Ruling in EU Court – September 26, 2013

Irish Times – European Court Finds against Irish Woman in Surrogacy Case – September 26, 2013

Wall Street Journal – Surrogate Births Stir Divisions in EU – September 26, 2013