News

China Proposes Lifting President Xi’s Term Limit

By: Brian Kim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – The legislatures open its annual session with a constitutional amendment to end the two-term limit for President Xi Jinping’s presidency. This move was predicted when President Xi did not nominate a clear successor in October. By removing the two-term limit, President Xi’s status will be elevated to president for life. Since 2012, President Xi Jinping has been tightening control over the country. Over the past five years, he has solidified himself as a father figure and cracked down on his opposition.

President Xi’s two-term limit is expected to be removed at the annual meetings of China’s top legislative bodies. Photo courtesy of Mark Schiefelbein.

The presidency in China combines the three pillars of power in China: president, party chairman, and head of the Central Military Commission. In the 1980s, Deng Xiaoping established the collective leadership model. Since its formation, every leader was expected to hand the power over to its successor for a smooth transition.

Based on Xi’s rule, many analysts believe that the Chinese politics has shifted from collective autocracy to one-man rule. Xi has laid out his vision to turn china into a top innovative nation by 2035. By achieving the “China Dream,” he has proposed to fully modernize the country by mid-century. Moreover, he has lead a campaign to end corruption and end poverty by establishing the National Supervisory Commission.

Xi has also laid out his vision to eclipse the United States as the world’s largest economy and pushing it out of the Asia-Pacific sphere.

On March 4th, the spokesman for the congress defended the constitutional amendment publicly. Zhang Yesui stated that the move is “conductive to uphold the authority of the (Communist Party) Central Committee with Xi Jinping at the core.”

Although the constitutional amendment is expected to pass with near-unanimous approval, the proposal has been criticized by independent political commentators.

Business Insider – Xi Jinping’s permanent presidency has terrifying ramifications for the Chinese people – 3 March, 2018

The Guardian – Eight signs that Xi Jinping was planning to cement his grip on China – 3 March, 2018

The Washington Post – Xi term-limits controversy looms at China political meeting – 4 March, 2018

Norway Plans to Ban Semi-Automatic Weapons

By: Jenilyn Brhel
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

OSLO, Norway – Almost seven years after the last mass shooting in Norway, the country is making moves to ban semi-automatic weapons.

Flags and Flowers Adorn a Memorial Site Neat the 2011 Utoya Massacre in Norway. Photo courtesy of Lefteris Pitarakis.

If the new legislation is passed, semi-automatic weapons and other previously legal weapons will be reclassified as “military-style” and banned. Citizens would be required to surrender any semi-automatic weapons in their possession. Future sales would be prohibited.

The law has been in talks since 2011, when on July 22nd  Anders Behring Breivik murdered 77 people, mostly children, in a bombing and mass shooting on Utoya Island. There has not been a mass shooting in the country since then. However, the incident led the country to review existing laws and propose tightened ones.

A 2012 report by a commission formed in response to the Utoya massacre recommended a ban on semi-automatic weapons as one of its 31 recommendations to combat gun violence.

Øystein Mæland, Norway’s police chief, called for stricter laws pertaining to semi-automatic weapons after the attack.

The legislation comes at a time when gun violence is a considerable problem in the world, especially in the United States of America. Norway has 1.11 gun deaths per 100,000, compared to 10.54 per 100,000 in the United States.

Norway is one of many countries wishing to strengthen their gun laws. In Australia, 57,000 citizens recently surrendered firearms to the government during a gun amnesty in the country. With the recent high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, activists are calling for heightened measures to combat gun violence.

Norway already has some of the strictest gun laws in the world, requiring background checks and secure gun storage, among other things. Certain categories of guns are banned altogether.

The country has a high rate of gun ownership, but boasts low levels of gun violence, thanks in part to the strict gun laws in place. Most residents use them for hunting and outdoor sports.

The ban is planned to take effect in 2021, a decade after the mass shooting.

Petere Frlocih, a Conservative member of Parliament’s committee on judicial affairs, said “today it has become clear that there is a parliamentary majority in favor of the government’s proposal. Semi-automatic weapons will therefore be banned in Norway.”

“This decision is a very good thing, even if it comes belatedly,” said Lisabeth Kristine Roynemand, the head of a support group for victims of gun violence and their families. Her eighteen-year-old daughter was killed in the 2011 massacre.

Not everyone supports the proposed legislation. Farmers and hunters in the nation are protesting the measures.

For more information, please see:

Chicago Tribune – Norway and Australia Move Forward With new gun Control Measures, as U.S. Debate Rages on – 1 March 2018

The Guardian – Norway set to ban Semi-Automatic Guns From 2021, 10 Years After Utoya Shooting – 27 February 2018

Huffington Post – Norway Ready To Ban Semi-Automatic Weapons Starting In 2021, Says Lawmaker – 28 February 2018

Reuters – Norway set to ban Semi-Automatic Weapons – 1 March 2018

Washington Post – As U.S. gun Debate Rages on, Australians Hand in 57,000 Firearms, and Norway is set for a Broad ban – 1 March 2018

China to Consider Banning Term Limits on President

By: Katherine Hewitt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – At the Party Congress meeting held in late 2017, no successor was named for Chinese President, Xi Jinping. At the time this broke with tradition and left many people with questions about the future of Chinese leadership and governance.

Image of Chinese President, Xi Jinping. Photo Courtesy of Chris Ratcliffe.

In late February 2018, the Communist Party of China provided an answer to the questions. In a meeting, the party proposed to do away with term limits on the President of China. Since 1982, the numbers of years a president could serve was restricted to two five-year terms. Now, Jinping could be president for life. Some are likening his power and prestige to former Chairman of the Communist Party of China, Mao Zedong.

It is suspected that this proposal will be accepted at the March 5, 2018 meeting. Analysts believe that the Party Congress will justify this action by referencing that Jinping desires a modern and wealthy China by 2050 and only he can deliver on that promise. Hu Xingdou, a political commentator in Beijing, says that keeping Jinping in power “is beneficial to pushing forward reforms and the fight against corruption, but it’s impossible for China to have lifetime tenure again.” He believes term limits will return once Jinping leaves power.

For more information please visit: 

NPR – China Plans To Abolish Term Limits For President Xi Jinping – 28 February 2018

The Diplomat – The CCP’s Proposed Term Limit Change Shocks China – 26 February 2018

Time – Proposal to Scrap China’s Term Limits Could Allow President Xi Jinping to Stay in Office – 25 February 2018

Indonesia Proposes to Criminalize Same-Sex Relations

By: Brian Kim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

JAKARTA,  Indonesia – The United Nations human rights chief, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein criticized Indonesia parliament’s proposal to criminalize gay sex and extramarital sex. During a three-day visit the world’s largest Muslim- majority nation, the UN chief raised his concerns with President Joko Widodo.

Man gets caning in Banda Aceh, Indonesia for having gay sex. Photo courtesy of Ulet Ifansasti.

The UN chief in a briefing stated that “the hateful rhetoric against the LGBT community that is being cultivated seemingly for cynical political purposes will only deepen their suffering and create unnecessary divisions.” He further stated that the proposal was “discriminatory.”

He told journalists that “Islamophobia is wrong. Discrimination on the basis of the religious beliefs and color is wrong. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or any other status is wrong.”

Zeid, a member of the Jordanian royal family expressed that Indonesia was among the most progressive states in the Southeast Asia on human rights.

The parliament is currently debating whether to adopt a Dutch colonial-era criminal code. This proposal would outlaw sex outside marriage, same-sex relations, and co-habitation. Except for the Islamic province of Aceh, Indonesia does not regulate homosexuality.

Last month, police in Aceh reportedly detained 12 transgender individuals at hair salons. The individuals were forced to cut their hair, beaten, and made to wear male clothing. Recently, by the request of the Indonesian government, Google removed one of the world’s largest gay dating apps from their online store.

With a largely conservative voter base ahead of presidential and legislative year elections, the proposed revisions have broad support in parliament. Although President Widodo’s officials have expressed support for the LGBT community, President Widodo has said that Indonesia’s cultural and religious norms do not acknowledge the LGBT movement.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Indonesia wants to criminalise same-sex relations – 7 February, 2018

Business Insider – Indonesia is considering making extramarital and gay sex illegal, and the UN calls it ‘hateful’ – 7 February, 2018

Channel NewsAsia – Indonesia’s plan to outlaw same-sex relationships worrying: UN human rights chief – 7 February, 2018

Reuters – U.N. rights chief slams Indonesia proposal to outlaw gay, extramarital sex – 7 February, 2018

Brazil’s army uncooperative on Rio killings

By: Emily Green
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

SAO PAULO, Brazil – Human Rights Watch reported that Brazil’s army will not make its personnel available to talk with state prosecutors about the Rio de Janeiro killings that are under investigation. The joint raid with civil police occurred on November 11th, 2017 and left 8 people dead.

Brazilian marines stand guard during a surprise operation in Kelson’s slum in Rio de Janeiro. Image Courtesy of Leo Correa.

On November 7th, army helicopters dropped personnel in a forested area within a neighborhood near Rio. The soldiers hid and waited for the chance to intercept suspects. However, the mission failed because someone tipped off local gang members. Then on November 11th, the army conducted another operation in the same area. The civil police elite unit later found that 8 people had been shot and killed. Witnesses reported shots coming from the forested area by men wearing all black with highly advanced weapons. The equipment identified the killers as military special forces.

However, the army claims that they did not fire their weapons during the operation and therefore refuse to open an investigation into the killings. The federal military prosecutor opened an inquiry anyway, but has to rely on the army to handle the investigation. In October, Congress approved a law that allows the military to handle investigations of civilian killings during police operations by members of the armed forces. Any potential trial would be held before a court of military officers, virtually guaranteeing that there would be no impartial or independent investigation.

This law was passed in spite of the international norm that human rights violations should never be tried before military courts. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights explains that, “when the State permits investigations to be conducted by the entities with possible involvement, independence and impartiality are clearly compromised.”

Even though state prosecutors can’t investigate army personnel as suspects, they can interview them as witness to find out what happened. It has been almost three months since state prosecutors met with General Walter Braga Netto, chief of the Eastern Military Command. The prosecutors called the meeting to learn about the army’s involvement in the case. Immediately afterward, prosecutors requested a copy of transcripts of statements made by members of the army who participated in the operation. They also requested interviews with the participants. Still, the army has yet to provide either.

Brazil’s director at Human Rights Watch, Maria Laura Canineu, remarked that, “the stonewalling by General Braga Netto shows a lack of any serious commitment to justice for the victims in this case and a flagrant disrespect for civilian authorities. This does not bode well for regular citizens during his tenure as head of public security in Rio de Janeiro.” She insisted that the general show he is not trying to bury the case by doing his duty to find the killers and ensure justice.

For more information, please see:

News 18 – Military Takeover of Rio de Janeiro police Stirs Dictatorship Ghosts – 24 February 2018

The Brazilian Report – Under intervention, Rip relives problems of 200 years ago – 24 February 2018

US News – Life in a War Zone – 23 February 2018

Human Rights Watch – Brazil: Army Stonewalls on Rio Killings – 23 February 2018