News

U.N. Passes Resolution Urges Independent Investigation of Sri Lankan Civil War

By Karen Diep
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, Sri Lanka – On Thursday, the United Nations’ Human Rights Council passed a resolution censuring Sri Lanka’s record.  In 2009, Sri Lanka’s military defeated separatist Tamil rebels after a brutal 26-year war; however, the war’s final phase is under heavy scrutiny.

A Sri Lankan Tamil woman holds a portrait of a missing relative. (Photo Courtesy of The Guardian)

Twenty-five countries voted in favor of the resolution, thirteen against, and eight absented.

The resolution urges Sri Lanka to implement an independent and credible inquiry into the alleged war crimes.

The Sri Lankan government has contended that its own investigation in 2011 should suffice. The Sri Lankan commission report cleared government forces of any violations. Despite the government’s report, human rights believe that Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s administration has ignored prior demands for accountability and has delayed implementing the limited recommendations.

According to BBC News, during the United Nations’ Human Rights Council’s proceedings, representatives from Sri Lanka criticized the resolution for jeopardizing the current reconciliation process. Representatives also alleged that the Unites States is targeting countries that do not conform to its “political agenda.”

The resolution echoes the concern over recent Buddhist attacks on Muslims and Christians. It also recognizes development in reforming infrastructure and mentions “considerable work lies ahead in the areas of justice, reconciliation and the resumption of livelihoods.”

Amnesty International stated that the resolution highlighted violation rights but failed to create an independent and international inquiry into the issue.

Other concerns include concern over extra-judicial killings, disappearances, torture, threats to the rule of law, intimidation of civil society activists and journalists, and religious discrimination.

According to T. K. Elangovan, a DMK spokesman, the Sri Lankan government has not met commitments to rehabilitate its Tamil population.  “It is the moral duty of the government of India to see that these assurances were fulfilled or else to put pressure on the government of Sri Lanka to see these assurances are kept up. Why India is a silent spectator,” inquired Mr. Elangovan.

Keheliya Rambukwella, Sri Lanka’s media minister, stated that that matter has been blown up out of proportion. “As long as there are extreme elements in the world you have these things, in even the most five-star democracies,” said Rambukwella.

For further information, please see:

ABC News – Sri Lanka Criticizes UN Resolution on War Abuses – 22 March 2013

BBC News – UN passes resolution against Sri Lanka rights record – 21 March 2013

Voice of America – UN Vote on Sri Lankan Civil War Threatens Indian Government – 19 March 2013

 

 

Another Tunisian Charged with Criminal Defamation

By Justin Dorman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TUNIS, Tunisia – Olfa Riahi, a blogger from Tunisia, has been charged with criminal defamation just two weeks after university professor and psychoanalyst Raja Ben Slama was charged with defaming a public official.

Olfa Riahi can face up to two years imprisonment for her posts implicating a public official with misconduct. (Photo Courtesy of Middle East Online)

Olfa Riahi’s charges stem from statements she posted regarding Rafik Abdessalem having misused public funds. The post included hotel receipts indicating that Abdessalem stayed at a posh hotel in Tunis at the public’s expense and that he transferred funds from a foreign government into a foreign ministry account. Rafik Abdessalem was the foreign minister of Tunisia. He abdicated his position shortly after Riahi’s accusations.

If Riahi is convicted, she may face a prison sentence. It boggles the mind that one who publicly exposes potential corruption could be imprisoned for up to two years. An individual convicted for defamation can be sentenced to six months of imprisonment, however, there is a potential two year imprisonment for defaming a public official. Also, there are various fines associated with the specific charges in addition to the imprisonment.

Riahi is officially charged with violations of articles 245 and 128 of the penal code and article 86 of the telecommunications code. Defamation under the telecommunications code occurs as a result, “harming others or disrupting their lives through public communication networks.” Article 245 of the penal code describes defamation as “any allegation or public imputation of a fact that harms the honor or the esteem of a person or official body.”

The international human rights group, Human Rights Watch, has called on Tunisian authorities to revise their stance on criminal defamation. The group requested that Tunisia convert defamation charges from criminal cases to civil cases, in order to “conform to international norms on freedom of expression.”

Human Rights Watch’s deputy director on the Middle East and North Africa, Eric Goldstein, stated that “criminal defamation laws have a chilling effect on freedom of expression and work against the public interest by deterring people from speaking out about corruption or other misconduct by public officials.”

The aforementioned statement directly applies to the post Riahi made concerning Rafik Abdessalem alleged corruption. Furthermore, Abdessalem’s decision to step down could be viewed as an admission to the alleged corruption, making Riahi’s assertion seem more like a fact than defamation. The ability to make such statements is necessary to maintain the international human right of freedom of expression and to a practical effect, to keep a government honest.

For further information, please see:

Tunisia Live – Human Rights Watch Condemns Defamation Laws in Tunisia – 21 March 2013

Guardian – Tunisian Blogger Faces Prison – 20 March 2013

Human Rights Watch – Tunisia: Repeal Criminal Defamation Law – 20 March 2013

Middle East Online – Human Rights Watch: Tunisia’s Defamation law Threatens Free Speech – 20 March 2013

High Court in the Philippines Delays Implementing the Responsible Parenthood Law

By Karen Diep
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

MANILLA, Philippines – On Tuesday, a decision by the Philippines’ highest court delayed the implementation of a reproductive health law providing free access to contraception and family planning.

Catholic Church not in favor of the “Contraception law.” (Photo Courtesy of BBC News)

According to The Washington Post, the court voted 15-5 in favor of 10 separate petitions to stop the implementation of the Responsible Parenthood Law and pend oral arguments until June 18th.

This law requires government health centers to offer universal and free access to most forms of contraceptives to everyone, particularly the Philippines’s poorer citizens, who comprise a third of its population. Prior to the Responsible Parenthood Law, access to contraceptives was expensive and contingent upon the political affiliation of one’s local government. The law also mandates sexual education in public schools.

While advocates of the Responsible Parenthood Law believe that it should be implemented to combat poverty and maternal mortality, petitioners questioning the law’s legality welcomed the high court’s decision.

On December 29, 2012, President Benigno Aquino signed the law after 14 years of campaigning by public health and women activists groups. Edwin Lacierda, the spokeman for the President Aquino, stated that the government respects the high court’s decision and is confident about supporting the law’s merits.

The country has a population of 94 million, 80% of whom are Catholic, and one of Asia’s highest birth rates.

The Responsible Parenthood Law has received much opposition from conservative groups in the country and the Catholic Church.

“For me it’s a good sign, a victory for those who are against the law,” said Bishop Arturo Bastes of Sorsogon.  According to CNN News, Bishop Arturo Bastes believed that Pope Francis, who was officially inaugurated on the same day of the court’s ruling, would be happy to hear of the delay.

According to Mellisa Upreti, a regional director at U.S. based Center for Reproductive Rights for Asia, the Filipino government made a few concessions in deference to the Catholic Church.

For instance, the law did not legalize all forms of contraceptives, including emergency forms of contraception. The Responsible Parenthood Law also contains a measure that permits private and religious-influenced hospitals, the leading providers of health care in the country, to refuse reproductive health services based upon its religious objections.

Despite these concessions, its opponents are still concerned.  However, the Responsible Parenthood Law has its supporters.

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago believes that the law is necessary to help people in the Philippines “escape the vicious cycle of poverty by giving them options on how to manage their sexual lives, plan their families and control their procreative activities.”

The court will reexamine the law in 120 days.

For further information, please see:

CNN News – Top Philippine court hits pause on divisive contraception law – 20 March 2013

BBC News – Philippine high court delays contraception law – 19 March 2013

Washington Post – Philippine top court halts contraceptives law until it hears arguments over religion, abortion – 19 March 2013

 

 

 

War Criminal Bosco Ntaganda Transferred to the ICC

By Hannah Stewart
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Congolese warlord Bosco Ntaganda was taken from the American Embassy in Kigali, Rwanda on Friday and placed on a flight to The Hague, where he faces charges in the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Congolese rebel leader Bosco Ntaganda. (Photo Courtesy of The Economist)

The litany of charges includes ten counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, accusing him of conscripting and using child soldiers, using rape as a weapon of war, keeping women as sex slaves, and massacring at least 800 people in 2002 and 2003.

Ntaganda, whose nickname is “The Terminator” for his ruthless nature in battle, became a symbol of impunity in Africa in the last decade.

He shocked the international community when he entered the embassy on Monday, removed his disguise, and asked to be sent to the ICC.  The Court said it “was the first time that a suspect has surrendered himself voluntarily to be in the ICC’s custody.”

Since Monday, the United States has urged Rwanda to help facilitate Ntaganda’s passage to The Hague.  However, Rwanda and the United States are not parties to the Rome Statute, and therefore neither country is a member of the ICC.  Nevertheless the United States says it supports the Court’s work.

As such, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame publicly stated his support for Ntaganda’s expeditious transfer to the ICC.

The ICC first indicted Ntaganda in 2006 for conscripting and using child soldiers during a 2002-2003 Congo conflict.  A second indictment, issued July 2012, accused him of a range of crimes including murder, ethnic persecution and rape.

Despite these indictments, Ntaganda joined the Congolese army in 2009 pursuant to a peace deal that allowed for him and his men to integrate into the military.  As a result, he lived freely in the North Kivu capital of Goma.  He often dined in top restaurants and played tennis, seemingly without fear of arrest.

Reports state that last year, when the agreement between Ntaganda and the Congolese government deteriorated, he and his troops defected.  His faction became known as “M23,” battling Congolese government troops in the country’s mineral-rich east.

While unconfirmed, it is believed that Ntaganda surrendered due to recent vulnerability.  Reports state that the M23 rebel fractured into two parts last month over the decision to bow to international pressure and withdraw from Goma late last year.  Ntaganda and Jean-Marie Runiga, opposed the retreat.  However, another rebel leader, Sultani Makenga, ordered the retreat and initiated peace talks with the Congo government.

Some speculate that Rwanda’s cooperation in Ntaganda’s transfer may come at a cost.  His testimony before the ICC could potentially reveal details of Rwanda’s alleged support for M23 during the Congo conflict.

“This is a good day for victims in the [Democratic Republic of the Congo] and for international justice,” said Fatou Bensouda, the prosecutor at the ICC.  Likewise, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called the transfer “an important moment for all who believe in justice and accountability.”

On Friday afternoon, the Court said in an e-mail that Ntaganda was “in the ICC’s custody.”

To learn more about Ntaganda’s crimes in interviews with his victims, please watch this short video uploaded by the Washington Post: “A Powerful Video on War Criminal Ntaganda”

For more information, please see:

AP News – International Court Detains Rwandan-Born Warlord – 22 March 2013

BBC – Bosco Ntaganda: Kagame Promises to Help Transfer to ICC – 22 March 2013

The Economist (blog) – A Surprising Surrender – 22 March 2013

The New York Times – War Crimes Suspect Leaves Congo for The Hague – 22 March 2013

Cameroon Among the Top For Most Aggressive Homosexual Prosecutions

By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

YAOUNDE, Cameroon – Cameroon has one of the most aggressive “homosexuality” prosecutions in the world, according to a report released Thursday by four human rights groups.

Local residents in Ambam, a small town in Cameroon, stand by during the trial of two women accused of homosexuality. (Photo courtesy of Huffington Post)

In cooperation with Alternatives-Cameroun, Association for the Defense of Gays and Lesbians (ADEFHO), and the Cameroonian Foundation for AIDS (CAMFAIDS), Human Rights Watch (HRW) conducted 10 case studies of arrests and prosecutions under article 347 bis of Cameroon’s penal code. Based on this statute, having sexual relations with the same sex is punishable by up to five years of imprisonment.

In their 55-page report, “Guilty by Association: Human Rights Violations in the Enforcement of Cameroon’s Anti-Homosexuality Law,” the human rights organizations revealed that at least 28 people have been prosecuted for same-sex conduct in Cameroon since 2010. Most of them were tortured, forced to confess, denied access to legal counsel, and subjected to “discriminatory treatment by law enforcement and judicial officials.”

The study also found out that most of the arrests were based solely on suspicion, while most of the convictions were based on little or no evidence.

One man from Limbre who was accused of being gay was beaten with an iron belt, in addition to being forced to swim in the gutter. Local police also burned plastic bags on his chest. Another detainee told the human rights groups that authorities had him “sleep naked on the floor and [they] beat him with clubs on his feet so severely that his toenails fell out.” Other men arrested for homosexuality were subjected to anal exams before being sent to jail.

According to the human rights groups, Cameroon’s anti-homosexual laws “violate international human rights standards and Cameroon’s own constitution”. In the first place, Cameroon ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) that protects the rights to privacy and non-discrimination. Secondly, as pointed out by HRW, Cameroon is a member of the Commonwealth, which has a charter that opposes discrimination on all grounds.

“Our government and our courts need to recognize that when it comes to Cameroon’s international human rights commitments, they cannot pick and choose on the basis of personal biases,” said Alice Nkom, president of ADEFHO.

Last month, the Association of Cameroon Roman Catholic jurists, a group of lawyers affiliated with the Catholic Church in Cameroon, expressed their support for the country’s anti-gay laws. According to the group, such laws prevent same-sex relationships which they, along with Archbishop of Yaoundé Simon-Victor Tonyé Bakot, describe as “a serious crime against humanity”.

The group’s chairperson, Sandrine Soppo, said that fighting homosexuality “is not a question of human rights violations . . . the question was about human dignity.”

 

For further information, please see:

ABC News – Report: Cameroon Officials Torture Gay Suspects – 21 March 2013

Huffington Post – Cameroon Officials Torture Gay Suspects, Says Human Rights Watch Report – 21 March 2013

Human Rights Watch – Cameroon: Rights Abuses in ‘Homosexuality’ Prosecutions – 21 March 2013

LGBTQ Nation – Report: Cameroon most aggressive country in prosecuting suspected gays – 21 March 2013

Africa Review – Cameroon Catholic lawyers vow to uphold anti-gay laws – 25 February 2013