News

UN Inquiry Accuses Government, and Rebel Forces of War Crimes

By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East 

DAMASCUS, Syria — Last Monday, investigators working in part with the UN Human Rights Council released a report for the UN Security Council, providing a list of names of the people who they suspect of committing war crimes in Syria.  Investigators said that their latest report was based on 445 interviews with victims and witnesses abroad.

Carla del Ponte spoke of the necessity of having the cases of “very high officials” determined by the International Community Court. (Photo Courtesy of The Daily Star)

The list gives the names of people who carried out orders, and also, the names of those who gave them.  Investigators urged the Security Council to ensure accountability, requesting that those suspected of war crimes be brought in front of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague.  Investigators said that the violations included murder and torture, which were committed by both government and rebel forces since the conflict, that claimed the lives of 70,000 people, began in March, 2011.

Investigators claimed that government forces carried out shelling and bombardment across Syrian cities and villages such as Aleppo, Damascus, Deraa, Homs, and Idib, citing recent satellite pictures of the region as evidence.  The report itself stated that “government forces and affiliated militias have committed extra-judicial executions, breaching international human rights law.  This conduct also constitutes the war crime of murder.”  UN Investigators say that government forces targeted “queues at bakeries and funeral processions, in violence aimed at ‘spreading terror among the civilian population,’ and used cluster bombs.”

The report also claims that rebel forces committed war crimes in their fight against President Bashar al-Assad’s forces.  The charges include murder, torture, hostage-taking, and using children under the age fifteen in hostilities.  “They continue to endanger the civilian population by positioning military objectives inside civilian areas,” the report said. Investigators also said that rebel snipers had added many additional civilian casualties.

The report noted that when compared to violations committed by government forces, war crimes perpetrated by rebel forces did not amount to the same intensity and scale.

UN Prosecutor Carla del Ponte, and a member of a UN-mandated commission of inquiry on the Syria conflict, emphasized the necessity of taking alleged war criminals to the ICC.  “The international community – and the UN Security Council – must take the decision to refer this to justice,” said del Ponte.  She said it was highly urgent for the ICC to hold hearings against “very high officials,” but did not identify them, since anonymity is part of the inquiry’s practice.  Acknowledging that they are not requiring the ICC to get involved, del Ponte, speaking on behalf of UN investigators, said “[w]e suggest the International Criminal Court.  We can’t decide, but we are pressuring the international community to act, because it’s time to act.”

For further information, please see:

Al Arabiya — U.N. Lists Syria War Crime Suspects in ‘Leadership Positions’ — 18 February 2013

Al Jazeera — UN: Both Sides Committing War Crimes in Syria — 18 February 2013

The Daily Star — Time to Refer Syrian War Crimes to ICC, UN Inquiry Says — 18 February 2013

Global Post — Syria War Crimes Suspects on Both Sides of Conflict, says UN — 18 February 2013

Russia Implements Volunteer Immigration Patrol Group

By Alexandra Sandacz
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia – Alexei Mayorov, the head of the Moscow City Government Regional Security Department, announced that a volunteer patrol force will be created to assist the Federal Migration Service (FMS) with enforcing immigration rules in Moscow. The volunteer groups will participate in city patrols, check documents and detain illegal immigrants together with FMS officers.

Immigration patrol volunteers will wear red vests to identify who they are. (Photo Courtesy of Ria Novosti)

Moscow City Hall reported that in 2012, the number of illegal immigrants extracted from the city increased by 150 percent. However, today, there are still around 200,000 to 300,000 illegal residents in Moscow.

While more than 300 people have already applied to the volunteer patrol group, Moscow authorities desire a total of 600 volunteers to help patrol for illegal immigrants throughout the city. Volunteers wear special red uniforms and patrol every neighborhood.

Russian officials maintain that patrol squad members are carefully screened and trained. Furthermore, aggressive individuals and ultranationalist are rejected.

Volunteers are authorized to search for illegal migrants at markets, construction and industrial sites, railways stations, shopping centers, and private apartments. Patrols will distribute handouts to immigrants with instructions and a list of documents required to obtain legal status.

Olga Kirillova, head of Moscow’s Migration Service, explained that only inspectors have the  authority to bring immigrants before the law. The police volunteers are manpower. She states, “Sometimes, it’s necessary to catch a violator who tries to run.”

However, rights advocates are nonetheless opposed to this new squad. Most human rights activists fear “aggressive-minded” people will join the patrol and will increase Russia’s anti-foreigner mood.

Svetlana Gannushkina, a prominent human rights campaigner specializing in migrants’ rights, stated, “I’m very upset by the rise of xenophobia that I observe in the city and in the country. These raids will be conducted not by law enforcement organs but by ordinary citizens, and I can just imagine what kind of enthusiasts will participate. They will bring nothing but more xenophobia, abuse, and divisions in society.”

She continued, “”Who has the right to detain people? You need very serious reasons to detain people, even police officers don’t always have the authority to do it. And now it is bestowed to random and probably aggressive people. No one has the right to deprive people of their freedom, to grab them in the street and drag them somewhere. What are we turning into? This is simply monstrous.”

Gavkhar Dzhurayeva, head of the Migration and Law information legal center, said,  “This is not a struggle against immigration but a manhunt. I back the idea of patrols, but volunteers should be trained to speak with immigrants in a civil manner. There must be certain ethics in communication, which are now absent.”

For further information, please see:

RFE/RL — Volunteer Squads Chase Illegal Migrants In Russia – 18 February 2013

RIA Novosti – Volunteer Patrols to Battle Illegal Immigration – 13 February 2013

Russia & India REPORT – Moscow to Hire Volunteers for Immigration Patrol – 13 February 2013

RIA Novosti – Moscow to Set Up Volunteer Patrol to Enforce Immigration Law – 12 February 2013

EU Launches Military Training Mission in Mali

By Heba Girgis
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

BAMAKO, Mali—European Union foreign ministers met in Brussels to discuss the situation in Mali. The group has officially decided to launch a mission to train the military in the African country of Mali. This decision was made today.

French soldiers talk to Malian soldiers outside Bourem in northern Mali. (Photo Courtesy of The Daily Start Lebanon)

This mission is designed to help the government of Mali take back and maintain control of the country. The first people in the mission, about 70 individuals, have already been sent to Mali so that they could begin the training as advisors to the Malian military. Officials of the European Union noted that more military instructors will be deployed before the end of March and official training will begin in April of this year.

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton noted that the mission “is going to be of enormous importance in support of the Malian army” which is currently a poorly equipped and trained force without the ability or capacity to maintain the country’s territorial integrity. About half of the troops will be military trainers, while the rest will serve by providing protection and administrative as well as medical backup.

The current 27 European Union nations first approved the idea of a training mission in December 2012 in order to boost the Malian army’s ability to fight Islamist rebels who seized control of the country’s northern region last year. But the actual launch of the training mission was quickly accelerated after France’s surprise intervention in its former colony on January 11, in order to stop the insurgents from continuing south toward the capital.

Approximately 16 countries from the European Union along with Norway have agreed to take part in this mission. The mission currently has a 12.3 million-euro budget, and each contributing nation is providing and financing its own troops.

Specifically, the mission will provide advice and military training to the Malian Armed Forces. This training will include on command control, logistics and human resources as well as training on international humanitarian law, the protection of civilians and protection of human rights. The mission, however, will not be directly involved in combat operations. The mission has an initial mandate of 15 months and will involve about 500 staff. The headquarters will be in Mali’s capital city of Bamako while training will take place in Koulikoro.

 

For further information, please see:

Global Post – EU Approves Military Mission to Mali – 18 February 2013

The Miami Herald – EU Launches Military Training Mission in Mali – 18 February 2013

New Europe – EU Send Training Mission to Mali – 18 February 2013

The Washington Post – EU Foreign Ministers Officially Launch Mission to Train the Military in Mali – 18 February 2013

 

Darfuri Activist’s10-year Sentence Modified to Death Penalty Without Hearing

By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KHARTOUM, Sudan – Human rights group Amnesty International demands the Sudanese government to halt the execution of local activist Bakri Moussa Mohammed.

Bakri Moussa Mohammed was an activist based in the Kalma camp for internally displaced people in Darfur. (Photo courtesy of AI/Evelyn Hockstein/Polaris)

Three years ago, Mohammed, a community activist who hails from Darfur, was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for murder. However, his sentence was revised to death penalty last year without any court hearing.

“We believe Bakri Moussa Mohammed is at imminent risk of being hanged and we implore the Sudanese authorities to act immediately to stop the execution, through whatever means available,” urged Amnesty International’s Africa director Netsanet Belay.

Belay also questions the grounds for modifying Mohammed’s sentence. According to him, “the vague circumstances of the change in Bakri’s sentence are a clear violation of fair trial standards.”

On December 31, 2012, almost three years after his imprisonment, Mohammed was informed by a prison officer that his sentence was changed to death penalty. On the same day, he was transferred to death row and brought to the gallows before being told by Sudanese authorities that his execution would be postponed for 35 days.

According to Amnesty International, that deadline has now passed. The human rights organization fears that Mohammed may be hanged any day this week.

Mohammed’s family join Amnesty International in calling on the Sudanese government to stop Mohammed’s execution. His family suspect that his transfer to death row was purely a political decision. They believe that it was the government’s way of punishing Mohammed for his protests against the current administration. They reasoned that the victim’s family already agreed to take blood money, totaling 60,000 Sudanese pounds, in lieu of capital punishment. In fact, the victim’s family already received 17,000 Sudanese pounds from them as a first installment, insisted Mohammed’s father. Thus, they do not see why Mohammed has to be executed.

“The Sudanese authorities have serious questions to answer about the revision of this sentence. Trials for crimes carrying the death penalty must comply with the most rigorous internationally recognized standards for fair trial,” said Netsnanet Belay. In a recent press release by Amnesty International, the group pointed out that international law prohibits any execution after a trial which does not meet international fair trial standards. In addition, any person sentenced to death also has the right to request a pardon or commutation of a death sentence.

“Those rules appear to have been flouted in the case of Bakri Moussa Mohammed, whom we fear is being persecuted solely for exercising his right to freedom of expression and assembly,” Belay added.

 

For further information, please see:

Amnesty International – Sudan must save Darfuri activist from imminent execution – 15 February 2013

Sudan Radio – Activist’s Family Calls for Halt to His Execution; Says it Paid Blood Money – 14 February 2013

Sudan Tribune – Darfur activist placed on death row – 14 February 2013

Amnesty International – Sudan: Darfur Activist at Imminent Risk of Execution: Bakri Moussa Mohammed – 13 February 2013

 

New Zealand Representative Criticized for Anti-Muslim Rant

By Mark O’Brien
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Political observers in New Zealand say the future of Richard Prosser does not look promising after an anti-Muslim rant has mired him in a national controversy.

New Zealand First MP Richard Prosser caused a controversy with recent anti-Muslim remarks that might jeopardize his political future. (Photo Courtesy of the New Zealand Herald)

Prosser, who is a House of Representatives member for the NZ First party, recently wrote in a magazine column that all young men “who are Muslim, look like Muslims, or come from a Muslim country” should be banned from flying “Western airlines,” according to TV NZ.  The New Zealand Herald also reported that the rant referred to Muslims as “troglodytes” and that Islam was a “stone-age religion.”

“He’s [upset] the party [to] no end,” an anonymous source familiar with the party told the Herald.  “The biggest issue is his total lack of judgment.”

So far, the NZ First party leader Winston Peters has said he does not believe Prosser should resign.  But criticism has been widespread, and the feeling around parliament is that Prosser may serve only one term.

“He’ll be so far down the list next time, you won’t see the top of his head,” the Herald’s source said, discussing Prosser’s future party standing if he survives the next election.

Prosser, who joined Parliament in 2011 fourth on the NZ First party list, has apologized for the comments.  He told the Herald that he believes his willingness to acknowledge he was wrong would go over well with voters.

“I think New Zealanders are essentially fair people,” Prosser said.  “[I]f you make a mistake but admit it, undertake not to do it again, and undertake to correct some of them . . . people will give you a fair go.”

Most people, however, do not appear to share that sentiment.  The Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand lodged a formal complaint against Prosser with the Human Rights Commission.  Association leaders called Prosser ignorant and undeserving of being an MP.

“You can maybe excuse it on a street corner on a drunken night, but not from a Member of Parliament,” said the association’s Jamal Green.  “This was not just an outburst.”

Judith Collins, who is New Zealand’s minister for both Ethnic Affairs and Human Rights, called Prosser’s comments “appalling and irresponsible.”  She called on the party to “avoid causing further embarrassment to New Zealand.”

Prosser’s rant was reportedly sparked by a recent incident when he was stopped from carrying his pocketknife on a flight to Christchurch.  This also is not Prosser’s first bought with controversy.  He previously called for a ban on burqas in public, mandatory army training for all citizens, and New Zealand’s South Island to become a separate state.

For further information, please see:

New Zealand Herald — MP Richard Prosser’s Future Looks Shaky — 16 February 2013

MSN NZ — Richard Prosser Faces a Bleak Future — 15 February 2013

TV NZ — Prosser to Be Reported to Human Rights Commission — 14 February 2013

3 News — Collins Slams Richard Prosser’s ‘Anti-Islamic Rant’ — 12 February 2013