News

Japanese Citizens Petition Human Rights Court to Prosecute North Korean Leader

 By: Katherine Hewitt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia 

TOKYO, Japan – Roughly 16 years after North Korea openly admitted to kidnapping 13 Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s, families of the victims hope to bring an International Criminal Court (ICC) case against Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea.

Kim Jong Un waves to onlookers at a military parade on April 15, 2017. Photo courtesy of Damir Sagolj, Reuters.

While Pyongyang says only 13 Japanese citizens were kidnapped, Tokyo officially reports 17 abductees. The U.N. believes the number is closer to 100. Moreover, the Investigation Commission on Missing Japanese Probably Related to North Korea quotes 470 disappearances related to North Korean kidnappings.

During negotiations in 2002 about the kidnappings, North Korea returned 5 Japanese citizens. They reported that the rest had died. However, Japan believed that the information provided to confirm the deaths was insufficient and suspicious.

Eight Japanese citizens will travel to the ICC in The Hague. Several members of this party had families members taken.  They believe that their family members are still alive and are severely repressed.

Their goal is to petition the ICC to open a case against Kim Jong Un for crimes against humanity. The charge is for not providing adequate information regarding the deaths of the kidnapped Japanese. The petition calls for an investigation of more than 100 kidnappings. Yet, these events happened under Kim Jong Un’s father and grandfather.

The representatives hope this decision (and ensuing criminal case) will bring an international focus to the kidnappings.   

For more information, please see:

Straits Times – Families of missing Japanese to urge prosecution of North Korea leader Kim Jong Un at Hague court – 19 January 2018

The Japan Times – Abductees’ kin will urge ICC to prosecute Kim for human rights abuses – 19 January 2018

Newsweek – WILL KIM JONG UN GO TO JAIL? RELATIVES OF JAPAN KIDNAPPING VICTIMS ASK COURT FOR JUSTICE – 19 January 2018

U.S. accuses Syria in the latest chemical attacks

Matthew Sneed
Impunity Watch Reporter, The Middle East

United Nations – On January 23, the United States accused the Syrian government of using chlorine gas attacks in the same rebel region four years ago. The chemical attack took place on January 22 in Eastern Ghouta. As of now, 21 people have been admitted to a hospital, including six children. The rebel base near Damascus, Syria’s capital, has fought against the government for the past seven years.

Victims in Eastern Ghouta receive treatment following the chemical attack on January 22. Photo courtesy of Mohammed Badra, European Pressphoto Agency.

On August 23, 2013, Eastern Ghouta was attacked with a strain nerve agent. This attack killed approximately 1,400 people. While President Assad denied responsibility, he agreed to destroy his arsenal of chemical weapons and promised to never use such weapons in the war. This deal, created by the United States and Russia, prevented an American response. The latest attack on January 23 is, at least, the second report of chemical attacks within the past months. However, there is no official way to determine who launched the attacks because the United Nation’s Security Council panel was disbanded after Russia vetoed the council’s renewal.

The UN called an emergency meeting the day after the attack. During the meeting, US Ambassador Nikki Haley heavily criticized the Russian government for failing to stop Syria. “We know that for years Russia has looked the other way while their Syrian friends use these despicable weapons of war,” she said. “Russia is complicit in the Assad regime’s atrocities. Will the Russian Federation say anything at all today about the suffering caused by Assad’s barbaric tactics? Will they hold Assad to account? Of course not. They never do.”

Haley was not the only U.S. official criticizing Russia. On the same day Haley spoke to the UN, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spoke in Paris at a meeting where approximately 20 countries were coming together to discuss a new organization that would identify and punish countries who used chemical weapons. Tillerson condemned Russia’s failure to follow through on the agreement in 2013. “There is simply no denying that Russia, by shielding its Syrian ally, has breached its commitments to the United States as a framework guarantor,” he said. “Russia’s failure to resolve the chemical weapons issue in Syria calls into question its relevance to the resolution to the overall crisis.”

Russian officials denied the attacks and called the reports “uncorroborated.” While, Russia has claimed it has a proposal for a new method of investigations involving chemical weapons, Haley stated that the United States would not accept any Russian proposal regarding the matter.

For more information please see:

New York Times – U.S. accuses Syria of New Chemical Weapons Use – 23, Jan. 2018

Newsweek – U.S. blames Russia for Syrian chemical attack – 23, Jan. 2018

CNN – Nikki Haley says Russia is complicit in Syrian atrocities – 24, Jan. 2018

Uruguay farmers hold mass protest over excessive costs

By: Emily Green
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

DURAZNO, Uruguay – Tens of thousands of farmers gathered in Uruguay to protest the government’s excessive spending. Their main demand was tax cuts for the agricultural sector.

Uruguayan farmers gather in protest. Image Courtesy of AFP.

Uruguay is one of the world’s largest cattle exporters and agriculture is key to its economy. Protestors claim that the government is spending excessively for itself and then handing the cost down to farmers. They reference spending on things such as office rents and the government’s fleet of vehicles, and ask that the Uruguayan government review its fiscal and government companies’ policies. The goal is to decrease the costs of fuel and power, as well as municipal level taxes on land.

The demonstration occurred in the city of Durazno under a massive display of unity. Farmers and their families waved Uruguayan flags as they gathered in tractors, vans, trucks, harvesters, and on horseback. This mass gathering is the first major protest the Frente Amplio (Broad Front) coalition government has ever experienced. The coalition came to power almost thirteen years ago.

Federico Hozman, the organizer of the protest, explained, “We’re sick of our voices being ignored, but when it comes to collecting taxes, we’re not ignored.” The movement began with several farmers who were disappointed by President Vazquez’s decision to repeatedly postpone their meeting request. Soon after, the protest expanded to other groupings and lobbies such as industry, exporters, manufacturers, and tourism. It became known as the “One Uruguay” movement.

In response to the massive demonstration, the government media tried to downplay the event by saying that attendance was lacking. Even radical groups tried to label it as a political play by the opposition. Nevertheless, the farmers have strong numbers to argue. The costs of the Uruguayan government have increased from $3.3 billion in 2004 to $17 billion today. The payroll has added a huge amount of new staff and green energy promises have fallen through. Additionally, money exchange rate is an issue. A recent report from the IMF announced that the US dollar in Uruguay was undervalued and should be at least 15% more expensive.

The protest ended peacefully as the farmers were promised the opportunity to present their proposals to President Vazquez.  They handed over a list from independent farmers and are told they will be brought into talks with leaders of the country’s agricultural associations. The list includes fixing conditions of highways and roads, cutting gas costs, correcting currency issues, and dropping electricity costs. The protestors hope that these changes will limit competition conditions for the farming industry.

For more information, please see:

Herald Tribune – Uruguay President to Study Demands of Small Farmers – 27 January 2018

Kaplan Herald – Uruguay farmers maintain mass protest over excessive prices – 27 January 2018

MercoPress – “Enough is enough,” thousands of Uruguayan farmers tell the government – 24 January 2018

BBC News – Uruguay farmers hold mass protest over high costs – 24 January 2018

Pope defends Peru’s Amazon and its indigenous groups

By: Emily Green
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

PUERTO MALDONADO, Peru – Pope Francis traveled to a distant corner of the Amazon on Friday, January 19. In Peru’s jungle, he met with indigenous people to discuss the deforestation and illegal mining that wreak havoc on their livelihood.

Pope Francis delivers speech to representatives of indigenous groups. Image Courtesy of Vincenzo Pinto.

The Pope arrived at his first official event in Puerto Maldonado aboard his popemobile. He was greeted by thousands of indigenous people decked out in traditional dress. Men in loincloths and colorful costumes surrounded him and chanted, “Francis, Francis, you are now Amazonian.”

Puerto Maldonado is the capital of one of the Peruvian Amazon’s most threatened regions, Madre de Dios. Deforestation has escalated to the point that scientists at the Mapping of the Andean Amazon consider it a “deforestation crisis.” Calculations have tracked an increasing trend of annual forest loss since 2001 that peaked in 2017. In 2017 alone, 208 square kilometers (80 square miles) of forest were lost. Gold miners and farmers are taking down trees with little regard to the effects of their operations. Logging and mining devastates the forest and contaminates the air, water, and soil with toxins. As a result, indigenous people who rely on those resources are suffering.

Pope Francis arrived with a plan to highlight environmental issues and human rights violations. During a 20-minute speech, the pontiff said, “We have to break with the historical paradigm that views the Amazon as an inexhaustible source of supplies for other countries, without concern for its inhabitants. Defense of the Earth has no other purpose than the defense of life.” He regarded the Amazon as a source of biological riches as well as a “culture reserve.” He recognized that it was under threat by new forms of colonialism, and suggested that limits be set to help preserve the habitat from massive destruction.

The visit was meant to build on his treatise on the environment, the 2015 Laudato Si encyclical, which is a plan for a council of Amazon Basin bishops. The message guides the clergy and their followers on key environmental issues. The crowd applauded this message, but some express concern that it does not go far enough to protect the rights of inhabitants. The pope did not specifically reference some of the controversial issues faced by indigenous peoples such as territorial demarcation, property titles and consent, and the right to veto extractive or infrastructure projects.

However, the pope did dedicate part of his address to people living in isolation. Many leaders and representatives of indigenous groups were in attendance to present their case to the pope. Pope Francis said that they were the “most vulnerable of the vulnerable” and should not be considered a “kind of museum of a bygone way of life.”  He did not go after illegal mining directly, but did not completely avoid it. He said, “There exists another devastating assault on life linked to this environmental contamination favored by illegal mining. I am speaking of human trafficking: slave labor and sexual abuse.”

For more information, please see:

Washington Post – Pope brings environmental crusade to Peru’s Amazon, citing ‘defense of the earth’ – 19 January 2018

Los Angeles Times – Pope Francis, in Peru, speaks of threats to native Amazonian people and the rainforest – 19 January 2018

Straits Times – Pope to meet indigenous people in Peruvian Amazon – 19 January 2018

Mongabay – Pope set to visit site of deforestation, indigenous struggle in Peru – 19 January 2018

Voice of America – Pope Heads to Chile, Peru to Focus on Indigenous People – 14 January 2018

Afghan Military Units Accused of Child Rape Receive U.S. Aid

By: Katherine Hewitt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

KABUL, Afghanistan – In a report released on January 18, 2018, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction noted ‘gross human rights abuses’ by the Afghan military. Several of these included child sexual assault, though the full scope of the sexual abuse is unclear as a result of a lack of resources and access.

Of a total of 75 incidents recorded from 2010-2016 by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, “7 involved child sexual assault, 46 involved other gross violations of human rights, and 22 were classified at a level above Secret because of the sensitivity of the information or the sources and methods used to obtain the information.” However, the U.S. Military personnel reported 5,753 human rights violations for the same time span.

Afghan Military Units continue to receive U.S. Military Aid despite child sex abuse cases. Image courtesy of Ghulamullah Habibi.

The cases of child sexual abuse by members of the Afghan military frequently refer to widespread practice of bacha bazi (boy play), where underage boys are kept as sex slaves for Afghan commanders.

According to the Leahy Law, U.S. military aid cannot be given to foreign military involved in human rights violations. However, U.S. aid has continued to flow to the Afghan military despite the 5,753 reports and 75 confirmed incidents. Additionally, many of the U.S. servicemen have seen negative consequences (even death) as a result of reporting child rapes and sexual abuse.

How does the U.S. military evade the Leahy Law? There is a loophole called the “notwithstanding clause” that states the Afghan military should receive aid no matter what. In this manner, 14 Afghan units continued to be supported despite allegations of child rapes against them.

A U.S. Senate committee hopes that this report will be a step forward to closing the legal loophole.

For more information, please see:

The New York Times – Afghan Pedophiles Get Free Pass From U.S. Military, Report says – 23 January 2018

The Washington Examiner – Senate targets loophole Defense Department used to support Afghan forces accused of human rights abuses – 23 January 2018

The Washington Post – Pentagon and watchdog at odds over efforts to prevent sexual abuse of children by Afghan troops – 23 January 2018

Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction – (U) Child Sexual Assault in Afghanistan: Implementation of the Leahy Laws and Reports of Assault by Afghan Security Forces – 18 January 2018

The Guardian – US military fails to tackle sexual abuse of children by Afghan allies, report finds – 24 January 2018