News

How the Elderly and Disabled “Disappear”

By Sarah Purtill
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

LITCHFIELD PARK, Arizona – The Center for Disease Control estimates that more than two million Americans use wheelchairs in their daily lives and approximately 6.5 million depend on canes, walkers or crutches. Right now, about 15% of the population in America is 65 or older. It is estimated that by 2060, 25% of the population will be 65 or older.  What those numbers do not tell, is how those people are treated by society.

Nancy Root is an 82, child-polio survivor who today calls herself a cripple. Five years ago, after the death of her husband, Nancy’s condition began to change. Her arms got weaker and her legs got wobblier. Nancy recounted when she disappeared. She was in a shopping mall that was rather large so she decided to use a wheelchair because her legs were not as good as they used to be. Nancy says during that shopping trip, she waited longer for service in the mattress store that she and her friend were shopping in.

Nancy Root can recall the occasion where she first disappeared. Photo Courtesy of Conor E. Ralph of the New York Times.

Nancy says after this, she began noticing how much people withdrew from her. When she was in the chair, people did not look at her. Instead, they looked around her, through her, or to whoever was pushing her chair. “They think I’m mentally incapacitated. I’m sure of that. I’d stake my life on it,” she said. She says doctors offices are the worst. The receptionists usually do not address her. Instead, they will address the person pushing the wheelchair with questions like, “Does this lady have an appointment?”

But Nancy still has her mental wit about her. People just assume that because she is in the chair, she is not as aware as someone who is not in a chair.  She said, “They don’t allow this lady to have a brain.” Nancy experiences this everywhere; at the movie theater, on airplanes, in restaurants. Nancy is not the only person to experience this. Many people who have disabilities or who are older experience this kind of treatment regularly. People often edit them out of the frame.

Part of the problem is that people do not want to bring attention to people’s disabilities or they are worried about saying the wrong thing. So, instead of being inclusive, it is easier to just remain in blissful ignorance to avoid a potentially awkward situation. But this phenomenon means people are being isolated and ignored which may negatively impact their lives and social interactions. It has been argued that it is inadvertently cruel to exclude part of the population simply because the interaction might be awkward. The first step toward changing this is bringing the issue to light.

For more information, please see:

National Review – Bruni “Gets It” About Disability Bias – Except for Assisted Suicide – 17 December 2017

New York Times – Are You Old? Infirm? Then Kindly Disappear – 16 December 2017

Shooting and Bombing in Southern Thailand Leaves Several Injured

By: Katherine Hewitt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 BANGKOK, Thailand – For the past 13 years, armed conflict has been waging in Southern Thailand. The clashes are between Muslim-Malay insurgents and Thai troops and police.   Most of the victims of the shootings and bombs are civilians. These attacks happen nearly daily.   The Muslim-Malay fighters hope to gain more autonomy in this conflict.

Forensic scientists at the scene of a shooting and bombing incident in southern Thailand in April. Photo courtesy of EPA// The Malaysian Insight.

Since the junta seized power in 2014 and started peace talks, incidents decreased. “This year’s [2017] death toll is the lowest ever if no significant incidents happen in the coming days” reports a Deep South Watch representative. As of a November 2017 report, the latest monthly report available on Deep South Watch’s webpage, there have been 37 incidents. This resulted in 18 death and 18 injured. Most of the victims have been male and between the ages of 18 and 59.

Adding to this list are 6 Thai rangers and a woman who were injured in a separate shooting and bombing on December 26, 2017.

The December 26th incident was a shooting. Four rangers drove through Jalan Kampung Daging-Kampung Bilok in Narathiwat, when “unknown individuals fires multiple shots at the vehicle.” All four received gunshot injurious. A stray bullet injured a civilian woman.

About half an hour later, a bomb exploded close to the scene of the shooting. Two rangers, helping the shooting victims, were injured. 

For more information, please see:

 The Malaysian Insight – 6 rangers, woman hurt in southern Thailand shooting and bombing – 26 December 2017

The Straits Times – Death toll in Thailand’s southern conflict hits record low – 27 December 2017

 Deep South Watch – Summary of Incidents in Southern Thailand, November 2017 – 7 December 2017

French President Defends Migration Policy

By Jenilyn Brhel
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

CALAIS, France – Amidst continued criticism of his treatment of France’s migrant issue, French President Emmanuel Macron travelled to the port city Calais, a center of the country’s migrant problem, to defend his policies.

President Macron Visited A Migrant Center in France. Photo Courtesy of Michel Spingler.

Before Macron was elected in May 2017, he campaigned as a supporter of migrants. At the time, his opponent was staunchly against allowing migrants into the country.

However, since his election, critics complain that Macron has betrayed his supporters by allowing continued expulsions of migrants and police crackdowns targeted at migrants.

The coastal city of Calais has become a symbol of France’s migrant problem. Upwards of 700 migrants are currently in the area, most hoping to make it to the United Kingdom by way of the English Channel.

Calais was once home to a migrant camp of 7,000 people that became known as the “Jungle.” The camp was dismantled in 2016.

During his visit, Macron outlined France’s stance toward immigration and asylum. He maintained that those entitled to be in France will be given shelter and support, while those who are in the country illegally will be expelled.

“To stay in Calais and build makeshift shelters and even set up squats is a dead end. The alternative is clear; people can get to the reception centers where everyone’s case will be examined and those who have the right, given asylum in our country,” Macron said in a speech while in Calais.

In his speech, Macron also called for French law enforcement officers to act with respect towards migrants. According to a Human Rights Watch Report published in the summer of 2017, French police “routinely use(d) pepper spray on child and adult migrants while they…[were]… sleeping or in other circumstances in which they pose(d) no threat.” Although Macron discredited some accounts, he maintained that if the alleged abuses did occur that they will be punished.

Macron has worked to establish checkpoints overseas in order to separate economic migrants from asylum seekers. Those who are seeking political asylum are given priority over those seeking entry into the country for economic reasons.

A new migrant policy is expected to be released next month. Plans will be unveiled to quicken the application process for those seeking asylum as well as expel those who are in the country illegally faster.

France received over 100,000 asylum applications in 2017. Approximately 85,000 migrants were refused entry into the country.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – France Will not Allow Another ‘Jungle’ Camp in Calais, Says Macron – 16 January 2018

The Guardian – France Will not Allow Another Refugee Camp in Calais, Says Macron – 16 January 2018

The New York Times – Macron Defends Migration Policy in France, Walking A Fine Line – 16 January 2018

The Washington Post – France’s Macron Pushes Back Against Angry Allies to Defend Crackdowns on Migrants – 16 January 2018

UN reports more than 100 activists murdered in Colombia in 2017

By: Emily Green
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Columbia – The United Nations reports that more than 100 human rights activists have been killed in Colombia in 2017, denouncing the government’s inactions.

Colombia’s government and rebels signed peace accords and ended their civil war this year. Image Courtesy of Anadolu Agency.

The UN urges the Colombian government to be more accountable and provide better protections for its activists. The peace accord, which ended a 50-year civil war, was signed by the Colombian government and FARC rebels last year. Since it was signed, activists have been particularly at risk in regions that were vacated by rebel fighters. These zones are often rural and now have a power vacuum because of the withdrawal of rebels.

The UN report shows that more than half of the 105 human rights activists and community leaders murdered this year were killed by gunmen. At least eleven other cases are still under investigation. This count does not yet include the events that transpired in December, when a community leader in Puerto Colombia, Putumayo was murdered along with his eight-year-old daughter. The activist, Pablo Oviedo, was walking with his daughter when they were ambushed by multiple gunmen and shot several times. They were declared dead at a hospital in Puerto de Asis. Oviedo’s two brothers are both human rights activists and have been declared missing.

Even more tragically, these murders occurred hours after the Colombian Defense Minister Luis Carlos Villegas participated in a security council meeting to address the city’s increased violence. Social leaders that attended this meeting wore masks to avoid being victims of the violence.

The UN human rights office states, “We note with deep concern the persistence of cases of killings of human rights defenders in the country. Cases of killings of male and female leaders and [rights] defenders have occurred in areas from which the FARC has left, and which has created a vacuum of power by the state.”

To put this in perspective, UN reports show that 45 rights defenders were killed in 2014, 59 in 2015, and 127 in 2016. Local groups explain that leaders who speak out against rights abuses and activists campaigning for land rights are targeted because they threaten the economic interests of organized crime groups. Most victims belong to Afro-Colombian and indigenous groups.

In December, Defense Minister Villegas stated that authorities are working to bring those responsible for the murders to justice. The UN human rights office maintains that “the prevention of attacks and aggressions against human rights defenders involves investigation, prosecution and punishment of those responsible.”

Out of all recorded murders of human rights defenders last year, three out of four took place in the Americas.

For more information, please see:

The Guardian – More than 100 human rights activists killed in Colombia in 2017, UN says – 21 December 2017

Telesur – Murder of Colombian Social Leader Highlights UN Condemnation – 21 December 2017

Business Standard – More than 100 rights and labour activists killed in Colombia – 21 December 2017

Democracy Now – Colombia: 100 Human Rights Activists Killed in 2017, According to U.N. – 21 December 2017

Thomson Reuters – Colombia rights activists facing danger, U.N. says – 20 December 2017

Former Peruvian president granted divisive pardon

By: Emily Green
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

LIMA, Peru – Alberto Fujimori ruled Peru in the 1990s and was sentenced to 25 years in prison for human rights abuses and corruption. On Sunday, Peru’s current president, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, granted him a medical pardon.

Protestors gather outside of the hospital where Fujimori is being treated. Image Courtesy of Guadalupe Pardo.

Fujimori expressed his gratitude to President Kuczynski in a video from his hospital bed. He explains that the pardon had a strong impact on him, creating “a mix of extreme happiness as well as sorrow.” He stated, “I’m aware that the results produced by my government were well received by some, but I recognize that I have let down others. Those I ask for forgiveness from the bottom of my heart.”

Fujimori suspended civil liberties and oversaw a violent crackdown on the opposition during his presidency from 1990 to 2000. In 2007, he was extradited from Chile and sentenced to jail for six years on charges of bribery and abuse of power. Two years later, he was sentenced to another 25 years for human rights abuses from his rule. Fujimori was convicted of authorizing military death squads.

Critics denounce the pardon and claim it was motivated by a desire to reward Fujimori’s son, Kenji. The congressman helped the president survive a crucial impeachment vote last week when the conservative Popular Force party, who controls Congress, tried to impeach him over a corruption scandal. However, they failed because Kenji split the party’s vote, thus allowing the president to stay in power.

President Kuczynski’s office states that he granted a “humanitarian pardon” to Fujimori and seven other people in similar condition. Doctors have declared that he has a progressive, degenerative, and incurable illness.

However, protestors rallied as soon as the pardon came to light and claim that the pardon was carried out in an illegal manner. They say the president was trying to save his own skin and the pardon was treason. One protestor stated, “The reality is that this sadly was a political agreement between the Fujimorists and the current government.”

Activists and protestors gathered by the thousands in Lima, the capital, in late December. Human rights experts and political analysts join in the criticism. President Kuczynski pardoned one of the few Latin American strongmen who has been held accountable in judicial proceedings for abuses committed during his reign. The South American representative for the UN High Commission for Human Rights claims that “not putting victims at the center of this decision derails the progress the Peruvian state has made on truth, justice, memory, and reparations.”

The pardon has already cost the president the support of three allies in Congress. They resigned in protest and leave him with only 15 allies left in the lawmaking body.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Peru’s Alberto Fujimori speaks after divisive pardon – 26 December 2017

NY Times – From a Hospital Bed, Alberto Fujimori Asks Peru to ‘Forgive Me’ – 26 December 2017

Latina – Thousands of Peruvians Protest the Pardon of Former President Fujimori – 26 December 2017

Bloomberg – Peru’s President Back Under Fire for Freeing Leader – 26 December 2017

CNN – Peru’s ex-leader Fujimori asks for forgiveness amid heated protests – 26 December 2017