News

Drug Cartels Blamed for Mass Graves in Veracruz

By Sarah Lafen
Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, North America

MEXICO CITY, Mexico — Within the past two weeks, two mass graves have been found in Veracruz, Mexico that are attributed to the work of local drug cartels.  Sometime within this past week, over 250 human skulls were found in a mass grave in the Mexican state Veracruz, according to state attorney general Jorge Winckler.  Winckler did not comment on the exact day they found the grave, however he noted that this particular site might be the largest grave in Mexico.

Clothing hangs on a fence that surrounds a recently discovered mass grave in Alvarado (Photo Courtesy of Reuters)

Mexican authorities believe the human remains belong to victims of drug cartels and organized crime from recent years.  Identification of the remains has begun, however has proved to be a slow and complicated process.  Authorities are working to match the skulls to those in their database of missing people.  Members of Colectivo Solecito, a group of relatives of the missing victims, aided discovery of the mass grave.

Martha Gonzalez, a member of Colectivo Solecito, noted that some will finally get closure as a result of the discovery.  She recognized that although the authorities just give her the bones of her victim relative, she will be able to keep them somewhere safe, “put a flower on it,” and will be able to know they “are really there and resting.”

This past Sunday, another 47 skulls were unearthed from a few different locations near the town of Alvarado.  Winckler said that the remains were found in eight different unmarked graves found within a 120-square meter area.  So far, authorities have been able to match the remains to five people.

Winckler blames drug traffickers for using Veracruz for many years as a dumping ground for bodies.  An ongoing turf war between the Zetas cartel and the Jalisco New Generation cartel is suspected to contribute to the high amounts of violence in the area.  On March 1, 2017, 11 bodies were found near a popular tourist site.

Winckler also blamed the previous state government for not taking enough action to find and identify the bodies of people reported missing.  Alluding to former governor Javier Duarte, who has charges of money laundering, organized crime, and looting state coffers against him, Winckler pointed out that “[f]or many years, the drug cartels disappeared people and the authorities were complacent.”

 

For more information, please see:

BBC — Mexico Violence: Skulls Found in New Veracruz Mass Grave — 20 March 2017

Reuters — Mexico Drug War Investigators Unearth 47 More Skulls in Mass Graves — 20 March 2017

Newsweek — Drug Cartels Blamed for Mass Grave Discovery in Mexico — 19 March 2017

CNN — ‘One Big Mass Grave’: More than 250 Human Skulls Found in Mexico — 15 March 2017

China’s Government Forced to Address Water Pollution

By: Nicole Hoerold
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia 

BEIJING, China – As World Water Day just passed, it seems fitting to address the water pollution and water shortages plaguing southeast Asia. China has a particular difficulty with pollution and has begun to take action to counteract its consequences. Many Chinese towns and cities rely on polluted water sources, and the pollution’s effects have begun to materialize.

A severely polluted Shaying River in Henan Province, China. Photo courtesy of Dengjia/CNN.

Residents of Dawu, located in China’s Henan province, say that they are being killed by their water supply. A major water source for the region is the Ying River, which has been heavily polluted for over a decade.

The river’s poisoned water has, over time, spread its toxins to underground water sources including those used for irrigation. A villager by the name of Wu Zongjun claims to personally know twenty individuals diagnosed with cancer in his village since 2010. In 2013, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention issued a report which confirmed the correlation between the water pollution and increases in cancer diagnoses in the region.

Unfortunately, the water crisis extends far beyond the Dawu village, as many Chinese towns and cities face significant water pollution. Moreover, cities and towns, including the nations capital, suffer from frequent water shortages.

Other governments around the globe face similar difficulties in supplying clean water sources. Nearly one third of the people in sub-Saharan Africa do not have a safe drinking water supply. The World Water Council has called on governments to invest adequate amounts of their budgets towards clean water projects. World Water Day has reminded global citizens of the importance of spreading awareness to try and make a difference. There is still much to be done to supply all in need with clean water.

For more information, please see: 

CNN – Can China fix its mammoth water crisis before it’s too late? – 21 March, 2017

ABC News – African governments urged to spend more on clean water – 22 March, 2017

Inter Press Service – Asia’s Water Politics Near the Boiling Point – 21 March, 2017 

Eco-Business – Fighting China’s war on pollution – 20 March, 2017

Cameroon Forcing Refugees to Return to Nigeria

By Samantha Netzband 

Impunity Watch, Africa Desk Reporter 

YAOUNDE, Cameroon– Word is spreading that Cameroon is returning refugees to Nigeria despite the fact the country is still facing conflict with Boko Haram.  UNHCR and other international organizations that work to protect refugees are deeply concerned by Cameroon’s actions.  According to reports 2600 refugees have been forcefully returned to Nigeria from Cameroon.

Refugees at a camp in Cameroon. (Photo Courtesy of UNHCR)

UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch detailed a specific situation where Cameroon soliders forced refugees out of the country.  “UNHCR teams have heard and documented accounts about Cameroonian troops returning refugees against their will – without allowing them time to collect their belongings. In one incident on March 4, some 26 men, and 27 women and children, were sent back from the Cameroonian border town of Amtide, in Kolofata district, where they had sought refuge, according to UNHCR monitoring teams in the border regions.”  UNHCR has acknowledged Cameroon’s generosity in accepting 85,000 refugees but is calling upon Cameroon to be responsible for its obligations under international law.

Boko Haram has killed 15,000 and displaced 2 million in Nigeria.  While a regional coalition has been able to push back Boko Haram they have been successful in being more active in the the Lake Chad area.  Boko Haram is also not only an issue for Nigeria, but Cameroon.  200,000 Cameroonian’s have left their homes because they fear Boko Haram’s violence may spread.

For more information, please see: 

BBC Africa – Boko Haram crisis: Cameroon ‘forcing Nigeria refugees home’ – 21 March 2017

news 24 – Cameroon expelled 2 600 Nigerians fleeing Boko Haram: UN – 21 March 2017

Thomson Reuters Foundation – Cameroon forcing thousands of refugees to return to Boko Haram-hit Nigeria – UN – 21 March 2017

UNHCR – UNHCR concerned about return of Nigerian refugees from Cameroon – 21 March 2017

H&M Factory Uprising Prompts Renewed Probe at Labor Rights

By: Nicole Hoerold
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia 

NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar – In early February, workers demanding better conditions, wages, and benefits held a violent protest in a Chinese-owned factory which produces clothing for fashion label H&M. The workers of the factory, which is located in Myanmar, damaged company property and physically attacked store managers, prompting the company to temporarily halt further production in the facility.

A young woman works at a major garment factory. Photo courtesy of Reuters.

The dispute arose out of strikes which began in January 2017, after the leader of a labor union got fired. The incident speaks to the importance of protecting such labor unions, as many workers are generally unaware of their rights and protections while at work. Few large-scale garment factories are unionized, as union leaders and activists are often dismissed and blacklisted, which prevents them from finding other employment.

The labor dispute extends past the incident at the Chinese-owned H&M factory. Bangladeshi authorities have been accused of harassing and intimidating garment workers following demonstrations for higher wages. The garment industry in Bangladesh is a multi billion-dollar industry, which allows incredible opportunity for companies and factories to undermine worker’s rights and protections.

Labor rights activists are now calling on the international community to act by increasing pressure on corporations like H&M to ensure good working conditions and fair wages. The trouble in doing so is that companies like H&M often have little say in the implementation of those kinds of policies at the production phase. Likely, the most effective means of ensuring such protections are for local governments to pass stricter laws and regulations. There is little that the international community or activists can do to force such a measure, though an increased discourse on the issues certainly may help.

For more information, please see:

Deutsche Welle – Pressure mounts on Bangladesh over garment workers’ rights – 23 February, 2017

Reuters – H&M factory in Myanmar damaged in violent labor dispute – 7 March, 2017

Asia Times – Mixed Prognosis for Myanmar garment sector – 14 March, 2017

The Guardian – H&M supply factory in Myanmar damaged in violent labour protest – 7 March, 2017

Eta Militant Group in Spain to Disarm by April 8th

By Sarah Lafen

Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Europe

 

MADRID, Spain — The Basque Militant Group Eta is rumored to fully disarm by April 8, 2017 according to sources who have spoken with Basque separatists and the Spanish government.  Pro-Basque independence and environmental group Bizi is credited with the disarmament.  Eta has killed over 800 people over the course of more than four decades, and a permanent ceasefire was declared six years ago however the group refused to give up any of its weapons.

People protest against the Basque militant group Eta (Photo Courtesy of The Local ES)

Eta has grown significantly weaker in recent years after many of its members were arrested and police officers seized several of the group’s weapon stashes.

Inigo Urkullu, Basque regional government leader, assured that his administration considered the rumored disarmament to be credible and that his authority would do everything within their power for the “disarmament to come through well.”  He commented that he hoped the disarmament would be “definitive, unilateral, irrevocable, complete and legal.”  However, Urkullu added that “not everything is in [his administration’s] hands” and asked that both Madrid and Paris help mediate talks between the group and the government.

No formal announcement has been made regarding the disarmament, however Spanish Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido stated in a tweet that Eta must “dissolve itself and disappear. It has had time to disarm and it must know that it won’t get anything in exchange” for doing so.  Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy confirmed that Eta will not receive anything in exchange for the disarmament.

The Spanish government cautioned that the group has made similar promises in the past, however has not followed through.  Rajoy commented that “ETA has made the umpteenth announcement and says it will disarm.”  In the past, Eta has unsuccessfully tried to wager deals with the Spanish and French governments in exchange for disarmament on several occasions.  The Spanish and French governments denied the proposed deals and insisted only that the group hands over their arsenal.

Both the United States and the European Union consider Eta to be a terrorist organization.  The group reportedly hopes to negotiate its disarmament in exchange for amnesty or improved prison conditions for hundreds of its members who are currently being held in Spain and France.

 

For more information, please see:

The Japan News — Spain: ETA Gets Nothing in Return for Disarmament — 20 March 2017

BBC — Spain: Eta Militant Group ‘to Disarm Fully by 8 April — 17 March 2017

The Local ES — Basque Separatist Group Eta to Fully Disarm by April 8th — 17 March 2017

The New York Times — Basque Separatist Group ETA is Said to Promise to Disarm — 17 March 2017