By Samuel Miller
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America and Oceania

CANBERRA, Australia — The Australian Government declared Monday a deal to resettle refugees in Cambodia is still on track, despite reports indicating the Cambodian Government would not take more Australian refugees. Under an agreement signed in September last year, Australia is paying Cambodia to take in refugees rejected from its detention center on Nauru, a tiny Oceanic island country located within the South Pacific.

So far, however, only four refugees from Nauru have volunteered to go to Cambodia.

Four refugees, an Iranian couple, an Iranian man and a Rohingyan man from Burma, were transferred from Nauru to the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh in June. Currently, they live in relative luxury in an Australian-funded villa, and the plan is to have the refugees remain there indefinitely.

Over the weekend, Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak was quoted in the Cambodian Daily as saying the four refugees were “enjoying their life” in Cambodia. At the same time, however, Mr. Sopheak commented on the continued enterprise between the two countries.

“We don’t have any plans to import more refugees from Nauru to Cambodia. I think the less we receive the better.”

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the refugee deal “was still on track”, and “should be looked at as an important agreement which indicates Cambodia’s readiness to be a good international citizen.” Additionally, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said Australia had a level of confidence in the agreement, and “we hope a lot more will follow the four who have already gone”.

A fact sheet on life in Cambodia given out on Nauru serves to act as an inducement. It paints an implausibly rosy picture of life, describing the country as “rapidly developing” with “all the freedoms of a democratic society”, as well as “a high standard of health care with multiple hospitals”, and no “violent crime or stray dogs”.

What Australia tells its own citizens about Cambodia is rather different. Australia’s foreign affairs department says on its website, “Health and medical services in Cambodia are generally of a very poor quality and very limited in the services they can provide”.

The Australian Government declined to comment on the apparent discrepancy.

Labor’s immigration spokesman, Richard Marles, called on Dutton to explain the situation. “This is an expensive joke and once again we are learning about this through comments from ministers in the Cambodian government rather than ministers in our own government,” he told Sky News.

Australia has set aside about $55.5m Australian Dollars (AU), or roughly $40m for the deal, including an AU$40m aid package, which means almost AU$14m per refugee so far, according to figures from the Australia Associated Press.

For more information, please see:

BBC News — Australian government denies Cambodia refugee deal collapse – 31 August 2015

The Guardian — Abbott defends $55m resettlement deal after Cambodia says no to more refugees – 31 August 2015

Deutsche Welle — Australia denies Cambodia refugee deal in jeopardy – 30 August 2015

Sydney Morning Herald — Plan to resettle refugees in Cambodia collapses – 30 August 2015

By Samuel Miller
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America and Oceania

AUSTIN, Texas, United States — The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals halted the execution of a Nicaraguan national who argued that his lawyers had not done enough to present evidence to the court of his diminished mental capacity. Additionally, last week the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights issued a preliminary report finding that the United States violated Tercero’s right to a fair trial.

The Court of Criminal Appeals ordered Tuesday that Tercero’s case return to the trial court in Harris County for review.

Tercero’s current lawyers contend that he suffers from anxiety, post-traumatic stress and depression, and that he has shown signs of psychosis along with limited brain function. Tercero and his current lawyers contend had that evidence been presented by his trial lawyers, the jury might not have sentenced Tercero to death.

According to Tercero’s lawyers, the witness has signed a sworn statement saying that part of her evidence was false. Tercero’s lawyers also say that Mr. Tercero was denied his right to speak to the Nicaraguan consulate after his arrest.

On Oct. 20, 2000, Bernardo Aban Tercero was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to die for the 1997 fatal shooting of Robert Berger, a customer at a Harris County, Texas dry-cleaning shop.

Tercero said that the gun had gone off accidentally as he struggled with Mr. Berger, who tried to thwart the robbery. However, an acquaintance of Tercero’s told the court that he had given her various reasons for killing Mr. Berger, including that he had seen his face and would be able to identify him. Mr. Tercero denied these conversations taking place.

In response to Tercero’s claims, prosecutors in Harris County, Texas argue that the inmate presented his allegations of false testimony too late in the process. State lawyers said that Tercero’s lawyers knew about the alleged false testimony for about 15 years and could have presented the claims “earlier than two days before” the scheduled execution.

The planned execution of Tercero had drawn condemnation from outside the United States. Denis Moncada, Nicaragua’s ambassador to the Organization of American States, told Agence France-Presse that since his country has no death penalty, “it seems pathetic to be on the verge of a Nicuaraguan citizen’s execution.”

Tercero had petitioned for relief multiple times in various courts, eventually asking the U.S. Supreme Court last year to review his case, according to the office of Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general. The justices declined to review the case.

For more information, please see:

BBC News — Nicaraguan on death row gets reprieve from Texas court – 26 August 2015

Dallas Morning News — Texas appeals court halts Nicaraguan killer’s execution – 25 August 2015

NPR — Texas Set To Execute Nicaraguan National, Despite Legal Controversy – 25 August 2015

Washington Post — Texas court stays execution of Nicaraguan man convicted of 1997 murder – 25 August 2015

By Samuel Miller
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America and Oceania

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States of America — U.S. lawmakers expressed concern Tuesday about whether the State Department’s annual global report on human trafficking may have been watered down due to political considerations and vowed to demand a full accounting at a Senate hearing this week. Last week, the U.S. State Department gave Malaysia, Cuba and Saudi Arabia upgrades from the lowest tier in its annual report on modern slavery.

The State Department denied that the country-by-country ratings in the latest report had been politicized.

A Reuters examination, based on interviews with more than a dozen sources in Washington and foreign capitals, showed that the State Department was pressured into inflating assessments of 14 countries in this year’s report. Analysts in the anti-trafficking office disagreed with U.S. diplomatic bureaus on ratings for 17 countries, the sources said.

The annual report examines 188 governments for their performance in the previous year in fighting exploitation, whether for sex, domestic labor, or work — from construction and fishing to farming and mining. Saudi Arabia, Cuba, and Malaysia were moved from Tier Three to Tier Two on the U.S. list of offenders because of their efforts to improve, according to the annual report on human trafficking.

The analysts, who are specialists in assessing efforts to combat modern slavery, won only three of those disputes, the worst ratio in the 15-year history of the unit. Among the countries that received higher rankings than recommended by the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons were Malaysia, Cuba, China, India, Uzbekistan and Mexico.

Human rights groups called for an investigation into why strategically important countries such as Malaysia, China, Mexico and Cuba were upgraded from the list of worst offenders in human trafficking.

With regard to Cuba, US Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Sarah Sewall said Cuba had made progress in combating sex trafficking. But she said concerns remained over the country’s failures to address forced labor.

“The Government of Cuba does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so.” reads the report. The report uses the same language for its assessment of Malaysia.

The US also decided to remove Malaysia from the list of countries failing to address human trafficking, a decision criticized by human rights groups. Critics have noted the importance of Malaysia’s participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership as a possible political factor which may have had influence over the State Department’s decision.

Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and 18 Senate colleagues wrote Secretary of State John Kerry this month opposing an upgrade in ranking.

“The administration has turned its back on the victims of trafficking, turned a blind eye to the facts, and ignored the calls from Congress, leading human rights advocates, and Malaysian government officials to preserve the integrity of this important report,” Menendez said in an e-mailed statement Monday. “They have elevated politics over the most basic principles of human rights.”

For more information, please see:

Reuters — Lawmakers to demand full accounting on human trafficking report – 4 August 2015

BBC News — Cuba removed from US human trafficking list – 27 July 2015

Bloomberg — U.S. Upgrades Malaysia, Cuba in Human Trafficking Report – 27 July 2015

Politico — U.S.-Cuba relations get another upgrade – 27 July 2015

USA Today — Malaysia, Cuba upgraded on human trafficking report – 27 July 2015

Washington Post — U.S. drops Cuba and Malaysia from human trafficking blacklist – 27 July 2015

By Samuel Miller
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America and Oceania

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States of America — On Monday, as a part of a renewed effort to reform the criminal justice system, President Barack Obama has commuted the prison sentences of 46 drug offenders. Obama said the move was part of his larger attempt to reform the criminal justice system, including reviewing sentencing laws and reducing punishments for non-violent crimes.

The prisoners will all be released by Nov. 10.

“I believe that at its heart, America is a nation of second chances,” President Obama stated, “and I believe these folks deserve their second chance.” Furthermore, the President went on to say, “Their [the prisoners] punishments didn’t fit the crime, and if they had been sentenced under today’s laws, nearly all of them would have already served their time.”

President Obama’s action brought the total number of commutations he has issued to 89, exceeding that of any president since Lyndon B. Johnson, who commuted 226 sentences. In fact, President Obama has now commuted more sentences than the last four presidents combined.

Of the 89 commutations Obama has granted while in office, 76 have gone to nonviolent drug offenders who met criteria set by the Justice Department last year. The commutations come as the administration is working to reduce costs and overcrowding in federal prisons and to provide relief to inmates who were sentenced under the harsh guidelines put in place in the late 1980s as the country was grappling with the crack cocaine epidemic.

The president also called on Republicans and Democrats in Congress to change anomalies in federal sentencing laws, kicking off a week of presidential events devoted to the criminal justice system. Noting that Republicans have also expressed interest in criminal justice reform, Obama said, “The nation is spending too much money on incarceration of individuals who received long sentences for relatively minor drug crimes.”

This week’s focus on criminal justice signals a renewed bid by President Obama’s administration to tackle what he sees as a lack of fairness in the system. On Thursday, President Obama is expected to become the first sitting president to visit a federal prison when he goes to the El Reno Federal Correctional Institution outside of Oklahoma City.

For more information, please see:

BBC News — Obama frees drug offenders whose terms ‘didn’t fit crimes’ – 13 July 2015

CNN — President Barack Obama commutes sentences of 46 drug offenders – 13 July 2015

NY Times — Obama Commutes Sentences for 46 Drug Offenders – 13 July 2015

USA Today — Obama’s clemency grant largest since the 1960s – 13 July 2015

Washington Post — Obama commutes sentences of 46 nonviolent drug offenders – 13 July 2015