By Brittney Hodnik
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, United States – On Monday, President Obama gave a speech at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum to present new tools to preventing and responding to mass atrocities.  He addressed broad and specific topics alike: Joseph Kony, the Assad regime in Syria, and the Qadhafi regime in Egypt.

President Obama insisted in his speech, “Preventing mass atrocities and genocide is a core national security interest and a core moral responsibility of the United States of America,” reported CBS News.  He reiterated that military force is not a necessary intervention.  Rather, he stressed the use of other tools: “Diplomatic and political and economic and financial and intelligence and law enforcement and our moral suasion.”

According to Voice of America News, President Obama set up the Atrocities Prevention Board last year, which was to meet for the first time Monday at the White House.

Furthermore, President Obama announced new, stricter sanctions against Syria and Iran and any other groups or nations that are currently aiding Syria.  He announced a new asset freezes and visa restrictions system against Syrian and Iranian agencies, according to Reuters.

He also stressed that the United States is committed to keeping Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.  This was especially an issue for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.  Reuters reports, “When faced with a regime that threatens global security and denies the Holocaust and threatens to destroy Israel, the United States will do everything in our power to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.”

Besides the current issues in Syria and the Middle East, President Obama promised to extend military presence in Central Africa to aid Uganda and its neighbors to pursue the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) there.

The LRA is led by the infamous Joseph Kony, who recently gained recognition thanks to a viral video.  CBS News reports that President Obama ensures that the U.S. will not stop until this “madman” is brought to justice.

He continued, “It’s part of our regional strategy to end the scourge that is the LRA and help realize a future where no African child is stolen from their family and no girl is raped and no boy is turned into a child soldier.”

Because the speech took place at the Holocaust Museum, comparisons were made between today’s issues and the “greatest tragedy in history.”  Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel said, “The greatest tragedy in history could have been prevented had the civilized world spoken up, taken measures,” reported Voice of America News.

According to a White House Press Release, the Obama Administration has made the prevention of atrocities a key focus of this Administration’s foreign policy.  The U.S. needs to prioritize this effort and rely now on the Atrocities Prevention Board.  “The APB will help the U.S. government identify and address atrocity threats… we will make our military and civilian workforce better equipped to prevent and respond to atrocities . . . [and] we will hold accountable perpetrators of mass atrocities and genocide and support others who do the same.”

The press release lays out more strategies and tools that the U.S. will use to both prevent and respond to mass atrocities throughout the world.

For more information, please visit:

CBS News — Obama Tackles Mass Atrocities; Spotlights Syria, Kony — 23 Apr. 2012

Reuters — Obama Seeks to Stop Syria, Iran Tech Assault on Activists — 23 Apr. 2012

Voice of America News — Obama Unveils Sanctions , Touts Anti-Atrocity Mesasures — 23 Apr. 2012

White House Press Release — Fact Sheet: A Comprehensive Strategy and New Tools to Prevent and Respond  to Atrocities — 23 Apr. 2012

By Brittney Hodnik
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, United States – On the 40th anniversary of their confinement, Amnesty International turned over a petition signed by 65,000 people to Governor Jindal (Louisiana) to release two men from solitary confinement.  The two men have sat in isolation – 23 hours a day – for the last forty years.  Now, many believe the extreme form of imprisonment is cruel, unusual and unnecessary.

Albert Woodfox, 65 and Herman Wallace, 70 were placed in isolation at the Louisiana State Penitentiary known as Angola Prison on April 17, 1972, according to Amnesty International.  The two men were convicted of murdering a prison guard.  However, the two have constantly denied the accusations.  Additionally, Democracy Now reports that Woodfox, Wallace and their supporters believe the two men were framed for their political activism and involvement with the Black Panther party.

What is more, there is no physical evidence linking the men to the murder, according to Amnesty International.  Additionally, any and all potentially exculpatory DNA evidence has been lost.

Originally, a third man named Robert King was also convicted for the murder.  His conviction was overturned in 2001.  King told The Guardian that he spent 29 years in solitary confinement and he knows what it did to him.  He said, “it shrunk the brain, it shrunk the individual . . . you become acclimatized to small distances.”  He cannot bear the thought that his former fellow inmates have been in there an additional decade.

Extended stays in solitary confinement seriously impair both mental and physical health.  Amnesty International insists that this form of long-term solitary incarceration is cruel and inhumane and against both the U.S. Constitution and international law.

Amnesty insists that these men are no longer a legitimate threat to the prison community.  At their respective ages – and after the physical and mental degrade they have experienced – there are no longer rational reasons for this incarceration.  Everette Harvey Thompson, a regional director for Amnesty International USA said, “There is no legitimate penal purpose for keeping these men in solitary.  Louisiana authorities must end this inhumanity.

The cells are 2 meters by 3 meters and the men spend 23 hours there a day.  There is a mattress, toilet, sheets, and a small bench on the wall, with no windows.  The men get a short opportunity to “exercise” (in a concrete outdoor area) and time to shower.  Their social interaction is severely limited to a few visits from family members and a few phone calls.  They are also limited on the books they read, the news they read, and the education they can receive.

The men’s supporters and Amnesty International will continue to fight to get the “Angola 3” out of solitary confinement.

For more information, please visit:

Amnesty International — U.S. Authorities Urged to End Two Men’s 40-year-long Solitary Imprisonment — 17 Apr. 2012

Democracy Now — 40 Years in Solitary Confinement: Two Members of Angola 3 Remain in Isolation in Louisiana Prison — 17 Apr. 2012 (includes transcript of conversation as well)

The Guardian — Forty Years in Solitary: Two Men Mark Somber Anniversary in Louisiana Prison — 16 Apr. 2012

 

Press Release courtesy of Senators Schumer & Gillibrand
Originally Sent April 19, 2012

Today, U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand announced the plan to name the Buffalo Federal Courthouse after Robert H. Jackson, the distinguished Supreme Court Justice that was raised in Jamestown and is famous for his role as chief prosecutor in the international Nuremberg Trials. Ahead of the official May 3rddedication ceremony, Schumer and Gillibrand will introduce Senate legislation for the Courthouse to be named after Robert Jackson, who began his legal career in a Jamestown firm and went on to serve as the Solicitor General, Attorney General, and U.S. Supreme Court Justice, in addition to his role at Nuremberg. Schumer and Gillibrand plan to introduce their legislation as a companion bill to one introduced by Congressman Higgins in the House of Representatives. Once the bill clears the Senate and the House, it must be signed by the President before the building name is officially approved.

“Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson was one of the truly great legal professionals Western New York and Chautauqua County gave America, and it is appropriate and fitting that the Buffalo Federal Courthouse bear his name,” said Schumer. “This courthouse symbolizes the rule of law in Western New York, and as the region’s only Supreme Court Justice, who had his humble beginnings in Jamestown and famously went on to be chief prosecutor in the Nuremberg trials, naming the courthouse for him is a perfect fit. The Buffalo courthouse stands as a new pillar of the Buffalo community, serving justice throughout Western New York, and it should honor all that he has accomplished through his long career in public service.”

“Naming downtown Buffalo’s U.S. courthouse in the honor of Justice Robert H. Jackson is the right choice, and the right way to tribute his tremendous public service to our community and our entire country,” said Senator Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. “From serving on America’s highest court, to his role as the architect of the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg, Justice Jackson always served with integrity, and was a true champion for human rights. This is the perfect opportunity for Western New York to celebrate and honor his legacy.”

Schumer and Gillibrand highlighted Justice Jackson’s impressive legal career, which got its start in Western New York. Robert Jackson was raised in Frewsburg and then spent the majority of his young adulthood in Jamestown, after spending a post-graduate year at Jamestown High School. Jackson went on to Albany Law School, and then returned to join a law practice in Jamestown. Jackson went on to become a leading lawyer in New York State, and was elected to the American Law Institute in 1930, one role among others that elevated his national reputation.

In 1934, Jackson was appointed to a federal judgeship by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, which opened the door to a host of federal roles, including his work as the U.S. Solicitor General, U.S. Attorney General, and finally his extensive work as a Supreme Court Justice. In 1945, President Truman appointed Jackson to serve as the Chief Prosecutor in the international Nuremberg Trials, for which he took a leave from the Supreme Court. Jackson is famous for the passion, energy, intellect and great skill that he brought to these trials. Schumer and Gillibrand highlighted his long career of public service in the legal field, and stated that Jackson is the perfect candidate for the naming of the Buffalo courthouse.

In November of last year, Schumer toured the new federal courthouse in Buffalo before its official opening. Schumer has championed the project for nearly a decade, helping to secure Congress’ support for the project. After successfully gaining Congress’ support, Schumer helped to deliver $83 million in federal funding for the project, which began in 2007. Schumer was also instrumental in pushing the Office of Management and Budget to release nearly $10 million to the General Services Administration to help move site selection and the design process forward. Since the groundbreaking, Schumer has fought to keep costs down and ensure that the costs of construction mistakes were not passed along to taxpayers.

For further information, please see:

Press Release – 19 April 2012 – http://schumer.senate.gov/Newsroom/record.cfm?id=336575

By Brittney Hodnik
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

MEXICO CITY, Mexico – Mexican authorities still have very little control over drug cartels and drug violence in Mexico.  The groups are still kidnapping, torturing, and murdering civilians to show signs of their territory and to display other threatening messages.  In the last 48 hours, 24 bodies were found tortured or beheaded in the western state of Michoacan.

According to the Latin American Herald Tribune, these acts are based around a local drug war between rival drug cartels.

The Washington Post describes the victims as each having a black plastic bag over their heads with a single gunshot wound to the back of their neck.  Also, threatening messages accompanied the bodies.  Just two days prior, nine bodies were found in another Michoacan town.  The bodies had been tortured and beheaded.  An Associated Press reporter saw police and soldiers carry away the bodies and heads.

The Washington Post reports that drug cartels often behead victims as a threatening message in itself, to intimidate rival gangs, usually over territory disputes.  The most recent display was likely the work of the New Generation gang, according to The Weekly.

Along with these killings, eight taxi drivers were killed in northern Mexico and three bystanders were injured, according to The Huffington Post.  Public security spokesman, Jorge Domene Zambrano said that four gunmen shot five drivers outside of a base office, and the other three men were killed later, a few blocks away.  This is where the bystanders – including an 8-year-old girl – were injured, reports The Huffington Post.

Mexico continues to have many problems with violence.  The major problem tends to be with drug gangs, but random civilian violence prevails as well.

For more information, please visit:

The Latin American Herald Tribune — Cartel Turf Battle Claims 9 More Lives in Western Mexico — 13 Apr. 2012

The Weekly — Seven Tortured, Bound Bodies Found in Mexican Port — 13 Apr. 2012

The Washington Post — Seven Tortured, Bound Bodies Found in Western Mexico Port City, With Warnings Signed by Drug Gangs — 12 Apr. 2012

The Huffington Post — Mexico Taxi Drivers Killed by Gunmen, 3 Bystanders Injured — 11 Apr. 2012

By Brittney Hodnik
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti – Almost two years since the first reported case of cholera in Haiti, not much has changed.  The quick-acting intestinal illness has claimed thousands of lives in Haiti and many are wondering why more has not been done to help the struggling country.

Since October 2010, cholera has claimed the lives of 7,000 Haitians and has made over 530,000 others sick, according to NPR.  Literally one hundred thousand people are waiting to be vaccinated against cholera but the short funding has prevented this from happening.

Besides the cholera outbreak, the country never recovered from the devastating earthquake in 2010.

According to NPR, even with the plan for vaccination that the country has already laid out, only about 1% of the population will be vaccinated.  In order to really contain the outbreak, millions of people need to be vaccinated before next year’s rainy season.

Interestingly, the United Nations might be to blame for the entire cholera outbreak.  According to The New York Times, epidemiologic and microbiologic evidence suggests that United Nations peacekeeping troops imported cholera to Haiti and accidentally contaminated the tributary next to their base.  The troops came from Nepal and the contamination happened due to a faulty sanitation system.  Dr. Paul S. Keim says that the Haitian and Nepalese cholera strains are virtually identical, reports The New York Times.

The South Florida Caribbean News reports that the Haitian government and the United Nations alike are worried about the lack of humanitarian efforts in the country.  The humanitarian community seeks $231 million to fund effectively the island nation, and so far has only received about 8.5% of that amount.  The lack of funding has forced many humanitarian workers out of affected areas.

The upcoming hurricane season (May through November) brings even more worries for the countries.  The heavy rainfall only increases the spread of cholera.  According to The South Florida Caribbean News, resources are needed to overall improve access to clean water and maintain solid waste management systems, along with increasing preparedness ahead of hurricane season.

According to The New York Times, Anthony Banbury, a U.N. assistant secretary general said last week, “We don’t think the cholera outbreak is attributable to any single factor.”  Additionally, many believe that the prime time to suppress the epidemic passed long ago; now that it has had time to spread, the problem is becoming much more difficult to control.

So as Haitians continue to die from the dehydrating illness, humanitarian efforts will continue and hopefully expand.

For more information, please visit:

Newser — How Bickering Aid Workers Brought Cholera to Haiti — 1 Apr. 2012

South Florida Caribbean News — UN Concerned Over Funding for Humanitarian Services in Haiti — 1 Apr. 2012

The New York Times — Haiti’s Cholera Outraced the Experts and Tainted the U.N. — 31 Mar. 2012

NPR — In Haiti, Bureaucratic Delays Stall Mass Cholera Vaccinations — 27 Mar. 2012