The Middle East

UNHCR Holds Conference in Syria to Address Iraqi Refugee Crisis

By Brandon Kaufman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria– The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) held a three-day conference on Iraqi refugees and their rights to international protection from August 11 through August 13 at Damascus’s Four Seasons Hotel.

The workshop discussed such topics as international refugee law, refugee status determination, the rights and duties of refugees and asylum seekers and the protection of refugees with special needs.  The workshop focused mainly on the ever growing Iraqi refugee crisis in Syria.

As of August 2009, there were over two-hundred thousand Iraqi refugees registered with the UNHCR in Syria, of which 82, 427 were identified as children, adolescents, women, elderly people at risk or disabled persons with critical medical conditions or with special needs protection.  Yet, the numbers hardly end there.  Faisal al-Miqdad, Syria’s Deputy Foreign Minister, contends the crisis is much deeper than that.  He believes the number of Iraqi refugees in Syria to be around 1.2 million, a staggering number in a country of roughly 18 million.  These huge influxes of refugees have complicated life for many throughout Syria.

The Deputy Foreign Minister also said that the human health needs of the arriving Iraqis is ever growing, particularly among women and children.  The Syrian government is attempting, with what resources it has available, to remedy the situation.  Despite their best efforts, a health care crisis had emerged.

The UNHCR recently estimated that the number of Iraqi refugee families in Syria without a breadwinner is approximately thirty percent.  This number is significantly higher among female-led houses.  As a result, many women have been forced into prostitution or have been forced to use their daughters in prostitution to sustain the family.  Furthermore, there is an urgent need to provide appropriate care for the elderly and for the very large number of arrivals with disabilities, mainly as a result of injuries sustained while in Iraq.

As such, the Syrian authorities have taken important steps to remedy the refugee situation from Iraq and other countries.  “This workshop reflects the significance that Syria accords to asylum issues, in view of its generosity in hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees from Iraq, Somalia, Sudan and other countries” said Radhouane Noucier, the UNHCR Middle East and North Africa Bureau Director.

For more information, please see:

Al Arabiya- Iraqi Refugees in Syria Worry as Governments Dispute– 13 September 2009

Syria Today- UNHCR Holds Refugee Protection Conference– September 2009

UN Syria- UNHCR Protection Workshop Highlights Refugee Issues in Syria– 14 August 2009

FMR Review- Iraqi Refugees in Syria– January 2009

UN Calls for Renewed Aid in Yemen Conflict

By Ahmad Shihadah

Impunity Watch Reporter Middle East Desk

SA’DA, Yemen – The United Nations (UN) is renewing its efforts to stabilize the conflict in the Sa’da region of Yemen between government forces and the Al-Huthi rebels. Following an air raid on which killed over eighty civilians, the international community calling for both a ceasefire to allow aid in to the region and for an investigation into the attack. The UN currently estimates that 150,000 people have been displaced in the north by the fighting since 2004.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has called on the Yemeni government and the Al-Huthi fighters to a cease fire to allow humanitarian aid the reach affected northern regions. He also expressed concern about the large number of civilian deaths in the region. The US embassy in the capital city of Sana’a has also called for a 72-hour ceasefire to allow access for aid and has welcomed the Yemeni government’s announcement that it will hold in investigation into the devastating raids.

Further Navi Pillay, the UN High Commission for Human Rights, called for an inquiry into the air raids and described the casualty reports “deeply disturbing.” The High Commissioner’s spokesman, Rupert Colville, says Pillay is urging the government to investigate and refrain from launching similar attacks in the future.

Another main concern of the High Commissioner is the limited access of aid workers in the region.  As a result, civilians are being deprived of much needed food, water, and medication. UN refugee spokesman Melissa Fleming calls the humanitarian situation alarming and illustrates this by saying, “five weeks into the conflict, Sa’da City remains virtually isolated and inaccessible for the UN humanitarian community.”  The UN efforts to gain assistance to the people of Sa’da through Saudi Arabia are still pending security clearances from both governments. Aid agencies are strapped for cash and their appeals to the international community are still falling on deaf ears

For more information please see:

UN News Centre – As fighting resumes in Yemen, UN agency renews call for aid corridor – 22 September 2009

VOA News – UN rights official calls for investigation into Yemeni Civilian Deaths – 18 September 2009

Al- Jazeera – UN calls for Yemen Ceasefire – 19 September 2009

Air Raid in Yemen Kills Dozens of Civilians

By Nykoel Dinardo
Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

SANA’A, Yemen– On September 17, a government-planned air strike in Northern Yemen killed as many as eighty-seven civilians. The air strike was part of the military campaign against the Huthi Rebels, a Shi’ite group fighting the Yemeni government. Many of the missiles fired in the raid fell on a refugee camp in Al Adi, a town on the Northern Border. Most of the casualties reported are women, children, and elderly.

Current reports on the humanitarian situation in Northern Yemen state that at least 150,000 people have been displaced by the fighting in the region.  However, media sources in the area report that warplanes continue to bomb the area daily.  

Sheik Mohammed Hassan, a local tribal leader, told the Associated Press that air strikes on September 16 hit near a school and under a bridge where many civilians had taken shelter.  He went on to say that those that had hidden were crushed to death as a result of the damage from the air raids, and that tractors had to pull the dead from the rubble later.  

Human Rights groups have spoken out against the fighting claiming that the humanitarian effects are taking a high toll on the people of Yemen. Human Rights Watch has demanded that the Yemeni government promptly investigate the air raid to determine who was in charge and responsible for planning the attack.   They demand that the Yemeni government look into the situation explaining that this could be “a horrific attack on civilians.”

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has also voiced their concerns.  In a news report released soon after the air raid, UNICEF expressed their rising concern about the situation, especially the number of children casualties.  

UNICEF Regional Director Sigrid Kaag explained that the high number of civilian casualties, particularly children, is “unacceptable.”  Kaag elaborated, “Children should not be caught in conflict.  Their right to health, protection and safety must be protected at all times.”  UNICEF has demanded that Yemen take action pursuant to international legal norms to ensure that children are kept out of harm’s way.  

For more information, please see:

Associated Press – Tribal Leader: 87 Civilians Killed in Yemen Strike – 17 September 2009

Guardian – Yemen Air Force Accused of Killing Scores of War Refugees – 17 September 2009

UN New Centre – UNICEF Sounds Alarm in Yemen After Deadly Air Raid on Camp for Displaced – 17 September 2009

Voice of America News – Yemeni Air Raid Reported to Kill 87 Civilians – 17 September 2009

Human Rights Watch – Yemen: Investigate Aerial Bomb Attacks – 16 September 2009

Prominent Syrian Human Rights Lawyer Detained

By Brandon Kaufman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria– On July 23, Muhanad al-Hasani, a prominent Syrian human rights lawyer was asked to attend a meeting on July 26 with high level Syrian intelligence officers.  After two days of questioning, al-Hasani was arrested and detained incommunacado on July 28.  He was formally charged with “weakening national sentiment” and “spreading false or exaggerated information.”

Al-Hasani is president of the Syrian Human Rights Organization (Swasiah), and in that capacity he regularly defends political activists and detainees of the government.  Since Swasiah’s inception in 2004, al-Hasani has received countless threats for accusations that he is running an unauthorized organization.  Furthermore, as is the case with many other human rights organizations, Swasiah was refused permission to register as such an organization within Syria.

Prior to his arrest, Syrian officials placed al-Hasani under increased scrutiny due to his work as a lawyer and human rights activist.  On July 19, after sitting in on a trial before the State Security Council (SSC), al-Hasani’s notes from the proceedings were seized and destroyed at the order of Habib Najma, the lead attorney for the SSC.  Najma contends that al-Hasani’s notes abused the confidentiality of the SSC and that such information would soon be disseminated by al-Hasani on the internet.  In response, al-Hasani contended that the court sessions are open to the public and that he only attended as a human rights observer and thus had not committed any violations of the law.

In light of his arrest, various individuals have spoken out against his detention.  Wilder Taylor, the Acting Secretary General for the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) said that “Muhanad al-Hasani’s unlawful detention accelerates a campaign of harassment against him.” Wilder further stated that, “it also constitutes an attack on the legal profession in Syria and its independence” and that “under the State Security Court Law . . . proceedings of the Court are public and reporting on public proceedings cannot be criminalized under any circumstances.”

Sarah Leah Whitson, the Human Rights Director for the Middle East and North Africa contends that “it is Syria’s repressive practices, not al-Hasani, that’s weakening national sentiment.”  Despite these calls for the release of al-Hasani, he still remains detained under the authority of the Syrian government.

For more information, please see:

HRCP Blog- Update from Wilder Taylor on the Situation of Commissioner Muhaad al-Hasani– 17 September 2009

Front Line- Update: Detained Human Rights Lawyer, al-Hasani Accused of Misconduct by the Bar Association– 26 August 2009

Human Rights Watch- Syria: Free Prominent Rights Lawyer– 4 August 2009

Front Line- Syria: Detention of Human Rights Defender, Mr. Muhanad al-Hasani-31 July 2009

Iraqi Shoe Thrower Freed, Claims He Was Tortured

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq – The Iraqi television reporter who famously threw his shoes at President George W. Bush in December 2008 was released from prison on September 15. Muntazer Al-Zaidi was released after serving nine months of a three-year sentence. Al-Zaidi’s sentence was ultimately reduced to one year on appeal and he was released three months early as a result of good behavior. Al-Zaidi is now claiming that he was tortured during his time in a Baghdad prison by Iraqi authorities.

While addressing the media after his release, Al-Zaidi asserted that the torture began once he was arrested for throwing his shoes at now former President Bush. The Iraq television journalist alleged that during his time in prison he was subjected to beatings and whippings. Al-Zaidi claims that electric cables and iron bars were used to torture him. He claims that he was also subjected to electric shock torture outside a building in the Green Zone, the area used by United States forces in Baghdad. Additionally, Al-Zaidi, covered in an Iraqi national flag and surrounded by reporters, claimed that he was subject to water boarding by Iraqi authorities. Al-Zaidi now claims that he fears that his life is in danger and that U.S. intelligence forces could possibly pursue him.

The incident late last year came during a joint press conference with President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Al-Zaidi feigned asking President Bush a question and proceeded to hurl his shoes at him. President Bush was able to duck both shoes before journalists took Al-Zaidi down. Before throwing his shoes, Al-Zaidi yelled at the President, blaming him for the number of Iraqi casualties that followed the United States-led invasion in 2003. He told the President that the shoes were a “farewell kiss.”

Al-Zaidi’s release from jail has lead to joy in some parts of the Arab world. It is expected that great opportunities await Al-Zaidi, who previously worked as a little known reporter in Baghdad. There are rumors that Al-Zaidi will receive much more lucrative offers from bigger Arab stations. Additionally, there is talk of proposals of marriage from Arab women and gifts from businessmen throughout the Middle East. Al-Zaidi has also been promised citizenship and one hundred thousand dollars by a well-known critic of President Bush, President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Iraq Shoe-thrower Freed From Jail – 15 September 2009

Guardian – Iraqi Shoe-thrower Claims he Suffered Torture in Jail – 15 September 2009

Al Jazeera – Shoe-thrower Flown Out of Iraq – 16 September 2009

Chicago Tribune – Iraqi Shoe Thrower Freed: As He Is Released, Muntadhar al-Zeidi Says He Was Tortured in Jail – 16 September 2009

San Francisco Chronicle – Shoe Thrower Leaves Prison, Alleges Torture– 16 September 2009