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Boko Haram Gunmen Kill College Students in Early Morning Attack

By Erica Smith
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

LAGOS, Nigeria — At least 40 students were killed today when Boko Haram gunmen opened fired on their dormitory. All of the dead are believed to have been students in the College of Agriculture in Gujba, some 30 kilometres from Damaturu, the capital of Yobe state. Northeastern Nigeria has been under a state of emergency for several months following multiple attacks by the extremist group.

Boko Haram Fighters (Photo Courtesy of ABC News)

Initial reports indicate that most of the students were asleep when the dormitory was attacked and many died in their sleep. A local politician has told the BBC that two van loads of bodies were taken away from the scene. College provost Molima Idi Mato, speaking to Associated Press, said the number of dead could be as high as 50 and that about 1,000 students had fled the campus. The gunmen also set fire to classrooms.

Surviving students are looking for family and many people have shown up at the hospital looking for loved ones.

Academic activities only resumed last week in schools in Yobe state following 10 weeks of closure after an attack by members of Boko Haram on two secondary schools, which led to the death of 29 students and three teachers . Boko Haram, which roughly translates to “western education is forbidden”, has a penchant for attacking schools and students because they believe that schools are a symbol of Western culture and ought to be destroyed.

The military believes that  the recent school attacks are a sign of desperation by the Islamists because the group only has the capacity to hit soft targets, like schools.  The defence ministry has said that an offensive launched against Boko Haram in May has greatly weakened the group and scattered their fighters across the northeast. The fact that the group is still launching attacks, even if they are in remote places, casts some doubt on the military’s claims of success.

For further information, please see:

ABC News — At least 40 dead after Boko Haram militants open fire in college dorm in Nigeria — 29 September 2013

All Africa — Nigeria: Breaking – Boko Haram Gunmen Kill Many Yobe Agric College Students in Early Morning Attack — 29 September 2013

BBC News — Nigeria attack: Students shot dead as they slept — 29 September 2013

Daily Post — Several Students killed as Boko Haram attacks College of Agriculture in Yobe — 29 September 2013

India’s Cabinet Passes Executive Order Protecting Convicted Politicians

By Brian Lanciault

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NEW DELHI, India– India’s cabinet moved to shield politicians found guilty of crimes by passing an executive order on Tuesday that could allow convicted lawmakers to continue to hold office and stand in elections, ahead of national polls due by next May.

People gather outside the Indian Parliament building during its session. (Photo courtesy of Reuters)

About thirty percent of Indian lawmakers across federal and state assemblies have pending criminal charges against them, and following a Supreme Court order in July, many faced being expelled from their seats. In response, the ruling congressional party had already moved a parliamentary bill to partially reverse the decision of the court, which held that any lawmaker found guilty of a crime could no longer hold or run for elected office.

The current ordinance is believed to resemble the content of the parliamentary bill, which would allow lawmakers facing criminal charges to continue taking part in parliamentary proceedings such as debates, but would not permit them to vote or receive a government salary.

The bill has not yet passed through India’s historically slow-moving parliament. Some commentators believe the government sprung to action in light of the possible corruption conviction of a key electoral ally of the majority,  in a case set to conclude next week.

“When it comes to saving their convicted brethren, they act with lightning speed,” said Amulya Ganguli, a political analyst.

Following India’s 2009 general election, some thirty percent of the lawmakers sworn into the federal and state assemblies had criminal charges against them, according to an analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms, an advocacy group.

In the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the national assembly, 162 of the 543 MPs indicated that there were pending criminal cases against them in sworn affidavits filed prior to elections. In the state assemblies, 1,258 of the 4,032 lawmakers declared criminal charges. The amount of subsequent convictions remains unknown.

Before July’s Supreme Court order, Indian lawmakers had been able to capitalize on a loophole whereby those who filed appeals within three months of a guilty verdict could stay in office.

The ordinance must be signed by Indian president Pranab Mukherjee in order to become law. The law must be ratified by parliament within six weeks of the next parliament session. Analysts suspect it will pass with ease.

“There is widespread support for this among the political class,” said Neerja Chowdhury, a political commentator and former political editor of The Indian Express newspaper.

The case due to conclude next week involves Lalu Prasad, a former chief minister for the eastern state of Bihar, and a frequent ally of the ruling congressional party. Prasad is accused of participating in a scam where money was allegedly taken from state treasuries to provide fodder for herds of livestock that later turned out to be non-existent.

“Lalu Prasad’s possible conviction could have prompted the cabinet to pass this ordinance,” Chowdhury said. “There are some who feel that…if they get Lalu Prasad on board they can win Bihar.”

Bihar is one of India’s most important electoral states.

Another influential figure, Rasheed Masood, a majority party member of India’s upper house and a former health minister, was found guilty last week in a corruption case. He was to be the first lawmaker to be affected by the Supreme Court order, according to local reports.

Numerous politicians have been charged with serious crimes such as rape and/or murder. Elected office is lucrative in a country where black markets often thrive under political protection. Political parties are often open to criminal syndicates who bring with them campaign financing.

For more information, please see:

Reuters — India’s cabinet moves to protect politicians convicted of crimes — 24 September 2013

Times of India — Cabinet clears ordinance to shield convicted lawmakers — 24 September 2013

Hindustan Times — Gov’t may bring ordinance to save tainted lawmakers — 23 September 2013

Zee News — Cabinet paves way for convicted MLAs, MPs to contest elections — 24 September 2013

Bloomberg — India Cabinet Counters Step to Ban Convicted Lawmakers, PTI Says — 24 September 2013

Russia Accuses the West of Exploiting Syrian U.N. Deal

By Darrin Simmons
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 DAMASCUS, Syria-Accusations of exploitation have been directed towards the U.S. and other major Western players involved in dealing with Syria’s chemical weapons.  Russia has claimed that the West is using the chemical weapons deal in the United Nations to threaten force against President Bashar al-Assad.

Lavrov and Kerry discussing Syria on Sunday.

The U.S., France, and Britain are pushing for a council resolution of the United Nation’s Charter, which if passed would authorize military intervention or sanctions if Damascus were to back out of its commitments.

The first commitment issued to Assad by the U.S.-Russia accord was met with compliance when he provided information about Syria’s chemical arsenal to the United Nations.  However, major powers on the U.N. Security Council have been in disagreement with how to further proceed.

Russia and China have blocked three draft resolutions on Syria since the start of the 2011 uprising against Assad.  Both countries oppose Western threats against an ally which Moscow has continually armed and supported during the civil war.

“They [the West] see in the U.S.-Russian deal not a chance to save the planet from significant quantities of chemical weapons in Syria, but as a chance to do what Russia and China will not allow, namely to push through a resolution involving the threat of force against the regime and shielding the opposition,” stated Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Lavrov further claimed, “An international presence is needed on the perimeters of the areas where the experts will work.  We are willing to send our troops and military police to participate.”

Lavrov concluded saying, “I do not think that there is a need for a major contingent.  I think military observers will be sufficient.”

In responses, a U.S. State Department official reported that other council member states of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons had not yet seen the information regarding the chemical weapons status in Syria.  “We will make an evaluation of the document after it has been distributed to member states,” said the official.

Should the council resolution be passed, the world would see the destruction of nearly 1,000 tons of mustard gas, VX, and sarin which are believed to be in the possession of Syria.  The U.S.-Russia accord has also shown promise of a revised international political solution to the Syrian conflict as a whole.

For more information, please see the following: 

Aljazeera-Russia says West exploiting Syria deal-September 22, 2013

Reuters-Russia says West exploiting Syria deal to threaten force-September 22, 2013

Voice of America-Lavrov: US Trying to Blackmail Russia on UN Syria Resolution-September 22, 2013

Voice of Russia-Russian foreign chief Sergei Lavrov says US ‘overtly blackmailing’ Moscow on Syria-September 21, 2013

UN Report Confirms ‘Large Scale’ Sarin Attack in Syria

By Thomas Murphy
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria – A team of United Nations chemical experts, led by Dr. Åke Sellström, has reported that there is “clear and convincing” evidence that sarin gas was used on a “large scale” during a 21 August incident outside of Damascus. The attack, which employed rockets equipped with sarin gas, killed many civilians including children.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon addresses the media, on Monday, after briefing the Security Council on the confirmed use of chemical weapons in Syria. (Photo Courtesy of the UN)

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon spoke to the media after briefing the Security Council on the team’s findings. Ban referred to the report as “chilling read” and stressed the significance of attack, the first of its kind “since Saddam Hussein used [chemical weapons] in Halabja in 1988.”

“This is a war crime,” the Secretary-General said, “The international community has a responsibility to hold the perpetrators accountable and to ensure that chemical weapons never re-emerge as an instrument of warfare.”

The purpose of the report was strictly to determine whether a chemical weapons attack occurred, not to assign blame for the attack. Ban told reporters that whether responsibility for the attack is determined is “for others to decide”, but stressed that whoever was responsible should be brought to justice.

The inspectors interviewed more than fifty survivors, many of whom reported suffering from telltale signs of exposure to sarin gas. Symptoms of the survivors often included difficulty breathing, eye irritation, blurred vision, nausea, vomiting, and loss of consciousness. First-responders reported suffering from similar symptoms and observed that a large number of people were either unconscious or deceased upon arrival.

In addition to personal accounts of the incident, the chemical weapons team discovered a great deal of physical evidence that supported the existence of a chemical weapons attack. Eighty-five percent of blood samples taken from survivors tested positive for sarin or sarin indicators. The majority of rocket fragments and environmental samples tested positive for sarin or sarin indicators as well.

The report concluded that the attack occurred during the “early morning hours of 21 August.” Based on weather reports during this time, the conditions were favorable for maximizing the effect of sarin gas. The temperature on the ground was falling and would have created a downward draft of air, effectively preventing the gas from dispersing upwards, and therefore increasing exposure.

“The downward movement of air would have allowed the gas to easily penetrate the basements and lower levels of buildings and other structures where many people were seeking shelter,” Ban said, referring to the report.

The opposition and the Assad regime continue to blame each other for the attack. Certain details, including the high quality of sarin gas and the advanced rockets used, point to the Assad regime. However, Assad maintains the rebels are responsible in an effort to encourage Western military involvement.

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera – UN: Evidence of Syrian chemical attack ‘indisputable’  – 16 September 2013

BBC – Syria Crisis: UN report confirms sarin ‘war crime’ – 16 September 2013

NBC – UN report confirms chemical weapons use in Syria – 16 September 2013

UN News Service – ‘Clear and convincing’ evidence of chemical weapons use in Syria, UN team reports –  16 September 2013

UN – United Nations Mission to Investigate Allegations of the Use of Chemical Weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic – 13 September 2013

Saudi Arabia Bans Domestic Abuse

By Thomas Murphy
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – On Wednesday, Saudia Arabia’s cabinet passed the “Protection from Abuse” law. The purpose of the law is to protect women, children, and workers from domestic abuse. The law is the country’s first of its kind and has been celebrated by human rights activists.

A poster utilized in the King Khalid Foundation’s campaign against domestic abuse. (Photo Courtesy of the King Khalid Foundation)

The law explicitly lays out that physical and sexual abuse both at home and in the workplace are illegal. Anyone found guilty of abuse under the new law may face up to a year in prison and $13,300 in fines.

“This is a good law that serves major segments of the society in the kingdom, including women, children, domestic workers and non-domestic workers,” said Khaled al-Fakher, secretary-general of the National Society for Human Rights, a government-licensed body.

“We are always in favour of an explicit law that does not need interpretations or personal judgment,” said Fakher, whose organisation helped draft the law.

The passage of the “Protection from Abuse” law comes after years of international pressure from other countries, human rights groups, and the United Nations. Local organizations such as the King Khalid Foundation were a driving force behind the law’s passage as well.

In April, the King Khalid Foundation began an anti-abuse campaign that encouraged women report cases of domestic abuse. The campaign’s calling card became an advertisement (shown above) that featured a veiled woman with a bruised eye and the slogan “Some things can’t be covered. Fighting women’s abuse together.” The advertisement quickly gained notoriety for its portrayal of a typically taboo topic.

While the new law is undoubtedly a step in the right direction, many are waiting to see how it is implemented.

Rights activist Waleed Abu al-Khair said the law gives women some independence: “Women were required to bring in a male relative if they showed up at a police station to file a complaint,” he said. This will not now be necessary.

However, women are still required to receive permission from a male guardian to carry out business, apply for jobs, or travel out of the country. Further, women are often accompanied by a male guardian whenever they leave the home, which may inhibit a victim’s ability to report abuse.

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Saudi Arabia outlaws domestic violence –  30 August 2013

Guardian – Saudi Arabia passes law against domestic violence  – 29 August 2013

Huffington Post – Saudi Arabia Passes Domestic Abuse Ban For First Time – 29 August 2013

BBC – Saudi Arabia cabinet approves domestic abuse ban – 28 August 2013