International Committee of the Red Cross July 2011 News and Notes
Policy Brief: Open Statement on Atrocities in South Kordofan
Originally published by the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
July 20, 2011
United Nations (UN) member states must uphold their responsibility to protect and take immediate action to protect populations from atrocities being perpetrated daily by Sudanese government security forces, and allied paramilitary forces and militias in South Kordofan. Since 5 June the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) has unleashed a barrage of indiscriminate aerial bombardment targeting civilians. With reports of mass graves and at least 73,000 people displaced, this is not the time for states to ‘wait and see’ how things transpire. With each passing day the situation becomes more complex and intractable and the plight of civilians more dire.
The Sudanese government has, as in Darfur, tried to hide the horrific consequences of its actions by restricting the access of the UN, media and independent monitors to the region. Yet credible reports indicate that the government is actively perpetrating atrocities against its own people. What began as an SAF operation ostensibly to disarm the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army-North (SPLA-N), a rebel group that fought alongside its southern counter-part against the SAF during Sudan’s 1983-2005 civil war, has escalated rapidly. In addition to daily aerial bombardment, the SAF and the Popular Defence Forces, an allied paramilitary force, have conducted house-to-house searches and imposed road blocks. This has been part of a deliberate strategy to target individuals for extra-judicial execution, abduction, arbitrary arrest and detention, and torture on the basis of his or her ethnicity and perceived support for the SPLA-N and its political arm, the SPLM-N. There are also reports that the SPLA-N has carried out extra-judicial killings.
The Nuba have borne the brunt of such targeting. They are marginalized and discriminated against by the Sudanese government on the grounds that they are not ‘Arab,’ and that many Nuba supported anti-government movements during the 1983-2005 civil war. Experts have labeled the government’s brutal actions against the Nuba during the early 1990’s, genocide. Once again the Nuba are the victims of mass atrocities. A leaked report by the UN peacekeeping mission in Sudan (UNMIS) argues that crimes perpetrated since the outbreak of fighting may amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes – crimes that states unanimously committed to protect populations from by endorsing the responsibility to protect at the 2005 World Summit.
At the core of this commitment is the responsibility to prevent crimes before they occur. Few situations have had as much early warning of imminent mass atrocities as South Kordofan or such a glaring failure to heed these warnings. Now is the time to take action to ensure that this mistake is not repeated. The risk of future crimes against humanity and war crimes is all too clear. The government’s actions over the past seven weeks have shown that, as with Darfur and the 1983-2005 civil war, it views the commission of mass atrocities as a legitimate counter-insurgency tactic. Furthermore, peaceful means of resolving differences, most notably through a 28 June framework agreement between the government and the SPLM-N to address political and security issues in the state, have been rejected by Sudanese President al-Bashir. This raises serious concerns that the government will continue to perpetrate atrocities against the Nuba as a means of destroying the SPLA-N and SPLM-N. That the current governor of South Kordofan is wanted by the International Criminal Court for atrocities perpetrated in Darfur, does not bode well for the Nuba. Nor does the reliance on paramilitaries and militias who may be motivated by ethnic and religious ideology and a desire to seize land. The SAF’s use of paramilitaries and militias adds another explosive ingredient as it is harder to deter and reign them in, thus making a political solution even more difficult.
The UN Security Council, key countries such as China and the Gulf States, as well as the guarantors of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) for the South, including the African Union (AU) and the Arab League, have a critical role to play going forward. The failure to fully implement the provisions of the CPA, including the holding of popular consultations in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, helped fuel the current crisis. The guarantors must not allow their attention to be diverted now that the South has gained independence. Instead they must re-double their efforts to identify measures likely to bring a peaceful resolution to the crisis in South Kordofan and use every source of leverage to halt mass atrocities.
The Security Council’s 15 July issuing of ‘elements to the press,’ a minimal expression of the Council’s opinion that does not form part of the official UN record, was a first step but is insufficient absent sustained engagement. The Council’s inability to agree on a Presidential Statement drafted five weeks ago, or to consider a resolution, despite the disturbing findings of the recently leaked UNMIS report, sends a clear message to the Sudanese government that the Council is divided and that there will be no consequences for its heinous actions.
That there is division about issuing a more weighty condemnation is indefensible. Bombs rain down on civilians, individuals are targeted because of their ethnicity, and unknown horrors are being inflicted on populations in parts of South Kordofan that have been closed off to the rest of the world. The situation risks destabilizing the region, including the fragile newly independent South Sudan, and is a clear threat to international peace and security.
The desire to reward the Sudanese government for allowing the South independence cannot come at the price of lives lost in South Kordofan. At this moment, the Council must be guided by the lessons of the past. The strategy of compartmentalizing the various conflicts within Sudan has proved ineffective in preventing atrocities. The Sudanese government is repeating familiar patterns of behavior: it is trying to hide the true horrors of its crimes by denying outside monitors, the UN and humanitarian agencies access to the most vulnerable of populations; it is being relentless in its commission of atrocities as part of its counterinsurgency; it is relying on militias, often motivated by extremist ideologies to do so; and it is providing piecemeal concessions in negotiations to resolve crises, only to subsequently reject any agreements reached. Finally, what little protection was provided by UNMIS through their presence and by bearing witness to unfolding atrocities in its vicinity ended on 8 July and the mission is currently withdrawing from South Kordofan, at the behest of the Sudanese government. Concerted international efforts, including demarches from all five permanent members of the Council and a personal request from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to convince Khartoum to allow them to stay have unsurprisingly failed.
Now is the time for decisive action. Council members should request an emergency briefing by senior UN and AU officials, including former South African President Mbeki, who negotiated the 28 June agreement. Those members supporting a stronger response should use the opportunity to engage with fellow members who oppose taking further steps and find a way for the Council to speak with one voice. That voice should strongly condemn the commission of mass atrocities, demand an immediate halt in aerial bombardments, call on both sides to cease their hostilities, allow for humanitarian access, and establish a human rights fact-finding mission. The AU and Arab League should similarly call for the creation of a fact-finding mission and use their relationship with the Sudanese government to urge the parties to grant such a mission much needed access. They should, as with the UNSC, outline that there will be consequences for the Sudanese government and actors responsible for perpetrating and inciting mass atrocity crimes should they fail to halt their actions. This should include the enactment of further targeted economic sanctions.
The leaked UNMIS report cannot be more clear, “the International Community cannot afford to remain silent in the face of such deliberate attacks by the Government of Sudan against its own people. If the current conduct of the SAF, especially the aerial bombardments, does not stop, it will dissipate the Nuban population in South Kordofan.” The time for warnings has passed. Atrocities are being perpetrated. Failure to act today will be a repeat of previous mistakes and will see more lives unnecessarily lost.
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For more information, please visit the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect.
Serbia arrests last war crimes suspect
By Polly Johnson
Senior Desk Officer, Europe
BELGRADE, Serbia – Goran Hadzic, the last Serbian war crimes fugitive, was arrested Wednesday after seven years on the run. Serbian secret police arrested him in a forest north of Belgrade and close to his family home.
Hadzic, now 53, faces fourteen counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes and was indicted in 2004 for his role in the wars following the break-up of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s. He has been accused of ethnic cleansing that led to the killings of hundreds of Croats and other non-Serbs and the deportations of tens of thousands. Specifically, he was responsible for the massacre of nearly three hundred men in Vukovar in 1991 and for the deportation of twenty thousand people from the town after it was captured.
Serbian President Boris Tadic called a news conference to announce Hadzic’s arrest, proclaiming, “With this, Serbia has now concluded its most difficult chapter in the cooperation with The Hague tribunal.”
Hadzic was the last fugitive of the 161 people indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
The arrest is significant for Serbia and comes two months after the arrest of General Ratko Mladic, the former commander of the Bosnian Serb army who is currently awaiting trial in The Hague. Mladic was responsible for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre that left more than eight thousand Bosnians dead.
The European Union (EU) welcomed Hadzic’s arrest, noting that the arrest has paved the way for Serbia’s entry into the EU.
“This arrest sends a positive signal to the European Union and to Serbia’s neighbors, but most of all on the rule of law in Serbia itself,” EU leaders said in a joint statement.
The EU will present a progress report on Serbia, which is expected to show that Serbia has met its candidacy requirements. The process takes several years.
ICTY prosecutor Serge Brammertz said of the arrest, “Hadzic’s transfer into the Tribunal’s custody is a long awaited development for the victims of the crimes charged against him. It is also an important milestone in the Tribunal’s history. Eighteen years after the Tribunal’s creation, we can now say that no indicted person has successfully evaded the Tribunal’s judicial process. This is a precedent of enduring significance, not only for this Tribunal, but also for international criminal justice more generally.”
For more information, please see:
BBC – Serbia holds Croatia war crimes suspect Goran Hadzic – 20 July 2011
Belfast Telegraph – War crimes arrest could help EU bid – 20 July 2011
CNN – Last Yugoslav war crimes suspect at large is captured – 20 July 2011
Huffington Post – Goran Hadzic, Last Balkan War Crimes Fugitive, Arrested In Serbia – 20 July 2011
New York Times – Serbia Arrests Last War Crimes Fugitive – 20 July 2011
Telegraph – War crimes suspect Goran Hadzic finally captured after investigation into stolen Modigliani painting – 20 July 2011
Concern Mounts as Violence Against Women on the Rise in the Middle East
By Tyler Yates
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
WASHINGTON D.C., United States — United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed concern earlier this week over reports of the wide scale use of violence against women throughout the Middle East to intimidate and punish pro-democratic reformers.
“Rape, physical intimidation, sexual harassment, and even so-called ‘virginity tests’ have taken place in countries throughout the region,” Clinton noted. “These egregious acts are violations of basic human dignity and run contrary to the democratic aspirations so courageously expressed throughout the region. It is an affront to all people who are yearning to live in a society free from violence with respect for basic human rights.”
The use of mainlined sexual assault, as a weapon for war, first gained notoriety in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the early 1990’s. Since that time, it has developed an even more twisted arsenal of usage for reasons of torture and repression. It has become a key weapon against the dissident women, who dare speak out against their governments, in what have been termed the Arab Spring revolts.
The fact that sexual assault has become such a prevalent issue in the Middle East should come as no surprise. A UN report, released in early July, revealed some egregious truths about the plight of justice for women worldwide. Even though such violence has been outlawed in 125 countries, globally 603 million women still live in countries where it is not considered a crime.
The Middle East region has the least number of countries with laws against domestic violence, sexual harassment, and rape. Dr. Moraz Doraid, the officer-in-charge of the United Nations Women’s Division of Management and Administration, attributes this to cultural generalizations, which lead countries to believe that the problems do not exist because the culture and traditions ensure the protection of women.
Solid data on the amount of incidents of violence against women in the Middle East is almost non-existent. Victims rarely come forward, and those that do must face a lengthy police reporting process that usually culminates in the perpetrator escaping charges. These women suffer institutional barriers such as lack of autonomy, little knowledge of the law, lack of financial resources, and the threat of permanent stigma. Such adds injury to insult.
Still, there is some hope of change in the future. Reports have shown that countries with higher political involvement from women are more likely to serve women’s interests. The rise in use of sexual assault as a weapon may be a harbinger of a fear that haunts the current traditionalist Middle Eastern regimes. The women are finding their political voice.
For more information, please see:
Al Arabiya — Anita Anand: Pursuing Justice for All Women — 18 July 2011
Today’s Zaman — UN report: Turkey US, EU in violence against women — 17 July 2011
Voice of America — Clinton Condemns Sexual Violence in the Mideast — 15 July 2011
The Daily Star — HRW urges Parliament to pass domestic violence bill — 7 July 2011
Kuwait Times — One in three women in Kuwait ‘a domestic violence victim’ — 5 July 2011
Malaysian Government Arrests 1600 Protesters
By: Greg Donaldson
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia– At least 1600 people were arrested last Saturday after police officers rushed to break up a protest seeking electoral change. Police ended the protest by firing tear gas and water cannons. While injuries were low, the Daily Star reports that a 59-year-old taxi driver died during the rally as he attempted to flee from tear gas. The police, however reported that the man was a bystander whom died of a heart attack based on reports by the Jakarta Globe.
The protest was organized by a coalition of opposition groups known as Bersih 2.0. The government had already declared Bersih an illegal organization and anyone found with any Bersih-related materials could be arrested says CNN.
Prior to the protest, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim wrote on his blog:
“Our reason for gathering is pure and simple — to demand that the electoral roll be cleaned, that the postal voting system be reformed, that indelible ink be used, a minimum 21 day campaign period be instated, free and fair access to media for all be provided, public institutions be strengthened, and for corruption as well as dirty politics to be stopped.”
The Malaysian Bar Council said in a report Tuesday that its monitors witnessed the police using tear gas and water cannons “arbitrarily, indiscriminately and excessively” and “beating, hitting and kicking the rally participants.”
The protesters, it said, acted in a “peaceful and calm manner,” except for an incident in which “one or more” people threw plastic bottles at a television reporter reports the New York Times.
On Wednesday, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak defended the actions of his government. “Public order is very important in Malaysia because if we allow for street demonstrations, there’s no end to it, there will be another group that wants to demonstrate.” Mr. Najib also explained that while the government had banned protests in the capital city, the protestors had the option to hold their event outside of the capital city but refused to do so.
Najib accused opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim of planning the rally and manipulating rally organizers to gain support for his campaign to become the new prime minister says the Daily Star.
On Thursday, the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia announced that it planned to examine police conduct during the protest. Muhammad Sha’ani Abdullah, a member of the commission, said they decided to act after receiving complaints from the public, protest organizers, and rights groups. “We are also acting on media reports and our own observations during the rally,” said Abdullah in a New York Times report.
Saturday, US State Department Spokesman Mark Toner described concerns over the events last weekend. “Obviously, we stand for… the right for people to freely express their democratic aspirations and express their views freely.”
Toner stressed that the US would stand up for Malaysians’ “universal right” to assemble but stressed that it was the responsibility of protesters here to do so in a non-violent manner reports the Malaysian Insider.
For more information, please see:
Sydney Morning Herald —Condemn Malaysian crackdown, US urged – 18 July 2011
BBC — US concern at Malaysia crackdown on protests – 14 July 2011
Malaysian Insider — US voices concern over Bersih crackdown – 14 July 2011
New York Times — Malaysian Prime Minister Defends Muzzling of Protests – 14 July 2011
CNN — Malaysian authorities crack down on protesters – 12 July 2011
Daily Star — Malaysia defends protest crackdown – 11 July 2011
Jakarta Globe — Malaysian PM Defends His Regime’s Protest Crackdown – 10 July 2011