Côte d’Ivoire Issues Arrest Warrant for Youth Minister for Post-Election Violence

July 9, 2011

By Carolyn Abdenour
Impunity Watch, Africa

ABIDJAN, Côte d’Ivoire — Côte d’Ivoire’s state prosecutor has issued an international arrest warrant for Charles Ble Goude, the country’s youth militia leader under ex-President Laurent Gbagbo. Ble Goude was named Youth Minister when Gbagbo refused to leave office after the United Nations (“UN”)-certified Alassane Outtara the winner of the election in November 2010. Gbagbo’s actions triggered four months of violence throughout the country. Ble Goude has escaped from Côte d’Ivoire, and officials report spotting him in Benin and Ghana.

Côte d’Ivoire issues arrest warrant for Charles Ble Goude. (Photo Courtesy of The West Australian)

The violence killed approximately 3,000 people. Several of Ble Goude’s Young Patriots engaged in the violence with weapons, brandishing machetes, clubs, and AK-47s. The Young Patriots countered the insurgency by establishing roadblocks throughout Côte d’Ivoire and attacking French and UN Peacekeeping troops. The Youth Patriots also killed many Ouattara supporters and foreign West African nationals by burning them to death.

Ble Goude mobilized thousands of men at the conclusion of the violence to join the army. Human rights groups report Ble Goude fervently called Côte d’Ivoirians at rallies to defend the country against “foreigners”. After these gatherings, militia killings often occurred against Ouattara’s northern Dioula tribe members.

State prosecutor Simplice Kouadio Koffi said the state has issued arrest warrants against “suspects on the run”. Côte d’Ivoire issued arrest warrants for Gbagbo’s inner circle including Ahoua Don Mello (Gbagbo’s government spokesman during the violence), Philippe Attey (ex-industry minister), and Raymond Koudou Kessie (Gbagbo’s ambassador to Israel). These men, and 21 others in detention, face charges that include xenophobia, infractions against the security and authority of the state, tribalism, forming of armed gangs, abuse of office, and rebellion. Koffi stated “for many weeks, [these] people incited hatred and xenophobia and committed all kinds of atrocities”.

Ouattara captured Gbagbo in April 2010. Detained in the northern part of the country, Côte d’Ivoirian courts will try Gbagbo for war crimes, corruption, embezzlement, and economic crimes.

Presently, a delegation of the International Criminal Court (“ICC”) is in Côte d’Ivoire to investigate the possibility of prosecuting the war crimes and crimes against humanity that occurred during the post-election violence.

BBC reports the Ouattara government has promised the people an end to the impunity. However, only Gbagbo supporters are being arrested and detained even though the UN Human Rights Council believes both Gbagbo and Ouattara committed war crimes during the post-election violence. Human Rights Watch commented “there is a growing divide between the Ouattara government’s rhetoric that no one is above the law and the reality that justice appears one-sided”.

For more information, please see:
CBS – Ivory Coast issues warrant for Gbagbo youth leader – 2 July 2011
BBC – Ivory Coast warrant for Gbagbo ally Ble Goude – 1 July 2011
Reuters – Ivory Coast issues warrant for Gbagbo youth leader – 1 July 2011
The West Australian – I. Coast issues arrest warrant for Gbagbo allies – 1 July 2011

Indian Official Makes Anti-Gay Comment

July 8, 2011

By: Jessica Ties
Impunity Watch, Asia

NEW DELHI, India – Gay rights activists are outraged at statements made by India’s health minister in which Ghulum Nabi Azad described homosexuality as “unnatural” and a “disease” from the West and implied that homosexuality is responsible for the majority of India’s HIV rate.

Ghulum Nabi Azad is facing backlash after making anti-gay remarks (Photo Courtesy of Now Public).

Azad is quoted as stating “Unfortunately there is this disease in the world and in this country where men are having sex with other men, which is completely unnatural and shouldn’t happen, but it does.”

The remarks were made at a conference in which officials addressed the fact that HIV has affected approximately 2.5 million people living in India and 7.3 percent of homosexuals have been diagnosed with HIV.

The statements came as some parts of India have begun to increase their acceptance of homosexuals and homosexuality. In July 2009, homosexuality was decriminalized by New Delhi’s highest court which found that “consensual sex amongst adults is legal, which includes even gay sex and sex among the same sexes.”

Anjali Gopalan, founder and executive director of the Naz Foundation which fights the spread of HIV, has said that Azad “let a golden opportunity pass, for narrow sectarian gains, when he should have used the platform to address the concerns of the country as a while.”

Following the backlash resulting from the statements, Ghulum Nabi Azad has since clarified his remarks and stated that the statements were taken out of context.

For more information, please see:

CNBC – AP News in Brief at 5:58 am EDT – 5 July 2011

The Hindu – Azad Clarifies on ‘Gay-Sex-is-Unnatural’ Remark – 5 July 2011

The New York Times – India’s Health Minister Calls Homosexuality ‘Unnatural’ – 5 July 2011

Representatives of Australian Defence Force Aware of Possible Abuses at Abu Ghraib

July 8, 2011

By Brittney Hodnik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

CANBERRA, Australia – The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (“PIAC”) has now obtained documents that show that Australia’s military aided in preventing Abu Ghraib prisoners from receiving Red Cross treatment. At the center of the detainee mistreatment investigation is Australian officer Major George O’Kane.

Australia knew more about abuses at Abu Ghraib than originally thought. (Image Courtesy of the Associated Foreign Press)

Defense documents reveal that Australian Army lawyer, Major George O’Kane knew much more about the abuses at Abu Ghraib than originally thought. Although he was not personally involved with the highly publicized abuses, perhaps equally disturbing was his involvement in denying Red Cross medical attention to high priority prisoners. According to ABC News, Major O’Kane told ICRC representatives that they could not interview certain detainees because they were “undergoing active interrogation.”

Major O’Kane was instructed to report any abuses or wrongdoings to his superiors. Robert Hill, the then defense minister said that military lawyers and other officials could often “find themselves in tricky situations,” according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

The only reports Major O’Kane made to his superiors were those concerning a U.S. investigation into photos. He did not give evidence at a Senate inquiry in May of 2004, nor did he attend U.S. Congressional hearings on the abuses. However, Major O’Kane did eventually play a role in tipping off the U.S. about the Red Cross abuses. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the Major was instructed to deny prisoners access to the Red Cross because of their status as “High Value Detainees” during a January 2004 visit. Their process of interrogation reportedly required “imperative military necessity.”

Documents show that when Major O’Kane did express doubts about the legality of American interrogation techniques, defense officials ignored his recommendations. The Straits Times reports that Defence Minister Hill made no effort to correct a public statement announcing that the techniques ‘were consistent with the Geneva Convention,’ even though he knew they were wrong.

Former colonel Mike Kelly was in Baghdad at the same time as Major O’Kane. Kelly stood up for the Major telling The Sydney Morning Herald that the Major was “a really conscientious officer” and that “there were people with a lot more crap on their shoulders responsible for making these decisions.”

PIAC is a legal lobby group that obtained these documents through Freedom of Information laws. PIAC Chief Executive Edward Santow said, “We need to assure ourselves that we have learned from the mistakes of the past and . . . ensure that the key information gets into the public domain about our policies in relation to the detention and treatment of prisoners of war.”

PIAC told the Associated Foreign Press that these documents show a “disturbing response by Australian officials regarding detainee mistreatment.” PIAC will continue to inquire as to what the Australian Defence Force knew about the extent of the abuses at Abu Ghraib.

For more information, please visit:

Associated Foreign Press — Australia “linked to Abu Ghraib abuses” — 5 July 2011

The Straits Times — Alleged Australian Link to Abu Ghraib: Document — 5 July 2011

The Sydney Morning Herald — ADF Knew of Abuses at Abu Ghraib — 5 July 2011

Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC) — Australia’s Ties to Abu Ghraib — 4 July 2011

Herald Sun — Calls for Inquiry Into Abu Ghraib Abuses — 4 July 2011

FIRST WOMAN SENTENCED TO LIFE IN RWANDA FOR GENOCIDE

July 8, 2011

By Tamara Alfred
Impunity Watch Reporter

The only woman to ever be indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), Pauline Nyiramasuhuko, Rwanda’s former minister of family and women affairs, was sentenced to life imprisonment on June 24 for genocide and rape, among other crimes.

Pauline Nyiramasuhuko (Photo Courtesy of BBC News)

Nyiramasuhuko, 65, her son Arsene Shalom Ntahobali and the former mayor, Elie Ndayambaje, were all given life sentences. Each had been convicted of extermination, rape and persecution as crimes against humanity during Rwanda’s 1994 genocide. Over 800,000 people, mainly Tutsis, were murdered during the conflict.

“Hoping to find safety and security, they [ethnic Tutsis seeking refuge in the local government] instead found themselves subject to abductions, rapes, and murder,” said Presiding Judge William Sekule. “The evidence…paints a clear picture of unfathomable depravity and sadism.”

The judgment comes 10 years after the trial started and 16 years since the first arrest. The case is considered the longest, largest and probably the most expensive in the history of international justice trials. A total of 189 witnesses were presented and approximately 13,000 pages submitted into evidence, creating more than 125,000 pages of transcript.

Nyiramasuhuko, Ntahobali and Ndayambaje were convicted alongside three other accused, Sylvain Nsabimana and Alphonse Nteziryayo, both former governors of Butare prefecture, and Joseph Kanyabashi, the ex-Mayor of Ngoma Commune.

Nsabimana was sentenced to 25 years for failing to discharge his legal duty. Nteziryayo was sentenced to 30 years for direct and public incitement to commit genocide during two speeches he delivered. Kanyabashi was sentenced to 35 years for genocide.

While Nyiramasuhuko is the only woman to have been convicted by the ICTR, other women have been convicted by other courts in connection with the genocide. A Roman Catholic nun was sentenced to 30 years in prison by a tradition Rwandan court and two other Catholic nuns were convicted by a Belgian court.

Between April and mid-June 1994, hundreds of Tutsis were rounded up by militia members in Butare. Many were victims of assault and rape. The genocide was triggered by the April 6, 1994 shooting down of a plane carrying Rwanda’s Hutu president.

In a statement, the United States hailed the judgments: “This ruling is an important step in providing justice and accountability for the Rwandan people and the international community,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland. “This conviction is a significant milestone because it demonstrates that rape is a crime of violence and it can be used as a tool of war by both men and women.”

For more information, please see:

AFP – US hails Rwanda genocide verdict – 26 June 2011

All Africa – Rwanda: Woman Sentenced to Life for Genocide – 24 June 2011

BBC News – Profile: Female Rwandan killer Pauline Nyiramasuhuko – 24 June 2011

CNN – Ex-Rwanda minister jailed for life on genocide and rape counts – 24 June 2011

Trafficking sex slaves: a booming industry in the US capital

July 8, 2011

By Brianne Yantz
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON D.C., United States – Human trafficking is a booming business in the United States. Particularly popular is the sexual exploitation of trafficking victims, many of which are young boys and girls. These child prostitutes are often lured in by false promises and then forced into a life as a “sex slave.” Although cities across the U.S. are hubs for child prostitution, Washington D.C. has one of the highest rates of sex trafficking in the nation.

Tina Frundt, a former trafficking victim turned activist. (Photo Courtesy of CNN)

According to Examiner.com, a study funded by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2001 estimated that “300,000 runaway and throwaway youths under 18 have been sexually exploited.” ABC’s Good Morning America reported that in 2007 the U.S. Department of Justice had expanded that estimate to “between 100,000 and 3 million.”

Recently, CNN investigated and reported on the sex slave ring in D.C. During the investigation, CNN’s Barbara Starr interviewed Tina Frundt, a former trafficking victim turned activist who works at a non-profit organization for victims of sex trafficking called Courtney’s House. Frundt revealed to Starr that the average age of young girls being trafficked is between 11 and 14 years, and for boys it is between six and nine years old.

Frundt further revealed that at night the streets of D.C. are traffic controlled: the trafficker makes all the money. The women and children live as slaves, being beaten and forced to work the streets every night.

Frundt’s interview with CNN brings the reality of the sex slave trade to the forefront. At the close of the report, she offers that “if President Obama had to walk out of his door, his front door, at two-three in the morning – he would go two blocks away and see traffickers forcing women and girls out on the street every night here in the United States.”

CNN also interviewed Bradley Myles, the Executive Director and CEO of the Polaris Project, an organization aimed at combating human trafficking and slavery, to discuss public unawareness. Myles told Starr that most people who walk the streets of D.C. on a daily basis do not realize that at four and five in the morning those same street corners are used for prostitution.

Those who are aware of the trafficking and sexual exploitation in D.C. are extremely concerned. Amanda Kloer, an Editor at Change.org, reported that “all this wealth, political power, and slavery happens within five square blocks of one another, in what may become the human trafficking capital of America.”

Kloer, who works in D.C., is extremely disturbed that from her own office window she can see “one of the most notorious corners for prostitution in the city.”

Despite its continued prevalence, there have been some efforts by the federal government to crackdown on sex trafficking. In 2000, Congress passed anti-trafficking laws, which were reauthorized in 2006. Both the Human Trafficking Task Force and the U.S. Justice Department’s Innocence Lost initiative, separate efforts that target violent and predatory pimps, have made use of the laws to impose stiffer penalties on those convicted.

Yet, cracking down in Washington D.C. has proved to be a challenge. One reason may be because it is a small region where different legal jurisdictions intersect. Maryland and Virginia abide by their respective state laws, while a mixture of both local and federal laws govern D.C.

Human trafficking is also a very lucrative business, which makes it extremely difficult for police to shut it down. As CNN reported, “the sex trade alone is worth millions of dollars every year and the buyers keep on coming.”

For more information, please see:

CNN – Sex slaves in nation’s capital – June 24, 2011

Change.org – Human Trafficking Booming in Washington D.C. – June 28, 2010

The Washington Post – Activists Work to End Human Trafficking in D.C. – October 8, 2009

Examiner.com – Washington DC a sexual playground for pimps and johns: Exposing child prostitution rings in DC – March 18, 2009

ABC News – Teen Sex Slave Trade Hits Home – January 30, 2007

The Washington Post – Area Juvenile Sex Rings Targeted Using Anti-Trafficking Laws – March 6, 2006