War Crimes Prosecution Watch, Vol. 6, Issue 6 — June 20, 2011

War Crimes Prosecution Watch is prepared by the International Justice Practice of the Public International Law & Policy Group and the Frederick K. Cox International Law Center of Case Western Reserve University School of Law.

INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

Central African Republic & Uganda

Darfur, Sudan

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Kenya

Libya

AFRICA

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda

Special Court for Sierra Leone

EUROPE

European Court of Human Rights

Court of Bosnia & Herzegovina, War Crimes Chamber

International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

Domestic Prosecutions In The Former Yugoslavia

MIDDLE EAST AND ASIA

Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia

Special Tribunal for Lebanon

Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal

TOPICS

Terrorism

Piracy

Universal Jurisdiction

Gender-Based Violence

—

War Crimes Prosecution Watch is a bi-weekly e-newsletter that compiles official documents and articles from major news sources detailing and analyzing salient issues pertaining to the investigation and prosecution of war crimes throughout the world. For more information about War Crimes Prosecution Watch, please contact warcrimeswatch@pilpg.org.

Human Rights Council: Report Of The International Commission of Inquiry To Investigate All Alleged Violations Of International Human Rights Law In The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

Report of the International Commission of Inquiry to investigate all alleged violations of international hu…

U.N. passes resolution to combat LGBT discrimination

By Greg Hall
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

GENEVA, Switzerland – The United Nations narrowly passed a resolution on human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity by a slim margin, with twenty-three countries in favor and nineteen opposed. The resolution is intended to combat discrimination against gay, lesbian and transgender people. It establishes a formal UN process to document human rights abuses against these groups.

The U.N. resolution passed this week is a victory for the LGBT community. (Photo courtesy of Deutsche Welle)
The U.N. resolution passed this week is a victory for the LGBT community. (Photo courtesy of Deutsche Welle)

Proponents of the resolution argue that the endorsement vindicates a continuing international movement to end infringements on human rights based on sexual orientation. “This represents an historic moment to highlight the human rights abuses and violations that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people face around the world based solely on who they are and whom they love,” U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in a statement. Furthermore, proponents argue that the resolution demonstrates the universality of human rights.

Opponents question the legal aspects of the resolution. “We are seriously concerned at the attempt to introduce to the United Nations some notions that have no legal foundation,” said Pakistan’s Zamir Akram. In addition, speaking on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, Pakistan said the resolution had “nothing to do with fundamental human rights.” A diplomat from the African state of Mauritania called the resolution “an attempt to replace the natural rights of a human being with an unnatural right.”

Asked what good the U.N. resolution would do in countries that opposed the resolution, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary Daniel Baer said it was a signal “that there are many people in the international community who stand with them and who support them, and that change will come. It’s an historic method of tyranny to make you feel that you are alone,” he said. “One of the things that this resolution does for people everywhere, particularly LGBT people everywhere, is remind them that they are not alone.”

The resolution requests that the High Commissioner for Human Rights prepare a study on violence and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, and calls for a panel discussion to be held at the Human Rights Council to discuss the findings of the study in a constructive and transparent manner, and to consider appropriate follow-up. It is believed that a great number of crimes against gay, lesbian, and transgender people are concealed or minimized. The resolution seeks to bring to light these atrocities and human rights abuses.

For more information, please see:

Detroit Free Press – U.S. calls first UN gay rights resolution historic – 18 June 2011

The New Civil Rights Movement – Will the UN’s historic human rights resolution reduce ‘corrective’ rape? – 18 June 2011

Huffington Post – U.N. Gay rights protection resolution passes, hailed as ‘historic moment’ – 17 June 2011

IGLHRC – Historic decision at the United Nations: Human Rights Council passes first-ever on sexual orientation and gender identity – 17 June 2011

The Slatest – U.N. endorses gay rights for first time – 17 June 2011

Impunity Watch Symposium Keynote Senator Romeo Dallaire (4/5)

Impunity Watch Symposium Keynote Senator Romeo Dallaire (4/5) from Impunity Watch on Vimeo.

On Friday April 8, 2011, the Impunity Watch Law Journal of Syracuse University College of Law hosted its annual symposium entitled, Humans as Commodities: Child Soldiers. The symposium addressed the use of child soldiers in armed conflict. It looked at the chilling realities facing child soldiers, the root causes of the phenomena, and explored the persistent human rights dilemma facing the international community.

In 2000, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict to ensure that States do not use individuals under eighteen years of age in combat, and to explicitly forbid non-state and guerrilla forces from recruiting anyone under eighteen for any purpose. Other provisions of international law have banned the use of soldiers under age fifteen since the 1970s. In spite of these and other international efforts, there are an estimated 250,000-300,000 child soldiers across the globe, actively fighting in at least thirty countries. Almost half of all armed organizations in the world use child soldiers and almost all of those soldiers see combat.

Saudi Women Hit the Road to Protest Driving Ban

by Zach Waksman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – On Friday, between 30 and 40 women in Saudi Arabia took to the streets of the kingdom’s major cities as drivers in protest against a long-standing prohibition against women drivers, the only one of its kind in the world.  No arrests were made, though some women received threats of beatings or damage to their cars.  This was the first time such an action had taken place since November 1990, when 47 women drove around Riyadh.

The issue of permitting women to drive is a controversial one that cuts across all strata of Saudi society.  It returned to prominence following the late May arrest of Manal al-Sharif, who was also jailed for nine days, force to sign a pledge not to drive again, and banned from talking to the media as punishment for the infraction.  Prior to her arrest, she had posted footage of herself driving on YouTube and started a Facebook page calling for the protest.  The campaign, titled “Women2Drive,” calls for continued action “until a royal decree allowing women to drive is issued.”

But the possibility of obtaining that decree is unclear.  The issue is considered a religious one, with no written law in place.  Clerics claim the ban prevents vice by preventing public socialization between the sexes.  According to Dr. Mishal al-Ali, Director of the Saudi Arabian Shura Council’s Commission for Human Rights, no legal or religious impediment exists.  Wajeha al-Huwaider, a noted Saudi feminist who filmed Sharif’s video, agreed with Dr. al-Ali.  “Driving is a basic simple right,” she said.  “Denying it is hurting the image of the country.  Even if the ban has nothing to do with religion, it is also hurting the image of Islam.”

Because they cannot drive, women must instead hire drivers to take them where they need to go or rely on a male chaperone, which would make the clerics’ claim hypocritical.  Additionally, a driver costs approximately $600 per month plus expenses for their coming to and remaining in Saudi Arabia.  Such a price is as significant drain on monthly wages.

Despite this situation, the future seems bright for this small, but shocking protest.  Prince Talal bin Abdul-Aziz al-Saud, a more liberal member of the royal family, supported the protest.  “Bravo to the women!  Why should women drive in the countryside and not in the cities?” Waleed Abu Alkhair’s wife was one of the women who drove in the protest.  He supported the cause, saying “We want women to keep fighting this fight and to be free.  It will help to liberate the entire society.”  The cause was also closely followed on Women2Drive’s Facebook and Twitter pages. The Twitter page was at one point trending at a rate of 100 tweets per minute.

But for now, the situation remains unchanged.  King Abdullah has promised reform, but he has been reluctant to act due to the political consequences he will likely face for doing so.

For more information, please see:

Al-Jazeera — Saudi women defy ban to take driver’s seat — 17 June 2011

Arab News — Saudi women drive home a point, again — 17 June 2011

The Guardian — Saudi Arabia women test driving ban — 17 June 2011

New York Times — In a scattered protest, Saudi women take the wheel — 17 June 2011

Dar Al Hayat — A renewed file and a partially opened door — 6 June 2011

Asharq Alawsat — Saudi Arabia: Arrest of female driver sparks debate — 24 May 2011