Botswana’s Bushmen Denied Access to Water

By Laura Hirahara
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

Bushmen Mother and children in the Kalahari Reserve before eviction to a resettlement camp (Photo courtesy of Fiona Watson/Survival International)
Bushmen Mother and children in the Kalahari Reserve before eviction to a resettlement camp (Photo courtesy of Fiona Watson/Survival International)


Botswana’s Central Kalahari Bushmen are once again being forced from their ancestral lands as the country’s courts decide this week whether the Bushmen should have access to a local water supply.  Kalahari Bushmen are an indigenous hunter-gatherer people of the desert interior of Botswana.  They were evicted from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in 2002 and allowed to return in 2006 after Botswana’s High Court declared their forced removal unconstitutional.  Since 2006, the government has banned the Bushmen from hunting in the reserve and denied them access to the only local well by sealing it, a well the Bushmen claim they have been using for decades.  Bushmen have to walk long distances, often outside the reserve, in order to collect water.

The government claims that allowing the Bushmen to draw from the well would be incompatible with the goals of the Central Kalahari reserve.  However, since the bushmen returned to the reserve, Botswana’s government has allowed the company, Wilderness Safaris, to build a safari resort complete with a pool, on the reserve.  Additionally, on the same day the Bushmen appealed the water decision in court last week, Botswana granted Gem Diamonds a 3 billion dollar contract to mine in the reserve.  Gem Diamonds and the government claim they have the consent of the Bushmen whose land they will be on.  Survival International, an advocacy group for tribal people, has been helping the Bushmen represent themselves in court.  On Wednesday, Survival Director Stephen Corry said, “How can people who are denied water to force them out of the reserve possibly be in a position to give their free and informed consent?”

Botswana’s actions regarding the Bushmen are drawing criticism from several organizations, including the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights and the U.N.  A U.N. official on indigenous people went so far as to say the conditions in the Kalahari Reserve are ‘harsh and dangerous’.  Survival International has increased its efforts to improve the life of the Bushmen.  The group is encouraging the international community to boycott Botswana tourism and diamonds until the Bushmen’s land rights are recognized by the government.  In a statement to Survival International, one Bushmen said:

We are still hoping, not to be given anything, but simply for justice and our rights. The government hopes that by denying us water, it will force us from the reserve once more[. . .] It must know[n] by now that we are determined to live with our ancestors on the land we have known since time began.

For more information, please see;

CNN- Leaked Cable: U.S. Envoy Criticized Botswana on Bushmen– 21 Jan., 2011

The Botswana Gazette- Survival Protesters Target International Tourism Fair in Madrid– 23 Jan., 2011

Africanews.com- Kalahari Bushmen to Fight Court Ruling– 18 Jan., 2011

Independent Media Centre Australia- Botswana Approves$3BN Mine as Bushmen Water Case Gets Underway– 19 Jan., 2011

Mail & Guardian Online- ‘Thirsty’ Bushmen Go to Appeal Court– 21 Jan., 2011

Indigenous Residents Used as “Human Shields”

By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia—Eight people were killed in a clash between Colombian military forces and members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (the FARC). The deadly conflict took place in Cauca, which is a province located in the southwestern part of the country. Cauca has been plagued with violence and human rights violations by frequent invasions by the FARC’s guerrillas. The Colombian army released information about the most recent clash between the FARC and the military on Sunday.

The battle between the military and the 6th Front of the FARC was sparked on Friday of last week. The site of the clash was a rural area located near Toribio and Caloto, two cities that are notorious for the fact that rebel fighters often target them.

Defense Minister Rodrigo Rivera spoke out against the FARC on Saturday from Cali, the capital of Valle del Cauca province. Rivera accused the FARC rebels of abusing the indigenous people who reside in these areas. He added that the FARC use these civilians as “human shields” during clashes that occur between the rebel group and the armed forces. Rivera stated that acts such as these are major human rights violations.

Indigenous leaders from Cauca responded to the violence and Rivera’s statements on Sunday, stressing that Colombian soldiers have also used indigenous residents as “human shields.” The leaders told Caracol Radio that indigenous people living in Colombia are often caught in the cross-fire between the FARC and the government.

Indigenous leader Marcos Yule said on the radio that certain communities that have been caught in such fighting have declared “permanent assemblies” that will examine the conflict that is taking place. The assemblies will seek to encourage respect for indigenous individuals’ rights.

Of the eight victims who perished in the weekend’s violence, six were guerrilla fighters (FARC rebels) and two were Colombian soldiers. Approximately thirty guerrillas who were involved in the conflict scattered after the violence; according to the Colombian air force, the guerrillas were redeployed into other areas.

For more information, please see:

People’s Daily-6 guerrillas, 2 soldiers die in latest combat in Colombia-24 January 2011

Latin American Herald Tribune-Six Guerrillas, Two Soldiers Die in Fighting in Colombia-23 January 2011

Coffe Today-Six Guerrillas and Two Soldiers Were Killed in The Battle in Southwest Colombia-23 January 2011

Afghan Children Opium Addictions

David L. Chaplin II
Impunity Watch; Asia

MAZAR-E-SHARIF, Afghanistan – Within a little know Afghan province, Aziza, feeds her four-year-old son pure Opium for breakfast.

Afghan child working in an Afghan opium field
Afghan child working in an Afghan opium field

“If I don’t give him opium he doesn’t sleep,” she says. “And he doesn’t let me work.”

Many poor families, like Aziza, born to a family of carpet weavers in Balkh province has no education, no idea of the health risks involved or that opium is addictive.

“We give the children opium whenever they get sick as well,” says Aziza.

“People use opium as drugs or medicine. If a child cries, they give him opium, if they can’t sleep, they use opium, if an infant coughs, they give them opium,” reports CNNs Arwa Damon.

With no real medical care in these parts and the high cost of medicine, all the families out here know is opium.

Opium has become a cycle of addiction passed on through generations. The adults take opium to work longer hours and ease their pain.

“I had to work and raise the children, so I started using drugs,” she says. “We are very poor people, so I used opium. We don’t have anything to eat. That is why we have to work and use drugs to keep our kids quiet.”

The Balkin province is famous for its carpets. It’s so remote there are no real roads. The dirt roads that exist are often blocked by landslides.

The neighboring government-run drug therapy center is a four-hour drive away. But it has just 20 beds and a handful of staff to deal with the epidemic, says CNNs Arwa Damon.

“Opium is nothing new to our villages or districts. It’s an old tradition, something of a religion in some areas,” said Dr. Mohamed Daoud Rated, coordinator of the center. The center is running an outreach program to the areas that are most afflicted.

Most Afghans aren’t aware of the health risks of opium and only a few are beginning to understand the hazards of addiction.

“I was a child when I started using drugs” 35-year-old Nagibe says. She says her sister-in-law first gave her some when she was a young teenage bride, just 14 years old. Her children grew up addicts as well.

She has been clean for four months, hoping to leave the addiction behind, but every day is a struggle.

Three generations of one family, all struggling with a curse that afflicts well over one million Afghans.

A recent surge in opium prices could encourage Afghan farmers to expand cultivation of the narcotic crop and reverse advances in the fight against drug production.

UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov said, “If this cash bonanza lasts, it could effectively reverse the hard-won gains of recent years.”

For more information, please see:

CNN – Afghan infants fed pure opium – 23 January 2011

AOL news – Spike in Opium Prices Threatens Progress in Afghan Drug War – 20 January 2011

Top Wire XS – A Terrible Lullaby for Afghan Babies – 24 January 2011

TRINIDAD PRIME MINISTER MOVES FOR STRONGER DEATH PENALTY ENFORCEMENT

By Erica Laster
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – In an effort to deter crime, the People’s Partnership Coalition of Trinidad is discussing legislation which would resume executions of criminals.  The Trinidad and Tobago Humanist society strongly opposes the position, noting that the death penalty has not reduced crime in any country employing the measure.

Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar. Photo courtesy of Dominican News.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar. Photo courtesy of Dominican News.

3,335 murders were committed in Trinidad and Tobago from 2002-2010 according to figures produced by the government.  No countries have shown a reduction in crime due to the use or existence of the death penalty.  TTHS called attention to the fact that “One notable comparison is between Canada, where the death penalty was abolished in 1976, and the U.S., where it was reinstated that same year after a ten-year moratorium. American homicide rates rose after the 1976 reinstatement, while Canadian homicide rates declined after its abolition.”

Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar is a strong supporter of the new legislation.  “Mothers have lost their sons and daughters, children are left motherless and fatherless. Homes left without incomes, families destroyed and forced into poverty and worse,” she argued.  Bissessar believes the death penalty is the solution to many of these problems.

Bissessar contends that criminals have been using Trinidad’s laws in order to gain more time and avoid the death penalty.

The 1994 Pratt and Morgan case, decided by the London based Privy Council, mandates that convicted killers in Trinidad receive the death penalty by hanging within 5 years of being sentenced.  The appeals process has allowed many convicted killers to use loopholes to avoid this law.  Their right to seek further review by International governing bodies of which Trinidad is a member despite exceeding the 5 year deadline was upheld by the Privy Council in 1999.

As the highest court for many Caribbean countries, some have complained that the Privy Council impedes their ability to carry out the death penalty in accordance with their laws.

The proposed legislation provides that the murder of certain judiciary members and government officials carries a mandatory death sentence.  Further, it indicates the circumstances under which a person may receive a conviction for involuntary homicide.

No execution has been carried out in Trinidad since 1999.

For More Information Please Visit:

IPS News – Trinidad Aims To Bypass Privy Council On Death Penalty – 20 January 2011

MSNBC – Trinidad PM Wants Better Death Penalty Enforcement – 15 January 2011

Dominican News – New Moves To Implement Death Penalty In Trinidad – 22 January 2011

Chile, Peru Integration To Decrease Poverty

By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

Perus President Alan Garcia and Chilean President Sebastian Piñera at the residence of the Peruvian Embassy to Chile (photo courtesy of www.andina.com)
Peru's President Alan Garcia and Chilean President Sebastian Piñera at the residence of the Peruvian Embassy to Chile (photo courtesy of www.andina.com)

SANTIAGO, Chile – Chilean President Sebastian Piñera and Peruvian President Alan Garcia agreed on Wednesday to downplay Lima’s suit against Santiago over maritime boundaries in favor of economic integration to combat poverty and underdevelopment.  On Wednesday, Piñera received his Peruvian counterpart at La Moneda palace on a visit that came just two months after the Chilean leader’s trip to Lima.

To reporters, Garcia acknowledged that during the meeting with Piñera, the pair discussed the case that his country brought in 2008 before the International Court of Justice at The Hague to adjust the maritime border with Chile in Peru’s favor.

The leaders agreed that their countries will respect the ruling of the ICJ. They also stated that the lawsuit must not obstruct the rest of the common agenda and emphasized that the two nations are presently going through their best period in terms of bilateral relations. Garcia stated “Peru should never fall into the condition of an international pariah” by not accepting the ICJ ruling.

The Chilean leader said that the two countries “are not only at the best moment of their relations, but have a world of possibilities” before them, among which he cited bilateral trade, which in 2010 reached $3 billion for the first time. The presidents also discussed the important flow of cross-border investment, which has seen Chilean investors pour some $9 billion into Peru since 1990, compared with $3 billion in Peruvian investments in Chile.

“The enemies of Chile and Peru are the same: poverty, the poor quality of education and underdevelopment,” said Piñera. On Wednesday, Piñera is scheduled to visit the Chilean Congress, which meets in the coastal city of Valparaiso.

For more information, please see:

Andina – President Garcia Heads Back to Lima After Fruitful Visit to Chile – 20 January 2011

Andina – Chile, Peru Integration to Contribute to Growth – 19 January 2011

Latin American Herald Tribune – Leaders of Chile and Peru Embrace Integration – 19 January 2011