Aid Money to Zambia Cut a Third Time Due to Government Corruption

By Laura Hirahara

Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

On Tuesday the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Malaria and Tuberculosis announced it was stopping the payment of $300 million in aid money to Zambia after Zambian officials refused to address corruption concerns within the Ministry of Health.  John Liden, director of communications for the Global Fund, stated that despite identifying the individuals within the Ministry responsible for the corruption the Zambian government has been slow to respond.  “That’s one of the reasons we feel we do not have confidence that the Ministry of Health, at this stage, can continue to channel funding of this magnitude for health in Zambia,” said Liden.

The Global Fund’s aid freeze comes after the European Union halted funding to Zambia for road construction projects and a year and a half after Sweden and the Netherlands stopped $33 million from being sent to the Ministry of Health after $5 million went missing.  An economist with the University of Zambia, Oliver Sassa, noted that the allegations of corruption have a serious impact on the donors who send aid to Zambia as these donations account for thirty percent of the government’s budget.  “This [aid freeze] touches directly on life and should send a signal to the government on the importance of accountability,” said Sassa.

The Global Fund’s report of corruption within the Ministry of Health adds to the graft allegations against Zambia’s president, Rupiah Banda.  Many doubt Banda’s ability to remedy corruption in Zambia after the government failed to appeal the acquittal last August of Zambia’s former president Frederick Chiluba who had been charged with stealing $480,000 in Treasury funds.

The Global Fund stated that life-saving treatments would not be affected by their decision.  While the Global Fund has yet to specify how funds will be distributed in the future, Health Minister Kapembwa Simbao said the funding would now be paid through the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

For more information please see;

BBC News, Global Fund Freezes Zambia Aid Over Corruption Concern, 16 June, 2010

Reuters, Zambia Dismisses Fears of Looming Health Crisis, 16 June 2010

Daily Nation, Global Fund Suspends funding to Zambia, 15, June 2010

IBI Times, Global Fund Freezes Zambia Aid Citing Corruption, 15 June 2010

Migrants Praised, But No Promises on Pay

By Kwangmin Ahn
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

GUANGDONG, CHINA – China’s Premier Wen Jiabao has called for better living conditions for migrant workers from rural areas. He said China owed them its wealth and tall buildings, and officials should treat them as their own children. The comments follow a wave of strikes and labour-related suicides.

The speech was a familiar one for the premier, known as “Grandpa Wen” for his ability to display empathy on behalf of the country’s struggling masses. But it was also the first public intervention by the leadership since strikes and other incidents at some of the country’s most modern factories focused global attention on an agitated younger generation of workers.

At the same time, the ruling communist party maintained a reporting ban on the third in a series of strikes in southern Guangdong province that have affected the China operations of Honda, the Japanese carmaker. The latest strike at a Honda lock factory in Zhongshan began on June 9 and has reached an uneasy stalemate.

After refusing to enter plant grounds for four days, workers returned to their posts on Monday pending another management response, expected on Friday, to demands for a 70 percent wage increase to $230 a month.

Up to 200 million Chinese workers have migrated from the countryside to the cities in recent years and the labour disputes at factories in the Chinese industrial belt have raised fears that migrant workers are becoming restless about tough working conditions and curbs on pay.

Strikes are illegal in China but the government seems to be tolerating the recent walkouts at Honda suppliers and other firms, as long as the disputes are settled quickly and quietly

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – China’s changing work landscape – 09 June 2010

CNN –China attempts to soothe worker unrest– 16 June 2010

BBC – China PM praises migrants but makes no promises on pay– 15 June 2010

NYTIMES – New strike threat at a Chinese Honda parts plant– 14 June 2010

U.S. Sponsors Mexican Drug Cartels

By Erica Laster                                                                                                                   Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

Masked police officers outside of a Ciudad Juarez, Mexico drug rehabilitation center after gunmen killed 17 last September. Photo courtesy of the Wall Street Journal.

MEXICO CITY, Mexico – The above accusation came just two days ago from Mexican President Calderon in a video address to his nation while attending the World Cup. The Washington Post reports that President Calderon indicated Mexico’s deadly drug war stemmed directly from the fact that their neighboring country is “the biggest drug addict in the world,” feeding cartels with billions of dollars which have made them rich and bold.  He asked Mexicans to continue to support his effort to rid the country of drugs despite armed resistance from local cartels. Over 23,000 have died since President Calderon declared a war on drugs in 2006.

In the past 5 days, hundreds have fallen victim to the drug war which has resulted in targeted killings of police, drug addicts and young children. This past Tuesday, Mexican police raided a home after acting on a tip in Taxco, a popular tourist town. The Mexican army’s firefight with the suspected drug cartel resulted in the deaths of 14 gunmen. Earlier this week, armed gunmen set a bus on fire to act as a blockade on a major highway, ambushing 12 federal police officers and wounding 8. Thursday, a local drug rehabilitation center in Chihuahua was hit by two dozen armed gunmen. After being thrown to the floor, 19 of its patrons were killed execution style. One teenager was able to call his mother on his cell phone, being heard crying out, “Mommy, they’vecome to kill us!” The victims ages ranged from 16-63. In Mexico, patients at local rehabilitation centers are often low level workers in the drug trade. President Calderon issued another statement Thursday from Johannesburg condemning the gunmen’s “barbaric acts,” the Washington Post reports.

In an effort to terrorize, drug cartels have also been responsible for many kidnappings throughout Mexico. Since 2006, kidnappings have exploded with approximately 2,450 taking place within three years of President Calderon taking office. High ranking officials, wealthy businessmen and ransom experts are among the many casualties. Just eight days after the kidnapping of former presidential candidate Diego Fernandez de Cevallos in May, authorities suspended their investigation pending an alleged willingness to pay ransom by his family. A public outcry ensued, as many believe the government is backtracking on its promise to end the popular tactic by prohibiting ransom payments to criminals.

Just across the border from El Paso in Ciudad Juarez, about eight people are killed each day from drug related violence and almost 1,200 deaths havebeen reported in the city this year alone. Mexican newspapers keep running tallies of the drug related violence’s victims reporting that 85 deaths occurred in a 24 hour period last week, a record high. Experts estimate that anywhere from $10-$25 billion dollars flow from the United States to Mexico as a result of the drug trade.

For More Information Please See:

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/…/AR2010061503174.html

 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704463504575300920373347404.html?KEYWORDS=mexico

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703280004575308730570231438.html?KEYWORDS=mexico

Proposed Arizona Law Violates the Constitution

By Ali Sprott-Roen
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

(courtesy of The Huffington Post)
(courtesy of The Huffington Post)

ARIZONA, United States – Arizona State Senator Russell Pearce, who was the force behind the passage of Senate Bill 1070, now intends to propose a law that will deny citizenship to children born in the U.S. to illegal immigrants.

Such children are often called “anchor babies” which is a derogatory term referencing the role of a naturalized child in facilitating the legal immigration of the child’s parents. Pearce has stated his belief that “anchor babies are an unconstitutional declaration of citizenship to those born of non-Americans. It’s wrong, and it’s immoral.”

However, contrary to Pearce’s belief, the 14th amendment to the constitution states that “all persons, born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.”

Despite this fact, Pearce and his fellow Arizona republican representatives will likely introduce legislation this fall that will deny birth certificates to children born in Arizona, and therefore American citizens under the Constitution, to parents who are not legal U.S. citizens.

In addition to violating the 14th Amendment, those who oppose the proposed legislation also say it would increase discrimination and create deeper divides in the community.

The bill is expected to end up in front of the U.S. Supreme court before enactment. In light of the decision in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, which confirmed that individuals born in the U.S. are citizens regardless of their parents’ nationality, constitutional law experts anticipate that federal judges will strike it down as facially unconstitutional.

For more information, please see:

Time – Arizona’s Next Immigration Target: Children of Illegals – 11 June 2010

azcentral.com – Arizona immigration law sponsor Russell Pearce thrusts state into political storm – 6 June 2010

LA Progressive –  Arizona Anti-Immigration Senator Going After ‘Anchor Babies’ Next – 25 May 2010

the raw story –  Author of Arizona law plans to target immigrants’ children – 12 June 2010

Mediaite – Report: Arizona State Senator to Target ‘Anchor Babies’ Next? – 21 May 2010