A Voice for the Voiceless

Arab League Takes Action Against Israel’s Blockade of Gaza Strip

By Alyxandra Stanczak
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt– Amr Moussa, Secretary General of the Arab League, visited the Gaza Strip today to call for an end to a blockade that has been in effect since Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in 2007.  Moussa called for a break in the blockade and said the position of the Arab League is clear in this matter.

Children and other vulnerable groups are the real victims of Israels blockade.
Children and other vulnerable groups are the real victims of Israel’s blockade.                          (Photo courtesy of Amnesty International.)

The Arab League was formed in 1945 and consists of 22 members, including Palestine, and four observers. Relations between the Arab League and Israel have historically been strained. When the League was formed they called for an embargo of Jewish businesses operating within Palestine. More recently, Israeli – Arab League relations have been improving, signified by Arab League representatives meeting with then Israeli prime minister Olmert and other high-ranking ministers in 2007. This meeting was the first time Israel received an official Arab League delegation.

The blockade has resulted in unemployment, inflated food prices resulting in reliance upon humanitarian aid, and poverty. Items barred in the blockade include basic goods such as food and fuel. Food which is not delivered by the UN and other agencies is often smuggled through the Egypt-Gaza border and is sold to Gaza residents. More than half of Gaza’s population are considered vulnerable; especially children, the elderly, the sick, and refugees. Civilians, rather than armed anti-Israeli groups, are most likely to be affected by the blockade.

Moussa’s trip was coordinated with the Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and he is scheduled to meet with Hamas prime minister Haniyeh. Moussa’s trip to Gaza has already had an apparent effect in Israel, with Israeli prime minister Netanyahu responding that he supports an easing of the blockade, but still opposes a complete lift on the blockade.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Arab League demands Gaza siege end – 13 June 2010

Haaretz – Netanyahu: Naval blockade on Gaza will not be lifted – 13 June 2010

Amnesty International – Suffocating Gaza – The Israeli Blockade’s Effects on Palestinians – 1 June 2010

Rome Statute Review Conference Concludes, Making Important Progress

Ambassador Christian Wenaweser, President of the Assembly of States Parties, closing the Review Conference courtesy of www.icc-cpi.int
Ambassador Christian Wenaweser, President of the Assembly of States Parties, closing the Review Conference courtesy of www.icc-cpi.int

By Celeste Little

Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa


KAMPALA, Uganda-Though fifteen hundred to two thousand delegates were expected, the International Criminal Court (ICC) Rome Statute Review Conference in Kampala, Uganda concluded on Friday, welcoming 4600 representatives of states, intergovernmental and nongovernmental agencies.

The conference spanned two weeks and though it covered many issues that were central to the functioning of the ICC, its primary focus was to define the crime of aggression and take stock of the the effect of the statute on international criminal justice.

The conference ended having accomplished the changes it aimed for–amending the Rome Statute, to include the crime of aggression and designating the ICC’s jurisdiction regarding the newly defined crime. The actual exercise of this jurisdiction must be decided on January 1, 2017 by a majority of State Parties.

The court also amended the statute to bring the use of certain poisonous weapons and expanding bullets, asphyxiating or poisonous gases under the jurisdiction of the court as war crimes even when used in a domestic nature, according to the ICC’s closing press release.

In taking stock of the statute, the conference considered the rights of victims to justice, determining that more outreach should be made to those victims and more donations should be made to the Trust Fund for Victims. The ICC put an important focus on states’ relationship with it, noting that in order to achieve justice, complementarity and cooperation from states would be important.


For more information, please see:

Palestinian Man Shot Dead by Israeli Police After Hit-and-Run

By Dallas Steele
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

EAST JERUSALEM, Israel — As tensions remain at an unprecedented high, Israeli border police officers have shot and killed a Palestinian driver who may have intentionally hit two border police officers with his motor vehicle on Friday. The incident began when the driver, forty-0ne-year-old Ziad al-Jolani, rammed his Mitsubishi van into two border police officers. It remains unclear whether al-Jolani intended to injure the two officers or whether the entire incident was an accident.

Tensions run high in East Jerusalem between Israeli border police officers and Palestinian men restricted from travelling
Tensions run high in East Jerusalem between Israeli border police officers and Palestinian men restricted from travelling. (Photo Courtesy of Al Jazeera)

Micky Rosenfeld, an Israeli police spokesman, said that after al-Jolani struck the two officers with his van, one of the officers fired warning shots in the air and called for the driver to stop his vehicle. As the driver ignored the border police officers’ request by driving away, the officers began to give chase to al-Jolani. Al-Jolani got out of his van in an attempt to flee by foot while the border police officers continued to call for the driver to cease and desist. After continuing to ignore the demand to halt, a border guard shot al-Jolani dead.

Palestinian witnesses have given a similar account as Rosenfeld, but have made the claim that the Israeli police officers began to fire indiscriminately in al-Jolani’s direction, causing not only his death, but the serious injury of a young woman as well.

Conflicting reports have been made on the injury of the passenger in al-Jolani’s van, Mahmoud al-Jolani, as some reports have stated he was injured during the incident and others saying he was injured earlier that day in a stone-throwing incident.

The killing has come at an extreme low point in Palestinian-Israeli relations. The checkpoint where the shooting occurred was located in the neighborhood of Wadi al-Joz, an area predominantly inhabited by Palestinians, but became part of Israeli territory after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

Additionally, Israeli police had just recently announced a limited-access policy for Palestinian men under the age of forty travelling from East Jerusalem to the al-Aqsa Mosque for Friday prayers. This move was made in response to the heightened tensions in the region following last month’s clash between Israel’s commando raid on a Turkish ship bound for Gaza that left nine activists dead.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera — Israeli police kill Palestinian man — 11 June 2010

CNN — Palestinian driver shot dead after striking Israeli border guards — 11 June 2010

NY Times — Police kill Palestinian driver in East Jerusalem — 11 June 2010

Anti-Chavez TV Channel Owner Ordered Arrested

By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

CARACAS, Venezuela—Venezuelan prosecutors issued an arrest warrant Friday for the owner of the country’s only remaining pro-opposition television channel.  Guillermo Zuloaga, the well-known president of the Globovision channel, has been critical of President Hugo Chavez and is a frequent target of authorities.

Zuloaga’s son was also named in the warrant. The charges against the father and son are linked to a 2009 case in which they were accused of improperly storing 24 new Toyotas.  Security officers could not find either man at Zuloaga’s home.

The senior Zuloaga, in addition to owning Globovision, owns and operates some car dealerships.  Authorities claim that he and his son were keeping the Toyotas off the market, waiting for prices to rise.  The charges had been dropped months ago, after prosecutors reviewed the case.  Zuloaga has denied any wrongdoing, speculating that the charges were an attempt to intimidate him.  He said the vehicles had been stored for safekeeping after one of his dealerships had been robbed.  The arrest warrant appeared just one week after President Chavez publicly lamented that Zuloaga remained free.

A statement from the prosecutors’ office on Friday read:  “The police are now working on capturing both citizens, who must be presented before a tribunal which will decide what legal measures to adopt.”  The statement went on to say that both Zuloagas could also be charged with conspiracy to commit a crime, which alone could carry a 2 to 5 year jail sentence.

Zuloaga is no stranger to conflicts with Venezuelan authorities.  In March, he was arrested and detained for hours after making “offensive and disrespectful” remarks about President Chavez on a television show.  Zuloaga had commented on his worries about restricted freedom of expression in Venezuela.

Earlier this year, the Organization of American States voiced concerns about Venezuela’s use of punitive power to silence opponents.  The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights issued a report stating that Chavez constrains freedom of expression and has restricted human rights.  The Commission urged Venezuela to avoid using any means to silence criticism or allegations against the government.  In response, President Chavez called the report “garbage.”

Alejandro Aguirre, the president of the Inter-American Press Association in Aruba, condemned the arrest warrant against Zuloaga.  “Once again it’s been shown that in Venezuela there’s no independence of powers, an essential value of democracy, since the judicial branch seems to act every time the president speaks or orders it,” Aguirre stated.

Globovision has been the only anti-Chavez television channel on air since a similar channel, RCTV, was forced off cable and satellite TV in January.

For more information, please see:

Voice of America-Venezuela Orders Arrest of Anti-Chavez TV Boss-12 June 2010

AP-TV channel owner ordered arrested in Venezuela-12 June 2010

Wall Street Journal-Venezuela Issues Arrest Warrant For Anti-Chavez Businessman-11 June 2010