Macedonian Law Criticized for Not Protecting Homosexuals

By Kenneth F. Hunt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

SKOPJE, Macedonia – This week the Parliament of Macedonia adopted an anti-discrimination law, but failed to include a provision barring discrimination based on sexual orientation. This statute has drawn the criticism of the European Union and some human rights groups, including Amnesty International.

The law was passed by 62 of the 120 members of the Parliament on Thursday April 15. It bars and creates penalties for discrimination based on ethnicity, gender, and religion. The opposition party protested the exclusion of similar protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons in Macedonia.

After the legislation passed, the EU immediately asked Macedonian legislatures to reconsider or otherwise amend the legislation.

In particular, the European Commission, the EU’s executive body, pointed to the EU framework which requires that national standards for anti-discrimination align with minimum standards.

These standards, under the Charter of Fundamental Rights adopted in the Lisbon Treaty, require that any “recently enacted antidiscrimination legislation will need to be amended in order to include explicit prohibition of discrimination on grounds of sexual discrimination.”

Even though Macedonia is not a part of the EU, and therefore not required to change the law, it is currently part of the accession process and seeks to join the EU in the next round of enlargement.

In addition to violation European law, human rights groups claim that Macedonia’s law does not comply with international law. Amnesty International, specifically, claims that protecting citizens from all forms of discrimination constitutes a legal obligation under various human rights treaties that Macedonia has signed on to.

The Macedonian opposition has seized on this issue to point out impunity issues in the nation. They claim that conservative Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski has a long record of antagonism towards homosexual Macedonians. They also claim that the new law is a deliberately “discriminatory anti-discrimination law”.

Moreover, EU Enlargement Commissioner, Stefan Fuele, claims that he sent a letter to Mr. Gruevski, which has been an ignored to continue domestic discrimination against citizens that are homosexual.

Documented instances of discrimination against homosexuals during the Gruevski administration have included job discrimination, humiliation in public places, and harassment by police officers.

For more information, please see:

ASSOCIATED PRESS – New Macedonian rights law fails to protect gays – 16 April 2010

BALKAN INSIGHT – Macedonia Press Review, April 16, 2010 – 16 April 2010

EU OBSERVER – EU rejects Macedonia anti-discrimination law – 16 April 2010

Same-Sex Partners Granted Broader Visitation Rights

By Stephen Kopko

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON D.C., United States-Another victory was won by gay-rights advocates in their campaign to gain equal rights.  In a memorandum to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), President Barack Obama mandated that a majority of hospitals allow partners of homosexuals the same visitation rights as heterosexual couples.

President Obama wrote that there was a major problem in America where patients are denied access to those who most care for them by hospitals.  Normally, hospitals only allow those people related by blood or marriage to visit a seriously ill patient or make medical decisions for that person.  This issue particularly affects homosexual Americans.  President Obama wrote “gay and lesbian Americans are often barred from the bedsides of the partners they may have spent decades of their lives.”

According to the memo, the Secretary of HHS, Kathleen Sebelius, is directed to develop rules to enforce hospitals to “respect the rights of patients to designate visitors.”  The memo also directed the Secretary to begin developing rules allowing patients more freedom to choose who should be their medical proxy.  Additionally, hospitals must honor power of attorney and health care proxy documents already created by couples.  The new rules will apply to those hospitals that receive funding from Medicare and Medicaid.  The procedures for creating new rules within agencies can last many months.

Opponents of the gay-rights movement criticized the mandate as granting special rights to homosexual couples.  They see the mandate as intruding upon the fundamental principle of marriage: Marriage is between one man and one woman. Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council stated “the memorandum undermines the definition of marriage.” Nevertheless, many opponents of gay-rights support a person’s choice of who they want next to them during a health crises.

Supporters of the gay-rights movement applauded the mandate issued by the President. David Smith of the Human Rights Campaign stated, “We see this as part of our ongoing effort to encourage the administration to take action where it has authority to act.”  Despite support for the homosexual community, the Obama Administration has been criticized by others as moving too slow on bringing equality to homosexuals.  They believe that the President has not followed through on his campaign promises.

For more information, please see:

Los Angeles Times-Obama orders most hospital to grant gays visitation rights-16 April 2010

MSNBC-Obama Agenda: Same-Sex Visitation-16 April 2010

Washington Post-Obama extends hospital visitation rights to same-sex partners of gays-16 April 2010

Amnesty International Calls For Ukraine To End Government Human Rights Abuses

By David Sophrin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

KIEV, Ukraine – The human rights watchdog group, Amnesty International, called on Wednesday for the Ukrainian government to reign in growing allegations of police corruption and human rights violations.

The group’s recommendations were part of a broader report issued by Amnesty International to the new President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych.  Included were suggestions on how the national government could avoid past practices such as police brutality and racial discrimination.  The report also focused on the issue of foreign migrant workers being the targets of these abuses.  Similar concerns over police practices were raised in Amnesty’s report on Ukraine five years ago.  The ultimate objective of these proposed reforms is to bring Ukraine in line with international rights standards.

Amnesty International officials stated that “the new authorities in Kyiv must not squander the progress in the protection of human rights that Ukraine has made over the last 20 years.”

Also emphasized was Ukraine’s treatment of refugees and asylum seekers.  The former Soviet republic typically accepts less than 6% of the asylum applicants.  Refugees from nations with questionable human rights records are often sent back, despite the potential for those refugees to face persecution for attempting to leave.

In response to Amnesty’s report, the Yanukovych administration announced that it would support the creation of an independent governmental agency that would investigate allegations of police activity.  Presidential spokesman Hanna Herman stated that “everything possible will be done in order that no case of infringements on these rights be left without relevant reaction from the side of authorities, and those guilty be punished.”

For more information, please see:

ETHIOPIAN REVIEW – Ukrainian authorities respond to Amnesty International’s human rights challenge – 15 April, 2010

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL – Ukraine: Report calls on new President to back ‘words with deeds’ on human rights – 14 April, 2010

AP – Rights group urges Ukraine to end police abusers – 14 April, 2010

RADIO FREE EUROPE – Amnesty Urges Ukraine To End Rights Abuses – 14 April, 2010

China Closes Women’s Rights Organization

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NEW YORK, United States – China’s leading independent women’s rights organization, which was affiliated with Beijing University, was notified last month that its affiliation with the University has been terminated.

Under Chinese law, nonprofit organizations must be affiliated and sponsored by a government unit. 

The organization, Women’s Legal Research and Services Center, received numerous domestic and international accolades over the year for its work with the Chinese government on legislation concerning women and for bringing public interest lawsuits highlighting women’s issues like domestic violence and discrimination. 

The Center’s founder and China’s leading women’s rights activist, Guo Jianmei, expressed her concerns regarding the lack of justification for closing the Center as well as the message the government is sending to the public by shutting down an organization that has dedicated years to fighting discrimination against women, promoting the rule of law, and in aiding vulnerable members of the society.

In a recently released statement, the Center said its closing “was only the last one in the long series of difficulties faced by the center in its 15-year existence.”  The statement also described the hardship the Center faced, such as barriers in raising charitable funds and the Chinese authorities’ hostility regarding public interest litigation.  For example, just last month, Chinese government implemented new laws that place addition hurdles on domestic NGO’s raising funds from international donors.

Sophie Richardson of Human Rights Watch said, “The Chinese government should recognize that civil society groups play an essential role in remedying social problems and easing social tensions . . . Instead, it is . . . making China’s most vulnerable populations pay the price.”

Some of Beijing University alumni have written a public letter to the university and its president protesting the decision to end its ties with the Center but to no avail, and the domestic media has not been allowed to report on this matter.

Richardson added, “The closure of the Women’s Center is a serious setback for women’s rights and civil society in China.  The government’s general hostility towards civil society is starting to impact mainstream organizations . . . .”

For more information, please see:

All-China Women’s Federation – Beijing University Women’s Legal Aid Center – 25 March 2009

Human Rights Watch – China: Chokehold on Civil Society Intensifies – 12 April 2010

NGOs in China – Peking University Women’s Legal Aid Center loses its affiliation – 14 April 2010

MONUC Troops Pushed Out of DRC

By Jennifer M. Haralambides
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

DAKAR, DR Congo – With after a new wave of violence and instability sweeping through the central African nation, Congolese government is oddly pushing for a swift withdrawal of United Nations (UN) peacekeepers.

UN peacekeepers (MONUC) have been in Congo for eleven years.  Their numbers now reaching over 20,000, making them one of the largest peacekeeping missions in the world.

Even though the UN peacekeepers have been faulted in the past for backing down in the face of certain rebels, many fear that a hasty withdrawal may be dangerous.   President Joseph Kabila does not share this fear and is wiling to risk Congo’s return to the brutalities that plagued them during their four years of civil war.

“For the moment, as you know, the situation remains extremely fragile.  So we have to do it right rather than do it quickly,” said Gerard Araud, France’s permanent representative to the UN.

“MONUC won’t leave if we are not sure that the Congolese authorities are able to do the job.  That’s the discussion we should have with the Congolese authorities,” added Araud.

Tomorrow ambassadors will travel to Kinshasa for talks with the Congolese officials who want MONUC to clear out of the country by September 2011.

According to The National, human rights groups have been warning officials that Congo is still racked “by violence, with massacres, rape and looting commonplace as armed ex-rebel groups profit from the mining of gold, coltan and other valuable minerals.”

For more information please see:

Independence Online – UN Mission Accused of Inaction – 15 April 2010

The Economist – Unloved for Trying to Keep the Peace – 15 April 2010

The National – UN Envoys Prepare for Battle Over Congo Peace Troops – 15 April 2010

Reuters – UN’s Congo Trip Dominated by Peacekeepers’ Exit – 15 April 2010