Yemen Urges Donors To Honor Pledges

By Ahmad Shihadah

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SA’DA, Yemen – Yemen told international donors at a meeting in Abu Dhabi on Monday that it urgently needs to receive their pledged financial aid to combat poverty and unemployment.

“The need is increasingly urgent for the mobilisation of (financial) resources” promised at a London conference in 2006, Deputy Planning Minister Hisham Sharaf Abdullah told the Friends of Yemen meeting.

He said the billions promised were needed to “reduce poverty and unemployment” in Yemen, a poor neighbour of the oil-rich Gulf Arab monarchies.”The government has undertaken reforms … but the road is still long and requires a combination of efforts to meet the challenges that hinder development and undermine the foundations of security and stability,” he added. Abdullah emphasized the importance of the active partnership between Yemen and the international community to make available the amount needed, in addition to coordination and consultation in this respect.

Representatives from about 20 Arab and Western countries met for the workshop co-chaired by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) hosts and Germany to address economy and good governance issues in Yemen.

The Yemeni government made a similar request last month, during a Gulf Cooperation Council meeting in Riyadh. Gulf countries pledged roughly $3.2 billion, almost none of which has been delivered — much like the billions promised during a similar international conference in London in 2006. GCC countries have met just 15 percent of their 2006 promises, according to Abdullah, who said the Yemeni government hopes they will deliver another 15 percent this year.

Khaled Ghanem al-Ghaith, the UAE’s deputy foreign minister, said Gulf countries would meet their commitments to Sana’a, but also seemed to link foreign aid to tougher military actions against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

The Yemeni government receives takes in 70 percent of its annual budget through oil revenues, and the country’s reserves are declining rapidly.

For more information, please see:

The Majlis – Yemen To World: We Still Need $44 Billion – March 30 2010

Yemen Post – Yemen Says Needs $44 Billion As Friends Meet In Abu Dhabi – March 30 2010

AFP – Yemen Urges Donors To Honor Aid Pledges – 30 March 2010

SABA NET – Yemen Needs $44 Bin To Implement 4th Five Year Plan, Says Sharaf – March 30 2010

UAE Sentences Seventeen to Death from India

By Brandon Kaufman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SHARJAH, United Arab Emirates– Seventeen laborers from India were sentenced to death on Sunday for killing a Pakistani man during a fight that broke out in Sharjah, an Emirate just north of Dubai, in January 2009.  The death took place after a dispute over control of an illegal alcohol business.

Approximately fifty people were involved in the deadly attack in which the Pakistani man was stabbed several times.

According to court officials, it is the largest number of defendants sentenced to death at one time in the Emirates.  The death sentence comes just a week after Sharjah Police arrested a gang of eighteen Indians allegedly involved in the illegal alcohol trade on suspicion of kidnapping and killing rivals.

In the court session held on Sunday, a panel of judges ruled that the seventeen men, ranging in age from 22 to 30, had all played a role in killing the Pakistani man through a combination of stabbing him and beating him with metal bars.  The police report has said that the Pakistani man died from his injuries before police arrived at the scene.  Blood tests taken shortly after their arrests showed that the defendants had been drinking alcohol.

The federal penal code in the UAE says that a death sentence automatically goes to appeal.  If the appellate court upholds the verdict, the case will then be referred to the Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi.  If the three judges there uphold the verdict, federal prosecutors will then submit an execution order.

A police spokesperson, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the judge’s decision to issue the death sentence would undoubtedly send a strong message to bootleg gangs who start disputes with rival gangs that lead to instances of violence.

The spokesperson said that “Almost every week a case of bootlegging is now reported from Sajjia and other industrial areas.  All cases involve the use of alcohol that is illegal in the emirate.  A serious warning needs to be passed to these workers to stop the habit.”

For more information, please see:

BBC News- Death Penalty for Indians in UAE– 29 March 2010

The National- Seventeen Sentenced to Death for ‘Bootleg’ Murder– 29 March 2010

Indian Express- 17 Indians get Death Penalty in UAE for killing Pak National– 29 March 2010

UN Immunity for Srebrenica Massacre Upheld

By Kenneth F. Hunt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – A Dutch appellate court ruled today that the United Nations has immunity against claims brought by family members of genocide victims for failure to protect Bosnians during the notorious Srebrenica massacre in 1995.

Mothers of Srebrenica, the victims’ rights group suing on behalf of family members of the victims, brought the claim in 2007. The allegation was that Dutch troops sent by the UN to protect the Srebrenica safe haven in Bosnia during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War failed to protect the 8,000 some Muslim boys and men killed during the massacre.

Mothers of Srebrenica argued that the UN and Netherlands should be held responsible, particularly emphasizing UN responsibility for failing to adequately assess the forces necessary to prevent genocide. In fact, the United Nations has admitted error in handling the Srebrenica episode, confessing in 1999 that it expected the small force of 100 troops to be effective in preventing genocide.

In holding that the UN had immunity from prosecution, the court affirmed a 2008 Dutch trial court decision that held that “in international law and practice, the absolute immunity of the UN is the norm and is respected.” The court on Tuesday emphasized that UN immunity is a principle implied in both the UN’s founding conventions and in essential for UN peacekeeping missions going forward.

The decision indicates that the court was sympathetic to the fact “that the mothers and their relatives have suffered atrocities”, but noted that the interests in favor UN immunity outweighed the interests in redressing these wrongs. The court said that the victims can seek further redress against the Netherlands, however.

Axel Hagedorn, an attorney for Mothers, felt that the court should have submitted the case to the European Court of Justice for further deliberation. He told the press that the case extends “far beyond the interest of the Mothers of Srebrenica. This case is all about fundamental European rights.” As such, Mr. Hagedorn said that Mothers will appeal the decision seek redress against the UN from the ECJ.

For more information, please see:

CNN – Court: Srebrenica women cannot sue U.N. – 30 March 2010

DUTCH NEWS – Dutch court upholds UN Srebrenica immunity – 30 March 2010

RADIO NETHERLANDS – Dutch court upholds UN, Dutch immunity in Srebrenica case – 30 March 2010

Unsafe Mining Practices in China Leave Over 123 Dead

By M.E. Dodge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – On Sunday, 28 March 2010, more than 123 mine workers died after being trapped underground when a leak in a coalmine caused water to surge into the mine. Reports indicate that there were 261 miners working when water started to flood the coalmine. Only 138 were able to be lifted to safety. Despite efforts by rescuers, the other remaining workers died. The cause of the flooding is still under government investigation.

 Wangjialing mine, located in the Shanxi province, and lies between Xiangning county and the city of Hejin The mine covers an area of around 180 sq km (about 70 sq miles) near the heavily polluted mining hub of Linfen. It is also affiliated to state-owned Huajin Coking Coal Co. Ltd., which is a major government-approved project, expected to produce about 6 million tons of coal a year once in full operation.

Experts reviewing the accident theorize that it could have been the result of workers breaking into the old shafts or pits of derelict mines that had filled with water. David Feickert, a coal mine safety adviser to the Chinese government, stated, “It could be that they broke into old workings, works that were not properly mapped out. That’s a common problem with flooding, and Shanxi is an area where they have very extensive mining, a lot of old mines.”

Accidents like that of Wangjialing are not unique in China. Even though China’s mine safety record has improved in recent years, it is still the world’s worst, with blasts and other accidents remain common. China’s work safety administration indicates that 2,631 people died in coal mine accidents in 2009. The cause is many of these accidents is due to relaxed safety methods and poor training. Further, the demand for coal to fuel the country’s strong economic growth also encourages mine operators to open some especially dangerous mines illegally or flout official rules.

 Many of those who die belong to China’s growing underclass. They are desperately impoverished boys and men from rural villages. There are presently no unions, and regulatory safety checks on mine safety continues to be minimal, placing the many workers who seek employment as miners at high risk.

For more information, please see:

Reuters – Flood in unfinished China coal mine – 29 March 2010

New York Times – Rescuers Struggle to Free 153 Chinese Miners – 29 March 2010

Associated Press –Flood traps 153 coal miners in northern China – 29 March 2010

Mexico: Man Arrested Then Found Dead

By Brenda Lopez Romero
Impunity Watch reporter – North America desk

MONTERREY, Mexico – An alleged drug cartel boss was on the front page of the Mexico’s newspapers.  He was arrested after a shootout between law enforcement and drug cartel hitmen.  The man was photographed alive while being transferred to a truck from Mexican marines helicopter surrounded by masked soldiers.  The following day, a photograph of a man with similar facial features was taken, but the man was dead and wrapped in a blanket on the side of the road.

Courtesy of L.A. Times News
Courtesy of L.A. Times News

A women identified the man in the pictures as her 26-year-old Jose Humberto Marquez Compean

Neither the law enforcement nor the military will say they know how Marquez Compean died. The military indicated they only helped local law enforcement during the operation that lead to the arrest, while the local law enforcement stated they did not seek assistance from the military.   Santa Catarina security chief, Raul Castillo said “I don’t know anything, I don’t know anything, I don’t know anything.  That’s my position.”

The presumed widow of Marquez Compean demands justice, but resolving drug-related deaths remains an elusive task for law enforcement generally.

Human Rights Watch reported human rights violations by the military in the “war on drugs” such as unpunished torture, killings and arbitrary detentions.   Hillary Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State, called for social and economic relief to fight the drug cartels as well as the military.

For more information please see:

Atlanta Journal Constitution – Mexico: Widow IDs slain husband as arrested man – 24 March 2010

L.A. Times News – Mexico: One day troops have him in custody; the next day he’s dead – 24 March 2010