Rapp Visits International Criminal Court

November 20th, 2009

Rapp Visits International Criminal Court

By Stephen Kopko

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – On Thursday, the United States ambassador for war crimes spoke to the governing body of  the International Criminal Court in the Hague. It was the first time that a U.S. official has spoken to the governing body of the ICC since its inception. The ICC was created by the 2002 Rome Treaty.  The U.S. supported the creation of the ICC, but has not become a signatory of the treaty.

Before becoming the U.S. ambassador for war crimes, Rapp served as the chief prosecutor for the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Rapp gave a speech to the governing body of the ICC expressing U.S. interests and issues with it.  Rapp stated that the U.S. has concerns with the ICC. Those concerns primarily revolved around the crime of aggression. The first concern was to define the crime of aggression.  The second concern dealt with the ICC’s jurisdiction. Rapp stated that jurisdiction over aggression “should follow a Security Council resolution that aggression has occurred.” Another concern that the U.S. has with the ICC is the threat of politically motivated prosecutions. More specifically, the U.S. was concerned with the ICC prosecuting United States soldiers based upon politics.

Despite U.S. concerns, it still supports prosecuting crimes that go against the basic morals of humanity.  Rapp stated that the U.S. has supported the prosecutions of atrocities dating back to the Nuremberg Trials after World War II. The U.S. also participated in the prosecutions for war crimes in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

Supporters of the ICC welcomed Rapp’s attendance and speech to the governing body. They saw his appearance as a “sign of re-engagement.” Nevertheless, many of the countries under the ICC’s jurisdiction do not want the Security Council to have sole jurisdiction on when a crime of aggression occurs.

Today, one hundred and ten countries are members of the ICC. Besides the U.S., other countries that are not members of the ICC are Russia, Israel, and China. The ICC can only prosecute those individuals from the countries that are members.

For more information, please see:

AP – Not a Member, US Envoy Attends International Court – 19 November 2009

BBC – US War Crimes Envoy Appears at International Court – 19 November 2009

Reuters – U.S. Makes Debut Attendance at Hague War Crimes Court – 19 November 2009

Business Persons in Juarez Petition the UN for Peacekeeping Troops

20 November 2009

Business Persons in Juarez Petition the UN for Peacekeeping Troops

By Brenda Lopez Romero
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

JUAREZ, Mexico – The United Nations (UN) received a petition from business persons from the border town of Juarez.  The business leaders sought help in form of a peacekeeping mission from the UN to protect them from the drug related violence in thier city.  However, an agent of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime in Mexico stated that such relief is unavailable, and it is unlikely that a petition could even be heard from direct citizens of a State.  The business persons also submitted a request for assistance from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.Story.juarez.afp.gi

(PHOTO: Courtesy of AFP)

The business persons are from the Juarez Association of Maquiladoras whose business is primarily foreign owned factories and business associations generally.

Daniel Murguia, President of the Ciudad Juarez group of the National Chamber of Commerce, Services and Tourism indicted that “this is a proposal … for international forces to come here to help out the domestic [security] forces.  There are a lot of extortions and robberies of businesses. Many businesses are closing,” and added that “what we are asking for with the blue helmets [UN peacekeepers] is that we know they are the army of peace, so we could use not only the strategies they have developed in other countries … but they also have technology.”

Mexican President Felipe Calderon sent about 50,000 military forces in December 2006, in a controversial crackdown and the Mexican military continues training and joining the local police enforcement.  Nonetheless the violence has not ceased.

The violence statistics are staggering with more than 2,000 killings reported this year and records about 10 murders a day for a population of 1.5 million.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Mexico leaders call for UN help in Ciudad Juarez – 10 November 2009

CNN – Juarez business leaders petition U.N. for help with drug traffickers – 12 November 2009

New York Daily News – Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez calls for U.N. to help quell violence – 12 November 2009

Controversy Surrounds Death of Iranian Doctor

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – Authorities in Iran will investigate the death of a young doctor who testified about prisoner abuses before the Iranian Parliament. Reformist web sites allege that Dr. Ramin Pourandarjani was killed in order to keep him quiet. Pourandarjani’s testimony came in the wake of Iran’s disputed presidential election. The websites claim that he was the only independent witness to be able to verify the torture charges.

Pourandarjani’s body was found November 10 in his room at a health center in Tehran’s police headquarters. Iran’s Chief of Police said on November 18 that the doctor had committed suicide as a result of depression caused by his facing five years in prison. It was not specified what crime he was being accused of.

The police chief’s statement regarding suicide contradicted earlier statements by authorities who said that the young doctor died in his sleep of a heart attack at the Tehran police medical center. Anti-government sites claim that the authorities are involved in a cover up. Additionally, Pourandarjani’s friends claim that he told them that he was a witness to alleged police misconduct at Kahrizak prison.

Pourandarjani attended to prisoners at Kahrizak, a prison that was shut down in July after several prisoners died there. He worked there as part of his military service. Pourandarjani, according to opposition websites was arrested and held for a week by authorities who were pressuring him to change his account of what happened at Kahrizak.

The twenty six year old doctor treated anti-government demonstrators at Kahrizak. The prisoners were rounded up in a crackdown on the opposition that followed Iran’s June presidential election. The opposition disputed the election result, contending that that the rigged election allowed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad to prevail.

Iran formed a parliamentary committee to look into the post-election violence that is now planning on issuing a report on Kahrizak prison. Iranian media reports that at least three protesters died at Kahrizak under suspicious circumstances. Among the three was the son of a former senior Health Ministry official. The former official claims that his son was tortured to death. Iranian authorities attributed all three deaths to meningitis.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Suspicions Over Iran Doctor’s Death – 19 November 2009

New York Times – Iran: Doctor’s Death Raises Questions – 19 November 2009

Amnesty International USA – Iranian Authorities Must Investigate Death of Detention Centre Doctor – 18 November 2009

Washington Post – Mystery Surrounds Iranian Military Doctor’s Cause of Death – 18 November 2009

European Human Smuggling Operation Broken Up

By David Sophrin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

LONDON, United Kingdom – European Union and numerous national law enforcement agencies arrested 23 gang members on Tuesday suspected of transporting more than 2,000 illegal immigrants into Europe.

Suspects were arrested in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy.  Ocriest, French immigration enforcement agency, as well as law enforcement agencies from a number of other European nations, coordinated the investigation and arrests.  The investigation that led to these arrests began over eighteen months ago.  Eventually a smuggling operation, entering the continent in Turkey, then moving to Greece, Italy, Germany and eventually their final destination nations, was uncovered.

Arrests made by the UK’s Serious Organized Crime Agency also confiscated identity documents, cell phones, and cash.  Overall, 13 people were arrested in France, four in the UK, two in Greece, two in the Netherlands and one in Italy.

The immigrants that were smuggled into Europe by the gang members were largely from Iraq and Afghanistan.  Those that were smuggled in paid up to 15,000 euros for transportation from Iraq to Europe.  For additional payments, these immigrants were able to have a personal escort and transportation to their final destination.  During one of the arrests of suspects in the UK, seven illegal immigrants were detained.

The EU estimates that there are approximately 8 million illegal immigrants in Europe.  According to Mikael Jensen, deputy head of Europol’s Crimes Against Persons Unit, most individuals smuggled into Europe within the last three years have been Iraqi.  These arrests mark the third operation conducted by Europol since mid 2008 against illegal human smuggling networks.  This past June Europol arrested 75 in another smuggling network which brought in immigrants from Iraq.

These coordinated efforts by European government investigations come at a time when there is increased domestic political pressures to counter the increased illegal immigrant populations, and the impact they have in the areas of national security and employment, in their respective countries.

For more information, please see:

VOXY – 22 People Smugglers Arrested – 18 November 2009

TAIWAN NEWS – France: Illegal immigration network dismantled – 18 November 2009

AHN – Coalition of European Law Enforcement Groups Arrest 23 In Human Trafficking Ring – 17 November 2009

BBC – Traffickers targeted in EU raids – 17 November 2009

REUTERS – Police nab smugglers who brought 2,000 into EU – 17 November 2009

Lebanese Domestic Workers Face Deadly Month

By Brandon Kaufman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BEIRUT, Lebanon– On November 9, Human Rights Watch reported that eight women migrant workers died during October 2009, a rate that is believed to be disproportionately high given that an estimated two hundred thousand domestic workers are currently employed in Lebanon.  The migrant workers primarily come from Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Ethiopia.

Of the eight deaths, four were classified by police reports as suicides, while three were classified as work accidents and one cause of death was said to be from a heart attack.  The police reports noted that six of the eight deaths occurred when the workers either fell or jumped from high places.

Nadim Houry, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch said that “the death toll last month is clear evidence that the government isn’t doing enough to fix the difficult working conditions these women face.”  Houry further mentioned that “the government needs to explain why so many women who came to work in Lebanon end up leaving the country in coffins.”  As one diplomat at the consulate from the country where one of the dead women came told Human Rights Watch “these women are under pressure, with no means to go away.  Their passports are seized and they are often locked away in their employer’s house.  It is like they are living in a cage.  Human beings need to mingle with others; otherwise they lose their will to live.”

During 2006, the labor ministry in Lebanon began an official steering committee aimed at remedying the treatment of domestic migrant workers.  Then, in January of this year, the labor ministry introduced a contract that clarifies terms and conditions for domestic workers.  The new contract puts limits on such things as the maximum number of daily working hours as well as new standards for oversight within the country.

Despite these standards though, the migrant workers are not covered under Lebanon’s labor law, and consequently, there is not much in the way of enforcement for newly adopted principles aimed at helping domestic migrant workers.

For more information, please see:

Los Angeles Times- Clear Pattern of Migrant Worker Deaths Alarms Rights Advocates– 10 November 2009

Human Rights Watch- Lebanon: Deadly Month for Domestic Workers– 9 November 2009

Human Rights Watch- Lebanon: Migrant Domestic Workers Dying Every Week – 24 August 2008