Japan Urged to Protect Burmese Rohingya

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

TOKYO, Japan –Japanese and international organizations sent a joint letter to Japan’s new justice and foreign ministers asking that the country’s new administration pressure Burma to end human rights abuses against minority groups.

The letter urged Japan to “urgently review its policies to protect the Rohingya both in Japan and Burma,” and to grant residential permits to Rohingyas in Japan.  In addition, Japanese government was asked to rescind their deportation order against Burmese asylum seekers.

The Rohingyas are one of the most persecuted minority groups in Burma, and the Burmese government refuses to grant Rohingyas legal status in Burma, which leaves this minority group stateless.

Human Rights Watch reported that human rights violations against the Rohingyas include extrajudicial killings, religious persecution, forced labor, and restrictions on movement.

Kanae Doi, Tokyo director of Human Rights Watch, said, “Tokyo’s silence sends a message to Burma’s generals that their horrendous persecution of the Rohingya can continue…The Rohingyas have faced persecution…and mistreatment in the countries where they seek refuge.  The Japanese government should ensure their protection….”

In the past ten years, 110 Rohingya refugees have entered Japan and have petitioned the Japanese government for asylum.  However, although reports of forced repatriation do not exist, Rohingyas in Japan have been denied refugee status or have received deportation notices.

Japan has traditionally been reluctant to pressure Burma regarding human rights issues.  However, the signatories of the letter asked that Japan’s new government “make human rights a central pillar of Japanese foreign policy” by pressuring Burma to stop the human rights abuses and to grant Rohingyas full citizenship rights. 

Rohingya-refugees-In-Bangla Rohingya mother and child at a refugee camp by the Burma/Bangladesh border.  Courtesy of BBC.

Human Rights Watch also released a photo essay and report on the Rohingyas.  The report points to insufficient international attention to this issue and documents the exodus of Rohingyas from Burma to Bangladesh, in addition to focusing on the 20-year long persecution of Rohingyas inside Burma, especially in the Arakan state.

The drafters of the letter also held a public event in Tokyo concerning the treatment of Rohingya refugees in Japan.

For more information, please see:

Asian Tribune – The Rohingya Refugees: Victims of Exploitation – 5 October 2009

Democratic Voice of Burma – Japan ‘should protect’ Burmese Rohingya – 29 October 2009

Human Rights Watch – Japan: Protect Burmese Rohingya Seeking Asylum – 29 October 2009

Human Rights Watch – Joint letter to Japanese Justice Minister and Foreign Minister on Rohingya – 29 October 2009

Israelis Restrict Palestinian Water Supply

By Meredith Lee-Clark

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

JIFTLIK, Israel/West Bank – Amnesty International released a report on October 27, alleging that Israel unreasonably restricts Palestinians’ access to water in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Under the Oslo Accords, Israel and the Palestinian Authority are supposed to maintain shared control over water resources.

 

The report said that Israelis, particularly those in settlements in the West Bank, use up to 80% of the water from the Mountain Aquifer, which lies underneath the West Bank. The Mountain Aquifer is the only water source for most Palestinians in the West Bank, while only one of several for Israeli settlements. It also states that Israel takes all available water from the Jordan River, which runs down the eastern edge of the West Bank. The report estimated that Israelis use approximately 400 liters of water per person per day, while Palestinians are allowed 70 liters of water per person per day.

 

“The core issue is control over water resources and how Israel exercises that control to restrict access water for Palestinians,” said Donatella Rovera, the researcher who authored the Amnesty report. “There isn’t a lot of water, but there is water, and it should be divided in a more equitable manner. It is a shared resource that belongs to both Israelis and Palestinians.”

 

In the Palestinian village of Hebron, one of the seventeen wells has dried up, as has the nearby spring, Ein Shibley.

 

“There is very little water,” said Hussein Aidi, a farmer from Hebron. To secure more water, Mr. Aidi and his neighbors would have to dig deeper wells, requiring permits from the Israelis.

 

“The Israelis control the water,” said Mr. Aidi. “Their farmers can use as much water as they like. But they won’t allow us to dig deeper wells, and any water they give us is restricted.”

 

Closer to Jerusalem, Bedouin water holes have gone dry, forcing a halt on regular showers, laundry, and running toilets. Meanwhile, the Israeli Carmel settlement on the hill above features green, lush gardens.

 

Israel’s Water Authority protested the report, saying Amnesty International’s researchers had not consulted with the Israelis before publishing it. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said that Israel has “extensively surpassed the obligatory quantity” of water under the Oslo Accords, while Palestinians have “significantly violated” their own commitments under the treaty.

 

For more information, please see:

 

The National – Israelis Cut Water Supply to a Trickle – 28 October 2009

 

Al Jazeera – Israel “Cutting Palestinian Water” – 27 October 2009

 

Amnesty International – Israel Rations Palestinians to Trickle of Water – 27 October 2009

 

Jerusalem Post – Water Authority Blasts Amnesty On Report – 27 October 2009

 

Ma’an News Agency – Dry Water Holes Versus Green Gardens – 27 October 2009

UN Deploys 26,000 Troops to Darfur

By Jared Kleinman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

NYALA, Sudan — Twenty six thousand troops have been deployed to Sudan in a bid to restore order to the crisis-ridden country and aid in the integration of African states through conflict-resolution.

This number is reported to be the largest single ever deployed by the United Nations. Chairman of the African Union and the President of the Pan-African Parliament, Mr. Jean Ping, said this Monday while addressing the press after the First Ordinary Sessions of the African Parliament in Midrand, South Africa. According to Ping, the decision to position the huge number of troops was informed by the desire to prevent the killings, and keep the peace objectives, which he said have almost been achieved.

The force, known as the UN African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), will be largely composed of Africans and will consist of nearly 20,000 military personnel and 6,000 police officers. For the first 12 months, the UN force will incorporate the AU troops into their mission. UNAMID is tasked with acting under Chapter VII of the UN Charter to support the “early and effective implementation” of last year’s Darfur Peace Agreement between the Government and the rebels, and it is also mandated to protect civilians, prevent armed attacks and ensure the security of aid workers and its own personnel and facilities.

When the United Nations Security Council made the decision in 2007 to deploy troops to Sudan, the conflict had already amassed more than 200,000 deaths and dislocated more than 2.5 million people. Currently, Sudan has more displaced people than any other country in the world. A 2008 report released by the Norwegian Refugee Council stated that the country had 4.9 million displaced people, or about one in eight of the population, more than half of them in Darfur.

“We have a minimum of 160 deaths every month and 56 women raped this month of April. This month also we have 136 people detained by the security forces,” said spokesperson of Darfur Hussein Abu Sharati in May 2008. The spokesperson further said they collected their information from all the IDPs (Internally Displaced People) camps.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called the mission “historic and unprecedented.” It will come after months of Sudanese resistance and will cost about $2 billion in its first year, reports The New York Times. “You are sending a clear and powerful signal of your commitment to improve the lives of the people of the region and close this tragic chapter in Sudan’s history,” Ban told the Security Council.

For more information, please see:

All Africa – 26,000 Troops Deployed to Sudan – 28 October 2009

Institute for War & Peace Reporting – Darfur Rebel Questions Neutrality of Peacekeeping Base – 27 October 2009

Sudan Tribune –  Darfur Displaced Dismiss UN-AU Monthly Death Figures – 4 May 2009

The Christian Science Monitor – Sudan Agrees to 26,000 UN Troops in Darfur – 2 August 2007

UN To Examine Australia’s Policies Amid Asylum Impasse

By Eileen Gould
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

CANBERRA, Australia – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to health is expected to review Australia’s immigration policies amid increasing international scrutiny.

Anand Grover will inspect detention facilities in Villawood and Brisbane, but not those at Christmas Island, when he visits Australia next month and will report back to the UN Human Rights Council and the General Assembly.

Grover’s visit does not necessarily signify the existence of “shocking human rights violations”, according to a representative of an Australian human rights group, the Human Rights Law Resource Centre.

International concerns about Australia’s procedures for intercepting boats and processing asylum seekers has also prompted Human Rights Watch, an international organization, to take a closer look at Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s policies.  This will be the first time since Rudd’s election in 2007 that the organization has decide to undertake an independent assessment of the Government’s policies.

In the past, Human Rights Watch was known to be highly critical of the Howard government’s policies concerning asylum seekers and temporary protection visas and issued “scathing criticisms” thereof.

Human Rights Watch is not the only group to express its concern with the Rudd administration’s treatment of asylum seekers. Several human rights lawyers and groups, including Amnesty International’s local branch, disapprove of processing these individuals in Indonesia as it has not yet ratified the UN Convention on Refugees.

The UN’s visit comes as the Government is attempting to win a $13 million bid for a seat on the Security Council.  Australia is currently working to improve its diplomatic relations and reputation through various policy initiatives, including increased foreign aid, ratifying various international treaties and becoming more involved in regional issues.

Those in opposition to Prime Minister Rudd’s policies claim that he is “damaging Australia’s reputation”.

On October 26th the Australian Human Rights Commission issued a report, which outlines the Government’s policy on immigration detention and processing at Christmas Island.

The Rudd Government affirms its commitment to a policy of mandatory detention for all “irregular maritime arrivals” while processing claims and subjecting these individuals to health, security and identity checks.

Further, it maintains that the facility on Christmas Island is used to detain single men only.  The Government promises that these detention facilities never house children.

The report also claims that it is “only right that [Australia] should treat people who seek [its] protection humanely… and meet our international obligations under the UN Refugee Convention.”

Australia’s policy has come under increasing scrutiny as officials attempt to decide how to resolve the situation of seventy-eight stranded Sri Lankan asylum seekers.

An Australian vessel picked up the asylum seekers on October 18th.  An agreement between Indonesia and Australia would allow them to disembark at an Indonesian port for processing at a detention facility just northwest of Jakarta.

Australia’s Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith, stated that the governments of both Australia and Indonesia have agreed that individuals rescued in open waters will go to Indonesia, and the UN High Commission for Refugees in Indonesia will process them.

The refugees, however, refuse to leave the boat because they want to go to Australia.  Ultimately they do not have a choice in the place where they claim asylum.

Prime Minister Rudd claims the Government is prepared to use force to remove them from the boat.  According to Indonesia, however, forcible removal is a breach of international law.

Despite mounting pressure, the Government has yet to resolve the fate of the Sri Lankan asylum seekers.

For more information, please see:
ABC News – Heat to end asylum seeker impasse – 29 October 2009

Bloomberg – Rudd May Use Force to Remove Sri Lankans from Ship, SMH Reports – 29 October 2009

Wall Street Journal – Surge in Refugees Presents a Problem for Australia – 29 October 2009

Brisbane Times – Indonesia governor rebels on refugees – 27 October 2009

Brisbane Times – Police head to Asia to fight smugglers – 27 October 2009

Sydney Morning Herald – UN puts Rudd policies in spotlight – 27 October 2009

The Government Monitor – Australia Government Committed to Mandatory Detention On Christmas Island – 26 October 2009

Iran Human Rights Documentation Center

October 2009

29 October 2009

Iran Human Rights Documentation Center

The Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC) seeks to establish a comprehensive and objective historical record of the human rights situation in Iran since the 1979 revolution, and on the basis of this record, establish responsibility for patterns of human rights abuses; make such record available in an archive that is accessible to the public for research and educational purposes; promote accountability, respect for human rights and the rule of law in Iran; and encourage an informed dialogue on the human rights situation in Iran among scholars and the general public in Iran and abroad.

The IHRDC believes that the development of an accountability movement and a culture of human rights in Iran are crucial to the long-term peace and security of the country and the Middle East region. As numerous examples have illustrated, the removal of an authoritarian regime does not necessarily lead to an improved human rights situation if institutions and civil society are weak, or if a culture of human rights and democratic governance has not been cultivated. By providing Iranians with comprehensive human rights reports, data about past and present human rights violations and information about international human rights standards, particularly the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the IHRDC programs will strengthen Iranians’ ability to demand accountability, reform public institutions, and promote transparency and respect for human rights. Encouraging a culture of human rights within Iranian society as a whole will allow political and legal reforms to have real and lasting weight.

In September 2009, IHRDC released its report entitled Forced Confessions: Targeting Iran’s Cyber-Journalists. The report compiles witness statements of three Iranian cyber-journalists and bloggers who were arrested and detained by the Iranian government in 2004 and 2005. The witness statements are the results of interviews conducted by IHRDC staff in 2008 and 2009. Currently, IHRDC is in the process of preparing another report compiling witness statements. These statements detail the experiences of several political prisoners who survived the Islamic Republic’s summary execution of thousands of prisoners during the summer of 1988. The statements are being prepared pursuant to in-person and telephonic interviews conducted with survivors.

IHRDC also publishes a newsletter. The September 2009 issue contains articles on:
1. Sentencing in Post-Election
2. TrialsUniversity Protests Continue
4. New Head of the Basij Appointed
5. Another Juvenile Executed
6. Karrubi in Danger of Being Arrested
7. IHRDC Co-Sponsors Panel on Iran

For additional information, please visit the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center website.