IDP Bill Will Fill Void in Humanitarian Law, But Implementation May Be the Real Issue

By Jared Kleinman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KAMPALA, Uganda—17 African countries have adopted and signed the first ever convention on the protection and assistance of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) during the AU Special Summit on Refugees, Returnees and IDP’s in Africa that concluded over the weekend in Kampala, Uganda. The African Union Convention was signed by five AU Heads of State, five Vice Presidents and Prime Ministers as well as by Foreign Affairs Ministers and other Heads of Delegations who attended the historic event.

The African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa is a comprehensive document that will, if ratified, fill a void in international humanitarian law, say experts. Whereas the rights of people who flee across national boundaries are protected under the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and a similar instrument introduced 18 years later by the Organization of African Unity (now the African Union), there has been no international legislation catering specifically for people displaced within their own country (IDPs).

IDPs vastly outnumber refugees in Africa. In just 10 of the 18 countries in east and central Africa, there are more than 10 million IDPs, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), with Sudan (four million), the Democratic Republic of Congo (2.12 million) and Somalia (1.55 million) heading the list.

This latest instrument, also known as the Kampala Convention because it was signed in the Ugandan capital, “obliges governments to recognize that IDPs have specific vulnerabilities and must be supported”, said Walter Kaelin, Representative of the UN Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons. “It covers all causes of displacement, is forceful in terms of responsibility and goes beyond addressing the roles of states to those of others like the AU and non-state actors.” “I truly welcome the adoption of the African Union Convention of the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa”, said Kaelin. “This is tremendous achievement and a beacon of hope for the over 12 million people in Africa displaced by conflict and the many more who are internally displaced by natural disasters or other causes.”

“The crucial challenge now is the same one facing international humanitarian law in general – ensuring that once the convention is signed and ratified by as many states as possible, it is actually implemented and respected,” ICRC president Jakob Kellenberger said. “States must now take concrete steps to implement the convention into their own national legislation and regulation systems, and develop plans of action to address issues of displacement.

“There is some question regarding the extent to which non-state actors and armed groups called upon by the convention to protect IDPs can be bound by its provisions. Nevertheless, the convention, which has benefited from the input of international experts, is considered to be generally consistent with international standards such as the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement.”

AU officials in Kampala were cautiously upbeat, urging member states to remain engaged. “It is the responsibility of member states that the convention becomes a binding instrument,” Jean Ping, AU Commission President, said. “At this point, it is an achievement, but not an end in itself.”
“It is one thing to have a good convention and another to implement it,” Dismas Nkunda of the New York-based International Refugee Rights Initiative told IRIN.

In 2007, the AU adopted the African Charter on democracy, elections and governance, but it has so far been ratified by only two member states. Until African countries learn to respect the law, participants said, the continent would “remain at rock bottom” in its attempts to address the problems of the displaced.

For more information, please see:

All Africa – IDP Convention Fills a Void in Humanitarian Law – 27 October 2009

The New Times – AU Commits to Protect IDPs – 27 October 2009

United Nations Human Rights Council – AU Convention on Internally Displaced: “A beacon of hope for 12 million Africans,” say UN Representative – 26 October 2009

The East African – Hometruths for EA Summit on IDPs, Refugees – 26 October 2009

Dual Vehicle Bombings Kill Scores in Baghdad

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq – On October 27, at least ninety-nine individuals were killed in Baghdad as a result of a double suicide vehicle bombing. Reports have come forth that the death toll is greater than one hundred individuals and could still be rising. In addition to the dead, some figures state that over five hundred people were wounded by the dual bombings; other totals put the number closer to seven hundred.

The bombings took place in the heart of the Iraqi capital near the justice ministry and the headquarters of the Baghdad provincial administration. The buildings are located near the Tigris River and the high security “Green Zone.” The attack drew comparisons to the August 19 attack where one hundred individuals were killed by the truck bombing of two ministry buildings.

The number of individuals hurt by the explosion put a strain on local emergency services. The bombs destroyed dozens of vehicles, in addition to smashing the water pipes in the area. The streets were covered with debris and the bodies of those injured in the attack, forcing the authorities to close off the streets leading to the bomb site. Civilian vehicles were forced to supplement the emergency efforts on hand and help take injured individuals to the local hospital.

The bombs came from two truck bombs and represent the deadliest attack in Iraq since October 2007. The attacks come only three months after the United States ceded control of the cities to local Iraqi authorities. Among the dead were twenty-four school age children who were nearby when the trucks exploded. The children’s school bus ran into by one of trucks as they were trying to leave the Ministry of Justice.

While immediate credit for the attack wasn’t claimed, speculation after the explosions was that the attack was done by al Qaeda or remnants of Saddam Hussein’s Ba’athist regime. On October 27, the Islamic State of Iraq, a group alleged to be associated with al Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the bombings. On a web posting, the group claimed that the bombers were “martyrs who had targeted the dens of infidelity.”

For more information, please see:

Telegraph – Al-Qaeda Claims Responsibility For Iraq’s Worst Suicide Bomb Attack In Two Years – 27 October 2009

Al Jazeera – Scores Die In Iraq Car Bombings – 26 October 2009

AFP – Twin Suicide Vehicle Bombings Kill 99 In Baghdad – 25 October 2009

BBC – Twin Baghdad Blasts Kill Scores – 25 October 2009

Telegraph – Baghdad Blasts: 132 People Killed In Worst Attack In Two Years – 25 October 2009

Detained Publisher is Freed

By Michael E. Sanchez
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka- A court in Sri Lanka has released the Tamil publisher of a monthly magazine after he was detained in March 2008 under anti-terrorism laws.

Vetribel Jaseeharan, a publisher for North Eastern Monthly, and his wife Vadivel Valarmathi, were charged with conspiracy to discredit the government.  He and his wife were detained for articles they published in their magazine.  They were acquitted of all charges.  

The judge stated that a confession where Jaseeharan admitted to supporting the separatist Tamil Tiger rebels was gained while under duress and that the medical records presented showed signs he had been tortured.  A court official said, “The attorney general withdrew the charges as the judge noted that the confession was not made voluntarily.”

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam were a rebel group in Sri Lanka who had been fighting the government for the last two decades, with armed uprising beginning in 1983.  Government troops finally defeated the Tamil Tigers in May, when the Tigers finally laid down their guns, ending a long civil war.  International press groups however, say that Sri Lankan Journalists are still burdened with major restrictions on reporting. 

J.S. Tissainayagam, a reporter for the North Eastern Monthly, and the man who wrote the two articles which Jaseeharan and his wife published, was in August sentenced to 20 years in prison.  The found him guilty of “causing communal disharmony”, “racial hatred” and raising money for “terrorism” through his writings about the victimized Tamils during the war.  The international Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the world’s largest organization of journalists condemned the judgment, which in addition sentenced Tissainayagam to hard labor while in prison. 

The court stated that the only offense of Jaseeharan was to publish the articles written by Tissainayagam.  

Several Sri Lankan reporters have been killed in recent years by unidentified groups.  Lasantha Wickrematunga, a leading anti-establishment editor was among the many victims, he was shot dead near his office.  Government figures show that nine journalists were killed and another 27 assaulted in the past three years, with activists stating that more than a dozen journalists have been killed.

For information, please see:

International New 24/7- Tamil Reporter Jailed for 20 Years on Terror Charges – 31 August 2009

BBC NEWS- Detained Tamil Publisher is Freed  – 26 October 2009

Khaleej Times- Sri Lanka Frees Publisher Held for 19 Months – 26 October 2009

The Peninsula- Colombo Frees Publisher Held for 19 Months -27 October 2009

Global Security.Org- Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam

Israeli Police Clash with Palestinians at Al-Aqsa Mosque

By Meredith Lee-Clark

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

JERUSALEM, Israel/West Bank – Israeli police clashed with stone-throwing Palestinians at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on October 25. The incident was the latest in a recent series of tension-building confrontations between Israelis and Palestinians at the holy site.

 

In recent weeks, Palestinian demonstrators have taken to the streets of Jerusalem’s Old City, protesting the Israeli presence in the area and rumors that Israelis were conducting archaeological investigations underneath the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The site is holy to both Jews and Muslims. Jews know the site as the Temple Mount, and they believe it was the site of King Solomon’s temple. Muslims call the site Haram al-Sharif, and believe it was the site where the Prophet Mohammed ascended into heaven.

 

Though it remains unclear what was the catalyst for this most recent clash, early on the morning on October 25, Palestinians threw rocks at Israeli soldiers, who reportedly returned with stun grenades. Israeli police subsequently stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound two times.

 

As many as thirty Palestinians and nine Israeli police were injured, while twenty-one Palestinians were reportedly arrested. A journalist working for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation was also reportedly taken to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem to be treated for a broken jaw. Hatem Abdul Qader, the lead official in Jerusalem for the Palestinian Authority, was among those arrested. Qader was subsequently banned from the Old City for three weeks.

 

One local observer told Australia’s The Age that he watched the day’s events unfold from the Lion’s Gate to the Old City.

 

“I believe there was provocation on both sides,” said Mohammed Khan, a 21-year-old Palestinian. “The Israeli police knew that Palestinian people want to protest the occupation, so they come in large numbers …But many Palestinians see this as offensive, so they start throwing stones and then violence spread.”

 

The Israeli police reported that the Al-Aqsa Mosque was re-opened on the following day, though the re-opening was certainly not a resolution to the tension in Jerusalem’s Old City. A right-wing Israeli group called for Jewish mobilization to construct a third Jewish temple on the site. On the other end of the spectrum, Khaled Meshaal, the exiled leader of Hamas, called for Palestinians to abandon the peace process and respond to any Israeli violence with violence in kind.

 

For more information, please see:

 

The Age (Australia) – Israelis and Palestinians Clash on Temple Mount – 27 October 2009

 

Al Jazeera – Meshaal Urges Arab Action on Aqsa – 26 October 2009

 

Ma’an News Agency – PA Official Banned from Jerusalem After Demonstration – 26 October 2009

 

Ha’aretz – Israel Police Battle Arab Rioters on Temple Mount; PA Official Arrested – 25 October 2009

 

New York Times – Israeli Police Clash with Palestinians at Sacred Compound in Jerusalem – 25 October 2009

EU Imposes Sanctions on Guinea

By Jonathan Ambaye
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa Desk

BRUSSELS, Belgium-Today, the European Union (EU) imposed a sanction on Guinea. The sanctions include an arms embargo, and a visa-ban restricting travel into Europe by members of the Guinean military junta.  These restrictive measures come in response to a massacre of Guinean demonstrators that took place on September 28.

Roughly 160 people were killed, and another few hundred were either wounded or raped resulting from a military response to a September 28 demonstration. Witnesses said, “Soldiers opened fire on demonstrators, stabbed people with bayonets, and gang raped women and little girls.” The demonstrators gathered because they were angered by news that Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara planned to stand for President next year.

Camara was just an unknown captain prior to the military coup that took place last year.  At that time the country was going through difficult times after the death of their long time leader Lasana Conte.  Camara promised genuine democracy along with a safe transition period, and most importantly that he would not only conduct presidential elections but he would not stand in them.

Camara gained popularity early as a result of his unorthodox style of rule which included, forcing national guard soldiers to apologize publicly for roughing up a general, and cracking down on drug trafficking. However, over the course of the past year it has been clear that he does not plan on honoring his promise of a genuine democracy. It is rumored that he plans on doing whatever he can to hold on to his power. News of his plans leaked to the public, which resulted in the demonstration.

The EU is not the only group that has sanctioned Guinea. The West African regional group ECOWAS had already imposed an arms embargo on Guinea who is the largest exporter of raw materials used to make aluminum.

One Guinean official has said that the EU’s decision to sanction Guinea may have been counter-productive at a time where the military junta is seeking to end the crisis. He further said, “ at a time when the two parties are moving slowly but surely towards a resolution of this crisis through AU-backed mediation, we think the EU should have aided us in this direction.” He also said, “much as the imposition of these sanctions by the EU is understandable, this is not however the solution to the crisis in Guinea.”

For more information please see:

All Africa – Europe Imposes Sanctions on Junta – 27 October 2009

AP – EU Imposes Sanctions on Guinea’s Leaders – 27 October 2009

BBC – Guineas Erratic Military Ruler – 27 October 2009

BBC – EU Imposes Arms Embargo On Guinea – 27 October 2009

Reuters – EU Agrees Sanctions On Guinea Over Crackdown – 27 October 2009