“Not one less:” Thousands Protest in Mexico Following the Murder of Mara Castilla

By: Karina Johnson
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

PUEBLA, Mexico — On Sunday, September 17, thousands marched in the streets of Mexico City and Puebla after the body of Mara Fernanda Castilla—a 19-year-old university student gone missing the week before—was found.

Protestors marching against femicides in Mexico. Photo Courtesy of CNN Español.

Mara had gone missing on September 8, after hailing a driver from a popular ride-sharing app called Cabify; she got in the vehicle and the driver drove to her home. Security footage showed that the driver idled in front of her house, ended the ride, and drove away, but Mara never got out of the car.

Her body was found a week later in a ditch near a motel.  She had been raped and strangled.

The Cabify driver has been arrested for deprivation of liberty and murder.

Sunday’s marches took place throughout the states of Mexico and Puebla, with people protesting a perceived disregard from the Mexican authorities toward femicides—killings of women and girls specifically due to their gender, usually accompanied with sexual violence.  As per the Observatorio Ciudadano Nacional del Feminicidio, only 25% of reported murders are investigated as femicides.

According to Luis Ernesto Derbez, director of Universidad de la Américas Puebla (UDLAP), in an interview with Forbes Mexico, a lack of judicial infrastructure is one of the greatest problems in combating impunity in Mexico today.  This means that less than 1% of reported crimes are seen through to their conclusion. The population ratio of judges to people is approximately 4.2 judges per every 100,000 people, while the international average is closer to 16.23 judges per 100,000 people.  UDLAP has conducted a multi-year study called the Global Impunity Index (Índice Global de Impunidad), in which Mexico scored 4th highest impunity in the world.

Mara was a political science major at Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla. She is the 82nd victim of femicide in the state of Puebla this year.

For more information, please see:
Al-Jazeera – “Mexicans march against femicide after teen’s murder” – 18 September 2017

BBC Mundo – “Femicidio en México: Mara Castilla, el asesinato de una joven de 19 años en un taxi que indigna a un país violento” – 18 September 2017

El País – “Mara no se fue, a Mara la mataron” – 18 September 2017

The Guardian – “Outrage as Mexican student killed after using ride-hailing service” – 18 September 2017

Observatorio Ciudadano de Derechos Sexuales y Reproductivos – “Feminicidios en Puebla al 17 de septiembre de 2017” – 17 September 2017

CNN Español – “El trágico fin de Mara Castilla, la joven mexicana que desapareció tras tomar un coche de Cabify” – 16 September 2017

Forbes México – “México es el cuarto país con mayor impunidad en el mundo” – 28 August 2017

Immigrants seek refuge in Colombia as Venezuela’s government collapses

By: Emily Green
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia – Colombia, usually an exporter of immigrants, is experiencing the other side of a migrant crisis. Venezuelan refugees flee their homes and bring Colombia the first wave of massive immigration in its history as an independent nation.

Immigrants leaving Venezuela. Image Courtesy of US News.

Venezuelan immigrants have been forced to leave the country amid the collapse of President Maduro’s government. Their once prosperous economy is collapsing and has driven masses of people from their homes. Colombia shares 1,300 miles of border with Venezuela and has been a popular destination for its dispersed neighbors.

Besides the proximity, Venezuelans make the move to Colombia because of the economic opportunity. Several refugees remark that at least in Colombia they can find food with the little money they earn. At home, the Maduro regime has destroyed the free market and shelves remain empty.

On the Pope’s visit to Colombia a few weeks ago, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos pledged that Colombia will accommodate thousands of Venezuelan exiles while it works to find a political solution for their country’s crisis. The President assured the Pope, “Colombia will always be a welcoming land.”

Now that Venezuelans have arrived in the promised amount, Colombia is starting to see the effects. Local authorities report street brawls over food donations. The amount of charity is scarce compared to the amount of need. The mayor of a popular city for immigrants, Cücuta, actually had to ban food donations in public spaces to avoid this violence.

This massive migration is putting a strain on Colombia’s job market as well. Immigrant professionals and students move on to Peru or Chile where there are better job opportunities. This leaves the rest of the refugees as day laborers in Colombia where they make a fraction of what Colombian workers make.

Approximately 3,500 Venezuelans enter Colombia daily. If this level of immigration persist, Colombia will experience an unprecedented population increase of 3% next year. However, this number is surely even larger because Venezuelans who cross the border illegally are not accounted for. Because of this, the Colombian government has drastically understated the effect this immigration crisis will have on their country.

Colombia is not the only destination for Venezuelans. “Since Venezuela’s economic crisis began in 2014, an unprecedented number of Venezuelans have fled the country.” Most have fled to Colombia, but Brazil has also received tens of thousands. The number of Venezuelans seeking asylum in Costa Rica, Panama and Mexico has also increased significantly. Refugees arrive in hopes of gaining refugee status, temporary work, and medical services.

These immigrants have suffered food shortages and a severe lack of medical supplies under their socialist ruler. In many cases, their neighboring countries are their only hope for survival.

For further information, please see:

US News – The Venezuelan Diaspora – 18 September 2017

Bloomberg – Trump and Santos to Weigh Plans to Pressure Venezuela Government – 18 September 2017

PanAm Post – Venezuela’s Socialist Collapse Has Unleashed a Migrant Crisis in Colombia – 17 September 2017

Q Costa Rica – Venezuela Asylum Requests Soar in Costa Rica, Panama, Mexico – 14 September 2017

ABC News – Colombian leader promises Pope to take in exiles – 10 September 2017

North Korea Threatens Additional Nuclear Tests

By: Brian Kim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia 

PYONGYANG, North Korea – On Tuesday, September 19th, President Donald Trump made his first appearance before the United Nations General Assembly. During the speech, President Trump stated that the North Korean leader, Kim Jung Un is “on a suicide mission.”  He further stated that the United States would “have no choice but to totally destroy” the country.

An activist protests outside the North Korean embassy in Germany. Photo courtesy of CNBC.

Following the speech, Kim Jung Un stated that President Trump has “made unprecedented rude nonsense one has never heard” and said that “a frightened dog barks louder.” Kim has said that he is considering the highest level of retaliation against the United States for President Trump’s comments made during the United Nations Assembly meeting.

Ri Yong Ho, North Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs, announced that North Korea is considering a hydrogen bomb test in the Pacific Ocean. The Minister of Foreign Affairs described the possible test as “the most powerful detonation of an H-bomb in the Pacific.”

Since the exchange, United States Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers flew over waters east of North Korea. The military exercise, according to the Pentagon, is to display the range of military options available. It is reported that the flight was the farthest north of the demilitarized zone that any United States fighter bomber had flown in the 21st century.

President Trump met with South Korean President, Moon Jae-in, and the Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, to continue its discussion on imposing new sanctions against North Korea.

Soon after President Trump issued a new executive order which expanded United States sanctions on North Korea, China’s central bank also ordered financial institutions to implement United Nations sanctions rigorously. President Trump thanked China’s president Xi Jinping on his bold move against North Korea.

For more information, please see:

Business Insider – North Korea suggests testing a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific after Kim Jong Un calls Trump ‘mentally deranged’ – 21 September, 2017

CNBC – North Korea may detonate nuclear bomb in Pacific, foreign minister tells reporters – 21 September, 2017

The Guardian – Japan braces as North Korea threatens hydrogen bomb test in Pacific – 22 September, 2017

Reuters – Trump cranks up North Korea threats as Pyongyang holds anti-U.S. rally – 23 September, 2017

Far-right not far behind in 2017 German election results

By: Sara Adams
Impunity Watch News Reporter, Europe

A far-right campaign sign urging Germans to stop “Islamification” of Germany. Image courtesy of Getty Images. 

BERLIN, Germany – German Chancellor Angela Merkel won a fourth term after the general election on September 24th.

The results come during a shift in European politics. Many frustrations have risen over the migrant crisis, including Germany’s high intake of refugees coming from the middle east.

Despite this, Chancellor Merkel’s conservative party won a slim majority in Germany’s coalition government. The Social Democrats, whom the conservatives work closely with, came in second with 33%.

But 13% of the vote went to the far-right party Alternative for Deutschland, raising concerns for many about potential opposition.

Indeed, Alternative for Deutschland (“AfD”) has already begun to express this sentiment.

The head of the AfD party, Alexander Gauland, has already told supporters that the government should “dress warmly” in preparation.

The vote makes AfD the third largest party in the coalition government.

This is the first time in over 60 years that a far-right nationalist party has had any control in the German government.

AfD raises many concerns within Germany. The party is vehemently anti-immigration, including the taking in of refugees, and has expressed anti-Muslim sentiment in many of its platforms.

Leaders of the party have suggested that Germany stop “apologizing” for its past Nazi ideology, stating, “If the French are rightly proud of their Emperor…We have the right to be proud of the German soldiers in two world wars.”

The AfD favors closure of German borders, citing fears over “Islamification” of the west.

Part of the policy platform includes banning the Burka, a common clothing item for Muslim women, and cutting off any foreign funding for mosques in Germany.

Its election “manifesto” contains a section explaining why the party believes that “Islam does not belong in Germany.”

“It is worrying,” said Michael Fuchs, a member of the Christian Democrat Bundestag*. “[For the first time since World War II] there will be a political party within the walls of the Reichstag building which does not distance itself from the Nazi past and which tolerates members who publicly express themselves in racist and xenophobic language.”

Political scientists in Germany cite disillusionment and frustration with establishment as two possible reasons for why AfD received such a large percentage of the vote.

“Many voters have felt that the two parties have not addressed the issue of immigration and German cultural identity,” Gideon Botsch, a political scientist from the University of Potsdam said.

“And that has led them to consider voting for the AfD.”

This election leads to a complicated situation for Chancellor Merkel. It remains to be seen whether the AfD will have any impact on the refugee population of Germany in the future.

For more information, please see:

New York Times – Angela Merkel Is Headed for German Election Victory as Far Right Enters Parliament – 24 September 2017

The Guardian – German elections 2017: Angela Merkel makes gains, exit poll says – live updates – 24 September 2017

CNN – German election: Angela Merkel set for fourth term as far-right surges – 24 September 2017

The Independent – German elections: Far-right wins MPs for first time in half a century – 24 September 2017

ABC News – Merkel wins fourth term as German far-right party makes gains – 24 September 2017

NPR – Far-Right German Party Could Lead Opposition After Sunday’s Election – 22 September 2017

Al-Jazeera – Who are Germany’s far-right AfD? – 21 September 2017

BBC News – What does Alternative for Germany (AfD) want? – 18 September 2017

African Country Ties with North Korea Spark UN Inquiry

By: Adam King
Impunity Watch News Reporter, Africa

Kim Yong Nam, President of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly of North Korea, visiting Uganda. Image courtesy of AP.

NEW YORK, New York – The United Nations is actively investigating purported military  ties between North Korea and several African countries.  The probe comes at a time where the whole world has turned its attention to the recent actions of North Korea.  Two African countries in particular, Uganda and Tanzania, face accusations of violating sanctions imposed by the UN by engaging in prohibited economic exchange. Tanzania is accused of engaging in business ventures with North Korea estimated to be worth $12.5 million.

Some African countries have maintained relationships with North Korea since the early 1960s.  In fact, North Korea has supported several African countries during and after the Cold War:

“The relationship between North Korea and Africa dates back to the Cold War where the country was looking to find allies among newly liberated, socialist countries in Africa. Like China and Russia, it was looking to stamp out western influence on the continent, and present its adversary, South Korea, as a puppet of the US.”

Uganda in particular shares particular proclivities with North Korea related to opinions of the  United States:

“President Yoweri Museveni has proven to share North Korea’s disdain for western foreign policy and influence. Museveni, whose party members recently proposed to extend the age limit for heads of state, has hosted a banquet for North Korean diplomats in Uganda and defended his relationship with the country, once describing them as “friends who have helped Uganda for a long time.”

Uganda and North Korea have faced scathing criticism regarding human rights violations in their respective countries. A large portion of the transactions that continue between North Korea and African nations are military related. Transactions include enhancing missile capabilities to military vehicles, “In Mozambique, for example, the experts said they are looking into the reported supply of shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles, air defense systems, other surface-to-air missiles and radar by a North Korean trading company.” 

Many African countries do not have the capability to produce the weapons they are acquiring from North Korea. In turn, North Korea is utilizing relationships with African countries to spread their technological innovations around the world for a lucrative profit. Many of the weapons proliferated across the African continent are exported from foreign entities, which give continuous fuel for protracted conflicts.

For more information, please see:

Quartz — Eleven African countries will be probed by the UN over their military ties in North Korea — 14 September 2017 

All Africa — Uganda: UN Probes Tanzania and Uganda Deals With North Korea — 13 September 2017

The Citizen — Tanzania in trouble over North Korean sanctions — 12 September 2017 

LA Times — UN Experts: North Korea exported $270 million illegally recently — 10 September 2017 

The Washington Post — North Korea’s surprising, lucrative relationship with Africa — 10 July 2017 

The Guardian — Global weapons trade targets Africa as imports to Algeria and Morocco soar — 20 March 2015