UN Cites Human Rights Violations in Operation Cast Lead

By Ann Flower Seyse
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

GENEVA, Switzerland– United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, has called for an in depth, transparent investigation of Israel’s Operation Cast Lead. Pillay stated that “there is significant prima facie evidence of serious violations of international humanitarian law having been committed by the Israeli forces and Palestinian militants,” during the operation which took place between December 27, 2008 to January 18, 2009. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights reports that at least 1,400 Palestinians were killed, and at least thirteen Israelis, three of which were civilians during Israel’s 22-day offensive on Gaza.

The allegations which warrant further investigation include Israeli attacks on Gaza civilians, civilian hospitals, schools, administrative facilities and 27,000 private homes. Of particular concern for the UN is the “targeting of the civilian population and wanton destruction of property and religious and cultural objects” according to a separate report by a UN investigative team, released on August 14. “While these violations are of deep concern in their own right, the nearly total impunity that persists for such violations (regardless of the responsible duty bearer) is of grave concern, and constitutes a root cause for their persistence,” Pillay said.

Pillay’s report to the UN Human Rights Council also calls for the immediate easing of Israeli restrictions in the Palestinian territories. She hopes that this easing will lead to a lifting of the blockade on Gaza, which has been economically devastating to the people living there. Pillay claims that the blockade and restrictions on movement of people and goods in the West Bank “amount to collective punishment.”  The alleged torture of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons and collective punishment both contravene the Geneva Conventions, to which Israel is a party.

Moreover, the report specifically calls for Israel to cease its settlement expansion immediately. It also asks Israel to cease evictions of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem, and address the persistent impunity for settler violence. Pillay remains concerned over Israel’s disregard for the International Court of Justice’s recommendation regarding the barrier wall that Israel is constructing to keep assailants out. The wall would enclose 9.5 per cent of the West Bank area.

Israeli Ambassador Aharon Leshno-Yaar rejected the findings of Pillay. Leshno-Yaar felt that the report failed to note recent moves by Israel to ease restrictions on Palestinians, and reflected an anti-Israel bias by the U.N. Human Rights Council.

The Arab News Network al Jazeera reports that Israel is now running an ad campaign to discredit human rights agencies that have reported negatively on Israel, including Human Rights Watch.

For more information, please see:
Al Jazeera – UN: Israel Had ‘Impunity’ in Gaza – 15August 2009

Al Jazeera – Israel Questions Gaza War Reports – 14 August 2009

Christian Science Monitor – Israel Killed Palestinians Waving White Flags, Report Says – 14 August 2009

Fox News- U.N. Human Rights Chief: Israel’s Blockade of Gaza Strip Is Illegal– 14 August 2009

United Nations – Significant Prima Facie Evidence of Serious Rights Abuses in Gaza, UN reports – 14 August 2009

China Jails Eight Tibetans

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China– A court in northwest China sentenced a group of Tibetans for their role in anti-government protests which took place earlier this year.  Six monks and two lay people were sentenced to jail terms ranging from six-months to seven years in Qinghai province, a region that is largely ethnically Tibetan and includes the birthplace of exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

The eight Tibetans were accused of inciting a mob attack of a police station in a Tibetan town of Rabgya back in March.  The unrest began when a Buddhist monk jumped into the Yellow River to escape police interrogation.  He had hung a Tibetan flag on the roof of his monastery on March 10, which was the anniversary of the failed 1959 Tibetan revolt against the Chinese government, and had distributed anti-government pamphlets.  The Chinese police detained about 100 monks after the violence broke out, and hundreds of Tibetans rioted and attacked the police station.

Tibetan monkMonk Palden Gyatso received the harshest sentence, seven years in prison (Source: NYT)

This recent violence resembled the mass protest of March 2008 in Tibetan-populated regions of China, which was the largest anti-government protest by Tibetans in decades.  According to the exiled Tibetan government, the subsequent crackdown by the Chinese government since last year’s riots has led to more than 200 Tibetan deaths.

Local Chinese officials have refused to release any information on the riots which took place this past March, and a court clerk told a news agency that she had no knowledge about the case of the eight Tibetans who were sentenced.  Remaining anonymous, she said, “We don’t know anything about the trial.  Nobody at our court knows.”

However, Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy expressed “its serious concern over Chinese authorities’ manhandling of the case and awarding lengthy prison sentences to what was a mere…exercise of the freedom of expression…guaranteed by the Chinese Constitutions….”  The Centre is urging China to reverse the verdict and ensure fair and free trial to the eight Tibetans.
For more information, please see:

AFP – China court jails eight Tibetans: rights group – 18 August 2009

AP – Report: 8 Tibetans jailed over protests in China – 18 August 2009

Reuters – China sentences 8 Tibetans over protests – activists – 18 August 2009

Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy – China sentences eight Tibetans to varying prison terms in Tibet – 14 August 2009

U.S. Peace Corps Pulls Out of Mauritania

By Jennifer M. Haralambides
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania – The Peace Corps has withdrawn its workers from Mauritania due to fears over security after recent attacks.

The Peace Corps, which has operated in Mauritania for over 40 years, announced that it has moved its volunteers out of Mauritania and into the nearby training center in Senegal.  The exact amount of people who will be moved is unknown, but the statement issued by the Peace Corps said there were roughly 141 volunteers in Mauritania, mainly in rural areas.

_46178437_mauritania_226x170 “Although it is the agency’s position that the volunteers are relatively safe in their communities and villages, it is potentially dangerous for them to travel safely in the country,” said the statement issued August 12th.

The U.S. government-backed group said on its website that the volunteer program in Mauritania would remain suspended until the security conditions improve, if at all.

On June 23, an American was shot dead in the Mauritanian’s capital city during an attack claimed by an al-Qaeda affiliate group.  Subsequently, on August 8th, a suicide bomber killed himself by setting off a bomb aimed at two French gendarmes from the French embassy.  Three people were killed during the bombing that took place just days after President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, who vowed to make the fight against al-Qaeda a priority, was sworn in.

The Peace Corps volunteers were in the country attempting to help Mauritania boost their agricultural production, combat widespread erosion, and bolster health and education programs.

For more information, please see:

AFP – U.S. Peace Corps Pulls Out of Mauritania – 17 August 2009

AP – U.S. Peace Corps Pulls Out Mauritania Volunteers – 17 August 2009

BBC – U.S. Aid Workers Leave Mauritania – 17 August 2009

Reuters – U.S. Peace Corps Pulls Volunteers From Mauritania – 17 August 2009

Police Raid “Nigerian Taliban” Group in Niger

By Jennifer M. Haralambides
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KANO, Nigeria – Nigerian police take more than 600 people into custody after raiding an isolated Muslim community in Western Niger.

On Saturday morning a team of 1,000 officers raided the Darul Islam community.  Police say no weapons were found and there was no resistance to the arrests.

This raid comes in the wake of the violent uprising of the Boko Haram Islamist group that has taken the lives of hundreds of people.  Some sources say that the authorities may be taking advantage of a possible way to disperse the Darul Islam (House of Islam) community.

“Our action of evacuating members of the sect from Darul Islam is necessary to forestall any religious crisis in the (central) state of Niger,” said state police commissioner, Mike Zukoumor.

_46213086_nigeria_niger_1609.cmp Much of the recent bloodshed involving the Boko Haram has occurred in the Nigerian city of Maiduguri and the officials have taken action.  One of the men taken away by the police told sources that local people were being taken away and questioned.

“We have not eaten anything since we were brought here and we have women and children among us,” said a Darul Islam resident.

Zukoumor said that those who are suspected of being involved in the self named “Nigerian Taliban” group are being kept in a government technical college and questioned about their activities.  The suspects could face prosecution if their activities are found to be detrimental to religious peace in the state.

Although the group has not been found to be engaged in any illegal activity just yet, the authorities are trying to establish the identity and nationality of the members of the Darul Islam community.

The United Nations human rights chief, Navi Pillay, and human rights groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have called on the government to investigate the security forces’ role in this religious violence.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Nigerian Police Raid Islamic Sect Compound – 16 August 2009

BBC – Nigeria Police Raid Muslim Sect – 16 August 2009

Newstime Africa – Police in Nigeria Target Another Muslim Sect – 16 August 2009

Reuters – Nigerian Police Raid Islamic Sect, Detain Hundreds – 16 August 2009

Jordanian Woman Killed for Marrying Without Family Permission

By Meredith Lee-Clark
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

AMMAN, Jordan – A 23-year-old pregnant woman was reportedly killed by her brother for marrying without her family’s permission.  On August 13, the 30-year-old man was charged with premeditated murder and illegal possession of weapons.

Jihad al-Diridi, the prosecutor who filed the charges, said the unnamed woman got married two years ago and had a baby boy.  The woman had reportedly reconciled with her parents, who invited her to another brother’s wedding on August 12, where the woman was killed.  Al-Diridi said the charged brother shot his sister in the head and abdomen after the wedding reception.  The woman’s husband was beaten by two other brothers, who were later charged with assisting in the crime.

After the killing, the brother who shot the woman walked to the nearest police station, turned himself in, and handed over his gun.  Sources said the man told police he had killed his sister “to cleanse his family’s honor.”

This “honor killing” was the second in two days in Amman.  The first such killing happened on August 11, when a 39-year-old man killed his 16-year-old niece.  The girl had been raped eleven months ago by two relatives and had become pregnant.  The uncle reportedly learned of the rape on August 8 and “decided to kill her in the name of family honor,” according to a source.  The girl was shot nine times in the head in her family home.  The uncle was charged with premeditated murder.

Fifteen honor killings have been reported in Jordan so far this year.  An average of twenty Jordanian women are killed each year by relatives who claim to be protecting the family honor, despite government attempts to curb the murders.  The Jordanian Parliament has refused to strengthen the penal code to create harsher sentences for the crimes.

For more information, please see:

Richmond Times-Dispatch – Jordanian Man Charged with Killing Pregnant Sister – 13 August 2009

Straits Times – Man Charged for Killing Sister – 13 August 2009

Vancouver Sun – Jordan Woman Killed for Marrying Without Permission – 13 August 2009

Jordan Times – Man Charged with Premeditated Murder of his 16-Year-Old Niece – 12 August 2009

Huffington Post – Jordanian Man Accused of Stabbing Pregnant Sister – 12 April 2009