A Voice for the Voiceless

Sri Lanka: 280,000 Tamil Civilians Detained

By Alishba I. Kassim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – After Sri Lanka’s final victory over the Tamil Tiger rebels, the country continues to grapple with the issue of postwar resettlement.

Approximately 280,000 Tamil civilians remain detained, finding themselves living inside barbed wire fences in large tents. Despite challenges to their detention from various human rights agencies, the government maintains that their detention is an imperative security measure. Security in the detention facilities continues to be tightened with limited humanitarian access. Vehicles of aid organizations have been barred after the military suggested they were smuggling out members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Resettlement remains an issue for the Sri Lankan government who have not yet produced a clear plan. No details have been shared with the UN who have ample experience in this area and are willing to provide greater assistance.

The Sri Lankan government has maintained a closed door policy on these matters and have publicly refuted accusations of mismanagement and human rights violations during and after the fighting. There has been little or no probe of the military’s tactics during the fighting, and claims implicating the army’s indiscriminate shelling of civilians have been swept under the rug. Earlier this week a presidential panel set up to investigate human rights abuses during the fighting was also shut down.

Sri Lanka maintains a firm stance on state sovereignty since it has often been undermined in developing countries by the world’s super powers. However that being said, some level of intervention is necessary in order to investigate and respond to matters of human rights – especially when 280,000 displaced civilians are at stake.

For more information, please see:

Christian Science Monitor – Sri Lanka’s Post-war Resettlement Stalls – June 19, 2009

NPR – Sri Lankan Tamils Ponder Future – June 19, 2009

Tamil Sydney – Rising Threat of Post-war Disappearances – June 19, 2009

The Hindu – Sri Lanka Not to Allow Visits to Tamil Camps – June 19, 2009

International Community Urged To Return Fiji To Democracy

By Angela Marie Watkins
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

SUVA, Fiji – Australia and New Zealand on Thursday urged China and the rest of the international community to back efforts to return Fiji to democracy and renewed demands that the United Nations stop using Fijian troops for peacekeeping duties, more than two years after a military coup in the South Pacific nation.

Fiji has up to 2,000 troops on peacekeeping duties with U.N. security forces around the world, including Iraq, Lebanon and East Timor. The UN decided last year not to use Fijian peacekeepers for any new missions but it has continued to deploy those already engaged.

Fiji’s military regime “has gained comfort and considerable amounts of cash from those ongoing peacekeeping activities,” said New Zealand’s Foreign Minister, Murray McCully.

McCully said the U.N.’s use of Fiji troops was “particularly unhelpful” to the international community, given former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s warning to Fiji in 2006 that its peacekeepers would be “sent home” if the 2006 coup led by Commodore Frank Bainimarama proceeded.

Since 2006, Bainimarama has suspended the constitution, detained opponents, delayed elections to 2014, suppressed freedom of speech, and required lawyers to get new licenses to practice under his administration.

The military regime has previously stated that Fiji’s soldiers would continue with U.N. peacekeeping duties because the U.N. hadn’t stopped peacekeeping participation by countries like Pakistan and Zimbabwe.

Fiji has also recently received support from China, who has extended its influence into the Pacific with various forms of aid, including money for infrastructure projects. Last month a new bridge was opened in Fiji, funded and built by China.

“We’ve been urging all members of the international community that, if they are having contact with Fiji, that they should certainly make the point that the international community wants to see Fiji return to democracy,” said Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith.

For more information, please see:
BBC – China support for Fiji questioned – 19 June 2009

The Sydney Morning Herald – Aust/NZ FMs criticise UN over Fiji – 19 June 2009

Taiwan News – Australia, NZ want UN to stop using Fiji troops – 19 June 2009

International Outcry Surrounding Deaths of Iranian Protesters

By Meredith Lee-Clark
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – Human Rights Watch has called for the Iranian government to begin investigations into the deaths of as many as eight protesters, who were allegedly killed by police and pro-government militia.

Hundreds of thousands of supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi, a candidate in Iran’s presidential elections, gathered in Tehran on June 18.  The crowds continued their nearly week-long protests of the results of the June 12 presidential election, which Mousavi’s supporters contend was rigged and maintain that Mousavi was the real winner, rather than the incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.  Mousavi also asked his supporters to march to commemorate the deaths of those killed in the protests this week, encouraging the supporters to wear black in mourning.

The crowds gathered in Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Square despite an order against such rallies, issued by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader.  The crowds marched silently until they reached the Square, when shouts of “God is Great” began, echoing calls heard by crowds during Iran’s 1979 revolution.

Authorities have arrested those perceived as dissidents, as well as shutting down access to many websites, including BBC Farsi, Facebook, and pro-Mousavi sites, in attempts to stifle the protests.  Foreign journalists have been banned from Tehran’s streets, and most are now reporting from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

Though details remain hazy, Mousavi’s supporters report that those killed were students attacked in dormitories by pro-government militia.  As in recent days, during the protest on the 18th, police remained on the sidelines.  There have been reports, however, of police violence against protesters after dark.

Human Rights Watch called on the Iranian authorities to ensure that all security forces follow the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials in policing the demonstrations.  Mousavi has continually asked his supporters to remain non-violent.  The Guardian Council has ordered a recount of approximately 600 ballot boxes, but future government action remains unclear.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Iran’s Mousavi Addresses Protesters – 18 June 2009

Human Rights Watch – Iran:  Investigate Protester Deaths – 18 June 2009

NPR – Opposition Protesters Fill Streets of Iran’s Capital – 18 June 2009

New York Times – Protesters Gather Again, as Iran Panel Offers Talks – 18 June 2009

Associated Press – Iranian Protester Killed After Opposition Rally – 15 June 2009

New Report Details 10,000 Migrant Abductions in Mexico in 6 Months

By Sovereign Hager

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

MEXICO CITY, Mexico – 10,000 Central American migrants crossing the border into Mexico have been abducted in the last six months according to a survey by Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission.  The survey was conducted in migrant health and detention centers.

According to the report, migrants were kidnapped in Mexico between September and February predominantly by drug gangs. The report identified 5, 723 people abducted by polleros or smugglers, 3,000 from different bands of kidnappers, 44 by gangs, and 427 by kidnappers claiming to be from the mercenary group known as “zetas”.  Authorities were also reportedly involved in 91 abductions.

70 percent of those abducted were from Honduras, however there were abductions reported from El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru.  The ransoms range from $1,500 to $ 5,000, with an estimated total of $25 million over the six month period. Some of those abducted are forced into slavery.

Abductions detailed in the report include 157 women, four pregnant, of which two were killed.  Many women were reportedly raped.  The report highlighted the lack of official figures on this issue, blaming the “inefficiency” of the justice system in preventing and investigating the cases.  The states with the most abductions were Veracruz and Tabasco.

It is estimated that 500,000 Central American undocumented immigrants try to enter Mexico each year across the southern border. According to Jose Luis Soberanes, the commission’s head, “the kidnapping of migrants has become a constant practice, on a worrying scale, generally unpunished and with characteristics of extreme cruelty.”

US Secretary of State Clinton Announces Rise in Global Human Trafficking

By Nima Nayebi

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America and Europe

WASHINGTON D.C., United States – The US Department of State has unveiled its annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, which assesses the efforts of over 170 countries in curtailing human trafficking. The report was followed by a Washington Post op-ed by Mrs. Clinton on Wednesday, in which she emphasized that the US has an obligation to fight human trafficking.

“To some, human trafficking may seem like a problem limited to other parts of the world. In fact, it occurs in every country, including the United States, and we have a responsibility to fight it just as others do. The destructive effects of trafficking have an impact on all of us. Trafficking weakens legitimate economies, breaks up families, fuels violence, threatens public health and safety, and shreds the social fabric that is necessary for progress. It undermines our long-term efforts to promote peace and prosperity worldwide. And it is an affront to our values and our commitment to human rights,” wrote Secretary Clinton.

She went on to say that the Obama administration considers the issue of human trafficking a priority in its foreign policy agenda: “The United States funds 140 anti-trafficking programs in nearly 70 countries, as well as 42 domestic task forces that bring state and local authorities together with nongovernmental organizations to combat trafficking. But there is so much more to do.”

According to the Secretary, the problem is more urgent than ever as the world struggles through the current financial climate. “People are increasingly desperate for the chance to support their families, making them more susceptible to the tricks of ruthless criminals,” she wrote.

The TIP Report estimates that 12.3 million people worldwide are victims of sexual slavery, forced labour, and organ theft, at a time where demand for cheap labour, services, and even human organs is on the rise. The report describes human trafficking as “a crime that deprives people of their human rights and freedoms, increases global heath risks, fuels growing networks of organized crime, and can sustain levels of poverty and impede development in certain areas.”

Since 2000, the majority of countries have enacted laws against human trafficking, but much work remains to be done, according to the State Department. Secretary Clinton summed up the Obama administration’s policy by writing: “The United States is committed to building partnerships with governments and organizations around the world, to finding new and more effective ways to take on the scourge of human trafficking. We want to support our partners in their efforts and find ways to improve our own. Human trafficking flourishes in the shadows and demands attention, commitment and passion from all of us. We are determined to build on our past success and advance progress in the weeks, months and years ahead. Together, we must hold a light to every corner of the globe and help build a world in which no one is enslaved.”

The TIP Report, which has been published since 2000, failed to address the trafficking record of the Unites States. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the United States is a large importer of sex trafficking victims, with Atlanta, Georgia, as its main hub. Mrs. Clinton promised that in the 2010 report, the US will “rank its own efforts at combating trafficking along with the rest of the world.”