UN Report Reveals Increased Violence Against Children in Afghanistan

By Shayne R. Burnham
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

KABUL, Afghanistan – As a result of UNICEF’s report on violence against Afghan Children, the United Nations (UN) said that violations of children’s rights are rising on account of war in Afghanistan, especially with respect to deaths of children in civilian casualties, recruitment of children to armed groups, and sexual abuse.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated that “the report focuses on grave violations perpetrated against children in Afghanistan and identifies parties to the conflict, both state and non-state actors, who commit grave abuses against children.”  He continued, “In particular, the report highlights the fact that children have been recruited and utilized (as fighters) by state and non-state armed groups.”

Ban also said that although the Afghan government demobilized 7,444 child soldiers in 2003, there has not been any monitoring of children who are vulnerable to democracy.

One case that the report documents is that of children utilized by the Taliban as suicide bombers.  Children as young as 12 years old are forced or tricked into performing these acts.  The government have also been having children serve on their police forces, such as the Afghan Auxiliary Police and the Afghan National Police.  Ban insists that the age of young soldiers be verified in order to protect children in accordance with human rights laws.

Children are also victims as a result of militant attacks on civilian targets.  Children are being inadvertently killed during battle between U.S. and NATO and Afghan forces.  The U.N. insists that all rules of war are followed, especially with respect to children.

Violence against children also occurs in the form of sexual abuse.  Ban states that “Boys [are] kept cloistered and used for sexual and harmful social entertainment by warlords and other armed group leaders.”  The U.N. urges the Afghan government to take action by legislating against sexual violence.

For more information, please see:

AP – UN: Afghan Children Being Recruited as Fighters – 25 November 2008

Reuters – Violence Against Afghan Children Rising: U.N. – 23 November 2008

UN News Centre – Afghan Conflict Claiming More Child Casualties as Insurgency Spreads – UN report – 21 November 2008

Free Trade Agreement Between Canada and Colombia Risks Making Human Rights Situation Worse

By Maria E. Molina
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

OTTAWA, Canada – Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe signed a free trade agreement on November 21, 2008. Earlier this year in a study of the proposed Canada/Colombia trade deal, the House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade called on the government to ensure that an independent human rights impact assessment be carried out and that the results of that assessment be dealt with before the free trade deal is signed, ratified or implemented.

Amnesty International and  the Canadian Council for International Co-operation are  concerned that Prime Minister Harper has ignored this recommendation and decided to proceed without due diligence with regard to human rights.

Past human rights violations in Colombia have included the use of excessive force by state security forces against a mobilization of Indigenous people expressing opposition to free trade agreements and other policies they believe impact negatively on their rights.

Also, threats and attacks against land rights activists, particularly in areas of economic interest have taken place throughout 2008. There has also been an increase of threats and attacks on trade unionists – more than 40 people have been killed this year.

President Uribe and other senior officials have continuously demonized trade unions, indigenous organizations and other groups that are speaking out about violations of human rights, suggesting links with guerrillas. Such statements have led to threats and violence, including killings.  Following the release of critical reports by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch in October, President Uribe publicly accused AI of “fanaticism” and “dogmatism” and the Americas Director of Human Rights Watch of being a “supporter” and an “accomplice” of FARC guerrillas. President Uribe has also demonized members of the Supreme Court investigating links between politicians from the ruling coalition and paramilitaries.

Going ahead with the Canada/Colombia free trade deal without meaningful action to address these concerns risks making the human rights situation much worse.

For more information, please see:

Amnesty International Canada – Public Statement Signing Free Trade Pact with Colombia Presents Grave Human Rights Concerns – 24 November 2008

Reuters – Canada and Colombia Sign Free-Trade Agreement – 22 November 2008

Ottawa Citizen – Canada and Colobia Sign Free-Trade Pact – 22 November 2008

India: Widespread Torture by Police

By  Pei Hu
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NEW DEHLI, India –Chunchun Kumar is an ordinary citizen from Bihar’s Nawada district and while he was drinking tea with his friends, a group of drunken policemen vandalized the tea house and brutally beat Kumar and his friends. The six police officers were beating up a temple priest at a village temple before going to the teashop. According to Kumar, he and his friends were beaten “black and blue” before the police started shooting at them. Kumar was shot in the abdomen.

Kumar and the villagers complained to the police authorities. India police acknowledged the incident. Bihar Anil Sinha, the director general of police said, “Two of the policemen who were inebriated vandalized the tea shop and began firing despite protests from their other colleagues. They were arrested and, although they have been released on bail, they are facing criminal charges.”

Activist say that torture is rampant in India, especially among the poorer societies. Henri Tiphagne of People’s Watch, a nongovernmental organization, said, “The problem of torture is very serious. Today we have around 1.8 million cases of police torture in India.” Tiphagne added, the victims of torture “are generally the (low-caste) Dalits, the tribals and the Muslims. And torture is used by those who are in power, those who possess, the landlords and the companies who put pressure on the police to carry out torture.”

However, Anil Sinha denied that police torture was widespread in India, “It’s a kind of stereotype being dished out by the NGOs and activists. And because police have a bad reputation, so people take such allegations to be correct. We do not condone any human rights violations by police in any manner, and such cases are rare. We have a mechanism in place to deal with such cases and penalize the guilty.”

According to Meenkshi Ganuly of Human Rights Watch, almost all the police stations in India are guilty of torture.

Kashmir Singh was a Pakistani prisoner held captive in Indian prisons for 14 years. In 2005, Singh and five other Pakistani prisoners were released as a sign of good-will from the Indian government. However, Singh has lost his kidney and mental stability due to torture during his years in captivity. Sigh’s sister said, “It had shocked us, as Pakistanis were never treated like this. This does not mean, we want the Indians being subjected to the inhuman treatment, but our government must prevail on India to review its torturous policy.”

For more information, please see:

BBC – The Wrong Side of Law – 18 November 2008

The News – Pakistanis Subject to Brutality in Indian Jails – 27 November 2008

Wikio – India: On the Wrong Side of Law – 19 November 2008

Fiji Interim Official Denies Threatening IBA

By Hayley J. Campbell
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

SUVA, Fiji – The International Bar Association claims that Fiji’s interim attorney general threatened the group of lawyers planning to conduct a review of Fiji’s justice system.

According to the IBA, Mr. Sayed-Khaiyum, Fiji’s interim-attorney-general sent a letter to the IBA on Monday which made clear that the interim government would not welcome the group and would take “appropriate steps” if IBA delegates came to Fiji.

Mr. Sayed-Khaiyum has denied the IBA’s claims, calling the organization ‘biased.”  In addition, the interim attorney general has accused the IBA of being condescending in its correspondence with the interim government.

But this would not be the first time Fiji’s interim government has barred the IBA from conducting a review of Fiji’s justice system.  Last February, a delegation of senior lawyers from Australia and Malaysia were turned away during a scheduled visit.

The London-based IBA represents nearly 30,000 attorneys around the world. The group had planned for senior Australian and Malaysian jurists to travel to Fiji in December to perform an in-country review of the justice system. Delegates would review the law since the interim government assumed control during a 2006 military coup of the federal government.

Last month, a High Court in Fiji legitimized the 2006 takeover. Fiji’s ousted prime minister, Laisenia Qarase, has challenged that judgment, calling it a “miscarriage of justice.” An appeal of that decision is scheduled to be heard in March 2009.

Mark Ellis, director of the IBA, says that the threatening letter reflects Fiji’s political instability:

“The threat made by the attorney-general against the delegation is unacceptable in a free and democratic society and reflects badly on the state of affairs in Fiji.”

Mr. Ellis says that the IBA will conduct their review, even if it means finding alternative methods.

For more information, please see:
Radio New Zealand International – Fiji interim AG denies claims he threatened IBA group – 26 November 2008

AFP – Fiji blocks International Bar Association visit – 26 November 2008

ABC News – Fiji bans International Bar Association members – 26 November 2008

The Age, Australia – Fiji’s A-G ‘threatening lawyers’ group’ – 26 November 2008

FijiLive – Interim AG Rejects IBA Suggestions – 26 November 2008

Malaysia Court Acquits Labor Activist Irene Fernandez


KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Irene Fernandez, the director of the human rights group Tenaganita, a prominent labor activist, was acquitted by a Malaysian court on Monday. “I’m so happy that finally truth and justice prevailed,” Fernandez told The Associated Press. “I should never have been charged in the first place.”

Irene Fernandez was arrested in 1996 for claiming that police tortured illegal immigrants in detention, but remained free on bail while fighting her case.  She was convicted and sentenced to one year in 2003 but appealed.  Fernandez’s 1995 report was compiled from interviews with more than 300 former detainees.  The report alleged that illegal immigrants died in Malaysian camps from malnutrition and torture. The government confirmed 98 detainees had died, but said they succumbed to diseases contracted in their homelands.

Irene Fernandez was convicted, and sentenced one year in prison in 2003, but she appealed.
Prosecutor Shamsul Sulaiman said the prosecution decided not to oppose the appeal because typed records from earlier court proceedings contained “systemic errors.”  The errors occurred when a court official typed up the judge’s handwritten notes, Shamsul said.

The appeal process, which did not start until April 1, 2008, has seen a series of postponements. The hearing was postponed until May 12 when it was discovered that 1,700 pages of the record, including witness statements, were missing.  The case was again postponed on August 5 when it was discovered a computer virus had wiped out some newly typed notes. In October, Fernandez’s defense lawyer said that he had received almost 9,000 pages of handwritten and typed notes, but that portions were “incomprehensible.”

“Irene Fernandez and her organization documented the government’s sadistic and humiliating treatment of migrants,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Human Rights Watch has also documented such treatment.”

For more information, please see:

Amnesty International – Malaysian activist acquitted after 12 years of legal battles – 24 November 2008

AP – Malaysia labor activist acquitted after long fight – 24 November 2008

HRW – Malaysia: Drop Case Against Labor Activist – 21 November 2008

Recuters – Malaysia court acquits activist after marathon case – 24 November 2008