BRIEF: A National Action Plan for Human Rights in Kazakhstan

ASTANA, Kazakhstan – The Kazakh government has formed a working group to fully develop a National Action Plan on human rights for 2008-2011, and it met for the first time today.  The group will consist of rights experts from government and public human rights institutes across the country.

According to Yerlan Karin, the head Internal policy department of the Presidential Administration, “Kazakhstan has ratified a number of international documents in the sphere of human rights. Several international regulatory acts are planned to be ratified as well. The work of the state bodies in this direction is among priority ones in the activity of all state bodies.”

Kazakhstan’s human rights record has been in the spotlight often, especially since the country was named chair-in-office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in November 2007.  Many human rights organizations criticized the appointment, claiming that it undermined the integrity of the OSCE’s human rights principles because Kazakhstan does not meet its own human rights obligations.  Some of the criticisms state that Kazakhstan has not held a fair election, its media is dominated by loyalists, and libel is still a criminal defense often used against independent journalists.

The Kazakh government states that it has been attempting to make changes, but human rights critics claim that they do not see results and they watch the country closely.  For that reason, the National Action Plan developed by today’s working group will likely be widely critiqued and regularly monitored.

For more information, please see:

Human Rights Watch – Kazakhstan: OSCE Chairmanship Undeserved – 30 November 2007

Kazinform – National Action Plan in the field of human rights for 2008-2011 discussed in Astana – 26 March 2008

Palestinian Factions Clash in Southern Lebanon

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

SIDON, Lebanon – On March 20, clashes broke out between Fatah security and militant factions in Ein al-Hilweh refugee camp in southern Lebanon.  Tensions rose when members of Fatah arrested Samir Maarouf, a commander in Jund al-Sham, and handed him over to the Lebanese army.  Maarouf is wanted by Lebanon for crimes relating to violence and terrorism, including charges of planting a bomb in a Fatah official’s house in the camp.

Members of Jund al-Sham opened fired on Fatah offices located inside the camp immediately following Maarouf’s arrest.  The two sides launched rocket-propelled grenades and exchanged gunfire.  Fighting continued late into the evening.  Fighting resumed on March 21, when a grenade was thrown into the house of a senior Fatah official.  While there were no causalities, the building suffered severe damage.

Fatah reports that one of its members was killed and four wounded during the two day clash.  The violence caused hundreds of civilians to flee and seek shelter in the nearby city of Sidon.  While a ceasefire was declared on March 22, many feared that the violence has not ended and did not immediately return to the camp.

According to Fatah officials, a ceasefire was brokered after Osbat al-Ansar, another Islamic group, intervened and acted as a mediator.  The terms of the ceasefire require that members of Jund al-Sham leave the camp.  Fatah and Lebanese officials feared that these clashes would escalate and result in a conflict similar to that of the Nahr al-Bared camp, which involved three months of fighting between the Lebanese Army and Fatah al-Islam militants.

Like many of the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, Ein al-Hilweh is under Palestinian jurisdiction and the Lebanese army and law enforcement officers are prohibited from entering.  Jund al-Sham denounced Maarouf’s arrest as improper and being “an arrangement involving non-Palestinians.”

Mounir al-Maqdah, the commander of Fatah’s armed wing, countered by stating that “Maarouf’s  activities went beyond the camp’s limits and he is wanted by the Lebanese authorities for his involvement in several security files as well as planning to plant a bomb in the  home of a senior Fatah official.”  Maqdah added that “any security matter within the camp is the business of the Lebanese-Palestinian Follow-up Committee and the joint Palestinian Armed Forces.”

Jund al-Sham is a radical militant organization comprising of about 50 members.  It is a splinter group from another Palestinian extremist group, Asbat al-Ansar, based in Ein el-Hilweh.  The group has claimed responsibility for several bombings and violent gun battles throughout Lebanon and Syria.  The group fought against the Lebanese army during its conflict with militants in the Nahr al-Bared camp.

For more information, please see:
Al Arabiya News Channel – Heavy Fighting Erupts in Lebanon Refugee Camp – 22 March 2008

The Daily Star – Hundreds Flee as Ain al-Hilweh Factions Clash – 22 March 2008

Naharnet – Fatah-Jund al-Sham Fight it Out in Ein al-Hilweh, Casualties – 22 March 2008

Ya Libnan – Ceasefire Ends Clash in Southern Lebanon Camp – 22 March 2008

BBC – Factions Fight in Lebanese Camp – 21 March 2008

International Herald Tribune – Islamic Militants Clash with Fatah Guerrillas in Refugee Camp in Southern Lebanon – 21 March 2008

BRIEF: Child Refugees from Afghanistan at Risk

KABUL, Afghanistan – Afghan children fleeing their war-torn home country are facing danger as they make their way through Iran and Eastern European countries.  Many of these children’s parents have paid smugglers to bring them to a safe country, and as they travel alone they are being preyed upon by traffickers.

This is particularly a problem in the port city of Petras, Greece, where many of these children are camped hoping to sneak on to ferries going to Western Europe.  Recently, police in Petras raided one of these camps; the children living there scattered across the city, causing them to become even more vulnerable to trafficking.  The United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Refugees has called the situation in Petras a “humanitarian crisis” and the UN office in Greece has asked for immediate support for the children.  Authorities in Petras refuse to offer assistance to the children because they fear that the city will become an even larger magnet for refugees.

The Afghan government has been criticized recently for its inability to address human rights in its country.  Because it cannot protect these children in Afghanistan, they are fleeing to other countries and facing many dangers along the way.

For more information, please see:

Impunity Watch – Impunity in Afghanistan: UN Statement – 19 March 2008

International Herald Tribune – Afghanistan’s youngest migrants adrift on the road to asylum – 24 March 2008

BRIEF: Fiji Supports Chinese Actions in Tibet

SUVA, Fiji — Cutting against the grain of the common international sentiment, the Fiji’s interim government has thrown its support behind the Chinese government in their recent handling of the riots in the Tibetan city of Lhasa. 

The Permanent secretary to the interim Prime Minster, Parmesh Chand, confirmed that the interim Prime Minister had written to the Chinese government to officially express his support.  According to Chand, the PM Bainimarama praised the Chinese government for abiding by the rule of law and stressed that he understood that the situation in Tibet was an internal matter for China to deal with.  Chand also said that it is not uncommon for world leaders to pass along notes like this. 

Concern has grown, particularly in New Zealand and Australia, regarding Fiji’s increased dependence on China.  Since the 2006, Fiji’s relations with Australia and New Zealand have been strained and an increasing amount of Fijian aid is coming from China.  New Zealand Green MP Keith Locke has publically expressed his fears of what a fusion of these alliances and his perception of Fiji’s lack of respect for democracy could mean for the future.  “It’s bad enough that Mr Bainimarama has trampled on democracy in Fiji, without supporting the Beijing’s suppression of Tibetan rights,” he said.  He also called upont the New Zealand government to condemn the Fijian statement. 

For more information, please see:

News Talk ZB — Concern at ties between China and Fiji — 25 March 2008

The Sydney Morning Herald — China applauded for Tibet crackdown — 25 March 2008

Scoop — NZ Govt caught over Bainimarama support for China — 25 March 2008

Radio New Zealand — Fiji supports the Chinese government’s handling of fatal riots in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet — 25 March 2008

Radio New Zealand International — Fiji indicates support for Chinese government’s action in addressing deadly riot in Tibet — 24 March 2008

BRIEF: Two Kurds Killed in Turkey Protests

ISTANBUL, Turkey – On March 24, hundreds of Kurdish protesters threw stones at Turkish police in southeastern Turkey; marking the fifth day of confrontation between the two sides.  Two protestors were killed as a result of the confrontations in cities across the country and dozens more were injured.  Over 130 people were arrested.

In early March, the Turkish military launched an eight-day campaign in northern Iraq, targeting PKK camps.  The continuation of Turkish military operations against Kurdistan’s Working Party (PKK) has caused heightened tensions in Turkey’s mostly-Kurdish southeast.

Police used batons, tear gas and water cannon on protesters in the city of Van.  Thousands of protesters took part in the Van demonstrations, with many of them hurling rocks and chanted slogans in support of the PKK Kurdish rebel group.  Protestors set up barricades and lit fires in the streets.

Clashes took place across the country, with arrests and injuries reported in Hakkari and Siirt.  In Viransehir, protestors threw Molotov cocktails at police.  Unrest was also reported among Kurdish communities in western Turkey, including in Mersin and Izmir.

These recent clashes coincide with the celebration of the Newroz spring festival, also known as the Kurdish New Year.  The holiday is associated with Turkey’s large Kurdish population and often sparks conflict between clashes between the Turkish military and the PKK.

The PKK took up arms in 1984 to make a Kurdish ethnic homeland in southeastern Turkey.  Since 1984, approximately 40,000people have died in violence between the PKK and the Turkish military.

For more information, please see:
Jerusalem Post – Kurds Clash with Turkish Police for 5th Day; 2 Dead – 24 March 2008

Al Jazeera – Kurds Killed in Turkish Protests – 23 March 2008

Reuters – Kurdish Man Dies in Clash with Turkish Police – 23 March 2008

BBC – Turkish Police Clash with Kurds – 22 March 2008