Another Murder of Social Leader in Colombia Adds to Disturbing Trend As the Country Feels Aftereffects of the Peace Treaty with FARC

By: Max Cohen
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia – Over the past year at least 41 human rights activists and social leaders have been murdered in Colombia with the number of possible deaths reaching as high as 100. The latest victim of the disturbing trend is Jose Maria Lemus, a local leader of indigenous people. Back in May the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights confirmed 14 murders of human rights defenders, a difficult process in part because there is disagreement over who is to be considered a human rights leader. The only thing people seem to agree upon is that the number of murders of human rights leaders is higher than in previous years.

Colombian protestors hold inflatables to represent the number of human rights activists and social leaders killed so far. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

The attacks are concentrated in areas previously controlled by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), who famously signed a peace treaty with the Colombian government back in 2016. Since then, the power vacuum has been left to be filled by a variety of criminal groups. In taking control over these areas it is believed that a major reason for the deaths of these activists and leaders is because they are a threat to the criminals. The vacuum had such devastating consequences that in February, residents of the Choco region begged the country’s only remaining guerilla group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), to take over the vacuum.

Currently within the Choco region ELN is competing against the paramilitary group Gaitanist Self-defenses of Colombia (AGC) over stretches of the San Juan River, a conflict which has been going on for years. Human Rights Watch has documented evidence of numerous human rights abuses by both sides including but not limited to killings, child recruitment, planting landmines, and other threats. Approximately 1/5th of the people living in Litoral de San Juan were displaced by the violence in 2016, and during the first two months of 2017 that number went up by 1,300 people.

One of the places citizens have fled to is the city of Buenaventura, a place embroiled in problems of its own. In mid-May, there were protests by citizens of the city seeking better living conditions, which after the protesters’ demands were ignored by the government erupted into chaos. Even with the Colombian riot police in the city, and reports of looting, some peaceful protesting is continuing in the city.

For more information, please see:

teleSUR – Another Social Leader Murdered in Colombia – 14 June, 2017

Human Rights Watch – Colombia: Armed Groups Oppress Riverside Communities – 7 June, 2017

Atlanta Black Star – Afro-Colombian City Burns In Protest As Citizens Fight for Basic Human Rights – 1 June, 2017

BBC – Why has Colombia seen a rise in activist murders – 19 May, 2017

The Guardian – Colombia death toll rises as gangs fill vacuum left by Farc rebels – 18 February, 2017

Disputes rise among European nations over refugee crisis

By: Sara Adams
Impunity Watch News Reporter, Europe

Migrants line up for food in a migrant camp in Rome, Italy. Image courtesy of Reuters.

EUROPE – The European Union has begun legal action on June 13 against three member countries for not taking in their fair share of refugees. The action will be brought in the European Court of Justice.

The Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary are the countries that may face fines for ignoring EU plans to resettle asylum seekers in the region. This proposal, formed in 2015, was to relocate 160,000 refugees across the European mainland.

In March, Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern suggested cutting EU funds to nations that refuse to comply with the measures.

Hungary has taken hardline measures in its asylum policy. They passed a law that would detain asylum seekers into border camps for them to wait for their cases to be handled.

Under the EU plan, each country is assigned to take a certain number of refugees or migrants from the vast number of those coming in. Poland has not accepted any. The Czech Republic has taken 12 of their 2,000 allotment.

Further south, the populist mayor of Rome, Virginia Raggi, has asked the national government not to send any more migrants into the city. Italy has had an influx of refugees and migrant workers coming in from North Africa for the past three years.

In March, when the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban passed the bill allowing detainment of migrants before asylum, he reinforced his hardline stance on immigration. He claimed that immigration is the “Trojan horse of terrorism,” and argued that this was necessary to “defend [Hungary’s] borders…[So] no one will try to come to Hungary illegally.”

The rising fears among Europe regarding refugees are often based on security concerns. With the recent terror attacks in the United Kingdom, member nations of the EU remain on guard. Anti-immigrant sentiment is by and large in the continent and is an especially popular topic of discussion in local elections.

Immigration advocates push against the rhetoric pushed by anti-refugee leaders around the world. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has called Hungary’s law an act “[promoting] toxic notions of ethic purity”.

Human rights group Amnesty International has also been outspoken against the anti-immigration sentiment of the three countries involved in the EU legal action. The European office director of the group, Iverna McGowan, said that the EU’s action shows that “countries will not be allowed to get away with dragging their feet to avoid accepting refugees.”

She continues, “Solidarity is the key to a fair and humane response to refugees in Europe.”

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Don’t send more migrants, Rome mayor tells Italy’s government – 13 June 2017

BBC News – EU targets Poland, Hungary, and Czechs for not taking refugees – 13 June 2017

New York Times – E.U. Move Against 3 Countries That Don’t Take Refugees – 13 June 2017

ABC News – EU warns 3 countries of legal action over refugee plan – 13 June 2017

Reuters – Rome’s 5-Star mayor calls to half migrants’ flow into city – 13 June 2017

The Guardian – Austria threatens EU funding cuts over Hungary’s hard line on refugees – 8 March 2017

BBC News – Hungary to detain all asylum seekers in border camps – 7 March 2017

 

 

New South Korean President Raises Concerns On ‘Comfort Women’ Deal

By: Brian Kim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia 

SEOUL, South Korea – President Moon Jae-in of South Korea raised concerns on a landmark agreement made with Japan in December 2015 dealing with wartime sex slaves. The new South Korean president stated that the agreement is unfair.

South Koreans protesting outside the Japanese Embassy in Seoul. Photo courtesy of NPR.

According to the deal, the Japanese government agreed to provide $8.3 million to help “comfort women” and for Shinzo Abe, Japanese Prime Minister, to offer his “most sincere apologies and remorse.” It was also agreed that both countries will not criticize each other on this issue in the international society.

The issue of “comfort women” has been an ongoing controversy between these two countries. Although the exact numbers are unknown, the authorities believe that around 200,000 women were forced to serve as sex slaves when Japan took control of Korea in 1910.

Lee Ok-seon, now age 90, spoke about the time when she was captured by the Japanese military. In 1942, at the age 15, Lee was grabbed by men in uniform and was forced to work in a brothel in a Japanese-occupied area in China. As the survivors age and die, Lee remains as one of the last “comfort women.”

Former “comfort women” and many of their supporters have been protesting outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul. In 2011, a group erected a bronze statue of a seated woman outside the Japanese embassy. Back in January of 2017, the Japanese government withdrew diplomats from South Korea after the same statue was erected in the city of Busan arguing that such action violated the 2015 agreement.

The victims believe that the apology made by the Japanese Prime Minister does not go far enough. Moreover, the polls show that the majority of Koreans believe the 2015 agreement to be unfair.

South Korean president, Moon Jae-in spoke with Shinzo Abe, Japanese Prime Minister, and discussed the common threat posed by North Korea. Although President Moon stated that the people of South Korea “cannot emotionally accept the comfort women agreement,” he was clear that the issue should not affect the relationship in finding ways to respond to North Korea.

On June 7, Kang Kyung-wha, President Moon’s pick for foreign minister said during her confirmation hearing that she seeks to renew discussions over the 2015 agreement with Japan.

For more information, please see: 

NPR – Not All South Koreans Satisfied With Japan’s Apology To ‘Comfort Women’ – 30 May, 2017

CNN – South Korea’s New President Questions Japan ‘Comfort Women’ Deal – 5 June, 2017

Nikkei Asian Review -South Korea Foreign Minister Pick Vows ‘Comfort Women’ Talks – 8 June, 2017

Chile Convicts 106 in One of the Country’s Largest Mass Prosecutions, Declines to Investigate Unlawful Detention of Indigenous Peoples Activist

By: Max Cohen
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

SANTIAGO, Chile – 106 former intelligence agents were sentenced by Judge Hernan Cristoso, in one of the largest mass prosecutions for human rights abuses. The agents were sentenced for their roles in the disappearances of 16 leftist militants during the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship, which lasted from 1973-1990. 13 additional agents who had been charged were absolved from sentencing by the Chilean Judiciary. The sentences range from just over a year and a half to 20 years.

Dictator Augusto Pinochet, who controlled Chile from 1973-1990, and was responsible for the torture and deaths of thousands of people. Photo courtesy of AFP.

The abducted militants were reportedly sent to various torture and detention centers in Santiago between June 1974 and January 1975, and were never seen alive again. Their deaths were then covered up by the Chilean secret police by planting stories in foreign newspapers to imply that they had been killed fighting abroad as a way of absolving the government. Approximately 3,000 people disappeared and 30,000 were tortured during Pinochet’s rule. The disappearances were a part of Operation Condor, conducted by Chile in league with other South American countries such as Argentina and Brazil, which resulted in tens of thousands of activist deaths across the region. It was also motivated by the freshly established Pinochet government to consolidate its power.

Many of the agents who were convicted were already serving sentences for the human rights abuses they had committed. Also among those convicted were two former generals, Cesar Manriquez Bravo and Raul Iturriaga Neumann.

In addition to the criminal penalties for those involved, the current Chilean government was also ordered to pay 5 million Chilean pesos, equivalent to 7.5 million dollars, to the families of the victims as compensation.

Chile has also been criticized recently by Amnesty International for the decision by its Temuco Public Prosecutors Office to close an investigation into the unlawful detention of Victor Queipul Hueiquil, an activist for the rights of indigenous peoples in the country. Victor was reportedly detained for an entire day when police carried out an operation on the land of the Autonomous Community of Temucuicui. During the time of his detention he was allegedly blindfolded, tied up, and beaten while being interrogated.

For more information, please see:

Amnesty International – Chile: Closure of investigation into crimes against Mapuche leader puts indigenous people at risk – 17 May, 2017

BBC – Chilean judge sends 106 former secret agents to prison – 2 June, 2017

CNN – Chile convicts 106 former intelligence agents – 3 June, 2017

teleSUR – Chile Judge Jails 106 Ex-Agents of Pinochet Dictatorship – 3 June, 2017

UPI – Chile judge sentences 106 intelligence agents for kidnappings – 3 June, 2017

Syria Deeply: Civilians under fire in Raqqa, a polio outbreak in Deir Ezzor and barrel bombs in Daraa

 

 
Jun. 16th, 2017

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to our weekly summary of Syria Deeply’s top coverage of crisis in Syria.

Civilians under fire in Raqqa: A United Nations war crimes investigation found that at least 300 civilians were killed in coalition airstrikes in Raqqa since March. At least 200 of these civilian deaths happened in one village, al-Mansoura, according to Karen Abuzayd, an American commissioner on the U.N. Commission of Inquiry.

In its new report “Key Concerns for Raqqa Battle,” Human Rights Watch emphasized that all sides fighting in the battle for Raqqa should not just be focused on “defeating ISIS, but also about protecting and assisting the civilians who have suffered under ISIS rule for three and a half years,” said Lama Fakih, HRW’s deputy Middle East director. Areas of particular concern for civilian protection are minimizing civilian casualties, respecting detainee rights and safe passage and support for displaced people, according to HRW.

The U.N. estimates that roughly 400,000 civilians remain in the province of Raqqa, and about half are in Raqqa city. Nearly 3,500 people have been displaced from Raqqa since the start of this month, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces advanced further into Raqqa city this week, reportedly reaching the walls of the Old City.

Polio outbreak in Idlib: The World Health Organization confirmed and is monitoring an outbreak of polio in the province of Deir Ezzor.

The outbreak began after the virus was detected in two children – in March and May – who have been paralyzed as a result. A third child tested positive for the strain, but has not been paralyzed. These are the first cases of polio in Syria since 2014.

A vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 was detected in the affected children, which can result from underimmunization of a community.

In order to eradicate the virus, close to 80 percent of children in a community must be vaccinated. However “access for vaccination is compromised due to prevailing insecurity” in ISIS-controlled Deir Ezzor, according to WHO.

Southern Syria: The Syrian government and its allies stepped up their offensive in the southern province of Daraa.

Early in the week, rebel groups and Syrian pro-government forces were locked in fierce fighting around the city’s Palestinian refugee camp.

Syrian army helicopters dropped at least 36 barrel bombs on various towns in the southern province on Thursday, and at least 50 on Daraa city the previous day, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

 

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