UN Investigates Allegations of Sexual Abuse in Ivory Coast

By Meryl White
Impunity Watch, Africa

The United Nations is investigating allegations of sexual abuse and exploitations by Peacekeepers residing in Ivory Coast. Presently, Moroccan UN troops in Bouake have been confined to their base and have been banned from conducting routine peacekeeping activities. The allegations in the Ivory Coast were uncovered by internal inquiry, and the UN is currently conducting a full investigation. While the exact nature of the offense is undisclosed, troops are alleged to have had sex with underage girls.

In the past, sexual abuse scandals had provoked ex UN chief Kofi Annan’s “zero tolerance” policy to punish “utterly immoral” crimes. In 2003, six Nepalese troops in DR Congo were found guilty of sexual abuse. Moreover, in 2004, two peacekeepers repatriated after accusations of abuse in Barundi. In 2006, UN personnel were accused of rape and sexual abuse in Sudan. Then in 2006, UN personnel were accused of rape and sexual assault in Haiti, and Liberia. In total, over 300 members of UN peacekeeping missions worldwide have been investigated for sexual exploitation since 2004.

The existing suspension in Ivory Coast “complies with the United Nations zero tolerance policy with regard to sexual exploitation and abuse.” In New York, UN Department of Field Support personnel and Moroccan officials are analyzing the current situation. The suspected Moroccan UN peacekeepers will be “held accountable to the highest standards of behavior” according to UN spokesperson, Marie Okabe.

For more information, please see:

AP – UN investigates peacekeepers in Ivory Coast – 23 July 2007

BBC – UN Probes Abuse in Ivory Coast – 23 July 2007

UN News Centre – Côte d’Ivoire: UN, Moroccan Officials Meet to Address Allegations of Sexual Abuse – 23 July 2007

Indonesian provincial legislature considers HIV-microchip implants

The Papua legislature is now debating whether to approve a bill allowing microchips to be implanted in people infected with HIV. The proposal is a way of preventing the spread of HIV in Indonesia.  However, health workers there strongly oppose the bill.

About 2.4% of Papuans are known to be HIV-carriers. Infection rates are estimated at 15 times the national average.

A member of the parliament’s health committee made the proposal. He said that microchips could track people who continued to infect others. The bill also proposes mandatory testing of every Papua resident. Also considered was tattooing HIV-positive people.

The Papua AIDS Commission has rejected the bill. It said the proposals were illogical and a violation of human rights.

To become law, the bill would need to be approved by government, health and legal experts and pass a public consultation.

The province has just over 3,000 people living with HIV/AIDS, and there have been 356 deaths reported. Papua has a population of about 2.5 million.

For more information, please see:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6913869.stm

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/07/24/1987295.htm

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=070724075657.4w2f978g&show_article=1

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/afp/20070724/ttc-health-indonesia-papua-aids-b4393f8.html

India Elects First Female President

India elected its first female president, Pratibha Patil, on Saturday.  Ms. Patil, 72, was widely expected to win and had won almost two-thirds of the votes cast by federal and state legislators.  She had the support of the governing Congress Party and its political allies.  The election of a woman to the historically ceremonial post continues an Indian tradition of using the presidency to give a high-profile voice to disadvantaged groups.  Past presidents include Muslims and a Sikh, minorities among India’s dominant Hindus.

Women still face widespread discrimination in the workplace and at home.  Although one of India’s most powerful leaders  was the female prime minister, Indira Gandhi, many Indian families regard daughters as a liability because of a tradition requiring a bride’s family to pay a large dowry of cash and gifts.  Consequently, their education and overall health is often neglected, and thus women are still underrepresented in politics.

Ms. Patil’s election will make India the largest country to boast a female head of state.  She defeated the current Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, and will replace A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.  Ms. Patil’s campaign was not easy, however, with opposition politicians and the media scrutinizing her, her past, and her family.  Opponents said she lacked the national stature for the post and complained that her only qualification was her loyalty to the powerful Gandhi family. 

Ms. Patil received 2489 out of the 2706 votes cast on Thursday.  She will be sworn in as India’s 13th president on Wednesday, and will serve for a five-year term.

For more information, please see:

–http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/07/21/1984713.htm?section=justin

–http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118504676893474168.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

–http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/22/world/asia/22india.html?em&ex=1185249600&en=7eb036a14c52eb06&ei=5087%0A

–http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-india22jul22,1,3238015.story?coll=la-news-a_section

The Race Against AIDS

By Myriam Clerge

Impunity Watch, Africa

During the 1960’s, Zambia was the third largest producer of copper and the richest country in the continent of Africa. However, with the world collapse of copper and the devastating affect of AIDS and malaria, Zambia has deteriorated into one of the poorest countries in the world. Millions live on only $1 a day.

Much of the country’s woes are blamed on AIDS, which has killed many of Zambian’s professionals and intellectuals. According to the UN, the average life expectancy for a man or woman is 38 and 37 years old, respectively. Given these statistics, many children are left orphans.

With the help of Bill Clinton and the UNITAID, an international drug funding initiative, the number of Zambian children under treatment has increased by 7,000.

The Bill Clinton Foundation has secured a deal with several drug manufacturers that will reduce the price of anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs, thereby saving the country over 100 million dollars within three years. A plan to battle the AIDS crisis has been in works for several years. Research in Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa has showed that male circumcision can reduce the risk of HIV infection in males by 60%. Regardless, the rate of infected is disproportionately higher for women.

ADULT AND CHILD HIV RATES IN 2006

Living with HIV Newly infected Deaths from Aids
Sub-Saharan Africa 24.7m 2.8m 2.1m
World Total 39.5m 4.3m 2.9m

Source: UNAids, all figures estimates

For more information please see:

BBC – World ‘Losing Fight Against AIDS’ – 23 July 2007

Yahoo – Clinton Clinches Cheap AIDS Drugs Deal for Zambia – 22 July 2007

Yahoo – Zambia to Get Anti-AIDS Drug Boost From Global Fund – 19 July 2007

BBC – Country Profile: Zambia – 04 May 2007

Migrant Workers Mistreated in Dubai

    The Burj Dubai in the United Arab Emirates is the world’s tallest tower at 512 meters.  Recently, it passed Tapai 101 at 508 meters.  The construction is ahead of schedule and still has another year and a half of construction.  It is being built by a migrant force of 4,000 Indians. The final completed height of the building is rumored to be around 700 meters tall.  Dubai has been growing at a tremendously rapid pace, because of the rising prices of oil.  As the oil has increased, it has poured money into United Arab Emirates, making it is the central business hub of the Gulf Region.

    The rapid growth of the United Arab Emirate region has created thousands of jobs for construction workers.  In response to the surplus in jobs, Dubai has responded by opening itself to many migrant construction workers, especially from South Asia, to fill the void.  However, since the workers are not United Arab Emirate citizens, they have not been protected by the government.  For example at the Burj Dubai, the 4,000 Indians have been working round-the-clock shifts in the brutal Dubai summer heat.  Also, the workers have no set minimum wages.

    Human Rights Watch created a publication on the topic, “Building Towers, Cheating Workers: Exploitation of Migrant Construction Workers in the United Arab Emirates.”  The report shows the slave-like conditions of the migrant worker.  For example, the average salary of the construction worker in 2006 was $106-$250 dollars a month, whereas the nation average salary for a person in the UAE, including the migrant workers, was $2,106 dollars a month.  The workers are being paid less than 10% of the typical salary for the country.  Also, it is common for employers to engage in “security” practices to ensure that workers do not quit such as withholding monthly salaries and denying the workers access to their passports.  The migrants work in poor conditions, causing premature deaths of the workers.  In 2005, 880 corpses of construction workers were returned to India, Pakistan and Bangladesh alone.

    The government has not protected the migrant construction workers.  In 1980, the UAE passed a law requiring the passage of a minimum wage, however, a law has never been passed complying with the regulation.  Also, the law does not allow a worker to accept a job at a rival company without the consent of his current employer, further tying down workers to bad jobs.  Additionally, the workers cannot assemble themselves into unions to create leverage to force employers to pay them, but instead, the workers who strike will be deported home.  The government has forced employers to pay back wages, yet have not yet publicly penalized an employer for withholding wages, giving the employers no disincentive to treating the workers badly.

    The workers need to be protected by the government.  They are a necessary resource for the UAE to continue to develop into the business capital of the Gulf Region.  The migrant construction workers must be given a minimum wage, and also more substantial rights to be able to protect themselves.   

Al-Jazeera. Burj-Al Dubai ‘world’s tallest tower’. 21 July 2007.
Human Rights Watch. Building Towers, Cheating Workers: Exploitation of Migrant Construction Workers in the United Arab Emirates. November 2006.
Human Rights Watch. UAE:Worker’s Abused in Construction Boom. 12 November 2006.