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Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect: Atrocity Alert: South Sudan, Myanmar and Healthcare in Conflict
Atrocity Alert, No. 53, 3 May 2017
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Atrocity Alert is a weekly publication by the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect highlighting and updating situations where populations are at risk of, or are enduring, mass atrocity crimes.
South Sudan
Since 25 April an escalation of fighting between government forces and armed rebels in South Sudan’s Upper Nile state has threatened populations in several towns, particularly on the West Bank of the Nile River. More than 40,000 people have arrived in the town of Aburoc, including 25,000 who fled from violence in Kodok. On 29 and 30 April the UN Secretary-General and the Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission expressed grave concern about the violence. Humanitarian organizations have no access to the area, leaving more than 38,000 vulnerable civilians without assistance.
More than a year and a half after formally signing the Peace Agreement, which was supposed to end South Sudan’s 2013-2015 civil war, fighting continues in many parts of the country, famine has been declared in Leer and Mayendit counties, and key aspects of the Agreement remain unimplemented. Since January there have been military offensives by government forces in Eastern Equatoria, Central Equatoria, Western Bahr el-Ghazal, Upper Nile and Unity states. At least 1.9 million civilians remain internally displaced and another 1.6 million have sought refuge in neighboring countries.
The UN, AU and Inter-governmental Authority on Development must send a strong and unified message to all parties in South Sudan regarding the future of the 2015 Peace Agreement. To prevent further re-escalation of armed conflict, the UNSC should immediately impose an arms embargo and extend targeted sanctions against those who have command and control over forces responsible for targeting and killing civilians.
Today the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect released a statement on the situation in South Sudan.
Photo Source: AP/Getty Images
Source: OCHA
Myanmar
Myanmar’s State Counsellor and former Nobel Peace Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi, told a press conference in Brussels yesterday that her government will not accept the fact-finding mission mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate possible crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing committed against the Rohingya Muslim minority. State Counsellor Suu Kyi said that she believes the UN inquiry would be potentially divisive.
At the same time the Rakhine State government has announced plans to establish “model villages,” where authorities intend to relocate ethnic Rohingya, including those who have been displaced by previous inter-communal violence and/or security “clearance operations.” The plan, which could amount to forced relocation for approximately 1,500 families, would further entrench the apartheid-like conditions imposed upon the Rohingya by the government of Myanmar.
Protection of Healthcare in Conflict
Today, 3 May, marks the anniversary of the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 2286 on the protection of healthcare in conflict. The resolution condemned attacks and threats against medical personnel and facilities, and demanded accountability for those responsible for these crimes under international law. The resolution also reaffirmed the primary responsibility of states to protect their populations. Despite the unanimous adoption of Resolution 2286, attacks on health workers and medical facilities continue.
The Syrian American Medical Society verified 168 attacks on medical facilities and personnel across Syria between June and December of 2016, including with illegal cluster munitions and incendiary weapons. Physicians for Human Rights also reported that Syrian government forces prevented the delivery of more than 300,000 medical treatments to besieged and hard-to-reach areas during 2016. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), six hospitals in Syria were damaged or destroyed by airstrikes in April 2017 alone. In Yemen, airstrikes and the shelling of hospitals, as well as the looting of medical facilities, have exacerbated the dire humanitarian situation. OCHA has reported that less than half of all medical facilities in Yemen are still functioning.
On 25 May the UN Security Council will hold a second debate on the protection of civilians and healthcare in conflict. Deliberate attacks on medical facilities and personnel, and the obstruction of medical aid, are war crimes. States must ensure that their forces consistently comply with their obligations under international law and uphold their responsibility to protect. All attacks on healthcare facilities and health workers must be impartially investigated and the perpetrators held accountable. The UN Secretary-General should also publicly list those states, and non-state armed groups, that target healthcare during armed conflict.
Photo Source: Ammar Abdullah/Reuters
Photo Source: Ghaith Omran/AFP
Connect With Us
North Korea Welcomes UN Human Rights Expert
By: Nicole Hoerold
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia
North Korea is once again hitting headlines in the international media, this time on a positive note. The autarkic country has invited a United Nations representative to visit and assess the rights of the disabled. U.N. special rapporteur Catalina Devandas-Aguilar will be visiting North Korea for six days to collect information on the conditions of disabled persons in the country.
Devandas-Aguilar spoke on her upcoming visit, saying that the visit represents an important opportunity to learn firsthand about the country’s realities, policies, programs, and laws regarding the rights of people with disabilities. Devandas-Aguilar is also concerned with the shortcomings and challenges disabled persons face in the country. The trip will take place between May 3 and May 8.
The visit also marks the first U.N. sponsored trip to North Korea since 2004, when the U.N. Commission on Human Rights sent an investigator to report on North Korea’s human rights situation. Devandas-Aguilar is scheduled to visit the state’s capital, Pyongyang, as well as South Hwanghae Province.
North Korea ratified the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities in December 2016.
Devandas-Aguilar plans to hold a press conference in Pyongyang at the end of her visit. Her official findings will be submitted to the United Nations next year.
For more information, please see:
Reuters – North Korea opens door a crack to welcome U.N. disability expert – 27 April, 2017
UPI News – U.N. disabilities rapporteur to make observation visit to North Korea – 27 April, 2017
Trump Invites Philippines President, Nicknamed “The Punisher,” to White House
By Sarah Lafen
Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, North America
WASHINGTON D.C., United States — On Saturday, April 29, President Trump invited Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte to the White House during a “very friendly conversation” over the telephone. Duterte is nicknamed “the Punisher” and is accused of effectuating a drug war that has killed over 7,000. Duterte has also been accused of ordering extrajudicial killings of drug suspects.
The White House released a statement that explained that Trump invited Duterte to the U.S. so the two leaders can discuss the “important of the United States-Philippines alliance.” The White House also commented that on the phone on Saturday, the two discussed the difficulty the Philippine government is facing in fighting “very hard” to rid the country of drugs.
White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus supported the invitation in a statement to reporters, commenting on the importance of U.S. outreach to other Asian nations in the ongoing nuclear threat issue posed by North Korea. Priebus acknowledged the issue of human rights, however argued that the North Korean problem takes precedence. Priebus noted that “[t]he issues facing us developing out of North Korea are so serious that we need cooperation at some level with as many partners in the area as we can get to make sure we have our ducks in a row.”
Trump administration officials are preparing for criticism from human rights groups. Two senior officials said they expect the State Department and National Security Council to raise internal objections, as the two departments were allegedly surprised by the invitation.
Duterte has been accused of encouraging civilians to kill anyone attempting to sell or buy drugs. In his final campaign speech before being elected, Duterte announced to the crowd “[f]orget the laws on human rights.” In December, Duterte released a statement alleging that Trump told him that he was going about the war on drugs in the Philippines “the right way.” A few weeks after that statement, the top human rights official within the United Nations called for Duterte to be investigated for murder.
In a statement, the White House declined to comment on details of Duterte’s possible trip, however stated that Trump is looking forward to his trip to the Philippines in November.
For more information, please see:
CNN — Trump Invites Philippines’ Duterte to the White House — 30 April 2017
NPR — Trump Invites Controversial Philippines Leader to White House — 30 April 2017
Venezuela Withdraws from the OAS
By Cintia Garcia
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America
Caracas, Venezuela—President Nicolás Maduro announced last week that he is withdrawing Venezuela out of the Organization of American States (OAS). The OAS has been critical of President Maduro’s accumulation of power at the cost of democratic institutions.
On Wednesday the representative of Venezuela to the OAS, Foreign Minister Delcy Rodríguez announced that President Maduro instructed her to sever ties with the OAS because “of what she described as intrusive, arbitrary, illegal, deviant and crude actions.” She also stated that “A faction of governments from the region had eyes on our sovereignty and tried to intervene and lecture our country, but this, fortunately, will not happen.” Venezuela submitted a letter of complaint which will initiate the process to withdraw. The decision to leave the organization comes after the OAS voted to hold a meeting to discuss the crisis in Venezuela. As a result of leaving the OAS and in accordance to its rules, Venezuela will need to pay a debt of 8.7 million and will need to wait two years to withdraw.
Many experts claimed that the decision to leave the OAS is unprecedented—no country has left the OAS since its initiation. A professor of International Relations at the Central University of Venezuela stated, “It is evidence of an authoritarian character o the government, especially in the case of the OAS, whose pillars are to defend democracy and human rights.”
The OAS promotes democracy among its member states in the Western Hemisphere. Neighboring countries have used the OAS to exert pressure on Venezuela due to a rise in instability. Additionally, the OAS invoked the Democratic Charter against Venezuela for “stifling opponents, holding political prisoners and ruling by decree.” President Maduro has accused the OAS as being a pawn of Washington in order to undermine the country by establishing alternative regional bodies.
Venezuela is experiencing continued unrest as protests against the government have turned violent and deadly. Nearly 30 people have been killed in the wave of protests.
For more information, please see:
BBC—Venezuela to Withdraw From OAS as Deadly Protests Continue—27 April 2017.
Telesur—Venezuela Formally Begins Process to Exit ‘Interventionist’ OAS—27 April 2017.
New York Times—Venezuela Says It Will Leave Pro-Democracy Organization—26 April 2017.
NPR—Venezuela to Leave OAS, Death Toll Climbs After Dueling Rallies—26 April 2017.