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ICTJ World Report January 2017 |
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Muslim Lawyer Shot Dead in Myanmar
By: Nicole Hoerold
Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Asia
NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar- A prominent human rights lawyer was fatally shot outside Yangon International Airport on January 29. U Ko Ni was holding his grandson when he was shot in the head at close range. Mr. Ko Ni served as a legal adviser to Myanmar’s leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Mr. Ko Ni, a Muslim attorney and a member of the National League for Democracy, was returning home from a government-organized trip to Indonesia, where he attended a panel to discuss democracy and conflict resolution strategies.
UN Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee, a human rights expert, has strongly condemned the murder of Mr. Ko Ni. A suspect has been taken into custody but a motive has yet to be determined.
Mr. Ko Ni was known for speaking out against the Nationality Law, which stripped the Rohingya, a Muslim minority group, of citizenship. Tensions have risen between the Myanmar government and Rohingya in recent months. In October 2016, members of a Rohingya insurgent group attacked border control officers, killing nine. The attack led to a drawn out offensive by Myanmar’s government to demilitarize the Rohingya insurgency, an effort which persists today.
Recent concerns arose out of reports claiming that soldiers are engaging in human rights offenses. Human rights groups have received reports of killings of unarmed men, burnings of civilian homes, and even accounts of rape of Rohingya women by Myanmar soldiers. The Myanmar government has denied allegations that its military is committing violent acts against civilians. The government has denied journalists and human rights investigators access to its villages. An estimated 65,000 Rohingya people have fled into Bangladesh, where refugee camps have been established.
Despite the government’s statements, a video surfaced on January 3, 2017, that appears to show Myanmar border police beating unarmed men. Though four officers have been detained by the government, Myanmar’s leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has faced much criticism for a failure to respond more vehemently to these incidents and allegations.
For more information, please see:
NY Times – U Ko Ni, a Prominent Muslim Lawyer in Myanmar, Is Fatally Shot – 29 January, 2017
BBC – Myanmar: Leading lawyer Ko Ni assassinated at Yangon airport – 30 January, 2017
JURIST – UN rights expert condemns murder of Muslim lawyer in Myanmar – 30 January, 2017
HRW – Burma: Rohingya Recount Killings, Rape, and Arson – 21 December, 2016
Children in Prison Allege Being Tortured by Kurdish Security Forces
by Yesim Usluca
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Seventeen children imprisoned by the Kurdistan Regional Government (“KRG”) stated that they were tortured or abused by government security forces while in detention. Human Rights Watch (“HRW”) reported that the children were detained due to suspicion of involvement with the Islamic State (“ISIS”).
HRW stated that it had privately interviewed nineteen boys, ranging in age from eleven to seventeen, who were being held on suspicions of terrorism. The interview took place at the Women and Children’s Reformatory without the presence of a security or intelligence official. The rights group reported that the children were “held in stress positions, burned with cigarettes, punched and kicked, beaten with plastic pipes and cables, and shocked with electricity” by the KRG. A young boy stated that he “felt that my eyes were popping out” while being interrogated with an “electricity machine” after being drenched in water. Another child indicated that he could not breathe after his face was covered up with a towel and tied with tape. He was subsequently beat for over eight hours while being told to confess. The officer then pulled down the young boy’s pants and “threatened to rape him if he did not confess an ISIS affiliation.” Furthermore, five children also reportedly had marks from cigarette burns or electric shocks administered during interrogation.
Most children stated that they denied any involvement with ISIS. Others, however, admitted that they were associated with the group because of “family connections, desire to earn money or pressure from recruiters.” A deputy director at HRW, Ms. Lama Faikh, indicated that security forces are not granted permission to “beat, manhandle or use electric shocks on children” on the basis of “legitimate security concerns.” While characterizing children escaping from ISIS as “victims,” she stated that many are faced with further abuse from Kurdish security forces. Ms. Faikh strongly urged the KRG to “thoroughly investigate” the allegations of child abuse in prisons, and prosecute those who may be responsible.
The seventeen children are among at least 183 other boys under the age of eighteen who have been imprisoned by KRG based on alleged ISIS involvement. Most, if not all, are being held without charge, and were not permitted access to an attorney during interrogation. The report further indicates that government officials have not informed the children’s families of their whereabouts, and most children have not been permitted to contact their families since being detained.
In response to the HRW report, the KRG denied the allegations of torture by Kurdish security forces. The Head of the KRG High Committee to Evaluate and Respond to International Reports, Dr. Dindar Zebari, stated that KRG authorities are “strongly prohibit[ed]” from using physical and psychological torture on prisoners. He stated that detainees’ rights are protected through established policies, legislations and practices against torture.
For more information, please see:
Human Rights Watch—Children Allege Torture by Security Forces—29 January 2017
RT—Kurdish militia tortured children to extract ISIS confessions – HRW—29 January 2017
ARA News—Iraqi Kurds deny torturing ISIS child soldiers—30 January 2017
Italy Dedicates 200 Million Euros to African Migrant Fund
By Sarah Lafen
Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Europe
ROME, Italy — On Wednesday, Italy pledged 200 million euros ($215 million) to several African countries to aid in their efforts of better controlling their borders. The goal of the fund is to reduce the number of migrants who leave these countries and risk their lives traveling to Europe by preventing them from leaving their home countries. The fund also hopes to deter human traffickers and smugglers who control the migration routes from Africa to Europe.
The fund, known as the Africa Fund, will aid in the “fight against human trafficking and illegal migration” according to Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano. The money will help train each nations’ security forces that control the borders, as well as pay for equipment to better monitor their borders. The funding will also be allocated partially towards Libya’s coastguard, as well as United Nations refugee and migrant agencies that can use the money to improve the living conditions of migrants in those countries.
At a press conference, Alfano further explained the fund’s goal of focusing efforts on the African countries migrants leave from, saying that Italy does not “build walls in the Mediterranean – we can’t and don’t want to do that.” Instead, Alfano emphasized the need to “strengthen the bond between solidarity and security.”
Some European leaders have suggested the possibility of financing camps in different locations on the southern shores of the Mediterranean to house potential refugees, however Alfano’s goal with the Africa Fund is to prevent exactly this. According to him, there have not been talks of setting up camps in Tunisia or Libya yet due to the lack of security in those nations. Italy is “trying to work so that there will be no need for camps.”
The majority of the funding will be given to Niger, Libya, and Tunisia, which are three major departure points for African migrants hoping to cross the Mediterranean and reach Italy. Other African countries can also request money to improve their border control.
Last week, the EU’s executive European Commission proposed making another 200 million euros available for other African countries to prevent migrants from leaving their home countries to journey across the Mediterranean Sea in hopes of reaching Europe.
For more information, please see:
Euractiv — Italy Sets up Fund to Help African Countries Stop Migrants — 1 February 2017
Reuters — Italy Sets up Fund to Help African Countries Stop Migrants — 1 February 2017
Landmark Case for Transgender Man Gives LGBT Activists Hope
By: Nicole Hoerold
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia
BEIJING, China- The LGBT communities of China and Taiwan have been gaining increased attention over the past few years. Rights activists are applauding some small, yet encouraging victories, in an ongoing effort to legalize gay marriage and gain equal rights.
In December 2016, a Taiwanese legislative committee approved draft changes on a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage. The proposed amendments to Taiwan’s civil code have been sent to party caucuses for negotiation and further review. Once this process is complete, a final version of the legislation will be voted on. Though the measure has yet to be passed, it is a major step towards gaining equal rights and protections for Taiwan’s LGBT community.
China has received similar attention for a December 2016 landmark ruling in a discriminatory dismissal case. A Chinese court held in favor of Mr. Chen, a transgender man who claims he was illegally dismissed from his position at a Chinese medical clinic after only one week on the job. Though the court ruled in favor of Mr. Chen, finding his dismissal illegal and awarding him a month’s wages, it was not willing to declare that Mr. Chen’s dismissal was due to discrimination against transgender individuals.
Nonetheless, advocates are thrilled that a Chinese court agreed to hear the case. Gay marriage is illegal in China, and homosexuality was long considered a mental illness. It was only in 2014 that Chinese courts ruled against therapy to “correct” homosexuality.
Though LGBT rights are still absent in both Taiwan and China, many are hopeful that change is on the way. Mr. Chen’s case has given activists hope that a legal remedy may be possible in the future.
For more information, please see:
BBC – China: Limited victory for man in transgender dismissal case – 3 January, 2017
BNA – China: Despite Landmark Ruling, LGBT Rights Lacking in China’s Workplaces – 19 January, 2017
The Guardian – Chinese transgender man wins landmark wrongful dismissal case – 3 January, 2017