Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect: Atrocity Alert: Iraq, Yemen and Philippines

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.

Iraq

On 29 January reports emerged that the Iraqi provincial government in Salah ad-Din governorate had enacted a new policy of evicting families accused of ties to members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) from their homes. At least 345 families in the city of Tikrit have been sent to Al-Shahama camp for displaced persons outside the city, while another 200 families are reportedly being held in a school and at Rubaidha camp. Several of those forcibly displaced reported that Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) had demolished their houses because of a family member’s alleged ties to ISIL.

Local authorities have said this policy of collective punishment is intended to force members of ISIL to pay a personal price for joining the organization. However, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi has criticized the policy. The targeting of civilians who have taken no active part in hostilities, including the families of terrorists, is illegal under international law. As the ISF continue their military offensive against ISIL, the government must actively prevent reprisals against Sunni civilians and pursue accountability for human rights violations committed by all parties to the conflict.

Yemen

Despite efforts by the UN Special Envoy to Yemen, Ismael Ould Cheikh Ahmed, to encourage parties to the conflict to recommit to peace negotiations and a ceasefire, fighting between Houthi rebels and pro-government forces has escalated in southern Yemen. On 31 January the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, Jamie McGoldrick, raised concerns regarding civilians fleeing violence in Al Mokha and Dhubab, in Taizz Governorate, calling upon all parties to meet their obligations under international humanitarian law. As many as 30,000 people remain trapped in Mokha, where civilians have been killed by airstrikes, shelling and snipers. Fighting also continues in northern Yemen along the border with Saudi Arabia.

On 27 January the UN Panel of Experts for Yemen submitted their annual report to the UN Security Council, documenting attacks by the Saudi-led military coalition that “may amount to war crimes.” The report reminds all members of the coalition and its allies of their responsibility to uphold international humanitarian law.

Philippines

Over 7,000 people have been extrajudicially killed in the Philippines as a result of a seven-month “war on drugs” initiated by President Rodrigo Duterte. On 1 February Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II responded to evidence that the killings amounted to crimes against humanity by declaring that drug offenders are not “part of humanity.” On 31 January Amnesty International reported on the role of police and armed vigilantes in extrajudicial killings. To date no police have been held accountable for their actions.

Linus G. Escandor II/PRI

Syrian Network for Human Rights: 781 Civilians Killed in January 2017
I. Introduction
The report includes only the death toll of civilians that were killed by the main six influential parties in Syria:
• Syrian regime forces (Army, Security, local militias, Shiite foreign militias)
• Russian forces
• Self-management forces (consisting primarily of the Democratic Union Party forces, a branch for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party)
• Extremist Islamic groups
• Armed opposition factions
• International coalition forces
• Other parties

The Day After: Local Truces and Forced Demographic Change in Syria

Local Truces and Forced Demographic Change in Syria 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE        

February 2, 2017

Contact:  Razan Saffour

Email:     rsaffour@tda-sy.org

Phone:    +90 (552) 216 35 82

 تجدون أدناه البيان في اللغة العربية 

TDA released the first-ever survey of Syrians’ views on local truces – offering lessons for how future truces can avoid past mistakes.

“As world powers fill the airways with opinions about what is best for Syria, we thought it important to find out what Syrians themselves think,” said TDA Executive Director Mutasem Alsyoufi. “In our new survey, Syrians from the regions where local truces have been attempted thus far identify significant flaws with these agreements that any nationwide peace proposal will have to avoid in order to succeed.”

TDA surveyed 1,261 Syrians March 1 – April 19, 2016, to solicit their views on local truces between the regime and residents. Of those surveyed, 1,031 were located in areas where truces have been agreed in Rif Damascus (Barzeh, al-Qaboun, Babibla, Yalda, Bait Sahem, al-Tal and Madaya) and in Homs (al-Wa’er).  Two hundred and two respondents were former residents of these areas, but forced to leave due to truce terms, and are now residing in the northern suburbs of Homs or Hama.

Among the most important findings of the survey is that most Syrians view the local truces as savage war tactics which force civilians to succumb in the face of starvation and siege, as opposed to viewing them as sustainable peace efforts. “Given the one-sided nature of these truces, respondents do not believe they will lead to real peace – offering a cautionary tale to policymakers seeking to craft a nationwide agreement,” Alsyoufi said. Further findings from the survey support this view in alluding to the regime’s main objective of establishing a ‘useful Syria’, whilst pushing all armed and non-armed opponents to the northern countryside in which they remain exposed to the attacks by both regime and ISIS.

Read the full report here.

الهدن المحلية والتغيير الديمغرافي القسري في سوريا

 

 نشرت منظمة اليوم التالي دراسة هي الأولى من نوعها، حول آراء السوريين بالهدن المحلية، تقدم صورة موسعة وتوصيات حول كيفية تجنب الهدن المستقبلية لأخطاء الهدن السابقة.

 

“في الوقت الذي ينشغل الرأي العام بطروحات القوى الدولية حول ما تراه مناسباً لمستقبل سوريا، وجدنا أنه من المهم استكشاف آراء السوريين بمصيرهم ومستقبلهم” كما يقول المدير التنفيذي لمنظمة اليوم التالي معتصم السيوفي، “بحسب نتائج هذه الدراسة، أشار غالبية المستطلعين من أبناء المناطق التي طبقت فيها تجارب الهدن المحلية إلى عيوب خطيرة شابت تلك الاتفاقات، وإننا نعتقد أن هذه العيوب ستعرقل وتفشل أي اتفاق سلام وطني شامل في حال لم تعالج ويتم تلافيها مستقبلاً”.

 

شملت دراسة اليوم التالي 1261 سوريا تمت مقابلتهم، بتاريخ الأول من آذار وحتى 19 نيسان 2016، لاستطلاع آرائهم حول الهدن المحلية بين النظام والسكان، توزعوا على عينتين رئيسيتين اثنتين، الأولى (1031 شخص) تم استبيان آرائهم في مناطق الهدن في دمشق (برزة – القابون – ببيلا – يلدا – بيت سحم – التل – مضايا)، وفي حمص (حي الوعر)، فيما تضمنت العينة الثانية (202 شخص) من المبعدين عن مدنهم وبلداتهم إثر اتفاق هدنة (المقاتلين – أفراد عائلة مقاتل –مدنيين)، تم إجراء المقابلات معهم في مكان إقامتهم الحالي في ريف حمص الشمالي (بعد تهجيرهم من مناطق أخرى منها حمص وحماة).

 

من بين أهم نتائج الدراسة، أن معظم السوريين ينظرون إلى الهدن المحلية على أنها تكتيكات حرب وحشية تجبر المدنيين على الاستسلام في مواجهة الجوع والحصار، بدلا من النظر إليها على أنها جهود مستدامة للسلام!، “نظرا للطبيعة أحادية الجانب لهذه الهدن، لا يعتقد المشاركون في الدراسة أن تلك الهدن ستؤدي لسلام حقيقي” يضيف السيوفي، كما أن نتائج أخرى من الدراسة تدعم هذا الرأي في إشارة إلى الهدف الرئيسي للنظام من إنشاء (سوريا المفيدة)، في حين يتم الدفع بكل المعارضة المسلحة وغير المسلحة إلى شمال سوريا في ريف إدلب، حيث سيبقون عرضة لهجمات النظام السوري وداعش.

 

The Day After (TDA) is a Syrian civil society organisation working towards democratic transition in Syria, and focuses on work in the following sectors: rule of law, transitional justice, security sector reform, constitutional design, electoral system design, and post-conflict social and economic reconstruction.

Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect: R2P in Focus: R2P and the new UN Secretary-General

R2P in Focus

R2P in Focus is a monthly publication from the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect designed to highlight recent events and political developments concerning the Responsibility to Protect (R2P).

R2P and the New UN Secretary-General

UN Photo Mark Garten

On 1 January 2017 H.E. Mr. Antonió Guterres assumed his position as the 9th United Nations Secretary-General. During his first formal remarks to the UN Security Council on 10 January, the Secretary-General described plans to reform the UN system and focus on fostering greater cooperation. He also argued that “preventive action is essential to avert mass atrocities or grave abuses of human rights. International cooperation for prevention, and particularly translating early warning into early action, depends on trust between member states, and in their relations with the United Nations.”

Prevention lies at the core of the Responsibility to Protect. Integrating the UN’sFramework of Analysis for Atrocity Crimes, which provides a comprehensive set of risk indicators, into the day-to-day operations of the UN is an essential step towards making conflict prevention and mass atrocity prevention a strategic priority.

In his “Notes for the Next Secretary-General,” Global Centre Executive Director Simon Adams proposes actions that the UN can undertake to help prevent and halt atrocity crimes.

The Responsibility to Protect and The Gulf Cooperation Council’s Response to Mass Atrocities

On 23 and 24 January the Global Centre co-hosted a workshop with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar on the “Responsibility to Protect and the Gulf Cooperation Council’s Response to Mass Atrocities.” The conference was the first of its kind to take place in the Middle East. Participants included representatives from various Gulf Cooperation Council governments. During the meeting participants discussed the conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, as well as the need for better mechanisms for accountability, humanitarian assistance and prevention of mass atrocities.

Any Other Business

  • Statement on United States President Trump’s “Extreme Vetting” of Refugees. On 28 January the Global Centre released a statement on US President Donald Trump’s ban on refugees fleeing atrocities in Syria, Iraq, Libya, Yemen and elsewhere. In the statement the Global Centre called for the ban to be repudiated and rescinded.
  • Atrocity Alert No. 39: The Gambia. On 18 January the Global Centre released an Atrocity Alert focused on the crisis caused by President Yahya Jammeh’s refusal to hand over power in The Gambia. The heads of state from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) met with President Jammeh multiple times in an attempt to facilitate a peaceful transfer of power to president-elect Adama Barrow. On 19 January ECOWAS forces entered The Gambia to secure a democratic transition and on 21 January President Jammeh agreed to leave the country.
  • Aleppo Has Fallen. Will the UN Be Next? In this piece for the International Peace Institute’s Global Observatory, Simon Adams explores how new UN Secretary-General Guterres can revitalize the UN after the failure to protect civilians in Aleppo.

ICTJ: World Report January 2017 – Transitional Justice News and Analysis

ICTJ ICTJ World Report
January 2017

In Focus

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Prosecuting the Plundering of Natural Resources in Eastern DRC to Stem Violence Prosecuting the Plundering of Natural Resources in Eastern DRC to Stem ViolencePotential political interference, poor evidence gathering and difficulty accessing remote areas are some of the main challenges to prosecuting economic and environmental crimes related to armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Overcoming these challenges was the focus of a two-day workshop for judges and prosecutors in Goma and Bukavu, organized by the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), in collaboration with the United States Institute for Peace.

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World Report

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AFRICAIn Uganda, the trial of Dominic Ongwen, ex-child soldier and commander in the Lord’s Resistance Army, continued as the prosecution presented its case. In Cote d’Ivoire, soldiers staged a two-day mutiny that came to an end earlier this month, but turmoil reportedly persists In The Democratic Republic of Congo, a deal struck last month requiring President Joseph Kabila to step down after elections this year risks unraveling if politicians do not quickly reach compromises on implementing the accord, according to Catholic bishops mediating the talks. The United Nations reports that it recorded a significant increase in the number of human rights violations committed over the past year, and that state security forces were the main perpetrators. In Kenya, an audit of the criminal justice system released by Chief Justice David Maraga, shows a high number of poor people are being jailed compared to the rich. The report further faults the police for carrying out shoddy investigations, saying some of the cases leading to jail terms should not have ended up in courts. In The Gambia, new president, Adama Barrow, returned to his country afternoon, after former president Yahya Jammeh entered exile after his refusal to accept election results. Barrow pledged to launch a “truth and reconciliation commission” to investigate possible crimes committed by the outgoing leader of 22 years. A human rights abuses complaint against WWF, the world’s largest conservation organization, based on activities in Cameroon is to be examined by the Organization for Economic Cooperation (OECD) in an unprecedented step.

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AMERICASIn Colombia, the government continues negotiations with the largest remaining rebel group, the ELN. The surrender of child soldiers of the FARC guerrilla group will begin on February 1, Colombia’s High Commissioner for Peace announced. U.S. federal agents have arrested a Guatemalan immigrant suspected of involvement in the massacre of about 250 villagers in 1982 during Guatemala’s civil war. In the United States, President Donald Trump used his first TV interview as president to say he believes torture “absolutely” works and that the US should “fight fire with fire.” In Chile, Undersecretary of Human Rights Lorena Fries said that torture remains a problem in Chile, along with a lack of transparency that prevents justice for the victims of crimes committed under General Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship. In El Salvador, victims demanded justice on the 25th anniversary of the country’s peace accords. President Salvador Sanchez Ceren, a former guerrilla leader during the civil war, announced a plan for 2017 to launch a “second generation of the accords” and called on Salvadorans to continue to “cultivate and defend” peace with hopes of moving the country forward from a bloody past.

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ASIAIn Nepal, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s term seeks extension of its tenure by one year, saying that additional time is needed to complete the given assignments.. A United Nations human rights envoy is visiting Myanmar amid growing international concern over allegations against the military, including reports of rights abuses in western Rakhine State. In The Philippines, the country dropped six notches in the 2016 Corruption Index country ranking published recently by Transparency International, as president Duterte continues his drug war. Thailand is considering legislation aimed at criminalizing torture and other human rights abuses.

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EUROPEIn Bosnia and Herzegovina, Radovan Karadzic’s ex-advisor Jovan Tintor went on trial for charges of unlawful detention, torture, beating, making people do forced labour and murdering Bosniak and Croat victims at several locations including detention camps. Four former police officers were also charged with war crimes. They are allegedly responsible for the murders of eight Yugoslav People’s Army soldiers who were captured after their military vehicle broke down in Sarajevo in April 1992.

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MENAIn Tunisia, public hearings of the Truth and Dignity Commission continued, with victims testifying to the events of the 2011 revolution and labor struggles against the regime’s abuses. In Syria, the United Nations warned that sabotaging water supplies is a war crime as more than five million people continued to face shortages following an attack on the capital’s supplies. In Egypt President Abdel-Fattahal-Sisi will pick a chairman and members of a new media council under a law passed on Monday, giving the body the power to fine or suspend publications and broadcasters and give or revoke licences for foreign media. Human rights organisations and the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists have repeatedly criticised media freedoms in Egypt, which jailed the second most journalists of any country in the world in 2015, according to the CPJ. In Bahrain prosecutors extended by two weeks the detention of Shiite opposition leader and leading activist Nabil Rajab over spreading “false information” about the Sunni-ruled kingdom, his lawyer said. About 100 migrant passengers are feared drowned in the Mediterranean Sea after their boat sank off the coast of Libya. It is unclear what the nationalities of the migrants involved are.

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Publications

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The Case for Action on Transitional Justice and Displacement

As the refugee crisis deepens, does action on transitional justice issues have to wait for peace? A new paper explores what sort of consultation and documentation work can be done now, while conflict is ongoing, to shape outcomes moving forward.

From Rejection to Redress: Overcoming Legacies of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in Northern Uganda

Women and girls in Northern Uganda were victims of various forms of sexual violence, crimes whose consequences endure today.