PILPG: War Crimes Prosecution Watch Volume 11, Issue 8 – June 27, 2016

June 28, 2016

FREDERICK K. COX
INTERNATIONAL LAW CENTER

Founder/Advisor
Michael P. Scharf

War Crimes Prosecution Watch

Volume 11 – Issue 8
June 27, 2016

Editor-in-Chief
Kevin J. Vogel

Technical Editor-in-Chief
Jeradon Z. Mura

Managing Editors
Dustin Narcisse
Victoria Sarant

War Crimes Prosecution Watch is a bi-weekly e-newsletter that compiles official documents and articles from major news sources detailing and analyzing salient issues pertaining to the investigation and prosecution of war crimes throughout the world. To subscribe, please email warcrimeswatch@pilpg.org and type “subscribe” in the subject line.

Opinions expressed in the articles herein represent the views of their authors and are not necessarily those of the War Crimes Prosecution Watch staff, the Case Western Reserve University School of Law or Public International Law & Policy Group.

WORTH READING

The Killing of no Less than 12,679 due to Torture, 99% of them at the Hands of the Syrian Regime Forces

June 28, 2016

SNHR has published its annual report on torture practices inside detention centers and the victims of torture toll. The report was published on the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture entitled: “The Rest of detainees must be Rescued”
The report methodology is based on SNHR archive that have been built through ongoing and daily monitoring and documenting since 2011. All statistics and numbers are recorded with names, pictures, place and date of death or detention and other details. In light of the exceptional difficulties and the huge magnitude of violations, this report only contains the minimum of the violations that we were able to document. Also, the report contains eight accounts of survivors of torture from the various conflict parties.
The report notes that the toll of victims of torture who died between March 2011 and June 2016 is 12,679 individuals at least including 163 children and 53 women; among them were 12,569 individuals killed by government forces including 160 children and 38 women. The report also recorded that 18 individuals were killed by the self-management forces including one child and one woman while 29 individuals were killed by ISIS including one child and 13 women. Additionally, 15 individuals were killed by Al-Nussra Front and 19 were killed by armed opposition factions including one child and one woman. The repost also recorded the death of two individuals due to torture by unidentified groups.
The report holds the Syrian regime responsible for 99% of the victims who died due to torture inside detention centers.

Read the entire Report here:

Save_the_rest_of_detainees_en-1

Brexit’s Impact on Immigration into Britain

June 28, 2016

By Sarah Lafen

Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Europe

LONDON, England — Britain’s exit from the European Union (EU) is likely to signal a massive influx of immigration into the country from other European Nations as well as from countries around the world. Negotiations regarding Brexit are expected to take at least two years.

Leave campaign supporters cheer on the Brexit decision on Friday (Photo Courtesy of NBC News)

Until those negotiations are final and Britain formally withdraws from the EU, Britain is obligated to continue to grant access to any EU citizen who wishes to enter the country. An estimated 500,000 Eastern Europeans are predicted to migrate into Britain within the next two years, before Britain’s borders close. Chris Grayling, a senior minister on the Leave side of the government, predicts Britain will take some action to restrict a huge influx of migrants prior to Britain’s official withdrawal if necessary, however states that doing so would break EU rules of free movement between the countries.

Trade between Britain and EU countries will play a major role in the maintenance, decrease, or increase of immigration into Britain post-Brexit. If Britain chooses to maintain free trade with the EU, they can remain in the European Economic Area (EEA). By remaining in the EEA, Britain would have to keep free movement of labor, which would have little effect on the country’s economic and immigration levels. If Britain chooses to leave the EEA, other EU nations might feel “scorned” by Britain’s departure, and could demand the imposition of certain immigration policies in return for free trade with Britain. Britain may choose not to remain in the EEA, however, since one of the platforms of the Leave campaign includes the goal of regaining control over immigration into the country. The Leave campaign maintains their stance on immigration control despite research which has shown that immigration into Britain has helped bolster the country’s economy.

Some predict that Britain will pursue a more selective immigration process once their exit from the EU is complete. Such a system might mirror that which is currently used in Canada and Australia – a point-based system which invites skilled migration into the country. This system puts a cap on how many people are admitted into the country per profession. Britain currently uses a point system to grant visas to non-EU immigrants, however it is unclear whether or not that system will change in light of Brexit.

EU citizens who are currently residing in Britain will be allowed to remain in Britain indefinitely.

For more information, please see:

NY Times — A Lesson From ‘Brexit’: On Immigration, Feelings Trump Facts — 26 June 2016

Mirror — Brexit to Cause Immigration Surge as 500,000 Eastern Europeans ‘Will Rush in Before Borders Close’ — 25 June 2016

Financial Times — What Will Brexit Mean for Immigration? — 24 June 2016

The Daily Signal — How Immigration Fueled the Brexit Result — 23 June 2016

CNN — Brexit: What Will Immigration Look Like if Britain Leaves the EU? — 20 June 2016

Kenyan Court Upholds Anal Test to Determine Sexual Orientation

June 27, 2016

By: Samantha Netzband
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya –A Kenyan court recently ruled that anal testing to determine sexual orientation is constitutional. The anal testing is typically done alongside HIV and Hepatitis B testing without the consent of the party that is being tested.

Two men kiss an act that would be forbidden in Kenya where homosexuality is a crime. (Photo Courtesy of International Business Times)

The ruling comes from the case brought forth by two men who were tested against their will at Madarkaka Hospital. The two men were arrested in February 2015 on suspicion of having sex. In Kenya, gay sex is illegal and punishable by a prison sentence of up to 14 years.

Mombasa high court judge Mathew Emukule said in his ruling “I find no violation of human dignity, right to privacy and right to freedom of the petitioners.” Emukule also said that if the men didn’t want to undergo the tests their attorneys should have sought injunctions before the tests were administered. Emukule’s opinion is in direct opposition to the arguments of the petitioner that argued anal examinations are “cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment that can often amount to torture.”

With the ruling happening less than a week after the attack at an LGBTQ club in Orlando, Florida the LGBTQ rights community has vowed to appeal. Eric Gitari, the executive director of the Kenyan National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (KNGLHRC), explained that rulings like the one delivered by Emukule make it more difficult to encourage the LGBTQ community to come forward to have their rights affirmed. Encouragement is difficult when courts instead affirm violations of LGBTQ people’s rights.

KNGLHRC questions whether the testing is a good use of the countries scarce resources. According to Human Rights Watch the forced anal exams are rare in Kenya, but are used in other countries such as Cameroon, Egypt, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uganda and Zambia. Human rights groups from KNGLHRC to Amnesty International believe that the ruling will set a precedent arresting people on suspicion of being gay and being subject to the invasive tests. Until the appeals are heard anal exams will still be allowed.

For further information, please see:

Human Rights Watch — Kenya: Court Upholds Forced Anal Exams — 16 June 2016

Inquisitr — Kenya Court: Forced Anal Exams to Determine Sexual Orientation are Legal — 17 June 2016

National Post — I find no violation of human dignity’: Kenya upholds use of anal probes to test for gay sex, a jailable offence — 16 June 2016

USA Today — Kenyan court: Anal exams to test sexual orientation are legal — 16 June 2016

Gambian President Threatens to Eliminate Mandinka Ethnic Group

June 26, 2016

By Samantha Netzband

Impunity Watch Reporter

BANJUL, Gambia—Gambian President, Yahya Jammeh, has threatened the Mandinka ethnic group by calling them “donkeys and vermin” and threatening that “I will kill you like ants and nothing will come of it.” His statements were made at political rally early in June and sparked reminders of the Rwandan genocide. An editorial was published condemning Jammeh’s actions in reference to the 1994 genocide. The first sentence states “one would have thought that what happened in Rwanda in 1994 would have served as a lesson to the world.”

Dieng UN — UN Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide condemns Jammeh’s rhetoric. (Photo Courtesy of UN News Centre)

The United Nations Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide, Adam Dieng, condemned Jammeh’s speech. Dieng claimed that Jammeh’s words were dehumanizing and dangerous coming from a public leader. As a head of state Jammeh has an obligation under human rights to law to protect his people. Dieng is one of many who urged him to do just that while criticizing his inflammatory remarks.

Jammeh’s remarks are based of his conclusion that the Mandinka are not actually Gambian. Reports show that his claims are false and this isn’t the first time he has been debunked. He has also claimed that the Senegalese number 950,000 in the country’s population even though that would mean nearly half the population is Senegalese.

Another editorial calls out Jammeh similarly to the United Nations. Joll of News said it was dangerous for a president to call out an ethnicity. They cite the need to learn from the violent past as well as the duty of the president to “govern without any ill will”. It is unclear whether or not Jammeh has responded to both the United Nations concern and the concerns of citizens.

For further information, please see:

All Africa – Gambia: UN Adviser Condemns President’s Reported Threats Against Ethnic Group – 10 June 2016

Joll of News – Gambia: Jammeh Crosses the Red Line – 7 June 2016

Joll of News – Gambia: Editorial – Tribalism is a No Go Area – 6 June 2016

UN News Centre – Gambia: UN adviser condemns President’s reported threats against ethnic group – 10 June 2016