NGO “Dirty List” Names Brazilian Companies Using Slave Labor

By Kaitlyn Degnan
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BRASILIA, Brazil — Human rights groups have published a “dirty list” of 340 Brazilian companies which have been fined by Brazil’s Ministry of Labor and Employment for engaging in employment practices which amount to modern day slavery. The list draws from firms fined between May 2013 and May 2015. Brazil defines slave labor as work “carried out in life-threatening or degrading conditions.” The designation also includes bonded labor, in which a person works without pay to settle a debt with an employer.

Workers in slave labor listen to an explanation of their legal rights in 2003 (Photo courtesy of TeleSur).

50,000 people have been released from slave-like working conditions since the Brazilian government began prosecuting slavery in 1995. According to the International Labor Organization, there about 200,000 people in slave labor in the country. Slavery was abolished in Brazil in 1888.

The list was compiled using Brazil’s Access to Information Act by Reporter Brasil and the Brazilian Institute to Eradicate Slave Labor (InPACTO) in an effort to “enforce society’s right to transparency regarding corporate labor practices.” The list has been published and updated since 2003.

A company’s inclusion on the list has consequences – blacklisted employers face restrictions on the sale of their product and are blocked from government loans. The National Slave Eradication pact of 2005, which has been signed by over 400 banks and companies, institutes a boycott of those on the list.

Pockets of the Brazilian Amazon are home to slave-labor conditions similar to those of the nineteenth century. According to Leonardo Sakamoto, head of Reporter Brasil, “[historically] the worst slave conditions in Brazil have been found in cattle ranches in the Amazon where state power is difficult ot reach and where exploitation is more violent.”

The Inter-American Human Rights Court is currently hearing a case involving 340 men who were trafficked into slavery during the 1990s on a cattle ranch in northern Brazil. The Centre for Justice and International Law and the Pastoral Land Commission (an arm of the Brazilian Catholic Church) brought the case to the Court. Brazil has been accused of having knowledge of the use of slave labor, reported by inspections dating from 1997 to 2000.

Activists hope that the Court’s ruling, the first of its kind, will outline the responsibilities of states to prevent slavery and  compensate freed slaves.

 

For more information, please see:

TeleSur – 340 Brazilian Companies Fined for Modern Slave Labor Conditions – 6 February 2016 

Thomas Reuters Foundation – More than 300 Brazilian Companies busted for modern-day slavery – campaigners – 15 February 2016

Latin Post – 340 Brazilian Companies Fined for Engaging in Forced Labor; Anti-Slavery Group Releases ‘Dirty List’ – 16 February 2016

HNGN – Modern Day Slavery in Brazil: 340 Brazilian Companies Blacklisted for Forced Labor Conditions – 17 February 2016

Latin Correspondent – Genocide, slavery and intimidation in the Brazilian Amazon – 19 February 2016

Reuters – Brazil slave labor victims seek justice at Americas’ top rights court – 24 February 2016

 

Syria Deeply Weekly Update: Aleppo’s Healthcare System Struggles to Survive

Dear Readers,

Welcome to the weekly Syria Deeply newsletter. We’ve rounded up the most important stories and developments about Syria and the Syrians in order to bring you valuable news and analysis.

Aleppo’s Healthcare System Struggles to Survive: Q&A

As pro-government forces surround the city of Aleppo, medical workers are stocking up on supplies in anticipation of an impending siege. Syria Deeply spoke to one of them, Dr. Rami Kalazi, about the health situation in opposition-held areas and the challenges of being a doctor in a besieged area.

Kurdish Expansion is Changing Ankara’s Priorities

As Kurdish militias in northern Syria steadily take on greater importance, largely due to U.S. and Russian support, Turkey has quickly changed its priorities within the crisis. Syria Deeply spoke with Gokhan Bacik about the YPG’s expansion amid the chaos in Aleppo and the growing tensions in Turkey.

Chaos in Aleppo Creates Opportunity for the Kurds

While opposition forces have been hit hard by the Russian-backed government offensive in northern Syria, Kurdish militias have exploited the turmoil to expand their areas of control, capturing territory from already weakened rebel groups being targeted simultaneously by ISIS and pro-government militias.

More Recent Stories to Look Out for at Syria Deeply

• My Life Outside Syria: Diary Entry 59

• For One Damascus Woman, The Uprising Continues

• The Expert View: The Significance of Aleppo

• Op-Ed: What Can Be Done for Syria’s Antiquities

Find our new reporting and analysis every weekday at www.syriadeeply.org.

You can reach our team with any comments or suggestions at info@newsdeeply.org.

U.S. Submits Draft Resolution on North Korea to the U.N.

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

PYONGYANG, North Korea –

The United States has submitted a draft resolution to the Security Council which imposes more strict sanctions on North Korea due to its recent nuclear weapon test and missile launch. The United States is backed by China on the resolution and a vote is expected to take place within the next several days.

The draft resolution calls for U.N. member states to inspect all cargo shipping to or from North Korea. Previously, states only had an obligation to inspect cargo passing through their territories if they had reasonable grounds to suspect that there was any illegal cargo. Any ships under suspicion of transporting illegal goods will be blocked from using ports worldwide.

Additionally, the draft resolution proposes a ban on the transfer of any item to North Korea that could strengthen the capabilities of its armed forces. The supply of fuel for aviation programs will also be banned under the resolution, among other sanctions.

The United States and China held negotiations on the draft resolution for several weeks, followed by talks in Washington this week between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

United States Secretary of State John Kerry and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi of China in Washington this past week. (Photo courtesy of the New York Times)

North Korea has been under sanctions by the United Nations since 2006 due to its continued nuclear tests and rocket launches. It currently is banned from importing and exporting nuclear and missile equipment.

North Korea’s recent missile launch and nuclear test are viewed among the international community as a violation of U.N. resolutions. If the resolution is approved, it will include the strongest sanctions instituted by the Security Council in over two decades.

China previously seemed reluctant to take measures against North Korea as its neighbor and it has differed from the United States in its opinions on what measures to take against North Korea. The United States has argued for punitive measures, while China has caked for more tempered measures. North Korea’s missile launch and nuclear test may have been a factor in China’s newly hardened resolve against North Korea.

North Korea currently does 90% of its trade with China. The draft resolution’s proposed sanctions would not prohibit trade between North Korea and China.

 

For more information, please see:

BBC News – North Korea: US Submits Tougher Sanctions to UN – 26 February 2016

Reuters – U.S., Backed by China, Proposes Tough N.Korea Sanctions at U.N. – 26 February 2016

The New York Times – U.S. and China Agree on Proposal for Tougher North Korea Sanctions – 25 February 2016

Voice of America – U.S., China Agree on Sanctions Against North Korea – 25 February 2016

Obama Introduces Plan to Close Guantanamo Bay

By Samuel Miller
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America and Oceania

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States of America — President Obama on Tuesday sent Congress a long-awaited plan for closing the Guantánamo Bay prison, kicking off a final push to fulfill a campaign promise, as well as one of his earliest national security policy goals. The proposal comes seven years after Obama made a vow to permanently close the prison for enemy combatants, but the proposal already faces objections and legal obstacles in place for transferring Guantanamo detainees to U.S. prisons.

Detention Center, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. (Photo Courtesy of ABC News)

The proposal sets up a final battle with Congress as the president works to move dozens of Guantánamo detainees before he leaves office next year.

“The plan we’re putting forward today isn’t just about closing the facility at Guantanamo. It’s not just about dealing with the current group of detainees, which is a complex piece of business because of the manner in which they were originally apprehended and what happened. This is about closing a chapter in our history,” said Obama in a White House Press Conference.

President Obama’s plan has four primary elements, including transferring to other countries detainees who are already designated for transfer. The plan aims at accelerating periodic reviews of authority to detain an individual, prosecuting detainees who are facing charges, and working with Congress to establish a location in the homeland to securely hold detainees who cannot be transferred.

Lastly, the president wants to move all remaining detainees to the United States. The White House claims moving the detainees to a new or modified facility in the U.S. would save as much as $85 million, compared to the current cost of $445 million per year to maintain the facility at Guantánamo.

A governmental planning group has for months surveyed a series of sites around the country, including a federal Supermax facility in Florence, Colorado, the military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and the Naval Consolidated Brig in Charleston, South Carolina, as potential options to hold such inmates. The plan released Tuesday cites 13 unspecified locations it says it could house between 30 and 60 detainees.

The president’s plan faces steep obstacles, however. Congress has enacted a statute that bars the military from transferring detainees from Guantánamo to domestic soil for any purpose, and Congressional Republicans have shown little interest in lifting that restriction.

“Congress acted over and over again in a bipartisan way to reject the president’s desire to transfer dangerous terrorists to communities here in the United States,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said. “The president signed all these prohibitions, and his attorney general recently confirmed that it is illegal for the president to transfer any of these terrorists into the United States.”

Obama has reportedly threatened executive action to transfer the detainees to the U.S. if Congress tries to hamstring that process, under the argument that restricting his decision-making powers as commander-in-chief is unconstitutional.

“We’re not entirely clear on how the conversation will play out,” a senior administration official said. “We hope that meeting the deadline of presenting this plan itself will be a key step. We’re delivering what they asked for, and we’re hoping Congress will continue the conversation from that point forward.”

For more information, please see:

ABC News – Obama Sends Plan to Congress to Close Guantanamo Bay Prison – 23 February 2016

BBC News – Guantanamo Bay: Obama in prison closure push – 23 February 2016

CNN – Obama gives Congress Guantanamo closure plan – 23 February 2016

NY Times – Obama Sends Guantánamo Closing Plan to Congress – 23 February 2016

Politico – Obama announces plan for closing Guantanamo Bay prison – 23 February 2016

US News & World Report – Obama Unveils Plan to Close Guantanamo Bay Prison – 23 February 2016

USA Today – Obama takes last chance to close Guantanamo Bay – 23 February 2016

Washington Post – Obama asks lawmakers to lift obstacles to closing prison at Guantanamo Bay – 23 February 2016

Colombia Investigating Disappearances at Notorious Prison

By Kaitlyn Degnan
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia — The Colombian government has launched an investigation into disappearances in Colombian prisons between 1999 and 2001. The investigation is focusing on La Modelo prison in Bogota. The dismembered remains of at least 100 persons were found in the sewer system of the prison.

La Modelo prison in Bogota, Colombia (photo courtesy of BBC). 

La Modela is one of Colombia’s biggest prisons, and significantly overcrowded. During the period in question, the prison was divided and controlled by left-wing and right-wing paramilitary groups. Allegedly, faction leaders bribed prison officials to look the other way while they maintained control over their part of the prison. The paramilitaries allegedly patrolled their so-called “territory” armed with grenades and automatic weapons.

Rumors of disappearances in the prison have spread since the dismembered remains of an inmate was found stuffed in a drain in 2000. He had disappeared eight days earlier. The next day, 17 inmates disappeared during a fight between different factions. Their remains were never found.

Investigators believe that there may be more remains hidden in the sewer systems of other prisons throughout Colombia.

The investigation was prompted by the prosecution of paramilitary leaders Mario Jaimes Mejía, called “El Panadero” (“the Baker”) and Alejandro Cárdenas Orozco. The two face charges of kidnapping, torture, and rape in the attack of Jineth Bedoya. Bedoya, a journalist, was one of the first to bring attention to the disappearances at the prison, after she noticed the numbers of inmates and visitors to La Modelo that went missing.

In 2000, Bedoya was abducted while visiting La Modelo (for the purpose of interviewing El Panadero). She was taken to the countryside where she was tortured and raped. The perpetrators left her tied up in a rubbish pile ten hours later.

Bedoya says she is “grateful for the actions being taken today, but it should’ve happened years ago. El Panadero’s testimony taken more than 15 years ago, his version of the story, which is completely false, was endorsed by a prosecutor (with the Colombian attorney general’s office) and that allowed for the process to stall and the case to remain in impunity.” Bedoya sued the Colombian government in the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for “unwillingness to do justice in her case.”

Finding the truth of the disappearances at La Modelo, according to Bedoya, is “a debt that ht estate owes not only to Jineth Bedoya but the hundreds of victims of La Modelo Prison and the paramilitary forces.”

The current prosecutor, Caterina Heyck announced in a press conference on February 17th that El Panadero had confessed to ordering the attack on Bedoya, and that Cárdenas had admitted to being one of her abductors. She has also requested that the two men not qualify for lighter sentences under the Justice and Peace Law. The law allows former paramilitary members to receive lighter sentences for laying down arms and confessing to their crimes.

For more information, please see:

Reuters – Scores of dismembered bodies found in Colombian jails – 17 February 2016 

BBC – Colombia probes disappearances from Bogota prison – 18 February 2016

CNN – Remains of at least 100 may have been tossed into sewers under prison – 18 February 2016

Latin Post – Colombian Jails Have Secrets That Can Give Your Nightmares – 18 February 2016

Mirror – Gruesome mystery as body parts of 100 prisoners and visitors found in sewer – 18 February 2016

Time – 100 Dismembered Bodies Found Beneath Colombian Prison – 19 February 2016 

Vice News – Colombia is Investigating Whether 100 Bodies Were Stuffed in a Prison Sewer – 19 February 2016