Russia Alleged to Have Commit Warcrimes in Syria

By Brittani Howell

Impunity Watch Reporter, The Middle East

 

DAMASCUS, Syria –  According to Human Rights Watch, Russian airstrikes appear to be war crimes, as dozens of civilians have been killed. Since the beginning of Russia’s air campaign in September, more than 130 civilians, including 34 women and 36 children.

Men playing chess in front of a destroyed building in the Idlib province. (Photo courtesy of the Wall Street Journal)

The deadliest attack occurred on October 15, 2015 in the village of Ghantou when a home was struck by what was believed to be Russian airstrikes. The attack killed 46 members of the same family, including 32 children and 12 women.

Russia allegedly was targeting Abu al-Abbas, the commander of al-Sumud Brigade of the Homs Liberation Movement. The Homs Liberation Movement is tied to the Free Syrian Army. Abu al-Abbas was not killed in the attack as he had been on the front line at the time.

Local residents believed that the airstrikes were caused by the Russians because of the distinct sound of the plane and because the plane was flying much higher than was is accustomed of Syrian planes.

Human Rights Watch is calling for Russia to investigate the alleged war crime. The report issued by Human Rights Watch states, “indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks are serious violations of the laws of war the Russia has an obligation to investigate.” In response, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that the report was “another piece of disinformation” and nothing in the report confirmed that the Russian forces had been in the area at the time.

Russian airstrikes have also struck as many as nine hospitals in the month of October. Syrian Medical Society reported that early in October two hospitals in the southern Aleppo were forced to shut down as a result of Russian Airstrikes. This resulted in the depravation of medical access to thousands of people.

Russian airstrikes, in one incident, struck a hospital in the northwest province of Idlib which killed at least 12 people and injured 28 more. Rebels and activists in the area determine which country is responsible for the airstrikes based upon the sound the planes make and the height at which they fly. Syrian Medical Society has not released an official death toll over the month nor has it provided evidence in order to establish that the airstrikes were caused by the Russians.

For more information, please see:

CNN – Rights Group: Russian Airstrikes in Syria May Have Killed Dozens of Civilians – 25 October 2015

Human Rights Watch – Russia/Syria: Possibly Unlawful Russian Air Strikes – 25 October 2015

Al-Jazeera America – Scores Killed in Russian, Pro-Assad airstrikes in Northern Syrian Cities – 24 October 2015

The Wall Street Journal – Syrian Hospitals Hit by Russian Airstrikes, Says Medical Group – 23 October 2015

Shell’s Failed Clean Up Efforts In Niger Delta

By Tyler Campbell

Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

 

ABUJA, Nigeria – Amnesty International and the Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD) released a report today calling Shell’s claims about its clean up effort in the Niger Delta “blatantly false.” Some of these un-cleaned spill cites date all the way back to 1970’s. Even though Shell Nigeria claims to have cleaned them twice, most recently in 2011, they are still polluting the surrounding area.

(Area of the polluted Niger Delta. Photo Courtesy of the Guardian)

The long-term effects that these spills continue to have are a combination of poor handling by Shell Nigeria and minimal regulation by the Nigerian Government. The Niger Delta is the largest oil producing section of Africa and Shell Nigeria is the largest producer in that area. The Nigerian government also happens to be the largest share holder of Shell Nigeria, meaning that polluted, or not, the Niger Delta is one of Nigeria’s largest revenue streams.

This conflict of interest may be one of the reasons that government regulation of oil spills has been relaxed at best. Three out of the four contaminated sites in the Amnesty report were actually cleared by government regulators as clean. Shell Nigeria claimed that it had cleaned all four of these cites, but all still showed visible signs of damage and pollution. The report found that this visible pollution was a product of ineffective clean up and not from new spills in the area.

Contractors that Shell hired to clean the areas were questioned by Amnesty investigators about their methods of cleaning spill cites. They gave candid and troubling answers. “This is just a cover up. If you just dig down a few meters you find oil. We just excavated, then shifted the soil away, then covered it all up again.” Amnesty has said that this method of “clean up” does nothing to prevent lasting harm to surrounding areas. It his is hard to know who to blame for the inadequate job done by these local contractors. They are trained and supervised by Shell Nigeria, but until the Nigerian government forces a more stringent clean up little is likely to change.

Shell was quick to place blame on others about the remaining pollution. It first vehemently disagreed with the reports findings, but declined to comment any further. It also released a statement that said that oil theft and illegal refining was the major cause of   this pollution, but again promised to keep cleaning, no matter the cause.

 

For more information, please see:

 

VOA – Shell Accused of Failing to Clean Up Nigeria Oil Spills – 3 Nov. 2015

Al Jazeera America – Amnesty: Shell Has Not Cleaned Nigeria Oil Spills – 3 Nov. 2015

All Africa – Shell – New Report Slams Oil Spill Clean-Up Claims on 20th Anniversary of Ken Saro-Wiwa Execution – 2 Nov. 2015

The Guardian – Amnesty report accuses Shell of failing to clean up Niger delta oil spills – Nov. 2 2015

 

Leaders of South Korea and Japan Hold Summit to Discuss Strengthening Ties

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

SEOUL, South Korea –

South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met on Monday for their first formal summit since they both took office. South Korean and Japanese leaders have not held a summit in three years.

President Park and Prime Minister Abe met briefly for a bilateral talk meant to help alleviate tensions between the countries, which have been ongoing since Japan’s 35 year long colonization of Korea from 1910 to 1945.

Prime Minister Abe of Japan and President Park of South Korea. (Photo courtesy of The New York Times)

A major point of contention between President Park and Prime Minister Abe during the summit was the issue of “comfort women”, who were Korean women forced into prostitution at Japanese military brothels throughout Japan’s colonization of Korea and its involvement in World War II. During the summit, President Park and Prime Minister Abe agreed to continue talks to resolve their differences on the issue of the comfort women and strengthen diplomatic ties between their countries.

President Park has referred to the issue of the comfort women as a major stumbling block to friendly relations between the South Korea and Japan and has stated that coming to an agreement on the issue is essential to creating better ties between the countries. She had previously rejected proposals to have summits with Japan because she believed that Japan had failed to make proper restitution for its actions during its colonial rule over South Korea.

Japan says that the issue of comfort women was settled in 1965 during a normalization agreement, under which Japan paid $800 million in grants and loans to Korea to make reparation for its abuses during its colonization, and in 1993 when the country issued a formal apology to Korea. Prime Minister Abe, however, told reporters after the summit that he had agreed with President Park that it was important for South Korea and Japan to resolve the issue of the comfort women as soon as possible and that the two countries “should not leave obstacles for future generations.”

The first meeting between the two leaders since they each took office represents a diplomatic breakthrough between South Korea and Japan. The United States has pushed in recent years for South Korea and Japan to improve their ties in light of China’s growing assertiveness and North Korea’s development of its nuclear arms program. Both South Korea and Japan are military allies of the United States, and the bulk of the United States’ military presence in the Asia-Pacific is concentrated in the two countries.

President Park and Prime Minister Abe’s meeting came a day after leaders from Japan, South Korea, and China met at a summit for the first time since 2012 to discuss progress toward increased economic and regional cooperation among themselves. In a joint statement after the summit, the three countries agreed to work together on improving trade and security ties as North Asia’s three largest economies.

 

For more information, please see:

 Al Jazeera – S Korea and Japan Leaders Meet for First Time in Years – 2 November 2015

South China Morning Post – South Korea and Japan Break Diplomatic Freeze as Park and Abe Meet for Rare Summit in Seoul – 2 November 2015

The New York Times – Leaders of South Korea and Japan Meet in Effort to Mend Ties – 1 November 2015

U.S. News & World Report – Leaders of South Korea, Japan, and China Set for Summit Meant to Repair Terrible Ties – 1 November 2015

 

 

Charlie Hebdo Angers Kremlin Over Cartoons of Russian Plane Crash

by Shelby Vcelka

Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Europe

PARIS, France–

The French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo has sparked outrage in Russia after this week’s publication, which depicted images about the Russian plane crash in the Sinai desert. One image shows debris and body parts raining down on a member of ISIS, while the other shows a skull with a pair of sunglasses with the crashed plane in the background. A spokesman for the Kremlin commented that the cartoons were unacceptable, and that the message it sent had nothing to do with freedom of press or self-expression. The Kremlin, however, does not plan on filing a formal complaint against Charlie Hebdo.

http://twitter.com/DeccanChronicle/status/662621784345300992/photo/1

The Russian plane involved in the crash was headed for St. Petersburg shortly after leaving Egypt. All 224 people on board were killed as the plane crashed into the Sinai Peninsula. Most of those on board were Russian citizens.   Although the cause of the crash has not been determined, international authorities have not ruled out the possibility of a bomb. An Islamic State leader affiliated with the Sinai Province faction claimed responsibility for the crash.

The magazine’s editor in chief, Gerard Biard, criticized the Russian government for “using Charlie Hebdo to create a controversy where none exists, which is the usual manipulation you get from totalitarian regimes… This magazine is supposed to be irreverent, and we respect the values of democracy and freedom of expression, which the Russian powers that be … do not.” He further commented that it was absurd to use the tone of the cartoons as a point of contention, as their entire publication is based on satire and the freedom of expression. Biard also mentioned that the Russian government was using this incident as a means to distract from real issues that the government was avoiding.

The French foreign ministry remarked that French publications are “free to express their opinions,” and that they would not be getting involved. The Kremlin has asked the French government to apologize for Charlie Hebdo’s cartoons on the matter.

For more information, please see—

BBC– Russia hits out at Charlie Hebdo over crash cartoon— 06 November 2015

Huffington Post– Charlie Hebdo Angers Russians With Cartoons Of Egypt Plane Crash— 06 November 2015

New York Post– Charlie Hebdo cartoon of downed jetliner infuriates Russia— 06 November 2015

The Guardian– Russia condemns Charlie Hebdo for Sinai plane crash cartoons— 07 November 2015