SCPSS: Syrian Interim Prime Minister Supports Transition Road Map
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ICTJ World Report: Monday, 7 October 2013
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SNHR: Death Toll in September 2013
Period covered: September 2013
Subject: Death toll of civilians and SFA in September 2013
Prepared by Syrian Network for Human Rights
2,811 Syrian citizens were killed; including 792 armed rebels, 1584 civilians, 264 children, and 159 people who were tortured to death.
The daily average of killing this month was 95 people a day, 4 people an hour.
Among the 1,584 civilians SNHR documented:
264 child victims, with an average of 10 children a day. The proportion of the children killed in relation to the death toll is 16%, a very high rate and strict evidence that the Syrian Government’s Armed Forces target the civilians.
SNHR would like to indicate that what we could document through our deployed members in all of the Syrian provinces are classified by names, date, place, photo or video.
We couldn’t document many cases of massacres and killings for many reasons. One reason being due to the procedures repeatedly and systematically implemented by Syrian Government’s Armed Forces, like communications disconnections and blockading areas for many days. These reasons make the actual number higher than the one provided. Not to mention, the Syrian government has prevented all human rights organizations from performing their duty on its territory.
It should be mentioned that the work mechanism of Syrian Network for Human Rights’ Group is based on the precise verification and documentation method, and on our members who are deployed on the Syrian territory gathering facts and recording written testimonies, live images and videos, oral and registered interviews, audio and video interviews. This is done with the purpose of complementing the efforts exerted to document human rights violations under the restrictions imposed by the Syrian government on the network members or any other Human Rights organization to work on Syrian territory. The real number may exceed by dozens, especially in the case of massacres, where blockage and communication cuts are imposed.
Legal conclusions
1- SNHR is assured that Syrian Government’s Armed Groups and Shabiha violated Provisions of Human Rights International Law, which protect the right of life, in addition to dozens of cases considered as a war crimes (murder cases).
Undoubted evidence via hundreds of eyewitness stories reveal that more than 90% of the expanded and individual attacks are directed against civilians, and that is all contrary to the Syrian Government’s claims that they are fighting Al-Qaeda and terrorist organizations.
2- SNHR also indicates that the documented events are crimes against humanity, where the condition of widespread and systematic directed attacks against civilian population groups in most cases of murder was achieved.
Condemnation and Responsibilities:
Responsibility of states for internationally wrongful acts, similarly, Customary International Human Rights Law states that the state is responsible for all acts committed by a member of its military and security forces. Thus, the state is responsible for wrongful acts committed by its military and security forces, including crimes against humanity.
SNHR holds the Syrian President, Commander in Chief of the Syrian army, Bashar al-Assad, responsible for all acts of homicide, torture, and massacres perpetrated in Syria as he holds the primary responsibility for giving the orders for these acts. SNHR considers all Syrian regime members and heads of the security and military bodies directly complici in those acts. By the same token, SNHR considers the Iranian government and Hezbullah as direct partners in the acts of homicide who shall legally and judicially be held liable for those acts along with all those funding and supporting the Syrian regime which is systematically committing massacres on a daily basis. SNHR holds all the above mentioned parties responsible for all consequences and potential reactions from the Syrian people in general, and the families of the victims in particular.
Recommendations:
Human Rights Council:
1- Call upon the Security Council and other relevant organizations to take upon their responsibility towards what is happening to the Syrian children, who suffer from the nonstop killing which does not even cease for an hour.
2- Exert pressure on the Syrian government to stop the random and deliberate shelling of civilians.
3- Hold the allies and supporters of the Syrian government: Russia, Iran, and China, morally and physically responsible for the killing in Syria.
4- Provide serious attention of the disastrous situation and give it high priority, and try to take care of victims’ children and families.
Security Council:
1- Decide to refer all the criminals and others involved to the ICC.
2- Warn the Syrian Government of the repercussions of using brutal methods and the systematic killing, and send clear messages about what will happen if it fails to stop.
Arab League:
1- Demand the Human Rights Council and United Nations to give this serious issue the right attention and follow up.
2- Apply political and diplomatic pressure on the Syrian Government Troops’ main allies-Russia, Iran, and China to prevent them from continuously providing cover and international and political protection for all the crimes committed against the Syrian people and hold them morally and physically responsible for all the excesses of the Syrian Government Troops.
French Court Ruling Validates Police ID Checks on Minorities
by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe
PARIS, France – A French judged ruled on Wednesday that identity checks by police officers on thirteen people regarded as minorities were not based on racism and were legal.
Lawyers for the Plaintiffs, who contend that the law enforcement officers have engaged in racial profiling, vowed to appeal the ruling all the way up to the European Court of Human Rights. Wednesday’s verdict resulted from a one-day trial back in July, which was dubbed the first of its kind in France.
Equality groups say that French minorities, specifically those of African or Middle Eastern descent, are subject to routine discrimination that diminishes their chances of finding employment and gaining a foothold in mainstream society. They contend that this discrimination has led the officers to perform humiliating identity checks on minorities for no reason.
The French ruling comes amid a public furor over stop and frisk policies of the New York Police Department. The NYC case is being closely examined in France, particularly by the Plaintiff’s lawyers. A judge has recently ruled against NYPD practices said to discriminate against blacks and Hispanics.
The plaintiffs sought 10,000 euros ($13,000) each in the case. Their lawyers also sought alterations to the law that would require police to provide written reports of ID checks and specify “objective grounds” for conducting the checks. Currently, the law allows police to issue checks on people they deem “suspicious.” Opponents of the current law believe it affords too much discretion to the police.
Slim Ben Achour, lawyer for the Plaintiffs, stated, “The most obvious consequence [of Wednesday’s decision] is that police in this country… have the right to discriminate. There is a blank check for police to continue these practices.”
The defendants’ lawyers have stated that a person who considers an identity check abusive must prove the action was a gravely serious offence. This is nearly impossible as there is no trace an identity check took place.
The plaintiffs’ lawyers said they are closely watching the similar NYC case and hoping they might weigh on French policy, as their appeal develops.
“Through this decision, French justice says that the law of equality … basically does not apply to French police and we are pretty shocked by that. I would not say that this decision legalizes ethnic profiling, but clearly the judges closed their eyes to ethnic profiling,” Felix de Belloy, lawyers for the plaintiffs stated.
A study conducted in Paris by France’s National Center for Scientific Research and the Open Society Justice Initiative has recently shown that blacks are six times more likely of being checked and questioned by police than whites, and those of Arab origin are eight times more likely.
For more information, please see:
France 24 – France Struggles to Address Racial Profiling by Police – 4 October 2013
Al Jazeera – French Court Rules Police ID-Checks Legal – 2 October 2013
Fox News – French Court Rules That Identity Checks on Minorities Were Lawful, Rejects Racism Claim – 2 October 2013
The Montreal Gazette – French Court Rules That Identity Checks on Minorities Were Lawful, Rejects Racism Claim – 2 October 2013
Mexican Authorities Arrest Guatemalan Drug Lord
By Brandon Cottrell
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America
MEXICO CITY, Mexico – Over the weekend Mexican authorities arrested Eduardo Villatoro Cano. Cano, who is one of Guatemala’s most wanted men, was wanted for his participation in the murder of eight Guatemalan police officers this past June.
Authorities identified Cano, who was using a false name while hiding in southern Mexico, by photos and fingerprints. Cano’s cousin, who is also wanted in Guatemala, was also arrested. Along with their arrests, authorities confiscated thirty-three handguns, twelve rifles, seventy-five vehicles, and cash.
The murder took place at what investigators describe as a remote police station near the Pan-American Highway. The Pan-American Highway is routinely used by the drug lords to transport drugs from Columbia to Mexico and from Mexico into the United States.
On the night of the murder, heavily armed men in ski masks entered into the police station where nine officers were on night duty. According to investigators, the men shot the officers at least forty times. Eight of the officers were killed instantly, but the gang took the ninth officer, the commander of the station, with them. Investigators presumed that the commander was dead and believe that they have found his partial remains.
Many believe that the shooting was in retaliation for a recent surge in drug seizures by Guatemalan authorities. However, the shooting will not reduce drug seizures in the future, as authorities say they will continue to take down assailants.
The murder has had a large impact on Guatemala, which has one of the world’s highest homicide rates. The Guatemalan authorities have vowed to punish the perpetrators and launched “Operation Dignity”. As a result of the operation and with the arrest of Cano, who was the mastermind of the shooting, thirty-six people have been arrested for their involvement in the shooting.
Additionally, authorities believe that with Cano’s arrest they have now largely broken down one of the larger drug-trafficking groups in Guatemala. Cano’s gang, is thought to be responsible for over one hundred murders in towns near the Mexican border.
Furthermore, in recent months both Guatemala and Mexico have increased security around the border. Both hope that these efforts will help reduce the problems and violence that the drug-cartels impose on their countries. Their efforts seem to be working, as Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina attributed Cano’s arrest to Guatemala’s “excellent coordination with the Mexican authorities” and that it “conclude[d] a successful operation that resulted in the capture of those responsible for the massacre.
For more information, please see:
BBC News – Guatemala ‘Drug Lord’ Arrested In Mexico – 05 October 2013
IB Times – Mexican Authorities Capture Guatemala Drug Kingpin – 05 October 2013
Latino Daily News – Mexican Police Arrest Guatemalan Wanted for Cop Killings – 05 October 2013
Updated News – Guatemala ‘Drug Lord’ Arrested In Mexico – 06 October 2013