Despite Rescue, Child Soldiers Still Being Recruited in DRC
By: Dan Krupinsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo – Numerous armed groups in North Kivu in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are still using over 2,000 children as soldiers, while the United Nations Children’s Fund continues its efforts to remove them from the battlefields and return them to their homes.
UNICEF’s demobilization and reintegration program had about 1,700 child soldiers between January and July. After that period, UNICEF condemned the disturbing increase of child victims that they have seen and have been reported for the duration of the conflict in North Kivu, which broke out in May of 2012 between Congolese armed forced and M23 rebels.
The use of child soldiers is prevalent in various regions across the entire nation. The UN mission in Africa recently announced the rescue of numerous child soldiers from the Mayi Mayi Bakata Katanga armed group in the southeastern Katanga province.
While some of the children were as old as 17, others were as young as 8. The 82 children were all reportedly recruited within the past 6 months.
Forty of the rescued children were reunited with their families immediately. The rest are currently receiving interim care while attempts to get them back with their families are made.
“We are extremely concerned by continued reports of active recruitment by Mayi Mayi Bakata Katanga and other armed groups in eastern DRC,” said United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) chief Martin Kobler in a statement. “Children face unacceptable risks when they are recruited for military purposes. The recruitment of children, particularly those under 15 years of age, could constitute a war crime and those responsible must be held to account.”
According to the statement from MONUSCO, 163 children, including 22 girls, have been rescued from Mavi Mavi Bakata Katanga alone, since the beginning of the year. The rescues have been a combination of MONUSCO and child protection workers.
A MONUSCO peacekeeping force of nearly 20,000 troops is currently deployed in the DRC.
In late October of 2012, the government of the DRC and the United Nations signed an Action Plan, officially committing to end the recruitment and use of children by Congolese armed forced and security services.
The eastern part of the country, rich in minerals, has long been a site of violence and political and ethnic conflict. According to the United Nations, there are about 2.6 million internally displaced people and 6.4 million people overall in need of food an emergency aid.
For further information, please see:
All Africa – Congo-Kinshasa: DR Congo Armed Groups Increase Child Recruitment – 29 August 2013
Al-Jazeera – 82 child soldiers rescued in DR Congo: UN – 17 August 2013
CNN – 82 child soldiers saved in Democratic Republic of Congo – 17 August 2013
Child Soldiers International – Democratic Republic of Congo
U.S. Envoy Travels to North Korea in Attempt to Free Jailed American
By Brandon Cottrell
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America
WASHINGTON, D.C., United States – Robert King, the U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights issues, is expected to arrive in North Korea today and will ask for release of Kenneth Bae. King’s trip is the first public trip to North Korea by a U.S. official in over two years.
The North Koreans imprisoned Bae, a 45-year-old American citizen and Christian missionary, last November for planning an operation against Kim Jong Un’s regime through religious activities. Specifically, the North Koreans charged Bae with setting up bases in China for the purpose of toppling Kim’s regime, encouraging North Korean citizens to bring down the government and spreading false propaganda. The North Korean government also claims that Bae used his tourism business to form groups that could overthrow the government.
North Korea does allow religious freedom, but such religious freedom yields to “total loyalty to the Kim dynasty,” which has ruled for three generations. Bae’s family believes that it was not Bae’s religious beliefs that got him in trouble, rather his sympathy toward North Korean orphans.
Online posts, however, which have since been taken down, showed Bae describing himself and a party of people that he took to North Korea as “warriors for Christ.” Bae had also talked of bringing three hundred people into North Korea to emulate the biblical destruction of the walls of Jericho.
Bae was sentenced in May to fifteen years of hard labor. Although he has only served ten months of his sentence, Bae has already spent more time in North Korean custody than any other American. Additionally, Bae’s health has deteriorated and he is spending time in a hospital. It is reported that he is suffering from leg and back pain. Bae has also lost more than fifty pounds, has kidney stones, dizziness and loss of vision. Prior to his arrest, Bae suffered from diabetes and an enlarged heart.
The White House hopes that the government of North Korea will “grant special clemency to Mr. Bae immediately and allow him to return home with Ambassador [Robert] King.” While King’s visit may improve political relations with North Korea, the U.S. State Department stated that the immediate release of Bae is the sole purpose of the envoy.
Since 2009, six Americans have been detained by North Korea. Former U.S. Presidents Clinton and Carter have both successfully negotiated the release of American detainees. Hopes are also high that Bae will be released, as several years ago King led a U.S. delegation, which resulted in the release of an American who had been detained by the North Koreans for several months.
UPDATE: As of 11:20am EDT North Korea has rescinded its invitation for the U.S. envoy to visit North Korea and try to secure the release of Bae.
For further information, please see:
BBC – US Envoy due in North Korea to Seek Prisoner Release – 30 August 2013
CNN – N. Korea Rescinds Invitation to U.S. Envoy over American Prisoner – 30 August 2013
CNN – U.S. Envoy set to Travel to North Korea to try to free Kenneth Bae – 30 August 2013
Times of India – US Envoy on Mission to Free American in North Korea – 30 August 2013
MSNBC – US Envoy Seeks Prisoner Release in North Korea – 29 August 2013
Guatemalan Journalist Shot to Death
By Brandon Cottrell
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala – Carlos Alberto Orellana Chavez, 62, was found Monday shot to death. The shooting came hours after Chavez, a broadcast journalist, was reported missing. With his passing, a total of four journalists have been murdered in Guatemala this year.
Chavez’s shooting comes one week after Freddy Rodas, a regional correspondent, was seriously wounded in a shooting. Guatemalan police do, however, have a suspect in custody regarding Rodas’ shooting. Additionally, last week gunmen shot at the home of Vernick Gudiel, an investigator for a Guatemala City daily newspaper. No injuries were reported in that shooting, however.
Carlos Lauria, coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists, has called for the authorities to “thoroughly investigate the murder of Carlos Alberto Orellana Chávez and the shooting of Fredy Rodas, determine the motives, and bring those responsible to justice.”
As authorities continue to investigate the murder, Interior Minister Mauricio Lopez rejected the notion that journalists as a group are under attack. Lopez believes that the shootings are based on personal motives, indicating that Chavez may have been killed during a carjacking.
Maria Martin, director of the Guatemalan journalism training organization Gracias Vida, rejects Lopez’s notion and offers two additional explanations. First, Martin states “organized crime and the drug cartels are gaining more power . . . and that makes it more dangerous for rural and regional journalists.” Additionally, she states, “you have Guatemala between Honduras and Mexico, where the killing of journalists has become an open sport . . . it was just a matter of time before the bad guys would take a lesson from both of these countries, where journalists are killed and no one is called into account.”
President Otto Pérez Molina, meanwhile, announced the creation of a task force that will investigate the murders of all four journalists that have been murdered this year. Molina said that, “we put together a special team to run the investigation so we can make sure this does not go unpunished.” He also announced a new program that is aimed at protecting journalists who work in Guatemala.
For further information, please see:
The Guardian – Guatemalan Journalist Shot to Death – 22 August 2013
Info Sur Hoy – Guatemala Task Force to Probe Journalist Deaths – 21 August 2013
Journalism in the Americas – Regional Reporter in Guatemala Gunned Down, the Fourth This Year – 21 August 2013
One India – Journalist Slain in Guatemala, one Suspect Held – 21 August 2013
Saudi Arabia Bans Domestic Abuse
By Thomas Murphy
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – On Wednesday, Saudia Arabia’s cabinet passed the “Protection from Abuse” law. The purpose of the law is to protect women, children, and workers from domestic abuse. The law is the country’s first of its kind and has been celebrated by human rights activists.
The law explicitly lays out that physical and sexual abuse both at home and in the workplace are illegal. Anyone found guilty of abuse under the new law may face up to a year in prison and $13,300 in fines.
“This is a good law that serves major segments of the society in the kingdom, including women, children, domestic workers and non-domestic workers,” said Khaled al-Fakher, secretary-general of the National Society for Human Rights, a government-licensed body.
“We are always in favour of an explicit law that does not need interpretations or personal judgment,” said Fakher, whose organisation helped draft the law.
The passage of the “Protection from Abuse” law comes after years of international pressure from other countries, human rights groups, and the United Nations. Local organizations such as the King Khalid Foundation were a driving force behind the law’s passage as well.
In April, the King Khalid Foundation began an anti-abuse campaign that encouraged women report cases of domestic abuse. The campaign’s calling card became an advertisement (shown above) that featured a veiled woman with a bruised eye and the slogan “Some things can’t be covered. Fighting women’s abuse together.” The advertisement quickly gained notoriety for its portrayal of a typically taboo topic.
While the new law is undoubtedly a step in the right direction, many are waiting to see how it is implemented.
Rights activist Waleed Abu al-Khair said the law gives women some independence: “Women were required to bring in a male relative if they showed up at a police station to file a complaint,” he said. This will not now be necessary.
However, women are still required to receive permission from a male guardian to carry out business, apply for jobs, or travel out of the country. Further, women are often accompanied by a male guardian whenever they leave the home, which may inhibit a victim’s ability to report abuse.
For further information, please see:
Al Jazeera – Saudi Arabia outlaws domestic violence – 30 August 2013
Guardian – Saudi Arabia passes law against domestic violence – 29 August 2013
Huffington Post – Saudi Arabia Passes Domestic Abuse Ban For First Time – 29 August 2013
BBC – Saudi Arabia cabinet approves domestic abuse ban – 28 August 2013