Senate Supporters of Russia Rights Bill Press On Despite Warning

Press Release
Erik Wasson

Senate supporters of a Russia human-rights bill linked to trade said Tuesday that they are pressing forward despite a warning from the Russian ambassador this week that the bill will impair relations.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), would freeze the assets of Russian officials allegedly involved in the suspicious death of Russian whistle-blower Sergei Magnitsky in November 2009.

Ranking member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) said that he is fighting to get the bill voted on, and he and Cardin dismissed the comments by Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak that it would cause a “significant” reaction in Moscow and impair relations. “I accept that he made that assessment, but I would point out that this bill arises in the course of trying to do a number of things that will assist our relations with Russia, whether in trade or diplomacy, and it appears to me that the Magnitsky issue does make a point about our regard for human rights of citizens,” Lugar said.

Cardin said that his bill is meant to benefit the Russian people and said the United States is just reaffirming international norms. “This is for the Russians, it’s not for us,” he said, citing words of support from ordinary Russians he has received. “This is not meddling.”

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is moving toward considering the bill.

Lugar told reporters on Tuesday that the bill is no longer on the docket for a meeting this week, but he continues to press for passage. “The chairman has decided to take the Magnitsky issue off the table,” Lugar said. He added that Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) has been in consultations with the White House in making his decision.
Kerry spokeswoman Jodi Seth said the bill was never up for discussion this week, however, and that Kerry is supportive of the bill and is working toward its passage.

One of the items under discussion is finding a way to make the bill about human rights more broad rather than just about the situation in Russia, sources said. The Senate proponents of the bill are linking its passage to the extension of permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) to Russia. Passing the Russia trade bill is the top trade agenda item for the White House this year. Russia will join the World Trade Organization regardless of congressional action — if PNTR is not passed, U.S. exporters will be penalized with higher tariffs than those faced by other WTO members. PNTR supporters argue that because of this self-injuring aspect to the bill, it is not the right vehicle to press Russia on rights.

Cardin expressed confidence that he was winning the fight, however. “There is a growing consensus in Congress and on the part of the administration that it is going to be a part of PNTR,” Cardin said. “I think we have the votes on its own merits but I think it will be helpful to have it as a part of PNTR.”

For more information, please visit:

The Hill—Senate Supporters of Russia Rights Bill Press on Despite Warning— 24 April 2012

 

 

China Reportedly Halts Repatriation of North Korean Refugees

By Brianne Yantz
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – Reports began to surface last week that China has suspended its policy of deporting North Korean defectors back home in accordance with a plea from South Korean officials.  The move is said to have been in response to North Korea’s failure to inform China about the specific plans regarding its recent missile launch earlier this month and, if true, indicates the Chinese government’s displeasure with North Korea’s intentional incitement of international tensions.

Activists Protest China's Repatriation of North Koreans
Activists in South Korea protesting China's repatriation of North Koreans earlier this year. (Photo Courtesy of Al Jazeera)

Allegedly, China has been demanding that North Korea refrain from acts of international aggression and provocation, which the North Korean government has evidently ignored.

Before this recent fall out, China had been dealing with North Korean defectors under its domestic laws, classifying them as “illegal economic migrants” and deporting them back home.  These actions have drawn heavy international criticism from human rights activists, who called the repatriations inhumane.  It is widely known that North Korea has been torturing and, in some instances, executing its repatriated refugees, but until now, China had been ignoring these practices.  It is uncertain exactly if and when China purportedly began to halt these deportations.

The number of North Korean defectors entering China has grown intensely since the death of former leader Kim Jong Il last December.  According to a source working for the Chinese authorities, at it’s height, as many as thirty North Koreans had been escaping to China on a daily basis.

Now, according to reports, tensions between China and North Korea have led Chinese officials to halt its practice of returning all captured defectors.  Furthermore, in a move against North Korea, China has allegedly allowed five North Korean defectors who had been under arrest in a diplomatic office in China for the last three years to leave for Seoul, South Korea earlier this month.

At this time, it is unclear whether North Korea’s blatant disregard for China is the sole reason why China has supposedly halted deportations or for how long this suspected suspension will last.  However, in late March, Chinese President Hu Jintao indicated that China would be more flexible in its deportation policy and that it would be respectful of South Korea’s strong opposition to the mal-treatment of North Korean defectors.

While the U.S. has yet to confirm if these reports are true, State Department spokesman Mark Toner indicated that officials in Washington are hopeful.

“We consistently urge China to adhere to its international obligations as part of the UN Convention on Refugees,” Toner stated.

 

For more information, please see:

AFP – US Takes China ‘at Word’ on N. Korea Sanctions – 20 April 2012

Voice of America – Panetta: China Assisted North Korea Missile Program – 20 April 2012

Daily Yomiuri – China Stops Deportations of N. Koreans – 19 April 2012

Chosunilbo – China Halts Repatriation of N.Korean Defectors – 19 April 2012

Korea Herald – China Said to Have Stopped Repatriating N. Korean Refugees – 18 April 2012

Syria Human Rights Violations Report: 22 April 2012

Idleb, Jabal Ez-Zawiyyaah

Dozens were injured and many were killed as the regime’s forces pounded residents’ homes with rocket shells. The injuries on this casualty victim illustrate the extent of the shelling.

Douma, Damascus suburbs

This young man was killed by a sniper on his way to work on Sunday.

At-Tal, Damascus suburbs

The family of this young man bids farewell to him after was killed by the relentless gunfire at the hands of the regime’s forces during a demonstration.

Hama, Hama Province

The killing and destruction by the regime’s forces in Hama continues after the United Nations monitors left the town. This video captures the regime’s forces on a high building gesturing and threatening residents that a violent onslaught is about to begin again.

This is leaked video footage of the regime’s forces bragging about the pictured items (the chairs, fan, etc.) which they stole from residents after killing them.

This footage shows the pain of a mother crying to the United Nations monitors that she hasn’t heard from her son in months after he was arrested by the regime’s security forces, and that they refuse to give her any information.

Dar’aa, Khirbet Ghazala

These residents, at great risk, were able to capture footage of the regime’s checkpoint at the entrance of the town, where every vehicle entering and leaving is stopped and residents are berated by the regime’s forces, who often steal what is in the vehicles.

Homs, Al-Qusair

None of the points in the Annan Plan have been respected by the regime’s forces, and the tanks, military chekcpoints and armoured vehicles remain in the streets.

Homs, Al-Holeh

Even water is being prohibited from the residents, after the regime’s forces targeted the water tanks of the town in order to force the residents to flee as one basic necessity after another is taken away by the regime from residents.

Homs, Joret Al-Shayyah

Nothing is left in the town but massive destruction after the relentless shelling attacks on a daily basis by the regime’s forces.

 

Videos Courtesy of:

Syrian Network of Human Rights – Violations Report – 22 April 2012


 

President Obama Announces New Sanctions on Syria; Focuses on Preventing Mass Atrocities

By Brittney Hodnik
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, United States – On Monday, President Obama gave a speech at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum to present new tools to preventing and responding to mass atrocities.  He addressed broad and specific topics alike: Joseph Kony, the Assad regime in Syria, and the Qadhafi regime in Egypt.

President Obama spoke out against mass atrocities today, imposing harsher sanctions against Syria and its allies. (Image Courtesy of Reuters)

President Obama insisted in his speech, “Preventing mass atrocities and genocide is a core national security interest and a core moral responsibility of the United States of America,” reported CBS News.  He reiterated that military force is not a necessary intervention.  Rather, he stressed the use of other tools: “Diplomatic and political and economic and financial and intelligence and law enforcement and our moral suasion.”

According to Voice of America News, President Obama set up the Atrocities Prevention Board last year, which was to meet for the first time Monday at the White House.

Furthermore, President Obama announced new, stricter sanctions against Syria and Iran and any other groups or nations that are currently aiding Syria.  He announced a new asset freezes and visa restrictions system against Syrian and Iranian agencies, according to Reuters.

He also stressed that the United States is committed to keeping Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.  This was especially an issue for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.  Reuters reports, “When faced with a regime that threatens global security and denies the Holocaust and threatens to destroy Israel, the United States will do everything in our power to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.”

Besides the current issues in Syria and the Middle East, President Obama promised to extend military presence in Central Africa to aid Uganda and its neighbors to pursue the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) there.

The LRA is led by the infamous Joseph Kony, who recently gained recognition thanks to a viral video.  CBS News reports that President Obama ensures that the U.S. will not stop until this “madman” is brought to justice.

He continued, “It’s part of our regional strategy to end the scourge that is the LRA and help realize a future where no African child is stolen from their family and no girl is raped and no boy is turned into a child soldier.”

Because the speech took place at the Holocaust Museum, comparisons were made between today’s issues and the “greatest tragedy in history.”  Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel said, “The greatest tragedy in history could have been prevented had the civilized world spoken up, taken measures,” reported Voice of America News.

According to a White House Press Release, the Obama Administration has made the prevention of atrocities a key focus of this Administration’s foreign policy.  The U.S. needs to prioritize this effort and rely now on the Atrocities Prevention Board.  “The APB will help the U.S. government identify and address atrocity threats… we will make our military and civilian workforce better equipped to prevent and respond to atrocities . . . [and] we will hold accountable perpetrators of mass atrocities and genocide and support others who do the same.”

The press release lays out more strategies and tools that the U.S. will use to both prevent and respond to mass atrocities throughout the world.

For more information, please visit:

CBS News — Obama Tackles Mass Atrocities; Spotlights Syria, Kony — 23 Apr. 2012

Reuters — Obama Seeks to Stop Syria, Iran Tech Assault on Activists — 23 Apr. 2012

Voice of America News — Obama Unveils Sanctions , Touts Anti-Atrocity Mesasures — 23 Apr. 2012

White House Press Release — Fact Sheet: A Comprehensive Strategy and New Tools to Prevent and Respond  to Atrocities — 23 Apr. 2012

ICRC Worker Kidnapped in Yemen Amidst Violence

By Adom M. Cooper
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SANAA, Yemen–While traveling from a northern part of Yemen to the Red Sea port city of Hudaida, a French official working for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has reportedly been kidnapped by armed men. The identity of the official was not disclosed.

A map of Yemen. (Photo Courtesy of BBC)

It is not yet clear who is responsible for the kidnapping, although it is not uncommon for Westerners to fall victim to such actions. Last week, Al-Qaeda announced that it was holding Saudi diplomat Abdullah al-Khalidi, a deputy counsel in Aden, who was abducted outside his home in the southern port city on 28 March 2012.

A Swiss woman working as a teacher was also kidnapped in Hudaida in March. The French news agency AFP reported that she is being held by Al-Qaeda after being taken to the far eastern province of Shabwa.

Dibeh Fakhr, an ICRC spokeswoman in Sanaa, stated that the kidnapped man works in the northern city of Sadaa and that the kidnapping occurred late on Saturday 21 April 2012, approximately 30 km from Hudaida.

“He was with two Yemeni drivers who the kidnappers released shortly afterwards. Until now, we have no contact with the kidnappers or our employee.”

The kidnapping comes amid a fresh round of fighting between the military and the Yemeni branch of al-Qaeda in the southern city of Zinjibar. The fighting cost 19 individuals their lives and nearly 30 others were injured during clashes between the group and government forces, who have taken control of the eastern part of the city.

The battle represents repeated attempts by the Yemeni government to regain parts of the country that it has lost to Al-Qaeda fighters who took advantage of last year’s violent uprising against the former ruler, Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Zinjibar is the capital of the Abyan province and holds particular military significance for the government’s ability to drive Al-Qaeda out of the southern Yemeni territories. The coastal city also lies near several vital shipping lanes and millions of barrels of oil pass through them every single day.

According to medical officials, the fighters who had lost their lives were buried near the town of Jaar and turned a kindergarten there into a field hospital in order to treat the wounded. The school also now functions as a command center for the fighters, especially considering that the violence has not allowed the children an opportunity to attend and learn.

On Friday 20 April 2012, the Yemeni defense ministry reported that in the town of Lawdar, another town in the Abyan province, at least 250 Al-Qaeda fighters and 37 government soldiers had been killed in two weeks of extended fighting. The ministry said that it was sending more troops to the area to attempt to cut down on the fighting. With all of the violence occurring in the country, one can only hope that the kidnapped ICRC worker is not forgotten.

 

 

For more information, please see: 

Al-Jazeera – Red Cross Official Kidnapped in Yemen – 22 April 2012

CNN – French ICRC Official Kidnapped in Yemen – 22 April 2012

Reuters – International Committee of Red Cross Aide Abducted in Yemen – 22 April 2012

BBC – French Red Cross Official Kidnapped in Yemen – 21 April 2012