Increased abuses in Honduras given green light by Executive Decree
Honduran de facto president Roberto Micheletti must rescind a decree that provides sweeping new powers of detention to the police, bans all public meetings and imposes a 45 day curfew, Amnesty International said on Tuesday.
"Honduras risks spiralling into a state of lawlessness, where police and military act with no regard for human rights or the rule of law," said Susan Lee, Americas Director at Amnesty International. "Roberto Micheletti must urgently rescind the decree and send clear instructions to the security forces to respect human rights in all circumstances and at all times."
Attacks on opponents of the de facto government by the police and military have escalated dramatically since the publication of the Presidential decree. Radio Globo and Canal 36, a local radio station and TV channel, were forcibly and violently shut down in joint police and military operations, which disregarded legal procedures and human rights.
On Monday at around 5.20am, a joint military and police operation broke down the front door of the offices of Radio Globo shooting live ammunition into the air while taking over the building.
The police and military had given no notice or provided any official reason for the operation.
The Radio Globo employees who were in the building were forced to flee, and some in their panic leapt from the windows of their third storey office. The director of Radio Globo is reported to have suffered a fractured arm and other injuries as he fled the building.
The equipment and vehicles owned by Radio Globo were also confiscated. The same violent and arbitrary methods were employed by the military and police when they simultaneously took over Canal 36.
The closure of two of the key media outlets which deliver an alternative view to that of the de facto government undermines the right of Honduran citizens to access information and also demonstrates the clamp down by the authorities on freedom of expression and association.
A journalist interviewed by Amnesty International said that there has been a marked increased in aggression towards human rights defenders and journalists by the de facto authorities, and with the arbitrary closure of key media outlets by the police and military the atmosphere is one of "high tension and real fear".
UN Security Council: A Victory for Women Caught in War
(New York) – The United Nations Security Council resolution up for a vote today to create a senior coordinator to address how armed conflict affects women around the globe is a vital step toward more consistent UN action on the issue, Human Rights Watch said today.
Women raped during Bosnia and Herzegovina conflict still waiting for justice
"I do not know if it is possible to punish this crime. If justice exists at all?… Maybe somewhere but not here in Bosnia!" – Bakira interviewed by Amnesty International
"During the war, thousands of women and girls were raped, often with extreme brutality; many were held in prison camps, hotels, private houses where they were sexually exploited. Many women and girls were killed," said Nicola Duckworth, director of Amnesty International’s Europe and Central Asia Programme.
"To this day, survivors of these crimes have been denied access to justice. Those responsible for their suffering, members of military forces, the police, paramilitary groups, walk free. Some remain in positions of power or live in the same community as their victims."
"The government of Bosnia and Herzegovina has an obligation to provide these victims of violations of international humanitarian law and crimes against humanity with access to justice and the full reparation to which they are entitled."
"For this to happen, the authorities must ensure comprehensive investigations that lead to prosecutions of war crimes of sexual violence in the country. Without meaningful justice and full and effective reparation, victims continue to suffer the effects of these horrific crimes."
The report, Whose justice? Bosnia and Herzegovina’s women still waiting, outlines the failure of the justice system in the country. It also focuses on the failure of the authorities to provide the women with reparations, including compensation for the crimes committed against them, and the violations of their rights.
"Many women who have survived sexual violence during the war cannot get any compensation due to the complex structures of the judicial and social welfare systems in the country. In comparison to other war victims, they suffer discrimination in access to social benefits," said Nicola Duckworth.
Jasmina, a survivor of sexual violence during the war, told Amnesty International: "I can’t sleep without pills. I still get upset easily when people mention the war. An image, a memory, a TV spot can be a spark. I can’t stand it … I need help."
The authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina have failed to provide these women with access to adequate healthcare or psychological support, which is provided only by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working with limited resources.
A Bosnian NGO told Amnesty International that the vast majority of survivors of war crimes of sexual violence are not receiving any psychological assistance.
Thousands of women survivors also lost family members. Many are not able to find or maintain jobs because of their psychological condition. Many remain without a stable source of income and live in poverty, unable to buy the medicines they need.
As rape continues to be a taboo subject, in most cases the women face stigmatization rather than the recognition and vital assistance they need to help them rebuild their lives.
"The authorities must work with NGOs in developing a comprehensive strategy to ensure that survivors receive reparations, including adequate pensions, assistance with access to work and the highest achievable standard of heath-care. The government should support survivors of war crimes of sexual violence, to give them a voice to demand their rights and combat discrimination and stigmatization they face in every day life," Nicola Duckworth said.
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was established in 1993 to prosecute serious violations of international humanitarian law, including sexual violence.
However, the ICTY was only able to prosecute a limited number of the violations of international humanitarian law which took place during the wars in the former Yugoslavia. As of July 2009, the ICTY had prosecuted 18 cases related to sexual violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The War Crimes Chamber of the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina was created in 2005, to investigate and prosecute crimes that could not be prosecuted by the ICTY. To date, only 12 men have been convicted for crimes of sexual violence.
Amnesty International has called on the parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina to extend the mandate of the international judges and prosecutors as they have helped to build the capacity of the country’s judiciary through their expertise, impartiality and independence.
UN: US, EU Undermine Justice for Gaza Conflict
(Geneva) – The failure of the United States and European Union governments to endorse the report of the Gaza fact-finding mission sends a message that serious laws-of-war violations will be treated with kid gloves when committed by an ally, Human Rights Watch said today.
Malaysia upholds caning sentence for Muslim woman
Amnesty International has urged the Malaysian government to place a moratorium on the punishment of caning after an appeal court upheld a six strokes caning sentence given to a Muslim woman for drinking alcohol in public.
Shariah Court of Appeal in the State of Pahang upheld the sentence imposed on on Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno on Monday.
Last month, the Kartika’s punishment was postponed indefinitely pending revision. The postponement had initially been until the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. If the sentence is carried out, Kartika, 32, will become the first woman to be caned under Shariah law.
"The Malaysian government should do all it can to stop this inhumane punishment from being used and place a moratorium on caning as a sentence, with a view to repeal all laws providing for this and all other forms of corporal punishment", said Sam Zarifi, director of Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Programme.
"Since 2002, more than 35,000 irregular migrants have been caned or flogged. Caning is a form of cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and is prohibited under international human rights law,” he added.
"These rights may never be suspended under any circumstances. Malaysia should take a lead within the region in establishing these Human Rights standards, particularly as a country aiming to reach developed nation status by the end of the next decade."
On the 20 July, the Shariah High Court in Pahang sentenced Kartika to six strokes of the cane and fined her RM5, 000 (approximately US$ 1,400) after she pleaded guilty to consuming alcohol at a hotel there. The judge in the case had also threatened to jail her for three years if she did not pay the RM 5,000 fine, which she subsequently paid.
In September, the Pahang Syariah court sentenced an Indonesian Muslim man to six strokes of the cane and a year in prison for drinking alcohol while later in the month, the Syariah Court in the State of Selangor sentenced a Muslim couple to six strokes of the cane each after they were caught trying to have pre-marital sex.
Caning is currently used as a supplementary punishment for at least 40 crimes in Malaysia , but Kartika’s sentence is the fist time it has been used against anyone found guilty of violating the country’s religious laws.
The Shariah law applies only to Muslims, who make up 60 percent of the country’s 28 million. In June 2009, the Malaysian government announced that they had sentenced 47,914 migrants to be caned for immigration offences since amendments to its Immigration Act came into force in 2002.
Guinea: Stop Violent Attacks on Demonstrators
(New York) – Guinean security forces should immediately cease violent attacks on demonstrators protesting against the military government, Human Rights Watch said today.
Honduras: Restore Press Freedom Immediately
(New York) - Honduras’s de facto government should immediately rescind an emergency decree that severely restricts press freedoms, Human Rights Watch said today. Honduran security forces seized the offices of Radio Globo and Cholusat Sur television early today and shut down their broadcasting, two days after the decree was issued.
Zimbabwe Supreme Court orders end to prosecution of activist Jestina Mukoko
Zimbabwe’s Supreme Court ordered a permanent stay of the criminal proceedings against prominent human rights activist Jestina Mukoko on Monday. The director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) was facing criminal proceedings on charges of recruiting persons for training as insurgents or saboteurs.
“This is a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe and we welcome it," said Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International. "The government must drop all the charges against human rights and political activists who were targeted for exercising their rights to freedom of association and expression.”
The charges faced by Jestina Mukoko are widely believed to be trumped up by the previous government as part of a wider strategy to silence perceived political opponents.
The charges followed her abduction by state security agents from her home on 3 December 2008. She was detained incommunicado and was tortured by her abductions together with 23 other human rights and political activists.
“I am so relieved. For the first time from the 3rd of December [2008] my life has become normal [again],” Jestina told Amnesty International after the court ruling.
Since her release from custody on bail in March 2009, after spending three months in custody, Jestina Mukoko has been reporting at the local police station in Norton every Friday. She had to surrender her passport as part of her bail conditions.
“It is high time the Zimbabwean government demonstrates its commitment to the rule of law and human rights by ending the abuse of state institutions in pursuit of a partisan agenda," said Irene Khan. "Those responsible should be investigated and held accountable.”
Contempt of Court
In December 2002, Russian federal forces broke into the home of Salman Khadzhialiyev in the Chechen village of Samashki. They beat his two sons, Ramzan and Rizvan, and took them away. The brothers’ remains were found a few weeks later at a nearby farm; their bodies had been blown up by explosives.
US: Endorse Goldstone Report on Gaza
(Washington, DC) – The Obama administration should fully endorse the report of the United Nations fact-finding mission on the Gaza conflict led by Justice Richard Goldstone and demand justice for the victims of serious laws-of-war violations in the conflict, Human Rights Watch said today.