Civilians in Somalia face ongoing human rights violations
Clear patterns of abuse have emerged during the latest cycle of violence, which began when armed opposition groups launched a major offensive against the government last May.
Clear patterns of human rights abuse have emerged during the latest cycle of violence in Somalia, which began when armed opposition groups launched a major offensive against the government in Mogadishu in May 2009, Amnesty International said on Thursday.
In the document, No end in sight: The ongoing suffering of Somalia’s civilians, Amnesty International reviews violations of international human rights and humanitarian law committed over the past six months, primarily by armed groups opposed to the Somali government and African Union (AU) forces.
The document also lists allegations of indiscriminate fire by government and AU forces that need to be investigated.
Thousands of civilians have been killed and injured by shelling and other heavy bombardment, as armed opposition groups al-Shabab and Hizbul Islam have fought Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and AU forces, primarily in the capital Mogadishu.
“We believe reported cases represent the tip of the iceberg, continuing insecurity has made it desperately difficult to obtain reliable information,” said Erwin van der Borght, Africa Programme Director.
UN figures estimate that fighting between government forces and insurgents in the city has killed scores of civilians and forced more than 55,000 to flee their homes since the beginning of February 2010.
Armed groups fire mortars and heavy artillery from residential and public areas in Mogadishu, targeting TFG and African Union (AMISOM) bases near civilian areas, which in turn leads to retaliation and results in continuous displacement after those who survive have fled for their lives.
Some attacks target civilians deliberately. Twenty-three people were killed and 60 injured on 3 December 2009 when explosives ripped through Shamo hotel, which was hosting a medical students’ graduation ceremony.
“No party to this conflict appears to take the necessary precautions to avoid loss of civilian life and injury, despite their obligations to do so under international humanitarian law,” said Erwin van der Borght. “All sides must stop targeting civilians that continue to be unlawfully killed with impunity.”
People living in areas controlled by armed opposition groups are under growing threat of torture and unlawful public killings, including stoning to death, amputations and floggings, under the pretext of maintaining law and order.
“These abhorrent, public displays of cruelty and violence appear to be attempts by armed groups to intimidate and instil fear in the population in order to assert their control over territory,” said Erwin van der Borght.
Delivery of humanitarian aid, desperately needed by those displaced by the conflict, is being seriously hampered by opposition groups that often accuse aid organisations of spying for the international community.
Armed groups also continue to intimidate journalists and impose strict rules on media outlets in a systematic attempt to suffocate freedom of expression.
Amnesty International has urged the TFG, armed opposition groups, the African Union and the international community to implement a set of recommendations in a bid to reduce human rights abuses against civilians and allow safe access to humanitarian organizations.
Somalia: No end in sight: The ongoing suffering of Somalia’s civilians (Document, 25 March 2010)
Uzbekistan: UN Body Finds Rights Record Abysmal
(New York) – The Uzbek government should urgently heed the UN Human Rights Committee’s calls to improve its rights record, Human Rights Watch said today.
UN Human Rights Council: Positive Action on Burma, Guinea, North Korea
(Geneva) – By endorsing human rights monitoring in Burma, Guinea, and North Korea, the United Nations Human Rights Council took an important step to spotlight human rights violations in those countries, Human Rights Watch said today.
Haiti’s emergency response must include protection from sexual violence
Thousands of women living in temporary camps are threatened by sexual violence and have inadequate protection from any authorities
Thousands of women living in temporary camps around Haiti are threatened by sexual violence and have inadequate protection from any authorities, Amnesty International said on Wednesday after concluding a three-week visit to the country.
Sexual violence is widespread across the hundreds of spontaneous camps that sprung up in the capital and other affected areas of Haiti following the massive earthquake that struck the country in January.
Amnesty International said that the lack of measures to prevent and respond adequately to the threat of sexual violence is contributing to the humanitarian crisis and urged the Haitian authorities to take immediate and effective measures to curb sexual violence and protect women living in the camps.
“Sexual violence is widely present in camps where some of Haiti’s most vulnerable live,” said Chiara Liguori, Caribbean researcher at Amnesty International from Port-au-Prince. “It was already a major concern in the country before the earthquake but the situation in which displaced people are living exposes women and girls to even greater risks.”
Insecurity, overcrowding and inadequate sanitary facilities are putting women and girls at great risk of abuse because they are exposed and without protection. The lack of capacity of the police forces and the justice system in the aftermath of the earthquake means that perpetrators are unlikely to be punished.
“Authorities in Haiti must prioritize strengthening the police presence in camps, especially at night, including capacity to protect women and girls from sexual violence and to respond adequately to reported cases,” said Chiara Liguori.
There is a general feeling of insecurity inside and around the camps, particularly at night. Women and girls living in makeshift shelters feel vulnerable and are afraid of attacks.
Most victims of sexual violence interviewed by Amnesty International were minors. One eight-year-old girl was raped when alone in her tent at night. Her mother had gone out of the camp to work and did not have anybody to look after her daughter during her absence. A 15-year-old was raped when she went out of the camp to urinate, as there were no latrines within the camp.
Lack of adequate protection mechanisms for women and girls is discouraging them from denouncing the violence. A local women’s organization reported 19 cases of rape in just one small section of Champ-de-Mars, one of the biggest camps in Port-au-Prince. None of the women and girls had reported the attacks to the police for fear of their aggressors and instead moved out of the camp.
“There are no shelters in the country where victims of sexual violence can be protected and have access to services. Shelters for women and girl victims of violence must also be part of the emergency response and the international NGOs, massively present in Haiti, can only make this possible with the coordination of the Haitian authorities,” said Chiara Liguori
Amnesty International’s delegation visited eight camps of displaced people in Port-au-Prince, and the cities of Jacmel and Lascahobas, some of them more than once.
Amnesty International’s delegates met government authorities, including the President of the Republic, René García Préval, and Prime minister, Jean-Max Bellerive. They held talks with the head of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and with various UN agencies operating in Haiti, local and international human rights organizations and the ambassadors of Brazil, Canada, and France.
Sexual violence in Haitian camps of the displaced, beyond the numbers (Blog, 22 March 2010)
Human rights must be at the core of relief efforts and the reconstruction of Haiti (Public statement, 25 January 2010)
US: Suit Filed for Mentally Disabled Immigrants
(San Francisco) – The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should end immediately the indefinite detention of two mentally disabled immigrants held for over four years, Human Rights Watch said today. Lawsuits were filed today on behalf of the two men with US federal district courts in California.
Burma: G8 Summit Should Tackle Burma Rights Crisis
(New York) – Members of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized nations should put Burma on the agenda of the G8 Summit in Toronto in June, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to foreign ministers of G8 countries today.
Tunisia attempts media black-out on human rights violations
The authorities have effectively barred two human rights organizations from presenting their reports on the harassment of former political prisoners to the media.
Amnesty International has condemned the Tunisian authorities for effectively barring two human rights organizations from presenting their reports on the harassment of former political prisoners to the media this week.
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), journalists were prevented from attending a press conference on Wednesday in the capital city Tunis to launch a report on repression of former political prisoners in Tunisia.
Security forces also stopped journalists and human rights activists from attending a press conference on Monday in Tunis, to launch a report by the International Association for the Support of Political Prisoners (AISPP) on the same issue.
The incidents coincide with the publication by Amnesty International of a briefing paper, Freed but Not Free: Tunisia’s Former Political Prisoners which highlights the relentless harassment of hundreds of former political prisoners freed after unfair trials and years of prison in harsh conditions.
“Rather than addressing the ongoing concerns raised by national and international NGOs, the Tunisian authorities have opted instead to silence them,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa programme. “The authorities have shown to the world a reality already well known to Tunisians and have provided this week another demonstration of their ruthless practices”.
“They have denied the NGOs the use of venues or prevented independent journalists from reporting on the two publications and the dire situation of former political prisoners. This shows the government’s unwillingness to face the facts and end the denial that human rights violations are routine in Tunisia.”
Former political prisoners in Tunisia are subjected to oppressive police surveillance, required to report regularly to the police and repeatedly called in for police questioning, and re-arrest, following their release from prison. Some have been denied access to medical care.
Many have also been banned from travelling outside Tunisia and are not permitted to move freely within the country.
Not a single journalist was able to attend the HRW press conference to launch A Larger Prison: Repression of Former Political Prisoners in Tunisia on Wednesday.
The launch was due to take place in a hotel but all hotels where HRW had booked a conference room subsequently had “no room” available and withdrew their offers. As to the suite booked by HRW it was mysteriously flooded.
The Tunisian authorities had informed HRW officials that the authorities did not want the news conference to proceed. A launch was instead held at a law firm in Tunis amidst heavy police presence.
Journalists invited to the conference phoned to say that they were being prevented from leaving their homes or entering Tunis.
On Monday, many journalists and activists, including members of AISPP, trying to get to the launch of the organization’s report, Citizens Under Siege: Administrative Control in Tunisia were prevented from doing so.
Journalists and activists Lotfi Hajji, Lotfi Hidouri, Ismail Debara, and Faouzi Sadkaoui, were followed as they left the office of the AISSP and were prevented by about 10 security officers in plain clothes from entering the offices of the newspaper, al-Mawkif, where the launch was taking place. Lotfi Hidouri was pushed away by one officer and none of them entered the newspaper’s office.
“The recent events show that the Tunisian authorities are determined to implement a total black-out on all critical voices or those exposing its poor human rights record,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui.
Hundreds of political activists have been imprisoned in Tunisia since President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali came to power in 1987, including prisoners of conscience and others sentenced after unfair trials, reflecting the authorities’ intolerance of dissent. Many have been released from prison on previous national days under presidential pardon.
Such releases are generally only conditional, with former prisoners made subject to stifling restrictions which prevent them from obtaining paid employment or leading normal lives, including intensive surveillance and harassment by security officials.
Amnesty International has urged the Tunisian government to cease the harassment and intimidation of former political prisoners and to allow them to resume their lives as free individuals.
The organization has also called for the release of all prisoners of conscience held for the peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression.
Tunisian government must end harassment of former political prisoners (News, 15 March 2010)
Tunisia: Freed but not free: Tunisia’s former political prisoners (Briefing Paper, 15 March 2010)
Burundi: Prevent and Punish ‘Mob Justice’
Ethiopia: Repression Rising Ahead of May Elections
(Nairobi) – The Ethiopian government is waging a coordinated and sustained attack on political opponents, journalists, and rights activists ahead of the May 2010 elections, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
Albanian women deserve justice
The authorities have been urged to take further steps to protect the one in three women in the country who are victims of domestic violence.
…. It’s normal… women in our country are beaten by their husbands …your husband comes home in a bad mood and he beats you.
A witness at the trial of a man whose wife was driven to suicide by domestic violence.
Amnesty International has urged the Albanian authorities to take further measures to protect women from domestic violence by fully implementing a 2007 law.
The report, Ending domestic violence in Albania: The next steps, published on Thursday, welcomes the progress that has been made since the introduction of the law but also calls for full criminalization of the offence to ensure it is treated in the same way as other violent assaults.
“Far more women now have the confidence to report domestic violence to the authorities, and hundreds of women have applied for protection orders, introduced under the new law,” said Sian Jones, Amnesty International’s expert on Albania.
“However, the authorities need to take further concrete measures to ensure the effective implementation of the law.”
Around one in three Albanian women are victims of domestic violence, however, many incidents remain unreported because of fear and prejudice. Discussion of the issue remains taboo, especially in rural areas.
In August 2009 Luli sought police protection after her husband threw her with their baby out of their home in the town of Durres. Her husband often beat her when drunk during their three-year marriage. Her mother refused to take her home and Luli spent three days in a hospital before she was found a shelter in another town.
“Women should denounce violence. They should not live with it for so long; they should not let anyone devalue them,” 26-year-old Luli told Amnesty International.
Since the introduction of the Domestic Violence Law on 1 June 2007 there has been a significant increase in reported incidents of domestic violence. In 2007, the Albanian police reportedly received 274 reports of domestic violence. Between January and September 2009, some 993 such cases were reported.
More than a thousand women across Albania have applied to the courts for protection orders against violent partners.
Many women, though, have subsequently withdrawn their petitions following pressure from the perpetrator or the family; because of their economic dependence on the perpetrator; or their lack of trust in the ability of police to offer adequate protection.
Amnesty International has called on the authorities to improve procedures and increase resources to ensure that police, prosecutors and the judiciary ensure the effective enforcement of protection orders.
The police are insufficiently resourced and not always trained to enforce protection orders. Judges are often reluctant to order the eviction of an abusive partner from the family home. The scarcity of housing, employment and low incomes mean that whoever leaves the house will often find themselves homeless.
“Victims of domestic violence are let down by the authorities. Because of lack of coordinated action by the authorities, very often they cannot find refuge in shelters or get appropriate medical treatment, social welfare services and adequate housing,” Sian Jones said.
“Furthermore, the authorities must address the discrimination girls and women face in education and employment which deprives them of economic independence.”
