Vietnam: Stop Cyber Attacks Against Online Critics
(New York) – Vietnam has launched a sophisticated and sustained two-pronged attack against online dissent, Human Rights Watch said today. The government is detaining and intimidating independent Vietnamese bloggers while also permitting cyber attacks from Vietnam to disable websites critical of the government.
ICC: Strengthen International Justice at Kampala Conference
(Kampala) – Governments should use the first review conference of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to advance justice for the worst international crimes, Human Rights Watch said today. The 10-day conference, which begins May 31, 2010, is being held in Kampala, Uganda.
Report 2010: Global justice gap condemns millions to abuse
Amnesty International’s annual assessment of the state of the world’s human rights, documents abuses in 159 countries and details how power politics are worsening the situation.
A global justice gap is being made worse by power politics despite a landmark year for international justice, said Amnesty International today in its annual assessment of human rights worldwide.
Launching Amnesty International Report 2010: State of the World’s Human Rights, which documents abuses in 159 countries, the organization said that powerful governments are blocking advances in international justice by standing above the law on human rights, shielding allies from criticism and acting only when politically convenient.
“Repression and injustice are flourishing in the global justice gap, condemning millions of people to abuse, oppression and poverty,” said Claudio Cordone, interim Secretary General of Amnesty International.
“Governments must ensure that no one is above the law, and that everyone has access to justice for all human rights violations. Until governments stop subordinating justice to political self-interest, freedom from fear and freedom from want will remain elusive for most of humanity.”
Amnesty International called on governments to ensure accountability for their own actions, fully sign up to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and ensure that crimes under international law can be prosecuted anywhere in the world. It said that states claiming global leadership, including the G20, have a particular responsibility to set an example.
The International Criminal Court’s 2009 arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al Bashir, for crimes against humanity and war crimes, was a landmark event demonstrating that even sitting heads of state are not above the law. However, the African Union’s refusal to cooperate, despite the nightmare of violence that has affected hundreds of thousands of people in Darfur, was a stark example of governmental failure to put justice before politics.
The UN Human Rights Council’s paralysis over Sri Lanka, despite serious abuses including possible war crimes carried out by both government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, also stood as a testament to the international community’s failure to act when needed. Meanwhile, the recommendations of the Human Rights Council’s Goldstone report calling for accountability for the conflict in Gaza still need to be heeded by Israel and Hamas.
Worldwide, the justice gap sustained a pernicious web of repression. Amnesty International’s research records torture or other ill-treatment in at least 111 countries, unfair trials in at least 55 countries, restrictions on free speech in at least 96 countries and prisoners of conscience imprisoned in at least 48 countries.
Human rights organizations and human rights defenders came under attack in many countries, with governments preventing their work or failing to protect them.
In the Middle East and North Africa, there were patterns of governmental intolerance of criticism in Saudi Arabia, Syria and Tunisia, and mounting repression in Iran. In Asia, the Chinese government increased pressure on challenges to its authority, detaining and harassing human rights defenders, while thousands fled severe repression and economic hardship in North Korea and Myanmar.
Space for independent voices and civil society shrank in parts of Europe and Central Asia, and there were unfair restrictions on freedom of expression in Russia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Uzbekistan. The Americas were plagued by hundreds of unlawful killings by security forces, including in Brazil, Jamaica, Colombia and Mexico, while impunity for US violations related to counter-terrorism persisted. Governments in Africa such as Guinea and Madagascar met dissent with excessive use of force and unlawful killings, while Ethiopia and Uganda among others repressed criticism.
Callous disregard for civilians marked conflicts. Armed groups and government forces breached international law in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sri Lanka and Yemen. In the conflict in Gaza and southern Israel, Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups unlawfully killed and injured civilians. Thousands of civilians suffered abuses in escalating violence by the Taleban in Afghanistan and Pakistan, or bore the brunt of the conflicts in Iraq and Somalia. Women and girls suffered rape and other violence carried out by government forces and armed groups in most conflicts.
Other trends included:
- Mass forced evictions of people from their homes in Africa, for example in Angola, Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria, often driving people deeper into poverty.
- Increased reports of domestic violence against women, rape, sexual abuse, and murder and mutilation after rape, in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Jamaica.
- Millions of migrants in Asia-Pacific countries including South Korea, Japan and Malaysia faced exploitation, violence and abuse.
- A sharp rise in racism, xenophobia and intolerance in Europe and Central Asia.
- In the Middle East and North Africa, attacks by armed groups – some apparently aligned to al-Qa’ida – in states such as Iraq and Yemen, heightened insecurity.
Globally, with millions of people pushed into poverty by the food, energy and financial crises, events showed the urgent need to tackle the abuses that affect poverty.
“Governments should be held accountable for the human rights abuses that drive and deepen poverty. The UN review meeting on the Millennium Development Goals in New York, USA, this September is an opportunity for world leaders to move from promises to legally enforceable commitments,” said Claudio Cordone.
Women, especially the poor, bore the brunt of the failure to deliver on these goals. Pregnancy-related complications claimed the lives of an estimated 500,000 women, according the most recent UN figures, with maternal mortality often directly caused by gender discrimination, violations of sexual and reproductive rights, and denial of access to health care.
“Governments must promote women’s equality and address discrimination against women if they are going to make progress on the Millennium Development Goals,” said Claudio Cordone.
Amnesty International also called on G20 states that have failed to fully sign up to the International Criminal Court – USA, China, Russia, Turkey, India, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia – to do so. The international review meeting on the court, beginning in Kampala, Uganda on 31 May, is a chance for governments to show their commitment to the court.
Despite serious failures in ensuring justice last year, many events revealed progress. In Latin America, investigations into crimes shielded by amnesty laws were reopened, with landmark judgments involving former leaders including the convictions of former President Alberto Fujimori of Peru for crimes against humanity and Argentina’s last military president, Reynaldo Bignone for kidnapping and torture. All trials in the Special Court for Sierra Leone were concluded apart from the on-going trial of former President of Liberia Charles Taylor.
“The need for effective global justice is a key lesson from the past year. Justice provides fairness and truth to those who suffer violations, deters human rights abuses, and ultimately delivers a more stable and secure world,” said Claudio Cordone.
Brazil: Reject ‘Fetal Rights’ Bill
(New York) – Brazil’s Congress should protect women’s dignity and human rights by rejecting a bill that confers extensive rights to fertilized ova, Human Rights Watch said today. The measure would give the rights of the fertilized ovum "absolute priority" under Brazilian law.
Iraqi authorities must investigate killing of politician
Bashar Mohammad Hamid al-’Agaidi, who was recently elected to parliament, was shot outside his home in Mosul.
Amnesty International has called on the Iraqi authorities to investigate the killing of a politician in the northern city of Mosul on Monday.
Bashar Mohammad Hamid al-’Agaidi, who was recently elected to the Iraqi parliament, was shot in the chest outside his home by armed men. His driver is also said to have been injured.
“The Iraqi authorities must investigate this killing and bring those responsible to justice in conformity with international law and without recourse to the death penalty,” said Malcolm Smart, director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa programme.
“More must be done to protect the hundreds of civilians who are being killed or injured in increasing attacks by armed groups, as the ongoing uncertainty over when a new Iraqi government will be formed continues.”
According to reports, one of the attackers has been arrested by the police.
No group has so far said it carried out the attack.
Bashar Mohammad Hamid al-’Agaidi was elected to the Iraqi Parliament in the national elections held on 7 March 2010. He was a candidate for al-’Iraqiyya List, led by former prime minister Iyad ‘Allawi, which won, narrowly, the largest number of seats but not an overall majority.
The elections did not produce any clear winner and the leading political parties have so far failed to agree on who should be forming the next government.
This political and security vacuum is being exploited by armed groups fighting against Iraqi and US forces who have intensified their suicide bombing campaign.
In the run-up to the elections and after, hundreds of civilians, including political activists, journalists, women and members of ethnic and religious minorities, have been killed by armed groups.
On 27 April 2010 Amnesty International issued Iraq: Civilians Under Fire, a detailed report focusing on the plight of civilians in Iraq.
Iraq must protect civilians at risk of deadly violence (News, 27 April 2010)
Thailand: Conduct Independent Inquiry Into Political Violence
(New York) – The Thai government should set up an independent commission to carry out a prompt, comprehensive, and impartial investigation into abuses by all sides during the recent protests and hold accountable all those found responsible, Human Rights Watch said today.
Egypt using defamation laws to prosecute dissenting voices
Amnesty International criticizes the authorities’ attempts to silence and harass activists, as the trial of two leading human rights defenders and a prominent blogger begins.
Amnesty International has criticized the Egyptian authorities’ use of criminal defamation charges to silence and harass activists, after the trial of two leading human rights defenders and a prominent blogger started on Saturday.
A court in Cairo heard the case of the three men on charges of “defamation”, “the use of threats” and “misuse of communication tools”, after allegations of extortion were made by a judge in 2007.
Gamal Eid, Director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) and Ahmed Seif El-Islam Hamad, founder of the Hisham Mubarak Law Center (HMLC) both appeared before the Khalifa Court of Misdemeanour on Saturday.
Egyptian blogger Amr Gharbeia, now an Amnesty International staff member, was not in court but was represented by his lawyers.
“Questionable criminal defamation charges are used to harass human rights defenders and those critical of the authorities in Egypt,” said Amnesty International.
“We fear that these latest charges are a further attempt to intimidate independent human rights organizations, which are already subject to severe restrictions, including state-security vetted registration and tight government rules on foreign funding.”
If convicted, the men may face imprisonment and a fine. Following Saturday’s hearing the next hearing has been scheduled for 26 June.
The charges appear to be part of a wider crackdown against dissent and criticism of the authorities and public officials, as Egypt prepares for elections to the Shura Council, Parliament’s upper house in June.
The charges relate to a February 2007 complaint by Judge Abdel Fatah Murad, which accused Gamal Eid and Ahmed Seif El-Islam Hamad of trying to extort money from him.
Days before the complaint, ANHRI and HMLC had published a statement accusing Abdel Fatah Murad of plagiarizing an ANHRI report on restrictions on the internet in the Arab world and reproducing it in his book.
The statement by ANHRI was in response to a book review written by Amr Gharbeia on his blog on 7 Feb 2007, in which he covered the anti-freedom of expression stance in Murad’s book, The Scientific and Legal Principles of Blogs.
An investigation by the Egyptian Public Prosecution followed, and Amr Gharbeia was interrogated for possible “defamation” on account of comments left for a limited period of time on his blog posted by third parties.
The charges are the latest in a series to be brought against human rights campaigners and critics of government policies.
A lawsuit for criminal defamation has also been brought by the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs against the journalist Hamdi Kandil, who had criticized the minister in a 3 May article in newspaper Al-Shuruq. Hamdi Kandil was summoned to be informed of the charges by the Public Prosecution on 18 May. If convicted, he faces imprisonment and a fine. Hamdi Kandil is the spokesperson for the National Association for Change, which calls for political reform in Egypt.
On the same day of the trial, the state-owned al-Ahram newspaper published an article accusing human rights activists of painting a negative image of the human rights situation in Egypt in order to make personal financial gains through foreign funding.
The newspaper articles followed visits by human rights activists to Brussels to expose the deteriorating human rights situation in Egypt and to call on the EU to press the Egyptian government to honour its human rights obligations.
In a further incident, Nasser Amin, Director General of the Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession (ACIJLP) was interrogated on 17 May 2010 by the Public Prosecutor about a complaint filed against him by a State Council judge.
The complaint relates to a statement made by Nasser Amin to the Al-Dostor newspaper and published in their weekly edition on 3 March 2010 in reaction to the vote by the General Assembly of the State Council against the appointment of women as State Council judges.
The report included a description of the State Council judges as having a “mental disorder” which was inaccurately attributed to Nasser Amin.
“The right to freedom of expression involves the right to freely criticize public officials, public officers, public personalities and authorities. This ability is fundamental for civil society to hold the authorities to account. Egyptian officials should respond on the merits of the criticisms raised rather than try to silence them,” said Amnesty International.
US: Act to End Lord’s Resistance Army Violence in Central Africa
(Washington, DC) – President Barack Obama should move swiftly to implement landmark legislation he signed today committing the US to help civilians in central Africa threatened by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a coalition of 49 human rights, humanitarian, and faith-based groups said today. The rebel group has carried out one of the world’s longest-running and most brutal insurgencies.
Sudan: End Post-Election Repression
(New York) – The new Sudanese government, led by the ruling National Congress Party (NCP), should immediately end its post-election repression of journalists, the media, opposition leaders, and activists, Human Rights Watch said today. The government should also urgently enact reforms promised in the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, Human Rights Watch said.
UN: Speed Ratification of Children’s Rights Treaties
(New York) – Governments should act quickly to ensure universal ratification of key international treaties protecting children from use in war and from sexual exploitation, Human Rights Watch said today.