Wednesday, June 30, 2010

In Refusing to Hear My Case, The Supreme Court Has Put the World's Peace and Order in Danger. Read here - http://ping.fm/Df6Ha

Britain, France, Germany use torture intel: HRW

LONDON — Britain, France and Germany use foreign intelligence obtained through torture in the fight against terrorism, a new report from Human Rights Watch said Tuesday.

The use by three heavyweight European powers of information from secret services in countries that routinely rely on torture was damaging the reputation of the entire European Union, said the rights group.

"Berlin, Paris and London should be working to eradicate torture, not relying on foreign torture intelligence," said Judith Sunderland, Western Europe researcher for HRW.

"Taking information from torturers is illegal and just plain wrong."

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Saffron Revolution: Memories of a Burmese monk

While the purpose of the census is to gauge the size of populations such as the Burmese-American community through a number, even more can be learned in the stories of those people behind the statistics.

One of those refugees from Burma is Ashin Kovida. Here, he is just a young man with a warm smile and a heavy accent, but in Burma, he is a symbol of survival and freedom.

Reporter Laura Klivans spoke with Ashin.

Monday, June 28, 2010

City of Berkeley Proclamation for the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

PROCLAMATION:

Whereas,

June 26 is the day on which the Convention against Torture and Other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment came into force in
1987; and

Whereas,

the Government of the United States ratified the Convention against
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in
1994, making the Convention part of U.S. law; and,

Whereas,

At that time, there were no treatment centers or services to treat torture
survivors, while today there are some 200 centers or programs all over the
world, with several of them in the Bay area staffed by citizens of
Berkeley where they offer profound knowledge of torture methods, the
effects of torture, and how to diagnose and rehabilitate torture victims;
and

Whereas,

the United Nations has proclaimed June 26 the United Nations International
Day in Support of Victims of Torture; and

Whereas,

the United Nations appeals to all Governments and members of civil society
to take action, every year, at the international, regional, national,
provincial, community, village, professional, family and individual level,
to defeat torture and torturers everywhere;

Now therefore, be it resolved that I, Tom Bates, Mayor of the City of
Berkeley, do hereby proclaim June 26, 2010, as

United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

Tom Bates, Mayor, June 26, 2010

Read here

UN human rights experts call on States to ratify treaty on enforced disappearances

25 June 2010 – A United Nations human rights working group today urged Member States to back a global pact aimed at protecting people from enforced disappearances that is just two ratifications shy of the number needed to bring it into force.

The International Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances, which was adopted by the General Assembly in 2006, has been signed by 83 countries and ratified by 18 so far.

The UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance wrapped up its latest session today, which took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina, by calling on “all other States to ratify the convention and accept the State and individual complaint process under the convention.”

Torture remains prevalent in too many countries, UN warns

26 June 2010 – Too many countries are still practising or tolerating “cruel, degrading and illegal” acts of torture, top United Nations officials said today as they pledged the UN's solidarity with the millions of torture victims worldwide.

“The prohibition of torture is absolute and unambiguous,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message marking the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. “Torture cannot be justified under any circumstances whatsoever, whether during a state of war or in response to terrorism, political instability or any other public emergency.”

US Grants Asylum for Gay Uzbekistan Man

With the help of Columbia Law School’s Sexuality and Gender Law Clinic, an Uzbekistan man was granted asylum for fear of persecution because of his sexual orientation if forced to return to his country.

The grant, issued by the US Department of Homeland Security, comes at a time when gay people in Uzbekistan face serious threats, both from police and the surrounding community.

“In Uzbekistan, I lived with terror every day,” said the man, who remains anonymous out of fear of continued persecution. “I was arrested and abused by the police for having an intimate relationship with another man. Even after I escaped the country, the police have tried to track me down at my parents’ home, and I know if I had to return, my life would be in danger.”

Calling for US Accountability on the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture

Today is the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, established by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1997, to mark the ratification of the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment on June 26, 1987.

As UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan explained on June 26, 1998 (when the day was first marked), "This is a day on which we pay our respects to those who have endured the unimaginable. This is an occasion for the world to speak up against the unspeakable. It is long overdue that a day be dedicated to remembering and supporting the many victims and survivors of torture around the world."

U.N. urges Iraq to ratify convention against torture

(CNN) -- The United Nations on Saturday urged Iraq to ratify the organization's convention against torture "in the nearest future."

Ad Melkert, special U.N. representative in Iraq, called on Iraq "to intensify monitoring and investigating allegations of ill-treatment and torture of detainees and prisoners" to make sure those responsible for such actions are held accountable.

"Iraqi has come a long way in recognizing human rights as a priority for building a democratic state where human dignity is preserved and protected but there is yet much more to be done," Melkert said.

The request was made on the annual International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

So far, 147 countries have ratified the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; 45 U.N.-member nations, including Iraq, have not yet signed.

The convention calls on nations "to make torture a crime and to prosecute and punish those guilty of it."

Read at CNN

Human Rights Groups Urge Indonesia to Stop Torture

Human-rights advocates are calling for the Indonesian government to release more than 100 imprisoned political activists and to end its use of torture. Human Rights Watch says it has documented abuse being used to silence peaceful advocates for independence in the Papua and Maluku regions of the country.

Rights activists criticized the Indonesian government for what they say is the arbitrary arrest and torture of political activists in Papua and Maluku.

In a recent report, Human Rights Watch says it has found more than 100 cases of wrongful imprisonment and several cases of prisoners being beaten and injured.

Refugees 'forced to return' to Kyrgyzstan

A human rights group says it is worried by reports that Kyrgyz refugees who crossed into Uzbekistan two weeks ago have been forced to return home.

The UN Refugee Agency says that of the estimated 100,000 Uzbeks who crossed the border after ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan, nearly all have returned.

It is unclear how many may have felt pressured to do so.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Federal review aims to improve refugee system

Obama administration officials say the U.S. program is outdated and lacks resources to help refugees get on their feet. The recession hasn't helped. Some changes have already been made.

Recognizing that the United States is failing thousands of refugees fleeing war-torn countries, the Obama administration is conducting the first thorough review of the refugee resettlement system in 30 years and plans to announce major reforms this summer.

Officials say the system is outdated and lacks adequate resources to help refugees find jobs and support themselves before exhausting their benefits. That task has been made more difficult by the recession and high unemployment.

Angelina Jolie visits Ecuador refugees

Actress Angelina Jolie has travelled to a village on Ecuador's border with Colombia to highlight the abuses suffered by women and children refugees.
The star, who is a United Nations goodwill ambassador, returned to a region inhabited by thousands of displaced Colombian people, to hear about their experiences.

Watch the video at BBC

Libya violating human rights despite new image, says Amnesty

Human rights observance in Libya is failing to keep pace with the country's improved international image, with abuses rife and state security forces enjoying impunity for their actions, Amnesty International reports today.

Britain, the US and other countries are accused of turning a blind eye to "gross" domestic excesses committed by Muammar Gaddafi's regime, as they rush to co-operate over counter-terrorism and invest in the oil-rich north African country.

Floggings used as punishment for adultery, indefinite detentions and abuses of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, as well as the legacy of unresolved cases of enforced disappearances of dissidents are documented in a 135-page report – the product of Amnesty's first visit to Libya in five years during which the human rights organisation enjoyed partial co-operation from the authorities.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

From Bhutan to the Bronx

Freelance photographer and IRC volunteer Misha Cohen has been telling the story of the Bhutanese Timsina family’s first months in the U.S. in pictures. Follow the odyssey of Chet Nath, his wife, Uma, and their five-year-old son, Kushal, as they begin their new life in New York City, following 17 years living in exile in Nepal. For a recap, catch Misha’s blog in the Huffington Post.

Since their arrival in the US, the Timsina family is able to enjoy freedoms that were stripped from them in Bhutan. They have also adapted to different customs, while retaining traditions from home.

View the photos at the International Rescue Committee

Refugee World Cup

“Wherever you are in the world, no matter how poor or troubled you are, there is always soccer. You can play it anywhere and we love it,” says Ali Kareem, 32. “Soccer gives us something in common. We all want to win, but mostly we just want to play.”

A refugee from Iraq who resettled in Northern California with help from the International Rescue Committee, Ali has been doing more than just counting down to this week’s kickoff of the FIFA World Cup. He’s also been sharing his passion for soccer by coaching a team of Iraqi players who competed last weekend in the Bay Area Refugee World Cup in Oakland.

The tournament, jointly organized by the IRC and Soccer Without Borders, brought together more than 80 refugees from Iraq, Bhutan, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Myanmar.

“Soccer is really an international tie for these guys. To integrate into this country and this culture is so hard for these refugees to do,” says John Hollis, who works with the IRC in San Francisco and helped to organize the games. “But for these guys to come out and do something they already know how to do, which is to play soccer, it’s a really nice confidence boost for them.”

You can read more about Ali — and find out which team won the Refugee World Cup — at Fanhouse.

Listen to KQED’s interview with Ali and John here.

See action shots from the tournament in The Bay Citizen’s slideshow

Read at the International Rescue Committee

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

KENYA-SOMALIA: Fatuma Mohamed, "I refuse to sell my daughter"

KAKUMA, 21 June 2010 (IRIN) - Fatuma Mohammed, a refugee from Somalia, has been living with her six children in a camp in Kakuma, northwest Kenya, since March 2006. She told IRIN how her husband had tried to sell her then 14-year-old daughter into marriage.

"One day a middle-aged man from our community came knocking on my door asking for my daughter. When I asked him why he wanted to see her he said, 'She belongs to me, she is my wife'.

Read more at ReliefWeb

Presidential Proclamation - World Refugee Day

On World Refugee Day, we honor the contributions and resilience of those forced to flee from their homelands due to violence, persecution, or natural disasters. The hard-earned wisdom, diverse experiences, and unceasing courage of refugees enrich our Nation and strengthen our unique narrative that America stands as a beacon of hope and opens our doors to those in need. Today, we celebrate the triumph of the human spirit exemplified by these displaced individuals, and acknowledge the compassion of those who welcome them into their homes and communities.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Refugee Act of 1980. This historic legislation championed by Senator Edward M. Kennedy created the current Federal Refugee Resettlement Program and codified into law the right to asylum for refugees. Through the Refugee Act and continued humanitarian aid, America's leadership in international relief efforts and in defense of human rights has helped expand protections for countless refugees, internally displaced persons, and other victims around the world.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Tens of thousands of Afghan refugees go back home with UN support

21 June 2010 – An estimated 70,000 Afghan refugees have returned to their homeland so far this year, an indication that an increasing number of those who fled have confidence that they can live in the country despite the prevailing security and socio-economic challenges, according to the United Nations refugee agency. The pace of returns has been on the rise in recent weeks and now averages 806 individuals per day, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a statement on World Refugee Day, which was marked on Sunday, adding that returns generally peak between May and August.

Read more at the UN News Centre

UN: Rights Council Condemns Violations in Kyrgyzstan

(Geneva) - The United Nations Human Rights Council took positive steps to respond to human rights emergencies in Kyrgyzstan and Somalia in its session that ended on June 18, 2010, Human Rights Watch said today. But the council's failure to act on Iran and its weak response to the situation in Afghanistan indicate that the body is still taking a piecemeal approach to fulfilling its mandate, Human Rights Watch said.

The council condemned the ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan and called on its government to conduct a full and transparent investigation into the events of April 7 that led to the ouster of the previous government and the ongoing ethnic violence, while also agreeing to examine the situation in Somalia during its next session. The council also decided to send a fact-finding mission "to investigate violations of international law resulting from Israeli attacks on the flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian assistance" on May 31.

June 20th Was World Refugee Day!

“On World Refugee Day, let us reaffirm the importance of solidarity and burden-sharing by the international community. Refugees have been deprived of their homes, but they must not be deprived of their futures.”

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Message for World Refugee Day 2010

Urgent Action Needed for Congo: Wall Street Reform Conferees Need to Hear From You

Over the past few months, your activism has helped us ensure that Congress would act on conflict minerals in the Democratic Republic of Congo. So it’s great news that House and Senate sponsors of the original bills have agreed on great language to be included in the Wall Street Reform bill. The language would ensure companies are subjected to audits and required to disclose where the minerals they use come from – helping stem the flow of conflict minerals from the DRC.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

UN agency announces milestone in resettlement of Iraqi refugees

18 June 2010 – The United Nations said today that 100,000 Iraqi refugees have been referred for resettlement from the Middle East to third countries since 2007, a major milestone for one of the world’s largest refugee populations. “100,000 submissions of Iraqi refugees is a tremendous achievement,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres said today during his visit to Syria, which according to government estimates, hosts over 1 million refugees, the majority from Iraq.
“Many have been living in limbo for years. This will increasingly be the case if States don’t continue to welcome Iraqi refugees for resettlement,” said Mr. Guterres, who is in Syria to mark World Refugee Day on 20 June – the first time that the event is hosted in the Middle East.

Read more at the UN News Centre

Friday, June 18, 2010

Displacement inside Kyrgyzstan reaches 300,000

Some 300,000 people are now estimated to be internally displaced in Kyrgyzstan, according to information from the Kyrgyz Interim Government and non-governmental organizations on the ground. While many among this population are being sheltered by family and host communities, it is also estimated that at least 40,000 people are in need of shelter. The Kyrgyz authorities are trying to restore law and order, and have reported that some 180 people have been killed and a further 1,900 injured.

The situation in Osh and nearby villages appears to be volatile. Sporadic clashes have reportedly taken place around the town of Jalal-Abad and the situation there is tense. Many families have left from Osh and Jalal-Abad to Bishkek and other areas, fearing further violence.

Refugees pour into camps in Uzbekistan, escaping Kyrgyz clashes

UNICEF and partners are sending emergency shelter, medical and hygiene supplies to refugees in eastern Uzbekistan who have fled violence in Kyrgyzstan. The aid is being distributed by the Uzbek Ministry of Emergency Situations. A firsthand report from one of the refugee camps follows.

ANDIJAN, Uzbekistan, 16 June 2010 – Navruza, 14, seems calm but her eyes are full of sorrow. Along with her mother and two brothers, she managed to escape deadly clashes in the town of Osh, in southern Kyrgyzstan, and find refuge across the border in neighbouring Uzbekistan.

AUDIO: Listen now

Angelina Jolie returns to Ecuador to highlight challenges facing refugees

LAGO AGRÍO, Ecuador, June 18 (UNHCR)- UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie has returned to northern Ecuador to see how the situation has changed since she was last in the country eight years ago and to raise awareness about unaccompanied minors and violence against female refugees.

The award-winning actress, who arrived in the city of Lago Agrío on Thursday, visited UNHCR field operations and the isolated community of Barranca Bermeja, located in thick jungle on the banks of the San Miguel River, which marks the border with Colombia. The little village hosts 34 families, most of them refugees from the violence that has plagued parts of Colombia for decades.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

The sun never sets on World Refugee Day events

GENEVA, June 14 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency is this week launching its most ambitious programme of World Refugee Day (WRD) activities ever, with major events organized for Damascus, Shanghai and Washington, DC.

And, for the first time, New York's iconic Empire State Building will be spotlit in UNHCR blue from sunset on June 20, World Refugee Day, as a sign of respect and solidarity for refugees. Other international landmarks that will turn blue include the ancient Colosseum in Rome, Geneva's Jet d'Eau and – also for the first time – the bridge across the Ibar River in the divided Kosovo town of Mitrovica.

Children hard hit by violence in Kyrgyzstan

NEW YORK, 15 June 2010 - UNICEF today reported 90 per cent of the refugees from fighting in Southern Kyrgyzstan were children, women and the elderly. A rapid assessment revealed that many children suffered physical and mental violence.

More than 100,000 refugees are in Uzbekistan, most of whom are located in about 75 camps around the city of Andijan.

Iraqi Kurdistan: Girls and Women Suffer the Consequences of Female Genital Mutilation Kurdistan Regional Government Should Outlaw the Practice

ARBIL - June 16 - A significant number of girls and women in Iraqi Kurdistan suffer female genital mutilation (FGM) and its destructive after-effects, Human Rights Watch said today in a new report. The Kurdistan Regional Government should take immediate action to end FGM and develop a long term plan for its eradication, including passing a law to ban the practice, Human Rights Watch said.

The 73-page report, "‘They Took Me and Told Me Nothing': Female Genital Mutilation in Iraqi Kurdistan," documents the experiences of young girls and women who undergo FGM against a backdrop of conflicting messages from some religious leaders and healthcare professionals about the practice's legitimacy and safety. The report describes the pain and fear that girls and young women experience when they are cut, and the terrible toll that it takes on their physical and emotional health. It says the regional government has been unwilling to prohibit FGM, despite its readiness to address other forms of gender-based violence, including domestic violence and so-called honor killings.

Number of forcibly displaced rises to 43.3 million last year, the highest level since mid-1990s

BERLIN, Germany, June 15 (UNHCR) – Annual figures released Tuesday by the UN refugee agency show that some 43.3 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide at the end of 2009, the highest number of people uprooted by conflict and persecution since the mid-1990s.

At the same time, according to the 2009 Global Trends report, the number of refugees voluntarily returning to their home countries has fallen to its lowest level in 20 years. UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres, commenting on the figures during an address in Berlin on Tuesday, said "last year was not a good year for voluntary repatriation."

Ohio immigrant denies torture claim from Somalia

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A lawsuit alleging that a former Somalia military colonel who lives in Ohio had ordered the detention and torture of a human rights advocate in Somalia in 1988 was filed in the wrong country and too long after the alleged abuse, according to a court filing.

Abdi Aden Magan, the former chief of the National Security Service of Somalia, also said he is immune from prosecution.

"So long as Magan acted within his official capacity and on behalf of the Somalian government, the conduct is immune from civil liability," according to Magan's filing in U.S. District Court in Columbus late Friday.

Health Agency Urged to Probe CIA Torture Claims

Human rights groups are turning to an obscure government agency to investigate allegations that medical professionals on the payroll of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) helped the agency to perform experiments on detainees in U.S. custody following the terrorist attacks of Sep. 11, 2001, in an effort to make "enhanced interrogation techniques" more efficient and provide them with legal cover.

The organizations called a telephone press conference Wednesday to announce that since the Barack Obama administration has not responded to previous requests, they are asking the Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP), part of the Department of Health and Human Services, to launch an official investigation.

Gay asylum seekers need sanctuary, not secrecy

While homophobic politics and violence are rising across Africa and are entrenched elsewhere, the UK is at a critical juncture. Many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people seek asylum in the UK, but until now many have been sent back to countries where they are persecuted, and told to be discreet.

Last month the supreme court heard two cases challenging the Home Office over its refusal of asylum based on the argument of discretion. The men involved – an Iranian and a Cameroonian – are still awaiting a judgment which could set a major precedent in asylum law.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

“Do No Harm: Intelligence Ethics, Health Professionals, and the Torture Debate

In spring 2010, the Berkeley Law Clinic interviewed psychologists on the history and impact of “enhanced interrogation techniques” - including on the future role of their profession. Survivors International's Dr Uwe Jacobs was one of those psychologists who offered his expert opinions and perspectives on the role psychologists play in these interrogations. Check out the site here and listen to the clips here

Thursday, June 10, 2010

UN court gives life sentences for two Bosnian Serbs for genocide

A UN tribunal has sentenced two Bosnian Serb army officers to life imprisonment for committing genocide at the UN-declared safe zone of Srebrenica in 1995.
If Thursday's convictions are upheld, Vujadin Popovic and Ljubia Beara will be the only defendants sentenced for genocide by the UN Yugoslav tribunal.
Another officer has been found guilty of aiding and abetting genocide in the “summary execution” of more than 7,000 Bosnian Muslims in the enclave. He was given 35 years in prison.
Four other Bosnian Serb army and police officers also were convicted of war crimes and given sentences ranging from five to 19 years.
The Srebrenica case is the largest trial ever conducted by the UN Yugoslav court.

Read at the Globe & Mail

Say NO to sexual violence in conflict and make Security Council resolution 1325 a reality now

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security Resolution was unanimously passed on 31 October 2000. It is one of the most important international mandates covering the full and equal participation of women in all peace and security initiatives, as well as the mainstreaming of gender issues in the context of armed conflict, peacebuilding and reconstruction processes. The Resolution represented the first time that the Council formally recognized the distinct roles and experiences of women in different phases of conflict, its resolution and its long-term management. Further, the Resolution emphasized that incorporating women leads to more effective and practical security policies and activities.

Since Resolution 1325 was passed, there has been only limited progress in its implementation. To date, sixteen countries have produced National Action Plans (NAPs) implementing the resolution: Austria, Belgium, Chile, Cote D’Ivoire, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Liberia, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Uganda, and the United Kingdom

Add your name to this petition to Say NO to sexual violence against women in conflict and ask your government to make resolution 1325 a reality.

Exhumed Bones May Offer Clues to Guatemala's 'Disappeared'

GUATEMALA CITY -- Working in a shabby public cemetery, anthropologists are pulling skeletons from an enormous well, hoping the bones will provide clues to what happened to thousands of ``disappeared'' people during the longest and bloodiest Central American civil war.

In what looks like a giant crime scene, the anthropologists -- from the Foundation of Forensic Anthropology of Guatemala, a private group founded in 1994 -- are sifting skulls, femurs and ribs to find signs of violence. The bones are nearly three decades old, dumped here during the height of the civil war, but they still carry signs of trauma: a gunshot or machete hack to the skull.

Evidence Indicates that the Bush Administration Conducted Experiments and Research on Detainees to Design Torture Techniques and Create Legal Cover

(Cambridge, MA) In the most comprehensive investigation to date of health professionals' involvement in the CIA's "enhanced" interrogation program (EIP), Physicians For Human Rights has uncovered evidence that indicates the Bush administration apparently conducted illegal and unethical human experimentation and research on detainees in CIA custody. The apparent experimentation and research appear to have been performed to provide legal cover for torture, as well as to help justify and shape future procedures and policies governing the use of the "enhanced" interrogation techniques. The PHR report, Experiments in Torture: Human Subject Research and Evidence of Experimentation in the 'Enhanced' Interrogation Program, is the first to provide evidence that CIA medical personnel engaged in the crime of illegal experimentation after 9/11, in addition to the previously disclosed crime of torture.

Read more at Physicians for Human Rights

Millions suffer in 'human rights free zone' in northwest Pakistan

10 June 2010

Millions of Pakistanis in the northwest tribal areas live in a human rights free zone where they have no legal protection by the government and are subject to abuses by the Taleban, Amnesty International said in a major report released on Thursday.

"Nearly 4 million people are effectively living under the Taleban in northwest Pakistan without rule of law and effectively abandoned by the Pakistani government," said Claudio Cordone, Amnesty International's interim Secretary General.

Monday, June 7, 2010

DR Congo suspends police chief over activist murder

KINSHASA — The Democratic Republic of Congo said Sunday it had suspended its police chief and arrested several officers in a high-profile probe into the murder of a human rights campaigner.

The move came as a source close to the presidency said a police colonel had blamed the killing last week of Floribert Chebeya, which sparked international condemnation, on the national police chief John Numbi.

The source said Colonel Daniel Mukalay, head of the police special service, had confessed to a role in the murder and had pointed the finger at Numbi.

Argentina opens dirty war torture garage trial

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — From the street, it was an unremarkable auto-body shop in a busy middle-class neighborhood.

Behind its metal garage door, Automotores Orletti was a tactical operations center for Operation Condor, a coordinated effort by South America's dictatorships to eliminate dissidents who sought refuge in neighboring countries.

Bound, blindfolded prisoners were scattered on the oil-stained concrete floor among disabled cars and machinery. Engines ran to mask the screams as prisoners were given electrical shocks and hoisted on pulleys, then submerged headfirst in water — torture they called "the submarine."

Thursday, June 3, 2010

African Torture Survivor Lives American Dream

Viany Seyossolo could pass for any regular guy in South Florida. Until, you see his scars.

"They kidnapped me, they beat me," said Seyossolo. "They wanted to kill me."

Seyossolo was kidnapped and tortured by government soldiers in a country in war-torn central Africa. He was burned, blinded in one eye and almost died.

"I saw many people die before me," he said.

Head of large Congo human rights group found dead

KINSHASA, Congo -- The head of one of Congo's largest human rights groups has been found dead, and the United Nations' top human rights official said Thursday the victim had suffered a pattern of intimidation because of his work.

The body of Floribert Chebeya Bahizire of Voix des Sans Voix, or Voice of the Voiceless, was found in his car Wednesday in a suburb of Congo's capital.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

UN expert reports alarming rates of murder in Brazil despite efforts to end violence

1 June 2010 – Many Brazilians, especially inhabitants of shanty towns, continue to be subject to murder and other forms of brutal violence by various gangs, militias, death squads and the police, despite efforts by the Government to end the crimes, a United Nations independent human rights expert said today.

“When I visited the country two and a half years ago, I found that the police executed suspected criminals and innocent citizens during poorly planned and counter-productive war-style operations into favelas [shanty towns],” said Philip Alston, the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions. “Off-duty police, operating in death squads and militias, also killed civilians, either as ‘vigilantes’ or for profit.

Read more at the UN News Centre

China Bans Court Evidence Gained Through Torture

BEIJING — The top judicial and law enforcement bodies in China have issued new guidelines that seek to halt the use of torture in obtaining confessions or witness testimony, especially in death penalty cases.

The rules, announced Sunday, would nullify evidence gathered through violence or intimidation and give defendants the ability to challenge confessions presented during their trials.

The new regulations were issued weeks after the authorities conceded that the confession used to erroneously convict a farmer for a murder was based on torture. The case came to light only after the supposed victim turned up alive and the defendant had spent 10 years in prison. It has provoked national outrage.

Amnesty's report condemns 'politicisation of justice'

Amnesty International has criticised the "politicisation of international justice" in its annual report, which documents torture in 111 countries.

The human rights group accuses powerful governments of subordinating justice to political self-interest and of shielding allies from scrutiny.

It expresses particular concern over possible war crimes committed during fighting in Sri Lanka last year.

A well-locked closet

THEIR crimes were “gross indecency” and “unnatural acts”. Their sentence was 14 years’ hard labour: one intended, said the judge, to scare others. He has succeeded. A court in Malawi last week horrified many with its treatment of Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, a gay couple engaged to be married. The two men are the latest victims of a crackdown on gay rights in much of the developing world, particularly Africa.

Some 80 countries criminalise consensual homosexual sex. Over half rely on “sodomy” laws left over from British colonialism. But many are trying to make their laws even more repressive. Last year, Burundi’s president, Pierre Nkurunziza, signed a law criminalising consensual gay sex, despite the Senate’s overwhelming rejection of the bill. A draconian bill proposed in Uganda would dole out jail sentences for failing to report gay people to the police and could impose the death penalty for gay sex if one of the participants is HIV-positive. In March Zimbabwe’s president, Robert Mugabe, who once described gay people as worse than dogs or pigs, ruled out constitutional changes outlawing discrimination based on sexual orientation.

UN publishes report on Colombia military killings

GENEVA — Colombian security forces committed "a significant number" of murders over the past decade, often for personal profit, and few of the perpetrators have been punished, according to a report published Thursday by an independent U.N. human rights expert.

Philip Alston, the U.N.'s investigator on extrajudicial executions, said in his 36-page report that the number of so-called "false positive" killings by military members surged in 2004.

Law must protect gay asylum seekers

In the new government's newly published policy on equalities, there is a statement that says: "We will stop the deportation of asylum seekers who have had to leave particular countries because their sexual orientation or gender identification puts them at proven risk of imprisonment, torture or execution."

This commitment should be welcomed, but with caution. As a statement taken out of context, it is legally meaningless until it is translated into policy changes by the Home Office. On the face of it, it doesn't really change anything. Some people are already accepted by the courts and the Home Office to be refugees because of their sexuality. However, the vast majority are refused, even when they are from places that the Foreign Office regularly condemns for the abhorrent treatment of LGBT people, such as Uganda or Malawi.

Amnesty Says Governments Aid Rights Abuses

HONG KONG — Powerful governments and political expediency are helping to perpetuate torture, war crimes and other human rights abuses around the world, Amnesty International said Thursday in its annual report.

“Too many perpetrators are getting away with some of the worst crimes known to humanity,” said Claudio Cordone, the interim secretary general of the organization.

Governments were among the worst of the offenders, according to the group’s 2010 report, which surveyed conditions in 159 countries last year. People were tortured in 111 nations, Amnesty International reported, as “human rights abusers enjoyed impunity for torture in at least 61 countries.”