AI Appeals for Action Feed

Protect residents of Cairo living in 'unsafe areas'

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:24:36 +0000

Following the deadly Al-Duwayqa rockslide of September 2008, the Egyptian authorities identified 26 ‘unsafe areas’ in Cairo whose residents live in conditions which pose a constant threat to their lives and health.

Earlier this year, Amnesty International visited two communities in Al-Duwayqa that continue to live in fear of further rockslides. They say they cannot afford to move to a safer place and the authorities have not offered them any alternative to where they live now.

The Egyptian authorities are developing plans to address the problems in Greater Cairo’s ‘unsafe areas’ but they are doing so without adequately consulting the affected communities.

The authorities have also been forcibly evicting people in Al-Duwayqa without giving them adequate advance notice or consulting them on their resettlement.

Many families in Al-Duwayqa have been left homeless and more families risk being forcibly evicted.

Image caption: Hussein Mahmoud Morsy, right, with his neighbours from Al-Shohba, Egypt, 3 August 2009.

South Korea must establish an official moratorium on executions

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:33:01 +0000

As Lee Kwi-nam is appointed the new Minister of Justice of South Korea, Amnesty International calls on him to immediately introduce a moratorium on executions and commute all the death sentences in the country.

Since the beginning of 2009, Amnesty International has been concerned that the South Korean government is taking steps towards resuming executions.

A consultative meeting took place on 12 February involving the ruling Grand National Party, Korean National Police, and Ministries of Justice and Public Administration and Security to discuss whether to execute the 58 inmates currently on death row and to introduce life imprisonment without the possibility of commutation. The meeting came at a time of public anger, following the arrest of a man for the alleged murder of seven women.

Despite retaining the death penalty within its legislation, the last executions in South Korea were carried out in December 1997, when 23 people were executed.

Since November 1999 four bills on the abolition of the death penalty have been introduced to successive South Korea National Assemblies.

On all four occasions, the National Assembly Legal and Judiciary Committee (LJC) did not finalise its examination of the abolition bills before the closure of the National Assembly sessions and the bills therefore lapsed.

Since 2007, two new bills to abolish the death penalty have been introduced in National Assembly are currently under consideration.

Three new death sentences were imposed in 2008 and 60 prisoners currently remain under sentence of death. Amnesty International calls on the Minister of Justice of South Korea to immediately establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty as provided by UN General Assembly resolution 62/149 and resolution 63/168 and commute all death sentences in the country.

Picture caption: World Day Against the Death Penalty, South Korea, 10 October 2009. Copyright: Amnesty International

Denied protection in Turkey - refugees unlawfully detained

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:46:46 +0000

Every year, thousands of people from countries including Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran arrive in Turkey seeking protection from persecution. Many of these people are arrested by Turkey’s security forces and are detained before being deported, often without any legal procedure being followed.

Although a party to the Refugee Convention, Turkey refuses to accept refugees coming from countries outside Europe. However, Turkey as a member of the Council of Europe is party to the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the rights of all persons within Turkey’s jurisdiction irrespective of their country of origin.

On 22 September, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Mohsen Abdolkhani and Hamid Karimnia, two Iranian refugees, had been unlawfully detained in Turkey. Following the judgment, the two men were finally released from detention on 23 October.

However, scores of others remain in detention under Turkish legal provision declared unlawful by the European Court of Human Rights.

Amnesty International has called for the release of all others who are held under the provisions found to be unlawful by the European Court of Human Rights. The organization has also requested an overhaul of the rules governing the detention of people in Foreigners’ Guest-Houses in order to prevent any future unlawful detentions.

Image: European Court of Human Rights, Strasbourg, France ©APGraphicsBank

Demand justice for killing of journalist in Mexico

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:52:10 +0000

On 27 October 2006, US video journalist Brad Will was shot and killed in Oaxaca City, southern Mexico as he filmed a clash between members of a local protest movement (Asamblea Popular del Pueblo de Oaxaca, APPO) and supporters and officials of the local governing party.

Three years later, Amnesty International believes that the truth about Brad Will's death has still not come out. Juan Manuel Martínez, an APPO sympathiser, has been detained pending trial since October 2008 for Will's murder. However, Amnesty International believes the evidence against him is flawed and he is a being used as a scapegoat.

Brad Will was in Mexico to film the widespread protests and political violence that started in Oaxaca City in June 2006 and continued into 2007. At least twelve other people were killed in Oaxaca City during the violence and scores more were illegally detained and ill-treated.

Investigations carried out by the Offices of the Oaxaca State Attorney General and the Federal Attorney General insist that Brad Will was shot at close range and that a witness saw Juan Manuel Martínez near him at the time of the shooting.

However, this key witness did not originally identify Juan Manuel Martínez and did not actually see Brad Will being shot.

Independent experts from Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and the National Human Rights Commission have reviewed the forensic evidence and concluded that the official forensic conclusion - that the shots were fired from close range - is not based on scientific evidence.

After winning an appeal against his committal for trial, Juan Manuel remains in prison as the judge ordered a second and new committal for trial. Amnesty International believes the detention and prosecution of Juan Manuel Martínez is not based on reliable evidence and appears to be driven by the need to demonstrate progress in Brad Will’s case

Demonstrating progress in resolving the case gained importance when the US Congress made it a condition of the release of some of the US funding to the Merida Initiative, a major regional security co-operation and assistance programme between the US, Mexico, and Central America.

The tragedy and injustice of Brad Will's death and Juan Manuel Martínez’s unfounded prosecution are part of the failure to investigate and hold to account those responsible for widespread human rights violations committed in Oaxaca in 2006 and 2007.

In October 2009, Mexico’s National Supreme Court of Justice concluded that serious human rights violations were committed in Oaxaca state. It attributed responsibility for many abuses to some senior public officials, including the governor of Oaxaca state. The Court called for those responsible to be held to account, but the authorities have yet to respond.

It is time for the killing of Brad Will to be impartially investigated and prosecuted on the basis of reliable evidence and according to international fair trial standards.

Call on chemical company to address the legacy of Bhopal

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:21:24 +0000

Shortly before midnight on 2 December 1984 thousands of tonnes of deadly chemicals leaked from Union Carbide’s pesticide plant in Bhopal, central India. Around half a million people were exposed. Between 7,000 and 10,000 people died in the immediate aftermath and a further 15,000 over the next 20 years.

On 2 December 2009 the people of Bhopal will mark the 25th anniversary of the devastating leak. Amnesty International will join them to highlight the ongoing human rights impacts of the 1984 leak.

Union Carbide – today a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company – walked away from Bhopal, without even decontaminating the site properly.

Despite a quarter of a century having passed the factory site has not been cleaned up. More than 100,000 people continue to suffer from health problems. Efforts to provide rehabilitation – both medical care and measures to address the socio-economic effects of the leak – have fallen far short of what is needed.

Many of those affected are still waiting for adequate compensation and the full facts of the leak and its impact have never been properly investigated. No-one has ever been held to account for what happened at Bhopal and efforts by survivors’ organizations to use the Indian and US court systems to see justice done and gain adequate redress have so far been unsuccessful.

Bhopal is not just a human rights tragedy from the last century – it is a human rights travesty today.

READ MORE
The Bhopal European Bus Tour (Livewire Blog)

Bhopal - Indian government must end 25 years of injustice

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:31:43 +0000

Shortly before midnight on 2 December 1984 thousands of tonnes of deadly chemicals leaked from Union Carbide’s pesticide plant in Bhopal, central India. Around half a million people were exposed. Between 7,000 and 10,000 people died in the immediate aftermath and a further 15,000 over the next 20 years.

On 2 December 2009 the people of Bhopal will mark the 25th anniversary of the devastating leak. Amnesty International will join them to highlight the ongoing human rights impacts of the 1984 leak.

Despite a quarter of a century having passed the factory site has not been cleaned up. More than 100,000 people continue to suffer from health problems. Efforts to provide rehabilitation – both medical care and measures to address the socio-economic effects of the leak – have fallen far short of what is needed.

Many of those affected are still waiting for adequate compensation and the full facts of the leak and its impact have never been properly investigated. No-one has ever been held to account for what happened at Bhopal and efforts by survivors’ organizations to use the Indian and US court systems to see justice done and gain adequate redress have so far been unsuccessful.

Bhopal is not just a human rights tragedy from the last century – it is a human rights travesty today. The legacy of Bhopal persists because the people of Bhopal have never been able to claim their rights. Moreover, the negative impacts of the leak are affecting new generations.

For 25 years the Indian government has failed the people of Bhopal. Promises have been repeatedly broken and no adequate action has ever been taken to address the impacts of the gas leak. And, while the people of Bhopal have struggled to obtain even basic relief such as clean water, the companies involved have evaded accountability and obstructed the efforts of victims to secure reparation.

READ MORE
The Bhopal European Bus Tour (Livewire Blog)

Upholding human rights while confronting climate change

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 11:46:42 +0000

Unless states take prompt, adequate action to address its effects, climate change could become a major threat to the realization of human rights, with those already living in poverty feeling the effects sooner and more acutely.

As global attention turns to the upcoming round of climate change negotiations in Copenhagen in December, it is more essential than ever to bring human rights to the table.

Observed and projected changes attributable to climate change include the contraction of snow-covered areas; shrinking of sea ice and melting of polar ice caps; rise of sea levels; increased frequency of hot extremes and heat waves; increase in areas affected by drought; and increased intensity of tropical cyclones.

There is an intrinsic link between such environmental impacts and the ability to realize a range of human rights. State failure to act effectively to curb climate change could result in widespread violations of the right to life, right to health, right to water, right to food, and the right to housing. Acute water shortages and decreased crop yields in the poorer region of the world, to take just two examples, would undermine the rights of millions of people.

State responses to the threat of climate change must ensure that human rights are protected. Strategies for adaptation (preparing for the foreseeable adverse effects of climate change) and mitigation (slowing climate change and reducing its harmful effects) must be firmly rooted in a human rights analysis of the legal obligations of states. Amnesty International believes that the following rights and principles must be an integral part of efforts to address climate change:

Non-discrimination: The effects of climate change will be felt disproportionately by those who are also vulnerable to human rights abuses because of their poverty, age, gender, race, ethnicity, disability or other status. Climate change policies must not discriminate and must ensure protection against discrimination, particularly of the most vulnerable groups.
Freedom of information: Access to information is critical to addressing climate change. States must promote and facilitate the flow of information on climate change and measures taken to address it. States have a duty to disseminate information about environmental risks.
Right to active participation: States must conduct adequate and meaningful consultation with affected people, involving them in decision-making on the policies that would shape their lives. States must ensure participation of civil society, including representative of vulnerable groups, in the design of national adaptation and mitigation strategies
Rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly: The right to peacefully protest against government action or inaction in relation to climate change is a crucial safeguard that must be respected and protected. Individuals must enjoy the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas, and must not be persecuted or otherwise harassed for exercising these human rights.
Accountability and the right to effective remedy: Where states’ actions and omissions in relation to the impacts of climate change result in human rights violations, victims should have access to an effective remedy.

Seven more ratifications needed for Enforced Disappearance Convention to enter into force

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 11:52:06 +0000

30 August 2009 marks the 26th International Day of the Disappeared. Every year, Amnesty International, along with associations of families of the disappeared and other non-governmental organizations, remembers the disappeared and demands justice for victims of enforced disappearances.

Governments use enforced disappearance as a tool of repression to silence dissent and eliminate political opposition, as well as to persecute ethnic, religious and political groups. To combat this grave human rights violation on 20 December 2006 the UN General Assembly adopted the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

The Convention obliges states to hold any person involved in an enforced disappearance criminally responsible. It recognizes the families' rights to know the truth about the fate of a disappeared person and to obtain reparations. It also requires states to institute stringent safeguards for people deprived of their liberty; to search for the disappeared person and, if they have died, to locate, respect and return the remains.

The Convention will enter into force when it has been ratified by 20 countries. Nigeria became the 13th country to ratify on 27 July 2009. Seven more ratifications are needed. Amnesty International is campaigning for the Convention to enter into force as soon as possible and believes this can be achieved by the end of 2009.

Currently Amnesty International is focusing its ratification campaign on the following ten countries: Burundi, Cape Verde, Costa Rica, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Paraguay, Portugal, Serbia, and Timor Leste. Join our campaign! Write to these governments, asking that they ratify the Convention.

Image caption: Artwork by Aishah, aged 13, daughter of disappeared Masood Janjua, taken during a bus trip to Peshawar, Pakistan, 30 July 2005. Copyright: Amnesty International

Sudanese authorities must abolish the punishment of flogging and repeal discriminatory laws

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:10:49 +0000

Police in Khartoum stormed into a restaurant on 5 July and arrested 13 girls and women for wearing trousers in public. After two days in custody, 10 of the women, who were not represented by lawyers, were found guilty of indecency. They were punished with 10 lashes and a fine of around $100. One of the girls is 16 years old, another two are 17. Amnesty International opposes flogging as a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and has publicly denounced its use in Sudan before.

Lubna Ahmed Al Hussein and two other women asked for legal representation. Whilst two of the women received and accepted a Presidential Pardon, Lubna Ahmed Al Hussein has refused the pardon offered her. She has stated that she will resign from her job with the United Nations Mission in Sudan so that she does not benefit from the immunity available to UN staff members. She wants to be tried as a Sudanese citizen.

Lubna Ahmed Al Hussein, who is a journalist, has written about the use of laws to harass women who in most cases don’t complaint for fear of being stigmatized. In order to highlight this widespread but under-reported problem, Ms Hussein is demanding her time in court to press for the repeal of the law that allows for women to be flogged for wearing "indecent or immoral dress… [which] causes annoyance to public feelings." The current law on "indecency", which allows for a punishment of up to 40 lashes and a fine, is open to wide interpretation by police, leading to harassment and arbitrary arrests.

Lubna Ahmed Al Hussein has appeared in Court twice, supported by some 50 demonstrators who were mainly women. Many wore trousers in support of her, and in opposition to the law. A further hearing is scheduled for 7 September.

The systematic violation of the rights of girls and women under the law has been brought to light due to the stance of Lubna Ahmed Al Hussein, who Amnesty International I considers to be a human rights defender.

Picture caption: Former journalist Lubna Hussein leaves the cafe where she was arrested in Khartoum for wearing trousers (Copyright: Private)

Call for governments to sign up to defend economic, social and cultural rights

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:30:43 +0000

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Billions of women, men and children face levels of deprivation that undermine the right to live with dignity. Hunger, homelessness and preventable diseases are not inevitable social problems or simply the result of natural disasters – they are a violation of people’s economic, social and cultural rights.

Access to justice is an essential right of victims of all human rights violations. However, many people around the world, particularly those living in poverty and other marginalized groups, have their rights violated on a daily basis. Too often, they are denied justice when they try to challenge these violations.

In many countries, economic, social and cultural rights are not recognized or enforceable by law. Existing remedies may also be ineffective in providing reparation, including compensation, rehabilitation and restitution to victims or inadequately enforced.

In December 2008, the UN General Assembly adopted the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Optional Protocol). It began to rectify historic imbalances in the universal protection of economic, social and cultural rights.

The Optional Protocol establishes an international mechanism for individuals whose economic, social and cultural rights are violated and who are denied a domestic remedy to seek justice at the international level. Amnesty International, in partnership with the NGO Coalition for an Optional Protocol, is calling on all UN member states to ensure that access to justice and the right to an effective remedy become a reality for all victims of human rights violations.

In particular, we are asking all States to take the necessary steps to become a party to the Optional Protocol when it opens for signature on September 24, 2009; to ensure that it enters into force as soon as possible; and to fully implement the Optional Protocol without delay.

Ask all governments to take a historic step on 24 September 2009 to ensure access to justice for people everywhere whose economic, social and cultural rights are violated.

Sign the Petition to support the Optional Protocol: http://www.protectallhumanrights.org/