http://www.ediec.org/ Latest News en http://www.ediec.org/fileadmin/templates/images/tt_news_article.gif http://www.ediec.org/ Latest News TYPO3 - get.content.right http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:51:00 +0200 http://www.ediec.org/nc/news/newsitem/article/suspected-disappearances-in-georgia/ The Human Rights organisation Human Rights Watch suspects enforced disappearance are occurring in... Militias Attack Civilians in Gori Region
]]> Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:26:00 +0200 http://www.ediec.org/nc/news/newsitem/article/update-burgos-ma-asks-sc-to-reverse-ca-ruling-on-sons-abduction/ MANILA, Philippines - The mother of missing activist Jonas Burgos wants the Supreme Court to...
“She is responsible both for her actions as well as the illegal acts of her men. Given the foregoing, there is sufficient basis to hold the President as commander in chief liable for the enforced disappearance of Jonas under both fact and in law,” the petition said on the President's inclusion in the suit.

Other respondents in the suit are (ret) Armed Forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. (ret) Lt. Gen. Romeo Tolentino, former Army commander; Maj. Juanito Gomez, commanding officer of the 71st Infantry Division; Lt. Col. Noel Clement, commanding officer of the Security and Escort battalion based in Fort Bonifacio; and Lt. Col. Melquiades Feliciano, former commander of the 56th IB.

Burgos, son of the late freedom fighter and former newspaper publisher Jose Burgos, was abducted last April 28, 2007 while having lunch inside a Quezon City mall. Mrs Burgos said she has evidence that the military was behind the abduction.

Mrs Burgos said she has submitted substantial evidence that the military was behind the abduction of her son, and that the CA erred when it failed to establish a link between the respondents and the victim.

“Despite the evidence of petitioner and no evidence of respondents, still the CA ruled that petitioner has not adequately established a direct link between the abductors of Jonas and the Philippine Army,” she said.

The evidence includes the license plate TAB 194, which was seen attached to the getaway vehicle in the Burgos abduction but was later found out to be assigned to a vehicle impounded at the 56th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army’s headquarters in Norzagaray, Bulacan.

In its assailed decision, the CA Special Former Seventh Division dismissed the case against the military but partially granted the petition for amparo that ordered authorities to push through with their investigation on the disappearance of Jonas.

The appellate court also ordered AFP chief Lt. Gen. Alexander Yano and Police Director Gen. Avelino Razon Jr to make available to petitioner Burgos all documents and records in their possession relevant to the case. Source: GMANews.TV Click here for a link to the original article
]]> Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:52:00 +0200 http://www.ediec.org/nc/news/newsitem/article/solidarity-peace-trust-release-report-on-political-violence-in-zimbabwe/ Solidarity Peace Trust has released a report on political violence and human rights violence in... www.solidaritypeacetrust.org, or on this website by clicking here.
]]> Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:38:00 +0200 http://www.ediec.org/nc/news/newsitem/article/apdp-press-release-apdp-welcomes-ep-resolution-on-kashmir/ Srinagar, July 28: Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) on behalf of the relatives... ]]> Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:03:00 +0200 http://www.ediec.org/nc/news/newsitem/article/human-rights-watch-release-report-on-war-crimes-in-mt-elgon-kenya-1/ The Human Rights Watch report: "All the Men Have Gone: War Crimes in Mt. Elgon", documents cases of... Kenya: Punish War Crimes in Mt. Elgon
Account for 'Disappeared,' Investigate Torture and Killings
(Nairobi, July 28, 2008) – The Kenyan government should account for dozens of missing people detained during the security operation in Mt. Elgon, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Human Rights Watch also called on Kenya to support independent investigations into torture and war crimes committed by security forces, and urged donors, including London and Washington, to review military aid to Kenya. The 52-page report, “‘All the Men Have Gone’: War Crimes in Kenya’s Mt. Elgon District,” documents war crimes committed by a militia group, the Sabaot Land Defence Force (SLDF) and by Kenyan security forces responding to the crisis in Mt. Elgon, western Kenya. The investigation found that since 2006 the SLDF has terrorized thousands, killing and torturing hundreds of people. The government deployed forces in March 2008 to quell the SLDF, and Kenyan police, paramilitary and military tortured hundreds of men detained in mass round-ups. At least 37 people remain “disappeared” after being taken into custody by the security forces.  “The ‘successful’ operation to tackle the rebellion in Mt. Elgon has come at a terrible cost,” said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “The government should urgently produce those who have disappeared and ensure that those responsible for torture and other crimes, including the commanders, are held accountable.” Since 2006, the SLDF has killed more than 600 people, and kidnapped, tortured and raped men and women who opposed them or their political supporters. The SLDF originated as a militia in 2006 to resist government efforts to evict squatters, many of whom were displaced from controversial resettlement schemes in Mt. Elgon district and in the mountain’s national park. Land grievances, repeated displacement of communities, and flawed resettlement schemes are among the core problems at the heart of the conflict in Mt. Elgon. Since its formation, the SLDF’s activities have expanded, becoming more violent and linked to local political interests. By early 2008, the insurgents controlled large swathes of the mountain and effectively ran a parallel administration, collecting “taxes” and looting property and land at will. The group’s signature abuse has been to cut off the ears and sew up the mouths of people who defy their demands. Human Rights Watch researchers visited the region in March, April and July 2008, and found that in addition to its brutal efforts to terrorize, procure land, and loot, the SLDF have also played a political role. In the run-up to and following the 2007 general election, the SLDF supported certain political candidates and targeted political opponents and their supporters. In March 2008, police and military units deployed as part of a joint security operation called “Okoa Maisha” (“Save Lives” in Swahili), and local residents initially welcomed them. Although successful in capturing key SLDF leaders, security forces rounded up much of the male population of villages in Mt. Elgon district and took them for screening at military camps where suspects were routinely tortured upon arrival; some died as a result. The military themselves claim they “screened” nearly 4,000 people. At a minimum, the evidence points to hundreds of people having been tortured and dozens killed. Human Rights Watch documented dozens of cases of torture by police, paramilitary and military units. Victims described being beaten with sticks, chains and rifles, while local mortuary staff described bodies arriving with obvious signs of torture, such as welts, bruising, broken wrists, and rope burns around the wrists. The bodies of some of those who died were dumped in the forest from helicopters. A widow who identified her husband’s body in Webuye mortuary told Human Rights Watch: “Before the security operation, male residents of Mt. Elgon fled the district for fear of forceful recruitment into the SLDF. Now they have either been rounded up or they have fled again, for fear of being tortured. Mt. Elgon is a mountain of women, all the men have gone.” The Kenya National Commission of Human Rights and two nongovernmental organizations, the Independent Medico-Legal Unit and Médecins Sans Frontières, have also released reports documenting torture by the security forces in Mt. Elgon. Government officials have consistently denied that any torture has taken place, although the government launched an internal police investigation in June 2008. Human Rights Watch called for an independent investigation to examine the crimes and bring those responsible to justice. “A police investigation that reports to the commanders who should be investigated can’t hope to discover what went wrong on Mt. Elgon,” said Gagnon. Human Rights Watch also called on foreign governments providing military aid and other assistance to Kenyan security forces to review that support in light of the mounting evidence of torture, and the Kenyan government’s reluctance to seriously investigate and address the abuses. Both the United States and United Kingdom governments provide millions of dollars of military assistance, training and other support to the Kenyan military every year. “Washington and London are close partners of the Kenyan military, and they should suspend military assistance until there is an independent investigation of the war crimes,” said Gagnon. “They shouldn’t be supporting the military until the Kenyan authorities commit to prosecuting those responsible for torture and war crimes.”  Source: Human Rights Watch press release: "Kenya punish war crimes in Mt. Elgon"]]> Tue, 29 Jul 2008 15:05:00 +0200 http://www.ediec.org/nc/news/newsitem/article/un-working-group-on-enforced-and-involuntary-disappearances-concludes-85th-session/ The United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances concluded its 85th...
The Working Group examined 38 reported cases under its urgent action procedure. The members of the Working Group expressed deep concern that 30 of the new urgent action cases refer to alleged disappearances in Sri Lanka.

The Working Group also reviewed 290 newly-submitted cases of enforced disappearances and information on previously accepted cases from 31 countries, including Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Belarus, Colombia, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Kuwait, Libya, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Philippines, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Turkey, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Venezuela and Yemen.

In addition, the Working Group reviewed seven general allegations, based on information from non-governmental organizations concerning reported obstacles encountered in the implementation of the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance in Bolivia, Colombia, India, Pakistan, Sudan and Thailand.

Meetings were held with NGOs and family members of the disappeared, as well as with representatives of the Government of Japan to exchange views on the phenomenon of enforced disappearances.

The Working Group was established by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in 1980 to assist families in determining the fate and whereabouts of disappeared relatives. The Working Group endeavours to establish a channel of communication between the families and the Governments concerned, to ensure that individual cases are investigated, with the objective of clarifying the whereabouts of persons who, having disappeared, are placed outside the protection of the law. In view of the Working Group's humanitarian mandate, clarification occurs when the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person is clearly established. The Working Group continues to address cases of disappearances until they are resolved.

The Working Group is comprised of five independent experts from all regions of the world. The Chairman-Rapporteur is Mr. Santiago Corcuera, and the other Expert-Members are Mr. Darko Gottlicher, Mr. Saied Rajaie Khorasani, Mr. Jeremy J. Sarkin and Mr. Stephen J. Toope.

For more information on the WGEID, please refer to the web site: http://www.ohchr.org/english/issues/disappear/index.htm Source: OHCHR press release. Click here to access the original press release (external link)]]> Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:36:00 +0200 http://www.ediec.org/nc/news/newsitem/article/un-warns-about-forced-disappearances-in-colombia/ Colombia is the only country in Latin America where people continue to be victim of forced... Source: Colombia Reports. Click here for the original article (external link)
]]> Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:01:00 +0200 http://www.ediec.org/nc/news/newsitem/article/despite-drop-in-rights-abuses-still-no-vibrant-democracy/ While the incidence of extrajudicial killings may have decreased in the second quarter of this... Source:  Inquirer.net. Please click here for the original article (external link) Please click here for access to the website of Karapatan Please click here for the full report of Karapatan
]]> Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:20:00 +0200 http://www.ediec.org/nc/news/newsitem/article/sri-lanka-outlawing-discussion-on-forced-disappearances-statement-by-achr/ Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the questioning of three representatives of two... Sri Lanka: Outlawing discussion on forced disappearances
An incident which happened this week was shocking confirmation of the fears repeatedly expressed by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) about threats to the legal system of Sri Lanka. A special police unit, acting on orders from above, recorded statements from three representatives of two well-known and reputable human rights organizations, the Law and Society Trust (LST) and Right to Life. The staff members were questioned regarding a pamphlet published on the 10th December 2007 on the occasion of the International Human Rights Day. This pamphlet, which mentioned various human rights problems in the country, also mentioned the forced disappearances that have been taking place during the recent decades. The accusation made by the police was that the statement, which called for accountability of the police and armed forces and for the ending of impunity, amounted to attempts at demoralising the armed forces. The purpose of recording the statements was to submit them to the Attorney General for the purpose of prosecuting the authors of this pamphlet. In fact, the pamphlet was written on behalf of 27 Sri Lankan human rights organisations who agreed on the contents prior to publication. The phrase “acts demoralising the armed forces” is being used frequently now in Sri Lanka. Any act of criticism or protest is being portrayed as an act aimed at demoralising the armed forces. Articles written by defense analysts were also characterized as acts aimed at demoralising the armed forces and a notice to that effect was published in the website of the Ministry of Defense. Any talk of a strike, for example, against rising food prices or fuel prices is characterised as a similar activity. Any and every form of complaint by the citizens given expression to in the media or civil society organizations is deemed to be motivated by the same aim. From noon to night, propaganda agents and organs of the state repeat this refrain. Now even the discussion on disappearances that has been a theme in the political discourse in Sri Lanka for over three decades, has been brought under attack on the basis that it might demoralise the armed forces. Since the late 80's, protests against disappearances have remained a major theme in Sri Lankan politics and elections have occasionally been fought on this issue. This is quite natural as Sri Lanka is among the countries which have had highest numbers of forced disappearances. The present Executive President of Sri Lanka was one of the most prominent campaigners against disappearances in the past. The Mother's Front of Sri Lanka against disappearances received international attention in the past. A citizen standing up against disappearances was considered a citizen with a conscience. There arose also critical and creative literature relating to disappearances in all the languages in Sri Lanka. All the governments in the recent past have made pledges to the United Nations and to the international community to take steps to stop forced disappearances and to prosecute the perpetrators of such disappearances. At that time none of these activities were seen to be threatening the morale of the armed forces. In fact, such attempts to eliminate forced disappearances were perceived as the only way to build discipline in the armed forces and the police. Now there is a new theme: “preventing demoralisation of the armed forces”, and it has been made the central political theme in the country. The attempt to prosecute the representatives of two well known human rights organisations over a pamphlet, only 500 copies of which were printed seven months ago, and which contained a theme which expressed nothing new, can only be seen as a part of this larger scheme. The sheer absence of any form of authenticity of the accusation does not seem to matter. What appears to be the purpose of this exercise is to make an example of these two organizations as an expression of determination to punish anyone who talks about forced disappearances. Sadly, it is quite normal to use this tactic of punishing some persons in order to teach everyone else a lesson and to create a chilling effect in the society. When a society respects the rule of law, the crimes for which people can be punished are well defined and well publicised. That a person can be punished only after being proven guilty for the commission of a crime is one of the most elementary principles of criminal justice in a society based on rule of law. Making false accusations, conducting arbitrary investigations followed by baseless prosecutions is a sure sign of the abandonment of the basic notions of criminal justice. However, this type of “prosecution” has taken place in Sri Lanka on numerous occasions. The present Executive President was made the chief accused and was charged with several of his political colleagues by a former government that accused them of trying to overthrow the government. There was no basis at all for such an accusation, however, the accused were brought before a high court and charged. After keeping the case pending for some time the prosecution was withdrawn because by then, the political aim of the prosecution had already been achieved. Thus the Attorney General's department, which performs the role of prosecutor within the criminal justice system of Sri Lanka, conducted prosecutions without any basis in law. Therefore the possibility of this happening again cannot be dismissed lightly. The absurd manner in which the law is manipulated today indicates the type of noonday darkness that is spreading across the country. Trifling with the law causes enormous damage to the rule of law system in a country and the psyche of the people. Once a legal system is pushed over a precipice in this manner it is not easy for such a system to recover. The proposed prosecution of the representatives from two human rights organizations is an indication of the further spread of this cancer. In previous statements of the AHRC, for over a decade now, we have repeated this theme of the exceptional collapse of rule of law in Sri Lanka. If Sri Lankan society and the global community do not intervene to stop the misuse of the law for political purposes the slogan of trying to protect the armed forces from demoralisation may become the noose on which the country's legal civilisation may suffer its demise. Source: Asian Commission for Human Rights. Please click here for the original statement (external link) Further reading:

• Sri Lanka: the Law on Publications (external link)
  
• Sri Lanka: Illegal inquiries conducted by Colombo Criminal Division (CCD) and the National Investigation Bureau (NIB) against four reputed human rights organisations in Sri Lanka (external link)
  

]]> Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:53:00 +0200 http://www.ediec.org/nc/news/newsitem/article/philippines-court-dismisses-number-of-writs-of-amparo/ The Court of Appeals in the Philippines continues to dismiss writs of amparo. The initial hope that... Misunderstanding Amparo The Court of Appeals has recently dismissed amparo petitions for the supposed failure of the victims-petitioners to prove that their rights to life, liberty or security were violated or under threat. In the case of survivor-witness Francis Saez who implicated Gen. Jovito Palparan - the epitome of a vicious and remorseless human rights violator who “got away with it” - to the killing of two human rights workers in Southern Tagalog, the Court of Appeals dismissed the petition because “it appears” to have been precipitated by “fear that something might happen to him, not because of an apparent or visible threats to his life, liberty or security”. The CA also dismissed the amparo petition of Nilo Baculo, a media man who believes he is also under threat. Similar petitions for the writ were also recently dismissed one after the other in the case of activist-farmer Jonas Burgos, peace consultant Elizabeth Principe and – only yesterday - the Gumanoy sisters, daughters of one of the said Southern Tagalog human rights workers. Firstly, the CA decisions seem to have sorely misunderstood the nature of amparo petitions and the interim relief for a temporary protection order demanded in the Saez and Baculo cases. The rule states under Rule 14 (a) that: (a) Temporary Protection Order. – The court, justice or judge, upon motion or motu proprio, may order that the petitioner or the aggrieved party and any member of the immediate family be protected in a government agency or by an accredited person or private institution capable of keeping and securing their safety. If the petitioner is an organization, association or institution referred to in Section 3(c) of this Rule, the protection may be extended to the officers involved. Clearly, the Court may grant a temporary protection order motu proprio or “on its own initiative or discretion” even without a request or motion from the petitioner. Unlike the other interim reliefs, protection orders may be granted without a hearing. The intent of the rule, therefore, is to facilitate these protection orders rather than make it a burden for the petitioners to prove that they are under threat. The Protection Order is precisely a mantle intended to protect the victim should his claim to threats be true. No injury is caused if the Court will grant it and state that “even if the threat has not yet been fully established by direct evidence, the Court grants you protection and warns any person or entity not to violate your right to life, liberty or security”. The writ of amparo is in the nature of an affirmative action wherein the Court should grant the protection order if the respondents fail to prove that they are not threatening the life of the victim. Dismissing a petition on the unsure ground that the threat “appears” to be baseless is surely not the intent of the amparo rule. Secondly, The CA decisions’ unreasonable standard of asking the victims for “clear evidence” of “apparent or visible” threats to the life of the petitioner could be misplaced. Judicial decisions will have to be in touch with the reality outside the immaculate walls and towers of the courtyards. There have been 900 extra judicial killings, several hundreds of disappearances, and daily accounts of almost routinary torture of the most heinous kinds in the Philippines since 2001 and there has been very little “visible or apparent” evidence gathered by the police to identify the perpetrators. The only time when the victims will have the opportunity to get a “visible or apparent” evidence of the threats is when a gun is already pointed at them and the trigger is about to be pulled. To place that burden on the victims rather than government agencies is clearly a misreading of the amparo rule. The Supreme Court declared that the writ of amparo is not a criminal action requiring proof beyond reasonable doubt, nor is it a civil or an administrative proceedings, but a prerogative writ intended to protect human rights. In the above cases, it seems that the Court of Appeals did not find the allegations of petitioners “relevant evidence that a reasonable mind might accept to support a conclusion that there is a real and actual threat” to the life, liberty or security of Saez, a survivor-witness himself who implicated a notorious general for the killing of his two fellow human rights workers and who is being asked to “spy” on his own lawyers who are themselves members of NUPL. The decision considers the report of surveillance, and the “tailing” of the victim as nothing more than a mere baseless “fear”. This brings to mind a report to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on September 9, 1985 on the human rights situation of Chile under Gen. Augusto Pinochet: On March 14, 1980 the teacher Oscar Salazar Jahnsen appeared before the Santiago Appeals Court, and complained of the conspicuous tailing to which he had been subject and expressed his fear of being illegally arrested and requested that he be granted adequate protection. When the respective report was requested from the Minister of the Interior, the Minister replied, “in this Department of State there is no information about this person” (confidential official letter 873 of March 18). x x x Six days later the court rejected the application and on April 28 the teacher Salazar was killed in a “security operation”. Concerning this event the media reported: according to the versions supplied to the press, the event was the consequence of the tailing of Oscar Salazar for several days. Security officials followed him yesterday from the downtown area and in Lo Cañas Street ordered him to surrender. It was not stated why the arrest had not taken place earlier. 102. The account given indicates that the Judiciary has shown serious negligence in processing the applications submitted to it for safeguarding the personal liberty, the physical integrity, and even the life of many persons opposed to the Government. This attitude has favored, by omission, the condemnable practices of the Government, which have not been investigated with the decisiveness . The New Template of “Voluntary custody” In the case of the habeas corpus petition of 17 year old Fatima Gumanoy and the amparo petition of Juvy Ortiz and Jeffry Panganiban, the Court of Appeals dismissed their respective petitions on the ground that the subjects purportedly chose to remain in the custody of the military. This ruling is a far cry from the groundbreaking decision of the Dipolog and Davao RTC which ordered the release from military custody of petitioners Ruil Munasque and Luisito Bustamante both of whom also signed “affidavits of voluntary custody” with the AFP. The courageous Davao and Dipolog RTC judges who, despite Munasque’s and Bustamante’s affidavit professing voluntary custody with the military, released the victims to the custody of their family with an admonition that they can go back to the military’s custody the very next day should they persist on their declaration that they want to remain under the military’s custody. The RTC judges showed a keen perceptiveness of the conditions on the ground, the reality and context of human rights violations and sensitivity to the victims’ plight when they ordered their release. The basis of the custody of the military must be a legal basis, not upon the whim or request of anyone, even the victim especially since the AFP is not a hotel or a boarding house where anyone can just demand board and lodging. If there is no arrest warrant or commitment order, the Court of Appeals cannot order that a victim remain in the custody of the AFP as in the case of Gumanoy, who is a minor. Secondly, the Court of Appeals must be conscious or take note of the credible allegations, pervasive public perception and independent findings – both here and abroad - and hundreds of complaints in different national and international fora that the military, police and their agents are involved in human rights violations, abduction and enforced disappearance including torture. This immediately puts a legal responsibility on the courts to frown on claims by subjects that they ‘want’ to be in military custody as testimonies most likely given under duress. A decision dismissing an amparo petition because a subject ‘wants’ to be under the military’s custody, rather than with his family, is based on an unrealistic assessment of the facts and, denies reality and even common human experience. It simply taxes one’s credulity. In his speech before the Court of Appeals, Chief Justice Reynato Puno reminded the CA justices that amparo is intended to protect human rights and exhorted them to do so when he declared: The power to interpret law is therefore a power that can make a difference. The power is weak only in the hands of weaklings; the power is puny only to those whose minds no longer dream and dare. Together with the rulings in Saez, Baculo, Gumanoy, Panganiban and Ortiz and more recently, the rulings in the Jonas Burgos and Elizabeth Principe petitions, it seems that the heralded promise that was amparo is floundering not in any local RTC who might be more in touch with reality but in the ivy towers of the Court of Appeals. After giving the amparo a chance, where else can the victims really go for real justice? Date : 27 July 2008 Reference : Atty. Neri Javier Colmenares, Secretary General Source: PinoyPress. Click here for the original article (external link) Further reading:

• Court Rules Against Jonas Burgos' Mother (external link)
• Court setback to spur on mom's search for Jonas (external link)

]]> Mon, 28 Jul 2008 10:49:00 +0200