Sri Lanka: Act now to prevent further bloodshed in anti-Muslim violence.

 Sri Lankan authorities must act immediately to end anti-Muslim violence in the country, and to rein in groups that violently target religious minorities, Amnesty International said.

At least four people have been reported killed and scores injured in the southern coastal towns of Aluthgama and Beruwala since an anti-Muslim riot broke out following a rally organized by the hard-line Buddhist group Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) on Sunday.  Violent incidents have also been reported in other towns since Sunday.

“This is the worst outbreak of communal violence in Sri Lanka in years and there is a real risk of it spreading further. The government must do everything in its power to end it immediately, while respecting the human rights of all concerned. Those responsible for killings and other acts of violence must be held to account, and at-risk Muslim communities given the protection they need,” said David Griffiths, Amnesty International’s Deputy Asia Pacific Director.

“Eyewitness reports that police have stood by and refused to intervene in the violence are very troubling and must also be investigated. Security forces have a duty to protect the right of everyone to life and security regardless of their beliefs or identity.”
 

A Sri Lankan resident surveys the damage to a charred Muslim-owned home following clashes between Muslims and an extremist Buddhist group in the town of Alutgama.

© LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI/AFP/Getty Images

Despite police imposing a curfew, anti-Muslim mob violence continued over Monday and Tuesday, resulting in widespread destruction of property, with Muslims’ homes and shops burned and looted. Tensions had been rising in Aluthgama for days following an alleged fight between Muslim youths and a Buddhist monk’s driver.

But despite Muslim community leaders warning that the situation could escalate, the government granted BBS permission to stage the rally on Sunday that sparked the violence, apparently without putting in place the means to prevent or stop it.

“There has been a disturbing rise in attacks and harassment of religious minorities in Sri Lanka over the two past years, mostly led by groups with a hard-line Buddhist or nationalist agenda, and these groups are reported to have strong links to high-ranking government officials. Rising violence against religious minorities cannot be treated as an isolated issue – stopping it must be a crucial part of the national reconciliation that is so badly needed since the conflict’s end in 2009,” said David Griffiths.

Amnesty International received hundreds of reports of harassment, threats and attacks on Muslims and Christians and their places of worship in 2013.

After her August 2013 visit to Sri Lanka, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay expressed concern at the “recent surge in incitement of hatred and violence against religious minorities”. These concerns were echoed by the UN Human Rights Council in March 2014 in the resolution that established an inquiry into alleged war crimes during Sri Lanka’s armed conflict.

http://amnesty.org/en/news/sri-lanka-act-now-prevent-further-bloodshed-anti-muslim-violence-2014-06-17

Pakistan: Ban of major private TV network is ‘attack on press freedom’.

There have been protests in Pakistan against attacks on media workers.

© Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ)

The Pakistani government’s suspension of Geo TV, the country’s largest private broadcaster, is a politically motivated attack on freedom of expression and the media, Amnesty International said. 

 “The suspension of Geo TV is a serious attack on press freedom in Pakistan. It is the latest act in an organized campaign of harassment and intimidation targeting the network on account of its perceived bias against the military,” said Richard Bennett, Amnesty International’s Asia Director. 

 “The Pakistani authorities must immediately reverse this ban. If there are concerns about the content of Geo TV broadcasts, the authorities should address this in line with international human rights standards – not simply move to silence a critical voice.” 

 The governmental body Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) today ruled that the licenses of Geo TV be suspended for 15 days with immediate effect. 

 The ban is due to allegedly blasphemous content broadcast last month by Geo TV - part of the Jang Media Group - and its earlier accusations against a senior military intelligence official. 

 Geo TV has been locked in a stand-off with the Pakistan military, rival media houses and some political parties since one of its journalists, the news anchor Hamid Mir, narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in Karachi on 19 April. 

 The network accused the Pakistani spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of being behind the attack, which the ISI has denied. 

 On 20 May some government officials  attempted to pull Geo TV off the air over allegedly “anti-state” and “blasphemous” content, apparently under pressure from the military, but within hours the decision was overturned by PEMRA’s executive authorities until today’s order. 

 “The suspension of Geo TV sadly fits an all too familiar pattern in Pakistan. State authorities and other political actors use any means they can to silence critical reporting, from the use of anti-state and anti-religion provisions of the law to physical attacks and violence,” said Richard Bennett. 

In a report released on 30 April, Amnesty International documented how media workers in Pakistan live under the constant threat of harassment, violence and killings from a range of state and non-state actors. 

Several Jang Media Group journalists have told Amnesty International that they have received daily threats and harassment by unknown individuals by phone and in person. 

Many said they dare not enter their offices or identify themselves as belonging to Geo TV or other Jang Media Group outlets for fear of being attacked. 

 “Pakistan’s vibrant media scene deserves better protection, and journalists must be able to carry out their legitimate work without fear or interference,” said Richard Bennett.

 http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/pakistan-ban-major-private-tv-network-attack-press-freedom-2014-06-06

MALDIVES MUST INVESTIGATE POLICE ACTIONS DURING MUSIC FESTIVAL.

Amnesty International is calling on the Maldivian authorities to investigate the actions of the police during and after a raid on a music festival on 20 April 2014, including reports that police used unnecessary force. Police action at what they said was a drugs raid raised a number of additional human rights concerns, including:

The arbitrary arrest of 79 festival goers on claims of possession and use of drugs, despite tests having not been carried out by the police;

The alleged ill-treatment of detained festival goers in police custody;

The denial of festival goers’ rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.

The music festival, which was attended by 200 youths, was a private event held on an uninhabited island, Anbaraa, located some 40 miles south of the capital, Malé. The organisers sought and received the approval from the authorities, including the Ministry of Tourism, to hold the festival from 18 to 20 April 2014. However, in the very early hours of 20 April, the police raided the island from the sea in full riot gear and masks, shot off flares and rubber bullets, and rounded up festival goers.

The festival’s participants with whom Amnesty International spoke after the raid said police manhandled many of them, verbally abused them, threw them to the ground and forced them to lie face down. They said police also ransacked and looted their belongings.

The United Nations basic principles on the use of force and firearms states that in carrying out their duty, law enforcement officials “shall, as far as possible, apply non-violent means before resorting to the use of force and firearms” (Principle 4). The information received by Amnesty International suggests that the police use of force was unnecessary, as festival participants were acting peacefully.

One participant told Amnesty International that she was kicked hard in the back by a policeman for not putting her hands up when ordered to, because in a state of shock she did not know what she was supposed to do. “I was so shocked and scared. I still have nightmares about that night,” she said.

Another participant told Amnesty International that her cousin, also at the festival, was sprayed in the face with pepper spray by a police officer without provocation. The same eyewitness saw her friend being taken away by policemen from the crowd. When her friend was returned to the group, he told her that he was beaten up for asking the police to explain why they were arresting festival goers.

There are also credible reports of the detainees being ill-treated in police custody. A lawyer who represented a number of the detainees reported that many of his female clients were threatened with sexual abuse at the time of their arrest and in custody, with police allegedly saying they would “shove their batons up them.”

The 79 detainees, who included 19 women and a 17-year-old girl, were left in plastic handcuffs for 14 hours continuously. One of the women who was detained said:

“We were separated from the men and then the police draped the women, some of whom were wearing shorts and shirts, with material because they said we were not decent. They also filmed us. They meant to humiliate us and refused to say why we had been arrested. We spent the night in handcuffs, with little water and no food until morning.”

The next day, the 79 were taken to court, where they learnt in remand hearings that they had been taken into custody for the possession and use of drugs and would be placed in police detention for 10 days. However, at the time police had not yet performed urine tests on those arrested to substantiate this.

The detainees with whom Amnesty International spoke said that drug tests were only performed after the court hearings, at Dhoonidhoo detention centre where they were being held, contrary to police statements that all detainees had tested positive for drugs at the time of arrest.

The 17-year-old girl was placed under house arrest, while the remaining detainees were kept at Dhoonidhoo detention centre. One woman told Amnesty International that while in the detention centre, she was separated from the other female detainees without explanation and placed in a small, cramped room with little ventilation. The lack of air worsened her asthma, but she was not given vital medication for over eight hours. Only when her lawyer intervened the next day was she returned to the other women, who were all kept in one cell.

A few days later, the women detainees were released from the Dhoonidhoo detention centre and placed under house arrest but the men remained at the centre. According to a lawyer representing some of the detainees, all detainees have since been released without charge except five men, who remain in Dhoonidhoo detention centre. None of them have been charged as yet.

Background

Police in the Maldives have frequently used unnecessary or excessive force against demonstrators. Concern about this has been raised by Amnesty International, the Maldives National Human Rights Commission and the National Inquiry Commission that was set up to investigate the February 2011 events during and after the transfer of presidential power at that time. No police officer in the Maldives is known to have been held accountable for the excessive use of force.

The police said they raided the Anbaraa festival because the participants were using drugs. However, the delay in carrying out drugs tests, and the fact that no one has been charged with any offence, raises concern that this was only a pretext. Although there are no laws banning music in the Maldives and Islamic dress is not mandatory, police action appears to have focused on stopping the music festival and forcing women wearing skirts and shirts to cover themselves.

Maldives is a popular holiday destination for people all over the world. The number of tourists each year constitute around three times the total population. However, Maldivians are not allowed to enter holiday resorts. Maldivian youths say they feel deprived of venues on habitable islands to enjoy music as the authorities do not permit it, apparently on religious grounds and under pressure from Islamic parties. However, holding festivals on uninhabited islands has not been a problem in the past.

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA29/001/2014/en

MALDIVES - Transparency Maldives for migrant workers.

Desperate for money migrant workers do additional odd jobs to meet their basic needs. With no assistance in addressing their issues, workers are left to fend for themselves.

A group of construction workers working for a company based in the Maldives were denied their monthly salaries for 8 months. They finally stopped working and asked the company to pay them what they were owed and make arrangements for them to return back to their country. However, the company turned down their request.

Desperate and without any money to even meet their basic daily needs, the group approached the Indian High Commission in Maldives for help.

http://transparency.mv/en/advocacy/news/indian-migrant-workers-in-maldives-stand-against-corruption-and-ill-treatment-4318d60bd30e0ba6c82695816069b243

A group of Bangladeshi laborers employed by a Maldivian company approached our advocacy and legal aid centre with their grievances. A story that reflects the condition of many other migrant workers like them in the Maldives. They were ill-treated, stripped of their basic rights and forced to work for 13 hours a day. They worked without resistance because they feared losing their only source of income to support them and their family back in Bangladesh.
Migrant workers often do physically straining odd jobs in addition to their day jobs to make ends meet.
Migrant workers in Maldives live in unhygienic and cramped conditions. It is the norm for 50 or more workers to sleep in 8 hours shifts in 20 x 10 ft spaces.

For six months, they received no payment. They went to their employer repeatedly, explaining that they need the money to feed themselves and their families. Their employer refused to pay them, telling them that the company is struggling financially. 

They filed a complaint against the company at the Labor Relations Authority and were met with vengeance. As punishment employer cut the electricity from their living quarters.

Desperate and fearful, they came to our advocacy and legal aid centre. We wrote to the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives explaining the situation and asking if a solution could be found. 

Our intervention led to a positive outcome and helped solve their immediate problems. Electricity in their living quarters was restored within 24 hours of complaining to the Human Rights Commission.
The case is under investigation by HRCM. At our advocacy and legal aid centre, we are monitoring the situation to ensure that they get their due wages paid to them in full.

http://transparency.mv/en/advocacy/news/bangladeshi-migrant-workers-in-maldives-stand-against-corruption-and-ill-treatment-e9261656f6b0dd41b55572f1e0de9586

PAKISTAN - Giornalisti sotto assedio.

http://www.amnesty.it/Pakistan-giornalisti-sotto-assedio-tra-minacce-violenza-omicidi

Secondo un rapporto diffuso oggi da Amnesty International, dal titolo "C'è una pallottola per te", i giornalisti del Pakistan vivono sotto la costante minaccia di omicidi, intimidazioni e atti di violenza da parte di servizi segreti, partiti politici e gruppi armati come i talebani. Le autorità non fanno praticamente nulla per fermare le violazioni dei diritti umani contro gli operatori dell'informazione e per portare i responsabili di fronte alla giustizia.

Dal ritorno a un sistema democratico, nel 2008, Amnesty International ha registrato 34 casi di giornalisti assassinati a causa del loro lavoro; solo in un caso gli autori sono stati identificati e sottoposti a processi.

Ma questo è solo il dato più brutale. Nello stesso periodo, molti altri giornalisti sono stati minacciati, intimiditi, sequestrati, torturati o sono scampati a tentativi di omicidio.

"La comunità dei giornalisti del Pakistan è a tutti gli effetti sotto assedio. Soprattutto coloro che si occupano di sicurezza o di diritti umani vengono presi di mira da tutte le parti, nel tentativo di ridurli al silenzio" - ha dichiarato David Griffiths, vicedirettore del Programma Asia - Pacifico di Amnesty International.

"Le costanti minacce li pongono in una situazione impossibile, in cui ogni storia che raccontano li espone alla violenza da una parte o dall'altra".

Il rapporto odierno di Amnesty International si basa su un'ampia ricerca sul campo su oltre 70 casi e su interviste con più di 100 operatori dell'informazione. 

Numerosi giornalisti intervistati da Amnesty International hanno segnalato intimidazioni o attacchi da parte di soggetti ritenuti legati alla temuta direzione dei servizi segreti militari (Isi). Alcuni di essi hanno accettato di raccontare la loro storia sotto falso nome, mentre altre storie sono state omesse dal rapporto nel timore che neanche uno pseudonimo li avrebbe tenuti al riparo da minacce alla loro vita.

L'Isi è stata implicata in numerosi rapimenti, torture e uccisioni di giornalisti, ma nessun agente in servizio è stato mai chiamato a risponderne. Ciò ha consentito ai servizi segreti di agire al di là della legge. Le violazioni dei diritti umani ad opera dell'Isi seguono un modello ricorrente, che inizia con telefonate minatorie e prosegue con sequestri, torture e altri maltrattamenti e, in alcuni casi, l'uccisione dell'ostaggio.

I giornalisti subiscono attacchi anche da parte di attori non statali. L'agguerrita competizione per trovare spazio sugli organi d'informazione comporta che potenti esponenti politici esercitino forti pressioni per avere una copertura stampa favorevole. A Karachi, i sostenitori del Movimento muttahida qaumi e del gruppo religioso Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat sono accusati di atti d'intimidazione e anche omicidi nei confronti di giornalisti.

Nelle zone di conflitto del nordest del Pakistan come nella regione del Balucistan, i talebani, il gruppo armato lashkar-e-jhangvi e i gruppi armati baluci minacciano apertamente di morte i giornalisti e li attaccano quando denunciano i loro abusi o non promuovono la loro ideologia. Anche nel Punjab, i giornalisti vanno incontro a minacce da parte dei talebani e dei gruppi collegati a lashkar e-jhangvi.

Nonostante questa ondata di violenza e attacchi, le autorità pakistane hanno ampiamente mancato di assicurare alla giustizia i responsabili. Nella stragrande maggioranza dei casi su cui Amnesty International ha svolto ricerche, raramente le autorità hanno svolto indagini adeguate sulle minacce e gli attacchi o portato i responsabili in un'aula di tribunale.

Solo in una manciata di casi di alto profilo e quando l'oltraggio dell'opinione pubblica non ha reso possibile agire diversamente, le autorità hanno svolto indagini più approfondite.

"Il governo ha promesso di migliorare questa terribile situazione, anche attraverso l'istituzione di un procuratore incaricato delle indagini sugli attacchi contro i giornalisti, ma di concreto è stato fatto poco" - ha commentato Griffiths.

"Una misura determinante sarebbe quella d'indagare sulle agenzie militari e d'intelligence assicurando così i procedimenti giudiziari nei confronti dei responsabili. Coloro che prendono di mira i giornalisti saprebbero in questo modo di non poter più agire impunemente" - ha aggiunto Griffiths.

I proprietari dei mezzi d'informazione a loro volta dovrebbero assicurare formazione adeguata, sostegno e assistenza ai giornalisti, per meglio valutare e affrontare i rischi collegati al loro lavoro.

"Senza questi provvedimenti urgenti, gli operatori dell'informazione del Pakistan rischiano di essere ridotti al silenzio. Questo clima di paura ha già avuto un effetto raggelante sulla libertà d'espressione e sul più ampio tentativo di denunciare le violazioni dei diritti umani nel paese" - ha concluso Griffiths.

BANGLADESH - Rana Plaza disaster: The unholy alliance of business and government in Bangladesh, and around the world.

Today is the one-year anniversary of the collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory building in Bangladesh, which left more than 1,100 workers dead and many more injured. The disaster has become the most shocking recent example of business-related human rights abuse, and the images of dead workers in the debris of the collapsed factory have become powerful symbols of the pursuit of profit at the expense of people.

The Rana Plaza building housed numerous garment factories supplying international clothing companies. Over the past year, there have been various initiatives to provide compensation to the victims, involving government, global brands, and the International Labour Organisation (ILO). However, these efforts have so far proved insufficient, and survivors continue to suffer and struggle to support themselves and their families.

One of the most shocking claims that has subsequently come to light is that workers did not want to enter the building because of safety concerns – cracks had been seen in the walls the day before and the building had been shut down. Despite this, managers ordered workers to enter the building.

Naturally, there has been much debate on the causes of the disaster, who was responsible, and how such a catastrophe could be avoided in future. Discussion has focused on the nature of global supply chains, workers’ rights and safety standards, and the huge market for cheap fashion in the West.

But one particular systemic issue has been too neglected: corporate power and the relationship between business and government.

This is a topic extensively discussed in Amnesty International’s recently published book Injustice Incorporated: Corporate Abuse and the Human Right to Remedy, and is hugely relevant when trying to understand why 1,100 garment workers needlessly lost their lives a year ago.

The high degree of political influence by the garment industry in Bangladesh is apparent. Transparency International estimates that 10 per cent of the country’s members of parliament are directly involved in the sector, including members of key committees. A recent report by New York University highlighted how the garment industry’s close relationship with government is a primary reason why labour laws are so badly enforced in Bangladesh.

Amnesty International’s own research has highlighted the pervasive problem of undue corporate influence on governments. The private sector is of course entitled to engage with governments, and can legitimately influence State policy; however, all too often business interests and profits are prioritized over human rights and can prevent victims from obtaining justice.

This is of course not limited to Bangladesh – two other cases Amnesty International has campaigned on clearly illustrate the problem of undue business influence on States.

This year also marks a significant anniversary of another major industrial disaster: it is almost 30 years since the deadly gas leak from a former Union Carbide chemical factory in Bhopal, India, that has killed more than 20,000 people left more than 500,000 survivors suffering long-term injury and disability. In 2007, it was revealed that Dow Chemical, the US company that bought Union Carbide, had sought to interfere with judicial processes through extensive high-level lobbying of the Indian Government. The company had used the promise of future investment in India to try to persuade the Government to intervene and halt ongoing legal actions against the company concerning the Bhopal legacy.

Multinational corporations can also influence the governments of countries where they are headquartered. Documents recently obtained through Freedom of Information requests have shown that the UK government was heavily lobbied by two companies, Shell and Rio Tinto, in relation to two high-profile US court cases on human rights abuses. The UK government subsequently intervened in both cases in support of the companies’ position: effectively backing the interests of UK business in avoiding liability for human rights abuses over the right of victims to seek justice.

Corporate involvement in policy-making must be transparent and legitimate, and business influence must not be allowed to grow to the point that victims are powerless to claim their rights to effective remedy. Two ways of achieving this are to greatly improve disclosure of corporate lobbying efforts and to require that State efforts to shape foreign economic and investment policies are subject to a test of their potential impacts on human rights.

As long as business continues to have a disproportionate influence on States, another Rana Plaza is not far away. Governments will be far less likely to enforce laws or preventative measures that will protect workers from human rights abuses, and, like in Bangladesh, those who have suffered the worst will be left without justice and compensation.

http://livewire.amnesty.org/2014/04/24/rana-plaza-disaster-the-unholy-alliance-of-business-and-government-in-bangladesh-and-around-the-world/

India, la Corte suprema si schiera dalla parte delle persone transgender.

di Riccardo Noury

La sentenza emessa il 15 aprile dalla Corte suprema indiana è stata accolta con grande soddisfazione da almeno tre milioni di cittadine e cittadini e dalle organizzazioni che lottano per il rispetto dei diritti umani delle persone transgender.

La Corte suprema ha infatti stabilito che la discriminazione basata sull’identità di genere viola i diritti, garantiti dalla Costituzione, all’uguaglianza, alla libertà d’espressione, alla riservatezza, all’autonomia e alla dignità.

La Corte ha anche chiesto al governo federale e a quelli degli stati indiani di garantire il riconoscimento legale del genere cui le persone transgender sentono di appartenere: “uomo”, “donna” o “terzo genere” e di porre in essere azioni e politiche sociali in loro favore, soprattutto nel campo della scuola e del lavoro.

Questa sentenza può migliorare la vita di tantissime persone che in India, da decenni, subiscono stigma e oppressione (ne parla tra l’altro “Naleena”, un bel documentario del regista Luigi Storto).

Le organizzazioni per i diritti umani auspicano ora che la sentenza della Corte suprema spinga il nuovo parlamento che s’insedierà al termine delle elezioni ad abolire l’articolo 377 del codice penale, che considera reato le relazioni sessuali tra persone dello stesso sesso adulte e consenzienti.

Questo articolo non è affatto un riflesso dei valori e delle tradizioni indiane quanto un lascito giuridico dei valori morali dello stato colonizzatore, la Gran Bretagna.

Formulato infatti nel 1861 e mutuato dalla legislazione britannica dell’epoca, l’articolo 377 afferma che “chiunque abbia volontariamente relazioni carnali contro l’ordine naturale con qualsiasi uomo, donna o animale sarà punito” con pene varianti fra alcuni anni di prigione e l’ergastolo “e multato”.

Proprio la stessa Corte suprema, appena lo scorso dicembre, aveva annullato una sentenza dell’Alta corte di Delhi nel 2009, secondo la quale la messa al bando delle relazioni omosessuali tra adulti consenzienti era discriminatoria e violava i diritti all’uguaglianza, alla privacy e alla dignità stabiliti nella costituzione indiana.

L’Alta corte aveva sostenuto che la criminalizzazione dell’omosessualità aveva forzato “una parte consistente della società … a vivere la loro vita all’ombra di molestie, sfruttamento, umiliazione, trattamento crudele e degradante per mano del meccanismo di applicazione della legge”.

Ora anche la Corte suprema sembra pensarla allo stesso modo.

http://lepersoneeladignita.corriere.it/2014/04/18/india-la-corte-suprema-si-schiera-dalla-parte-delle-persone-transgender/