January/February 2008
US Congress Includes Human Rights Provisions in 2008 Spending Bill
The omnibus spending bill that US President George W. Bush signed into law on December 26 includes a number of important human rights provisions. Working with our allies in Congress and the State Department, Human Rights Watch pressed for several specific measures that were ultimately included in the bill, such as requiring Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to restore full political freedoms and the rule of law as a condition for receiving certain US military aid, and imposing a visa ban on Uzbek officials responsible for human rights violations like the massacre at Andijan in 2005. The legislation also suspends military aid to Sri Lanka until the State Department can certify that Sri Lanka is punishing officers responsible for human rights violations, providing access to humanitarian groups and journalists, and allowing the deployment of the UN monitoring mission that we have been advocating. In the case of Colombia, the legislation attaches extremely detailed conditions relating to respect for human rights, the dismantlement of paramilitary organizations, and extradition of paramilitaries-which Human Rights Watch has repeatedly called for. It also prohibits military aid to any country where the government, or government-supported forces, recruit child soldiers. Finally, in this legislation we secured a near-total hold on foreign military assistance for the provision, sale, or transfer of cluster munitions, which is the focus of an important global campaign for us because these weapons indiscriminately kill civilians.
Jordan Withdraws Repressive Draft Law
On January 8, the Jordanian government withdrew a controversial draft law that would have given the Ministry of Social Development unchecked power to restrict civil society groups by denying them licenses, removing their boards, or shutting them down. It would have also enshrined governmental control over all donations, both domestic and foreign, to Jordanian nongovernmental organizations, or NGOs. Three weeks earlier, Human Rights Watch had sharply criticized Jordan's increasing restrictions on independent organizations and citizens' rights to freedom of assembly and association, and we pressed government ministers to abandon the draft NGOs law. At a press conference after the bill withdrawal, the Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications told reporters that the government "will conduct in-depth discussions with civil society organizations and all concerned parties regarding the draft NGOs law." Read More.
US Federal Court Rules Promise of No Torture for Deportee Is Subject to Review
In a landmark decision on January 10, a federal court in Pennsylvania blocked the Bush administration's attempt to deport an Egyptian man to Egypt by relying on secret "diplomatic assurances" from Cairo that the man would not be tortured there. The American Civil Liberties Union, in consultation with Human Rights Watch, brought the suit on behalf of Sameh Khouzam, a Coptic Christian who fled religious persecution in Egypt in 1998, only to be informed upon arrival in the US that he was wanted in Egypt on a murder charge, for which the Egyptian authorities have yet to produce sufficient evidence. Human Rights Watch submitted two expert affidavits in the case, documenting the prevalence of torture in Egypt and attesting that, based on Human Rights Watch's extensive research, the United States is the only country that does not provide the opportunity to challenge the reliability of assurances against torture. The court rejected the Bush administration's claim that the executive branch had the authority to deport Khouzam without judicial review of the assurances, noting that this would render the procedures established for seeking protection under the Convention Against Torture "a farce." Khouzam was released from custody on January 15 pending the administration's appeal. Read More.
UN Makes Civilian Protection a Priority for Peacekeepers in DR Congo
On December 21, the United Nations Security Council passed a new mandate for the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC), extending the peacekeeping force's presence for another year and refocusing the mandate to make the protection of civilians a top priority. Human Rights Watch lobbied intensively for the revised MONUC mandate and for other provisions that were ultimately incorporated. These include the need for the mission to help bring to justice "perpetrators of grave violations of human rights and international humanitarian law," particularly those responsible for the recruitment and use of child soldiers, and to develop a comprehensive strategy to address sexual violence against women. Human Rights Watch has long documented the extensive crimes committed against civilians by all parties to the conflict. On January 23, the Congolese government and 22 armed groups signed a peace agreement. Human Rights Watch was present at the negotiations and helped to secure language in the agreement to ensure that perpetrators of war crimes would not be amnestied. Read More.
Saudi King Commutes Sentence of Gang Rape Victim
On December 17, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia commuted the sentence of 200 lashes and a six-month prison term for a woman who had been gang-raped. The woman had been charged with "illegal mingling" with an unrelated man at the time of the sexual assault. In November, the General Court of Qatif had increased her sentence from its earlier verdict of 90 lashes, because she and her lawyer spoke out publicly about the case. Human Rights Watch issued a series of press releases denouncing the increased sentence imposed on the woman and calling on the Ministry of Justice to immediately stop publishing statements aimed at damaging her reputation. We also condemned the Ministry's harassment of the woman's lawyer, who was arbitrarily banned from the courtroom and from any future representations of her. Human Rights Watch's advocacy contributed to the international outcry over this case, creating pressure on the Saudi authorities to commute her sentence. The Ministry of Justice also promised to cancel her lawyer's disciplinary hearing where he was to face possible disbarment. Read More.
South Korea's New Presidency Should Defend Human Rights
Asia Director Brad Adams writes in The Korea Times that South Korean President-elect Lee Myung-bak should take a firm stance on human rights abuses in North Korea, including denial of the right to food, public executions, and severe restrictions of personal freedoms.
Colombian President Must Stop Endangering Journalists
Writing in the International Herald Tribune, Hollman Morris, winner of the 2007 Human Rights Watch Defender Award, describes the dangerous environment in which Colombian journalists operate and calls on President Álvaro Uribe to cease personal attacks on reporters.
Kosovo Status Concerns Must Not Preclude Protection of the VulnerableOn International Human Rights Day, researcher for the Western Balkans, Wanda Troszczynska-van Genderen, calls on the international community in
Guardian Unlimited to address the ongoing serious human rights problems in Kosovo, even during the continued search for a solution to Kosovo's status.
Lebanon Should Provide Protection to Iraqi Refugees
Refugee Policy Director Bill Frelick, in Al-Akbar calls on the Lebanese government to recognize as refugees Iraqis who have fled persecution in their country and now reside in Lebanon, and to respect their fundamental rights, most especially the right not to be forcibly returned to persecution, torture or death.
