3 Dec 2009 | Uncategorized
United Nations human rights officials have urged the government of the Philippines to carry out a thorough investigation into the massacre and “the wholesale killing of journalists” which took place in the Maguindanao province last week.
A joint statement by Frank La Rue, the UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression and Philip Alston, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions called for major political reform in the country with special attention to be given to press freedom. The statement came amidst news that among the 57 people confirmed to have been killed, 30 of those are now identified as journalists. The statement said:
“The pre-meditated killing of political opponents, combined with a massive assault on the media, must be tackled at various levels that go well beyond standard murder investigations. The massacre also demands a more extensive reflection on the elite family-dominated manipulation of the political processes and the need to eliminate such practices to ensure the future of democracy in the Philippines. This will require a thorough investigation of the broader context to be undertaken by a credible and independent body.”
Both La Rue and Alston emphasized that any broader inquiry into the political system would need to focus on the ways and means of enhancing protection for journalists in the future.
Noting that “elections in the Philippines have traditionally become occasions for widespread extrajudicial executions of political opponents,” they also called on the government to immediately set up a high-level task force to identify measures to prevent future killings that could occur in the lead-up to elections.
The International Federation of Journalistes (IFJ) says 105 journalists have now died in the country since Maria Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo became president in 2001. Government officials now say 19 people are being investigated, 12 of which are relatives of the only suspect who has so far been charged, Andal Ampatuan Jr. In the past the family under suspicion have been called “valuable political allies” by President Arroyo.
22 Oct 2009 | Uncategorized
More freedom of expression and human rights groups have voiced concern at a bid by the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) and the African Group to write new conditions into an international convention that will add a requirement to ban defamation of religion to a convention intended to eliminate racism.
The OIC, represented by Pakistan, and the African Group, represented by Egypt, have approached the UN Ad Hoc Committee mandated to ‘elaborate’ on the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
The OIC proposes new and binding standards on issues such as ‘defamation of religions, religious personalities, holy books, scriptures and symbols’. Twenty four groups, including ten Arab organisations, have put their name to an appeal to the Ad Hoc committee not to accept the OIC proposals.
With an eye to the Danish cartoons saga, the OIC calls for protection against ‘provocative portrayals of objects of religious veneration as a malicious violation of the spirit of tolerance,’ and prohibition of the publication of ‘…gratuitously offensive attacks on matters regarded as sacred by the followers of any religion’.
The OIC submission would also provide for action against ‘abuse of the right to freedom of expression in the context of racio-religious profiling’.
The letter, originated by free expression campaigners Article 19, The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies and Human Rights Watch Legal Resource Consortium in South Africa, maintains that the concept of ‘defamation of religions’ is contrary to freedom of expression but also general principles of international human rights law.
The focus, the signatories argue, should be on protecting the rights of individual believers, rather than belief systems.
‘Tolerance and understanding can only be properly addressed through open debate and intercultural dialogue involving state actors, politicians and public figures, the media and civil society organisations,’ say the groups.
‘Furthermore, the concept of defamation of religions has been abusively relied upon to stifle religious dissent and criticism of religious adherents and non-believers in a number of countries around the world.’
The African Group proposes that the Ad Hoc Committee defines ‘Islamophobia,’ ‘Anti-Semitism’ and ‘Christianophobia’ without offering up any definitions of these concepts itself. The protesting groups argue that these categories of phobias relating to Islam, Judaism and Christianity ‘clearly discriminate against believers of other religions and non-believers’.
A similar letter of concern by 23 members of the IFEX network of free expression groups and other organisations this week also called on the Ad Hoc committee to ensure that attempts to address racial or religious hatred should conform to standards of international law.
Open Letter to the UN Ad Hoc Committee for the Elaboration of Complementary Standards.
19 Aug 2009 | Uncategorized
UK lawyers representing the 36 residents of Camp Ashraf detained after the violent 28 July occupation of the site by Iraqi forces, are pressing the United Nations to ensure their immediate and safe release.
The detainees’ representatives urge both the UN and US forces in Iraq to defend their right and the rights of the rest of the camp’s residents as “protected persons” under the Geneva Convention.
They call for international protection for Camp Ashraf, home to 3,500 Iranian members, including 1,000 women and some children. And as a first step, they call for a monitoring team to be sent to Ashraf and based in the camp’s central Khalis police station.
To date, none of the 36 detainees have been granted due process, nor been allowed to see lawyers, the Red Cross officials or others. Eyewitness reports say they were beaten as they were removed from the camp.
Index on Censorship, along with other groups, is urging that the UN, in its own investigations, support the right of the Iraqi and international media to enter and report from the camp. Access is presently denied by the Iraqi authorities.
“It is clear the Iraqi authorities are ensuring that no reports or images emerge from Camp Ashraf but, in so doing, they are showing they have something to hide,” media rights group Reporters sans Frontierès has said. “This situation is unacceptable. The army must allow journalists to do their job in the camp, so that the world can know what is happening there.”
All the detainees are connected to the People’s Mojahedeen Organisation of Iran (PMOI), an Iranian opposition organization whose members have been resident in Iraq for many years.
The detainees’ representatives fear that pro-Iranian factions in the government or their paramilitary supporters will hand them over to Iran, where torture and death most likely await.
Amnesty International has called on the Iraqi government to investigate the apparent excessive use of force by Iraqi security forces, to reveal the whereabouts of the detained and ensure they are protected from torture or other ill-treatment, as well as from forcible return to Iran.
The Iranian government has demanded the camp’s closure and for all its residents to be extradited to Tehran. Pro-Iranian armed forces have attacked Ashraf’s water pumping station and have fired rockets into the camp.
Given their status as protected persons under the fourth Geneva Convention and given the fact that they have been legally resident in Iraq, the UN should on humanitarian grounds and on the basis of international law, step up and provide international protection for the detainees and camp residents.
On 28-29 July, 2,000 Iraqi troops, under the orders of the Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki, forced their way into Camp Ashraf. Twelve people were reported killed and some 500 were injured – 12 remain in a critical condition.
According to eye witness reports the 36 detainees were beaten as they were removed from the camp.
Up until recently, US forces provided protection for the camp and its residents, who were recognised as “protected persons” after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The US reportedly agreed to give up responsibility for the camp while negotiating the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the US and Iraqi governments, although the SOFA makes no reference to Camp Ashraf or its residents.
It is argued that the US is still responsible, under Article 45 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, to protect residents of Ashraf given the failure of the Iraqi authorities to do so. US forces observed the original attack and provided some medical aid but have not tried to have the detainees returned to the camp. Iraq is not a signatory of the 1951 Geneva Convention.
A number of Ashraf’s residents have already been recognised as refugees in European countries, including the UK, though PMOI members in Iraq did not individually seek political asylum in Iraq. They argued that they had been collectively recognised as refugees by the previous Iraqi government and that status still stands.
Until recently, the PMOI was listed as a “terrorist” organisation by the European Union and other governments. In most cases the designation was lifted on the grounds that the PMOI no longer advocates or engages in armed opposition to the government of Iran.
31 Mar 2009 | Uncategorized
As part of the Libel Bind series, a collaboration between Index on Censorship, English PEN and the Guardian‘s Liberty Central, Robert Sharp of English PEN is wondering what the alternative to laws on religious defamation might be. He suggests bloggers might have the answer.
‘Despite the robust nature of much of the debate online, I do perceive a sort of online Omerta, a Way of the Blogs. This states that if you have been offended or disrespected online, you can always fight your corner by setting up a counter-blog somewhere else. The idea is that you do not attempt to suppress the offensive material, legally or otherwise, but instead use the same medium to counter and debunk it.’
Read the rest here
