GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay 6 January told Yemen’s lawmakers that they must not go ahead with a proposed amnesty law that would protect those who commit war crimes. Her office has recently sent a team to Yemen to study the situation there and prepare a report on the country, where protests have grown in recent months.
“I have been closely following the events in Yemen, particularly the very contentious debate about an amnesty law to be presented to Parliament shortly,” the high commissioner said. “International law and the UN policy are clear on the matter: amnesties are not permissible if they prevent the prosecution of individuals who may be criminally responsible for international crimes including war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and gross violations of human rights.”
“Based on information we have gathered, there is reason to believe that some of these crimes were committed in Yemen during the period for which an amnesty is under consideration. Such an amnesty would be in violation of Yemen’s international human rights obligations.”
Clinton plans to meet with Syrian opposition representatives in Geneva
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, is about to come to town, but not just for a conference and a chat with the press: her Tuesday-Wednesday stopover includes major appearances at three Geneva international organization events.
The US State department has announced she will also be meeting with seven exiled opponents of Syria’s Bashar Assad regime, who are coming from various areas in Europe. It is the second such meeting, following one in August.
Clinton is in Bonn Monday 5 December for the International Conference for Afghanistan, the first high-level meeting on the future of the country that is hosted by Afghanistan itself.
Tuesday she flies first to Lithuania, then to Geneva where she will deliver remarks commemorating International Human Rights Day, which is 10 December. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay’s office notes that “It has been a year like no other for human rights. Human rights activism has never been more topical or more vital. And through the transforming power of social media, ordinary people have become human rights activists.”
One country where social media have not been able to penetrate government forces as easily is Syria. The US has taken an increasingly strong stance on Syria amid reported human rights abuses.
Syria Monday ignored a deadline set by the Arab League to allow observers in as it echoed a UN Human Rights Council declaration last week that condemned “gross and systematic” violations by Syrian forces.
Clinton 7 December will address a UNHCR ministerial event commemorating the 60th and 50th anniversaries of the Refugee and Statelessness conventions. It is the largest-ever event at this level to focus on refugee and statelessness issues, says UNHCR, with ministers from more than 70 nations. The meeting will be hosted by UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres. Former Finnish President and Nobel Peace Laureate Martti Ahtisaari is the keynote speaker.
Secretary Clinton will “also deliver the US national statement at the Biological and Toxin Weapons (BWC) Review Conference [in The Netherlands], where we hope to revitalize international efforts against biological threats,” the US Mission said Monday evening in a press release.
She ends her trip with an address to a ministerial conference on Internet freedom, in The Hague.
The visits follow several high-profile US remarks at UN organization meetings in Geneva in recent days, including those by Ambassador to the World Trade Organization Michael Punke on China’s Transitional Review of the Protocol of Accession to the WTO: “China seems to be embracing state capitalism more strongly each year, rather than continuing to move toward the economic reform goals that originally drove its pursuit of WTO membership. This is a troubling development, and the United States urges the Chinese government to reconsider the path it is on.”
South Sudan reception centre, UNHCR refugee camp, November 2011
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Friday 11 November was a day of rising fears internationally that tensions are building along the Sudan-South Sudan border after a series of bombs were dropped just inside South Sudan’s Unity state, hitting a refugee camp. Several Geneva-based humanitarian groups expressed their growing concern Friday.
And then late Friday came some good news from New York, that the newly-formed Republic of South Sudan has made banning anti-personnel mines one of its first multilateral commitments.
It became an independent state 9 July 2011, but fighting and accusations have continued between the two countries.
South Sudan “deposited its notification of succession to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, or Ottawa Convention today at the United Nations headquarters in New York, becoming the 158th state to agree to be legally bound by this landmark humanitarian instrument,” the AP Mine Ban Convention office in Geneva said in a statement Friday night.
The news was a bright spot in the otherwise gloomy reports of the bombs and world reactions to them. Authorities in South Sudan blamed Sudan for the bombardment of a refugee camp in the oil-rich border state of Unity, according to UPI.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay called for “an independent, thorough and credible investigation to establish the precise circumstances of this aerial bombing.” She said in a statement late Friday that “The camp at Yida, which is close to the border with Sudan, is housing thousands of civilians, including women and children.” She added that “while the number of casualties is not yet clear, I understand that five or six bombs were dropped on the camp, and that at least one fell close to a school.” Pillay says that if “it is established that an international crime or serious human rights violation has been committed, then those responsible should be brought to justice.”
The UNHRC, the High Commissioner for Refugees office in Geneva deplored the bombings, noting at its weekly briefing Friday that there were reports earlier in the week of bombings in New Guffa Village in Upper Nile state, in addition to Thursday’s bombings in Unity state.
“Several bombs dropped by an aircraft in the Yida area impacted a temporary camp that shelters over 20,000 refugees who have recently fled violence in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan’s Southern Kordofan State.
Two of the bombs fell within the Yida camp, including one close to the school. Fortunately there were no casualties in the camp and we are verifying the situation of surrounding communities. UNHCR had been readying new refugee sites away from the border when the incident occurred in Yida yesterday. We had hoped to begin the relocation of refugees but our efforts have so far been hampered by heavy rains which have made the road to the camp impassable.”
The significance of the measure taken by South Sudan was noted by the Convention’s leadership. “ndmine contamination in South Sudan is a grave problem for reconstruction and development, and impedes agricultural activities,” said H.E. Gazmend Turdiu, the Convention’s President. “By joining the Convention, South Sudan is making a commitment to clear mines on its territory, to assist landmine survivors and to never, under any circumstances, use anti-personnel mines.”
The Internal Displacement Centre (IDMC) in Geneva also voiced its concern Friday, noting that each side has been blaming the other for escalating violence. The US Wednesday condemned Sudan for air attacks in recent days, with State Department spokesperson Mark Toner saying, “The provocative aerial bombardments near the border increase the potential of direct confrontation between Sudan and South Sudan.”
The IDMC said Friday in a statement that
“The government of Sudan has accused South Sudan of supporting rebels on the northern side of the border, in the states of South Kordofan, where fighting has been ongoing since June, and in Blue Nile which has seen fighting since September. On 5 November, Sudan submitted a complaint against South Sudan to the UN Security Council, accusing it of providing rebels with “anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles as well as with ammunition, landmines and mortars”. Sudan has imposed restrictions on humanitarian access to South Kordofan and Blue Nile citing security concerns, including the presence of landmines and the movements of rebel groups. Humanitarian organisations estimate that over 200,000 people have either been displaced or severely affected by the conflict in South Kordofan. The UN estimates that 28,500 Sudanese from Blue Nile have fled to Ethiopia and that 19,500 others have taken shelter among communities along the border.”
South Sudan, for its part, says the IDMC, denies supporting the rebels. It “has repeatedly accused Sudan of supporting rebels on its side, in Upper Nile and Unity states. The most recent fighting in Unity state took place on 29 October, after the rebel SSLA (South Sudan Liberation Army) warned the UN and humanitarian organizations to leave the area for their own safety. This put at risk displaced communities who depend on aid for survival, and troops with the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMiss) were deployed to help local authorities deal with the aftermath of the attacks and to monitor the situation. In addition to ongoing internal displacement within Unity state, the UN has reported more than 20,000 people fleeing into the state from South Kordofan in Sudan. Humanitarian aid organizations are concerned that “the number of people arriving to Unity might double before the end of the year if fighting continues in South Kordofan.”
Landmines in South Sudan are the result of over 20 years of civil war and the United Nations Mine Action Coordination Centre in South Sudan reports that, “all 10 states of the newly-formed country have reported mine-related injuries and deaths. Contamination in 306 villages varies in size, from an item that may take an hour or so to destroy, to entire minefields which could take up to a year or more to address.” The AP Mine Ban Convention says that as of September 2011, “a total of 3,210 injuries and 1,263 deaths had been reported in the country. Since 2005, over 25,000 landmines have been destroyed. To date over 2,700 landmine survivors have received support.”
South Sudan, as a party to the Convention, will now have the right to ask other signatory states for help.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Syrian troops have killed 2,600 people since President Bashar al-Assad began putting down unrest in the country, Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said Monday in Geneva. Only one week earlier she said a fact-finding commission had put the number of killings at 2,200.
Syria will be on the agenda during the three week session of the Human Rights Council, which opened Monday morning 12 September in Geneva.
Reuters and Le Temps (Fre) report that the figure is about twice the number released early Monday by the Syrian government. “Bouthaina Shaaban, one of Assad’s advisors, earlier on Monday said about 1,400 people had died — half of them police officers and half opposition activists. Syria blames armed groups and “terrorists” for the violence and argues the security forces are defending public order,” writes Reuters.
Navi Pillay’s opening remarks 12 September at the 18th session of the Human Rights Council
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – US Ambassador to the UN Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe used unusually strong words in a statement issued Friday 8 July to suggest that UN Special Rapporteur Richard Falk should step down, saying that “his continued status as a UN mandate holder is a blight on the UN system”.
The US and Falk have tangled several times over his stance on Israel and Palestine, but Chamberlain Donahoe’s criticism Friday focuses tightly on Falk’s personal blog, which has been under fire for an anti-semitic cartoon. “I am repulsed by the recent cartoon posting to the personal blog written by Richard Falk, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on ‘the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967.’, the ambassador’s statement says. “Mr. Falk’s continued comments and postings to his personal blog are deeply offensive, and I condemn them in the strongest terms.”
Falk for his part says he was unaware until it was pointed out to him the anti-semitic nature of the cartoon, which he then removed from his blog.
(video) Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay Wednesday said at a press briefing in Geneva that she is sending a team to Tunisia. “”Human rights abuses were at the heart of Tunisia’s problems. Therefore, human rights must be right at the forefront of the solutions to those problems,” she told reporters.
Her office in Geneva has received reports that more than 100 people died from violence in Tunisia in the past five weeks, from live fire and suicides.
“We all hope this will be the start of a new Tunisia,” she said, adding that “However, it is by no means a certainty.”
Navi Pillay’s statement
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay has decried the worsening security situation in Côte d’Ivoire and said 19 December that massive human rights violations were being committed. More than 200 people have been abducted from their homes by people in military uniforms and some have been found dead. UN officials in Côte d’Ivoire say up to 50 people have died since disputed presidential elections resulted in a deadlock.
President Laurent Gbagbo, who lost the election end November but had the results annulled, has called for the UN peacekeeping mission Unoci to leave the country. The UN maintains 900 peacekeepers in the country. Britain, France and the USA have issued travel alerts for their citizens and have evacuated non-essential personnel from their embassies.
Updated 10:00 India has not decided yet whether it will attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony 10 December, according to the Times of India. Some Indian press reports 8 December indicate that the Indian ambassador in Oslo, Norway had confirmed to the Nobel Committee that he would attend, despite strong pressure from China. China has suggested that India’s participation could undermine a visit to India by Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao 15 December.
Norway has said that 19 countries have confirmed they will not attend the ceremony this Friday, 10 December, while 44 have confirmed. The United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay has also turned down an invitation to attend because she is hosting a human rights event in Geneva Friday, but she will also not be sending a more junior representative, according to Foreign Policy magazine. The Chinese government reacted angrily to news that the prize is being given to Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, who is in prison for “endangering state security”. Many of Liu’s friends have been prevented from leaving China in recent weeks and his wife has been put under house arrest to prevent her from receiving the prize in his stead.
Links to other sites: Boston Globe, Hindustan Times
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Rickard Falk, Geneva-based UN expert on Gaza, added his voice to that of Navi Pillay, UN Human Rights chief in Geneva, and other top UN officials, in calling on the international community to condemn Israel’s attack on a flotilla of six boats trying to break its embargo of Gaza.
But Falk’s words were some of the harshest yet: “Israel is guilty of shocking behavior by using deadly weapons against unarmed civilians on ships that were situated in the high seas where freedom of navigation exists, according to the law of the seas,” he said. “It is essential that those Israelis responsible for this lawless and murderous behavior, including political leaders who issued the orders, be held criminally accountable for their wrongful acts.”
Falk is the UN’s Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, which have officially carried that name in the UN since 1967. Falk, who is an American, has been in his job since May 2008 and is considered by the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights as its expert on Gaza issues. Falk in December 2009 issued a report on the damage caused by the then three-year-old blockade of Gaza by Israel.
Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – United Nations human rights chief Navi Pillay 17 May in Geneva called on the government of Thailand and protesters to “step back from the brink” of disaster and hold talks to end violence there.
Leaders of the two sides reportedly held a brief phone conversation where a ceasefire was proposed, but elsewhere, the Pillay’s words appear to be falling on deaf ears, with former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s foreign minister suggesting Tuesday 18 May that the current prime minister could well be investigated by the ICC (International Criminal Court) for charges against humanity in the wake of shootings by troops in Bangkok.
Links to other sites: Bangkok Post, Sky News, UN news
Francisco Santos Calderon, vice-president of Colombia
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The Human Rights Council has begun its 13th session in Geneva. A high-level meeting took place 1 March with the participation of the vice-presidents of Colombia and Spain, and the vice-prime ministers of Belgium and Equatorial Guinea, among other representatives.
Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, has issued a call to abolish the death sentence, as a new US report shows that its use is decreasing there and that several states are considering ending its use. The 20th anniversary of the international death penalty treaty was marked by Pillay’s appeal in Geneva. The treaty calls for the universal abolition of capital punishment. Pillay’s office says that 140 countries no longer carry out the death penalty, and 72 countries have ratified the treaty’s Optional Protocol, which bars the death penalty.
The Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), a monitoring group in Washington, DC in the US, shows in its annual report that 106 death sentences were issued in the US in 2009, down from a post-1976 high of 328 in 1994.
Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay said in Geneva Tuesday 8 December that Libya should release two men detained there since July 2008, calling their detention “unfair” and an abuse of their rights.
Pillay, speaking ata news conference in Geneva, said, “I think the detention of the two Swiss businessmen appears to be a violation because they were detained in custody for a long time before the government of Libya announced that they were now subject to judicial proceedings for tax evasion. Their detention seems to be unfair and there has been no proper explanation for them. They appear to be victims of a state level dispute between Libya and Switzerland and should in my view be released as soon as possible. Individuals should not be made to suffer because of bad relations between states.”
The two men were detained shortly after Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi’s son Hannibal was arrested in Geneva in 2008.
Background stories, GenevaLunch
Links to other sites: PressTV, Iran, Reuters Alertnet, UN Human Rights Commissioner
Minaret ban is not just an image problem for Switzerland
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Switzerland risks being found non-compliant with its obligations under the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, according to the UN Committee of Human Rights. The committee voiced concern about the political campaign to ban minarets 3 November, and said then that the anti-minaret ban initiative, if adopted, would conflict with three articles of the treaty.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay says she “regrets” the anti-minaret vote in Switzerland, noting that such a ban is “discriminatory and deeply divisive” and risks putting Swiss law at odds with its international treaty obligations. She was speaking Tuesday 1 December after Sunday’s vote to ban the construction of minarets in Switzerland.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said Monday 14 September that an “intolerable” number of displaced people continue to live in camps”, and added that in the case of Sri Lanka “internally displaced persons are effectively detained under conditions of internment”. Some 280,000 civilians are interned in government-run camps waiting to be screened. In a reply to the council, Sri Lanka’s minister of disaster management and human rights, Mahinda Samarasinghe, said that “this is furthest from the truth “, and pointed out that the civilians will be allowed to leave the “relief villages and welfare centers once they are screened”. The government is worried that former Tamil Tiger fighters may flee disguised as civilians. Samarasinghe said that almost 170,000 people had been registered and that 45,000 had been cleared to leave the camps or had already left.
The UN’s head of political affairs, Lynn Pascoe, arrived in Sri Lanka for two days of talks with the government on the slow pace of releasing Tamil civilians from camps where they have been held since the end of the war in May against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam separatist group. The BBC quoted Pascoe as saying, “We’re very concerned about the pace of progress,” before leaving New York. BBC, Bloomberg
© 2009 OCHA
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Geneva observes the first world humanitarian day today 19 August to coincide with the death of Sergio Vieira de Mello, the UN’s top official in Iraq who died in 2003 along with 21 others in a bomb explosion at UN headquarters in Baghdad. As headquarters of the UN in Europe, Geneva is holding an event in the Parc des Bastions this afternoon at 17:00 which includes officials from the UN and the city and canton of Geneva. Many organizations involved in humanitarian work have set up stands to demonstrate their work, and there will be concerts of classical and jazz music.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – World headlines about endless casualties and aid organizations being kept out of Sri Lanka’s conflict area have died away, last week’s news, but the battle to find out what really happened and how many died may be only beginning, media reports 29 May show. Le Temps and Le Monde jointly carry an article by reporter Philippe Bolopion in Colombo that accuses the Sri Lankan government of hiding the real number of deaths and the UN of collusion out of fear that its ability to work in the country would be compromised. In the UK, The Times front-page story Friday 29 May says that 20,000 civilians – three times the official number – were killed.
The Times story is based on photos taken on the beaches in the conflict area, UN documents as well as “witness accounts and expert testimony.” The numbers are in fact the same as those published a day earlier by Le Monde, which also cites UN sources. The photos were taken for The Times. Le Monde refers to satellite images taken by Unosat of the conflict area, which reportedly show shelling damage, possibly after the date when the Sri Lankan government said it had stopped.
In Geneva Wednesday 28 the Human Rights Council, an independent inter-UN organization, rejected a Swiss-European draft resolution to investigate possible war crimes in Sri Lanka and instead adopted a Sri Lankan counter-resolution. Human Rights Watch condemned the UNHRC move, saying it had “passed a deeply flawed resolution on Sri Lanka that ignores calls for an international investigation into alleged abuses during recent fighting and other pressing human rights concerns.”
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – December 10 marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (see video below) adopted by the general assembly of the United Nations. The declaration, signed in Paris, states that all human beings, regardless of race, colour, creed, age, class and gender, are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
