Kategorie: Humans

Responding to the adoption in the first reading by the Russian State Duma of a bill that effectively removes criminal liability for crimes committed by Russian forces and their proxies in the occupied territories of Ukraine, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Denis Krivosheev, said.

“The bill, which refers to territories whose annexation was announced by Russia on 30 September, envisages legal immunity to those suspected of criminal responsibility for crimes under international law carried out on Ukrainian soil, so long as said crimes were committed ‘aimed at protecting the interests of the Russian Federation,

“While the document doesn’t specify what criminal offences would qualify as ‘protecting the interests of Russia’ Amnesty International believes the bill expressly seeks to legalize the commission of war crimes by the Russian forces and their proxies. It turns Russia’s failure to ensure justice for victims into an official policy.

“Russian servicepeople should remember that even if this unprecedented bill is eventually passed, it will not override international law and will not protect war criminals from eventually facing trials abroad under universal jurisdiction.”

Background

On 13 December, the Russian State Duma passed in the first reading a bill concerning the use of Russian criminal law in territories of Ukraine that Russia occupies. The bill includes a provision stipulating that a deed considered criminal under both Ukrainian and Russian laws, is not to be qualified as a crime if it “aimed to protect interests of the Russian Federation”.

International humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions of 1949, which regulates the conduct of armed conflicts and which Russia is a member state of, make it a legal obligation for states to provide effective penal sanctions for persons committing war crimes and to bring such individuals to trial. International law has precedence over national law under the Russian Constitution and, of course, under international law, too.

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Responding to Twitter’s decision to suspend the accounts of more than a dozen journalists from CNN, the New York Times, The Washington Post, and other outlets, as the company owner Elon Musk accused the reporters of sharing personal information about him, Alia Al Ghussain, Amnesty International’s Campaigner for Amnesty Tech, said: 

“Purging the accounts of critical journalists poses a threat to press freedom and reflects another deeply troubling example of the direction Twitter is headed. The company has the responsibility to ensure that it respects all human rights. 

All these actions are likely to lead to an increase in online abuse on the platform. Amnesty has repeatedly highlighted how abuse and hate on Twitter disproportionately affects women, especially those from marginalized communities.

Alia Al Ghussain, Amnesty International’s Campaigner for Amnesty Tech

“Twitter is an important space for connection. People’s right to freedom of expression and the freedom to impart information shouldn’t be predicated on whether Musk likes it or not. Musk’s latest move illustrates the dangers of unaccountable tech companies having total control over platforms we rely on for news and other vital information. 

“Recently, Twitter flippantly disbanded its safety council, threatening the wellbeing of its users. Ever since Musk’s takeover, Twitter’s entire human rights teams and thousands of independent contractors working on content moderation have also been laid-off. Bans have also been lifted on numerous accounts that have previously posted abusive content.  

“All these actions are likely to lead to an increase in online abuse on the platform. Amnesty has repeatedly highlighted how abuse and hate on Twitter disproportionately affects women, especially those from marginalized communities.”  

Background 

Twitter suspended the accounts of more than a dozen journalists who were critical about the platform’s owner. Musk claims that the reporters shared personal information about him.  

On 13 December, Twitter suddenly dissolved its Trust and Safety Council, emailing the group moments before it was supposed to meet with company representatives.  

Amnesty International has repeatedly documented how Twitter has failed to respect women’s rights online. Violence and abuse against women have flourished on the social media platform, often with little or no accountability. 

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Responding to comments made today by FIFA President Gianni Infantino that the organization has made record revenues from the World Cup in Qatar, Stephen Cockburn, Head of Economic and Social Justice at Amnesty International, said:  

“Gianni Infantino has announced that FIFA made $7.5 billion from the 2022 World Cup cycle, more than $1 billion more than expected. He also forecast FIFA to make in excess of $11 billion over the next four years.

“Yet he offered nothing new to so many workers and their families who continue to be denied compensation for stolen wages and lost lives.

“The migrant workers behind this World Cup have contributed hugely to FIFA’s incredible wealth, and FIFA has a clear responsibility to compensate them for their losses.

“Rather than continue to ignore workers’ calls for justice. The organization’s proposed new Legacy Fund must ensure remedy to everyone who made this tournament possible, as well as the families of those who lost loved ones as a result.” 

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Saudi authorities are forcibly returning hundreds of thousands of Ethiopian migrants after arbitrarily holding them in indefinite detention in inhuman and cruel conditions solely because they do not have valid residency documents, a situation exacerbated by Saudi’s abusive kafala system, Amnesty International said today. The organization is calling upon the Saudi authorities to investigate cases of torture as well as at least ten deaths in custody between 2021 and 2022.

The new briefing, “It’s like we are not human”: Forced returns, abhorrent detention conditions of Ethiopian migrants in Saudi Arabia, details the situation of Ethiopian men, women and children arbitrarily held in the overcrowded Al-Kharj and Al-Shumaisi detention centres in dire and abusive conditions and forcibly returned to Ethiopia between June 2021 and May 2022.

“Since 2017, Saudi Arabia has arbitrarily detained and forcibly returned hundreds of thousands of Ethiopian migrants in conditions so abusive and inhuman that many developed serious long-term physical and mental conditions as a result. Now, more than 30,000 Ethiopian nationals are detained in those same conditions and are at risk of facing the same fate. Just because a person does not have legal documents does not mean they should be stripped of their human rights,” said Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

Saudi Arabia has been aggressively investing in re-branding its image…but beneath this glitzy veneer is a story of horrific abuse against migrants who have been toiling away to help Saudi Arabia realize its grand vision.

Heba Morayef, Amnesty International

“Saudi Arabia has been aggressively investing in re-branding its image as part of its ambitions to attract foreign businesses and investors, but beneath this glitzy veneer is a story of horrific abuse against migrants who have been toiling away to help Saudi Arabia realize its grand vision.” 

There are an estimated 10 million migrant workers in Saudi Arabia. Amnesty International chose to focus on the situation suffered by undocumented Ethiopian migrants in Saudi Arabia due to plans announced in March 2022 by Ethiopian and Saudi authorities to return at least 100,000 Ethiopian men, women and children back to Ethiopia by the end of 2022 .

Between May and June 2022, Amnesty International spoke to 11 Ethiopian migrants who were detained in Saudi Arabia before being forcibly returned, as well as a family member of a former detainee, humanitarian workers and journalists with knowledge of the situation inside the migrant centres.

Amnesty International confirmed the location of Al-Kharj and Al-Shumaisi detention centres through satellite verification, and geo-verified videos from inside both centres, which reveal the dire conditions of the facilities.

Forced returns

Since 2017, Saudi Arabia has ramped up the arrest and forced returns of Ethiopian migrants as part of a crackdown on undocumented migrant workers in the country. Under Saudi Arabia’s abusive “kafala” system, undocumented migrant workers often have no pathway to regularizing their residency, and even documented workers risk losing their legal residency if they leave abusive employers.

In March 2022, the Ethiopian authorities announced that they would cooperate in the repatriation of over 100,000 of their nationals detained in Saudi Arabia by the end of 2022. Today, at least 30,000 Ethiopian migrants remain detained in Saudi Arabia solely for lack of legal residency and continue to suffer in overcrowded detention centres.

Faced with indefinite arbitrary detention under abusive conditions, with no recourse to challenge their detention, many of the detained migrants felt they had no choice but to agree to return to Ethiopia.

It is Amnesty International’s assessment that the migrants’ coercive environment makes it impossible for them to make a truly voluntary decision in line with the principle of free and informed consent, and that their returns to Ethiopia amount to forced returns. The Saudi authorities’ failure to ensure a case-by-case assessment of any potential protection needs of the detained migrants also creates the risk that individuals will be returned to face abuse, a breach of the principle of non-refoulement. 

‘Inhuman’ conditions

The Saudi authorities have violated the basic principle under the Nelson Mandela Rules of treating prisoners “with the respect due to their inherent dignity and value as human beings.”

Former detainees interviewed by Amnesty International described overcrowding and the unsanitary conditions in both Al-Kharj detention centre in Riyadh and Al-Shumaisi detention centre, near the city of Jeddah, as “inhuman”. They recounted torture and beatings, and said there was inadequate food, water, bedding and no access to adequate medical care, including for children, those who are pregnant or severely sick.

Amnesty also found that unaccompanied minors and pregnant women were among those forcibly returned.

Bilal, a former detainee held in Al-Shumaisi detention centre for 11 months, said he shared a room with 200 other people, yet there were only 64 beds. Detainees had to take turns sleeping on the floor. He told Amnesty International: “It is like we are not human.”

Mahmoud, another detainee who was held in both detention centres, said their daily food allowance was barely sufficient for one person.

Two other former detainees said the authorities gave each detainee just half a litre of water per day, despite persistently scorching temperatures in the overcrowded facilities.

Inadequate healthcare, death and disease

All former detainees told Amnesty International that the spread of lice and skin diseases were rampant. They also said that when lice spread among the migrants, they had to purchase plastic trash bags to use as blankets for protection and burn the hair off their scalps to remove the lice, because the authorities offered no other treatment.

Two humanitarian workers told Amnesty International that a significant number of people who were returned to Ethiopia from Saudi Arabia’s prisons suffered from respiratory and infectious diseases such as Tuberculosis.

Amnesty International also documented cases of deaths in custody in the Al-Kharj and Al-Shumaisi detention centres. Former detainees reported ten deaths between April 2021 and May 2022, many of which occurred after the denial of critical medical care, including in one case after injuries sustained from beatings. Amnesty International is calling on the authorities to investigate these deaths in custody and to what extent they are linked to the denial of adequate medical care.

Mahmoud, a former detainee who shared a cell with a man who was vomiting blood, said the authorities had only offered him paracetamol. The man died the day he arrived back in Ethiopia after being forcibly returned.

One video, verified by Amnesty International, shows a group of men gathered around what appears to be a body wrapped in a plastic bag, as the men perform salat al-janaza, a Muslim funeral rite.

Beatings and torture

Six former detainees told Amnesty International they suffered beatings and torture, including being beaten with metal sticks and cable wires, slapped in the face, punched, and forced to stand outside in extreme heat on asphalt roads until their skin burned.

The detainees said they were tortured after they protested the conditions of their detention, or when they tried to get medical attention for a sick cellmate.

Hussein, a former detainee, said a fellow cellmate died after the two of them were beaten: “He had pain in the ribs and was not taken to a hospital. We begged prison guards to take his body after he died…They took out his body two days later.” 

Saudi Arabia is one of the richest countries in the world, yet it is cramming migrants in dirty detention centres and refusing to provide them with proper medical care, food, and water.

Heba Morayef, Amnesty International

“Saudi Arabia is one of the richest countries in the world, yet it is cramming migrants in dirty detention centres and refusing to provide them with proper medical care, food, and water. The ongoing abuse, in some cases leading to deaths of migrants, signals the unwillingness of Saudi authorities to improve the treatment of migrant workers. The authorities must urgently investigate the deaths and torture of detained migrants. Better still, they should stop detaining them in the first place,” said Heba Morayef.

To see the full briefing, please click: “It’s like we are not human”: Forced returns, abhorrent detention conditions of Ethiopian migrants in Saudi Arabia.

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Reacting to the severe flooding and landslides in Kinshasa, which claimed 120 lives on 12 and 13 December and left thousands homeless, Flavia Mwangovya, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Campaigns in East Africa, Horn of Africa, and the Great Lakes regions said:

Amnesty International sends its condolences to all those affected by the recent flooding and landslides in Kinshasa

Flavia Mwangovya, Deputy Regional Director Campaigns, East Africa, Horn of Africa and Great Lakes Region

“Amnesty International sends its condolences to all those affected by the recent flooding and landslides in Kinshasa. It is absolutely devastating that such tragic losses of human life occur so often in the DRC after natural disasters strike the country.

“The DRC authorities must urgently assist those affected by the flooding and landslides, and ensure they can access food, housing, and health care. They must also take steps to ensure Kinshasa is better planned and well-resourced and prepared to deal with natural disasters.

“Climate change is known to exacerbate extreme weather events. The DRC authorities, however, have failed to learn from previous disasters, which means these catastrophes continue to have a shocking, fatal impact on the residents of Kinshasa.

Authorities must take steps to ensure Kinshasa is better planned and well-resourced and prepared to deal with natural disasters.

Flavia Mwangovya

The right to live in a safe, clean and sustainable environment must be protected and upheld.”

Background

Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is home to an estimated 15.6 million people. Floods and landslides are common in the city and across the country during the rainy season, often leading to devastating consequences.

Experts believe the consequences would be much less harmful if Kinshasa and other cities were better planned, with adequate infrastructures including for water channeling, and a better waste management. Kinshasa and other cities lack the means to respond quickly to such disasters.

At the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit in Washington this week, President of the DRC Felix Tshisekedi blamed the deadly flooding and landslides in Kinshasa solely on climate change.

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