Kategorie: Humans

To mark World Refugee Day, members of the Alliance for Human Rights in Afghanistan stand together to honour Afghan refugees around the globe. We honour their strength and courage as they have been forced to flee their home countries to escape conflict and persecution. We acknowledge the profound hardships they have endured and reaffirm our commitment to carry their voices and defend their rights. The Alliance for Human Rights reminds the international community of its obligations to uphold and protect the right to seek asylum, the right to life and other fundamental human rights of Afghan refugees under the international human rights law regime.

The Afghan refugee crisis is one of the largest protracted refugee situations in the world. Today, over 6 million Afghans have been driven out of their homes and their country by conflict, violence and poverty. Of those, 3.5 million are displaced within Afghanistan, with 2.6 million Afghan refugees living in other countries. These numbers have been exacerbated by the Taliban´s seizure of power in Afghanistan in August 2021 and the critical humanitarian crisis Afghanistan is facing today. The impact of the situation has been particularly devastating for women and children, who account for 80 percent of newly displaced Afghans, as they face increased protection risks such as family separation, psychosocial stress and trauma, exploitation and gender-based violence.

Refugee rights are fundamental human rights. The 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol protect the rights of refugees. This includes the right not to be expelled except under certain strictly defined conditions; the right not to be punished for illegal entry into a state; the rights to work, housing, education, public relief assistance, freedom of religion, access to the court system, freedom of movement within the territory and receiving identity and travel documents.

Regrettably, many Afghan refugees, including in Iran, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Malaysia and Turkey do not enjoy their rights under international law. They continue to face brutality, violence, ill-treatment and pushbacks. They face discrimination and struggle to access basic services, education, work, identity and travel documents. In the worst cases, they face arbitrary detentions, penalties and forced deportation.

We are appalled by the increasing number of incidents of violence and serious human rights violations against Afghan refugees. In the face of such egregious abuses, many governments are ignoring the great suffering of individuals in need of international protection, particularly women and children.

States must uphold their commitments and respect fundamental human rights, including the right to life and the right to seek asylum. We call on states to:

• Ratify the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol

• Take all necessary measures to ensure the safe passage out of Afghanistan for all those targeted by the Taliban and other parties. This includes ensuring that border crossings remain open, visas are expedited, support for evacuations is delivered, and relocation and resettlement support is provided;

• Immediately end forcible return of Afghan refugees and heed the call of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to suspend the forced return of nationals and former habitual residents, including anyone whose asylum claims have been rejected, until the situation in the country has stabilized sufficiently as determined by an independent human rights assessment, and the security, rule of law and human rights situation in Afghanistan has significantly improved to permit returns in safety and dignity;

•  Allow all Afghan seekers to access a clear, transparent and functioning asylum system, lodge a claim for international protection and apply for resettlement

• Provide individuals at particular risk including human rights defenders, journalists, women leaders and activists, and LGBTIQ+ persons, immediate practical support at all levels, including through diplomatic and political channels, with specific and enhanced protection measures for women human rights defenders and women journalists. Use their influence, including in economic, political, or religious realms, to ensure compliance with the above demands.

We stand in solidarity with Afghans – both at home and in exile.

Amnesty International

Human Rights Watch

Freedom House

Freedom Now

International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)

MADRE

World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)

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Israeli authorities must immediately release Ahmad Manasra, a 20-year-old Palestinian man who has developed serious mental health problems since his arrest as a child seven years ago, Amnesty International said today. On Sunday 19 June a parole board will review Ahmad Manasra’s case.

In 2015 Israeli authorities arrested Ahmad Manasra, who was then 13 years old, and harshly interrogated and threatened him without a lawyer present. He has been in prison ever since, and in solitary confinement since early November 2021. Ahmad has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, is suffering from psychotic delusions, and is severely depressed with suicidal thoughts. On Wednesday he was moved to the Ramleh prison hospital in central Israel due to his deteriorating mental state.

“Ahmad Manasra has been subjected to a catalogue of injustices by the Israeli authorities, including deleterious effects of incarceration on his development and prolonged solitary confinement. He endured ill-treatment during interrogations, which were conducted without his parents or lawyers’ presence, and was denied the right to a fair trial. He should have been released a long time ago, yet he remains in unnecessary suffering in Israeli prisons,” said Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“Pending his release from detention, he must be given access to adequate medical care and never be placed in solitary confinement again. Allegations of torture and other human rights violations that Ahmad has suffered must be effectively and transparently investigated.”

Ahmad Manasra was arrested on 12 October 2015 in relation to the stabbing and injury of two Israeli citizens in Pisgat Zeev, an illegal Israeli settlement in occupied East Jerusalem. Despite being found by the courts not to have participated in the stabbings, he was convicted of attempted murder in 2016 in proceedings marred by allegations of torture, and despite the fact that he was below the minimum age of criminal responsibility at the time.

On 19 June 2022, Beersheba District Court will review Ahmad Manasra’s eligibility for early release under Israel’s Parole Law of 2001.

Israel, a party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), has obligations to ensure that depriving children of their liberty is “used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time”.

Prolonged solitary confinement

Ahmad Manasra has been held in prolonged solitary confinement since the beginning of November 2021, in violation of the absolute prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment. The Israel Prison Service asked to renew Ahmad’s solitary confinement for a further six months on 17 April 2022. A hearing that was scheduled to be held on 15 June 2022 with regards to his solitary confinement was postponed to a later date.

Ahmad Manasra’s mental health worsened during his incarceration. In October 2021 an independent Israeli clinical psychologist working with Physicians for Human Rights – Israel (PHRI) diagnosed him with severe psychiatric conditions, and stated these had developed since his incarceration.

Ahmad Manasra’s parents said in February 2022 that their son had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, is suffering from psychotic delusions, and is severely depressed with suicidal thoughts.

His lawyer, Khaled Zabarqa, told Amnesty International:

“We have asked the Israel Prison Service to release Ahmad into home and community care as a matter of urgency because there is a real danger to his life. The prison doctors themselves recognized as much in their report on 13 June which led to his transfer from the prison cell to the prison hospital.”

Israeli discrimination against Palestinian children

Israel continues to perpetrate widespread as well as systematic human rights violations against Palestinians, including children, against a backdrop of decades of state-sponsored discrimination, segregation and persecution. There is evidence that the treatment of Ahmad Manasra fits a wider pattern of discrimination against Palestinian children in the Israeli criminal justice system. According to Amnesty International’s records, some 170 Palestinians currently imprisoned were arrested when they were children. In many of these cases, children were denied fair trials in line with international standards and protection under the child justice system. In other cases, children were subjected to torture or other ill-treatment.

For decades, the Israel Security Agency, Israel Prison Service and Israeli security forces have tortured or otherwise ill-treated Palestinian detainees, including children, during arrest, transfer and interrogation. The Israel Security Agency uses particularly harsh methods to obtain information and “confessions”.

In contrast, few Jewish citizens of Israel, including children, are convicted of violence against Palestinians, and those who are arrested are afforded basic rights which are denied to Palestinians.

“Israel’s widespread and systematic use of arbitrary arrest, administrative detention and torture on a large scale against Palestinians is a flagrant violation of international law, and is a key component of the apartheid system,” said Heba Morayef.

Ahmad Manasra is one of countless Palestinians, whose rights as a child, have been swept up in Israel’s deeply flawed justice system, and he must be released.

Heba Morayef, Amnesty International

Background

A month after Ahmad Manasra’s arrest in November 2015, footage of his interrogation was made public. The 10-minute video, reviewed by Amnesty International, shows Ahmad being interrogated by three men, without the presence of his lawyer or parent in violation of international standards. He appears increasingly distressed as his interrogators continue to shout at him, directing insults and threats. This video is evidence of several violations of Manasra’s rights as a child and as a detainee. To Amnesty International’s knowledge, there have been no investigations into the conduct of police and security officers.

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Responding to today’s ministerial decision by the World Trade Organization (WTO) on the TRIPs Agreement, Tamaryn Nelson, Amnesty International’s Researcher on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, said: 

“More than two years into the Covid-19 pandemic and the WTO still hasn’t made the changes needed to ensure everyone has access to life-saving health products when they most need them.  Under the terms of this decision, hundreds of millions of people in developing countries will likely continue to be denied access to many of these products. 

“This decision is unlikely to make a significant difference in global access to Covid-19 vaccines right now. And the fact that the WTO decided to postpone by six months the decision around extending the agreement to cover diagnostics and therapeutics – at this stage of the pandemic – demonstrates how the WTO is out of step with reality.  

More than two years into the Covid-19 pandemic and the WTO still hasn’t made the changes needed to ensure everyone has access to life-saving health products when they most need them

Tamaryn Nelson, Amnesty International’s Researcher on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

“This decision is not only a hollow response to Covid-19, but it sends the message that intellectual property rights outweigh the rights to health and life. After more than 18 months of discussion, the WTO has missed an opportunity to use its power to set global trade rules that save lives, setting a worrying precedent for international cooperation in future public health emergencies.”   

Background 

The WTO’s Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement sets out minimum standards for many forms of intellectual property (IP), such as copyrights, trademarks, patents, undisclosed information (including trade secrets and test data) and anti-competitive practices.  

As IP rights can create barriers to timely access to lifesaving health products the TRIPS Agreement includes safeguards known as “flexibilities” so states can amend their laws and take certain measures to address public health emergencies, such as issuing compulsory licenses that would allow a company to produce a lifesaving drug without following IP rules.  

The Covid-19 pandemic has raised questions about whether the “flexibilities” are effective to address the world’s urgent needs, given that they usually apply on a country-by-country, case-by-case, and drug-by-drug basis and have onerous reporting requirements.   

In October 2020, India and South Africa requested a temporary waiver (IP/C/W/669) to intellectual property protections that would allow countries to produce versions of Covid-19 products more easily. Despite receiving support from more than 100 countries, this draft has stalled due to opposition from a small number of wealthy states.  

A new draft ministerial decision spearheaded by the WTO Director General (WT/MIN(22)/W/15) but largely based on proposals from the European Union, was discussed and eventually adopted at the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) held from 12 to 17 June 2022. Rather than waive intellectual property protections, it provides some clarifications to current “flexibilities” and a narrow exception to an export restriction on Covid-19 vaccines for the duration of five years.  

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European leaders are putting short term interests ahead of human rights by supporting the Egyptian government as it continues its assault on human rights, said Amnesty International today, ahead of meetings at the EU-Egypt Association Council on Sunday 19 June 2022 and Monday 20 June 2022.

“EU leaders will meet with the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs to discuss deepening ties and providing political and financial support to the Egyptian government, which is arbitrarily detaining thousands of opponents and critics in inhumane conditions and stifling civil society, while Egyptian courts handed out the most recorded death sentences worldwide in 2021” said Hussein Baoumi, Amnesty International’s Egypt Researcher.

“European leaders claim they care about human rights but President Von Der Leyen’s silence about the escalating repression during her recent visit to Egypt would suggest otherwise. Remaining silent or issuing weak, mealy-mouthed expressions of concern is hardly enough to help those languishing unjustly in Egypt’s jails.

“The EU must immediately denounce Egypt’s violations and make human rights central to discussions on EU-Egypt relations, especially as Egypt prepares to host COP27. Europe’s leaders must call on the Egyptian authorities to release those arbitrarily detained, end the crackdown on civil society and respect the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.”

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:         
+44 20 7413 5566         
email: press@amnesty.org          
twitter: @amnestypress   

Background

On Sunday 19 June 2022, EU leaders will meet with Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry in Luxembourg to discuss priority areas of cooperation during the next five years. On Monday 20 June 2022, 27 EU Foreign Ministers will again meet with Minister Shoukry to discuss the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), which will be held in the Egyptian town of Sharm El-Sheikh between 7 and 18 November 2022.

Amnesty International and partner NGOs sent a letter to EU leaders ahead of the EU-Egypt Association Council to raise concerns over Egypt’s human rights record. It has also published its analysis on barriers to effective participation for civil society in COP27 and issued recommendations for ensuring that the conference’s success is not undermined by Egypt’s repressive policies.

The post EU/EGYPT: EU must denounce Egypt for human rights violations appeared first on Amnesty International.

Commonwealth leaders must take a firm and clear stand against the UK’s racist and disgraceful asylum seeker deal with Rwanda, Amnesty International said today ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) scheduled to take place in Kigali between 20 – 25 June 2022.

By trying to dump asylum seekers in Rwanda, the UK government is shirking its international responsibility under the Refugee Convention to protect people in need of asylum

Deprose Muchena, Director for East and Southern Africa

“By trying to dump asylum seekers in Rwanda, the UK government is shirking its international responsibility under the Refugee Convention to protect people in need of asylum,” said Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s Director for East and Southern Africa. 

“Commonwealth leaders must take a firm and clear stance to force the UK government to rescind its misguided, cruel and racist policy that shifts its responsibility towards refugees and asylum seekers to Rwanda.”

Commonwealth leaders must take a firm and clear stance to force the UK government to rescind its misguided, cruel and racist policy that shifts its responsibility towards refugees and asylum seekers to Rwanda

Deprose Muchena

“Member states need to seize the opportunity in Kigali to denounce this inhumane arrangement and pressure the UK and Rwanda to end the deal. It seriously threatens to undermine the international mechanism for the protection of asylum seekers.”

Background

The UK and Rwanda signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 14 April 2022 that agrees a system to relocate asylum seekers who are not being considered by the UK to Rwanda.

In its submission to the Universal Periodic Review process in 2020, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees raised concerns over Rwanda’s shortcomings in its asylum process, citing the arbitrary denial of access to asylum procedures for some people, the risk of detention and deportation of undocumented asylum seekers, the discriminatory access to asylum procedures that LGBTIQ+ individuals face, or the lack of legal representation. In a legal analysis published in June 2022, UNHCR concluded that the UK-Rwanda arrangement “does not meet the requirements necessary to be considered a lawful and / or appropriate bilateral transfer arrangement.”

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