Kategorie: Humans

Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard will be attending the 77th Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York between 19 and 23 September. Ahead of her visit, Agnès Callamard said:

“Armed conflict, food shortages, deepening inequalities and the mounting climate emergency are testing the effectiveness of the international community like never before. Everywhere we turn today lies evidence of failings of the past: civilians from Ukraine to Ethiopia dying in their thousands while the perpetrators of war crimes walk free, huge swathes of Pakistan underwater, and millions of people worldwide on the brink of famine.

Armed conflict, food shortages, deepening inequalities and the mounting climate emergency are testing the effectiveness of the international community like never before.

Agnès Callamard

“Instead of alleviating the suffering caused by conflicts, members of the UN Security Council have allowed rampant abuse of the veto power to exacerbate it. This tragic betrayal of the Security Council’s mandate is but one example of the UN’s failures to rise above politics and national self-interest. This week we need bold, coordinated action from UN member states, who must show global leadership and live up to the principles on which the UN is founded. Global problems of the scale we are now confronting can only be addressed through global solutions.”

During her time in New York, Agnès Callamard will call on UN member states to seek pathways to accountability for violations including:

• Violations of international humanitarian law and war crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine;
• Crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing and war crimes committed by Amhara regional security forces and civilian authorities in Ethiopia’s Western Tigray Zone;
• The ongoing campaign of atrocities unleashed by the Myanmar military in Rakhine state, and the military’s brutal crackdown on opposition to the 2021 coup.

She will also call on member states to:

• Resist efforts to stifle attempts to hold Israeli authorities accountable for the apartheid regime they have inflicted on Palestinians;
• Address the dire humanitarian situations in Yemen, Myanmar and Syria;
• Take coordinated action to assist countries most impacted by the mounting effects of the climate emergency;
• Address structural inequality through rights-based, inclusive and fair policies and actions, including strengthening cooperation on global tax reform, and providing urgent and sustainable debt relief for the lowest-income countries.

Earlier this month, Volker Türk was appointed as the new UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Ahead of UNGA 77, Amnesty International reiterated its call on High Commissioner Türk to fulfil his mandate by being a vocal champion of human rights, with the courage and principles to stand up to powerful states and withstand political pressure. He must also support civil society’s role in informing and shaping human rights positions and responses by the international community.

The 77th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 77) opened on Tuesday, 13 September 2022. The first day of the high-level General Debate will be Tuesday, 20 September 2022.

The post UNGA: A chance to restore trust in a besieged international system appeared first on Amnesty International.

Authorities must drop sinister charges against University of Zimbabwe students who have been peacefully protesting high fees and affirm their right to freedom of assembly and expression, Amnesty International said today.

“It is such a travesty of justice that these students are having to spend time in detention and courtrooms for simply asking for affordable education

Lucia Masuka, Executive Director of Amnesty International Zimbabwe

Police arrested 14 students at the University of Zimbabwe on 12 September 2022 after they embarked on peaceful #FeesMustFall demonstrations against high tuition fee hikes by the university. While five more students were arrested on 14 September, and taken to Avondale police station and face charges of “disorderly conduct”, some of those who were arrested on 12 September appeared in court on yesterday.

“It is such a travesty of justice that these students are having to spend time in detention and courtrooms for simply asking for affordable education so that they can remain in lecture rooms. The arrests of these students, who were protesting peacefully, are a violation of their right to protest. Authorities must respect students’ right to peaceful protest and drop all charges against them,” said Lucia Masuka, Executive Director of Amnesty International Zimbabwe.

“We consider the arrests to be arbitrary and call on the Zimbabwe Republic Police to respect the freedom to petition and demonstrate as guaranteed by the constitution.”

The university recently announced a staggering increase in tuition fees of up to 1000% requiring undergraduate students to pay up to ZWD500 000 from around ZWD50 000 depending on their faculty, which is equivalent to about $900USD at the interbank rate of 12 September. Students have described the increase in fees as unaffordable and beyond the reach of their parents and guardians and vowed to boycott lectures until the university reverses its decision.

Authorities must respect students’ right to peaceful protest and drop all charges against them

Lucia Masuka

12 of the 14 students were released late on Tuesday 13 September after paying fines of ZWD2000 or $3.31USD each at the interbank rate of 14 September. The remaining appeared in court on 14 September and were released on free bail and are set to return to court on 29 September. The students are represented by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR).

Background

The 14 students who were arrested on 12 September were detained at Avondale police station and charged with disorderly conduct.  They were identified as Thelma Nzero, Mufaro Vhutuza, Owen Mashaya, Tinashe Zana, Tinotenda Mwenje, Fletcher Katehwe, Havana Mtetwa, Natasha Dhliwayo, Ropafadzo Mutangadura, Fatima Ajida, Tsungai Chitodha, Beyond Wendy Siwela, David Musasa, and Godknows Zabhura.

The five other students who were arrested on 14 September have been identified as Tivimba Musengi, Tinotenda Mangana, Hazel Gwande, Tanyaradzwa Nzvimbo, and Charles Moyo.

#FeesMustFall protests broke out at the University of Zimbabwe on Monday 12 September 2022 as students demonstrated against the university tuition fee hikes. The university increased fees for both undergraduate and postgraduate study by up to a staggering 1000%. Under the new fee structure, undergraduate students are required to pay up to ZWD500 000 from around ZWD50 000 depending on their faculty, which is equivalent to about $900USD at the interbank rate of 12 September. While students pursuing a Master’s degree will have to fork out up to ZWD1 million or $1800USD.

The university has also increased accommodation fees from ZWD71,000 to $616USD or the equivalent in local currency for the August to December semester.

The hike in fees risks forcing many students to abandon their studies thus potentially violating their right to education.

The post Zimbabwe: Authorities launch crackdown against students protesting high fees appeared first on Amnesty International.

• Almost three-quarters (73%) polled across 15 countries support proposal that FIFA use World Cup revenues to compensate workers who suffered in the preparation of the tournament  
• More than two-thirds (67%) want their national Football Associations to speak out publicly about the human rights issues associated with the 2022 Qatar World Cup 
• FIFA should establish remediation programme before World Cup kick-off on 20 November 2022

A new global poll commissioned by Amnesty International has revealed that almost three-quarters (73%) of adults in the countries surveyed would support FIFA compensating migrant workers who suffered during preparations for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Support is even higher among those likely to watch at least one game at the tournament (84%). 

The YouGov poll, which surveyed more than 17,000 adults across 15 countries, also showed that an overwhelming majority (67%) want their national Football Associations to speak out publicly about the human rights issues associated with the 2022 Qatar World Cup, including in support of compensation for migrant workers. 

“These findings send a clear message to football’s leadership. Across the globe, people are united in their desire to see FIFA step up and make amends for the suffering endured by migrant workers in Qatar. They also want to see their national associations take a much firmer stance,” said Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s Head of Economic and Social Justice. 

“With less than 50 days until kick off, the clock is ticking. But there is still time for FIFA to do the right thing. Supporters don’t want a World Cup that’s indelibly tainted by human rights abuses. The past cannot be undone, but a compensation programme is a clear and simple way that FIFA and Qatar can provide at least some measure of redress to the hundreds of thousands of workers who made this tournament possible.” 

The findings back the #PayUpFIFA campaign launched by a coalition of human rights organizations—including Amnesty International—fans groups and trade unions in May 2022, which calls on FIFA to set aside a fund to compensate workers and prevent future abuses. The coalition demands FIFA sets aside a minimum of $440 million for the fund – the equivalent it hands out in prize money at the World Cup. FIFA will make an estimated $6 billion in revenues from the tournament. 

Following the launch of the campaign, FIFA has told Amnesty International they are considering the proposal but have issued no public response to date.

The #PayUpFIFA campaign has also highlighted that national Football Associations have a responsibility under international human rights standards to support remedy for migrant workers given their participation in the World Cup. However, while the Belgian, Danish, Dutch, English, German, and Norwegian Football Associations have so far expressed support for the principle of compensation when asked by journalists, no Football Association has yet made an official public statement specifically calling on FIFA to establish such a remediation programme. 

Global support 

YouGov surveyed 17,477 adults in Argentina, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, UK, and the USA. Of these, 54% said they were likely to watch at least one game at the World Cup.  

Nearly three quarters (73%) of those surveyed—and 84% of those likely to watch at least one World Cup match—said they would support the proposal that FIFA use some of the money generated by the 2022 World Cup to compensate migrant workers who suffered in the preparation of the tournament. The strongest support came in Kenya, where 93% of respondents supported compensation. Thousands of Kenyans work in Qatar where Amnesty International has documented numerous abuses including forced labour of Kenyan security guards, construction workers and domestic workers. 

Support for compensation also exceeded three-quarters in 2026 World Cup co-hosts Mexico (86%), and also Spain (83%), Argentina (82%), Switzerland (81%), Finland (79%) and Belgium (77%), while support among likely World Cup viewers was even higher — above 80% in 11 of the 15 countries. Only 10% of those surveyed said they would oppose FIFA providing compensation, with the remaining 17% saying they did not know either way.

More than two-thirds (67%) of those surveyed also think their national Football Associations should speak out publicly about the human rights issues associated with the 2022 Qatar World Cup, including calling for compensation for migrant workers. Support is highest in Kenya (93%) and above 70% in Spain (74%), Finland (71%), Mexico (71%), France (70%), Norway (70%), Switzerland (70%) and UK (70%). Support was again higher (71%) among those likely to watch at least one game at the tournament. 

#PayUpFIFA 

Since 2010, when FIFA awarded the 2022 World Cup to Qatar without requiring any improvement in labour protections, hundreds of thousands of migrant workers have faced human rights abuses while employed to build and service the stadiums, hotels, transport and other infrastructure necessary to host the tournament.  

Amnesty International is calling on FIFA and Qatar to set up a remediation programme with the full participation of workers, trade unions, the International Labour Organization and civil society. The programme should be established, and an initial meeting held between key stakeholders, before the tournament kicks off on 20 November 2022. 

As well as covering an array of compensation costs, including reimbursing unpaid wages, the extortionate recruitment fees paid by hundreds of thousands of workers, and compensation for injuries and deaths, the programme should also support initiatives to protect workers’ rights in the future.

Background

The full list of poll results is available here. 

FIFA’s response to Amnesty International’s report on remedy in May 2022 is included in the report’s Annex. The report was accompanied by an open letter to FIFA President Gianni Infantino from Amnesty International and a coalition of human rights organizations, unions, and fan groups. 

Since 2018, Qatar has introduced a series of important labour reforms that aim to improve workers’ rights, but the lack of enforcement means that serious abuses persist. Improvements for workers on official FIFA sites, such as stadiums, were also introduced in 2014 via the Supreme Committee’s Worker Welfare Standards, but these standards are not universally respected and only cover a minority of the hundreds of thousands of workers on World Cup-related projects.  

One positive initiative launched in 2018 by the Qatari body responsible for organizing the World Cup, the Supreme Committee, includes an agreement with contractors on official World Cup sites to reimburse the recruitment fees of 48,000 workers.  However, this agreement does not cover the hundreds of thousands of workers on other infrastructure projects, such as transport, utilities and hotels, essential to the World Cup. 

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 17477 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 16 August – 6 September 2022. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all surveyed countries adults (aged 18+). 

The post Qatar: Global survey shows overwhelming demand for FIFA to compensate World Cup migrant workers appeared first on Amnesty International.

Today, the European Parliament holds a debate on a report showing that human rights have deteriorated in Hungary since the EU Parliament triggered Article 7 procedures against the country for serious breaches of EU values. Responding to the debate, Eve Geddie, Director of Amnesty International’s EU office, said:

“The alarm bell rung by the European Parliament echoes Amnesty International’s longstanding concerns about the human rights crisis in Hungary. In the four years since Article 7 was triggered, Hungary’s human rights record has only continued to deteriorate. Authorities have attacked the independence of the judiciary, refused to ratify a treaty protecting women from violence, passed homophobic and transphobic laws, cracked down on refugees and asylum seekers and suppressed freedom of expression and association. All of this must immediately be reversed.

“The European Parliament’s report, which is up for adoption tomorrow, kicks the door wide open for the Council to stop years of foot-dragging over Hungary’s relentless attacks on human rights and the rule of law.

“The EU must continue to use all political, legal and financial means available to stop the human rights backsliding in Hungary. The EU and its member states must not fall for cosmetic measures introduced in a rush to secure EU funds. Real change is needed to guarantee true respect for human rights and the rule of law, in line with the founding values of the EU. “

Background

On 12 September 2018, the European Parliament triggered Article 7, a mechanism to hold accountable governments whose actions threaten the European Union’s rule of law, human rights, and democratic principles.

The European Parliament’s report, expected to be adopted tomorrow, provides a concerning update on the human rights situation in Hungary and clear the way for the Council to take effective next steps. Such steps may include adopting specific, mandatory recommendations for the Hungarian authorities to implement by a set deadline and, absent any concrete steps toward compliance, work toward the required four-fifth vote to determine that there is a clear risk of a serious breach of the values protected by the EU treaty. Such a determination would open up the possibility to move towards sanctions such as the removal of voting rights, if the Council were to unanimously determine there is indeed a serious and persistent breach of these values.

The post EU: Council must act on European Parliament report of worsening human rights in Hungary appeared first on Amnesty International.

States engaging at the UN Human Rights Council must call on the Iranian authorities to stop concealing the mass graves of victims of the 1988 “prison massacres” and immediately open an international investigation into the extrajudicial execution and enforced disappearance of thousands of dissidents amounting to ongoing crimes against humanity, Amnesty International said today.

In recent months, Iranian authorities have erected fresh two-metre-high concrete walls months around the Khavaran mass graves outside Tehran where the remains of several hundred political dissidents executed in secret in 1988 are believed to be buried. The construction has sparked serious concerns that the authorities can more easily destroy or tamper with the mass grave site away from public view as the site is no longer visible from the outside and its entrance is guarded by security agents who only permit relatives to enter on certain days.

“The Iranian authorities cannot simply build a wall around a crime scene and think that all their crimes will be erased and forgotten. For 34 years, the authorities have systematically and deliberately concealed and destroyed key evidence that could be used to establish the truth about the scale of the extrajudicial executions carried out in 1988 and obtain justice and reparations for the victims and their families,” said Diana Eltahawy, Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.

“It should shock the conscience of humanity that thousands of political dissidents remain forcibly disappeared in Iran, while those who should be investigated for serious crimes under international law have risen to top executive and judicial positions where they continue to inflict suffering on relatives. This abomination must end once and for all, and the UN Human Rights Council must urgently establish an independent investigative mechanism to uncover the truth and as a step towards bringing those suspected of responsibility to justice.”

Five security cameras have also been erected both inside the Khavaran mass grave site and in the street outside to intimidate mourning families and deter members of the public from visiting the site to pay their respects.

The Khavaran mass graves lie in a grave site outside Iran that also contains several individual graves belonging to political dissidents executed in the early 1980s and Golestan Javid cemetery where the persecuted Baha’i minority bury their loved ones.

Amnesty International has reviewed photographs and video footage of the new walls and security cameras to corroborate the accounts of family members who have visited the Khavaran mass grave site since late May 2022.

The Iranian authorities cannot simply build a wall around a crime scene and think that all their crimes will be erased and forgotten.

Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International

For over three decades, the Iranian authorities have tried to cover up evidence of the prison massacres by repeatedly bulldozing over confirmed or suspected mass grave sites and destroying ad hoc grave markings and trees planted by families.

Relatives, survivors and human rights defenders have been consistently forbidden from gathering at mass grave sites to commemorate the victims and prevented from erecting memorials or laying flowers. Some have been prosecuted and jailed in reprisal for seeking truth and justice.

Some mass grave sites have even been turned into rubbish dumps. In April 2021, the Iranian authorities also pressured members of the persecuted Baha’i minority to bury their loved ones at the Khavaran mass grave site.

To further conceal the fate and whereabouts of the victims, the authorities have also refused to issue death certificates and removed victims’ names from burial records.

UN Human Rights Council must heed expert calls for an international investigation

In September 2020, a group of UN experts including the UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID), warned that past and ongoing violations related to the prison massacres in Iran in 1988 “may amount to crimes against humanity” and that they will call for an international investigation if these violations persist.

In August 2021, WGEID reiterated its concerns about the ongoing concealment of burial sites, recalled that the crime of enforced disappearance continues until the fate and whereabouts of the individuals concerned are established, and called for an international investigation.

“States engaging at the UN Human Rights Council have a moral obligation to stand with families, victims, and survivors of atrocities in Iran including the 1988 prison massacres and heed the calls of UN experts for the establishment of an international investigative mechanism. Members of the international community, including those involved in nuclear talks with Iran, must not shy away from speaking up for political gains. They should take concrete measures to tackle the ongoing crisis of systemic impunity in a country which has seen the rise to presidency of Ebrahim Raisi, who must be investigated for crimes against humanity,” said Diana Eltahawy.

Background

Not a single official has been brought to justice in Iran for the past and ongoing crimes against humanity linked to the 1988 “prison massacres”; and some of those involved hold or have held high positions of power in Iran. Iran’s current president and former head of the judiciary Ebrahim Raisi was a member of the “death commission” which carried out the enforced disappearance and extrajudicial execution of several thousand political dissidents in Evin and Gohardasht prisons near Tehran between late July and early September 1988.

Other members of the so-called “death commissions” who must be investigated for crimes against humanity include Alireza Avaei, who was the minister of justice from 2017 to 2021; Hossein Ali Nayyeri, who is the head of the Supreme Disciplinary Court for Judges; Mohammad Hossein Ahmadi, who is a current member of a key constitutional body; and Mostafa Pour Mohammadi, who was the minister of justice between 2013 and 2017 and is currently a senior advisor to the head of the judiciary. 

The post Iran: Walls erected around graves of massacre victims show urgent need for international investigation appeared first on Amnesty International.