Schlagwort: Amnesty International

Carrie Eisert, Amnesty International’s Policy Advisor for Gender, Racial Justice, Refugees and Migrants

In March 2020, as the world began to shut down in response to the rapid spread of Covid-19, Amnesty staff scrambled to deliver our first assessment of states’ human rights obligations in the context of a global pandemic. A flurry of activity and collaboration resulted in our first public statement on 12 March, just as we said goodbye at the office, laptops and hand sanitizer in hand, with a plan to work from home that was meant to last just two weeks.

More than two years of (mostly) remote working later, we are ready to share our report, entitled ‘There is no help for our community: The impact of states’ Covid-19 responses on groups affected by unjust criminalization’. The product of more than 20 months of participatory research with 54 community-led organizations in 28 countries, it explains how government responses that saw people fined, arrested and jailed for non-compliance with public health measures, had a disproportionate impact on society’s most marginalized and criminalized communities. The damaging consequences for groups including LGBTI people in Zambia and Kyrgyzstan, sex workers in Argentina and France, people who use drugs in Mexico, and people in need of an abortion in India, are just some of those included.  

From the outset of this research, the uneven impact of Covid-19 on certain groups, and issues of stigma and discrimination, were foremost in our minds. We were guided by a range of questions about the possible consequences of repressive Covid-19 measures: who would be most impacted by travel bans and restrictions? Would people living in poverty or experiencing homelessness be able to manage “stay at home” orders without the necessary resources? What would be the impacts on people needing access to specific healthcare services such as abortion, drug treatment, gender-affirming healthcare, or HIV treatment?

Based on the human rights concerns that emerged in past epidemics, we knew that when states use punitive policies to achieve public health aims, it’s rarely a winning strategy.

And so it proved once again. Our research shows that governments have largely failed to learn from previous public health emergencies about the importance of respecting human rights and engaging with communities to build trust and solidarity.

Amnesty International is calling for governments to put human rights at the centre of all future pandemic responses. Here are the top four lessons that must be learned.

Don’t use punishment to promote public health

Governments prioritized punishment over support and used security forces to enforce public health rules. This meant that people who were unable to easily isolate and “stay at home”, such as those experiencing homelessness or sex workers who needed to go out to work, were put at even greater risk of criminalization and a whole range of human rights abuses from the authorities.

Guarantee that everyone is supported

Abortion, contraception, gender-affirming healthcare and harm reduction services for people who use drugs are “essential” healthcare services. However, governments’ failure to treat them as such during the pandemic meant that people requiring these services faced unnecessary barriers and were denied support that could have enabled them to stay safe and better comply with Covid-19 restrictions.

Address the drivers of marginalization and exclusion

The stigma associated with criminalization meant that many marginalized communities were scapegoated for supposedly spreading the virus. This in turn discouraged people from seeking healthcare and social protection because they feared being judged, arrested, detained or otherwise punished.

Ensure participation of marginalized people and communities 

Unjust criminalization created barriers to the meaningful consultation and participation of individuals and organizations whose expertise and experience could have informed and improved pandemic responses. A focus on protecting human rights would benefit the health and wellbeing of everyone.

For more information about the report, see here.

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The UN has taken a significant step towards ending the shameful trade in tools of torture, Amnesty International said today, following the release of an expert report which could pave the way for a legally binding treaty.  

There are currently no human rights controls at the global level on the trade in goods used to torture, ill-treat or execute people. In 2021, the UN General Assembly tasked a group of governmental experts (GGE) with exploring new options for regulating the trade, and their proposals are published in today’s report.  

This is a major step towards curbing the despicable torture trade, which allows companies to profit from unimaginable pain and suffering 

Agnès Callamard

Amnesty International, along with its partners at the Omega Research Foundation and the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School (IHRC), have particularly welcomed a proposal for the UN General Assembly to begin negotiations on a legally binding instrument. 

“Torture and other ill-treatment were prohibited under international law decades ago, yet there is still no global regulation of the trade in goods used to inflict these abuses. This report is a milestone in the UN’s work to fix this fundamental flaw,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General. 

“The report is a major step towards curbing this despicable trade, which undermines the global ban on torture and other ill-treatment and allows companies to profit from unimaginable pain and suffering.” 

Proposed ban on inherently abusive equipment

Amnesty International, the Omega Research Foundation and the IHRC are calling for an outright ban on goods whose only practical purpose is torture or other ill-treatment, such as spiked batons, weighted leg chains and electric shock belts. The organizations welcome the report’s recommendation today that any future international standard includes a prohibition on the production and trade in inherently abusive law enforcement equipment. The GGE state that such a ban would be “a proactive measure to prevent human rights violations”. 

A legally binding treaty is the only means of ensuring that inherently abusive equipment like electric shock belts and spiked batons can no longer be sold in a global market place.

Dr Michael Crowley of the Omega Research Foundation

Another positive development is the recommendation to develop trade controls on law enforcement goods “where there are reasonable grounds for believing” they will be used for torture or other ill-treatment. This could mean placing controls on standard policing goods like handcuffs, tear gas, rubber bullets, and batons, which can have a legitimate purpose but are routinely misused. Amnesty International, the Omega Research Foundation and the IHRC are calling for strict human rights-based trade controls on these types of goods. 

There was a diversity of opinions among the GGE on the feasibility of trade controls on death penalty goods. 

Dr Michael Crowley of the Omega Research Foundation said:  

“Amnesty and Omega’s previous investigations have uncovered the international nature of this trade. A legally binding international Torture-Free Trade Treaty is the only means of ensuring that companies promoting spiked batons, electric shock belts, and other inherently abusive equipment will no longer be able to sell their products in a global market place.

“Such a treaty would also ensure that companies selling law enforcement equipment, wherever they operate, will be subject to common regulations that prevent them from supplying abusive police and security forces across the globe.” 

States now have the opportunity to start working towards a treaty to establish global standards to end this trade.

Anna Crowe, International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School

Anna Crowe of the IHRC said:   

“The GGE’s report shows why international regulation of the torture trade is so important and urgent. States now have the opportunity to start working towards a treaty to establish global standards to end this trade.” 

Amnesty International and the Omega Research Foundation have worked closely with the EU and the Council of Europe on developing regional regulations on the trade in tools of torture, and also submitted recommendations to the current UN deliberations. Along with the IHRC, they are now calling on states to be bold in their ambition to negotiate a legally binding treaty to tackle the torture trade globally. 

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Responding to the end of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet’s six-day visit to China, Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnes Callamard said: 

“The time has come for the OHCHR to publicly acknowledge the scale and gravity of human rights violations being committed by the Chinese government. The High Commissioner should release the long-awaited report on Xinjiang and present the findings at the next meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in June. 

“Failure to release a report that sufficiently addresses crimes against humanity in the region would amount to a betrayal of the victims and their families. This continued lack of urgency puts the credibility of the High Commissioner’s Office at stake. 

“The High Commissioner’s visit has been characterized by photo opportunities with senior government officials and manipulation of her statements by Chinese state media, leaving an impression that she has walked straight into a highly predictable propaganda exercise for the Chinese government. 

The High Commissioner’s visit has been characterized by photo opportunities with senior government officials and manipulation of her statements by Chinese state media, leaving an impression that she has walked straight into a highly predictable propaganda exercise for the Chinese government. 

Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General

“The High Commissioner instead should condemn the ongoing gross human rights violations and seek accountability, truth and justice. 

“Bachelet acknowledged that she received appeals from Uyghurs abroad regarding their missing family members believed to be detained and said she raised them with the Chinese authorities. Her office must follow up on these cases and insist that authorities guarantee detainees rights and means to maintain regular contact with family members, including those living overseas.   

“Given the various restraints imposed, including COVID-19 restrictions, Bachelet has rightly acknowledged that this visit was not an ‘investigation’.  But she should push for it to be a springboard to more meaningful actions and investigations by independent human rights experts in the near future. 

“While Bachelet said a working group on human rights, including on business and human rights, counter-terrorism and human rights, and rights of minorities will be established between the UN and Chinese authorities, no clear goals and timeline have been shared. These cannot be a substitute for urgently establishing an independent international mechanism to investigate crimes under international law and other serious human rights violations in Xinjiang, with a view to ensuring accountability, including through the identification of suspected perpetrators.  

“The High Commissioner must call on the Chinese government to immediately dismantle all remaining internment camps, release the people arbitrarily detained in them and in prisons, and end the systematic attacks against Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang.  

Background 

A team led by High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet spent six days in China including two days in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, where Amnesty International has documented systematic arbitrary detention, torture and persecution of Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities. 

On Saturday, 28 May, the High Commissioner held a virtual press conference in Guangzhou where she spoke about her mission to China. She met with government officials, the business community and members of civil society. In regard to Xinjiang, she spoke about how counter-terrorism measures should not result in human rights violations and need to be subjected to independent oversight. She also mentioned linguistics, religious, cultural and education rights in Tibet and other human rights issues.  

During Bachelet’s visit to China, national state media quoted her as saying she “admired China’s efforts in… protecting human rights”. The OHCHR later issued a clarification of Bachelet’s words, which did not praise China’s human rights record.  

Since September 2018, when the High Commissioner first sought access to Xinjiang “in light of deeply disturbing allegations of large-scale arbitrary detentions of Uighurs and other Muslim communities”, numerous organizations have published further detailed and well-corroborated information on the situation. In June 2021, Amnesty International launched a comprehensive report documenting how China’s crackdown against predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities in Xinjiang amounted to serious human rights violations, including crimes against humanity. 

Based on dozens of testimonies, the report described a “dystopian hellscape” encompassing grave violations against detainees, systematic state surveillance of millions of people, and efforts to root out the religious traditions, cultural practices and local languages of the region’s Muslim ethnic groups. 

Amnesty International launched an international campaign, initially focusing on more than 70 individuals, calling for the release of all people arbitrarily detained in camps and prisons, and for the closure of the internment camps. Just this month Amnesty has collected details of a further 40 missing or detained individuals as news of Bachelet’s visit prompted more families to come forward seeking justice for relatives in Xinjiang who have disappeared and are believed to be detained. 

The OHCHR has already compiled its own report on human rights violations in Xinjiang, which Bachelet said was being “finalised” last year. It has not yet been made public, despite repeated requests from almost 200 NGOs, including Amnesty International. 

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