Schlagwort: Amnesty International

The military prison at Guantánamo Bay continues to facilitate grave violations of human rights by the US government. Ahead of the 20^th anniversary of the military prison’s opening on January 11, 2002, Daphne Eviatar, Director of the Security with Human Rights Program at Amnesty International USA, said:

“This is an anniversary that should never have been reached. Since the Bush administration, there has been agreement among national security experts and across the political spectrum that the Guantánamo prison – a notorious site of torture and unjustifiable indefinite detention – should be closed.

“President Biden must uphold his commitment to close Guantánamo once and for all. The longer the prison remains in use, the longer it continues to undermine U.S. credibility globally on human rights.”

Background

Twenty years after its establishment at an offshore military base in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, Guantánamo continues to hold 39 Muslim men in blatant perpetuation of Islamophobia and racism. None of the men detained have received a fair trial and they continue to be detained indefinitely in violation of due process of law and other internationally recognized human rights.

The Guantánamo military commissions have failed to bring justice to the victims and survivors of the 9/11 attacks, while denying due process to the accused.

Amnesty International USA is sponsoring a range of public events and actions designed to urge President Biden to close the Guantánamo prison this year.

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Reacting to a televised address this morning (7 January) by Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev calling for security forces to “fire without warning” at any further disturbances following the recent mass protests and violence, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said:

“The Kazakhstani authorities have a duty to maintain order, but giving blanket approval for police officers and troops to fire without warning is unlawful and a recipe for disaster. It could pave the way for knee-jerk reactions that result in unlawful killings. Unless this order is immediately and clearly revoked, Kazakhstan’s already abysmal human rights record and the ongoing crisis which it has produced are set to get worse.

The Kazakhstani authorities have a duty to maintain order, but giving blanket approval for police officers and troops to fire without warning is unlawful and a recipe for disaster. It could pave the way for knee-jerk reactions that result in unlawful killings.

Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia

“Under international law, police officers should only ever use lethal force as a last resort. It can only be used when it is strictly necessary, either to protect themselves or others from an imminent threat of death or serious injury, and only if all other options to de-escalate the situation have failed.

“When the use of force and firearms are strictly necessary, the relevant UN principles are clear. Security forces must always give clear warning when they are about to open fire – the exception being where doing so would put themselves or others at risk. Not doing so increases the risk of innocent bystanders being seriously injured or killed. This blanket order not to provide warning is extremely dangerous and alludes to a policy of ‘kill first, think later’.

“The presence of violent individuals or groups does not remove the Kazakhstani security forces’ obligation to protect the right to peaceful assembly.”

Background

On 2 January, protests erupted in the Mangystau Region in south-east Kazakhstan over gas price hikes, before spreading into several other major cities, including the biggest city, Almaty.

The protests gradually turned violent, with crowds storming and setting fire to the Almaty city administration’s office, and looting firearms from law enforcement agencies. In response, police fired tear gas and stun grenades at the protesters, and later used firearms. There are videos and eyewitness testimonies that provide evidence of security forces openly firing live ammunition at crowds, including near Almaty’s Republic Square on 6 January.

The authorities have also restricted the internet and other means of communication and warned all media against “violating” Kazakhstan’s unduly restrictive media law. Communication with people in Kazakhstan, and particularly in Almaty, is severely disrupted, and intermittent at best.

The Ministry of the Interior has said that over 3,800 people have been arrested, and confirmed hundreds of injuries and 26 deaths among protesters and officers. The number of protester deaths is likely to be much higher, given that earlier activists and the police were quoted speaking of “tens” of casualties, and President Tokayev spoke of “hundreds”.

Police arbitrarily detained and questioned at least two senior journalists from the RFE/RL’s local Azzattyk radio service on 4 January, and other media workers since.

On 5 January, Kazakhstan’s government requested military assistance from Russia and its other regional allies in the Collective Security Treaty Organization, who promised to provide collectively close to 3,000 troops, purportedly to restore order following the violence and address an unspecified external “threat”.

For years, the authorities have repressed the basic rights of the Kazakhstani people by not only banning peaceful protest but also opposition political parties. Numerous peaceful protest leaders, human rights defenders, bloggers and others have been arrested and imprisoned following unfair trials. In 2011, at least 14 protesters were killed after police cracked down on a demonstration in Zhanaozen. The event has not been fully and effectively investigated.

Under international law and standards law enforcement must only use firearms as a last resort where it is necessary to protect themselves or others from an imminent threat to life or of serious injury.

The UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials provide that: “law enforcement officials shall identify themselves as such and give a clear warning of their intent to use firearms, with sufficient time for the warning to be observed, unless to do so would unduly place the law enforcement officials at risk or would create a risk of death or serious harm to other persons, or would be clearly inappropriate or pointless in the circumstances of the incident.”

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Confirming that Amnesty International has independently confirmed that Pegasus spyware was used to hack Polish senator, Krzysztof Brejza, when he was running the opposition’s 2019 parliamentary election campaign, Amnesty International Poland’s Director Anna Błaszczak, said:

“These findings are shocking but not surprising. They raise serious concerns not only for politicians, but for the whole Poland’s civil society in general, particularly given the context of the government’s record of persistently subverting human rights and the rule of law.

“Activists and protesters, have been targeted through criminal investigations, undermining the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. Meanwhile judges and prosecutors who raised concerns over the lack of independence of the judiciary face disciplinary and even criminal investigations.

“Despite media reports that the Israeli government stopped exports of the NSO software to a group of countries including Poland, this does not seem to have affected existing licences and the use of Pegasus in Poland.

“These revelations demonstrate yet again why there is an urgent need for a commitment from governments to stop any forms of surveillance that breaches human rights and the need for a global moratorium on the export, sale, transfer and use of surveillance equipment, until a robust human rights-compliant regulatory framework is in place.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION – Contact Stefan Simanowitz press@amnesty.org

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As Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen prepares to visit Myanmar on 7-8 January, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Research Emerlynne Gil called on him to prioritise human rights action over empty gestures: 

“Hun Sen’s rogue diplomacy may do more harm than good by breaking ranks with ASEAN’s response to the Myanmar crisis and sending mixed messages to Myanmar’s coup leader General Min Aung Hlaing, who has been blocked from recent high-level ASEAN meetings in a rare rebuke.” 

“If Hun Sen truly wants to help, he should cancel this trip and lead ASEAN to strong action to address the country’s dire human rights situation rather than indulge in empty gestures that will likely result in little more than a self-congratulatory photo op.” 

“As the incoming chair of ASEAN, Cambodia should help revive the five-point consensus adopted in April last year that called for an immediate end to violence and work to expand it further to protect human rights and ensure accountability for abuses.”  

If Hun Sen truly wants to help, he should cancel this trip and lead ASEAN to strong action to address the country’s dire human rights situation rather than indulge in empty gestures that will likely result in little more than a self-congratulatory photo op.

Emerlynne Gil, Amnesty International's Deputy Regional Director for Research

“The nightmare has continued for the 55 million people of Myanmar. Last month security forces were accused of killing and burning more than 30 civilians, including two staff members of the humanitarian aid organization, Save the Children, in eastern Karenni State.”  

“The international community cannot rely on ASEAN alone when it has repeatedly demonstrated that it is unable to take meaningful action to prevent such atrocities from recurring. The UN Security Council must urgently refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court and impose targeted sanctions and a global arms embargo.” 

Background 

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is set to visit Myanmar on 7-8 January, the first head of state to make an official visit to the country since the military seized power in a coup on 1 February 2020.  

The trip comes as Cambodia takes over as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which rotates each year to one of the bloc’s 10 members. Cambodia was last chair in 2012. 

ASEAN’s five-point consensus, adopted in April 2021, calls for an immediate end to violence, dialogue among all parties, aid access, the appointment of a special envoy from the bloc, and a visit by an ASEAN delegation. However, it fails to mention the need to protect human rights or call for accountability for violations. There has been little progress on the consensus, which was limited in scope even then.  

Since seizing power, Myanmar’s military has killed more than 1,400 people and arrested or detained more than 10,000, many of them peaceful protesters. It has also unfairly tried many of Myanmar’s top civilian leaders who were ousted in the coup and sentenced them to lengthy prison sentences. Former de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced to four years in December in one of many bogus cases against her. 

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