Schlagwort: human rights

Responding to the news that Qatar’s Minister of Labour has called Amnesty International’s campaign to compensate migrant workers for the abuses they suffered “a publicity stunt”, Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s Head of Economic and Social Justice, said:  

“It is hugely disappointing to hear calls for greater compensation be dismissed. The vast majority of migrant workers who have now returned home to countries like Nepal or Bangladesh are unable to access Qatar’s current scheme. There will be no compensation for them to reclaim stolen wages or illegal recruitment fees, let alone provide much needed financial support for those families who have lost a loved one.  

“While the money paid out this year is undoubtedly important, Qatar’s Minister saying that their door is open to workers who have suffered abuses is insufficient and a much more proactive approach is needed to ensure that justice is within reach for everyone. Qatar must expand its existing compensation funds or establish a new one – no one is saying it is easy, but if the will is there, a solution could be found that would transform the lives of so many workers.”  

Background 

On 2 November, in an interview with AFP, Qatar’s Ministry of Labour Ali bin Samikh al-Marri called Amnesty International’s campaign to compensate migrant workers for the abuses they suffered “a publicity stunt”. He added that the Ministry’s “door is open”, saying that “if there is a person entitled to compensation who has not received it, they should come forward and we will help them”. 

In May 2022 – Amnesty and a coalition of organisations launched a campaign calling on Qatar and FIFA to establish a comprehensive remediation programme to compensate migrant workers who suffered abuses in the preparation and delivery of Qatar 2022. Since then, the call has garnered the support of many FAs and World Cup sponsors and FIFA’s senior leadership have acknowledged the importance of compensation, though the footballing body is yet to publicly commit to doing so. 

Since 2018, Qatari authorities have put in place measures to protect workers from wage theft and enhance access to justice, but these do not cover all workers or address abuses in the years before the systems were established. Crucially, significant implementation and enforcement gaps remain. For example, workers who have already left Qatar cannot access the labour committees or a fund established to pay them when their employers fail to do so.  

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The authorities in Palestine must ensure that six men arrested in the West Bank in June, including three who have been on hunger strike for almost two months whilst in detention, receive a fair trial, Amnesty International said today ahead of the first hearing of their court case. They must also ensure prompt, impartial investigations into the men’s allegations of torture and other ill-treatment.

The men were arrested without a warrant by security forces and charged with criminal offences related to an explosion at a carpentry shop. All six were tortured during interrogation at Jericho detention centre, and afterwards in Beitounia prison, both run by the Palestinian Authority, according to their lawyer and family members who visited them in detention. One of the detainees also stated before the court that he was subjected to torture, according to court documents reviewed by Amnesty International.

Torture is never justified, and the authorities should immediately launch a thorough, effective, impartial and independent investigation into these detainees’ allegations of torture and other ill-treatment.

Heba Morayef, Amnesty International

“Torture is never justified, and the authorities should immediately launch a thorough, effective, impartial and independent investigation into these detainees’ allegations of torture and other ill-treatment. Those suspected of harming them should be suspended from their positions, pending completion of an investigation, so that they cannot commit further violations. They must also receive a fair trial in line with international standards,” said Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

Since their indictment in early September, court sessions have been repeatedly postponed due to the failure of witnesses from the Palestinian security forces to attend and testify. The next hearing is scheduled for tomorrow, 3 November 2022.

Ahmad Hreish, 28, Munther Rheib, 54, Jihad Wahdan, 44, and Ahmad Khasib, 27 were detained on 6 June 2022. Khaled Nawabit, 44, was detained on 23 June and Qassam Hamayel, 23, was detained on 26 June. Ahmad Khasib and Khaled Nawabit – who requires heart surgery – were both released on bail in October. According to their lawyer and family members who were able to visit them in detention, the men were subjected to torture and other ill-treatment while locked up.

Since 25 September, Ahmad Hreish, Jihad Wahdan, and Qassam Hamayel have been on hunger strike in protest at their treatment and are kept shackled to their hospital beds in the Palestine Medical Complex hospital, where they were transferred to due to their deteriorating health. Despite their poor health, their families and their lawyer say they have not received adequate medical care.

The men have also been held in solitary confinement, denied family visits and phone calls and held under constant surveillance in punishment for their decision to go on hunger strike.

The family and lawyer of Ahmad Hreish, whose wife gave birth to their firstborn just as he began his hunger strike, told Amnesty International how security forces whipped him on his feet and repeatedly beat him with clubs and batons. They described how his arms were hoisted behind his back for long hours – a common torture method used in Palestinian detention centres.

Ahmad Hreish detailed his torture before a judge at a hearing on 13 June at Jericho’s Magistrate Court. Amnesty International has reviewed court documents of his account, in which he told the court: “I’ve been here for a week in these dungeons in Jericho where my wrists were tied with a rope and my face was covered and I could not see anything. I was suspended from a window and I would get beaten with sticks and whips. I was beaten on the soles of my feet, and after all of that they would tell me to ‘get up and dance…’ and they tied my hands behind my back.”

Amnesty International is not aware of any criminal investigation into Ahmad Hreish’s torture allegations. According to court documents, a judge referred him for medical examination, and although he was informed of these allegations, he sent him back to the place where he said he had been tortured. According to Ahmad Hreish’s sister, he was subjected to more torture for speaking up in court. In later court appearances, he did not mention it again.

All the accused have spent time in both Israeli and Palestinian prisons. According to their lawyer, they were interrogated by Palestinian security forces about their political opinions, affiliations and periods of detention in Israeli prisons.

Despite ratifying the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Ill-treatment and its Optional Protocol, the State of Palestine has routinely used torture in in detention centres.

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Ahead of the two-year anniversary of northern Ethiopia’s ongoing armed conflict, which broke out on 3 November 2020 and has since led to appalling violations by parties on all sides, Flavia Mwangovya, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for campaigns East Africa, Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes regions, said:

All parties have been responsible for serious violations, encompassing war crimes and crimes against humanity, including extrajudicial executions and summary killings of thousands of people and sexual violence against women and girls.

Flavia Mwangovya, Amnesty International's Deputy Director for campaigns, Horn of Africa

“Since the start of the conflict in northern Ethiopia, millions of civilians have been displaced and thousands killed. All parties have been responsible for serious violations, encompassing war crimes and crimes against humanity, including extrajudicial executions and summary killings of thousands of people and sexual violence against women and girls.

“The international community must show solidarity with the victims and survivors of atrocity crimes in Ethiopia’s two-year conflict. Despite restrictions on access and communication shutdowns, Amnesty has repeatedly documented unspeakable abuses by all parties to the conflict, yet the response from the international community, including the African Union, has been dismal.”

The international community must show solidarity with the victims and survivors of atrocity crimes in Ethiopia’s two-year conflict.

Flavia Mwangovya

“On the second anniversary of the start of the conflict, Amnesty International will launch a global campaign to underscore the gravity on the human rights crisis in Ethiopia, while also detailing how the African Union and the international community have offered a completely inadequate response to one of the deadliest conflicts in the world.”

Background

All parties to the armed conflict in Ethiopia, which pits forces aligned with Ethiopia’s federal government, including the Eritrean army, against those affiliated with Tigray’s regional government led by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), have committed serious human rights violations and abuses, including extrajudicial executions, summary killings and sexual violence against women and girls. The abuses we documented in this conflict include war crimes and crimes against humanity, which are among the most serious crimes of concern to the international community. Ethnic violence has claimed thousands of lives.

Due to the ongoing conflict, the region has been largely cut off from the outside world. Millions of people have been internally displaced, while humanitarian aid has also been denied to millions of people in Tigray.

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Brazil’s presidential election ended on the night of Sunday, 30 October. According to the official information published by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), the candidate Luiz Inácio da Silva was elected with 50.90% of the votes, against 49.10% for reelection of the candidate Jair Messias Bolsonaro. Blank and invalid votes represented 4.59% of the total.

Amnesty International warns that human rights must be a priority in the government transition period.  

The election was marked by threats to the civil rights of the Brazilian people. There were serious complaints that the Federal Highway Police did not comply with TSE decisions and carried out at least 560 inspection operations against vehicles carrying out public transportation of voters on Sunday.

In addition to impediments to the free transit of citizens, the elections were marked by the dissemination of false news, statements by President Jair Bolsonaro and the actions of other public authorities that generated fears over the integrity of state institutions and respect for the outcome of the elections. Episodes of political violence were recurrent.

People denounced electoral harassment in their workplaces, members of religious communities denounced situations of coercion for demonstrating in defense of human rights, candidates and ordinary citizens suffered physical aggression or were killed for exercising their right to freedom of expression. Journalists were also assaulted and intimidated, and indigenous communities were deprived of their right to political participation.

This scenario points to challenges that go beyond the electoral period and pose risks to the human rights of citizens in Brazil. Amnesty International monitored and denounced episodes of intimidation and political violence throughout the country during the electoral period and will continue to monitor the transition process of the federal government. This process must take place in accordance with the Federal Constitution, rule of law institutions and international human rights standards.

During this period, two documents were published that reveal the political violence to which the Brazilian population was subjected. On the eve of the first round of the 2022 elections, Amnesty International presented the document “Political violence: human rights violations in the 2022 electoral period.” The organization collected 42 human rights violations that occurred in the 90 days leading up to the first day of voting.

In the campaign period preceding the second round of the elections, Amnesty International identified two cases of political violence per day. The cases are collected in the document “Intimidation as a method: violence and threats against male and female voters in 2022“.

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The armed group Al-Shabaab must end its indiscriminate attacks against civilians and the Somali authorities must also ensure that civilians are protected, Amnesty International said today, after a twin car bombing in Mogadishu on Saturday, claimed by Al-Shabaab, killed at least 100 people and injured more than 300 others.

Al-Shabaab’s callous actions are crimes under international law and it is absolutely crucial that all those suspected of criminal responsibility for this crime face justice in fair trials

Muleya Mwananyanda, Director for East and Southern Africa

The bombings, claimed by the armed group Al-Shabaab, targeted the ministry of education building and took place on a busy market intersection in the Somali capital. Numerous children and elderly people were among the victims. On Saturday evening, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud warned that the death toll could rise further.

“Amnesty International sends its condolences to all those who have lost loved ones following Saturday’s appalling and senseless attacks. Al-Shabaab’s callous actions are crimes under international law and it is absolutely crucial that all those suspected of criminal responsibility for this crime face justice in fair trials,” said Muleya Mwananyanda, Amnesty International’s Director for East and Southern Africa.

“Al-Shabaab specifically designed the attack to inflict massive civilian casualties. Intentionally targeting civilians in an armed conflict is a war crime and, as such, all states are permitted to exercise jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute. Al-Shabaab must immediately stop carrying out attacks on civilians, and the Somali authorities must ensure that victims’ families are offered justice, truth and reparation.”

Following the bombings, devastated friends and relatives of victims shared accounts of what happened on social media. Many are still searching for missing family members. Mogadishu’s hospitals are currently overwhelmed as they seek to support those injured in the attacks.

Al-Shabaab must immediately stop carrying out attacks on civilians, and the Somali authorities must ensure that victims’ families are offered justice, truth and reparation

Muleya Mwananyanda

No accountability

The ongoing conflict between the government of Somalia and Al-Shabaab continues to have a devastating impact on the country’s civilian population, with all parties to the conflict continuing to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law — with no justice, truth or reparation.

In May 2022, Somalia’s new government identified maintaining national security and combatting Al-Shabaab as its top priority. Since then, the armed group has responded with both indiscriminate and targeted attacks against civilians, as well as assassinations and summary killings of those it perceives to be linked to the government. In August, Al-Shabaab carried out an attack on Hotel Hayat in Mogadishu, killing at least 30 people and injuring more than 50 others.

Of 428 civilian casualties reported by the UN in Somalia between February and May this year, 76 percent are believed to be the result of indiscriminate attacks by Al-Shabaab.

Saturday’s attack came five years after another bombing in the same location, which killed almost 600 people and injured more than 300 others in what is believed to be Africa’s deadliest truck bombing. Although widely assumed to have been carried out by Al-Shabaab, the group has not claimed responsibility for it.

Since 2011, Al-Shabaab has increasingly targeted locations frequented by civilians, including hotels and restaurants, for attacks that have killed and injured thousands of civilians.

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