On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the beginning of 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, Amnesty International is reiterating its call to mediators in the ongoing peace process on Ethiopia to prioritise justice for survivors, including survivors of sexual violence in the two-year conflict.
The African Union must pressure the Ethiopian government to ensure justice for victims and survivors of violations especially sexual violence
Flavia Mwangovya, Deputy Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn of Africa, and the Great Lakes Region.
“The African Union must urgently pressure the Ethiopian government to fully cooperate with both regional and international investigative mechanisms on human rights to ensure justice for victims and survivors of violations — especially sexual violence,” said Flavia Mwangovya, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn of Africa, and the Great Lakes Region.
“The Ethiopian authorities must urgently allow unfettered access to the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE) and the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights to enable investigations to take place, and ultimately to ensure those responsible for atrocities in Ethiopia’s two-year conflict face justice.”
On 2 November 2022, Amnesty International launched a campaign which highlights the atrocities committed by all sides to the conflict. It also called on the international community to stand in solidarity with survivors and victims of sexual violence during the conflict.
The Ethiopian authorities must allow unfettered access to the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia and the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights to enable investigations to take place
Flavia Mwangovya
16 Days of Activism
On 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, Amnesty International will also hold an exhibition in Nairobi at the Baraza Media Lab, in which a documentary film will highlight the demands for justice by survivors of sexual violence during the conflict in Ethiopia.
The exhibition will also be showcased in London on 28 and 29 November 2022, during the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) Conference.
On 2 November 2022, the Government of Ethiopia, and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) signed a peace agreement. The accord, however, fails to offer a clear roadmap on how to ensure accountability for war crimes and crimes against humanity, and overlooks rampant impunity in the country, which could lead to violations being repeated.
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. Abuses documented by Amnesty International in the conflict include war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Today’s South Korean Supreme Court decision that having children of minor age should not immediately be the reason to refuse to recognize the legal gender of transgender persons is an important step forward for human rights, Amnesty International said.
“This decision by the Supreme Court opens the door for more recognition of transgender rights, but there is still a long way to go given the high level of discrimination and stigmatization LGBTI people face in South Korean society,” said Jihyun Yoon, Director of Amnesty International Korea.
In coming to this decision – and partially overturning its previous decision from 2011 – the Supreme Court affirmed the rights of transgender individuals to dignity, happiness and family life.
The Court emphasized that transgender individuals have rights to be legally recognized according to their gender identity and have the same rights and obligations under law to have family life. It added that legal gender recognition doesn’t fundamentally change the responsibilities or positions of the transgender parents, nor the rights of minor children.
There is no law governing legal gender recognition in South Korea, which means that applicants must apply for legal gender recognition through the courts in accordance with the “Guidelines for the Handling of Petition for Legal Sex Change Permit of Transgender People” adopted by the Supreme Court in 2006.
These guidelines include abusive or discriminatory requirements, such as not having children under 19 and being at least 19 years old themselves, as well as being unmarried, diagnosed with “transsexualism” and having undergone hormone therapy and been sterilized.
“This ruling addresses only one of the many discriminatory requirements in the guidelines, but it can be an important step towards the depathologization of legal gender recognition processes in South Korea,” Jihyun Yoon said.
“The government must ensure that legal gender recognition is not contingent on psychiatric diagnosis, medical treatments such as forced sterilization and genital reconstruction surgery, or other abusive or discriminatory requirements such as marital status or not having children. Instead, it must be a quick, accessible and transparent administrative process based on individual self-determination.”
BACKGROUND
This is the first time South Korea’s Supreme Court has handed down a ruling on legal gender recognition in 11 years, following a 2011 decision denying such recognition to an individual with minor children (under 19 years old).
Amnesty International provided a submission to the Supreme Court on international legal standards with regard to the right of legal gender recognition.
According to research commissioned by the National Human Rights Commission of South Korea in 2020, the preconditions required by courts and the related financial, physical and mental burden contributed to the decision of many transgender individuals not to seek legal gender recognition.
The right to legal gender recognition is derived from a number of fundamental rights protected in both domestic and international law including the rights to self-determination, privacy and health.
Without legal gender recognition and other social reforms to eliminate stigma, transgender individuals are more likely to continue to face violence and discrimination and a number of negative social and economic outcomes such as lack of access to employment.
The Russian authorities have developed a sophisticated system of restrictions and severe reprisals to crush public protests, which extends to suppressing any reporting of them by journalists and independent monitors.
Restrictions have increased since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and the unbridled repression of the anti-war movement virtually precludes public protest and any sharing of information about it, said Amnesty International in a new report published today.
“We can see that the Russian authorities are hellbent not only on preventing and severely penalizing any protest, however peaceful, but also on minimizing any public awareness of it,” said Natalia Prilutskaya, Amnesty International’s Russia Researcher.
We can see that the Russian authorities are hellbent not only on preventing and severely penalizing any protest, however peaceful, but also on minimizing any public awareness of it
Natalia Prilutskaya, Amnesty International’s Russia Researcher
“From the very beginning of Vladimir Putin’s presidency in 2000, the Russian authorities have been gradually limiting the right to peaceful protest, have increasingly penalized those who try to exercise it, making Russia a virtually protest-free zone. In February 2022, tens of thousands defied the prospect of extortionate fines and imprisonment and took to the streets of Russian cities in protest against the invasion of Ukraine. The authorities responded by issuing the heaviest penalties available against many participants. The police used brutal force against media workers and monitors observing and independently reporting on the protests.
“The authorities used the same approach a year earlier at protests in support of the wrongfully imprisoned opposition leader, Aleksei Navalny. By denying the public any knowledge about protests and obstructing their monitoring, the Kremlin is seeking to eradicate any public expression of discontent.”
New perils for independent media to suppress anti-war reporting and protests
Over the last several years, the Russian authorities have set up a legislative system which restricts freedom of expression and severely elevates the risks faced by observers, journalists and other media workers reporting on public assemblies.
The law requires journalists at protests to wear “clearly visible insignia of a mass media representative”.
However, police have increasingly made additional demands, including for “editorial assignment letters” or passports from media workers covering public assemblies. The authorities have warned media workers against “participation” in upcoming protests, and have arbitrarily arrested journalists before, during and after rallies they reported from. In many cases, arrests were carried out with excessive and unlawful force which could amount to torture and other ill-treatment.
“Alongside severe legal restrictions on media freedoms already imposed by the state, police are increasingly acting arbitrarily to prevent journalists and other media workers informing the public about the protests,” said Natalia Prilutskaya.
Alongside severe legal restrictions on media freedoms already imposed by the state, police are increasingly acting arbitrarily to prevent journalists and other media workers informing the public about the protests
Natalia Prilutskaya, Amnesty International’s Russia Researcher
According to the independent Union of Journalists and Media Workers (which was closed by a court order in September 2022), at least 16 reporters were arrested within a week after mass protests erupted on 23 January 2021 against the jailing of Aleksei Navalny. Seven staff members of the Committee Against Torture, a prominent Russian human rights NGO, were arbitrarily arrested, in some cases with force, while monitoring the protests. In many of these and other cases, media workers and protest monitors stood trial for “participation in an unauthorized public assembly” and were issued with fines or sentenced to 10 days or longer terms of so-called administrative detention.
Reprisals against public watchdogs and media workers escalated further after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On 4 March 2022, new legislation was adopted further restricting the right to freedom of expression. At the time of writing, the authorities had initiated criminal proceedings against at least nine journalists and bloggers under the then-introduced offence of “disseminating false information about the Russian Armed Forces” (Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code). Some media outlets and journalists have also been penalized under another new “offence”, that of “discrediting” the Russian Armed Forces deployed abroad (Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences) after they shared information about the war in Ukraine.
Under the new legislation, a media report containing any anti-war message became a possible reason for persecution. In June and July 2022, Vechernie Vedomosti, an independent media outlet in Yekaterinburg and its publisher, Guzel Aitkulova, were fined 450,000 rubles (US$ 7,240) for the publication of a partially blurred photo of anti-war stickers and of other visuals opposing the invasion.
In two other instances, several members of the news teams at Dovod, an independent online media outlet in Vladimir, and Pskovskaya Guberniya, a newspaper in Pskov, were targeted for their coverage of anti-war protests.
On 5 March, police searched the homes of Dovod’s editor-in-chief Kirill Ishutin and three other journalists – including 17-year-old Evgeny Sautin – putatively as witnesses in a criminal investigation into “vandalism” in connection with the appearance of anti-war graffiti on a local bridge, which was first reported by Dovod. On the same day, police and special riot police broke into the office of Pskovskaya Gubernia, conducted searches and confiscated computers, phones and other equipment, as part of an administrative case involving the “offence” of “discrediting” the Russian Armed Forces deployed abroad, which had been introduced into law a day earlier. According to an anonymous complaint, the newspaper had allegedly called for mass protests in its email newsletter. The next day, Pskovskaya Gubernia announced that it had had to suspend its work until further notice.
The relentless attacks on the free press for covering the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the activities of the anti-war movement have led to an exodus of hundreds of journalists from Russia. The independent TV channel TV Rain and the Novaya Gazeta newspaper were among those forced to halt their work. Radio station Ekho Moskvy, which served as a platform for some of the most critical voices in Russia, was closed down by the authorities. Their respective teams had to seek new ways of working to inform Russian audiences.
The relentless attacks on the free press for covering the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the activities of the anti-war movement have led to an exodus of hundreds of journalists from Russia
Need for change and stronger scrutiny from the international community
The appalling practices targeting peaceful protesters, reporters and independent monitors must end immediately. The repressive Russian laws, restricting freedom of expression, must be abolished.
“As long as Russia’s government is able to strangle rights and freedoms within the country, and remains on the path of self-isolation, appalling abuses across the board will continue, including the crime of aggression against Ukraine,” said Natalia Prilutskaya.
“Close and effective scrutiny by the international community is required. In times as dark as these it is paramount to extend a helping hand to beleaguered Russian civil society and independent media, to help those who monitor and report abuses within the country and to tell the world about them.”
Responding to the questioning of the Executive Director of Transparency International Initiative Madagascar (TI-MG) Ketakandriana Rafitoson by the police this afternoon, Muleya Mwananyanda, Regional Director for Amnesty International East and Southern Africa Regional Office said,
“The Madagascar authorities must refrain from the misuse of the justice system to harass and intimidate human rights defenders. Ketakandriana has done nothing more than carry out her work exposing serious allegations of potential corruption, fraud and money laundering.
Ketakandriana has done nothing more than carry out her work exposing serious allegations of potential corruption, fraud and money laundering
Muleya Mwananyanda, Director for East and Southern Africa
“The summons and questioning of Ketakandriana on accusations including “abusive and slanderous denunciations” is clearly intended to send a chilling message and intimidate human rights defenders in Madagascar.”
The police referred the case to the public prosecutor and Ketakandriana and TI_MG’s Chairperson, Dominique Rakotomalala, will appear before the public prosecutor for questioning on the accusations on Thursday, 24 November.
The summons and questioning of Ketakandriana is intended to send a chilling message and intimidate human rights defenders in Madagascar
Muleya Mwananyanda
Background information
Ketakandriana was summoned by the head of the central services for the fight against forgery, fraud and falsification to give a statement at the premises of the economic police in Antananarivo, capital of Madagascar on the afternoon of 23 November. The accusation filed by the Groupement des Exportateurs des Litchis (GEL) against Ketakandriana Rafitoson follows the denounces of potential infractions of corruption, fraud and money laundering in the lychee sector filed by TI-MG on 10 November at Antananarivo’s Anticorruption Court.
In recent years, the Malagasy authorities have increased the repression of human rights defenders, whistleblowers and dissenting voices. This includes the judicial prosecution of Jeannot Randriamanana, Ravo Ramasomanana, Raleva, and Clovis Razafimalala, because they uncovered serious allegations of corruption and human rights violations. Many potential whistle-blowers in Madagascar risk unjust treatment for exercising their human rights. The protection of human rights defenders, including whistle-blowers is integral for any country aspiring to transparency, accountability, and respect for human rights.
Responding to the decision by Tanzania’s Director of Public Prosecution to drop charges of murder and conspiracy to murder against 24 members of the Maasai, including 10 leaders, Muleya Mwananyanda, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, said:
“Dropping these charges against members of the Maasai people is unequivocally the right decision. They should never have been arrested in the first place. Their only ‘crime’ was exercising their right to protest while security forces tried to seize land from them in the name of ‘conservation’.
Their only ‘crime’ was exercising their right to protest while security forces tried to seize land from them in the name of ‘conservation’
Muleya Mwananyanda, Director for East and Southern Africa
“The Tanzanian authorities must immediately stop their ongoing security operations in Loliondo and ensure that any traditional pastoral lands they have seized are returned to the Indigenous Maasai.
Tanzania should immediately stop suppressing the right to freedom of assembly. The government should instead take steps to protect the right to protest.”
“The Tanzanian authorities must ensure that any traditional pastoral lands they have seized are returned to the Indigenous Maasai
Muleya Mwananyanda
Background
On 7 June 2022, Tanzanian security forces and authorities from the Ngorongoro Conservation Area arrived in Loliondo and began forcefully evicting members of the Maasai people without providing adequate notice, compensation or a chance for genuine consultation to obtain their free, prior and informed consent. In the name of conservation, they seized 1,500 square kilometres of ancestral land claimed by over 70,000 Maasai people.
On 9 June 2022, members of the Maasai from Ololosokwan, Oloirien, Kirtalo and Arash — four villages in Loliondo that border the Serengeti National Park — gathered to protest against the demarcation exercise by removing markers placed by security forces to outline the boundaries of the land claimed by the Maasai.
On 9 June, police arrested 10 Maasai leaders from Loliondo — a day before the policeman they were accused of murdering was actually killed — and 14 other members of the Maasai, and three others. They were held for around 11 days and denied access to their lawyers and families before arraignment in court.
On 10 June, security forces used firearms and tear gas against protesters in an incident that saw a policeman, Garlus Mwita, killed by an arrow, while 84-year-old Maasai community member Orias Oleng’iyo was disappeared. At least 32 members of the Maasai also suffered gunshot wounds.
