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You are here: Home / Archives for Amnesty International

Saudi-led coalition ‘deliberately’ targeting hospitals in Yemen: ICRC

November 12, 2015 by Nasheman

With a stockpile of Western arms, the Saudi siege of Yemen has hit nearly 100 healthcare facilities in war-torn country since March

Al-Thawra hospital in southern Yemen was bombed on Sunday. (Photo: AP)

Al-Thawra hospital in southern Yemen was bombed on Sunday. (Photo: AP)

by Nadia Prupis, Common Dreams

The Saudi Arabia-led coalition in Yemen has repeatedly targeted and attacked hospitals and clinics, an appalling trend that “disrespects the neutrality of health facilities” in war, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said Tuesday.

The U.S.-backed coalition has bombed nearly 100 hospitals throughout Yemen since March, with the most recent airstrike hitting a clinic on Sunday in the southern city of Taiz—one the country’s most populous regions, which has been under heavy fire for months. The shelling of Al-Thawra hospital in the south came just weeks after a Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) clinic was hit in Haydan, in the north.

“Al-Thawra hospital, one of the main health care facilities in Taiz which is providing treatment for about 50 injured people every day was reportedly shelled several times on Sunday. The shelling endangered the lives of patients and staff on site,” Kedir Awol Omar, the deputy head of the ICRC delegation in Yemen, said on Tuesday. “The neutrality of healthcare facilities and staff is not being respected. Health facilities are deliberately attacked and surgical and medical supplies are also being blocked from reaching hospitals in areas under siege.”

Airstrikes on medical clinics are “a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law,” ICRC said.

MSF also said on Tuesday that it has been unable to deliver essential medical aid to two hospitals stationed in a particular volatile corner of Taiz, where almost half of health facilities face an influx of wounded patients along with a scarcity in supplies.

“A large part of the population of Taiz is displaced within the city,” said Karline Kleijer, MSF’s emergency manager for Yemen. “They are battling for their survival on a daily basis, and fighting to get hold of sufficient food and water, due to the steep cost of basic necessities and the prevailing insecurity.”

“The situation in Taiz is dramatic and will only get worse in the coming weeks if no efforts are made to spare civilians from the violence and allow them to access basic services, including health facilities,” Kleijer said.

Saudi officials have not responded to the most recent bombing, but they denied being aware that the October airstrikes in Haydan had targeted a clinic.

“Saudi authorities are denying the evident truth of having destroyed a hospital,” said Laurent Sury, head of MSF emergency operations. “This is an alarming sign for the Yemeni people and for those trying to assist them. How are we to draw lessons from what happened when all we face are denials? How can we continue to work without any form of commitment that civilian structures will be spared?”

Amnesty International in October demanded an independent investigation of the bombing in Haydan, which it said could amount to a war crime. Further, the humanitarian aid group noted that while the planes that dropped the shells were Saudi, the bombs themselves were American.

“The USA and other states exporting weapons to any of the parties to the Yemen conflict have a responsibility to ensure that the arms transfers they authorize are not facilitating serious violations of international humanitarian law,” said Donatella Rovera, Amnesty’s senior crisis response adviser. “Lack of accountability has contributed to the worsening crisis and unless perpetrators believe they will be brought to justice for their crimes, civilians will continue to suffer the consequences.”

“The world’s indifference to the suffering of Yemeni civilians in this conflict is shocking,” Rovera said.

Meanwhile, MSF’s Kleijer on Sunday published testimony from her most recent visit to Taiz, describing the devastating impacts of the siege by warring factions and the unrelenting intervention of military forces.

“A lot of airstrikes happen at night,” Kleijer wrote. “Lying in your bed, you hear the planes circling above the city, then you hear the whistle of a bomb falling, and then you brace yourself for the impact. You hope it’s not your building that going to be hit. And then it hits another building, not your house, so as well as being frightened, you’re also relieved.”

“The noise of the airstrikes is so loud and intense that you can actually feel it in your bones,” Kleijer wrote. “This is what people have been going through every night, for months on end…everything is touched by the war: the children have a game called ‘One two three airstrike’ in which they all fling themselves to the ground.”

Filed Under: Muslim World Tagged With: Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders, Saudi Arabia, Yemen

Arab coalition accused of war crimes in Yemen

October 7, 2015 by Nasheman

Amnesty International seeks halt to arms transfers to coalition members, citing evidence of “unlawful air strikes”.

The Houthi stronghold of Saada has been hit hard during the conflict [File: Reuters]

The Houthi stronghold of Saada has been hit hard during the conflict [File: Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

Amnesty International has accused the Arab coalition fighting in Yemen of carrying out unlawful air strikes, some of which amount to war crimes.

The UK-based rights group on Wednesday called for the suspension of transfers of certain arms to members of the coalition, which launched an air campaign against Houthi rebels in March.

Amnesty said in a report that it had examined 13 deadly air strikes by the coalition, assembled by Saudi Arabia, that had killed about 100 civilians, including 59 children.

“This report uncovers yet more evidence of unlawful air strikes carried out by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition, some of which amount to war crimes. It demonstrates in harrowing detail how crucial it is to stop arms being used to commit serious violations of this kind,” said Amnesty’s Donatella Rovera, who headed the group’s fact-finding mission to Yemen.

“The USA and other states exporting weapons to any of the parties to the Yemen conflict have a responsibility to ensure that the arms transfers they authorise are not facilitating serious violations of international humanitarian law.”

Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates are participating in the coalition.

Cluster bombs

Amnesty said its researchers had found remnants of two types of internationally banned cluster bombs as it investigated attacks on Saada, a Houthi stronghold in northeastern Yemen.

Another rights watchdog, Human Rights Watch, in August accused Saudi forces of using cluster bombs in Yemen.

The claim was then denied by a spokesman for the coalition.

Amnesty also said cases had been documented of civilians who were not directly participating in hostilities but were killed or injured while asleep or carrying out their daily activities.

It said that in at least four of the air strikes investigated, “Homes attacked were struck more than once, suggesting that they had been the intended targets despite no evidence they were being used for military purposes.”

Another Amnesty report, published in August, condemned both sides in the conflict over the killing of civilians.

Yemen’s war pits the Houthis and troops loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh against forces fighting on the side of exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

The Arab coalition is seeking to reinstate Hadi and his government.

More than 2,300 civilians have been killed in the conflict since March, the UN Human Rights office said late September.

Pro-Houthi forces have been accused of indiscriminately shelling populated areas in violation of the laws of war, killing civilians.

Filed Under: Human Rights, Muslim World Tagged With: Amnesty International, Conflict, Saudi Arabia, Yemen

Report: At least 2,000 women abducted by Boko Haram

April 14, 2015 by Nasheman

Amnesty International says many of those captured in Nigeria since start of 2014 are forced into sexual slavery.

The abduction of 276 girls in Chibok one year ago sparked global outrage [Reuters]

The abduction of 276 girls in Chibok one year ago sparked global outrage [Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

Boko Haram have abducted at least 2,000 women and girls since the start of 2014, according to rights group Amnesty International.

A report published by the organisation on Wednesday says many of those captured have been forced into sexual slavery and trained to fight for the group.

The group based its findings on nearly 200 witness accounts, including with 28 people who escaped from the armed group, which recently had a pledge of allegiance accepted by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

“The evidence presented in this shocking report, one year after the horrific abduction of the Chibok girls, underlines the scale and depravity of Boko Haram’s methods,”  said Salil Shetty, Amnesty International’s secretary general.

The publication of the report coincides with the one-year anniversary of the mass abduction by Boko Haram of hundreds of school girls from the northeastern town of Chibok. The abduction of the 276 girls sparked global outrage, and 219 are still held by the group, the others managing to escape.

Amnesty says more that 5,500 civilians have been killed by the group, which has also forcibly conscripted men and young boys to take up arms in its war against the Nigerian government and other neighbouring countries.

“Men and women, boys and girls, Christians and Muslims, have been killed, abducted and brutalised by Boko Haram during a reign of terror which has affected millions,” Shetty said.

The group has implemented a harsh interpretation of Islamic law in the areas that it holds, and witnesses spoken to by Amnesty recount seeing the group carry out stonings and lashes.

Nigeria’s President-elect Muhammadu Buhari on Monday vowed to make every effort to free the girls abducted a year ago, but admitted it was not clear whether they would ever be found.

“We do not know if the Chibok girls can be rescued. Their whereabouts remain unknown. As much as I wish to, I cannot promise that we can find them,” he said in a statement.

Filed Under: Human Rights, Muslim World Tagged With: Amnesty International, Boko Haram, Nigeria

Telangana must investigate alleged extrajudicial executions of five undertrials: Amnesty India

April 10, 2015 by Nasheman

Vikaruddin Ahmed

New Delhi: Amnesty International India  has asked the Telangana government ‘to order an independent criminal investigation into the killing of five undertrials by Telangana police on 7 April. ‘ according to its web site amnesty.org.in.

The Telangana police say the five undertrials – Viqaruddin, Amjad Ali, Mohammed Hanif, Zakir Ali and Izhar Khan – were being taken in a van by 17 policemen from the Warangal central prison to a court in Hyderabad. The police say that the undertrials attempted to overpower the policemen and snatch their assault rifles, and claim they opened fire in self-defense.

Video footage given to Amnesty International India by a journalist appears to show the five undertrials inside the police van after they were killed. All five appear to be handcuffed.

“Impunity for extrajudicial executions is a serious issue in India,” said Abhirr V P, Senior Campaigner at Amnesty International India.“Authorities in Telangana need to urgently conduct an independent criminal investigation into the case to determine if it involved extrajudicial executions disguised as ‘encounter’ killings.”

The five undertrials had been arrested on suspicion of killing two police officials and a state paramilitary official in different incidents between 2007 and 2010, and other offences.

On 1 April, two suspected members of a banned group allegedly shot dead two policemen in Nalgonda, Telangana. The police say that the suspects were killed three days later in an armed exchange with the police, in which another policeman was also killed.

According to guidelines issued by the National Human Rights Commission in 2010, alleged ‘fake encounters’ must be investigated by an independent agency. In September 2014, the Supreme Court stated in the PUCL versus State of Maharashtra case that killings in police encounters require independent investigations.

The UN Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions require that “[t]here shall be thorough, prompt and impartial investigation of all suspected cases of extra-legal, arbitrary and summary executions, including cases where…reliable reports suggest unnatural death in the above circumstances.”

Filed Under: Human Rights, India Tagged With: Amnesty International, Amnesty International India, Human rights, NHRC, Rights, SIMI, Students Islamic Movement of India, Telangana, Undertrials, Vikaruddin Ahmed, Warangal

Syria's alleged use of chlorine gas a 'war crime': Amnesty

March 18, 2015 by Nasheman

‘More evidence that the Syrian government forces are committing war crimes with impunity,’ says Amnesty International

A boy sits on a bed on 17 March at a clinic in the village of Sarmin, in the province of Idlib (AFP)

A boy sits on a bed on 17 March at a clinic in the village of Sarmin, in the province of Idlib (AFP)

by Middle East Eye

Amnesty International has condemned the Syrian government’s alleged recent chlorine attack in northern Syria on Tuesday.

In a statement published on its website titled “Syria: Evidence of a fresh war crime as chlorine gas attack kills entire family,” Amnesty said that a family of six people, including three young children, was killed late on Monday in a chlorine gas attack when regime forces dropped four barrel bombs on Sermin and Qminas villages in Idlib province.

“These horrific attacks that resulted in civilians, including small children, suffering excruciating deaths, are yet more evidence that the Syrian government forces are committing war crimes with impunity,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty’s director of Middle East and North Africa’s programme.

“The situation in Syria must be referred to the International Criminal Court as a matter of urgency,” he added.

The statement follows a report by the organisation released on Tuesday on findings into the deaths of 115 civilians, including 14 children, in government aerial attacks on Raqqa – a stronghold of the Islamic State (IS) militant group in Syria – which took place between 11 and 29 of November 2014.

Moreover, the organisation made reference to a fact-finding mission of the international Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which found “compelling confirmation” of constant use of chemical weapons in 2014.

The Syrian opposition has repeatedly accused President Bashar al-Assad’s government of using chemical and toxic weapons against civilians since August 2013, when such an attack reportedly killed between 300 and 1,400 civilians in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta.

However, Syrian government officials have denied the allegations, charging that the gas attacks were carried out by rebel forces.

Filed Under: Muslim World Tagged With: Amnesty International, Bashar al-Assad, Chlorine Gas, Syria

Pakistan carries out mass executions

March 17, 2015 by Nasheman

At least 10 convicts hanged, marking highest number in a single day since lifting of moratorium on capital punishment.

Human rights group Amnesty International estimates that Pakistan has more than 8,000 prisoners on death row [EPA]

Human rights group Amnesty International estimates that Pakistan has more than 8,000 prisoners on death row [EPA]

by Al Jazeera

Pakistan has hanged at least 10 convicted murderers, the highest number in a single day after the government lifted a six-year-old moratorium on capital punishment, officials said.

Eight of the convicts were hanged in the Punjab province on Tuesday, while two others were hanged in the southern metropolis of Karachi, according to prison officials.

The latest hangings bring to 37 the number of convicts hanged since Pakistan resumed executions in December after Taliban fighters gunned down 154 people, most of them children, at a school in the restive northwest.

The partial lifting of the moratorium, which began in 2008, only applied to those convicted of terrorism offences, but was last week extended to all capital offences.

Only one person was executed during the period of the moratorium – a soldier convicted by a court martial and hanged in 2012.

Human rights group Amnesty International estimates that Pakistan has more than 8,000 prisoners on death row, most of whom have exhausted the appeals process.

Critical voices

Supporters of the death penalty in Pakistan argue that it is the only effective way to the deal with the scourge of rebel groups in the country.

But rights campaigners have been highly critical, citing problematic convictions in Pakistan’s criminal justice system, which they say is replete with rampant police torture and unfair trials.

“This shameful retreat to the gallows is no way to resolve Pakistan’s pressing security and law and order problems,” Rupert Abbott, Amnesty International’s deputy Asia-Pacific director, said last week.

European Union diplomats have also raised the issue of capital punishment – and the case of one man who was condemned to death as a teenager in particular – in meetings with Pakistani officials focused on trade and human rights.

The EU granted Pakistan the much coveted “GSP+” status in 2014, giving the country access to highly favourable trade tariffs, conditional on Pakistan enacting certain commitments on human rights.

 

Filed Under: Human Rights, Muslim World Tagged With: Amnesty International, Capital Punishment, Pakistan

Unprecedented spike of executions in Saudi Arabia: Amnesty

March 5, 2015 by Nasheman

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has beheaded dozens of convicts, including foreign drug traffickers, since the start of the year in what Amnesty International calls an unprecedented pace of executions in the kingdom.

Those put to the sword have included five Pakistanis, two Jordanians, two Syrians, an Indian and a Yemeni, with few foreign governments willing to publicly appeal for clemency from the wealthy Gulf state.

Three beheadings in a single day on Tuesday — one for rape and two for murder — took the total so far this year to 38, according to an AFP tally. That is about three times the number over the same period in 2014, but observers disagree about the reasons.

There was also a surge in beheadings in the latter months of last year towards the end of King Abdullah’s reign. He died on January 23 and was succeeded by King Salman.

“It began before Salman,” a diplomatic source said, who did not want to be further identified. “The Saudi authorities want to show everyone they are strong, people can rely on them to keep the security and the safety in the kingdom.”

The aim is to deter all forms of violence but the policy is linked to the kingdom’s fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group, the source added.

In September, Saudi Arabia began airstrikes against ISIS in Syria as part of the US-led coalition, raising concerns about possible retaliation inside the kingdom.

Security officers arrested three Saudis who allegedly acted “in support of” ISIS when they shot and wounded a Dane in November. Authorities also blamed ISIS-linked suspects for the killing of seven members of the country’s minority Shia community.

However, critics opposed to US involvement in the conflict with ISIS have pointed out that Washington in partnership with its Gulf allies, including Saudi Arabia, played a role in the formation and expansion of extremist groups like ISIS by arming, financing and politically empowering armed opposition groups in Syria.

In January three Saudi border guards died in a clash with Saudi “terrorists” trying to sneak in from Iraq.

“They certainly don’t want to seem soft,” Toby Matthiesen, a research fellow in Islamic and Middle Eastern studies at the University of Cambridge, said of the Saudi authorities. But he did not see a connection with the fight against ISIS.

“I don’t think it’s going to frighten Daesh” by executing a few more criminals, Matthiesen said, using an Arabic acronym for ISIS.

London-based Amnesty said there is no evidence the current “alarming spike” in Saudi executions is connected with the battle against ISIS or “terrorism.”

“It would… be a stretch to say that this is an attempt to deter violence,” because almost half of this year’s executions were for drug-related non-violent crimes, Amnesty’s Saudi Arabia researcher Sevag Kechichian told AFP.

“It is impossible to tell what exactly is driving these numbers,” he added.

Amnesty recorded 11 executions from January 1-26 last year, 17 for that period in 2013, and nine in 2012.

The end-of-year figures turned out to be all about the same, “despite the vast differences in pace and distribution of executions throughout the year,” Kechichian added.

“The current rate, however, has been truly unprecedented.”

After 27 executions in 2010, the number jumped to around 80 annually, with 87 last year by AFP’s tally. The figures have been among the world’s highest.

In statements carried by the official Saudi Press Agency, the ministry has cited deterrence as a reason for carrying out the punishment. It has also talked of “the physical and social harm” caused by drugs, and said the death penalty for murderers aims “to maintain security and realize justice.”

Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking are all punishable by death under Saudi Arabia’s Wahhabi version of Islamic sharia law.

Human rights groups have expressed concern about the dangers of innocent people being wrongly sentenced to death.

Christof Heyns, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, said in September that trials “are by all accounts grossly unfair” and defendants are often not allowed a lawyer.

He said many confessions were obtained under torture.

Similar statements have not come from Western governments, Amnesty said, accusing the West of “double standards” towards Saudi Arabia.

Other countries disagree with the kingdom’s use of the death penalty, the diplomatic source said, but he asked if that meant they should stop talking with Saudi Arabia about “terrorism,” climate change or economic issues on which they cooperate.

“We need to work together,” the source said.

(AFP, Al-Akhbar)

Filed Under: Muslim World Tagged With: Amnesty International, Beheadings, ISIS, Saudi Arabia

Amnesty's report details 'devastating year of mass violence'

February 27, 2015 by Nasheman

The human rights of men, women and children are being trampled upon according to Amnesty. Photo: UNICEF/Alessio Romenzi

The human rights of men, women and children are being trampled upon according to Amnesty. Photo: UNICEF/Alessio Romenzi

by Mike Wooldridge, BBC

Amnesty International’s newly published annual report makes for decidedly sober reading.

But that’s to be expected given the atrocities committed in Syria, Iraq, Nigeria, Central African Republic and other countries.

“This has been a devastating year for those seeking to stand up for human rights and for those caught up in the suffering of war zones,” the secretary general of Amnesty International, Salil Shetty, wrote in the foreword.

And the human rights campaigning group strongly criticises governments.

“In the year marking the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, politicians repeatedly trampled on the rules protecting civilians, or looked away from the deadly violations of these rules committed by others,” Mr Shetty said.

“The United Nations was established 70 years ago to ensure that we would never again see the horrors witnessed in the Second World War.

“We are now seeing violence on a mass scale and an enormous refugee crisis caused by that violence.

“There has been a singular failure to find workable solutions to the most pressing needs of our time.”

‘Powerful signal’

One such workable solution, Amnesty International suggests, would be for the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the United States, China, Russia, France and Britain – to agree not to use their right of veto to block action in response to situations of genocide and other mass atrocities.

Salil Shetty takes the view that this would be a “game changer” for the international community and the tools it has at its disposal to help protect civilian lives,

He also believed it would send a powerful signal to perpetrators that the world would not sit idly by while mass atrocities took place.

The idea that the five powers would voluntarily renounce their veto rights in such circumstances has been around for some time.

Indeed the French government has been at the forefront of such an initiative, and it seems to have been gathering momentum.

Amnesty says it intends to get the weight and influence of its seven million supporters and activists behind it.

It argues that if the use of the veto in the Security Council had already been restrained in this way then it could have prevented Russia using its veto repeatedly to block UN action over the violence in Syria.

This might have resulted in President Bashar al-Assad being referred to the International Criminal Court, in achieving greater access for badly needed humanitarian aid and in further ways of helping civilians.

The British government has not yet made a specific commitment in favour of the voluntary renunciation of the veto.

But the Foreign Office said in response to the Amnesty report: “The proposal put forward by France offers an important contribution to the wider debate on reform of the Security Council.

“The United Kingdom wholeheartedly supports the principle that the Security Council must act to stop mass atrocities and crimes against humanity.

“We cannot envisage circumstances where we would use our veto to block such action.”

Amnesty International fears that 2015 could be another bleak year for human rights.

It predicts that more civilian populations will be forced to live under the quasi-state control of brutal armed groups.

There will be deepening threats to freedom of expression and other rights including violations caused by new draconian anti-terror laws and unjustified mass surveillance.

It also says and there will be a worsening humanitarian and refugee crisis.

But Amnesty says its aim is to get governments to “stop pretending that the protection of civilians is beyond their power”.

Cycle of violence

It acknowledges that the coming into force last year of the Arms Trade Treaty was a success. But it wants much more to be done to tackle what it calls “the bloody legacy of the flooding of weapons into countries where they are used for grave abuses by states and armed groups”.

Anna Neistat, Amnesty’s senior director for research, said: “Huge arms shipments were delivered to Iraq, Israel, South Sudan and Syria in 2014 despite the very high likelihood that these weapons would be used against civilian populations trapped in conflict.

“When IS took control of large parts of Iraq it found large arsenals, ripe for the picking.”

The human rights group also argues that further restrictions on the use of explosive weapons, which cannot be precisely targeted or which otherwise have wide effect in populated areas, could have helped to save thousands of lives lost in recent conflicts.

If Amnesty is robust in its challenge to governments, the British government maintains that it is an exaggeration to accuse the international community of paralysis.

The Foreign Office said the Security Council had acted effectively on a number of issues over the past year for example, 100,000 peacekeepers were deployed globally, to address conflicts and help states build peaceful societies.

“The underlying drivers of abuse are discrimination, impunity and inequality,” said Mr Shetty.

“If we do not stop these, all we will have is a cycle of violence.”

Filed Under: Human Rights Tagged With: Amnesty International, Conflict, Human rights, Rights

India witnessed rise in communal violence under Modi government, says Amnesty

February 26, 2015 by Nasheman

Trilokpuri-riots

Human rights group Amnesty International today criticised the Narendra Modi-led government, saying under the new regime India has witnessed a rise in communal violence and its Land Acquisition Ordinance has put thousands of Indians at “risk” of forcible eviction.

In its Annual Report 2015, released here, Amnesty highlighted poll-related violence in the lead up to the May 2014 General Elections, communal clashes and failure of consultation on corporate projects as key concerns.

“National elections in May saw a government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party come to power with a landslide victory. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who campaigned on promises of good governance and development for all, made commitments to improve access to financial services and sanitation for people living in poverty.

“However, the government took steps towards reducing requirements to consult with communities affected by corporate-led projects,” Amnesty said in its report.

The report highlighted that, “the authorities continued to violate people’s rights to privacy and freedom of expression. There was a rise in communal violence in Uttar Pradesh and some other states and corruption, caste-based discrimination and caste violence remained pervasive.”

In reference to communal violence, it noted that, “A string of communally charged incidents in Uttar Pradesh prior to elections led to an increase in tensions between Hindu and Muslim communities…Politicians were accused of and in some cases criminally charged with making provocative speeches.”

“…In December, Hindu groups were accused of forcibly converting several Muslims and Christians to Hinduism,” the report said.

The rights body also went on to single out the Land Acquisition Ordinance for criticism as it described the move as a new “risk” to thousands of Indians.

“In December, the government passed a temporary law which removed requirements related to seeking the consent of affected communities and assessing social impact when state authorities acquired land for certain projects,” it said.

“Thousands of people remained at risk of being forcibly evicted from their homes and lands for large infrastructure projects. Particularly vulnerable were Adivasi communities living near new and expanding mines and dams,” it added .

While the group recognised “progressive legal reform”, it was critical of India’s “overburdened and under-funded criminal justice system”.

Amnesty pointed out two court orders as important “gains” for India in 2014, including a Bhopal court’s decision in November to demand that its criminal summons against the Dow Chemical Company to be re-issued and a “landmark judgement” by the Supreme Court in April granting legal recognition to transgender people.

(PTI)

Filed Under: Human Rights, India Tagged With: Amnesty International, BJP, Communal Violence, Communalism, Land Ordinance, Narendra Modi

Rich nations 'failing to help Syria refugees'

December 6, 2014 by Nasheman

Rights group says “pitiful” number taken in by wealthy countries, with burden placed mainly on ill-equipped neighbours.

A baby looks out from the window of a bus after disembarking from a crippled freighter carrying hundreds of refugees trying to migrate to Europe, at the coastal Cretan port of Ierapetra, Nov. 27. AP Photo

A baby looks out from the window of a bus after disembarking from a crippled freighter carrying hundreds of refugees trying to migrate to Europe, at the coastal Cretan port of Ierapetra, Nov. 27. AP Photo

by Al Jazeera

Affluent nations have taken in a “pitiful” number of the million of Syrian refugees uprooted by the country’s civil war, placing the burden on Syria’s ill-equipped neighbours, according to Amnesty International.

The London-based rights group, in advance of a December 9 donors’ conference in Geneva, deplored on Friday what it called the shocking failure of rich nations to host refugees.

“Around 3.8 million refugees from Syria are being hosted in five main countries within the region: Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt,” Amnesty International said in the statement.

Highlighting what it referred to as “the pitiful numbers of resettlement places offered by the international community”, the group said that Russia, China and the Gulf Arab states had not offered a single location for resettlement of refugees.

Meanwhile, the European Union as a whole, excluding Germany, has pledged to take in only 0.17 percent of refugees residing in countries bordering Syria.

“The shortfall … is truly shocking,” said Sherif Elsayed-Ali, Amnesty International’s head of refugee and migrants’ rights.

“The complete absence of resettlement pledges from the Gulf is particularly shameful. Linguistic and religious ties should place the Gulf states at the forefront of those offering safe shelter.”

The failure of wealthy nations to share the burden had placed a increasing strain on host countries, which were largely ill-equipped for the influx of people escaping violence in Syria.

Amnesty International said it was calling for the resettlement of five percent of Syria’s refugees by the end of 2015, and an additional five percent the following year.

The plan would accommodate approximately 380,000 refugees identified by the UN as being particularly vulnerable including lone children and torture survivors.

“Countries cannot ease their consciences with cash pay-outs then simply wash their hands of the matter,” Ali said.

“Those with the economic means to do so must play a greater role.”

In addition to those who fled the war-ravaged country as external refugees, the UN says more than seven million Syrians are internally displaced.

The refugees face poverty, illness and growing tensions with host communities in their already-impoverished temporary homes.

Syria’s civil war began in March 2011, escalating into a bloody civil war that has displaced around half the country’s population.

Filed Under: Muslim World Tagged With: Amnesty International, Food, Refugees, Syria

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