Impunity Watch: Asia

Sanctions Against Uzbekistan Reviewed Again; Malaysia Asked to Reconsider Mass Migrant Expulsion Plan; Pakistan and Sri Lanka's Torture Record Discussed on International Day against Torture

By:  Lindsey Brady
Impunity Watch Managing Editor, News

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan - The European Union suspended sanctions against Uzbekistan six months ago and human rights grops warn that if the sanctions were suspended indefinitely it would "leave the West with no leverage to seek improvements in the country's human rights record" according to ISN Security Watch.   Uzbekistan has been commended with improving its human rights record by abolishing the death penalty, the right of habeas corpus, the endorsement of an International Labor Organization child labor convention and the release of political prisoners. 

Veronika Szente Goldston, advocacy director at Human Rights Watch's Europe and Central Asia division clarified, "we chose not to call for the sanctions to be reinstated, even though we did make it clear that obviously, despite the fact that there have been positive steps in the right direction, the overall human rights situation remains atrocious and the criteria as such had not been met."  In April of 2008 Human Rights Watch wrote a letter to the EU and detailed some of the issues they were concerned about the most.  In the letter HRW writes, “civil society continues to operate under conditions of extreme government repression; defenders who have been fortunate enough to escape imprisonment, as well as their families, are under constant threat and harassment.”

For more information, please see:

ISN Security Watch (EurasiaNet) - Uzbekistan:  Human Rights and Sanctions Freeze - 27 June 2008

Human Rights Watch - Letter to EU on Uzbekistan Sanctions Review - 16 April 2008

-----

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - On Friday, June 27th, Amnesty International pleaded with Malaysia to change its current plans to expel tens of thousands of Filipino and Indonesian illegal immigrants.  Amnesty International is concerned that this expulsion could lead to great numbers of human rights violation.  Specifically the human rights organization is fearful of "cruel treatment of detainees, punishment including flogging under immigration laws, and lack of adequate health care in detention for women, children and other vulnerable groups."  A majority of the illegal immigrants are thought to be asylum seeksers who fled from the dangerous and "conflict-ridden" Mindanao region of Southern Philippines.

Amnesty International supports its fears by pointing to a similar government plan to deport a large population of illegal migrants.  In 2002 a mass expulsion led to the deaths of children due to the incidents of disease and dehydration in the detention centers where the migrants were held.  Today, many of the illegal immigrants are settled in the Sabah region of Malaysia.  K. Shan, Amnesty International's campaigns coordinator declared that a royal commisson was needed to study the migration issue and asked the Malaysian government, "as a member Asean and the United Nations Human Rights Council, to demonstrate strong commitment in upholding the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights."

For more information, please see:

The Star - Amnesty International:  Set up Royal Commission on Sabah Migration Issue - 27 June 2008

International Herald Tribune - Amnesty Warns of Rights Violations in Malaysia's plan to Expel Illegal Immigrants - 27 June 2008

-----

LAHORE, Pakistan - June 26th is the internationally recognized United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.  UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon spoke out on that day of recognition to state "in a year in which we celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, let us reaffirm our commitment to the inalienable right and inherent dignity of all women and men."  Other speakers spoke at a seminar organised by the United Nations, Information Centre, Islamabad, European Commission and an NGO (SACH).  The aim of the seminar was to raise the level of awareness globally in order to put an end to torture.  Jan de Kok, Ambassador of the European Commission congratulated the government of Pakistan for being a signatory of the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) this year.

Although Pakistan was commended for signing on to CAT and the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, some are arguing that Pakistan is not making an effort to uphold the meaning behind these conventions.  The Daily Times says detainees in Pakistan are still being tortured in order to obtain confessions.  Sources from Pakistan's law enforcement state, Abdul Wahab Baloch, was arrested in late May 2008 for demonstrating nuclear testing in Pakistan and severely tortrued during his six-day detention.  The sources tell the Daily Times that the government has allowed those governement officials who conducted or allowed the torture to go unpunished. 

China also pointed to Sri Lanka's lack of committment to ending torture.  The spokesman for the Sri Lankan government stated "with regard to torture, it is well known that it exists all over the world."  UP Asia Online comments that Sri Lanka should not only do more to end torture but points to the success of South Korea and Hong Kong in training their law enforcement to conduct their duties without the use of torture.

Daily Times - UN day to Support Torture Victims not Observed - 26 June 2008

7th Space Interactive - Secretary-General says International Day in Support of Torture Victims is Call to Take Action Against Perpetrators of All Forms of Cruel, Inhuman Treatment - 26 June 2008

The Post - Speakers Call for End to Torture From Society - 27 June 2008

UP Asia Online - Sri Lanka Indifferent to Torture Charges - 27 June 2008

Several Activists Arrested After Aiding Cyclone Victims in Myranmar; Rights Groups Urges China to Release Tiananmen Prisoners; 1,000 Tibetans are Still Missing from the March Protest in China

By Ariel Lin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

YANGON, Myanmar - Last week, Myanmar military Junta detained a prominent activist who was distributing aid to cyclone survivors.  Thet Htway was taken into custody from his parents' home in the central Myanmar town of Minbu, said his colleagues. 

Zaw Thet Htway's arrest was followed the detention of Myanmar's most popular comedian, Zarganar, who was working with Zaw Thet Htway to deliver donations of critical relief supplies to the cyclone-shattered Irrawaddy delta.  Zarganar was arrested after he criticized the military regime's slow response to cyclone victims in interviews with foreign news outlets.  International rights groups have called for Zarganar's release.

Furthermore, Myanmar military junta decided to extend pro-democracy leader Suu Kyi's detention by one year. The New Light of Myanmar newspaper said detentions are permissible for as long as six years under a 1975 "Law Safeguarding the State from Dangers of Subversive Elements."  The military government said that Aung San Suu Kyi deserved to be beaten like an errant child for threatening national security.

The international community has condemned the junta's action.  According to them, Suu Kyi, who has been kept in some form of detention for 12 of the last 18 years, had rightfully won the election in 1990 but has been denied power by the junta that has ruled with an iron fist since 1962.

For more information, please see:

AP - Myanmar says detention of democracy leader legal - 13 June 2008

AFP - Sports writer arrested after aiding Myanmar cyclone victims - 16 June 2008

International Herald Tribune - Police arrest Myanmar activist who ferried aid to cyclone survivors - 15 June 2008

Reuters - Myanmar junta says Suu Kyi deserves to be flogged - 11 June 2008

-----

BEIJING, China – Human Rights Watch urged the Chinese government to improve human rights before the 2008 Beijing Olympics by releasing the estimated 130 Tienanmen prisoners improperly arrested or tried in 1989.   Human Rights Watch asked China to issue a complete list of those killed, injured or jailed as no such lists are publicly available.

The U.S. State Department also urged China to make a full public accounting of those killed, detained or missing in the crackdown. It called on the international community to urge China to release prisoners still serving sentences from the protests.  In Hong Kong, thousands of people have gathered in the city's annual candlelight vigil to mark the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing.

According to a statement issued by Human Rights Watch, 19 years ago, Chinese soldiers, backed by tanks, killed an estimated 2,000 pro-democracy activists in and around Tienanmen Square and in other Chinese cities.  The 1989 crackdown resulted in the arrest of hundreds of people on charges ranging from "counterrevolutionary'' offenses to "hooliganism,'' including robbery, arson and assault. 

For more information, please see:

AP - Rights group to China: Release Tiananmen prisoners – 3 June 2008

Human Rights Watch - China: Free Tiananmen Prisoners before Olympics – 2 June 2008

Reuters - China urged to free Tiananmen-era prisoners – 3 June 2008

Wall Street Journal - Chinese Students Rally, but Often In Support of Government – 4 June 2008

----

BEIJING, China - According to a U.S. human rights group, China has disclosed that it has reduced jail terms for some political prisoners. The San Francisco-based Dui Hua Foundation, which seeks the release of political prisoners in China, said nine citizens that were convicted of subversion for trying to set up "illegal political groups" had received sentence reductions since mid-2006.  Five of them had been freed from prison, the foundation said in an emailed statement.

At the same time, Amnesty International is still seeking more than 1,000 Tibetans detained during protests against the Chinese government in March. In a report, the human rights group said there were reports that detainees had been beaten and deprived of food. Amnesty asked China to "shine some light" on the situation.

Furthermore, the Olympic torch will pass through the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, on Saturday, and Amnesty's Asia-Pacific director, Sam Zarifi, said the event should draw attention to the plight of the missing and those still in prison.  "There is very little information coming out of Tibet, but the information we have paints a dire picture of arbitrary detentions and abuse of detainees," he said.  "With the torch relay about to enter Tibetan areas, this should be an opportunity to shine some light on the situation there."

For more information, please see:

BBC - Amnesty seeks 'missing' Tibetans - 18 June 2008

CNN - Tibet protesters missing, Amnesty says - 18 June 2008

Reuters - China cuts jail terms for political prisoners: group - 18 June 2008

Thai Authorities Repatriate More Hmong; Bangladesh Arrests More than 10,000; Khmer Rouge Leader Hospitalized

BANGKOK, Thailand – Thai authorities have repatriated approximately 56 Hmong refugees who had been living in the Ban Huay Nam Khao refugee camp, making the group the fifth to be sent back to Laos. Although many of the refugees claim they have fled Laos because of persecution, Thai authorities maintain that many are economic migrants searching for a better life.

The medical humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders (MSF), the only non-governmental group currently working in the camp, said some Hmong describe a life of persecution in Laos. According to MSF, the Hmong are“fleeing violent attacks and persecution, witnessing the murder of family members, suffering rape, surviving bullet and shrapnel wounds, and enduring malnutrition and disease.”

Hmong fleeing persecution are recognized as refugees in need of protection by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Australia, Canada, the United States, and the Netherlands have all offered to receive some refuges who are deemed to be genuine political asylum-seekers for resettlement.

The Hmong assert they are under persecution in Laos because they fought on the side of the pro-U.S. Laotian government in the 1960’s before the Communist takeover of Laos in 1975.

For more information, please see:

The Nation – UNHCR Seeks to Check on Hmong in Laos– 30 May 2008

Radio Free Asia– Thailand Sends Lao Hmong Home – 6 June 2008

------

DHAKA, Bangladesh – Bangladesh’s army backed government arrested more than 10,000 persons ahead of elections. Bangladesh authorities maintain that the arrests are a “crusade against crime."

Human rights groups have denounced the arrests and political parties in Bangladesh argue that the arrests are an attempt to crackdown on political activity before elections. According to Human Rights Watch, many of the arrests were of low-level politicians and activists.

Police chief Nur Mohammad said that the anticrime drive was started to guard against “deteriorating” law and order, ensure a peaceful campaign season, and not to harass politicians.

The arrests began soon after the two political parties, Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, rejected talks with the government until their leaders were released from jail. Sheik Hasina Wazed, of the Awami League, and Khaleda Zia, of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, are both former prime ministers and are in jail on charges of corruption.

For more information, please see:

AP – US is Low Key about Bangladeshi Crackdown – 14 June 2008

NY Times – Nearly 12,000 Are Arrested in Bangladesh – 5 June 2008

Thaindian News – EU Forum Expresses Concern Over Bangladesh’s Human Rights Situation – 13 June 2008

-----

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – Former Khmer Rouge leader Khieu Samphan was taken to the hospital for high blood pressure, but has been released back into the custody of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal.

According to his wife and attorneys, Khieu Samphan’s condition has deteoriated since being in custody. His wife said, “His condition has become a little serious during the past few days. He can speak but not so clearly," she said by phone, adding he cannot get up from bed unassisted and can move his left arm and leg only slightly.” However, tribunal spokesman Peter Foster said Khieu Samphan “is not in critical condition.”

For more information, please see:

AP – Lawyer: Khmer Rouge Leader in Serious Condition – 3 June 2008

The Phnom Penh Post – Khmer Rouge Leader Khieu Samphan Out of Hospital, Back in Jail – 11 June 2008

USA Today – Ex-Khmer Rouge Official Rushed to Cambodian Hospital – 4 June 2008

Lawyers in Pakistan Protest; Philippines Journalists Abducted by al-Qaida Linked Militant Group; India’s Human Rights Record Questioned

By Julie K. Narimatsu
Impunity Watch Managing Editor-Journal

KARACHI, Pakistan – After Pakistani President Musharraf removed several senior judges last November in conjunction with imposing emergency rule and after a landmark election that brought opposition leaders to the forefront, thousands of judges, lawyers, and other activists are out in the streets calling for the return of these judges to their respective posts. The rally began in Karachi and is expected to travel cross-country and end up in the capital city of Islamabad by the end of the week.

Several opposition parties have voiced their support for the protests. Protestors insist on immediate performance of the promises made by opposition parties to reinstate these judges once elected. The commitment ensured reinstatement within 30 days of parliament’s first session, however, it has been five weeks since this deadline and no judge has yet returned to their post.

While the major parties agree that the judges should be reinstated, they disagree on exactly how it should be done, with one party desiring reinstatement via executive order and the other demanding constitutional changes that would simultaneously diminish the president’s power.

For more information, please see:

CNN - Pakistan lawyers march for fired judges – 9 June 2008

VOA.com - Pakistani Lawyers Prepare Cross-Country March for Ousted Judges – 9 June 2008

BBC - Pakistan lawyers in 'long march' – 9 June 2008

---

MANILA, Philippines – A reporter and two cameramen from Manila are reported to have been abducted by militant group, Abu Sayyaf, believed to be linked to al-Qaida. The team was in Maimburg township to cover a story at the request of a university professor. While police are ready to begin negotiations with the abductors, they have not received any word on ransom details or the whereabouts of the kidnapped.

While the group’s size has lessened over the years, its attacks continue. The group ultimately desires independence and a state for its Muslin minority separate from the Philippines. Philippine officials assert that the group has previously received financial support from al-Qaida.

For more information, please see:

International Herald Tribune - Suspected al-Qaida-linked militants abduct 3-person TV team in Philippines – 9 June 2008

Sun Star - Ces Drilon, tv crew abducted by Abus – 9 June 2008

Inquirer.net - TV reporter, crew kidnapped in Sulu, police say – 9 June 2008

---

NEW DELHI, India – In its annual report on human rights, international watchdog, Amnesty International, has asserted that India’s human rights record is lacking, especially in the northeastern states of Jammu and Kashmir. They cited the use of torture, the instances of unexplained death of the detained, and abductions. Specific charges accuse the Indian government of using unwarranted violence for the sake of development, using the war on terror as a screen to violate human rights, refusing to ban the death penalty after a UN resolution called for such a moratorium, and rebuffing the United Nations attempts to send in a special rapporteur to investigate reports of torture and enforced disappearances.

While government officials claim that there have been no disappearances since November, 2007, several human rights groups assert that at least nine people disappeared in 2007. Further, the report condemns the significant amount of troops located near the Pakistani border, claiming that the sheer number of troops suggests suppression of the people, rather than the targeting of militants.

While India is currently enjoying a significant economic boom, hundreds of millions continue to suffer in poverty. Published just ahead of the 60^th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, India is not the only country to be noted, but Amnesty International notes the fact that Asia remains the only region “that does not have an overarching human rights instrument.”

For more information, please see:

The Daily Times - ‘India lags behind on human rights front’ – 29 May 2008

Pakistan Observer - Amnesty targets India again – 31 May 2008

The Times of India - Amnesty raps 'role model' India for human rights abuse – 29 May 2008

Human Rights Lawyers Denied License Renewal in China; U.S. Navy Ships Leave Myanmar After Aid Efforts Rejected 15 Times; Nepal Detained 250 Pro-Tibetan Protesters

By Ariel Lin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China - A China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Groups said that the Beijing Judicial Bureau has refused to renew the licenses of a number of Chinese human rights lawyers before an annual deadline.  Human Rights Watch named two of the denied lawyers as Teng Biao and Jiang Tianyong, both of whom have distinguished records of defending civil and human rights cases, and offered to represent Tibetans.  Human Rights Watch report suggested that the Chinese government was denying licenses in a bid to discourage vocal criticism of its human rights record.

Teng said, “The bureau officials didn’t directly say why my license wasn’t approved.  But I know from what’s been said before that it was because of the Tibet issue.”  Jiang also said his law firm had been told his license was being held up because he had been representing sensitive cases and officials had told him could reconsider his application in June if he takes the right steps.  “Obviously, they want me to drop any sensitive cases,” Jiang said.  Some lawyers have privately denounced the bureau’s actions as “large-scale blackmail,” designed to deter law firms from getting involved in cases that may be embarrassing to the government.

According to the Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, Sophie Richardson, Beijing is trying to intimidate the legal profession by suspending these two lawyers and threatening not to renew many licenses.  The goals are to deter lawyers from representing human rights cases, and to deter firms from employing lawyers who want those cases.

For more information, please see:

AP - Chinese lawyers unable to renew licenses - 30 May 2008

Jurist - China human rights lawyers denied license renewals - 30 May 2008

Human Rights Watch - China: Rights Lawyers Face Disbarment Threats - 30 May 2008

Reuters - China rights lawyers say licenses blocked after Tibet call - 30 May 2008

--------

YANGON, Myanmar - U.S. Navy ships loaded with supplies for victims of Myanmar's cyclone will return to U.S. today, after the ruling junta refused for three weeks to allow them to deliver aid.  "We have made at least 15 attempts to convince the Burmese government to allow our ships, helicopters and landing craft to provide additional disaster relief for the people of Myanmar, but they have refused us each and every time," Admiral Timothy Keating, commander of US Pacific Command said.  "I am both saddened and frustrated to know that we have been in a position to help ease the suffering of hundreds of thousands of people and help mitigate further loss of life, but have been unable to do so because of the unrelenting position of the Burma military junta," he added.

The Myanmar Junta has permitted U.S. military planes to fly supplies into Yangon.  But the junta has refused to permit foreign military helicopters to carry supplies into the remote areas. The World Food Program is also trying to get 10 civilian helicopters operating in Myanmar. A spokesman for the U.N. World Food Program, Paul Risley said, "these helicopters represented immediate heavy-lift capacity in the delta."  However, the junta contends that it has adequate resources for the cyclone relief job.

The White House criticized Myanmar's ruling junta for refusing to allow U.S. Navy ships to help their country deal with devastating cyclone.  "These assets were immediately deployed to Myanmar in the spirit of goodwill to offer extensive and life-saving assistance to the victims of Cyclone Nargis," White House press secretary Dana Perino said. "Tragically, the Burmese authorities refused to accept this assistance."  On the other hand, Myanmar's state media has said it feared a U.S. invasion aimed at seizing the country's oil deposits.

For more information, please see:

AFP - US ships to leave cyclone-hit Myanmar after junta snub - 3 June 2008

BBC - US aid ships to leave Burma - 4 June 2008

CNN - U.S. ships set to leave Myanmar; aid undelivered - 4 June 2008

Reuters - U.S. warships to leave Myanmar after aid refused - 4 June 2008

Washington Post - U.S. Navy Ends Bid to Ferry Storm Relief Into Burma - 4 June 2008

---------

KATHMANDU, Nepal - Nepali police detained at least 250 Tibetan exiles as they staged a protest in front of a Chinese embassy building, located in downtown Kathmandu, police and witnesses said.  The protesters waved flags of the Tibetan government-in-exile and shouted "Liar China," "Free Tibet," and "Stop the killing in Tibet".  They also blocked the traffic and clashed with police, with one being reportedly injured.  "Some of them are from India," sources with the Nepali police said, "You can see some of them contact each other in the Hindi language and even some banners were written in the Hindi language."

Tibetans in Nepal, backed by Dalai Lama's exile government Indian, have been launching almost daily anti-China protests since mid-March.  "Hundreds of Tibetans carried out disturbances outside the Chinese embassy, which they are carrying out almost everyday nowadays, severely disturbing the normal working order of the embassy," the Chinese embassy said in a statement. 

However, the protests were suspended after the massive earthquake hit China in May.  "We took a break to pay respects to the victims of the earthquake, but we are compelled to continue our protests as China is not addressing the problems in Tibet," Tashi Lama says before being dragged into a van by five police officers.

Nepal officially respects the "One China" policy that sees Tibet and Taiwan as indivisible parts of China.

For more information, please see:

AFP - Nepal police detain 250 protesting Tibetans - 5 June 2008

AP - 250 Tibetan exiles are detained in Nepal - 5 June 2008

XinHua - Nepali police arrest 250 Tibetan separatists - 6 June 2008

Khmer Rouge Defendant Ieng Thirith Makes First Appeareance in Court; Nepal Abolishes Monarachy; Bangladesh Arrests Grassroots Leaders

By Kristy Tridhavee
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - Former Khmer Rouge leader, Ieng Thirith, made her first appearance at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal.  She requested to be released because she alleged she was "unfit to stay in jail."

Ieng Thirith's lawyers have alleged that she is mentally ill.  In court, judges asked Ieng Thirith how many children she had, and she could only recall after several answers.  Diana Ellis, her lawyer, said, "In view of her age and her poor chronic health, a lengthy period in detention will ... adversely affect her health.  The charged person would remain in Cambodia, would require treatment and would not flee."  However, court officials have already stated doctors have deemed Ieng Thirith fit to stand trial.

Although the mass killings by the Khmer Rouge regime occurred decades ago, the Khmer Rouge Tribunal was not officially established until 2006.  Trials are not set to begin until late this year.  The age of the defendants has become an issue in the Khmer Rouge Tribunal because some fear a prosecution will not happen or may be meaningless.

For more information, please see:

AFP - Former Khmer Rouge Minister Argues to Go Free - 20 May 2008

BBC News - Ex-Khmer Rouge Minister in Court - 21 May 2008

Jurist - Paper Chase: Former Khmer Rouge Minister Makes First Appearance Before Cambodian Tribunal - 21 May 2008

-----

KATMANDU, Nepal - Nepal voted to abolish a 239-year old monarchy, which was a key demand of the Maoists after the group ended a decade long war with the government and became part of the political process instead. 

Upon hearing the news, the most of public danced in the streets and waved flags in celebration.  They chanted, "Welcome to a republic."  A public holiday was also declared.  In an address to the assembly, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala said, "Today is the day when my dreams have been realized and similarly the dreams of the nation have perhaps also been realized."

Royalists, however, protested the abolishment threw pamphlets demanding the monarchy remain.  There were also three explosions in the capital.  There was a clash outside the royal palace between royalists and police.  About 25 people were hurt in the incident.  Although some royalists oppose the change, they are heavily outnumbered by mainstream political groups and Maoist former rebels.

For more information, please see:

IHT - Royal Flag is Lowered over Nepal - 29 May 2008

IHT - Nepal Reborn as a Republic - 29 May 2008

Reuters - Nepal Abolishes Centuries-Old Hindu Monarchy - 29 May 2008

-----

DHAKA, Bangladesh - After key political parties rejected an offer to talk with the interim army-government, nearly 50 grassroots leaders were arrested.

The two political parties involved, Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), vow to seek the release of their respective leaders.  Both threaten that if the leaders are not released, protests will be launched countrywide. 

The government contends that the leaders were detained on graft and corruption charges.  "It was confirmed that the detainees were trying to instigate the people against the interim-government," a senior officer of the joint forces said on Saturday without giving details.

For more information, please see:

Reuters - Bangladesh Detains 50 Grassroot Leaders: Police - 31 May 2008

IPS - With More Leaders Arrested Democracy Retreats - 21 May 2008

Philippines Appeal to UN Committee on Children in Armed Conflict; Amnesty International calls India on its Record of Impunity and Abuses; U.S. and Afghanistan call for Pakistan to end Support for Terrorists

By:  Lindsey Brady
Impunity Watch Managing Editor - News

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines have asked to be removed from the United Nation's list of countries requiring monitoring for their use of child soldiers in armed conflicts.  The Security Council is in charge of monitoring such countries but the Philippine's Ambassador, Hilario G. Davide, Jr. has said the Manila government has great concern for all children, not just Filipino children involved in armed conflict.  Celia C. Yangco, the Undersecretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development of the Philippines pointed out to the UN that about half of the population of the Philippines was children and the country strives to protect them through various laws that make it clear children are not to be recruited or employed by the Philippines Armed Forces.  Resolution 1612 was adopted by the Security Council, and the Philippines was added to the Annex 2 list, in 2005 after the actions of the communist New People's Army, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, and the Abu Sayyaf Group according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer.  Davide, told the UN Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict that "in view of my country's legal firewall for the protection of children, the relative calm in the country and the cultural values placing children as the centerpiece of a family's attention, the Philippines should be dropped from Annex 2 so that the Working Group could train its eyes on other countries facing worse circumstances in regard to children and armed conflict."  Davide states the country has done a great deal to prevent and rehabilitate any children that have been involved in armed conflicts in its country. 

Radhika Coomaraswamy, the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict, said that the inclusion of the Philippines on the Annex 2 was only meant to point out that children where indeed being recruited as late as 2007 for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the Abu Sayyaf Group and the New People's Army.  These children are being used as cooks, porters, and message carriers trained to protect the community of these groups if they fall under attack.  But Coomaraswamy does agree with Davide that the Philippines do have the ability to deal with these issues and should be supported.  The Committee on Rights of Child is currently considering the Philippines report on children in armed conflict and is expected to release its conclusions on June 6, 2008.  The main concerns the committee will consider in their report are "the number of children affected by the armed conflict; the conviction of offenders under the existing laws; the work of the national human rights committee; the status and promotion of the Optional Protocol within the Armed Forces and military groups; recruitment of indigenous children; and the affects of poverty on the number of children joining armed rebel groups."

For more information please see:

Global Nation - Philippines Seeks Delisting from Nations with Child Soldiers - 28 May 2008

ReliefWeb - Committee on Rights of Child considers report of Philippines under Optional Protocol on Children in Armed Conflict - 30 May 2008

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights - Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict - 12 February 2002

-----

SRINAGAR, India - Amnesty International has released its 2008 report and India is among the countries being criticized for its human rights record.  The Pakistan Observer says focuses on the Jammu and Kashmir regions where the reports finds state and non-state actors continue to enjoy impunity for torture, deaths in custody, abduction and unlawful killings."  The report comes before the 60th anniversary of the 1948 human rights declaration.  In the area of economic, social and cultural rights the report says private militias were battling local organizations in Nandigram in West Bengal for control of land.  The clash had resulted in numerous human rights violations which the reports claims includes forced displacement, violence against women and protesters and in general denial of punitive consequences for the perpetrators of the violence.  The report also claims that National Human Rights Commission has failed to charge any of the 38 government officials charged as perpetrators of the unlawful killings, torture, sexual assault and illegal detention of adivasis in 1998.  The adivasis are the indigenous minority population of India.

In Jammu and Kashmir the report claims that human rights organizations have found that over one thousand people have been the victims of forced disappearances in the past 18 years in the district of Baramulla alone.  Official claims that there had been no disappearances until late 2007 have been challenged by those saying 60 people have been victims of such disappearances since 2006.  The biggest claim by the Amnesty International report in the area of Jammu and Kashmir is the widespread impunity enjoyed by the violators of human rights.  The Chairperson for the  Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons, Parveena Ahangar, commented on the report to the Pakistan Observer saying, "we demand the whereabouts of our children who have gone missing or were abducted.  We have been appealing to the government to cancel the Armed Forces Special Powers Act."  The AFSPA was passed in 1958 by the Parliament of India and gave special powers to officers of the armed forces.  One area of the Act is said to allow an officer to fire upon or use other kinds of force even if deadly to arrest without use of a warrant and with "necessary force" anyone who has committed or is suspected of committing certain offenses and to enter and search any premise in order to conduct such an arrest.  The officers have immunity for their actions and cannot be prosecuted against for the actions granted to them under the Act.  Despite great amounts of protest, the Act has still not been repealed.

For more information, please see:

Pakistan Observer - Amnesty targets India Again - 31 May 2008

Amnesty International - Amnesty International Report 2008 - 28 May 2008

South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre - Armed Forces Special Powers Act:  A Study in National Security Tyranny

-----

KABUL, Afghanistan - Leaders from Afghanistan and the United States are calling on Pakistan to stop being a safe haven of sorts for insurgents causing terrorism in Afghanistan.  Afghanistan Senate Speaker, Sibghatullah Mijaddedi stated today that, "Pakistan is exporting terrorism to different parts of the world.  Eighty to 90 percent of terror attacks around the world can be traced back to Pakistan.  The ISI is exporting terrorists trained in their terror camps."  The ISI stands for the Inter-Services Intelligence and is one of the three main branches of Pakistan's intelligence agencies.  Mijaddedi goes on to ask why the allied forces have not focused their "war on terror" away from Afghanistan and more towards Pakistan and its alleged terror training camps.

U.S. officials agree that Pakistan's cooperation with the suspected terrorists is cause of concern.  General Dan McNeill, American commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan said Friday May 30th, that peace deals between Islamic insurgents and Pakistan were resulting in increased violence in Afghanistan.  General McNeill was quoted by the Associated Press as saying, "if there are going to be sanctuaries where these terrorists, these extremists, these insurgents can train, can recruit, can regenerate, there's still going to be a challenge there."  NATO has suggested that there has been a 50% spike in violence in the eastern part of Afghanistan in spring 2008 compared to spring 2007.

For more information, please see:

The Hindu - Pak Exports Terrorism to World:  Afghan Speaker - 1 June 2008

Associated Press - General calls on Pakistan to help with Insurgents - 30 May 2008