Impunity Watch: North America

Rice Discusses Earthquake Recovery and Human Rights in China; Presidential Hopefuls Plan to Shut Down Guantanamo Bay; Civilian Death Toll Rises in Mexican Drug War

By Gabrielle Meury
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

DUJIANGYAN, China- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited China this weekend to speak about China’s post-earthquake recovery and to discuss human rights and Tibet with Chinese officials. Washington has been a critic of China’s human rights record and has urged China to continue conversation with the Dalai Lama. Beijing denounces the Dalai Lama as a separatist and blames him for the March 14 riots in Lhasa as an attempt to derail preparations for the Beijing Olympics in August. 
Rice also spoke in Dujiangyan about Washington’s proposed aid to earthquake victims. Dujiangyan is one of the cities devastated by the May 12 earthquake, with 90% of the buildings still unhabitable and 3,000 people dead.

For more information, please see:

Reuters- Rice Emphasizes Friendship During China Visit- 29 June 2008

Associated Press- Rice Praises China’s Post-Quake Recovery Efforts- 29 June 2008

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba- The Bush administration now lacks legally sound rationale for holding terrorism suspects without trial, thanks to the Supreme Court judgment of June 12 which decided that the detainees have legal rights. Both John McCain and Barack Obama have called for the prison to be shut down. McCain wants to move the 270 detainees currently imprisoned at Guantanamo to the military’s prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. McCain also wants the prisoners to be tried at military commissions. Obama would move the detainees to both civilian and military facilities in the U.S. Obama wants the detainees to be tried in federal criminal courts.

For more information, please see:

Associated Press- Guantanamo’s Days Numbered, Tough Choices Ahead- 28 June 2008

Detroit Free Press- Writing is on the Wall for Guantanamo Bay Prison- 29 June 2008

HUETAMO, Mexico- This month, soldiers attempting to curb the business of drug trafficking shot and killed two men speeding through a checkpoint in Chihuahua state along with another motorist who was unfortunate enough to be driving behind them. There have been at least 13 civilian deaths since December 2006. The public was also shocked when troops shot dead two women and three children traveling to a funeral in Sinaloa in 2007.
Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission has documented 634 cases of alleged abuse by the military since President Felipe Calderon sent more than 20,000 soldiers to take back territory controlled by drug traffickers. The U.S. Congress’ newly approved drug-war aid, amounting to $400 million, does not require the U.S. to independently verify that the military abide by international human rights standards. The aid comes with no yearly evaluations and few conditions.
Human rights groups say that the military operates with impunity, torturing and killing innocents and pillaging homes.

For more information, please see:

Associated Press- Mexico Cheers U.S. Aid Against Drug War- 27 June 2008

Time- Civilian Victims in Mexico’s Drug War- 28 June 2008

House Passes New Wiretapping Legislation; Mexico Changes Judicial System To Emphasize Human Rights; Federal Court Rules On Guantanamo Detainee Appeal

By Andrew Benfield
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, North America

WASHINGTON, United States – On June 19, 2008, Congress’ House of Representatives approved an “overhaul” of the United States’ wiretapping laws. 

A major issue concerning the new legislation was the ability to hold communication companies liable for there cooperation with the government in turning over private communication records of United States citizens.  The new legislation acts as a compromise.  The communication company’s liability must be decided by the court system.  The companies were not given outright immunity but there will be a high burden of proof to prove culpability. 

The new legislation also deems the Foreign Information and Surveillance Act program as the “sole authority for electronic surveillance.” 

The legislation now passes to the Senate floor.

For more information, please see:

CNN – House Approves Overhaul of Wiretapping Laws – 20 June 2008

Washington Post – Senate Debates Rewrite of ’78 Law That Created Secret Intelligence Court – 26 June 2008

-----

MEXICO CITY, Mexico – The Mexican government has taken steps to create a judicial system more akin to the United States.

Mexico now allows “public trials” and has created a “presumption of innocence standard.”  Unlike the previous standard, prosecutors and defense lawyers will argue the case in open court before a judge.  The judge will read his decision in open court and explain the logic of his findings. 

Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon said that this is the “most important reform to the criminal system” that Mexican citizens have seen in a long time. 

By law, these changes must be implemented by 2016.  While Mexico is faced with the tasked of retraining thousands of legal officers, President Calderon feels that Mexico can now offer “citizens a more transparent judicial systems that respects human rights and protects your rights with more speed and efficiency.” 

For more information, please see:

AP – Mexico Adopts US-style trials – 17 June 2008

USA Today – Mexico Adopts US-style trials; presumption of innocence – 17 June 2008

-----

WASHINGTON, United States – On June 23, 2008, a federal appeals court rule that a Guantanamo Bay detainee has been “wrongfully identified as an ‘enemy combatant’” and should be “released or transferred or given a new hearing.” 

This appeal was the first time a United States court has decided a case of a detainee at Guantanamo Bay.  The decision stems from the United States Supreme Court’s ruling that Guantanamo detainees have the right to be heard in United States courts. 

For more information, please see:

AHN – Appeals Court Orders Guantanamo Detainee Freed or Given New Hearing – 24 June 2008

Washington Post – Appeals Court Invalidates Detainee’s ‘Enemy’ Status – 24 June 2008

Supreme Court to Hear Detainee Case Against Ashcroft, Mueller; Castro Opposes EU Human Rights Conditions; Drug-Related Deaths Continue to Rise in Mexico

By Gabrielle Meury
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, U.S. – On June 16, The Supreme Court declared that it would decide whether top government officials can be held personally liable for allegedly knowing of or supporting mistreatment of people detained after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Javaid Iqbal, a Pakistani man who was arrested in New York two months after the 9/11 attacks, is bringing the suit against former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller. Iqbal, a Muslim, is alleging that he was subjected to unlawful ethnic and religious discrimination and subjected to physical and verbal abuse, including unnecessary strip searches and beatings by guards on more than one occasion The court agreed to hear an appeals by Ashcroft and Mueller, who are arguing that they cannot be held personally liable for the actions of their subordinates.
Iqbal has also sued other U.S. government officials, including the warden at the detention facility and the director of the federal Bureau of Prisons.
The case is Ashcroft v. Iqbal (07-1015).

For more information, please see:
CNN- Supreme Court Accepts 9/11 Detainee Case- 16 June 2008

Reuters- Supreme Court to Decide 9-11 Abuse Case- 16 June 2008
-----
HAVANA, Cuba- While the EU voted on Thursday to lift diplomatic sanctions imposed against Cuba, it imposed strict human-rights conditions that the government must maintain in order to remain sanction-free. The EU will evaluate Cuba’s progress in a year and could take new measures if human rights do not improve.
The EU’s conditions include the release of all political prisoners, access for Cubans to the internet, and a “double-track approach” for all EU delegations arriving in Cuba, allowing them to meet both opposition figures and members of the Cuban government.
EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said that the EU would continue to monitor human rights conditions in Cuba. “There will be very clear language also on what the Cubans still have to do…releasing prisoners, really working on human rights questions.”
The EU sanctions were introduced after Cuba’s government rounded up 75 dissidents in 2003. Sixteen of those arrested have been released on medical parole and another four were freed last month into forced exile in Spain. More than 200 dissidents are still serving jail terms.

For more information, please see:
Reuters- Castro Blasts EU Condition on Lifting Sanctions- 21 June 2008

BBC- Castro Condemns EU’s “Hyposcrisy”- 21 June 2008

USA Today- EU to Lift Sanctions on Cuba- 20 June 2008
-----
CHIHUAHUA, Mexico- The recent unearthing of at least 48 murder victims from three properties in Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua have brought to drug-related violence to the Mexican Congress’s attention. Many of the recently-discovered victims were presumably associated with illegal drug trafficking and other criminal activities.
In the Guerrero state capital of Chilpancingo, the Committee of Friends and Relatives of Murdered, Disappeared nad Kidnapped Persons, contended that Guerrero Governor Zeferino Torreblanca and State Attorney General Eduardo Murueta have close their doors to family members of missing persons presumably kidnapped by organized criminal elements. Filiberto Ceron Radilla, rather of disappeared architect Jorge Gabriel Ceron Silva, stated, “Not a single state official has faced down the violence that this place is going through. It is as if they want to oblige the citizenry to accept a reality that we are not ready to tolerate.”
Since Mexican President Felipe Calderon unleashed the military at the beginning last year to fight drug traffickers, about 4,000 people have been killed, including police and soldiers. Even in Juarez, where the military has been deployed since March, the death toll continues to climb. From January 1 to March 31, 210 people have been murdered. Between April 1 and June 1, another 276 people have been killed.
The state Congress earlier this month passed a resolution urging the army to punish soldiers involved in abuses.

For more information, please see:
Drug War Chronicle- Latin America: Human Rights a Casualty in Chihuahua’s Drug War- 19 June 2008

Frontera Norte Sur- The Silent Side of Mexico’s Narco War- 19 June 2008

U.S. Supreme Court Rules Against Victims of Philippine Dictator; Congress Responds to Southeast Humanitarian Crisis; U.S. Groups Urge Mexico to Respond to Human Rights Violations in Guerrero

By Gabrielle Meury
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, U.S.- On June 12, The US Supreme Court overturned lower court rulings that gave restitution to 9,500 victims of human rights abuses during the regime of late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos. The victims are claiming $35 million in a Marcos shell company as part of a $2 billion judgment by a Hawaii court in 1995 against the Marcos estate as compensation for executions, disappearances and torture during the Marcos regime. The award has nearly doubled with interest, with no payment has been made to the plaintiffs.
The victims and the Philippine government are fighting over $2 million Marcos funneled out of the country in 1972 to Arelma S.A., a Panamanian shell corporation that invested the money with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. in New York. By 2000, the amount had grown to $35 million. Merrill Lynch filed a case with U.S. courts to sort out the dispute. 
A federal judge in Hawaii ruled in the victims’ favor, as did the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court reversed these decisions. Former Rep. Etta Rosales, one of the victims, said, “The Philippine government succeeded in blocking the release of money to the human rights victims.”

For more information, please see:

AP- US Ruling May Delay Compensation For Marcos Victims- 13 June 2008

Taipei Times- U.S. Supreme Court Decides Against Philippine Victims- 14 June 2008
-----

WASHINGTON, U.S.- On June 12, bipartisan legislation opposing human rights violations in Southeast Asia was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. The proposed legislation is a response to the humanitarian crisis facing Lao and Hmong refugees.
The legislation seeks to urge the Lao government and military to stop the ethnic cleansing campaign and mass starvation of thousands of unarmed Lao and Hmong civilians as well as to appeal to the King of Thailand and the Royal Thai government to stop the forced repatriation of nearly 8,000 Lao and Hmong refugees from Thailand back to the communist regime in Laos from which they fled. The legislation also urges the military regime in Laos to release the leaders of the Lao Student Movement for Democracy jailed in October of 1999 for their peaceful, pro-democracy protests.
Vaughn Van, Director of the Lao Human Rights Council, stated that “This new legislation introduced in the U.S. Congress sends a powerful and symbolic message of hope and truth regarding the terrible killing, mass starvation and persecution of innocent and unarmed Hmong people in Laos and urges the Lao government to immediately cease its massacre and attacks against the Hmong.”

For more information, please see:
Rush PR- U.S. Congress Appeals to King of Thailand to Help Save Hmong Refugees- 14 June 2008

Fox News- Laos, Hmong Crisis: Thailand’s Samak Uses Troops, Tear Gas- 24 May 2008
-----
WASHINGTON, U.S.- The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and the Latin American Working Group (LAWG) have sent a letter to the governor of the Mexican state of Guerrero expressing concern about recent reports of human rights violations. The letter is specifically concerned with the criminalization of social protest, and the indigenous communities targeted by the government. Five leaders of the Me Phaa Indigenous People Organization were arrested on April 18 for a homicide committed in January. The five detainees have received death threats and have been tortured prior to their imprisonment.
WOLA and LAWG urge the state to guarantee the security and safety of the prisoners and requests that the government respect their rights of due process. Members of the Me Phaa Indigenous People Organization received similar threats by members of the military for denouncing the rapes of Inez Fernandez and Valentine Rosendo Cantu, which were committed by soldiers

For more information, please see:
Upside Down World- WOLA, LAWG Voice Concern Over Rights Violations In Guerrero, Mexico- 12 June 2008

Amnesty International- Mexico: Indigenous Human Rights Defenders at Risk- 27 February 2008

Human Rights Watch Releases Report Warning of Gitmo Detainee Mental Health Issues; U.S. Supreme Court Rules Gitmo Detainees Have Right to Appeal Detention in U.S. Civilian Courts; Military Judge in Khadr Trail Has Been Replaced

By Andrew Benfield
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, North America

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba – Human Rights Watch has released a report stating that 185 of the 270 detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility are kept in “small, isolated cells and have limited human contact.”  The report concludes that these detainees are housed in “inhumane conditions” that could “damage their mental health.”

The report details the day-to-day routine of the incarcerated detainees.  The suspected terrorists remain locked in their detention unit for twenty-two hours a day with “little to no natural light or fresh air.”  When the detainees are given recreation time, they generally spend the time “alone, often in the middle of the night.”  Furthermore, many detainees have not been allowed to see their families and only a few have been allowed to call home. 

According to Human Rights Watch counterterrorism expert Jennifer Daskal, these types of prison conditions create “damaging psychological effects” on the detainees and will “breed hatred and resentment of the United States over the long term.” 

For more information, please see:

Voice of America – HRW Warns Guantanamo Detainees Face Mental Health Threat – 10 June 2008

Human Rights Watch – US: Improve Prison Conditions At Guantanamo – 10 June 2008

-----

WASHINGTON, United States – On July 12, 2008, the United States Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, ruled that foreign detainees held at Guantanamo Bay have the “right to appeal to U.S. civilian courts” in order to challenge their “indefinite imprisonment without charges.”  However, the ruling itself does not result in “any immediate release.”

The decision marks the third time the Supreme Court has overturned the Bush administration’s view on the treatment of Guantanamo detainees.  President Bush said he “strongly disagreed” with the Supreme Court’s decision and suggested that might seek another piece of legislation to “keep terror suspects locked up at the prison camp.” 

For more information, please see:

CNN – Justices: Gitmo detainees can challenge detention in U.S. courts – 12 July 2008

Yahoo! News – Court says detainees have rights, bucking Bush – 12 July 2008

-----

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba – Col. Peter Brownback, the military judge who has presided over the Omar Khadr war crimes trial, has been replaced by the Pentagon. 

Before Col. Brownback’s dismissal, he “chastised the prosecution” at a Guantanamo Bay hearing.  Col. Brownback had threatened to “suspend the entire case” due to the prosecution’s “failure to hand over” Khadr’s confinement records. 

Khadr’s chief lawyer, Navy Lt.-Cmdr. Bill Kuebler “strongly suspects” Col. Brownback’s dismissal was related to the “judge’s actions in court.” 

With the recent Supreme Court decision on detainee rights, it is unclear whether Khadr’s case will proceed as scheduled.  The Justice Department says that they do not think that the decision will affect the current war crimes trials and they “expect the military commission trials to go forward.” 

For more information, please see:

The Ottawa Citizen – Pentagon dismisses military judge in Khadr case – 30 May 2008

Yahoo! News – Court says detainees have rights, bucking Bush – 12 July 2008

Rice Defends Human Rights Practices at Guantanamo; U.S. Distances itself from the U.N. Human Rights Council; Five Guantanamo Detainees Set to Defend Themselves for Sept. 18 Trial

By Gabrielle Meury
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

REYKJAVIK , Iceland- Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, speaking at a briefing during a visit to Iceland, defended the Bush administration when asked about a resolution adopted by Iceland’s parliament criticizing the treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo. Rice advised Icelandic lawmakers to read a report by the Organization for Security in Europe that found no evidence of systematic human rights violations at Guantanamo. Rice stated, “I strongly object to the notion that there are human rights violations at Guantanamo as is suggested by the resolution.”
The resolution has been adopted unanimously by Icelandic legislators, including the foreign minister and prime minister, and condemns the treatment of prisoners. The resolution also urges the U.S. government to close the camp. Rice responded to the suggestion of closing Guantanamo by stating that these prisoners “should not be released on unsuspecting populations.” Rice and other members of the Bush administration have consistently defended Guantanamo and the interrogation tactics employed there, saying that the tactics comply with U.S. law and treaty obligations.  Human rights groups and other critics have consistently disagreed with this assertion.

For more information, please see:
Associated Press- Rice rejects Iceland's criticism of Guantanamo Bay- 30 May 2008

Reuters, UK- Condoleezza Rice Defends Guantanamo- 30 May 2008

-----
WASHINGTON, U.S.- The U.S. is seeking to distance itself from the U.N. Human Rights Council, stating that it would only engage the council when there was an issue of “deep national interest.” State Department spokesperson Sean McCormack said that the decision was based on mistrust of the forum. “our skepticism regarding the function of the U.N. Council on Human Rights in terms of fulfilling its mandate and its mission is well known. It has a rather pathetic record.”
The 47-member, Geneva-based Human Rights Council was created in 2006 to replace the Human Rights Commission, which was discredited because governments with a record of abuse stifled concrete action. The Human Rights Council has been criticized for failing to act on human rights violations in places like Sudan’s Darfur region.
Juliette de Rivero, Geneva advocacy director of Human Rights Watch, criticized the U.S. for dropping out of the council. “Washington’s hands-off approach to the Human Rights Council undermined it from the start…Whatever the council’s problems, this decision is a victory for abusive states and a betrayal of those fighting for their rights worldwide.”

For more information, please see:
AFP- Washington to limit Contacts with UN Rights Council- 6 June 2008

Reuters- U.S. Distances Itself From U.N. Rights Body- 6 June 2008

-----
GUANTANAMO, Cuba-Multiple political agendas cloud the trial of five Guantanamo detainees. Prosecutors of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four alleged co-conspirators say that they will be ready to start the trial on September 18, close to the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and around the time U.S. voters will begin looking seriously at election issues such as national security. Political agendas may be effecting both sides of the military tribunal; at the apparent direction of Mohammed, the accused have told the court that they will represent themselves in an explicit rejection of the U.S. legal system, and instead follows “God’s law.” Mohammed has also stated that he welcomes a death penalty in order to “martyr” himself.
Lawyers will remain with the defendants, but only to give them advice on representing themselves. Neal Sonnett, a lawyer representing the American Bar Association, said the defendants’ refusal to accept legal assistance undermines the validity of the commissions. “It can add to the overall sense that these proceedings are less than legitimate.” Chief Prosecutor Col. Lawrence Morris has the opposite view, assuring that, “You will be impressed and stunned with the robustness of the due process, the quality of representation, and the fullness of the ability to test the government’s evidence.”

For more information, please see:
USA Today- Alleged 9/11 Mastermind Goes to Court- 6 June 2008

Time- A Rush to Judgment at Guantanamo?- 8 June 2008

U.S. Refuses to Sign Treaty Banning Cluster Bombs; U.S.-Imposed Conditions Threaten Mexican Anti-Drug Package; Marked Increase in Kidnapping in Haiti

By Gabrielle Meury
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

LONDON, England- More than 100 nations formally agreed to ban cluster bombs, but powerful military states are refusing to join it and experts say the treaty is filled with holes that make it unworkable. The United States, China and Russia are among those who have not joined the treaty, while Britain and other NATO states support it.
Mark Garlasco, an analyst at Human Rights Watch, stated that the treaty is “rock solid” and will outlaw a lethal munition. "This is going to outlaw 99.9 percent of the cluster munitions out there ... which will stigmatize the weapon even for those countries that aren't signatories to the ban." Cluster munitions contain "bomblets" that are scattered from planes or by artillery shells and that detonate like mines. They often lie unexploded for months or years until accidentally stepped on. Children are frequently the victims.
The U.N. Development Program says cluster munitions have caused more than 13,000 confirmed injuries and deaths around the world, the vast majority of them in Laos, Vietnam and Afghanistan.
The United States has made it clear that it intends to go on using the bombs as it sees fit.

For more information, please see:

Yahoo News- Experts See Big Holes in Cluster Bomb Ban- 29 May 2008
Reuters- Meeting Adopts Cluster Bomb Ban, Debates Loopholes- 30 May 2008
-----

MEXICO CITY, Mexico- The U.S. Congress has passed an anti-drug aid package for Mexico that is linked to a series of human rights and legal conditions. The conditions touch on human rights and judicial reforms. Mexico considers this certification a violation of its sovereignty. Jose Luis Santiago Vasconcelos, the assistant attorney general for international affairs, stated, "Why don't we tell the Americans to use those [funds] for their own interdiction forces or interception forces ... and stop the flow of weapons. Rather than giving them to Mexico, they can be used by the Americans to reinforce their Customs service, their Border Patrol, and stop the arms trafficking to our country."
The $1.4 billion plan is aimed at helping Mexico obtain helicopters, improve intelligence sharing, and reduce the smuggling of high-powered weapons from the U.S. to Mexico.
Eduardo de la Torre Jaramillo, a member of the ruling party who sits on the lower house's defense commission, stated that U.S. politicians need to understand that Mexico has done its part and does not need additional conditions. Mexican authorities cite record drug seizures, the extraditions of drug lords, 22,000 people prosecuted for drug crimes, sweeping judicial reforms and better police training as elements of their efforts to halt the drug war.

For more information, please see:
Dallas News- U.S. Conditions Threaten Mexico Anti-Drug Package- 29 May 2008
Dallas News- U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Defends Anti-Drug Package- 30 May 2008
-----

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti- Haiti has faced a growing number of kidnappings in the past year. A spokesman for the U.N. police in Haiti reported that in January to May of 2008 there were 152 registered abductions, compared to 237 for the entire year of 2007.
Human rights activist Pierre Esperance, who heads the National Network to Defend Human Rights, questioned the official tally. He stated that close relatives of kidnap victims often refuse to report cases to the police to protect their loved ones from being killed. “Only about half of the cases are reported because the bandits usually warn they would kill hostages if relatives denounced kidnappings to the police. From 2005 up to now, at least 27 hostages, including 12 children, have been executed by their captors, sometimes even after a ransom was paid.” The country has averaged one abduction a day so far this year, including a Canadian intern seized outside her home this month.
President Rene Preval is currently trying to pull together a new government to replace one toppled by food riots in April, which effected the capital, Port-au-Prince, and killed at least six people.
The riots and have had a substantial impact on the tourism industry, a crucial pillar of the Haitian economy. "Whatever happens in Port-au-Prince has an immediate impact on the image of Haiti as a vacation destination," said former Tourism Minister Patrick Delatour, who lost his job when the Senate fired Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis over the food riots.

For more information, please see:

Reuters- Haiti Hit By Increase in Kidnappings- 30 May 2008

The Canadian Press- Quebec Woman Freed by Haitian Captors Unharmed After Week in Captivity- 31 May 2008

Associated Press- Haiti’s Tourism Dreams Deferred by Riots- 1 June 2008