Impunity Watch: Special Features

No Accountability Might Lead to No Security

Who's finger is on who's trigger? Did we forget to contract someone to do oversight?
by Jeff Nelson

Blackwater USA, one of the largest security firms employed by the United States in Iraq, has come under investigation by a joint Iraqi-U.S. commission and the U.S. Attorney General's office within the last two weeks.  U.S. and Iraqi officials are investigating the firm's actions where 20 people were killed in a shooting on Sep. 16, 2007.  Less than a week later on Sep. 21, it was reported that the U.S. Attorney's Office has been investigating Blackwater USA and it's employees for smuggling weapons into Iraq.  Investigations into accountability and inquiries into oversight are just now being conducted.

On Sep. 16th, a shootout in Baghdad between Blackwater security guards and Iraqis took place resulting in 20 Iraqi deaths.  The security detail was escorting a U.S. State Department convoy out of the Green Zone, a U.S. fortified safe area, in the middle of Baghdad.  After the shootout, the Iraqi government announced that Blackwater's license was suspended and the firm would no longer be allowed to conduct operations in Iraq until an inquiry into the incident was made.  The U.S. State Department subsequently had to temporarily suspend diplomatic missions throughout Iraq as a result. 

Blackwater was allowed to resume limited operations on Sep. 21st after the U.S. State Department announced a joint commission of U.S. and Iraqi officials would look into the Sep. 16th incident and the future of private security contractors in Iraq.  The push for the investigation comes from the Iraqi government who wants to seek action against the individuals responsible for Iraqi civilian deaths.  However, since the U.S. lead invasion in 2003, Iraq has not had any jurisdiction over the private security contractors working within its country.  Security contractors are immune from prosecution for their actions under contract, the immunity coming from a regulation put in place during the U.S. administration period in 2004.

Legislation reportedly has been drafted that will address the Iraqi issues with security contractors and bring them under the jurisdiction of Iraqi law. 

Besides the investigations taking place in Iraq, Blackwater is also being investigated for smuggling weapons and military equipment into Iraq.  Reports indicate that weapons and equipment has been shipped to Iraq without the required permits.  This issue being looked into because of complaints from the Turkish government back in July.  Turkey seized U.S. weapons from members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)--a U.S. designated terrorist organization.  Two former employees of the Blackwater firm have plead guilty to receiving stolen weapons and other charges.  They are reported to be working with the federal investigators on the smuggling probe.

This whole issue does not stop there either.  On top of the questionable status of the security firms working in Iraq and the possible smuggling of weapons into Iraq, there are also reports that weapons sent over and distributed by the U.S. government were not properly accounted for.   Some 190,000 weapons distributed during the initial training and stand up phases of the Iraq army and police forces remain questionable to whether or not the Iraqi forces even received them. 

This whole thing is very troubling to me.  First we have security firms operating in Iraq that are not operating under the U.S. Code of Military Justice nor are they subject to prosecution under Iraqi law.   Who do they have to answer to?  The joint commission that was just formed is just now looking into the accountability issues with these contracted firms.   Further there have not been any prosecutions, that I could find, of  any security contractors for their actions in Iraq.   Who do they have to answer to?   I do not by any means like the fact of making these U.S. civilians working under contract with the U.S. Government subject to prosecution under Iraqi law, but they do not even operate under U.S. Military Law.  They operate under the jurisdiction of U.S. criminal law, but where is the oversight and enforcement?

The lack of oversight into those Security Contractors is part of the reason why we have to probe the possibility of them smuggling weapons over there.  Either smuggling the weapons over for their own use or to sell on the black market as alleged.  Either way if there were proper accountability and oversight this might not have been an issue.   But then we have 190,000 weapons that cannot be accounted for out of the distribution by the U.S. government.   At the time there may have not been enough staff to fully track each weapon but that just reminds me of the Army saying, "Train to standard not to time."  It may have taken a little longer but at least a thorough job gets done and done right. 

Now we have have to worry about where the weapons went. It presents questions about how the PKK got their hands on U.S. weapons.  We do not know how the weapons got their but they did, either through the black market or some other avenue.  Where are the rest of the weapons and equipment that neither contractors nor the government cannot account for?  Who's hands are they in?  Why are we just now stressing that oversight and accountability?  I think it should have been done a while ago.

SEE:

Richard Lardner, Weapons sent to Iraq poorly tracked,  The News & Observer (Sep. 28, 2007) available at http://www.newsobserver.com/662/story/718980.html.

Defense secretary sends team to review Iraq contractors, CNN (Sep. 26, 2007), available at http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/09/26/contractor.review/index.html?iref=newssearch.

Mussab al-Khairalla & Aseel Kami, Iraq ministry finishes draft law on contractors, Reuters (Sep. 25, 2007), available at http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL25935003.

Paul Tait, Iraq says no Blackwater move until after inquiry, Reuters Can. (Sep. 24, 2007), available at http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2007-09-24T174653Z_01_L15544758_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-IRAQ-COL.XML&archived=False.

Iraq: Blackwater staff to face charges, CNN (Sep. 23, 2007), available at http://www.cnn.com/ 2007/WORLD/meast/09/23/blackwater.probe/index.html?iref=newssearch.

Blackwater 'arms smuggling probe', BBC (Sep. 22, 2007) available at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/ americas/7008058.stm.

Matthew Lee, Security Firm Is in Smuggling Probe: Blackwater May Be Charged for Bringing Weapons Into Iraq, Wash. Post (Sep. 22, 2007) available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article /2007/09/21/AR2007092102504.html.

Assoc. Press, Feds probe whether Blackwater smuggled weapons into Iraq, CNN (Sep. 21, 2007) available at http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/09/21/blackwater.probe.ap/index.html?eref= rss_topstories.

Blackwater resuming operations in Iraq, CNN (Sep. 21, 2007), available at http://www.cnn.com/2007 /WORLD/meast/09/21/blackwater/index.html?iref=newssearch.

U.S. suspends diplomatic convoys throughout Iraq, CNN (Sep. 18, 2007), available at http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/09/18/blackwater.iraq/index.html?iref=newssearch.

Fujimori Extradited to Peru

by: D. Pandian

Yesterday, the former Peruvian President, Alberto K. Fujimori, was detained by Peruvian police and flown to Lima, Peru to face human rights and corruption charges.¹ The Supreme Court of Chile overturned a previous decision last Friday, finding that the ex-president could be extradited to Peru under the laws of Chile.²

Fujimori, who ruled Peru from 1990 to 2000, fled the country to Japan as his own government amidst corruption scandals.³ In 2005, he traveled to Chile hoping to eventually return to Peru and recapture his former position.⁴ However, Chilean authorities, having received an extradition request from Peruvian prosecutors, detained Fujimori.⁵

Fujimori’s confidence that the people of Peru would reelect him seems reckless initially. Yet, despite the negative circumstances in which he left Peru in 2000, Fujimori has retained the a significant amount of support from members of the Peruvian government and the Peruvian people, largely due to the gains he made in reducing the threat of the Shining Path guerilla movement.⁶ But while Peruvians might be willing to forget the violations that occurred under his watch, the voluminous record of his violations point more to the end of his political career.⁷

In 1991, Fujimori formed the Colina Group, a squad of military and intelligence operatives, who allegedly began committing a series of extrajudicial killings and "disappearances" as part of a strategy of physical elimination of suspected subversives.⁸ Notable among the Colina Group’s activites were the La Cantuta/Barrios Altos killings, which resulted in the deaths of 25 persons in two separate events.⁹  In 1992, Fujimori dissolved the opposition controlled Congress in a "self-coup" and took total control of the government.¹⁰ In the following years, he drew up a new constitution and replaced much of the judiciary.¹¹ After being reelected in 1995, Fujimori ordered his close personal adviser, Vladimiro Montesinos, be given de facto control over the National Intelligence Service (SIN) and according to witness accounts, ordered that millions of dollars be diverted to the SIN from the budgets of other armed forces.¹² In turn, Montesinos used these funds as well as other illicitly obtained funds, to buy off politicians, co-opt judges, and wrest editorial control from media owners.¹³ SIN tapped the phones of journalists, civil society activists, and politicians, kept them under observation, and engaged in undercover operations to intimidate and threaten them.¹⁴ By 2000, through corruption, extortion and intimidation, the presidency achieved near-total control not only over the Congress, but also over the judiciary, the prosecutorial system, the electoral monitoring bodies, the financial and tax system and a substantial part of the media.¹⁵

Human Rights Watch notes that this is the first time a court has ordered the extradition of a former head of state to be tried for gross human rights violations in his home country.¹⁷

1. Simon Romero, Chile Returns Fujimori to Peru to Face Charges, New York Times, Sept 23, 2007, available at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/23/world/americas/23peru.html.
2. Id.
3. Id.
4. Id.
5. Id.
6. Human Rights Watch, Probable Cause: Evidence Implicating Fujimori (2005).
7. Id.
8. Id.
9. Id.
10. Id.
11. Id.
12. Id.
13. Id.
14. Id.
15. Id.
16. Chile: Supreme Court Extradites Fujimori, Human Rights Watch, Sept. 21, 2007, available at http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/09/21/chile16918.htm.

 

Human Trafficking in The United States?

By: Gabie Hart

Human trafficking (referred to by many as a form of modern-day slavery), usually involves at least one of the following—forced labor or sexual exploitation of individuals. Human trafficking is a human rights abuse that is not limited to any region of the world, as it occurs worldwide.

Nations, including the United States, along with international governmental organizations as well as non-governmental organizations have in recent years attempted to bring attention and awareness to this inhumane and horrific abuse with the purpose of stopping and preventing it from occurring. The United States has estimated that between 600,000 and 800,000 persons are trafficked across international borders each year.1

Most recently a Washington Post article has chronicled the United States most recent attempts to combat human trafficking on U.S. soil. Apparently, in 1999 a CIA analyst estimated that approximately 50,000 victims a year were entering the United States.2

Human trafficking turned out to be an issue both Democrats and Republicans believed warranted action. In 2000 Congress passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act which broadened the scope of the definition of trafficking to include victims of not only physical violence or restraints, but also psychological abuse.3

Since 2000, the United States Government has spent $150 million to combat the trafficking of humans.4 It would be fair to estimate that if the 1999 estimate were correct then from 2000 through 2007 some 350,000 victims should have entered the United States. However, despite millions of dollars and relentless efforts by activists and administration efforts, including the hiring of a public relations firm (which was hired because the Bush administration viewed the human trafficking issue in the United States as urgent), only 1,362 victims have been identified since 2000.5

In 2004, the numbers were re-analyzed and the estimate was lowered to approximately 14,500-17,500 trafficking victims being brought into the United States annually.6

Ronald Weitzer, a criminologist at George Washington University and an expert on sex trafficking explained that some of the disparity in the numbers may be attributable to victims’ fear of coming forward, but that would only account for a small amount of the disparity.7

The vast disparity in numbers combined with the extensive effort by the United States government to identify the victims begs the question of whether human trafficking on United States soil was an overstated problem or are the victims really that hard to find—maybe it’s a combination of the two?

If the disparity is due to the United States overstating the problem, then that would be cause for other nations to worry about how many people are being trafficked on their own soil. The United States is supposed to be a technologically advanced country and if the Untied States is unable to accurately estimate the amount of human trafficking that occurs in their country, how are other countries who might have equal technology or less sophisticated technology supposed to accurately assess the human trafficking problem, and further do other countries have millions of dollars available to expend toward a problem that may or may not be overstated.

If the disparity is due to victims being too afraid to come forward, then that would mean that victims of human trafficking are often lost to the abusive trade—never surfacing again having been left with no way out. Since the United States is fairly advanced technologically, and is unable to find these victims—what hope do victims have in other regions of the world where resources might not be available and technology might not be as advanced.

Overall, the problem of human trafficking remains a global issue. The United States, however, clearly needs to re-evaluate the situation in their country, determine how these disparities occurred, what the money was spent on, and how best to identify victims in the United States.

Sources:

1. United States Joins U.N. Anti-Trafficking Protocol: Action coincides with International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, Dec 1, 2005, available at http://usinfo.state.gov/gi/Archive/2005/Dec/02-14621.html.
2. Jerry Markon, Human Trafficking Evokes Outrage, Little Evidence: U.S. Estimates Thousands of Victims, But Efforts to Find Them Fall Short, Wash. Post., Sept. 23, 2007, available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/22/AR2007092201401.html.
3. Id.
4. Id.
5. Id.
6. Id.
7. Id.

Dry Promises

By: Lara Sewers

“The human right to water entitles everyone to sufficient, affordable, physically accessible, safe and acceptable water for personal and domestic uses. While those uses vary between cultures, an adequate amount of safe water is necessary to prevent death from dehydration, to reduce the risk of water-related disease and to provide for consumption, cooking, personal and domestic hygienic requirements.”[1]

The right to water encompasses the freedom to access existing water supplies and the freedom from interference, such as arbitrary disconnections or contamination of water supplies. Water should be treated as a social good and not as an economic commodity.

These words artfully express what access to water should be regarded as. Unfortunately, for the poor in
Kenya, this is very far from reality. Millions of Kenyans lack access to adequate and safe supply of water. The poor, of course, pay the highest burden. Children grow up in slums next to rivers of raw sewage. Community bathrooms charge a daily fee per person that renders them out of reach for many poor Kenyans.

In certain urban areas, as much as 93% of low income residents lack access to main water connections. Those who live further away from the cities must travel long distances to purchase expensive but dirty water. Regardless of the poor quality of the water, those who purchase water at kiosks face a higher cost than wealthy families with private connections.

The problem affecting most low income urban residents is that water companies cannot supply water to households in the slums due to their temporary status. But little is done to remedy this situation or find viable alternatives.

However, even those privileged enough to have private lines have to invest in storage tanks to supplement an inadequate supply, a luxury that very few can afford. Those “unlucky” ones are left to rely on alternative sources, such as rainfall and rivers which very often are contaminated. The fact that garbage collection is extremely deficient worsen the situation by contributing to the contamination of the few sources of water available to those who cannot afford to buy it.

Political elites are not ignorant of the situation, they acknowledge and seem concerned about the gravy of the problem when it suits them; election time. Most government officers promise to ensure essential services and election after election, voters are still waiting.

---

[1] UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, “Substantive Issues Arising in the Implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: General Comment No. 15,” E/C.12/2002/11, (Jan. 20, 2003). Available at: http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/0/a5458d1d1bbd713fc1256cc400389e94?Opendocument

 

2 allAfrica.com: “Water is a Basic Human Right and Must be Provided,” (Sept. 19, 2007). Available at: http://allafrica.com/stories/200709200956.html.

 

Uzbekistan's Stagnant Economy

By: D. Pandian

Corruption is a common problem in the Central Asian states.¹ Monetary regulation is an opaque issue and economic forecasts issued by these states are considered with much skepticism. Of all Central Asian states, Uzbekistan is particularly notorious for corruption in the economy. The Uzbeki economy is heavily reliant on the export of cotton, gold and natural gases, all commodities controlled by the government and allies of the government. Controlling parties derive considerable profits from their involvement, while the population at large faces serious hardship. In July 2007, the government of Uzbekistan said that it would raise the national minimum monthly wage to 15,525 soms (roughly USD $12). State employees, such as doctors, had their salaries raised to just over $100 per month; teachers received around $90 a month. These small wage increases did not match the sharp increases in prices for basic commodities such as bread, meat and oil.

Actions by the government convey an insecurity towards permitting the growth of private sector industries. The events surrounding the Andijon rebellion of 2005 are particularly revealing of this problem. In 2004, the government arrested 23 prominent Muslim business men in the town of Andijon.² While the government accused the men of being involved with extremist Islamic groups, no evidence corroborated the claim. The young men were involved with funding schools, orphanages and aiding the poor in their communities, providing social services that local government was not providing. As trials for these men commenced, thousands of locals (at peak 3,000 persons) gathered outside of the courthouse in silent protest to the arrests. By May of 2005, tensions culminated into a violent uprising in which the crowds seized weapons and freed hundreds from the local prison. In response, the government sent troops who fired indiscriminately into crowds of men, women and children. While exact casualties for this incident are not known, eyewitnesses put the death toll in the hundreds.

Government actions inhibit foreign investment, especially as powerful state actors intervene in all spheres of the state’s economic life.³ The president of Uzbekistan’s daughter, Gulnora Karimova, is especially notorious for this. Ms. Karimova is reputed to be a major participant in a foreign corporation that owns much of Uzbekistan’s oil and gas interest. When a Texas tea company attempted to increase its presence in Uzbekistan, Ms. Karimova and other rival tea distributors concocted false charges against the company ranging from drug trafficking to funding the Andijon uprising.

Due to the weak economy and restricted employment opportunities, many Uzbekis derive income from selling goods in bazaars or otherwise search for job opportunities outside of the country. However, the government has shown reluctance to allow even merchant activities, instituting fees out of the means of most Uzbekis that have the effect of discouraging the population for taking part in trading activities. Traders have been very vocal in their displeasure with these activities.⁴

Though the regional actors such as Russia and China have backed the Uzbeki government’s policies which are usually framed in terms of containing the threat of Islamic extremism and terrorism, these actors ignore the fact that the Uzbeki government’s actions more have the effect of fueling serious Islamic opposition in the state. ⁵

1.  International Crisis Group: "Uzbekistan: Stagnation and Uncertainty," (22 August 2007), available at http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=5027.

2. International Crisis Group: "Uzbekistan: The Andijon Uprising,"(25 May 2005), available at http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=3469&l=1.

3. International Crisis Group: "Uzbekistan: Stagnation and Uncertainty," (22 August 2007), available at http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=5027.

4. Id.

5. Id.

No Morphine, Many Die in Pain

By: Lara Sewers

Even in Japan, a heavily medicated society, many still die in pain. While doctors are becoming more willing to prescribe drugs like morphine, many patients still fear addiction, and refuse to consume the drug. However, the government is actively campaigning for more pain killers to be prescribed and to re-educate the population about the benefits of its medicinal use.[1]

The World Health Organization estimates that 4.8 million people a year, who suffer from cancer, go untreated and die severely painful deaths.[2]

While six countries – United States, Canada, France, Germany, Britain and Australia – consume 79% of the world’s morphine, the poor and middle income countries, consume only about 6%. Ironically, last year, half of the six million people that died of cancer were from poor countries. About 80% of these cancer patients experience severe pain. In some of these developing countries, many patients have chosen to end their suffering by taking their lives.[3]

In many countries, governments are hesitant to allow use of these drugs for fear of drug abuse and drug-related crime. But since the elites in these countries have access to them, they care little about the rest of the population left to die in pain.[4]

Even if governments would allow for the prescription and distribution of morphine, in many poor countries, governments are more concerned with treatment of the top five causes of death in these parts of the world – diarrhea, pneumonia, tuberculosis, malaria, and STDs. Palliative care is just not a percentage large enough to become a priority. [5]

Opium is not in short supply, and morphine, its derivative, is not as expensive either. Hospitals in Africa have found ways to mix their own liquid morphine cheaply, costing less than a loaf of bread would.[6] Notwithstanding this, doctors in developing countries still adhere to beliefs held many decades ago about the risks of addiction and to the health of the patient. Thus, some refuse to prescribe it even while the patients suffer.

Disparities in the availability of morphine and related drugs are noticeable between developed and developing countries, but even within developed countries, some still have more access than others. Even though morphine consumption in the U.S.is about 17,000 times that of places like Sierra Leone, disparities of access to these narcotics exist even among our population. Cancer patients who live in Asian or Hispanic neighborhoods lack ready access to pain medications like morphine because often, local pharmacies do not stock them. In white neighborhoods around 72% of pharmacies had adequate supplies compared to 25% of nonwhite neighborhoods.[7]

Whereas in the U.S.the disparity in access to morphine and related drugs in minority neighborhoods is tied to racial and ethnic factors, doctors do not refuse to prescribe medications to ease their patients’ pain. In developing countries, refusal to prescribe morphine is tied to myths about side-effects that have long proved wrong.

It is shocking that while pain relief is often the only thing that doctors can offer patients who are in advance stages of a disease, it is the one thing they withhold. Furthermore, while countries like Afghanistan attempt to get rid of their poppies plantation in order to curb heroin production, millions could use the product to die less painfully. Programs proposed by researchers in London such as “Poppy for Medicine” would allow Afghan farmers to move their current poppy crop away from the production of illegal narcotics and devote the crop to the production of legal morphine medicines. Allowing these farmers to participate in a legal marketplace for pain relief medicines that meet the WHO’s standards and making the products more available to those dying in pain, is a no-brainer.[8] We just need those in the position to make these decisions in developing countries, to move away from archaic beliefs and do the right thing to ease their population’s pain.

---

[1] New York Times: “Japanese Slowly Shedding Their Misgiving About the Use of Painkilling Drugs,” (Sept. 10, 2007), available at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/10/health/10painside.html

[2] Medindia.com: “Ban on Morphine Leads to Terrible Suffering,” (Sept. 11, 2007), available at http://www.medindia.net

[3] Id.

[4] Id.

[5] Id.

[6] Id.

[7] New York Times: “Little Access to Pain Drugs in Some Areas,” (April 6, 2000), available at http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9C03EED7153FF935A35757C0A9669C8B63

[8] Theprogress.com: “Poll shows support for Poppies for Medicine,” (Sept. 4, 2007), available at http://www.theprogress.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=39&cat=48&id=1056949&more=0

Decreased Security and Increased Tension

Russian Weapons on European Soil...
by Jeff Nelson

The current state of politics in Russia is still at a difficult state to decipher.   Back in July, Russia pulled out of the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty (CFE), and with the presidential elections coming up in March, countries are worried about the future security within Europe. 

The CFE is an important treaty, as it was one of the most significant arms controls agreements to come out of the Cold War.  It regulated the amount of heavy weapons countries can deploy on the European continent, and was recognized as a "cornerstone of European Security."  It was amended in 1999 to accommodate Russian concerns about maneuvering units within its country, but the changes still have not been signed by all members.  The NATO countries did not ratify the revised treaty because Russian troops remained in parts of Moldova and Georgia.  Russia pledged in 1999 to pull those troops out of those regions, but the troops still remain. 

In July, the Russian president announced that Russian would be suspending compliance with the CFE.  Reasons stemmed from NATO members waiting to ratify the revisions and U.S. plans to expand a missile defense shield into Central Europe.  The expansion aims to place sites in Poland and the Czech Republic, which Moscow says is a threat to its security.

Since the Russian announcement to suspend it's compliance, many countries have voiced their concern fearing things have taken a step backward decreasing the security in Europe.  Negotiations so far have failed, but Germany, concerned with the security implications of the move,  is opting to host a conference in October to discuss the future of the CFE.

What we need to know is where will Russian politics take this issue after the elections in march.  Realistically I do not see the whole situation changing during that conference in October.  Russia and UK are back to their tense political relationship with the deportation of Russian and British diplomats over the murder of an ex-KGB agent in London.  There is tension between Russia and the U.S. over the missile defense system being installed in Central Europe, and lets not forget about the tension between Russia and the rest of the UN Security Council over the issue of independence for Kosovo. 

Russia claims that the treaty is no longer effective, but that does not mean its no longer international law.  We need to see some sort of effort to put the treaty back into binding effect for all of the original signers from NATO and the Warsaw Pact nations.  International security is always a hot issue when it becomes threatened.  Escalation into armed conflict over this is not very likely, but unfriendly political relations definitely have an effect on other issues the world is trying to resolve, like Kosovo and Darfur.   Limitations on and transparency about weapons deployments in Europe can avoid tense situations and lessen the blow to security concerns.

Sources:

Assoc. Press, Russia confirms obscure PM choice, CNN, Sept. 14, 2007, available at http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/09/14/russia.parliament/index.html

Reuters, Germany Wants to Rescue Arms Pact Dropped by Russia, Defense News, Sept. 12, 2007, available at http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=3034100&C=europe

Russia suspends arms control pact, BBC, July 14, 2007, available at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6898690.stm

John Marcus, Russia sends warning to the West, BBC, July 14, 2007, available at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6898897.stm

Putin steps up missiles warning, BBC, Apr. 27, 2007, available at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6599647.stm

Ongoing Trafficking in China

By: Gabie Hart

In June of 2007, China discovered itself to be in the midst of a scandal after child slavery was discovered in a brick kiln. Over 500 children and mentally handicapped individuals were forced into horrific conditions, were they were forced to work 18 hours a day and were beaten if they tried to escape.1

The slave labor was discovered after approximately 400 parents of children who suspected they have been kidnapped published a letter on the Internet. The letter led to interest and by June 13 a member of the Standing Committee of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party expressed concerns and police action soon followed.2

The most recent incident of human trafficking involved the Chinese Police breaking up a baby trafficking ring. The baby trafficking ring was discovered when police began an operation in May after they had questioned four women who were on a train, each of whom was holding a baby.3 Apparently the women admitted to buying the babies and their intent to sell them to someone else. Authorities have since arrested 10 suspects in two provinces.4

The police were able to rescue 40 of the 60 babies who had been trafficked.5 Apparently, this is an ongoing issue, where babies are being stolen or bought from poor families and then sold to couples who want another child, a servant or a future bride for a son.6

Recently, China has announced that they plan on setting up a panel to help target and combat the human trafficking that has been occurring in their country. The panel will be comprised of 21 government ministries.7

Forced labor is just one of the human trafficking conditions China needs to address. China also is facing human trafficking issues due to gender imbalance, whereby women and children are sold into marriage or trafficked for sexual slavery.8 Babies, especially girls, are sometimes unwanted by families due to the gender inequality that exists in China.

Back in 2005 China fell from “Tier 2” to “Tier 2 Watch Status” in the U.S. State Department’s Trafficking in Persons Report for 2005.9 The difference between the two tiers apparently is that they differ in that a country that falls within the “Tier 2” level is demonstrating a commitment to address their problems but they have not yet achieved international standards, whereas “Tier 2 Watch List” means that a county might be vulnerable to an erosion of their efforts.10

China will continue to be under international pressure, especially with the 2008 Olympics, which are set to be held in Beijing, are fast approaching. This added pressure will hopefully lead to quick, swift and juste action that will be taken to stop and prevent human trafficking in China.

Sources:

1. Simon Elegant, Slave Labor in China Sparks Outrage, Time, June 20 2007, available at http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1635144,00.html.
2. Id.
3. Associated Press, China Police Break Baby Trafficking Ring, Wash. Post., Sept. 7, 2007, available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/07/AR2007090701394.html .
4. Id.
5. Id.
6. Id.
7. Reuters, China targets human trafficking after kiln scandal, Wash. Post, Sept. 3, 2007, available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/03/AR2007090301511.html .
8. Id.
9. Jane Morse, Human Trafficking a Huge Problem for China U.S. Officials Say: Greater need for prevention, protection and prosecution, Mar 7, 2006, available at http://usinfo.state.gov/gi/Archive/2006/Mar/08-981845.html
10. Id.

Conflict in Ogaden, Ethiopia: A Front in the War against Terror?

Ogaden – the eastern part of Ethiopia – has long been the site of a long-running, low-intensity conflict between the Ethiopian government and the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) who identify themselves as Somalis. After Ethiopian troops went into Somalia last summer to prevent the transitional government from being overtaken by Islamist militias, the conflict in Ogaden seems to have escalated once again.[1]

The Ethiopian government, running under the auspices of the United States and the European Union, claim to be fighting an insurgency and terrorism campaign backed by Al-Qaeda.[2] ONLF militias now seem better organized and have returned the favor with several attacks – the first in a Chinese-run oil exploration site and the second, an attempt to assassinate the regional president.[3]

In response to the resurgence of activities aimed against the government, the Ethiopian army has increased its presence in the region and tightened its efforts against the rebels. These efforts, however, have been especially hard on the civilian population despite its alleged success against the rebels.

Human Rights Watch has reported civilian displacement, burning of villages and crops, seizure of property, confiscation of livestock, and in several occasions firing upon fleeing civilians. In addition, the authorities have imposed a trade blockade on the region, expelled humanitarian organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, and have prevented independent research and reporting. Efforts by the government are aimed at forcing civilians out of the rural areas into larger towns to deny the ONLF a support base.[4] But the government is not the only one alleged to have violated international humanitarian law. The ONLF is also responsible for similar atrocities against the civilian population, including the kidnapping of families in an effort to recruit them to the rebel cause.

The most worrisome aspect of these activities is the fact that while other conflicts in Africa continue to meet disapproval, this one seems to get the support of the West. By justifying its actions as a broader counterterrorism effort against Somali Islamist militias, Ethiopia gets approval by the U.S. and other western donors,[5] who are happy to continue sending aid – aid that apparently never reaches those who need it the most.

“The Ethiopian government appears to be pursuing an illegal strategy of collective punishment of the civilian population and the ONLF has targeted civilians for attack.”[6] International humanitarian law prohibits military actions directly targeting civilians and requires that parties to a conflict take steps to minimize the harm on civilians. Policies and actions on both sides to the conflict clearly violate these principles of international humanitarian law and by preventing humanitarian organizations to have access to affected civilian populations; they are augmenting the harm done to these populations.

While these civilians continue to be starved, displaced, kidnapped, or killed, both parties remain hindering the efforts of NGOs to provide food, healthcare, and other aid to these people. The West must discern and separate what is a genuine effort against terrorism and what are just illegal actions against innocent civilians in violation of humanitarian law that only fuel separatist sentiment in the region.

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[1] Human Rights Watch: “Ethiopia: Crackdown in East Punishes Civilians,” (July 4, 2007), available at http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/07/02/ethiop16327_txt.htm

[2]BBC News: “In the shadow of Ethiopia’s rebels,” (August 14, 2007), available at http://news.bbc.co.uk?go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/6939271.stm

[3] Id.

[4] Human Rights Watch: “Ethiopia’s dirty war,” (August 5, 2007), available at http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/08/05/etihop16594_txt.htm

[5] Id.

[6] Id. Quote by Peter Takirambudde, Africa director of Human Rights Watch.

Colombia: Access to Clean Water as a Human Right

By: Lara Sewers

Around sixty environmental, indigenous, labor, and social organizations in Colombia have collected 135,000 signatures required for initial certification by the national registry to initiate the process of calling a national referendum. These groups are seeking a constitutional amendment that would make access to clean water a constitutional right.

The second hurdle they face is two-fold: the national registry must validate every signature collected and afterwards, the groups would have to gain the support of 1.5 million Colombians in order for Congress to call a referendum in which voters would ultimately decide on the amendment.

Almost 12 million people in this 42 million country do not have adequate access to clean water. Despite abundance (Colombia is the second country in Latin America in terms of annual renewable freshwater according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization), it is predicted that by 2025, 69 percent of the population will suffer from water scarcity.

This initiative by NGOs is in part motivated by the law that authorized the privatization of water utilities in 1993. 141 out of 349 water companies are private. This privatization has driven up the cost of water and rendered it out of reach for millions of Colombians that live in poverty. Privatization has also been plagued by accusations of corruption and scandals in the granting of contracts to private companies.

The groups attempting to obtain a constitutional amendment are concerned with achieving water management for the benefit of the whole population.

Other than problems with access to water, the groups are also tackling issues such as an initiative to charge a toll for navigating the Magdalena river along the stretch into the Barranquilla port. Problems such as this are affecting the local fishing industry and have led to a dramatic decrease in the amount of fish caught.

The NGOs carrying this grassroots campaign have gotten the attention of government officials such as Juan Lozano, the Minister of the environment, development and housing, who said he will attempt to recuperate Colombia’s water resources and aim to maintain public water services while protecting the environment.

If the constitutional amendment is passed, Colombia will follow Uruguay as the second country protecting the right to access to water and establishing water as a public good.

For more information see: http://ipsnews.net