January 29, 2010
Cambodia: human rights violations against drug adicts | Cambodia |
http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2010/01/25/skin-cable
“Skin on the Cable”
The Illegal Arrest, Arbitrary Detention and Torture of People Who Use Drugs in Cambodia
January 25, 2010
In this 93-page report Human Rights Watch documents detainees being beaten, raped, forced to donate blood, and subjected to painful physical punishments such as "rolling like a barrel" and being chained while standing in the sun. Human Rights Watch also reported that a large number of detainees told of receiving rotten or insect-ridden food and symptoms of diseases consistent with nutritional deficiencies.
State Violence in Chad | Chad |
http://www.hrdag.org/about/downloads/State-Violence-in-Chad.pdf
(Dakar, January 29, 2010) – A new study shows that Hissène Habré, the former dictator of Chad, was well-informed of the hundreds of deaths in prisons operated by his political police, a coalition of human rights organizations said today. The announcement came on the eve of the 10th anniversary of his indictment in Senegal.
The study by the Human Rights Data Analysis Group (HRDAG) is based on thousands of documents generated by the Documentation and Security Directorate (DDS) – the state security force that pursued opponents and operated notorious prisons during the Habré regime. The files were discovered by chance by Human Rights Watch in 2001 at the abandoned Security Directorate's headquarters in N'Djamena, the Chadian capital.
"The evidence shows that Habré was not a distant ruler who knew nothing about these crimes," said Jacqueline Moudeina, president of the Chadian Association for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights, who is also a lawyer for the victims. "Habré directed and controlled the police force, which tortured those who opposed him or who simply belonged to the wrong ethnic group."
This information could be critical in the long-delayed prosecution of Habré, who has been accused of killing and systematically torturing thousands of political opponents during his rule in Chad, from 1982 to 1990, the groups said. The announcement came from the Chadian Association for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (ATPDH), the Chadian Association of Victims of Political Repression and Crime (AVCRP), the Chadian League for Human Rights, the African Assembly for the Defense of Human Rights (RADDHO-Senegal), the National Organization for Human Rights (ONDH-Senegal), Human Rights Watch (HRW), the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH), and Agir Ensemble pour les Droits de l'Homme.
Habré was first indicted on February 3, 2000 by a Senegalese judge, but the charges were thrown out on a technicality. In 2006, Senegal agreed to an African Union (AU) mandate to prosecute Habré, but it has refused to act until it receives €27.4 million from the international community, its estimate of the cost of the trial.
"It's been 10 years since Senegal first indicted Habré, but in these 10 years, thousands of my fellow survivors have perished and we are no closer to Habré's trial," said Souleymane Guengueng, 59, who almost died of dengue fever during two years of mistreatment in Chadian prisons. "Unless Senegal acts soon, there won't be any victims left at the trial."
The analysis of prison documents reveals that there was a direct superior-subordinate relationship between Habré and his appointed Security Directorate leadership and that Habré was well-informed of its operations. This analysis shows that Habré received 1,265 direct communications from the agency about the status of 898 detainees. A total of 12,321 victims are mentioned in the documents, including 1,208 who died in detention.
"Our analysis of document flow encompasses more than 2,700 administrative records, which together illustrate a clear communication and command link between President Habré and his political police," said Romesh Silva, senior demographer for HRDAG and lead author of the report. "Our findings also confirm earlier qualitative accounts of prisoner conditions and high mortality within the DDS. Perhaps most compelling is the fact that the information gathered by the DDS and Habré to document their own abuses can now be used to hold them responsible for their actions."
Under international law, individuals can be found criminally responsible for serious human rights violations if they knew or should have known that forces under their authority or control were committing crimes and failed to act to prevent the crimes or punish those responsible.
Senegal has said that it will not move forward with the case until it receives full international funding for all the costs of the trial. Senegal's estimate of €27.4 million includes €8 million to reconstruct a courthouse. The European Union, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and Switzerland have publicly or privately agreed to help finance the trial, but are waiting for a "credible" budget. Chad has offered €3 million as an "initial" contribution. In December 2009, a joint team from the European Union and the AU visited Senegal and is expected to propose a revised budget for finally bringing Habré to trial.
In July 2006, the AU mandated Senegal to prosecute Habré "on behalf of Africa." The upcoming AU summit of heads of state and government in Addis Ababa from January 31 to February 2 will consider a progress report on Senegal's preparations for the case. Habré's victims, and their supporters, called on the AU to press Senegal to move forward.
"The failure to prosecute Habré is a shame on Africa," said Dobian Assingar of FIDH and honorary president of the Chadian League for Human Rights. "This case is a golden opportunity for Africa to show that is capable of fighting against impunity. Instead Africa is failing its victims."
Habré's victims will mark the 10th anniversary of the indictment with a series of activities in N'Djaména.
About HRDAG
The Benetech Human Rights Data Analysis Group develops database software, data collection strategies, and statistical techniques to analyze large-scale human rights violations. Based in Palo Alto, California, HRDAG has worked with nine truth commissions, international criminal tribunals, and non-governmental human rights organizations around the world. HRDAG incorporates information technology and scientific methods to create an accurate historical record of past conflicts and provide evidence to hold perpetrators accountable. See http://www.hrdag.org.
Russian society under control - Abuses in the fight against extremism and terrorism | Russia |
New report: Russian society under control - Abuses in the fight against extremism and terrorism
by the FIDH
http://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/Russian_society_under_control.pdf
January 22, 2010
Post-War Justice in Sri Lanka: Rule of Law, the Criminal Justice System, and Commissions of Inquiry | Sri Lanka |
http://www.icj.org/IMG/Press_statement_SL_launch_18_Jan_2010.pdf
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) released a new report "Post-War Justice in Sri Lanka: Rule of Law, the Criminal Justice System, and Commissions of Inquiry" . The report addresses the systematic absence of remedies for gross human rights violations in Sri Lanka between 1977 and 2001 - a period of widespread disappearances and unlawful killings during waves of violent political unrest and internal armed conflict
Peru - Informe de la Defensoria sobre los sucesos de Bagua | Peru |
http://www.defensoria.gob.pe/descarga.php?pb=4752
DEFENSORA DEL PUEBLO PRESENTÓ INFORME SOBRE SUCESOS DE BAGUA A LA COMISIÓN PARLAMENTARIA QUE INVESTIGA DICHOS HECHOS
Nota de Prensa Nº 010/2010/OCII/DP
�  p; Hizo un llamado para aprobar con prontitud la Ley de Consulta a los Pueblos Indígenas.
� Merino sostuvo que pudieron evitarse lamentables hechos.
La Defensora del Pueblo, Beatriz Merino, presentó, ante la comisión parlamentaria que investiga los sucesos ocurridos en Bagua y Utcubamba, un informe institucional que da cuenta de las actuaciones defensoriales antes, durante y después del conflicto. Al culminar dicha presentación, la titular de la Defensoría del Pueblo realizó cuatro reflexiones finales motivadas por estos lamentables sucesos.
En primer lugar, demandó la aprobación de la Ley de Consulta. Sostuvo que un conflicto violento pone en evidencia las fallas, vacíos y deficiencias de estrategias y mecanismos para preservar la paz frente a las naturales controversias que se presentan en todas las sociedades. Una de ellas, durante el conflicto en Bagua, fue el no haber utilizado la consulta a los pueblos indígenas como instrumento para el diálogo y la construcción de consensos.
Agregó que la falta de un procedimiento establecido por Ley para facilitar el ejercicio de dicho derecho, reconocido por un convenio internacional vigente desde hace 15 años, fue y sigue siendo un enorme vacío. Por ello invocó a la representación nacional, la pronta aprobación de tan esperada y necesaria Ley.
En segundo lugar, exhortó sobre la necesidad de reorganizar el Instituto Nacional de Desarrollo de los Pueblos Andinos, Amazónicos y Afro peruano (INDEPA) y fortalecerlo, para ello mencionó la necesidad de una fuerte institucionalidad estatal indígena. Al respecto, destacó la notoria ausencia de una representativa y activa entidad rectora en materia indígena, durante el conflicto amazónico.
“Ese es el papel que debió jugar el INDEPA, una entidad que ha sido objeto de un proceso de debilitamiento constante. No será posible avanzar sin una institucionalidad que vele desde el Estado por los intereses, expectativas, así como por los derechos de los pueblos indígenas y que, gradualmente, se gane su confianza,” sostuvo Merino.
Como tercer punto recomendó la necesidad de desarrollar el diálogo intercultural entre el Estado y la población indígena. Indicó que los sucesos de Bagua evidenciaron la carencia de instrumentos para el diálogo intercultural que eviten volver a lamentar el enfrentamiento violento entre peruanos.
“En efecto, manejar y transformar un conflicto en una oportunidad para avanzar en la formulación de políticas públicas, que hagan vigentes los derechos, exige que existan capacidades técnicas específicas que, en la actualidad, tanto nuestras autoridades como nuestros funcionarios, en los tres niveles de gobierno, no tienen plenamente desarrolladas” afirmó la Defensora del Pueblo.
Finalmente, como cuarta reflexión hizo un llamado a construir un Estado inclusivo. Señaló que los sucesos de Bagua tuvieron como telón de fondo la discriminación y la exclusión que sufren los pueblos indígenas amazónicos. Todo lo señalado, nos reclama, en voz alta, la urgencia de construir un Estado inclusivo, dialogante e intercultural. El camino será largo y empinado, pero es por esa vía que debemos conducir todas nuestras energías y buenas voluntades.
Lima, 19 de enero del 2010.
Oficina de Prensa e Imagen Institucional
311-0300 anexo 1403−1400
www.defensoria.gob.pe
HRW World Report 2010 | World |
http://www.hrw.org/world-report-2010
World Report: Abusers Target Human Rights Messengers
Rights-Respecting Governments Should Speak Up to Protect Defenders
January 20, 2010
(Washington, DC) - Governments responsible for serious human rights violations have over the past year intensified attacks against human rights defenders and organizations that document abuse, Human Rights Watch said today in issuing its World Report 2010.
The 612-page report, the organization's 20th annual review of human rights practices around the globe, summarizes major human rights trends in more than 90 nations and territories worldwide, reflecting the extensive investigative work carried out in 2009 by Human Rights Watch staff. The volume's introductory essay by Executive Director Kenneth Roth argues that the ability of the human rights movement to exert pressure on behalf of victims has grown enormously in recent years, and that this development has spawned a reaction from abusive governments that grew particularly intense in 2009.
"Attacks on rights defenders might be seen as a perverse tribute to the human rights movement, but that doesn't mitigate the danger," Roth said. "Under various pretexts, abusive governments are attacking the very foundations of the human rights movement."
Attacks on human rights monitors are not limited to authoritarian governments like Burma and China, Human Rights Watch said. In countries with elected governments that are facing armed insurgencies, there has been a sharp rise in armed attacks on human rights monitors. Although the armed conflict in Chechnya has wound down, there was a devastating series of killings and threats against lawyers and activists fighting impunity in the North Caucasus.
Human Rights Watch noted that some governments are so abusive against individuals and organizations that no domestic human rights movement can function, citing Eritrea, North Korea, and Turkmenistan.
The introduction to the report said that in addition to Russia and Sri Lanka, other countries where human rights monitors were murdered in order to silence them in included Kenya, Burundi, and Afghanistan.
Human Rights Watch cited Sudan and China as countries that routinely shut down human rights groups and Iran and Uzbekistan as countries that openly harass and arbitrarily detain human rights workers and other critics. Colombia, Venezuela, and Nicaragua threaten and harass rights defenders. Human rights advocates face violence in countries such as The Democratic Republic of Congo and Sri Lanka. Some governments such as Ethiopia and Egypt use extremely restrictive regulations to stifle the work of nongovernmental organizations. Other countries use the disbarment of lawyers (China and Iran, for example), criminal charges - often faked from staged attacks (Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan), and criminal libel laws (Russia and Azerbaijan) to silence critics.
Local and international human rights groups working in Israel have experienced a more hostile climate than ever before after documenting abuses committed by Israel, as well as Hamas, during the December 2008 - January 2009 fighting in Gaza and Israel and in connection with Israel's ongoing blockade of Gaza.
Roth said that the only way that abusive governments will end their assault on rights defenders is if other governments that support human rights make rights a central part of their bilateral relations.
"Governments that support human rights need to speak out, to make respecting human rights the bedrock of their diplomacy - and of their own practices," Roth said. "They need to demand real change from abusive governments."
Roth said that the Obama administration, in particular, faced the challenge of restoring America's credibility on human rights. So far, he said, the results are mixed, with a marked improvement in presidential rhetoric, but an incomplete translation of that rhetoric into policy and practice.
The US government has ended the CIA's coercive interrogation program, but should still uphold domestic and international law against torture by investigating and prosecuting those who have ordered, facilitated, or carried out torture and other ill-treatment, he said. On closing the detention facility at Guantanamo, the deadline has slipped, but the more important issue is how it will be closed. Human Rights Watch and others have urged the administration either to prosecute detained suspects before regular federal courts or safely repatriate or resettle them elsewhere. The Obama administration has insisted on maintaining military commissions that provide substandard justice and on continuing to hold suspects indefinitely without charge or trial, both of which risk perpetuating the spirit of Guantanamo, Roth said.
Human Rights Watch also said in the introduction to its report that an emerging system of international justice including the International Criminal Court (ICC) has been the focus of attack. The assault unfolded after the court issued an arrest warrant in March for President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Sudanese forces and allied militia against the civilian population of Darfur.
After the court issued the warrant, many African democracies initially chose the comfort of regional solidarity rather than staking out a position of principle in support of international justice, the introduction to the report says.
Instead of applauding the ICC for taking action to redress the mass murder and forced displacement of so many Africans in Darfur, when the African Union resolved in July not to cooperate in executing the arrest warrant, a number of African leaders went along with the decision to protect Bashir rather than Darfurian victims of abuses.
Human Rights Watch research over the past year covered a wide range of abuses in virtually every region of the world.
An additional essay in the report, entitled "Abusing Patients," described government health policies that subject patients to torture or ill-treatment and the failure of national and international medical societies to prevent medical provider complicity in such abuse. The essay drew upon Human Rights Watch research from Egypt, Libya, Jordan, Iraqi Kurdistan, China, Cambodia, India, and Nicaragua.
In many countries, Human Rights Watch documented the human rights violations suffered by women and girls, including those related to pregnancy, birth, and women's role as caregivers and providers. For example, preventable maternal mortality and disability as a result of negligent policies and laws kill and maim more women annually than the impact of armed conflict, Human Rights Watch said.
In Iran, Human Rights Watch covered the continuing governmental crackdown on peaceful activists following the disputed presidential election of June 2009. Human Rights Watch documented the arrests of thousands of ordinary and high-profile people, providing detailed accounts of state violence against peaceful protesters, arbitrary detention of human rights defenders, and abuse and torture in Iran's illegal detention centers.
In China, in addition to its continuing work documenting the targeting and jailing of human rights defenders, Human Rights Watch issued a report that described the secret operation of "black jails," where authorities detain people they abduct off the streets of Beijing and other major cities. Most of those held are petitioners seeking redress for abuses ranging from government corruption to police torture.
In Cuba, Human Rights Watch documented how Raúl Castro's government, instead of dismantling the repressive machinery of the Fidel Castro years, has kept it firmly in place, keeping scores of political prisoners in detention and arresting dozens more dissidents.
In Zimbabwe, researchers continued to monitor and report on rights violations by President Robert Mugabe's former ruling party against its partners and their supporters in a power-sharing government. Human Rights Watch also documented brutal tactics by the army and police in the Marange diamond fields to control access to the fields and take over unlicensed diamond mining and trading.
A report about Burma showcased dozens of prominent political activists, Buddhist monks, labor activists, journalists, and artists arrested since peaceful political protests in 2007 and sentenced to draconian prison terms after unfair trials.
In Gaza and Israel, Human Rights Watch documented laws-of-war violations by both Israel and Hamas. Israel's military assault on Gaza a year ago included the unlawful use of white phosphorus munitions, the killing of civilians with missiles launched by drones, and the shooting of civilians waving white flags. Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups launched rockets at Israeli population centers, and Hamas killed alleged collaborators and abused political opponents during the war.
In Libya, Human Rights Watch released a report critical of the government at a news conference in Tripoli. The event was the first open news conference in Libya. The report said that while limited improvements are under way, including expanded space for freedom of expression, repressive laws continue to stifle free expression and association, and abuses by the Internal Security Agency remain the norm.
In Democratic Republic of Congo, Human Rights Watch documented the deliberate killing of more than 1,400 civilians, a pattern of vicious rapes, and other abuses by government and rebel forces during two successive Congolese army operations against a Rwandan Hutu militia in the east of the country. Human Rights Watch also reported serious flaws in the UN peacekeeping operation in Congo that limited its ability to effectively protect civilians.
In Guinea, Human Rights Watch produced a detailed report on killings, sexual assaults, and other abuses at an opposition rally in the capital, committed largely by members of the elite Presidential Guard. The evidence suggests that the attacks were planned in advance and rose to the level of crimes against humanity.
Human Rights Watch said that despite the growth in the human rights movement, human rights defenders remain vulnerable and greatly in need of support by rights-respecting governments.
"Governments that consider themselves human rights supporters often keep silent in the face of these abuses by allies, citing diplomatic or economic priorities," Roth said. "But that silence makes them complicit in the abuse. The only proper response to serious human rights violations is to turn up the heat on the abusers."
January 21, 2010
Tunisia: OLPEC launches report on Internet censorship | Freedom of Speech & the Press , Tunisia |
(OLPEC/IFEX) - Tunis, 15 January 2010 - The absence of transparency in the management of public finances makes it impossible to calculate with any degree of accuracy the sums invested by authorities in Tunisia and abroad to control Internet use and block any information that might reflect negatively on the activities of those in power.
What is certain, however, is that significant resources are being invested in the monitoring of the Internet, spread over the budgets of communications and interior ministries, the ATCE and the president's office.
Many observers argue that these resources would be better spent on more productive projects, and could reduce by at least one-third the jobless rate among Tunisian graduates.
Tunisia's European partners must also bear some responsibility for their unconditional support for these policies, undertaken in the name of security and regional stability.
But most importantly it must be said that this battle, which has mobilised a veritable army of human and material resources to cut off Internet access to users and monitor their mail by violating their privacy, is a rearguard battle, lost before it began, because the technology used to circumvent censorship is developing as quickly as the one used by the censors to cast their nets, making those nets increasingly ineffective.
The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of state-sanctioned Internet censorship in Tunisia.
It was written by non-experts, for non-experts, with the aim of exposing the regulatory and technical mechanisms of censorship, but more importantly, of assisting Tunisian rights defenders by providing them with the tools necessary to understand and protect themselves against the various forms of attack they regularly come under when accessing their e-mail or surfing the Net.
But it is our hope too that it might foster a sense of citizenship as a rampart against marginalisation, particularly among young people, the largest users of the Internet.
January 13, 2010
Global study of state practice concerning universal criminal and civil jurisdiction | Truth & Justice |
05 Amnesty International has published six papers so far in its No safe haven series on universal jurisdiction in each of the 192 UN Member states (as well as links). The International Justice Project of Amnesty International is now engaged in a multi-year project to update, expand and revise its 722-page global study of state practice in 125 countries, Universal jurisdiction: The duty of states to enact and implement jurisdiction, AI Index: IOR 53/002 - 018/2001, September 2001, available at http://web.amnesty.org/pages/legal_memorandum.
Each paper includes information about:
- territorial and extraterritorial jurisdiction;
- whether the state has incorporated into national law crimes under international law (genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture, extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances and aggression) and other crimes of international concern (such as hostage-taking, transnational organized crime);
- whether national courts can exercise universal criminal jurisdiction over crimes under international law, crimes under national law of international concern and ordinary crimes;
- whether victims can obtain civil reparations in civil suits or in civil claims made in criminal cases, such as the action civile in civil law countries;
- what obstacles exist to exercising universal criminal and civil jurisdiction, including statutes of limitation, ne bis in idem, bars on retrospective criminal law and immunities;
- what obstacles (such as dual criminality and political offence exceptions) and human rights safeguards (risk of unfair trial, death penalty, torture or other ill-treatment) exist with respect to extradition and mutual legal assistance;
- whether there is a specialized immigration unit to screen those seeking to enter the country with a view to identifying persons who should be investigated on suspicion of responsibility for crimes under international law and specialized police and prosecution units to investigate and prosecute such crimes; and
- whether there is any relevant jurisprudence.
Each paper then concludes with several pages of detailed recommendations for reform of law and practice.
The papers are all researched and drafted by volunteers from around the world, primarily in law firms, institutes of international criminal law and international law clinics in law schools, under the direct supervision of the International Justice Project, then checked by independent experts on the law of the state concerned and finally sent to police, prosecutors and ministries of justice, foreign affairs and defence for comment before publication.
Anyone interested in assisting Amnesty International in this exciting project should contact the International Justice Project at: ijp@amnesty.org.
Links to papers issued so far in the No safe haven series
Bulgaria (http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/EUR15/001/2009/en)
Germany (http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/EUR23/003/2008/en)
Solomon Islands (http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA43/002/2009/en)
Spain (http://www.amnesty.org/es/library/info/EUR41/017/2008/es) (Spanish only)
Sweden (http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/EUR42/001/2009/en)
Venezuela (http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR53/006/2009/en)
La Situacion de los Pueblos Indigenas en Colombia | Colombia , Indigenous People |
http://www.politicaspublicas.net/docs/2010_anaya_inf_colombia.pdf
Relator Especial de Naciones Unidas sobre la situación de los derechos humanos y laslibertades fundamentales de los indígenas
LA SITUACIÓN DE LOS PUEBLOS INDÍGENAS EN COLOMBIA:SEGUIMENTO A LAS RECOMENDACIONES HECHAS POR EL RELATORESPECIAL ANTERIOR*
ADVANCED UNEDITED VERSION
A/HRC/15/34/
8 de enero de 2010
RESUMEN
Este informe presenta las observaciones del Relator Especial sobre la situación de los derechos humanos y las libertades fundamentales de los indígenas, Profesor S. James Anaya, sobre la situación de los pueblos indígenas en Colombia, en el contexto de seguimiento a las recomendaciones del anterior Relator Especial, Profesor Rodolfo Stavenhagen, hechas en su informe de 2004. Estas observaciones son el resultado de un intercambio de información con el Gobierno del Colombia y otras partes interesadas, así como de la visita realizada por el Sr. Anaya a Colombia entre el 22 y 27 de julio de 2009.
El Relator Especial toma nota de la disposición del Gobierno de Colombia hacia el reconocimiento de los derechos de los pueblos indígenas. Resulta patente que existe una atención de parte del Estado de Colombia a los asuntos indígenas y el desarrollo de planes y propuestas orientadas a responder a las recomendaciones del Relator Especial anterior.
A pesar de lo anterior, el Relator Especial expresa su preocupación por las múltiples indicaciones de que la situación de los pueblos indígenas en el país no ha sido afrontada con la urgencia que la gravedad de la situación merece. En general, las leyes, programas y políticas del Gobierno no permiten una efectiva protección y satisfacción de los derechos humanos de los pueblos indígenas en el país.
Asimismo, es evidente que la situación de los indígenas resulta exacerbada e intensificada por causa del conflicto armado interno que aflige al país. Según casi todos los indicadores, el conflicto armado afecta de manera desproporcionada a los pueblos indígenas del país. El Relator Especial recibió información sobre una situación sumamente preocupante de violencia y otros crímenes contra pueblos indígenas, así como de desplazamiento forzado y confinamientos, que amenaza a la supervivencia física y cultural de los pueblos indígenas del país.
Se constata un nivel importante de atención de parte del Estado de Colombia a los asuntos indígenas, expresado en el desarrollo de planes y propuestas orientadas a responder a las recomendaciones del Relator Especial anterior. Sin embargo, todavía existen grandes desafíos que debe enfrentar el Gobierno para cumplir con sus obligaciones de protección y promoción efectiva de los derechos humanos y libertades fundamentales de los indígenas, incluyendo materias de derechos a tierras y recursos naturales y la consulta previa con los pueblos indígenas en decisiones que les afectan. A la misma vez, existen brechas significativas en el efectivo disfrute en general de los derechos económicos, sociales y culturales de los pueblos indígenas con respecto al promedio general de la población.
El Relator Especial presenta una serie de recomendaciones con el fin de que contribuyan a abordar los desafíos y avanzar sustantivamente en el reconocimiento y protección de los derechos humanos de los pueblos indígenas del país, de acuerdo con las obligaciones y compromisos del Estado en esta materia.
January 5, 2010
Reporters Without Borders Annual Report | Freedom of Speech & the Press |
http://www.ifex.org/international/2010/01/05/bilan_2009_gb_bd.pdf
30 December 2009 - Two appalling events marked 2009: one was
the largest ever massacre of journalists in a single day a total of 30
killed by the private militia of a governor in the southern Philippines
and the other was an unprecedented wave of arrests and convictions of
journalists and bloggers in Iran following President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's
disputed reelection.
A total of around 160 journalists in all continents were forced to go into
exile to escape prison or death, often in very dangerous circumstances. The
Iranian press photographers crossing the Turkish border to escape arrest or
the Somali radio journalists fleeing to neighbouring countries to avoid
certain death had all reported essential news and information that some
people would go to any lengths to suppress.
Wars and elections constituted the chief threat to journalists in 2009. It
is becoming more and more risky to cover wars as journalists themselves are
being targeted and face the possibility of being murdered or kidnapped. But
it can turn out to be just as dangerous to do your job as a reporter at
election time and can lead directly to prison or hospital. Violence before
and after elections was particularly prevalent in 2009 in countries with
poor democratic credentials.
No one should be surprised that, as bloggers and websites continue to
flourish, censorship and repression have surged proportionately. There is
almost no country nowadays that has entirely escaped this phenomenon. As
soon as the Internet or new media (social networking, mobile phones, etc)
start to play a leading role in the spread of news and information, a
serious clampdown follows. Bloggers are now watched as closely as
journalists from the traditional media.
Our major concern in 2009 has been the mass exodus of journalists from
repressive countries such as Iran and Sri Lanka. The authorities in these
countries have understood that by pushing journalists into exile, they can
drastically reduce pluralism of ideas and the amount of criticism they
attract. "This is a dangerous tendency and it must be very strongly
condemned," Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Jean-François
Julliard said as this review of 2009 was released.
For more information:
Reporters Without Borders
47, rue Vivienne
75002 Paris
France
rsf (@) rsf.org
Phone: +33 1 44 83 84 84
Fax: +33 1 45 23 11 51
http://www.rsf.org