group 48 newsletter - february 2009
TRANSCRIPT
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Amnesty International Group 48
Newsletter February 2009
www.aipdx.org 503-227-1878
Next Meeting: Friday, February 13thFirst Unitarian Church
1011 SW 12th Ave
7:00pm informal gather ing 7:30 Meeting starts
Concert petition signature update
Los Lobos petition signatu re gathering was a relative success
and th e show stup endam und o!. We obtained 157 signatu res, but in
edition to w orking the queue into the Aladdin we w ere also for the
first time allowed to p ass petitions in the aisles. This bodes w ell for
future efforts when h opefully it will have more than just myself And
we hav e two new a new trop hies for our wall of fame. Los Lobos
was kind enou gh to autograph us a p oster and their artist, George
Hou ston, did us a cool grafitiesqe To Amnestia Grou po 48.
Folksinger Tom Paxton, a long
time supp orter of Amnesty International performed at th e Firs
Uni tar ian church a couple o
weeks ago and was kind enough
to sign us a show poster, along
with our friends Kate Power and
Steve Einhorn. They are open to
discussion on d oing us a fund
raiser, although this would re
quire a large amount of start up capital.
Stan and I collected 91 signatu res at the Amy Ray concert, wh ich
was good considering that was about how m any people were in the
aud ience. Amy has alw ays been very on-message for Amnesty In
ternational issues. Will Ware
USA: President Obamas orders oninterrogations and CIA historic decisions
(Jan 23rd, 2009) Amnesty Interna tionals Secretary Gener al Irene
Khan today said President Obamas Executive Orders on interro-
gations and the end of CIAs secret detention program me is an
historic decision and one of the major steps needed tow ards
bringing the USA back in line with international hum an rights stan-
dards.
The importa nce of President Obam as
executive orders should not be underesti-mated, said Irene Khan.
It means that the USA no longer autho-
rizes individuals to be detained in secret
sites, and tortu red by techniques such as
waterboarding.
Amnesty International retains concerns
about some provisions of the Arm y Field
Manu al, wh ich the organization considers
are not compatible with the international
prohibition for torture or other ill-treatment. Nevertheless, by mak-
ing the CIA and other n on-military person nel subject to it enforces
greater protections for detainees than hav e existed to date an d is a
major shift from the p revious Administrations au thorization of tor-
ture an d oth er ill-treatment and flagrant disregard for the USAs in-
ternational obligations on the treatment of d etainees.
Other issues that will also need to be ad dressed include th e
possibility of short-term, transitory d etentions being conducted
by the CIA or for it to u se non-US controlled facilities for p roxy de-
tentions and interrogations.
Today m arks a land mark in the success of campaigning for
hum an rights. After six years of abuse and suffering, action is be-
ing taken to correct the crimes comm itted by th e US in its war on
terror , said Irene Khan.
This mu st not be, how ever, the end of th e story. All those re-
sponsible for approving and carrying out crimes such as torture,
disapp earances and arbitrary d etention must be brought to justice,
and an independent commission of inquiry into all aspects of the
USAs detention an d inter rogation pr actices in the war on terror
must be established.
Legislative Update
Im su re most of you ha ve received th e mass em ails from AI re-
garding p resident Obam as declarations. I want to add my 2c and
say thanks to all of you wh o have p articipated in the actions to
defend hum an rights and the rule of law in our contry over the past
few years. Our focus is now on swift and just treatment an d d eci-
sions for those held at Guantanamo, and on transparency and in-
vestigations into what w ent so wrong. It was p retty amazing to hear
so man y things w eve been asking for ad dressed so quickly.I hope to create a rep ort card this year of our elected officials ac-
tions in regard to hu man rights. Feel free to send m e any ideas, or
data p oints that you think w ould be relevan t. If youre itching for
something to d o right now, you can always wr ite or call to encour-
age your Senators and Representatives to take advantage of the new
governmen t to become leaders in advocating for hum an rights, and
maybe even ask them to reply to you with their prior ities in the field.Thanks again, and I look forw ard to w orking with all interested
mem bers on new goals in a new year and , in man y ways, a new era.
Dan Johnson, Legislative Coordinator
Phone Guy
Marty Fromer
503-227-1878
Concert & Event Tabling
Will Ware
503-227-5225
ww_ware at yahoo.com
Treasurer
Janan Stoll,503-282-8834
Central Africa RAN
Christine Glenn, Terrie Rodello
503-452-8087
OR State Death Penalty Coordinator
Terrie Rodello,
503-246-6836
Legislative Coordinator
Dan Johnson,
503-310-4540
China RAN
Joanne Lau,
971-221-5450
Philippine/Indonesia RAN
Max White,503-292-8168
Central American RAN
Marylou Noble
503-245-6923
Newsletter Editor / Designer
Dan Webb
(503) 253-3491
AI Group 48 Contact Info
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Central America Regional Action Network
Protection law fails Mexican women
30 Janu ary 2009
A law to pr otect wom en in Mexico has had no imp act in the two
years since its inception, leaving the safety of many Mexican wom en
at risk. On the second ann iversary of the passing of the General Law
on Womens Access to a Life Free From Violence, the majority of
Mexicos 32 states have failed to p roperly imp lement th e legislation.
There is a clear an d d eplorable lack of state-level comm itmentto imp lement th e General Law on Womens Access to a Life Free
From Violence, said Kerrie Howard, Amnesty Internationals
Deputy Director for th e Americas. In practice, this lack of commit-
ment m eans that the safety and lives of thousands of women are p ut
in jeopardy.
Although the law came into ef-
fect two year s ago, two states have
still not app roved it Guanajuato
and Oaxaca. Of the 30 states that
have passed t he l aw , few have
implemented some of its main re-
quirements:
Only five have complied w ith
the obligation to establish imp le-mentation m echanisms essential
for the law to be pu t into practice.
Only 20 have an agen cy coor-
dination mechanism for p reventing
violence against women, as stipu-
lated by the law. Those mechanisms
that are in existence have not pu blished their progress w ith regard
to eradicating violence against women, nor their strategies for
achieving this.
Only two n ew shelters for dom estic violence victims are be-
ing built by state authorities one in Dur ango and one in Sonora
despite the laws clear stipulation that states m ust p romote the
creation of shelters for victims.
According to information received by Amnesty International,there are a total of 60 shelters for women victims of violence in
Mexico. This number is still completely inadequ ate in relation to
the demand. Womens organisations in states such as Chihuahua,
Chiapas, Oaxaca, Morelos and Sonora have emphasised the high
level of violence against w omen and the ad ministrations lack of ef-
fectiveness in preventing and punishing it.
Amn esty International has called on the Mexican au thorities to
create and implement criminal investigation protocols for use by
staff of the public prosecutor s office, the police and experts w hen
dealing with women filing complaints of abuse. These protocols
mu st includ e an obligation to provid e sufficient protection to guar-
antee the safety of the woman and her family.
The federal govern men t has, through IN MUJERES, pr ioritised
a harm onisation of state legislation with national and intern ational
regulations. This is a necessary step bu t it is clear tha t progr ess in
implem enting measu res to imp rove access to the justice and secu-
rity of the General Law has, for the vast m ajority of state govern-
ments, been limited or even non-existent, said Kerrie How ard. If
the basic requirements of the federal law are n ot fulfilled at state
level, the law w ill remain a dead letter. Women in Mexico deserve
much m ore than this, and each and every authority has the duty to
take all measures necessary to ensure that violence against wom en
is tackled effectively.
Marylou Noble
Russian Federation: Implementrecommendations of Human Rights Council
(Feb 06,2009) The Russian au thorities mu st accept and imple
ment the recommendations put forward by other states and
adopted today by the UN Hu man Rights Council with a view of im
proving the countrys human rights situation, Amnesty Interna
tional said.
If implemented , these recomm endations wou ld ensure a thriving civil society wh ere the freedom s of expression, assembly and
association can be freely enjoyed an d w here there is accountabil
ity for all acts of racism, tortu re or other ill-treatment a nd oth er hu
man rights abuses said Martin Macpherson, International Orga
nizations Programme Director at Amnesty International..
During th e review of Russias hu man rights record on 4 Febru
ary, a large nu mber of states called for thorou gh investigations o
the recent murders of independent journalist Anastasia Baburova
and h um an rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov, and for the perpetra-
tors to be brou ght to justice. States raised th e need to strengthen ini
tiatives to combat extremism and hate crimes, primar ily aimed a
national and ethnic minorities. Serious concerns were also raised
about the situation of human rights in the North Caucasus, includ
ing the commission of acts of torture, enforced d isappear ances andunlawful killings.
The recomm end ations contained in par agrap h 85 of the report
adopted in the Human Rights Council Working Group include:
To accede to the Op tional Protocol to the UN Conven tion
against Tortur e;
To t ake fu r the r
measures to ensure the
securi ty of journalists
and hum an r i gh t s de
fenders and to bring and
perpetrators of crimes
against them to justice;
To provid e acces
to Ingushe t ia and t heNorth Caucasus for the
UN Working Group on
enforced d isappearan ce
and th e Special Rappor teurs on tortu re and on extra-judicial, sum
mary or arbitrary executions;
To abolish the d eath penalty;
To create an environment to prom ote the right to freedom of
assembly and to encourage citizens to freely express their views
To take measures to ensu re the rights of ethnic minor ities.
Now is the time to address these issues in a m eaningful way
Martin Macpherson said .
It is high time to make real the prom ises made by the Russian
Federation to protect human rights.
Under the Universal Periodic Review, by which the Hu man
Rights Council reviews the h um an rights record of all UN mem ber
states, Russia presented its report to and an swered qu estions from
members and observer states of the Hum an Rights Council. Na
tional and international human rights organizations, including
Amnesty International, submitted their own reports to the Coun
cil. The Cou ncil also had before it a compilation of UN information
about the h um an rights situation in Russia. After reviewing the
submitted information, during the inter-active dialogue, participat
ing states recommended measures to improve the human rights
situation in the Russian Federation.
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China: 17 Uighur detainees held atGuantnamo / Concerns: Indefinite detention
Seventeen ethnic Uighurs, in their seventh year of indefinite
military detention at the US Nava l Base at Guant nam o Bay in
Cuba, remain there nearly four m onths after a federal jud ge ruled
that their continued d etention was u nlawful and ordered their re-
lease into the USA. The order was stayed after the previous USadm inistration app ealed to the US Court of Appeals that the ru l-
ing represented an extravagant remedy and an expansive view
of jud icial author ity. The Cour t of Appeals has n ot yet issued its
ruling.
On January 22, 2009, two d ays after his inaug uration, President
Barack Obama signed a n executive order comm itting his adminis-
tration to closing the Guantnamo detention facility as soon as
pra cticable and no later than one year from th e date of his order.
The executive order requ ires the Attorney General to coordinate an
immed iate comp rehensive agency review of all the Guantn amo
detentions and decide wh at should hap pen to each of the detain-
ees. The executive order d oes not ad dress the issue of releasing
detainees into the USA. Neither d oes it address the issue of detain-
ees whose detention has been deemed unlawful by the courts and
whose release has been ordered.
On O ctober 7, 2008, Jud ge Ricard o Urbina of the District Court
for the District of Colum bia ordered th e governm ent to release the
17 Uighurs into the USA. The governm ent had earlier conceded that
the 17 are not enemy combatants, the label it had attached to them
for years in an attemp t to justify their indefinite detention withou t
charge or trial. The majority of the Uighurs have been cleared for
release since 2003. The USA has accepted th at the Uighur s cannot
be returned to their native China because they would face a seri-
ous risk of torture or execution there. However, the previous ad min-
istration was unable to find a country willing to accept them in more
than four years of trying. It said it had approached an d re-ap-
proached nearly 100 countries.
Judge Urbina n oted that there w ere individu als and organiza-
tions ready and willing to supp ort the Uighurs up on resettlement
in the USA by provid ing housing, emp loyment, money, edu cation
and oth er spiritual and social services.
President Obam as executive order notes that new dip lomatic
efforts may resu lt in an ap prop riate disposition of a substantial
number of the Guantnamo cases, and requires the Secretary of
State to expeditiously pursue and direct negotiations and diplo-
matic efforts with foreign governmen ts. Some other govern ments
have indicated that they might be pr epared to take released detain-
ees who cannot be returned to their home countries for fear of the
hum an rights violations they could face there.
Amnesty International believes that the new administration
mu st play its part in wh at it will be asking other countries to do
to take released detainees and th at for it to do so could on ly en-
courage a positive response from other governm ents in this regard.
The US administration should start by dropp ing the governments
app eal against Jud ge Urbinas order and releasing the Uighur s into
the US. Amnesty Intern ational can see no reason for th e cases of the
Uighurs to be included in the review ordered by President Obam a.
There is no reason that th eir release into the USA should be d elayed
any longer.
Uighur s are a mainly Muslim ethnic minority wh o are concen-
trated prim arily in XUAR. Since the 1980s, the Uighurs have been
the target of systematic and extensive hu man rights violations. This
includes arbitrary detention and imprisonment, incommu nicado
detention, and serious restrictions on religious freedom as w ell as
cultural and social rights. Amnesty International is concerned th a
the high levels of repression in the XUAR are narrow ing the spa ce
for any indep end ent expression of Uighu r ethnic, cultur al or reli
gious identity. Such expression, even wh en it takes the form o
peaceful criticism, dissent or d issatisfaction, is often branded by the
auth orities constituting sep aratist, terrorist or illegal reli
gious activities, leading to arbitrary d etention, torture and other
serious human rights violations.
Take Action: Please send app eals to arrive as quickly as pos
sible in English, Mandar in or your own lan guage:
welcoming President Obamas comm itment to close the
Guantnamo detention facility, and urging that the stated aim o
doing this as soon as practicable be interp reted and app lied with
all due urgency;
expressing concern that the Uighurs remain in indefinite de
tention at Guantn amo near ly four m onths after US District Court
Jud ge Ricardo Urbina ord ered their release into the USA;
suggesting that there is no need for the cases of the Uighurs
to be included in the interagency review of detentions ordered by
President Obam a;
welcoming the local commu nity support in the USA that has
been p l edged t o he lp t he U ighu rs ad ju s t t o l i fe ou t s ide
Guantnamo;
pointing out that moving to drop the app eal against Jud ge
Urbinas order and releasing the Uighurs into the USA can only
serve to send a positive signal to those governm ents wh ose assis
tance the new administration will seek in taking released detain
ees who cannot be returned to their home countries;
calling on the US government, in the nam e of humanitarian
ism and justice, to imm ediately release the Uighur d etainees into
the USA, and to work to en sure fair, safe and lasting ou tcomes fo
these men.
Addresses :
Eric H. Ho lder
Attorney General
US Departm ent of Justice
950 Pennsylvan ia Avenu e N W,
Washington, DC 20530-0001, USA
Fax: 1 202 307 6777
Email: AskDOJ@usdo j.gov
Salutation: Dear Attorney Gen eral
Gregory B. Craig,
Counsel to the President
The White House,
1600 Pennsylvan ia Avenu e N W,
Washin gton , DC 20500
Fax: 1 202 456 2461
Salutation: Dear Mr Craig
The Honorable Robert M. Gates
US Secretary of Defense
1000 Defense Pentagon,
Washin gton DC 20301
Fax: 1 703 571 8951
Salutation: Dear Secretary of Defense
China Regional Action Network
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Chad: End impunity for human rightsviolations
Amn esty International is concerned that m ore than 10 mon ths
after unlawful killings and other human rights abuses occurred
du ring and after the February 2008 attack on NDjamen a, theChad ian auth orities have not brought those respon sible to justice.
Amnesty International wants the Government of Chad to initiate
criminal proceedings against members of the Chadian security
forces who h ave committed h um an rights violations. We are con-
cerned tha t the state of emergency declared after the attack is be-
ing used by the government to target peaceful government critics
and other hum an rights defenders.
Background
Since 2006, scores of people in Chad arrested by the security
forces have been the victims of torture, home d emolition, and en-
forced disappearance at the hands of the agence nationale de
securite, and mem bers of other governm ent security forces. In April2006, after an assau lt by arm ed grou ps on NDjamen a, at least 13
high-ranking ar my officers were arrested, and th ey have not been
heard from since. On Novem ber 30, 2007, eight people were ar-
rested in the eastern town of Guerda and their whereabouts remain
unknown.
On Febru ary 2-3, 2008, intense fighting between the Cha dian
arm y and a coalition of three armed p olitical group s raged in vari-
ous par ts of the Chad ian capital NDjamen a. Serious hu man r ights
violations and violations of international humanitarian law were
committed d uring th e fighting. Most of the violations were commit-
ted after February 3 when the governm ent regained the control of
the city. They comp rised extrajud icial executions, enforced disap -
peara nces, arbitrary arrests, unlaw ful detentions, and torture (in-
clud ing rape) of detainees. A clamp dow n on hum an rights defend-ers and journalists perceived by the authorities as sympathetic to
opposition groups w as imposed. Tens of thousands w ere left home-
less and jobless after the g overnm ent started its March 2008 cam-
paign to dem olish houses and small businesses in and around the
city centre of NDjamena. Children from the affected families
stopp ed going to school.
On Februa ry 3, 2008, Ibni Oum ar Mah ama t Saleh, leader of a
coalition of political opposition groups, w as arrested at his hom e
in NDjamen a by m embers of the Chad ian security forces. He has
not been seen since and is feared d ead.
Action Request: Please write polite letters to the Presiden t of
Chad and send a copy to the Chad Ambassador in the US. In your
letters, Express concerns about extrajud icial execution, excessive use
of lethal force and a ttacks against hu man rights defenders and jour-
nalists by members of Chad ian security forces and other Gover n-
ment officials.
Raise concern about the fact that suspected perpetrators en-
joy imp unity
Raise concern about the lack of redress for victims of hu man
rights violations.
Highlight the Chad ian governments obligations und er inter-
national human rights law.
Sampl e Letter:
Idriss Deby Itno
President de la Republique
Presidence de la RepubliqueBP 74
NDjamen a, Chad
COPIES TO:
Ambassador Maham at Adam Bechir
Embassy of the Repu blic of Chad
2002 R St. N W
Washin gton DC 20009
Fax: 1 202 265 1937
Dear Mr. Presiden t,
Subject: End Imp un ity for Attacks on Hu man Rights Defenders, Journ alists and Opp osition Leaders
A member of Amnesty International, I am d eeply concerned
about hum an rights abuses against hum an rights defenders, jour
nalists, and opp osition leaders occurring in Cha d. They are the tar
gets of extrajud icial execution, excessive use of lethal force, un law
ful arrest and d etention, and enforced disappearances by mem-
bers of Chadian secur ity forces and oth er governm ent officials.
I urge you to imm ediately take the following actions:
Investigate allegations of threats or attacks against hum an
rights defenders, journalists and members of the opp osition to bring
those resp onsible to justice.
Ensure the safety of human rights defenders and journalist
and publically acknowledge their work to enable them to work
withou t fear for their safety. Prevent Chadian security forces and govern ment agents from
harassing, threatening and attacking hum an rights defenders, jour
nalists, and opposition members.
The Government of Chad has signed important internationa
hum an rights treaties that recognize and guarantee hum an rights
such as the right to life and the freedom of expression and associa
tion. Those rights are also enshrined in the constitution of Chad
Therefore, the Chadian government is obliged to investigate any
allegations of threats or attacks against hu man rights defenders
journ alists and m embers of the opposition in order to bring those
responsible to justice.
I look forward to your prompt attention to the important
matters.
Regards,
The recent Amn esty report Chad: Do uble Mis fortune: Deepen-
ing hu man rights crisis in Chad can be found at the w ebsite
http:/ / www.amnestyusa.org/
docum ent.php ?id=ENGAFR200072008&lang=e
Terrie RodelloAIUSA Central Africa RAN Coordinator
Central Africa Regional Action Network
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(page five)
Central Africa Regional Action Network
Urge US Government to Help End War in DRC
In testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated th at tw o of the Obam a
Adm inistrations foreign p olicy objectives in Africa are to stop the
war in Cong o and to help Africa conserve their natu ral resources.
These are important statements. However, these statements must
translate to action. Amnesty International members mu st urge th e
United States Governm ent to influence the conflict in the Un ited
Nations and the governm ents of Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC) and Rw and a to end the long conflict in the DRC.
Background:
Recent d evelopm ents dem onstrate the need for specific steps by
the US Governmen t to help en d th e conflict in the DRC:
On December 12, 2008, the UN Grou p of Experts monitoring
a United Na tions arms em bargo on the Democratic Republic of
Congo issued a report that found evidence that mineral resources
are a key source of funding for Congolese armed groups.
Laurent Nku nd a, the former leader of the National Congressfor the Defense of the People (CNDP) armed group in the DRC, was
arrested on January 22 and is detained in Rwand a.
The governmen ts of Rwand a and the Dem ocratic Republic of
Congo joined forces in the east-
ern DRC to disband th e Demo-
cratic Liberation Forces of
Rwand a (FDLR). During th ese
operations, hundreds of civil-
i an s have been repo r t ed ly
killed. Many hun dreds, includ -
ing children, have been ab-
ducted, and scores of villages
looted and burned . Around
100,000 civilians are believedto have fled the violence. Civil-
ians, especially women , children an d th e elderly, continu e to suf-
fer most of the casualties in the Congo fighting. Rape continu es to
be a weap on of war u sed by all sides in the conflict.
The UN Security Council passed resolutions to strengthen
the UN peacekeeping forces (MONUC) in the DRC and its mand ate
to protect civilians. But UN -member countries have not comm itted
the resources needed to strengthen the forces required to protect
civilians.
Action Request: Please write a polite letter to Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton with a copy to the DRC Ambassador to the US ask-
ing her to urge the Un ited N ation and the governments of the Demo-
cratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda to end the violence in theregion. In your letter, please urge the US Governm ent to:
Ensure the urgently needed reinforcement of the UN peace-
keeping mission (MONUC) and expansion of its mandate to pro-
tect civilians.
Take concrete steps to pr otect women an d other civilians in
the eastern Dem ocratic Republic of Congo and to end impu nity of
those wh o commit acts of sexual violence or other w ar crimes.
Establish tight controls over th e illegal exportation of Congo-
lese minerals and their exchange for arms.
Sampl e Letter:
(Please edit so letter is in your ow n wor ds.)
The Honor able Hillary Clinton
Secretar y of StateU.S. Departm ent of State
2201 C Street N W
Washin gton , DC 20520
Dear Secretary Clinton,
A member of Amnesty International, I was p leased to learn tha
the foreign policy objectives of the Obam a Adm inistration in Africa
includ e stopping th e war in th e Democratic Republic of Congo and
helping African nations to conserve their natu ral resources and reap
fair benefits from them . Since the fighting in DRC has been financed
in large part by the proceeds from illegal exploitation of the
countr ys mineral resou rces, these two objectives are closely linked
Amn esty International is par ticularly concerned that non -com-batants, especially wom en, children and the elderly, suffer most o
the casualties in the Congo fighting. Rape has been a weap on of war
used by all sides in the conflict.
In recent days, the drama tic reversal of alliances has led Rwand a
to withdraw its backing from General Nkund a, while the govern
men t of DRC joins Rwand a to fight its former allies, the FDLR. This
could be a m ajor step tow ard peace in DRC and in the region. A
the same time, there is a danger that the camp aign against the FDLR
could p roduce large numbers of rapes, murd ers, and d isplacemen
of civilians .
Therefore, I am writing to ask that the United States Govern-
ment u se its influence with the United N ations and the Govern
ments of Rwand a and the Democratic Repu blic of Congo to:
Ensure the urgently needed reinforcement of the UN peacekeeping mission (MONUC), while holding MONUC to its man date
of protecting civilians.
Take concrete steps to pr otect women an d other civilians in
the eastern Dem ocratic Republic of Congo, and to end impu nity o
those wh o commit acts of sexual violence or other w ar crimes.
Establish tight controls over th e illegal exportation of Congo
lese minerals and their exchange for arms.
I look forward to learning wh at actions you un dertak e on these
three interlinked concerns.
Thank you for your attention.
Copies to:
Ambassador Faida MitifuEmbassy of the Dem ocratic Repu blic of the Congo
1726 M St. NW Suite 601
Washin gton , DC 20036
Fax: 202 234 2609
The recent Amnesty International report Armed groups and gov
ernment forces continue to abuse wom en and children in N orth
Kivu is at the site:
http:/ / www.amnestyusa.org
document.php?id=ENGUSA20081015001&lang=e
Terrie RodelloAIUSA Central Africa RAN Coordinator
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Amnesty International USA
Group 48Portland, Oregon USA
Amnesty International Group 48 Newsletter February 2009
(New York, Feb 5th, 2009) Amnesty In terna tional tod ay called
for an imm ediate, ind epend ent and imp artial investigation into al-
legations that AMISOM, the African Union peace support opera-
tion in Somalia, opened fire indiscrimi-
nately in the capital of Mogadishu , killing
civilians on Mond ay, (February 2).An AMISOM spokesperson d enied that
troops op ened fire on civilians, saying that
three civilians wer e killed an d on e of their
soldiers injured by an explosion on the
Maka Al-Mukarama road that targeted one
of their vehicles.
But Am nesty International h as received
several reports that AMISOM soldiers fired
indiscriminately in response to the explo-
sion, killing at least 10 civilians on boa rd or
boarding buses on that road, and injuring at
least a dozen others. Reports indicate that at
least 10 bodies with gunshot wounds were transported to the
Medina h ospital in the capital. AMISOM later stated that civilianskilled in the incident w ere victims of both the explosion and gu n-
fire fired by armed opposition groups.
The hum an rights organization said an investigation is needed
to establish the nu mber an d iden tity of the civilians killed and in-
jured in the incident, the natu re of their injuries and the sour ces of
the gu nfire. If it reveals that AMISOM soldiers d id op en fire, the
investigation shou ld also establish wh ether all feasible pr ecaution
were taken to spare civilian deaths and injuries. Soldiers alleged
to have opened fire should be suspended from du ty pending the
results of the investigation and anyone
found responsible for violations of interna
tional hum anitarian law should be broughtto justice.
It is crucial that an effective p ublic in
vestigation is conducted into accusations
that AMISOM troops un lawfully killed ci
vilians. This would send a message to the
Somali popu lation that AMISOM is willing
to uph old standards of international hu
man itarian law, in a situation where all par-
ties to the conflict have unlawfully killed
civilians w ith imp un ity, said Michelle
Kagari , deputy d i rec tor of Amnesty
Internationals Africa pr ogram .
Amnesty International has repeatedly condemned attacks on
civilians by all parties to the conflict in Somalia. Armed groupsfighting the Somali Transitional Feder al Governm ent (TFG) forces
have used explosive devices in civilian-populated areas and
laun ched at tacks from civilian areas, while TFG forces, militias and
their allies have carried out indiscriminate attacks as well as di-
rectly targeted civilians in response to attacks by armed g roup s.
Amnesty International Calls for Investigation of Civilian Deaths As Allegations Point toShooting Incident by African Union Peace Operation