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HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH --- ---- On July 10, Human Rights Watch issued a public letter to Manuel Marulanda, the commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army (known as the FARC), Colombia's main rebel group. Based on a HRW mission to territory in Colombia under the FARC's control, the letter details serious abuses committed by the FARC, including extrajudicial executions, abductions, and the use of child soldiers. A HRW press conference was widely covered in the U.S. and Colombia, and in the following weeks, numerous editorials and opinion pieces were published in Colombia's major newspapers in support of Human Rights Watch's position. Although the FARC's official reply to the letter was hostile and unresponsive, we expect that the FARC will be under increasing pressure to curb its abusive practices. WHAT YOU CAN DO Write to Commander Marulanda of the FARC expressing your concern about
violations of international humanitarian law being committed in Colombia
by the forces under his control. Also write to the eight Foreign
Ministers representing countries assisting the Colombian peace process,
urging them to raise this issue directly with Commander Marulanda. OTHER COLOMBIA NEWS José Miguel Vivanco, the Executive Director of HRW's Americas Division,
testified about human rights conditions in Colombia before the Foreign
Operations Subcommittee of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee. He
focused, in particular, on the issue of military support of abusive
paramilitary forces. His testimony was timely given that Congress is
again considering providing substantial military aid to Colombia. In
HRW's view, it should be an explicit condition of that aid that it not
go forward until military units stop working with paramilitaries and
abusive members are brought to justice. Excerpts of his testimony were
broadcast on National Public Radio. ---- Human Rights Watch is campaigning to ensure that the United Nations
World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and
Related Intolerance, which will be held in South Africa from August 31
to September 7, achieves concrete results. Human Rights Watch staff have
been lobbying in preparatory meetings on five principal areas: caste
discrimination; discrimination against refugees, asylum seekers,
migrants, and internally displaced persons; discrimination in the
determination of nationality and citizenship rights; discrimination in
criminal justice; and reparations to counter the most severe continuing
effects of slavery, segregation, and other extreme forms of racism. Two academics detained by Beijing, Dr. Li Shaomin and Dr. Gao Zhan, have
left China and been reunited with their families. Both were tried and
convicted of supplying intelligence to Taiwan. In a gesture widely
perceived as an effort to improve China's relations with the United
States, Li was allowed to leave China on July 25 and Gao the following
day. Another scholar, Tan Guangguang, was also tried, convicted, and
released along with Gao, but remains in China. Li is a naturalized U.S.
citizen, while the other two are permanent U.S. residents. Other
scholars, including Dr. Xu Zerong, remained in detention in China. ---- Our new Indonesia Web page provides an overview of the recent leadership
struggle and future challenges. Take a look back at Abdurrahman Wahid's
presidency, and a look forward at the situation facing new President
Megawati Sukarnoputri. Download an audio background briefing, regional
overviews of the conflicts in Aceh, Papua, Moluccas, and West Timor, and
a New York Times op-ed by Sidney Jones, the Executive Director of HRW's
Asia Division. ---- On June 22, King Mswati III of Swaziland issued a royal decree that
allows banning of publications without appeal, eliminates bail for some
crimes, and increases the punishment for defamation. The royal edict was
issued shortly after the banning of two publications critical of the
monarchy. Human Rights Watch condemned the decree in a letter to the
King and called on the Swaziland government to ensure basic human
rights. ---- On July 6, Governor John Rowland of Connecticut signed a bill
prohibiting the execution of offenders with mental retardation. The bill
also provides for a study of possible disparities in prosecutors'
decisions to seek the death penalty based on a defendant's or victim's
race or economic status. On August 4, Governor Mike Easley of North
Carolina also signed legislation that bans the execution of offenders
with mental retardation. Currently, eighteen states plus the federal
government forbid execution of the mentally retarded, in addition to
twelve states and the District of Colombia that have abolished the death
penalty altogether. DEATH PENALTY RECONSIDERED IN OKLAHOMA? Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating is reconsidering the use of the death penalty, according to a July 27 article in the National Catholic Reporter. In addition to local advocacy, two recent incidents seem to have prompted the change: an FBI investigation into an Oklahoma City police chemist for "shoddy work" in five death penalty cases that ended with convictions; and the announcement of a community hospital that, in response to a letter from HRW, it would no longer supply the state with the drugs used in executions. With talk of wrongdoing and mistakes increasing, the state legislature recently appropriated $725,000 for a study of questionable cases. And, after 40 executions during the Governor's six years in office, two death row inmates this year were granted clemency, the first such action by the state's Pardon and Parole Board since 1966. For more on HRW's work on abolishing the death penalty in the U.S. visit http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/deathpenalty/ -------- GUINEA
"Refugees Still at Risk: Continuing Refugee Protection Concerns in
Guinea" describes how people who fled civil war and atrocities in Sierra
Leone and Liberia are facing anti-refugee violence and harassment at the
hands of Guinean authorities and civilian vigilantes (July 5). UZBEKISTAN PAKISTAN, IRAN, RUSSIA, AFGHANISTAN GREECE -------- Your contribution to Human Rights Watch will allow us to continue to investigate human rights abuses in more than 70 countries and to generate pressure to end them. HRW does not accept financial support from any government or government agency. Every investigation we undertake, every advocacy campaign we embark on, and every report we produce is funded solely by generous contributions from private individuals and foundations. To find out more about membership, or to make a donation online, by phone, or by postal mail visit http://www.hrw.org/donations/ |
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