|
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVES ON HUMAN RIGHTS
E-Newsletter
Vol.2 No.46
November 13, 2000
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Religious Perspectives on Human Rights is now available online at: http://www.rghr.net
Religious Perspectives on Human Rights is a weekly e-newsletter issued by Buddhist, Muslim, Catholic and Christian Groups on Human Rights, initiated by the Asian Human Rights Commission.
1)
TORTURE AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR
PUNISHMENT: THE MOTHER OF ALL HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
DECLARATION ON ELIMINATION OF TORTURE IN ASIA BY PARTICIPANTS
AT THE SEMINAR ON WAYS TO PROMOTE THE UN CONVENTION AGAINST
TORTURE AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR
PUNISHMENT BANGKOK, THAILAND 5-10 NOVEMBER 2000
1. Twenty-five participants from ten Asian countries gathered
in Bangkok from 5-10 November 2000 to discuss the UN Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment. The participants unanimously agreed that
throughout Asia acts of torture and degrading punishment are
highly prevalent and pose a threat to the human rights of the
people of Asia. So long as law enforcement authorities continue
to practice torture, people will perceive them not as guardians
of the law but as violators of human rights. Asian communities
living under the threat of such grave violations need to take a
more active part in influencing the law enforcement authorities
of their countries to alter methods of criminal investigation and
other dealings with the members of their communities.
2. Violations of all human rights - whether civil and
political or economic, social and cultural - begin with the use
of torture and degrading treatment or punishment. Promotion and
protection of all human rights therefore requires the prevention
of torture and degrading punishment. This is especially the case
regarding the rights of women. The protection of their rights
requires the elimination of violence both in the public and
private spheres.
In conflict-ridden areas of Asia there is much talk about
peace and conflict resolution, however such objectives are
unachievable without the elimination of torture and inhuman
punishment. Many violent conflicts in Asia have begun due to
extreme use of torture and degrading treatment or punishment on
sections of the population, particularly upon the young. Acts of
torture and inhuman punishment invariably give rise to
extra-judicial killings. Study of extra-judicial killings and
disappearances in Asia reveals that such atrocities are clearly
rooted in hardened practices of torture and inhuman treatment by
law enforcement agencies.
2)
HUMAN RIGHTS COURTS FOR INDONESIA : FaktaHAM No.13,Wed 25 October
2000
Indonesia will soon have a Human Rights Court Act. The birth
of this act could be a huge landmark in the safeguarding of human
rights in Indonesia. The transition from authoritarian to a
democratic system demands justice for the repressive acts of the
past, and the primacy of the rule of law which is fair and just.
Democratisation will be hampered if the victims of political
violence perpetrated by the old regime are not given justice.
They are victims of torture, arbitrary arrest and detention,
extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances and systematic
rape, all of which constitute gross violations of human rights.
In international law these crimes are classified as crimes
against humanity. Besides this there are millions of victims of
economic crimes, particularly the large but marginal communities
such as factory workers, peasants, fisher people, urban and rural
dwellers, men and women, adults and children. Most of these
people also experienced abuses of their civil and political
rights as well as their economic and social rights. Efforts to
tackle impunity are extremely important for democratisation as
well as for protection of human rights. The state is being
pressured to bring perpetrators of human rights crimes to court.
Without a legal process against perpetrators the cycle of cruelty
will continue.
SCOPE
The scope of the draft Act is limited to gross human rights
crimes and does not cover crimes which are regarded as light.
Many crimes regarded as light will not be handled, including many
civil, political, social and economic rimes. In some countries
these definitions are used to limit the authority of the courts.
If this is the case in Indonesia, this Act cannot be regarded as
a Human Rights Court Act, and we have to assume that other
mechanisms must be set up to resolve claims for justice for human
rights violations which do not constitute international
crimes.
IMPARTIALITY
The draft act allows for the establishment of ad hoc courts
for past human rights cases. These ad hoc courts must be set up
by Presidential Decree upon the recommendation of the DPR. This
stipulation violates the principle of impartiality, as it allows
for political negotiation in deciding about the courts. On the
other hand, these courts will be able to try cases involving both
civilians and military. This is very important as military courts
are not able to guarantee independence and impartiality in
handling gross violations of human rights. It seems that the road
to ending military impunity in Indonesia is still long. This
draft Act must be remodelled in order to guarantee an end to
impunity; for example we need to guarantee the retroactive basis
for human rights violations and guarantees of impartiality
in deciding on ad hoc judges. This remodelling is important
in order to prevent the exploitation of this Act in order to
entrench impunity. This is essential to the future of Indonesia.
(aprah)
3)
INDONESIA: DETERIORATING HUMAN RIGHTS IN ACEH
(November 11, 2000, New York, NY)-Human Rights Watch warned
today that the deteriorating situation in Aceh was rapidly
becoming a test of President Wahid's authority and of civilian
control over the military. "In the misguided notion
that the push for a referendum is led by GAM - Free Aceh
Movement, the army and police are turning their guns on
civilians." Some twenty people are confirmed to have been
killed in the last two days in efforts to travel to Banda Aceh
for the rally scheduled for the weekend. Some local organizations
put the death toll at over one hundred. These violations are
occurring even as senior Indonesian officials, led by the
President, have publicly castigated the military for firing on
demonstrators and activists, but thus far, nothing has been done
to stop the shooting or arrest the perpetrators Human Rights
Watch called on Indonesia's donors and other governments to:
1. Express strong concern at the actions of Indonesian
security forces to obstruct freedom of movement, assembly, and
expression. These concerns should be raised immediately in
connection with the rally. The upcoming APEC meeting in Brunei on
November 15-16 would be an appropriate forum to raise ongoing
concerns about lack of accountability for human rights violations
in Aceh and apparent inability of Jakarta to control the behavior
of local field commanders.
2. Send diplomats of Jakarta-based embassies to Aceh to review
the situation with a view toward making direct demarches to the
Indonesian government.
3. Use the new human rights legislation passed by the
Indonesian parliament last week to intensify investigations and
begin prosecutions into past and ongoing human rights abuses in
Aceh.
4)
NATIONAL SEMINAR ON INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE IN INDIA (Sept
22-24, 2000)
The National Seminar on Internally Displaced People in India
was held at ECC. Thirty eight (38) participants from different
social science Institutes, Universities, Peoples movements, NGOs,
Churches and other humanitarian organizations participated in the
seminar. Rev. Dr. M.J.Joseph, Diector of ECC said the seminar on
internally displaced people was meant to accentuate the gravity
of human predicament in the world today. The role of civil
societies and that of the NGOs have to be affirmed with a grater
sense of urgency. The Govt's role in protecting IDPs and
refugees' was presented by Fr.C.Amalraj, regional Director of
Jesuit refugees Services in south Asia. He identified major
causes of Internal displacement and large-scale refugee flows as
Civil and ethnic conflicts and unscientific development
programes, control over power and land, cultural and religious
domination, ethnocentrism, nationalism, arms race, loss of
respect for human values and ethical standards. Dr.Jeevan Kumar,
stressed the need to take necessary steps to set right the
existing maladies in the conceptualization of development, and
the realization of the right to development as a human right. A
code of conduct should be formulated for the compliance by all
developmental agencies in order to achieve distribution of
the benefits of development on the basis of equality and
justice.
5) REFUGEE CRISIS
IN AFGANISTAN
Pakistan, Tajikistan Must Reopen Borders to Fleeing Afghans
(New York, November 11, 2000) -- Human Rights Watch today called
on the governments of Pakistan and Tajikistan to reopen their
borders to refugees from Afghanistan.
6)
INTRNET-BASED TUTORIAL - an on-line course, on Nutrition Rights:
the Human Right to Adequate Food and Nutrition.
Over the last half-centry, human rights advocates have
emphasized civil and political rights, but work on economic and
social rights is now developing rapidly. The human right to
adequate food and nutrition, in particular, is being clarified
under an initiative led by the United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights, and many agencies at both national and global
levels are recognizing the right and working to assure its
realization. This course examines the meaning and the application
of the human right to adequate food and nutrition. For more
information please visit the following websites; http://www2.hawaii.edu/~kent/pols675cFall2000Syllabus.doc
at http://www2.hawaii.edu/~kent/tutorial2000/titlepage.htm
Posted on 2000-11-13
remarks:1 |
