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RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVES ON HUMAN RIGHTS

E-Newsletter
Vol.3 No.30
July 23, 2001


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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) WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES: GROUP ON HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT
2) EAST TIMOR: DEPARTING UN OFFICIAL CALLS FOR WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL
3) ANTI-MUSLIM RIOTS IN SOUTHERN BURMA
4) US STATE DEPARTMENT'S FIRST REPORT ON TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS
5) AHRC HOME NEWS

1) WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES: GROUP ON HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT

Following is the report of The Group on Human Rights at the Asia Regional Group meeting of the World Council of Churches - Held at Hendala, Wattala, Sri Lanka - 15-20 July 2001

Facilitator: Mr. Basil Fernando

Participants: Rt. Rev. S. Jebenesan, Ms. Stien Sjalil, Dr. S. Wismoady Wahono, Dr. K.B. Rokaya and Dr. Elizabeth Harris (reporter)

1) Issues/Objectives

a) Human Rights (H.R.) abuses are high in Asia. The Churches are often silent.
b) Some Asians have never known their Human Rights respected; Others have had them stripped away and this has changed their memory i.e. Some have forgotten what it is to have human rights.
c) In parts of Asia, the systems and processes necessary for the implementation/enforcement of human rights have collapsed.
d) The practice of torture lies at the centre of the Asian situation - and extra judicial disappearance - with impunity for the perpetrators. This conditions and moulds other violations such as freedom of speech, the freedom of association etc.
e) Human Rights violations are linked to international factors and the West; i.e. Western governments turning a blind eye if the country on paper is democratic and there is profit to be made through investment/trade; the continuation of aid to countries that violate human rights.

2. Key Areas of concern;

a) The restoration of systems that people can use to defend H.R.;
b) The strengthening of protection for human rights activities;
c) The training of people in H.R. awareness and how to communicate H.R. abuses;
d) The need for fast action networks and/or effective communication with those that exists;
e) The silence of the church; its unwillingness to defend morality;
f) Peace and human rights should not be de-linked;

3. Key Value premises

a) Justice cannot be separated from Human Rights.
b) Working for peace cannot be separated from Human Rights. (There is no peace without respect for Human Rights)
c) The right to life (in all its fullness) is at the centre of Christianity - linked with human dignity.
d) The churches should struggle for human rights of all, not simply Christians i.e. struggling for the rights of Christians to freedom of religion is important but should not be the only concern.

4. Response of the Churches/Concrete proposals

a) Theological training should include human rights
b) Pastors/Church workers should have access to e-mail H.R. Networks.
c) Churches should not walk alone! Alliances and networks should be encouraged with secular H.R. groups, other faith communities, etc.
d) The churches in the West should be encouraged in their awareness that H.R. abuses are legitimated by governments of Asia through appeals to the fact that aid continues to be given to them, that their democracies are respected; that H.R. abuses are present in the West also.

2) EAST TIMOR: DEPARTING UN OFFICIAL CALLS FOR WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL

A departing senior UN official in East Timor on 13 July urged the international community to establish a war crimes tribunal if Indonesia fails to prosecute individuals responsible for atrocities committed after the 1999 vote for independence. Peter Galbraith, political affairs minister in the UN administration in East Timor, officially relinquished his post on 16 July after 18 months in East Timor.

"If there is no progress toward bringing to justice the people responsible for the crimes ... there should be an international war crimes tribunal," Galbraith said.

Until now, UN workers have said Indonesia should first be permitted to prosecute the perpetrators before an international court is considered. Galbraith, however, said the world has already waited two years for Indonesia to undertake the prosecutions, and in that time he said he has "seen very little evidence" that Indonesia is serious about doing so. Galbraith's call for action today is the strongest yet from a serving UN official, Associated Press reports.

Jakarta investigators have named a number of Indonesian military commanders and militia leaders as suspects in the 1999 post-referendum violence. No trials have commenced, however, and Indonesian authorities refuse to extradite suspects to East Timor for trial (Daniel Cooney, AP, 13 Jul).

- UN Wire

3) ANTI-MUSLIM RIOTS IN SOUTHERN BURMA

On May 15, 2001, the ruling military junta, State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), instigated anti-Muslim riots in Taungoo, Pegu division, resulting in the deaths of about 200 Muslims, the destruction of 11 mosques and the setting ablaze of over 400 houses. According to an eyewitness (name withheld), over 2000 Military Intelligence (MI) personnel and members of Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), some disguised as Buddhist monks with pistols and walkie-talkies, implemented the riots in Taungoo. They were led by Capt. Khin Maung Yin of MI No.3 of Taungoo. USDA is a mass organization of the ruling junta.

On the first day of the anti-Muslim uprisings, about 20 Muslims, including 2 Imams of the mosques, who were praying in the Han Tha mosque were killed and some beaten to death by the pro-junta forces, according to a Muslim who escaped. The dead bodies were then carried away by the junta's military vehicles. Han Tha mosque was a gift to the Muslims by Great King Tabin Shwe Htee, a Mon King, in seventh century AD. 24 Muslims were burnt into ashes.

On May 17, according to a Buddhist merchant (name withheld), Lt. General Win Myint, Secretary No. 3 of the SPDC and Deputy Home and Religious minister, arrived and curfew was imposed in Taungoo until July 12. On May 18 however, Han Tha mosque and Taungoo Railway station mosque were razed to the ground by bulldozers owned by the SPDC junta. Throughout the anti-Muslim uprisings, SPDC security forces were with or beside the hoodlums, according to eye-witnesses.

- Burmanet, July 16, 2001/Muslim Information Center of Burma: Brutal killings of Muslims in Burma , July 14, 2001

4) US STATE DEPARTMENT'S FIRST REPORT ON TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS

Released on 12 July 2001, the US State Department's trafficking report looks at all countries where a "significant number" of victims (one hundred or more) have been trafficked for sexual exploitation, involuntary servitude, debt bondage and slavery.

The report evaluates 82 countries and places them in one of three tiers.

The first tier is for countries which fully comply with the minimum standards set out in the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, which was passed in the United States in 2000. Minimum standards include prohibiting trafficking, proscribing punishments commensurate with the crime and providing a wide range of protective services for victims.

The second tier is for countries that do not comply with the Act's minimum standards, but are making serious efforts to do so and the third tier is for countries which do not meet the minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance.

A total of 23 countries were placed in the third tier: Albania, Bahrain, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burma, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Greece, Indonesia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Pakistan, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Sudan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

If these or other countries are still in tier three when the 2003 report is issued, they may be subject to certain sanctions. Such sanctions would include the termination of non-humanitarian, non-trade related assistance. The US may also oppose loans from international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The report states that sanctions could be waived in certain circumstances, such as "a national interest determined by the President".

The report has helped to draw attention to the international nature of trafficking in persons and the failure of some governments to tackle this problem. However, as Human Rights Watch (HRW) notes "the report has some major flaws that will need correcting the next time around." HRW draws particular attention to countries like Moldova, Costa Rica, and Japan, which it argues should be listed in tier 3 rather than in tier 2 where they are currently placed.

Anti-Slavery is similarly surprised to find the UK in tier 1, when the UK does not have legislation which prohibits trafficking and proscribes punishments commensurate with the crime. Nor does the UK provide a wide range of protective services for victims. These are the minimum standards which must be complied with for a country to be placed in tier 1.

HRW also urges the State Department to ensure that all future reports consistently include information on: all forms of trafficking in persons, not just trafficking for sexual exploitation; state complicity and corruption in facilitating trafficking; protection and support mechanisms for trafficking victims (particularly victims' access to legal counsel, medical services, witness protection programs, safe shelter, etc.); and concrete measures governments are taking to prosecute traffickers.
US report on trafficking in persons:http://www.state.gov/g/inl/rls/tiprpt/2001/

Human Rights Watch's response: http://www.hrw.org/press/2001/07/traffick-0712.htm

- American Anti-Slavery Group

5) AHRC HOME NEWS

What's New on AHRC.net?
Fr. Pallath J. Joseph Solidarity Site
http://jjpallath.ahrchk.net
- Latest Letters and Correspondence: Fifth through the Seventh Open Letters to the Jesuit Superior
- Latest News on Fr. Pallath's Case: Summons issued to 7 Jesuit priests on criminal charges
- Talking Point: Register Your Views Online

Up-to-date Urgent Appeals
http://www.ahrchk.net/ua_index.html
MALAYSIA: 41 arrested on 100th day of ISA detentions - 16.7.2001
INDONESIA: West Papua case requires HR Court judgement - 16.7.2001
US/UN: small arms trade causing widespread civilian deaths - 19.7.2001

Up-to-date Religious Perspective on Human Rights Weekly E-Newsletter
http://www.hrschool.org/rghr/index.shtml

Up-to-date Asia Human Rights News
http://www.ahrchk.net/newsindex.html

Human Rights Solidarity June-July 2001
http://www.ahrchk.net/solidarity/index.html

Articles in this edition include:
"Barriers to Human Rights in Asia: An Interview with Tapan Bose"
"Human Rights Concerns for Reforming the Judiciary"
"Milk Prices and War" (on fair trade and human rights)
"Human Rights Violations that Cross Borders" (on trafficking of women and girls)

To view text only version of the web site:
http://www.ahrchk.net/index_t.html