Pax Gaea Human Rights World Post

PAX GAEA WORLD POST HUMAN RIGHTS HEADLINES FRIDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2006

• Indonesia not warming to Australia's prisoner exchange proposal
• In run-up to 2008 Olympics, China loosens restrictions on foreign press, chides overseas coverage
• Families of post-9/11 Pakistan "disappeared" protest for answers on whereabouts, says Human Rights groups
• Israel army judge criticizes detention of thousands of Palestinians arrested in 2006 without charges
• Criticism of Libyan death sentence for foreign medics "insensitive" to Libyan people, foreign minister accuses
• Social mobility in South Africa a mystery to be studied
• 50 Indian boys freed from slavery, but millions more toil away in Asian sweatshops
• Rwanda genocide suspects to appear in UK court to face charges
• U.S. relaxing its undermining of the International Criminal Court
• Nepal receives first U.N. arms monitors as country moves towards peace and democracy

Jakarta rejects prisoner exchange draft

By Olivia Rondonuwu in Jakarta

AUSTRALIANS jailed in Indonesia could get lighter terms or serve their time back home under an Australian proposal for a prisoner exchange agreement between the two countries. The Australian proposed draft for a prisoner exchange agreement – obtained by news agency AAP – would allow a judicial review of a convict's case in their home country and, possibly, allow their sentences to be reduced. "The continuance of (their) punishment... after the transfer will be regulated by the law and procedure in the recipient country," the draft states. "And if the basic nature of the punishment and the term is not suitable with the recipient party then the recipient can adjust the punishment to its own regulation for similar crime." Schapelle Corby was sentenced to 20 years in jail for trying to smuggle marijuana into Bali, but this week was given a one-month remission. Members of the Bali Nine group were given various sentences ranging from 20 years in jail to the death penalty for trying to smuggle heroin from Indonesia to Australia. Herald Sun (Australia) (12/29)

Foreign journalists 'welcome in China'

The country's top information official yesterday said his office is a "constructive partner" to foreign journalists, whom he expects to report on China more objectively. The State Council Information Office has not only been pushing publicity-shy officials to talk to the media, but also promised to help implement new regulations that give foreign journalists unprecedented freedom in reporting China. "We cordially welcome international journalists to come and see China for themselves for interviews and exchanges," said Cai Wu. "Through your on-the-spot reporting and interviewing, I'm confident you will come to new conclusions on China." Cai was speaking at the last press conference organized by the information office of the State Council China's cabinet this year, when it invited 59 ministers and vice-ministers to meet the media on 58 occasions. Acknowledging "encouraging progress" made by the foreign media in covering China the volume of coverage rose by up to 40 per cent year-on-year Cai said the number of objective reports on the Chinese economy and society increased. But, he said: "As for overseas reports on China's situation, I think the proportion of positive or totally objective stories is still quite small." Some renowned press organizations have carried investigative reports and comments on China by those who had never been to the country or know little about it but base their reports on so-called material provided by some unreliable sources, he said. "I don't think this is responsible reporting." People's Daily Online/Xinhua (China) (12/29)

9/11: protest over missing persons in Pakistan

Nirupama Subramanian

ISLAMABAD: A day after police broke up a peaceful march to army headquarters by the families of men who have gone missing in Pakistan since 9/11, the families were back on protest, this time near a mosque in the heart of the capital. This time, an MP of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal lent weight to the protests after Friday noon prayers by turning up at the protest. A representative of the Islamic Defence of Human Rights, which helped to organise the families, told journalists that the missing men were picked up by 's intelligence agencies simply because "they were religious minded, prayed regularly and had beards." The Supreme Court is hearing a petition filed by 41 families. Prodded by the court, the Government tracked down 23 of the missing men. The case is posted for January 8. The IDHR said if the Pakistan government had sold the missing men to the U.S. in the course of the "war on terror" for $5,000 dollars a head, it was willing to pay the Government $6,000 for their return. The Hindu (India) (12/29)

'2,700 Palestinians held without trial'

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

A top IDF judge disclosed on Tuesday that 2,700 Palestinians have been detained without trial this year, criticizing the military prosecution for not filing charges against some of them. Col. Shaul Gordon, chief justice of the army's West Bank appeals court, told the soldiers' weekly Bamahane that 2,000 of the detainees filed appeals, and their detention was shortened in many cases. He said even the ones who do not file appeals are reviewed. The practice of administrative detention has been harshly criticized by Palestinians and human rights groups, who say that if the IDF has evidence against suspects, it should put them on trial. The IDF has responded that sometimes evidence is too sensitive to submit to a trial. Gordon, who is leaving his post after six years, backed the critics in some cases. Jerusalem Post (12/29)

Libya condemns foreign pressure in HIV case

Tripoli, Libya Western criticism of death sentences handed to five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor by a Libyan court shows a lack of respect for the Libyan people, Libya's foreign ministry said late on Thursday. The medics were sentenced last week for deliberately infecting 426 children in the late 1990s with the virus that causes Aids. More than 50 of the children have since died. Some Western scientists say negligence and poor hospital hygiene are the real culprits and the six are scapegoats, but in Libya the verdict came as a welcome act of defiance of the West. Condemnation poured in from Western governments and rights groups after the sentences were passed, with Bulgaria, the European Union (EU) which it joins next month and Amnesty International among the swiftest critics. Washington said it was disappointed. The Libyan government defended the court's ruling, saying it had the authority to handle the case and came to its decision in the presence of international human rights and civil society groups. Mail & Guardian (South Africa) (12/29)

DEVELOPMENT-SOUTH AFRICA:Unlocking the Mysteries of Social Mobility

Christina ScottCAPE TOWN, Dec 28 (IPS) - From sprawling shack settlements to the presence of destitute people begging for small change at traffic lights, there is ample evidence that poverty is a pervasive and destructive force in South African life. Less clear is why some manage to beat the odds to escape poverty, and others not. "Everyone knows that poverty exists," says Ingrid Woolard of the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU) at the University of Cape Town, in South Africa. "But to fight it we need much more detail about what forces propel some people out of unemployment and into jobs while others remain behind, without work, without skills. For that, and to track obstacles in similar transitions from high school to further education, we need to monitor large numbers of people over long periods of time." Starting in 2007, this is exactly what will happen. Inter Press News Service Agency (Africa) (12/29)

`Slavery' ends for 50 boys working at India factories

By Muneeza Naqvi, Associated PressNEW DELHI -- For two years, 12-year-old Bhola worked more than 15 hours a day without being paid or allowed to visit his parents. On Thursday, he and 49 other child laborers were enjoying their first full day of freedom. The boys, ages 8 to 14 and whose parents are poor farm laborers in the eastern Indian state of Bihar, were rescued early Wednesday by a non-governmental organization, in cooperation with local authorities. They had been brought to New Delhi to work in small factories making elaborately embroidered fabric called zari. The embroidery requires working with very fine needles on which the children often hurt themselves."We freed these 50 children after some frantic parents came to us saying that they were unable to get in touch with their children," said Kailash Satyarthi of Bachpan Bachao Andolan, or South Asian Coalition on Child Servitude. The children were held in the factories and not allowed to visit their parents. On Thursday, some of the children described to reporters how they were often slapped and beaten with leather belts. "For two years, these children have worked for free. ... This is a sort of slavery," Satyarthi said. "There are a million such places where the child labor laws are laughed at." Chicago Tribune (12/29)

Rwanda 1994 Genocide Suspects Are Due to Appear in U.K. Court

By Nick AllenDec. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Four men accused of taking part in the 1994 Rwanda genocide, that saw as many as 800,000 people killed, are due to appear in a U.K. court today. They were arrested last night on extradition warrants at the request of the Rwandan government, London's Metropolitan Police said in an e-mailed statement. The men will appear at City of Westminster Magistrates Court in London today, a court official, who declined to be named, said by telephone. The suspects were detained simultaneously at different addresses in London, Manchester, Essex and Bedfordshire, police said. They are accused of ``killing members of the Tutsi ethnic group with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, that group,'' according to a warrant issued by the court on Dec. 27. The killings are alleged to have taken place between Jan. 1 1994 and Dec. 12 1994. The men are also accused of conspiring to kill Tutsis and aiding and abetting others to kill Tutsis, according to the warrant. Bloomberg (12/29)

U.S. sees ICC in more benevolent light

By GEORGE GEDDAASSOCIATED PRESS WRITERWASHINGTON -- "An international kangaroo court," thundered Sen. Jesse Helms. "A shady amalgam of every bad idea ever cooked up for world government," said Rep. Tom DeLay. The wrath of the two former conservative legislators was directed at the International Criminal Court around the time of its founding in 2002. As the comments suggest, the U.N.-mandated court presented a fat target for many in Congress - and the administration. The concern was that American servicemen hunting down terrorists abroad might not be safe from politically motivated prosecutions. That concern remains, but the Bush administration is indicating a somewhat more benevolent overall view these days. The court is the first permanent institution authorized to try individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes when national courts are unable or unwilling to do so. Defenders of the court see it as a sorely needed "trap for tyrants." When the administration formally rejected U.S. participation in May 2002, war crimes Ambassador Pierre-Richard Prosper said, "We've washed our hands (of the ICC process); it's over." Well, not quite. While standing by its core opposition to ICC's claimed jurisdiction over Americans, the administration has noted with satisfaction that the court has swatted aside efforts by some groups to encourage ICC prosecutions of Americans in Iraq and elsewhere. It also has relaxed sanctions on member countries that have refused to sign agreements with the United States to forbid ICC prosecutions of Americans on their territory. U.S. military training programs in many countries that had been suspended were restored because the Pentagon concluded the restrictions were undermining efforts to combat terrorist threats. Seattle Post-Intelligencer (12/29)

First U.N. arms monitors arrive in Nepal

KATHMANDU, Dec 29 (Reuters) - The first group of U.N. arms monitors has arrived in Nepal to manage the weapons of Maoist guerrillas and the government army as part of a peace deal between the two sides, a top U.N. envoy said on Friday. Ian Martin, personal representative of the U.N. secretary-general to the Himalayan nation's peace process, said six monitors arrived on Thursday and they would be part of a team of around 35 people pledged by the world body. "A first task will be registration, initially of weapons and then of combatants," Martin told reporters. "They will be operational from Jan. 7." The U.N. says a full monitoring mission will take some time to be in place and has not set a deadline. Last month, the government and the Maoists signed a landmark peace deal declaring an end to a decade-old revolt in which more than 13,000 people have been killed. Under the deal, the Maoists are supposed to join an interim government after locking their arms up with the U.N. which will also supervise an equal number of arms to be surrendered by the government army. The interim administration is to oversee elections planned in June 2007 for an assembly to map the country's political future and decide the fate of the monarchy which the Maoists want abolished. Reuters/AlertNet (12/29)

posted by Dave Carroll @ 12/29/2006 03:56:00 PM