Editors --- "World Round-up" [1995] HRightsDef 4; (1995) 4 Human Rights Defender

World Roundup

Cambodia: Commission on Human Rights

In his report to the UN Commission on Human Rights, the UN representative for Human Rights in Cambodia, Michael Kirby, made a number of recommentdations in regard to the control of HIV/AIDS.

His recommendations included a call for greater regulation of the use of needles, removing current censorship of HIV prevention information, greater attention from the Cambodian government regarding the sale of children into prostitution and allowing brothels to remain open so that they remain in reach of government and health authorities.

Source: HIV/AIDS Legal Link....

Rwanda: Children accused

According to UNICEF, some 150 children aged 11 to 17 are being held in Kigali Central Prison.

"For the first time in the history of human rights, children are being accused of genocide", according to Dan Foole, UNICEF representative in Rwanda, "we estimate there are some three to four hundred children in jail."

Kigali Prison also has some 39 children, ages ranging from 2 to 4 years, who live with their mothers jailed on charges of genocide.

UNICEF considers the number of child soldiers that took part during the violence with the Rwandan Patriotic Front to be between two and four thousand.

Source: International Children Rights Monitor, vol.11, No.4, 4th quarter 1994, vol.12, No.1, 1st quarter 1995.

China: Teenager jailed for Tienanmen incident

During the 1989 events at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, large numbers of teenagers under the age of 18 were arrested - four among them are still in jail. Amnesty International's British Section revealed that these four children had unfair trials and received sentences which were disproportionate to the crimes committed. Huo Yanfeng (16 years in 1989) was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, Tony Po (16) to 6 years, Wan Jianxing (17) to life and Zhang Baosheng (17) to 13 years. According to Amnesty, these prisoners are subjected to ill-treatment and torture by the authoritites in order to extract confessions.

Source: International Children's Rights Monitor, vol.11, No.4, 4th quarter 1994, vol.12, No.1, 1st quarter 1995.

Haiti: Recycled soldiers

Creating an interim police force of recycled Haitian soldiers, coupled with the failure to screen out human rights abusers, has resulted in a squadron without the authority to enforce the law effectively in Haiti, says Human Rights Watch America. "The USA government did not seriously explore civilian alternatives to an all-army interim police force and failed to take into account broad public rejection of the army."

With the dissolution of the army and no time to form a new permanent police force, the country will be left with only the interim unit as a security force during parliamentry elections in June and presidential elections in December.

Source: Human Rights Tribune, June/July Vol.3, No.2 1995.

USA: Highest number of juvenile executions

The United States remains a, "world leader" when it comes to the execution of juveniles, says Human Rights Watch.

According to a report released in March, the USA is one of nine countries world-wide that continues to execute juveniles "in clear contravention of international agreements and standards prohibiting such executions."

In the last 15 years, the USA has executed nine juveniles. Only Iraq is known to have executed more (at least 13 children in 1987 alone). The other countries' records are as follows: Bangladesh (1), Barbados (1), Nigeria (1), Pakistan (4), Saudi Arabia (1), and Yemen (1). Meanwhile, earlier this year, the USA announced it would be ratifying the Convention on the Rights of the Child, bringing it into line with the 177 countries that have already done so.

Source: Human Rights Tribune, June/July vol.3, No.2 1995.

Tibet: 628 Political Prisoners

Amnesty International's latest report into the human rights situation in Tibet has revealed there are now 628 political prisoners compared to 400 in 1993. A vast number of the prisoners are said to be Buddhist monks as young as 12, while a third are said to be women.

The report reveals that prisoners are subjected to, "beatings, electric shocks, food deprivation and denial of medical treatment." AI has called upon the Chinese government to release the prisoners in line with their commitment to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Source: Tibetan Bulletin, May-June 1995.

Sri Lanka: Extrajudicial killings

Amnesty International is calling upon the Sri Lankan government to investigate into the killing of 12 civilians by security force personnel during May this year. The killings have taken place in response to attacks by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on security force members, after the LTTE ended a truce in force in the area. AI is urging the government to bring an end to the senseless killings and to fulfill its obligation to protect fundamental human rights.

Source: PUCL Bulletin vol.xv, No.8, August 1995.

Bangladesh: Death penalty for kidnapping

The Bangladesh Parliament has introduced a bill which will see those found guilty of participating in the kidnapping or traffiking of women and children, receive the death penalty. The bill is seen as a response to an escalating problem which has seen thousands of women and children sold into bonded labour. Women's groups, however, say that the problem has been the result of poor law enforcement rather than inadequate legislation.

Source: Human Rights Tribune

Iraq: History of oppression

A recent report by Human Rights Watch into the Middle East has revealed that Iraq frequently displays a, "fundamental lack of respect for human rights." The report details frequent incidents involving the use of mutilation as an alternative to executions. The draconian measures include amputation, branding and death for crimes such as theft and corruption. The disproportionate penalties are seen as a consequence of the break down of the legal system marked by a lack of due process and a departure from the rule of law.

Source: Dialogue, August 1995.

Guatemala: 40 political murders

According to the Human Rights Procurator to Guatemala, there have been 40 politically motivated killings since January this year. The rise to power of Ramira de Leon, former Human Rights Procurator, has been linked with a stark rise in the number of human rights violations, says Amnesty International. These violations include arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial killings.

Source: Human Rights Tribune, June/July vol.3, No.2, 1995.

New Zealand: Tortured asylum seekers

The Auckland Refugee Health Centre, has treated a large number of Sri Lankan refugees and found them to be victims of torture and imprisonment. The forms of torture range from sensory and sleep deprivation, electric shocks, burns, mutilation, starvation and being forced to view the killing of loved ones. This has resulted in many cases of post traumatic stress disorder, requiring careful and specialised care.

Source: Future-International, vol.2, issue 1, January 1995.

Malaysia: Detained migrants' insufferable condition

Reports claim that approximately 59 detained migrants have died from malnutrition and disease in various camps throughout Malaysia, since 1992. Detainees are believed to be migrant workers from the Philippines, Indonesia and Bangladesh, who have been detained because of failure to produce travel documents or work visas or because their visas have expired. Interviews conducted with a number of former detainees reveal that many were subjected to regular beatings and often rape.

Source: Asian Centre for the Progress of Peoples, August 7, 1995.

Bangladesh: Ban on child labour vetoed

An agreement which would have brought an end to child labour in the garment industry has been vetoed by Bangladesh garment manufacturers. The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association has been widely criticised for the move to veto the accord which they said was an unwarranted interference in their industry.

Source: LAWASIA, vol.5, No.2, April-June 1995.

South Africa: Removal of death penalty

The Supreme Court of South Africa removed the death penalty, which has seen the execution of over 1100 people during the 1980's alone.

The unanimous decision handed down by a bench of eleven judges is seen as a response to the new push towards an enforcement of the constitutional 'Right to Life' provision. While the decision does not extend to war time treason, it is nonetheless a significant shift in the direction of removing capital punishment from western nations. Source: Human Rights Observer, vol.viii, No.5, July 1995.