Human Rights Defender - March to May 2011 by Tom Ganderton

HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER

Special feature: Anti-social media by Mark Jones Middle East and North Africa's social revolution

Indonesiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s domestic workers need protection Vol 30 Number 1 March/April/May 2011

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REUNITING wITH DETAINED AMNESTy INTERNATIoNAl STAFF

FROM THE NATIONAL DIRECTOR

Special opportunities On 28 May Amnesty International celebrates its 50th anniversary of changing lives by defending human rights. Thanks to the efforts of people like you, we have saved and improved the lives of millions of people. Together, we have successfully encouraged governments to introduce hundreds of laws and policies that protect and defend human rights. We have brought freedom and justice to tens of thousands of people in the smallest villages and the largest cities. We played a pivotal role in the creation of the International Criminal Court and global treaties on torture, refugees and the arms trade. And we have campaigned for the complete abolition of the death penalty.

HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER

Vol. 30 Number 1 March/April/May 2011

PASS IT ON When you’re finished with your copy of the Human Rights Defender pass it on to someone else so they can learn about Amnesty International and the vital work we do. If you’re not already a supporter or if you want to become more active, go to www.amnesty.org.au to see how you can support human rights.

KEEP IN TOUCH Contact us on 1300 300 920, at supporter@amnesty.org.au or through our blogs at www.amnesty.org.au. We’d love to hear from you! If you have feedback on the Human Rights Defender or ideas for articles, email publications@amnesty.org.au. Amnesty International Australia ABN: 64 002 806 233 Post: Locked Bag 23, Broadway NSW 2007 Published by: Amnesty International Australia National President: Nicole Bieske National Director: Claire Mallinson Editor: Candace Wright Designed by: inkahoots.com.au Print Post approved: ISSN 1443-0312 DISCLAIMER: Certain articles contributed to Human Rights Defender may cover issues that fall outside the scope of our Statute. They are published to encourage debate and do not necessarily represent the views of Amnesty International.

Our anniversary provides an opportunity both to celebrate those achievements and to look to the future. With more than a billion people living in poverty, having no access to clean water or education and little say in their lives or their future, we have much to do to ensure all people can enjoy all their rights. Here in Australia, the government has again been criticised for its human rights record. At the recent UN review of Australia’s performance on human rights, countries expressed concerns regarding treatment of asylum seekers, neglect of Indigenous rights and the lack of comprehensive human rights legislation. Since 1961 Amnesty International supporters have shown great courage in campaigning for human rights. As I write, activists, journalists and ordinary citizens in the Middle East and North Africa are showing enormous courage. They are being denied their rights to peaceful assembly and expression and many have been detained, injured or killed. For 50 years Amnesty International has stood in solidarity with people who are punished for exercising their rights. With your continued support we will continue to do so and we won’t stop until we have a world with human rights for all.

CLAIRE MALLINSON NATIONAL DIRECTOR

ADVERTISING DISCLAIMER: Occasionally inserts from other organisations accompany this magazine. They are sometimes the result of reciprocal agreements, or are funding initiatives to supplement the cost of producing the magazine. These inserts do not indicate support or otherwise by Amnesty International. PAPER: The paper used in this publication is produced from sustainable farmed timber and post-consumer waste fibre.

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yoUNG woMEN lEFT wITHoUT A cHoIcE Amnesty International Australia’s National Director, Claire Mallinson, travelled to Indonesia in November 2010 as part of a global delegation to launch Amnesty International’s latest report Left without a choice: barriers to reproductive health in Indonesia. During the visit Claire met young women working as domestic workers, heard their stories and urged government ministers to make legislative change to protect domestic workers and reduce rates of maternal mortality.

Many of Indonesia’s domestic workers are girls as young as 13 years old, living thousands of kilometres from home and working 18 hours a day, seven days a week. These girls come from small villages, where their parents earn less than a dollar a day. Their life choices are to marry someone 30 years their senior, become a domestic worker in Jakarta or live on the streets. I met two such girls who live and work in their employer’s home. Thirteen-year-old Ecco cares for an eight-year-old and an infant, as well as doing household chores. Fifteen-year-old Ros is responsible for all domestic work including cooking, cleaning and caring for children. Their lives are lonely and vulnerable. They dream of living at home, going to school and spending time with their family and friends.

THIS PAGE: Ecco, a 13-year-old domestic worker in Jakarta. © AI OPPOSITE PAGE: National Director Claire Mallinson (centre left) presents

Amnesty International's report to Indonesia's health minister Siti Fadilah Supari. Also pictured are Amnesty International Secretary General Salil Shetty (third from left), Indonesia researcher Isabelle Arradon (third from right) and health advisers. © AI

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I also met young women in their 20s, who have their own children and homes to care for, who work six or six-and-ahalf days a week for various families. They live in homes that we would consider slums, which suffer flooding for up to six weeks every year with sewage-filled water. These women were strong and inspiring; things that would cause us to put up our hands in horror, they cope with on a daily basis.

“They dream of living at home, going to school and spending time with their family and friends.” AcT Now >> Tell Indonesia's Parliamentary Commission IX to urgently pass the Domestic Workers Bill. Go to www.amnesty.org.au/domesticworkers.

During my time in Indonesia I met with members of the Indonesian Government about implementing legislation to improve the lives of women. Under the current president the country has changed dramatically – becoming a member of the G20, heading up ASEAN and committing to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Despite this, Indonesia has a web of discriminatory laws and practices that restrict sexual and privacy rights. These include laws that criminalise consensual sex between adults or punish unmarried adult men and women who are alone together. Women are particularly vulnerable to these restrictions because they can become pregnant – pregnancy outside marriage can be interpreted as proof of a crime. This is not something that Indonesia, as a G20 country, should be allowing to happen. I talked to government representatives about how they are going to improve gender equality, prevent maternal mortality and protect domestic workers. In particular, we spoke about domestic workers legislation that has already been drafted but has not been passed into law. If passed, it could positively change the lives of more than 2.6 million women. We will continue to pressure the Indonesian Government to pass the domestic workers legislation, end discrimination and allow equal access to family planning and reproductive education and services for all women.

No legal protection There is no legislation protecting domestic workers in Indonesia. There is no minimum wage, so wages are very low, and no employment rights, which means that their pay is docked if they have to take time off due to illness. Domestic work takes place out of the public eye and the lack of adequate legal protection means girls are extremely vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse. They may be forced to work in dangerous situations and risk losing their job if they become pregnant. And domestic workers, like many other girls in Indonesia, typically leave school early so have limited education, including information about sexuality and reproduction. This discrimination and inequality is the core reason 20,000 women are dying needlessly in pregnancy and childbirth every year. This figure could be significantly reduced if women had access to family planning and reproductive health education. Unmarried girls in Indonesia are not allowed to access family planning services at all. Married women can only access family planning, including contraception, if they have their husband’s permission.

pREGNANcy TESTS FoR ScHoolGIRlS Amnesty International has called on the Indonesian Government to block discriminatory efforts to institute pregnancy and virginity tests for high school girls. Media reports in November 2010 said the head of a vocational high school in Magetan, East Java, had forced students to undergo pregnancy tests as part of their eligibility to study. The move followed attempts in September by a legislator in Central Sumatra to introduce virginity tests for female students. “These tests are not only intrusive and degrading but plainly discriminatory, as nowhere are men or boys subjected to any equivalent form of ‘moral’ testing,” said Isabelle Arradon, Amnesty International’s Indonesia researcher. “This is yet another example of how gender stereotyping and discrimination can stop Indonesian women from accessing their basic rights.”

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As a new chapter is written in Egypt’s long history, Amnesty International calls for fundamental change and an end to human rights abuse.

Egypt’s chance for reform Egyptian anti-government demonstrators gather at Cairo’s Tahrir Square on 3 February 2011. © AFP Photo/Patrick Baz

Eighteen days of angry mass protests turned to scenes of jubilation in Cairo and around the world with the announcement on 11 February of the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak. Thousands in Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo erupted as the news filtered into the public domain. Many members of the Egyptian community in Australia missed a night’s sleep in order to witness from one side of the world, the historic turn of events taking place on the other. The jubilation and relief was palpable the next day at solidarity events organised by Amnesty International in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and 43 other cities around the world. Three decades of oppressive rule have given way to a fresh promise of fundamental change, human rights reform and a better standard of living. Regardless of the outcome of elections slated to take place later this year, the Egyptian people have been clear in their calls for a government that will respect freedom of expression and assembly and no longer resort to the use of torture. Amnesty International will continue to call for full respect for human rights as a necessary part of any political or legal reforms. This includes the immediate lifting of the state of emergency and an end to the sweeping powers of security forces, including the ability to detain at will. Amnesty International has condemned the recent crackdown by security forces that saw protestors killed, beaten and detained and human rights defenders and journalists reporting on the unrest harassed and arrested. Two Amnesty International staff were among 35 detained on 3 February 6

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in a raid on the Hisham Mubarak Law Centre. They were subsequently released two days later. “The Egyptian authorities must now carry out an urgent independent investigation into why human rights activists monitoring protests in Cairo were targeted in this way, and who gave the orders for it,” said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa director. Authorities must also investigate the violations that have characterised the rule of former President Mubarak. Criminal investigations should be initiated where there is evidence of crimes under international law, such as torture or enforced disappearances.

Following are extracts from eye witness accounts written by Amnesty International staff in Cairo recording the arrest and subsequent release of members of Amnesty International’s delegation.

3 February The helplessness of the unknown We had been interviewing a father whose 16-year-old son had been killed in the recent unrest when news of the arrest of our colleagues reached us. They had been visiting national human rights organisation the Hisham Mubarak Law Centre (HMLC) when military police raided their offices. It is hard to describe the feeling of utter helplessness of being so geographically close but not knowing where they are or who is holding them. All we could do was make frantic phone calls to human rights defenders in Egypt.

The mood was celebratory as around 300 people in Sydney stood in solidarity with the people of Egypt and called for human rights to be upheld, Saturday 12 February. © Hamish Gregory/AI

Some HMLC staff had previously been targeted for their human rights work. Today’s (3 February) arrests confirmed that despite promises of reform by President Hosni Mubarak, old habits never die.

on the streets after curfew without IDs. They explained, “we just got released by the armed forces after almost two days of detention”, but the armed forces people decided to double-check.

We witnessed different methods used by authorities to quell the anti-government protests including promises of change, the dissemination of fear, intimidation and violence.

Luckily, there was a happy resolution and a happier reunion not too long after. We were incredibly proud of our colleagues, who despite their fatigue and clearly difficult ordeal, were joking about parts of their experience in detention.

In anticipation of the protests planned for the ‘Friday of Departure’ (of Mubarak on 4 February), the crackdown on those seen as organising, supporting, reporting or participating in protests has intensified. Eyewitnesses told us that snipers on the roof of Ramses Hilton Hotel were shooting at protesters in Tahrir Square, killing at least two. Despite this, protesters seem undeterred. It is hard to predict what tomorrow will bring. As Egypt holds its breath, we can only hope for the safety of our colleagues.

6 February On a mission through Cairo Our night time chase across Cairo’s ghastly streets late on Friday and in the early hours of Saturday morning to become reunited with our colleagues after their release could have appeared almost comical and reminiscent of poorly made action films. We made our way through the city, being stopped every few minutes for ID checks and searches of the vehicle, making many detours around roads that had been blocked off. As we were going towards them so they were making their way towards us, facing the same problems of roadblocks and risk.

It remains unclear why they were detained. We wonder if the Egyptian authorities will provide answers as to why these human rights workers and journalists were arrested without warrant, kept in detention in harsh conditions for nearly two days and not allowed to contact their families, friends and lawyers. We are incredibly concerned about the account that our colleagues gave us of the military compound where they were held, which they could see was overflowing with detainees. They had heard the screams of individuals clearly being beaten. Yet again, despite the promises of reform and accountability, beatings and abuse continue to be the treatment reserved for detainees.

ACT NOW >> Call on authorities in the Middle East and North Africa to allow citizens to exercise their rights to freedom of expression and assembly and undertake human rights reforms. Go to www.amnesty.org.au/egypt

But then we got the news that the armed forces had approached them and didn’t believe their reasons for being HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER

Social

revolution Patrick Nelson examines the grassroots movements sweeping the Middle East and North Africa.

In Algeria, protesters have been paying a high price for trying to peacefully express their grievances. Riot police armed with grenades and guns killed at least three people and injured 800 in January as Algerians took to the streets seeking democratic change and an end to a state of emergency now in its 19th year.

The winds of change have been blowing a gale in 2011 with waves of protest against several authoritarian governments.

With fresh anti-government protests planned in the capital Algiers at the time of going to press, Amnesty International urges authorities not to use excessive force on demonstrators and to respect peoples’ right to freedom of expression.

In Tunisia, the regime of President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali came to an end on 14 January when he fled the country following wide-spread protests. While presenting positive images of the human rights situation within its borders, Tunisian security forces have been committing abuses unabated and without hindrance for decades. The focus quickly turned to Egypt where 18 days of mass protests in Cairo and other cities ended spectacularly on 11 February with the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak. His 30-year rule was characterised by a perpetual state of emergency in which constitutional rights were suspended, censorship was legalised and police powers were extended. Both Egypt and Tunisia were nations with wealthy ageing presidents whose closed political regimes governed large young populations angered by a lack of economic opportunity. Similar patterns exist in Algeria, Jordan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Indeed unrest has emerged in Yemen, where thousands gathered in Sana’a on 12 February urging President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been in power for 32 years, to step down. Yemeni activists had told Amnesty International of fears that a crackdown on freedom of expression would worsen amid growing calls for reform. The fears appeared well-founded with witnesses reporting that police have used batons, tear gas and gun fire to break up marches throughout February. 8

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Meanwhile, a protest in Saudi Arabia was short-lived with between 30 and 50 people being detained by police on 28 January. Witnesses said hundreds had gathered in the streets of Jeddah to protest against poor infrastructure after deadly floods had swept through the city. Inspired by the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, thousands of Jordanians also took to the streets with three weeks of largely peaceful protests. King Abdullah responded on 1 February by dismissing cabinet and appointing a new prime minister to carry out “true political reforms”. The same effect may also be about to hit Morocco where a large groundswell has warned that autocracy will be swept away unless the country pursues democratic reform. It is clear that repressive governments across the Middle East and North Africa are under pressure and face surging demands for political, economic and social reform. Rather than cracking down on protest and freedom of expression, they need to recognise the fundamental nature of these demands and take urgent steps to end abuses and start human rights reform. As a starting point, they must lift any state of emergency, ensure freedom of assembly and expression, stop torture and secure an adequate standard of living for their people. Patrick Nelson is a freelance journalist based in Brisbane. OPPOSITE PAGE: Moroccans protest in Rabat on 4 February to express their solidarity with the Egyptian people. © afp Photo/Abdelhak Senna

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she said. International media did ultimately follow the story but they were weeks behind Twitter.

Examples of human rights abuses against activists using social media as a tool of communication continue to climb. Facebook, Twitter and blogs. They’re hallmarks of the social media revolution that has gripped millions of people across the globe from all walks of life. Indonesia, with 34 million Facebook users, is the second largest user of the service after the US. And significantly, you’ll also find millions of Facebook fans in countries like Saudi Arabia, Russia, Egypt, Vietnam and China, according to Facebook tracking website socialbakers.com. This is noteworthy because they are all countries that violate the human rights of activists who exercise their right to free speech. Equally noteworthy in these and other countries with poor human rights records is their response to the rise of social media.

Iran’s 2009 uprising was another landmark Twitter event. The US State Department made an unprecedented request to Twitter that it delay a planned network upgrade to keep the service running during planned protests against the presidential election. Twitter complied, and Time magazine subsequently suggested the event signalled an era of social media-fuelled revolutions. But nearly two years on, a revolution in Iran has still failed to materialise. And Professor Joseph cautions against believing social media and Western knowledge of unfolding events alone will fuel revolutions. “Tunisia was achieved all by themselves,” Professor Joseph said. Carmela Baranowska, a lecturer in media at the Australian Catholic University, said social media was quickly alerting people to the plight of people in prison. But she warned that social media can still offer a disconnected experience when we simply read about human rights abuses. “You still need to have eyewitness testimonies on the ground,” she said. This perspective is echoed by Evgeny Morozov’s book The Net Delusion in which he writes social media could actually serve to counter the revolution Westerners idealise.

From the 2009 uprising in Iran, to the revolution in Tunisia and international coverage of Wikileaks, it has been near impossible to miss the connection between social media and political movements. And critically, advocates are using social media like Twitter to reach a global audience with increasing speed and effectiveness.

Double-edged sword

For example, millions followed the ousting of Tunisian dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in real-time through Twitter, using hashtags such as #sidibouzid and #tunisia (hashtags group thematically-linked content together on the service). One person who followed the events closely on Twitter was Professor Sarah Joseph from Monash University, a director at the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law.

And that is what activists the world over are discovering as they sign up to Facebook, Twitter or blogs. Governments and repressive regimes are ignoring the subtle differences between professional journalists in mainstream media and so-called citizen journalists or bloggers – they are all seen as forms of media that must be controlled.

As events unfolded, Professor Joseph saw tweets from Tunisians complaining about poor mainstream media coverage. “People were saying, ‘CNN, BBC where are you?’ People were reaching out to the world trying to get help,”

“We forget about the dark side, governments harvesting information,” Professor Joseph said. “If these platforms are used to organise dissent, the government could use them to find people. It’s a double-edged sword.”

“Governments try to silence the messenger because they do not want the message heard,” Human Rights Watch noted in its 2010 report. Examples of human rights abuses against activists using social media as a tool of communication continue to climb.

Anti-social media Mark Jones discovers the rising human costs of the social media revolution.

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In Vietnam at least 20 activists and bloggers were arrested or jailed in late 2010 for alleged threats to national security, according to Public Broadcasting Service site Media Shift.1 And since September 2009, at least seven trials were held for 17 dissidents, Amnesty International reported in October last year. In most cases the activists were denied legal services and fronted sham trials. The communist state’s intent to stamp out dissent among media, bloggers and banned political groups includes the arrest in 2010 of prominent Vietnamese blogger and journalist Nguyen Hoang Hai, known as Dieu Cay, who was released last year only to remain under investigation for “spreading propaganda against the state”, Amnesty International reported. Vietnam has also officially blocked public access to Facebook through its internet service providers, but that hasn’t stopped some 1.8 million people from side-stepping the online roadblocks.

Satirical Twitter message In China, social media users are also attracting attention. Chinese online activist Cheng Jianping was sentenced in November to a year in a labour camp for re-tweeting a satirical Twitter message suggesting the Japanese Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo should be attacked. Chinese police acted without legal oversight, exercising their power to apply ‘re-education through labour’ without trial. Meanwhile, Facebook is attracting attention in Egypt amid widespread crackdowns on dissent in the media. Facebook user Ahmed Hassan Bassyouni appeared before a military court in November 2010 charged with revealing military secrets. He received a six-month prison sentence for allegedly publishing publically available information about military recruitment on a dedicated Facebook page.2 Also in the Middle East, former Kuwait newspaper editor, lawyer and blogger Muhammad ‘Abd al-Qader al-Jasem in November 2010 was sentenced to a year in a Kuwait Central Prison for defaming Prime Minister Shaikh Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah on his blog. Amnesty International maintains he is a prisoner of conscience jailed for exercising his right to freedom of expression.

In Azerbaijan, it is a similar story. In December 2010 two ‘donkey bloggers’ were released 18 months into a two-year prison sentence on charges of hooliganism.3 Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizada’s crime was to organise and film a satirical video critical of the government and post it to YouTube. The video, featuring a blogger in a donkey suit giving a mock press conference, criticised the government for wasting government funds on importing two donkeys at a cost of $41,000 and claimed that donkeys have a better chance of success at life than people in Azerbaijan. Examples like these are only set to increase, but equally, oppressive regimes will also find it tougher to control millions of voices attracted to social media platforms. Katerina Morjanoff, co-author of The Relationship Age and director of business development at X|Media|Lab, said regardless of what social media platforms dominate in the future, people of all cultures intrinsically want to make a difference in the world. “Engagement is the currency of the relationship age, engagement is more valuable than money,” Morjanoff said. “So if we change peoples lives, that is what we leave behind,” she said. Mark Jones is a business and technology journalist who hosts The Scoop podcast for the Financial Review. 1 http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/12/vietnam-pushes-facebookclone-to-control-online-speech355.html 2 http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101229/tc_afp/egyptmilitaryrightsinternet facebook_20101229143754 3 http://www.rferl.org/content/Azerbaijans_Donkey_Bloggers_Are_Just_ The_Beginning/2094553.html

Amnesty Oz media Want the latest human rights news, actions and updates delivered direct to your laptop or phone? Follow Amnesty International Australia on Facebook and Twitter. facebook.com/AmnestyOz twitter.com/AmnestyOz

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NEW HOME ON THE HORIZON The people of southern Sudan spoke as loudly and as clearly as anyone has when in January’s referendum they gave their verdict to the world on whether their region should remain a part of Sudan or become independent. Nearly 99 per cent voted to become a separate country with the announcement 7 February sparking mass celebrations. Much is still to be decided about southern Sudan, not least its name, form of government and the run of its borders, but that didn’t stop tens of thousands of southern Sudanese in the north from packing their belongings and making the long trek south. Some walked to election stations in the middle of the night to create a new nation. In rural areas, tribesmen carrying bows and arrows walked dirt paths from their straw huts to one-room schools to vote. It was the privilege, however, of southern Sudanese refugees in Australia who were first to begin casting votes, with polling centres in Australia being the first in the world to open. Australia is home to thousands of Sudanese refugees including about 30,000 southern Sudanese, of whom 9,000 were expected to vote. Now, with a mix of optimism and trepidation, all eyes turn to 9 July 2011, the due date for that new nation’s birth.

THIS PAGE, TOP TO BOTTOM: Two young boys at the UNHCR way station

in Torit, Eastern Equatoria state, South Sudan. A family arrives in Bentiu with all of their belongings piled onto a donkey cart. Returnees passing through Bentiu can rest in a primary school before completing their journey. RIGHT PAGE, TOP TO BOTTOM: A southern Sudanese girl in Bentiu.

A boy carries his luggage at the UNHCR way station in Torit, Eastern Equatoria state, South Sudan. © UNHCR/A. Coseac

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HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER

A taste of freedom 28 MAy IS AMNESTy INTERNATIoNAl’S 50TH ANNIVERSARy. Join us in celebrating with A Taste of Freedom. Amnesty International began in 1961 when British barrister Peter Benenson read about two Portuguese students being jailed for raising a toast to freedom. This May, Amnesty International supporters around the world will acknowledge that gesture and raise a toast to human rights. Join our Australian celebrations! A Taste of Freedom is an opportunity for everyone in Amnesty International to come together with friends and family over a candle-lit dinner and raise a toast. We need you to join us! Your candle-lit dinner can be as big or small as you like: a five-course meal with friends, a romantic picnic for two, or a simple sit-down with the family at home. We will help you plan your evening with a website where you can register your dinner and invite your guests. If you are not a budding masterchef, we will even take care of the menu with recipe suggestions. If cooking a meal is not your thing, you can raise your toast at a local participating restaurant. We will let you know which restaurants are hosting A Taste of Freedom evenings and if the list doesn’t include your local, we will let you know how you can get them on board. Sign up to www.tasteoffreedom.com.au today and we will let you know when registrations open and which restaurants are taking part. A Taste of Freedom is only the beginning. Our next issue of Human Rights Defender will detail other events happening throughout the year. © istockphoto

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GooD NEwS Aung San Suu Kyi marks the 63rd anniversary of Burma’s Independence Day in Rangoon, 4 January 2011. © AFP Photo/Soe Than Win

Aung San Suu kyi connects with Australian activists Australian Amnesty International activists were among a small group of people privileged to make contact with Aung San Suu Kyi just 10 days after the democracy leader’s release from house arrest in Burma. In a brief but exciting phone call to Amnesty International on 24 November last year, Aung San Suu Kyi thanked Amnesty International for its support and urged young people to raise awareness all over the world of the human rights violations in Burma. She said it was important for the youth in all Asia Pacific countries to rally together to help young activists in Burma. Full transcript and audio recording at www.amnesty.org.au/crisis.

letters helped protect prisoner Bu Dongwei has thanked thousands of Amnesty International supporters for writing to authorities in China demanding his release.

Femi Peters was serving a one-year prison sentence for charges relating to a peaceful demonstration organised by his party in 2009. He was freed on 10 December, almost four months before his expected release in March 2011. Amnesty International members in more than 50 countries had written letters and signed petitions calling for Femi Peters to be released. More at www.amnesty.org.au

No death sentence for teenage crime Amnesty International welcomes a ruling in India to uphold the commutation of the death sentence of Ramdeo Chauhan, who was about 15 years of age at the time the offence was committed. The judgment in November last year is the latest in a case that had been in the courts for 19 years. More at www.amnesty.org

breakthrough for Indigenous people in Argentina

A member of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement, Bu Dongwei was assigned a 30-month ‘re-education through labour’ sentence following his arrest in 2006 for expressing his beliefs.

The Argentine Government has given a public undertaking to improve the quality of life of the Toba Indigenous people following an Amnesty International campaign that mobilised hundreds of activists.

Bu Dongwei was freed four months early and now lives with his family in California.

On 27 December the Argentine Government said a body would be established to process the Toba’s territorial claims in what amounts to a significant turnaround in Indigenous peoples’ rights in Argentina.

More at www.amnesty.org.au

Early release for Femi peters Amnesty International welcomes the early release of a former Gambian opposition leader.

In November last year a man was killed and many others seriously injured when police launched a violent attack against a group of Toba Indigenous people who had been making a claim for their ancestral lands. HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER

Seated from left: UNHCR Regional Representative Richard Towle, Australian Immigration Minister Chris Bowen and Afghan Minister for Refugees and Repatriation Jamaher Anwary sign a Memorandum of Understanding in Sydney, 17 January 2011. © AAP Image/Paul Miller

Lack of understanding Amnesty International’s Afghanistan researcher Halima Kazem critiques a new agreement between Afghanistan and Australia. Every few weeks a new boat carrying asylum seekers reaches Australian shores. Many are full of Afghan men, women and children who have risked their lives for the chance that they might be granted refuge. The war-weary Afghans come from various places. Many are from provinces in Afghanistan where last year more than 2,400 civilians were killed – mostly due to attacks by the Taliban and other armed opposition groups, according to the UN. But despite the worsening security environment in Afghanistan, in January the Australian Government announced the signing of an agreement that will allow both forcible and voluntary returns of Afghan asylum seekers who are found not to be refugees under the 1951 Refugee Convention. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), signed between the governments of Australia and Afghanistan and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), fails to acknowledge the deteriorating conditions in Afghanistan and the real security risks that returnees would face. According to the Afghanistan NGO Security Office, which advises non-governmental organisations on safety conditions in Afghanistan, in 2010 there were more than 12,000 attacks by armed opposition groups. That is roughly 33 attacks every day. By comparison, in 2009 there were about 12 attacks a day. These attacks include ambushes, abductions, suicide bombings and rocket attacks, killing and injuring thousands of innocent people. 16

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Such violence has halted and even reversed much of the progress made since Afghanistan’s reconstruction began in late 2001. Schools and health clinics have shut down in many rural areas where communities have been threatened by the Taliban to stop using government services. Afghans who are returned to these conditions face potential human rights abuses. The Afghan Government and UNHCR lack the capacity to monitor the safety of people that the Australian Government is seeking to return. And the Afghan National Police cannot be relied on to protect returnees – police presence is limited outside urban centres and police are notorious for corrupt and abusive practices.

Children and families at risk Of major concern are provisions in the MOU for the return of unaccompanied minors. In many cases, reuniting these children with their families is not possible because whole families have fled to neighbouring countries. A top UNHCR official has criticised some European countries for denying protection for people fleeing “generalised violence” in countries like Afghanistan. The official said that their approach to asylum seekers “often defies common sense”. The same could be said about this MOU. The Australian Government has a legal obligation not to return anyone to a place where there are substantial grounds for believing they would be in danger of being subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Given Afghanistan’s steadily deteriorating security conditions, Australia, Afghanistan and the UNHCR should be considering how they can offer protection to more Afghans, not looking for ways to turn around the few Afghans whose lifeline is the safety of Australian shores.

Sri Lanka 18 months ON Refugee coordinator Dr Graham Thom has returned to Australia after a recent trip to see first hand the human rights situation for people in Sri Lanka. More than 18 months have passed since the Sri Lankan government claimed victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in a civil war that had raged for 30 years, but thousands of people are still picking up the pieces of their interrupted lives. Many I talked with would say, “the fighting may be over but we do not have peace”. This is consistent with reports that Sri Lanka has recently increased its military budget. And it is consistent with my first impressions of Colombo, a city with a pronounced military visibility. Young men in army fatigues and brandishing weapons were stationed at dozens of checkpoints in the capital and elsewhere throughout the country. Our touring party was stopped on numerous occasions and those travelling with me were questioned and asked to show their identity cards. The military presence was even greater in Trincomalee, a predominantly Tamil part of the country that was often the frontline of the conflict. Pill boxes were never more than about 300 metres apart for many kilometres and military increased dramatically in each town.

One of the reasons for visiting Sri Lanka was to see first hand how asylum seekers who had been rejected for refugee status and returned from Australia are being treated, especially in light of reports that some had been arrested and tortured. I also wanted to establish an up-to-date picture of the human rights situation in Sri Lanka so we are better placed to inform decision-makers on refugee policy in Australia. Some Sri Lankan asylum seekers in Australia and other parts of the world have had their applications for asylum rejected on the basis that there is now ‘peace’ in Sri Lanka. While it may be safe for some individuals who have returned, there are others who face ongoing persecution and serious human rights violations and still need international protection. The stories that moved me the most were those told by wives and mothers who want to know what has happened to their husbands and sons. Many men were rounded up by the military in the final days of the conflict and taken away. They haven’t been heard of since. The women in these fractured families need to know where their men and boys are. It is simply unacceptable for the Sri Lankan authorities to withhold this basic information. Read Dr Graham Thom’s blog online at www.amnesty.org.au.

ACT NOW >> Sign our petition calling on the UN to establish an independent, international investigation to examine human rights abuses in Sri Lanka. We ask that: • Allegations of war crimes and other crimes under international law be fully investigated and those found responsible be prosecuted before competent, impartial and independent criminal courts. • Survivors and families of those killed be provided with full and effective reparations to address their suffering and to help them rebuild their lives. Go to www.amnesty.org.au/action

One of hundreds of military checkpoints in Sri Lanka. © Graham Thom/AI

HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER

GLOBAL FOCUS

Children at a Christmas service at Johannesburg’s Central Methodist Church, a haven for Zimbabwean refugees. © AP Photo/Denis Farrell

Breathing space for Zimbabweans Zimbabwean refugees now have until the end of July 2011 to obtain documentation legalising their presence in South Africa following a meeting between the Department of Home Affairs and members of the Zimbabwean Stakeholder Forum on 12 January. South African authorities had been swamped with demands for passports and other documents with more than 275,000 Zimbabweans submitting applications for work, business or study permits as a 17-month moratorium on deportations elapsed at the end of last year. More at www.irinnews.org

A fair go in Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo is set to become the first country in Africa to provide specific legal protection for its Indigenous Peoples. Under the new law, Indigenous Peoples, including those known as Pygmies, will no longer be subject to marginalisation, 18

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including exclusion from education and health services. “The law mandates punishment and fines against anyone who uses Indigenous persons as slaves,” said Roch Euloge Nzobo, program manager of the Congolese Observatory of Human Rights. More at www.irinnews.org

ETA promise ceasefire

The armed Basque separatist group Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) says that a ceasefire it called in September last year is now permanent. In a recorded video statement on 10 January, three masked ETA members said the ceasefire would be open to verification by the international community. Observers point out that a previous ceasefire called by ETA ended in 2006 with a bombing at Madrid’s Barajas airport in which two people were killed.

The Guantánamo Review Task Force, established under the President’s executive order to close the facility, recommended in its final report in January 2010 that 36 detainees be prosecuted by the US, 48 others be held without charge or trial and the remainder be transferred to countries other than the US. The length of detention at the base ranges from two-and-a-half years to nine years, with most having been held without charge or trial for at least eight years. More at www.amnesty.org

Spotlight on death penalty

Amnesty International has urged Illinois governor Pat Quinn to bring an end to executions in his state by signing the bill to abolish the death penalty recently passed by the state legislature.

More at www.amnesty.org

The bill could make Illinois the 16th abolitionist state in the US.

Guantánamo progress stalls

“This historic vote is the latest sign that the US is gradually moving away from this cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment,” said Rob Freer of Amnesty International.

The number of detainees in Guantánamo stands at 174 two years after US President Barack Obama’s pledge to close the detention centre.

More at www.amnesty.org.au

ASIA PACIFIC FOCUS Closing the gap misses mark with human rights The Australian Government would enhance its human rights credibility if it applied the principles of the Declaration on the Rights on Indigenous Peoples in its long-term plan to close the gap of Indigenous disadvantage, according to Amnesty International. “There is no mention of how Australia will use these standards to close the gap even though two years have passed since Canberra endorsed the Declaration on the Rights on Indigenous Peoples,” says Rodney Dillon, Amnesty International’s Indigenous rights campaigner. “The declaration outlines the basic standards for policies and programs for Indigenous peoples, yet specific measures for improving their capacity to access health services and care are missing from the strategy.

“Under international law Australia has a duty to make available adequate healthcare facilities, with trained professionals and essential medicines,” he said. More at www.amnesty.org.au

Indonesian soldiers’ sentences too light Amnesty International has criticised the trial and sentences handed to Indonesian soldiers who were filmed abusing Papuan prisoners. The three soldiers who were shown kicking and physically abusing Papuan villagers on film last October were sentenced to prison terms of between eight and 10 months by a military court in Papua. The abuse video was widely circulated via YouTube. “It is incredible that senior Indonesian Government officials have called this abuse – which included one of the men having his genitals burned – a ‘minor violation’,” said Amnesty International’s

Asia Pacific Deputy Program Director Donna Guest. Amnesty International believes that human rights violations should be prosecuted in civilian courts not military courts, so that trials can be independent and witnesses properly protected. More at www.amnesty.org

Reduce violence against women The Australian Senate has agreed to a motion calling on the government to expedite delivery of its National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children, as promised by former Prime Minister Rudd in 2007. The motion was moved by Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Status of Women, Senator Michaelia Cash, who said it is important for governments of all persuasions to take action to reduce violence against women and children.

humanity and war crimes is given transport by the UN without being arrested,” says Renzo Pomi, Amnesty International’s representative at the UN. More at www.amnesty.org.au

Uganda must investigate activist’s death Amnesty International has called on Ugandan authorities to fully investigate the death of a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender rights activist who successfully sued a national newspaper that named him as being homosexual. David Kato, the advocacy officer for the organisation Sexual Minorities Uganda, died on his way to hospital after having been attacked at his home outside Kampala on 26 January. Ahmed Haroun, at a media conference in 2005. © EPA/Khaled El-Fiqi

UN helicopter outrage

Amnesty International has urged the UN not to help fugitives from international justice after a Sudanese official wanted for war crimes was provided with a helicopter to attend a meeting.

Ahmed Haroun, the Governor of Southern Kordofan, who is the subject of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), was given assistance by the UN Mission in Sudan so that he could attend a meeting in Abyei.

A high court judge on 3 January had ruled against the Rolling Stone newspaper, which last year published a series of lists and photos of people it said were gay. More at www.amnesty.org

“It’s outrageous that someone who is wanted by the ICC for crimes against HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER

DEFEND INDIVIDUALS AT RISK Guatemala

Norma Cruz has received numerous death threats for her work documenting cases of violence against women in Guatemala and helping women fight for justice. She leads the women’s rights organisation Survivors’ Foundation (Fundación Sobrevivientes) based in the capital Guatemala City. Some of her relatives have also suffered threats and attacks.

Norma Cruz Demand investigation into death threats against women’s rights activist. Urge Guatemalan authorities to carry out a swift, full and impartial investigation into death threats against human rights defender Norma Cruz and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.

WRITE TO: Interim Attorney General and Head of the Public Prosecutor’s Office/Fiscal General y Jefa del Ministerio Público Lic. María Encarnación Mejía de Contreras Fiscal General de la República y Jefa del Ministerio Público 15ª Avenida 15-16, Zona 1, Barrio Gerona Ciudad de Guatemala Guatemala Fax: +502 2411 9124 Salutation: Dear Attorney General/Estimada Sra. Fiscal General

Philippines Enforced disappearance of Indigenous rights activist.

Write to: Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr. Defense Secretary Department of National Defense Room 301 DND Building, Camp Emilio Aguinaldo, E. de los Santos Avenue Quezon City Philippines Salutation – Dear Secretary

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One man has been charged with making two of the death threats sent in 2009 but has since been released on bail. The Public Prosecutor’s Office has not reported any progress in the investigation into the remaining death threats. Although Guatemalan authorities have provided Norma Cruz, her family and her office with police protection, the threats continue and nobody has yet been brought to justice. Write to the Interim Attorney General urging him to: – Carry out a swift, full and impartial investigation into the death threats against human rights defender Norma Cruz. – Ensure that investigations and prosecutions into cases of violence against women are conducted in a thorough and timely manner, in accordance with international standards and respecting the dignity of the victim and her family.

Indigenous rights activist James Balao was abducted in the northern city of Baguio on 17 September 2008 by armed men in uniform who told witnesses they were police.

James Balao

Call on Filipino authorities to make James Balao’s whereabouts public and either release him immediately and unconditionally or promptly charge him with a recognisable criminal offence.

Since May 2009, dozens of threats against Norma Cruz’s life have related to the foundation providing legal assistance for a girl who was allegedly raped. These threats have been sent by text message and by phone, both to her mobile phone and to the foundation’s office.

A court has ordered the authorities to reveal where he is and do no harm to him, but has not authorised his family to look for him in places of detention. © Cordillera Peoples Alliance

James Balao helped found the Indigenous peoples’ organisation Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) in 1984. He has since worked as a researcher for Indigenous peoples’ rights, particularly land rights. He helped draft provisions on Indigenous Peoples rights in the Philippines’ 1986 constitution. Before he was abducted, James Balao sent an email to his family detailing the surveillance he believes he had been under since June 2008. People kept under surveillance in this way in recent years in the Philippines have later been extra-judicially executed. Call on Filipino authorities to: – Make the whereabouts of James Balao public. – Release him immediately and unconditionally, unless he is promptly charged with a recognisably criminal offence. – Ensure that he is not tortured or otherwise ill-treated. – Urge them to order an immediate, thorough investigation of claims that James Balao was abducted by members of the security forces, publish the results and bring those responsible, including their commanders, to justice.

DEFEND INDIVIDUALS AT RISK Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan journalist and cartoonist Prageeth Eknaligoda went missing on 24 January 2010 while travelling home to Homagama, near the capital Colombo.

Prageeth Eknaligoda Demand investigation into disappearance of journalist. Call on Sri Lankan authorities to ensure that the investigation into the disappearance of Prageeth Eknaligoda is impartial and thorough and is conducted without further delay.

Residents told Sri Lankan press that they saw a white van without number plates close to his house around this time. In the days leading up to his disappearance, Prageeth Eknaligoda told a close friend that he believed he was being followed. Amnesty International is concerned that he may have been subjected to enforced disappearance due to his professional activities as a journalist. An investigation was launched by Mirihana Police Station the day after Prageeth Eknaligoda disappeared. The Inspector General of Police ordered the case to be handed over to the Colombo Criminal Division (CCD) on 30 January, but since then the CCD has made no clear effort to investigate the case.

Write to: Mr. Mahinda Balasuriya Inspector General of Police New Secretariat, Colombo 1 SRI LANKA Salutation: Dear Inspector General

This follows a pattern similar to many other stalled cases that touch on human rights issues in the Sri Lankan courts. Write to Sri Lankan authorities urging them to: – Ensure a prompt, thorough and impartial investigation into the disappearance of Prageeth Eknaligoda. – Ensure that attacks and abductions of journalists in Sri Lanka are properly investigated and the perpetrators are brought to justice.

IRAN

Hengameh Shahidi is serving a six-year prison sentence in Evin Prison in Iran’s capital, Tehran. Arrested shortly after Iran’s disputed presidential election in June 2009, she was held in solitary confinement and subjected to torture and other illtreatment during the first four months of detention.

Hengameh Shahidi Demand release of journalist and human rights defender Urge the Head of Judiciary to immediately and unconditionally release Hengameh Shahidi. Write to: Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani Head of the Judiciary Howzeh Riyasat-e Qoveh Qazaiyeh (Office of the Head of the Judiciary) Pasteur St., Vali Asr Ave. south of Serah-e Jomhouri Tehran 1316814737 Islamic Republic of Iran Salutation: Your Excellency

Hengameh Shahidi is a freelance journalist who reported on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and Iran’s relations with the US. She advised President Ahmadinejad’s predecessor, President Khatami, on youth affairs and was also an adviser on women’s issues to presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi, who ran against President Ahmadinejad in the disputed 2009 election. Hengameh Shahidi was accused at trial in November 2009 of taking part in demonstrations to challenge the presidential election, giving an interview to the media, writing articles on her blog, signing statements addressed to the UN about human rights in Iran and collecting signatures for the Campaign for Equality, which seeks to change discriminatory laws affecting women in Iran. She was sentenced in December 2009 for ‘gathering and colluding with intent to harm state security’ and ‘propaganda against the system’. Hengameh Shahidi is a prisoner of conscience, held solely for the peaceful exercise of her right to freedom of expression. She needs regular medication for a heart condition. Write to the Head of the Judiciary urging him to: – Immediately and unconditionally release Hengameh Shahidi. – Ensure that she is protected from torture and other ill-treatment and is granted immediate and regular access to a lawyer, her family and adequate medical treatment. – Order an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into reports that Hengameh Shahidi was tortured in detention and bring anyone found responsible to justice. HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER

AMNESTy IN AcTIoN MESSAGE FRoM MoNGolIA My name is Joanna Nevill. I am an Australian Youth Ambassador for Development volunteer and have been working as the youth development project officer at Amnesty International Mongolia since August 2010. Our resources are limited and we have a tiny office but there is a fantastic volunteer base; the young people build and create most of their campaign materials by hand.

Collecting signatures at U2 concerts around the country. Brisbane © Kylie Jury, Sydney © Hamish Gregory, Perth © Rich Wainwright

U2 ToUR A HUGE SUccESS

Since I arrived here I have been reading about climate change and dzud (a natural disaster consisting of a summer drought followed by very heavy winter snow, winds and lower than normal temperatures, which result in the deaths of millions of livestock every year, affecting the livelihoods of rural people). I suggested we do some campaigning around this issue. As a result, our youth activists decided that climate change should be the focus of the youth-run Human Rights Freedom Parade, so off they went, creating an interactive walk-through maze, a play and fliers to raise awareness.

Thanks to the amazing efforts of Amnesty International volunteers, activists and staff, more than 21,500 people took action to support women in Kenya during U2’s Australian tour.

“It’s hard to describe the passion, dedication and commitment of the staff and volunteers at Amnesty International Australia as anything other than truly breathtaking.

My colleagues are just fantastic, so inspiring and I am learning so much. I am coping well, though as a vegetarian the food is a bit of a struggle, as is the cold, including the – 40C winter.

Due to the lack of water and sanitation, people have to walk up to 10 minutes in Kenya’s slums just to go to the toilet. If you are a woman and need to use the toilet at night, you either go in your own home or run the risk of being raped or murdered.

“As I tried to persuade one of our hardworking volunteers in Melbourne to take a break, she said, ‘I’m not doing this to get on stage tonight. I’m doing this for the women in Kenya’.”

Joanna Nevill was the project officer at Banksia Gardens in Victoria, the recipient of two grants from our Human Rights Innovation Fund.

With the chance to go on stage during one of U2’s songs, there was some healthy competition to get the most signatures on our petition to the Kenyan Government. Lucy Macnamara, coordinator of the dignity campaign at Amnesty International UK, has been travelling with the tour across the world.

People attending the concerts were also moved by the experience. As one person later commented on our website: “U2 are amazing! Their support for human rights around the globe is second to none … I have never been so touched or moved by musicians at a concert ... It’s made me want to do more!” Our thanks to U2 for the incredible opportunity.

Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Rudd signs our petition to defend the three freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly in Burma at Woodford Folk Festival, December 2010.

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AMNESTY IN ACTION

One more member As Amnesty International turns 50 I think about all the people who have been a part of the organisation over the years and helped it become the largest, most influential human rights organisation in the world. All those millions of people began by doing one thing: becoming a member.

Street art for Amnesty In October last year 13 graffiti artists took to the street in Fitzroy Melbourne armed with spray cans and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The mission: to respond to an article from the declaration.

KEY ACTIVISM DATES 8 March: International Women’s Day Support domestic workers in Indonesia. Go to www.amnesty.org.au to find out how. May: Branch annual general meetings Come along and help decide how we do what we do. Call 1300 300 920 to find out about your local meeting. 28 May: Amnesty International’s 50th anniversary Host A Taste of Freedom dinner with family and friends and make a candlelit toast to freedom! Visit www.tasteoffreedom.com.au to learn more.

The aim: to inspire and engage with new people about Amnesty International and explore what human rights actually mean. The result: a relationship with Melbourne’s graffiti culture and Amnesty International on the streets. The event was legal and formed part of the Sweet Streets Festival held around Melbourne. The artists Braddock, Civil, Itch, Adnate, Heesco, Bailer, Drewfunk, Makaton, Dirty Sanchez, Two-One, Otis, and Seb each sprayed a panel along a 30 m wall on the corner of Napier and Johnson streets in Fitzroy. It was two days of spraying, music and discussions about human rights and Amnesty International with the artists, their friends, photographers, journalists and passers-by. Some of the panels are abstract, others literal … all are thought provoking.

Being a member means you are involved in decision-making, you have a direct say in how we operate … you are the organisation. Our Board works to ensure that members have every opportunity to contribute. Many of the individuals we write letters and campaign for are harassed, arrested and jailed by their government just for being a member of an organisation like Amnesty International. The right to freedom of association is a right that I encourage you to exercise, as well as defend. If you are not already a member, join today. If you are a member, encourage a friend, a colleague or family member to join today. And stay tuned for more details about the national human rights conference to be held later this year. To become a member, visit www.amnesty.org.au. Nicole Bieske, National President Amnesty International Australia

HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER

Amnesty International achieves a major milestone in 2011 – 50 years of defending human rights. Many of you will be celebrating special occasions of your own throughout the year, so here’s a thought: why not connect your celebration with ours?

See the enclosed card to see just how easy it is or go to www.amnesty.org.au/celebrate 24

www.amnesty.org.au

Amnesty International Australia ABN 64 002 806 233

Celebrate with us