28 April 2010 - CRIN Children and Armed Conflict 140
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**NEWS IN BRIEF**
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GUANTANAMO BAY: Omar Khadr turned down plea deal [news]
Five more years in a U.S. prison not an option for the detainee, sources say
[GUANTANAMO BAY, 28 April 2010] – Military prosecutors offered a sentence of five years in a U.S. prison to Canadian detainee Omar Khadr if he pleads guilty to war crime offences, the Toronto Star has learned.
Sources close to the case who spoke to the Star on the condition of anonymity said the offer was turned down, clearing the way for pre-trial hearings...
It is uncertain whether the proposed sentence would have meant that the Toronto-born detainee would have stayed here – if Guantanamo’s prison remains open – or have been transferred to a U.S. federal penitentiary.
His lawyers say they will push for Khadr to return to Canada.
Khadr’s defence team would not talk about negotiations but confirmed that they have spoken with prosecutors and were “open to any possibilities that would resolve this case”...
Prosecution spokesperson Capt. David Iglesias declined to answer questions as to whether there were discussions between Khadr prosecutors and Guantanamo’s Convening Authority – the Pentagon official who could approve any such deal.
Khadr, now 23, is charged with five military commission offences, including “murder in violation of the laws of war,” for the death of Delta Force soldier Christopher Speer.
The detainee was shot and captured in Afghanistan in July 2002 and has spent nearly a third of his life at the prison here.
Khadr’s prosecution is set to become the showcase trial under the Obama administration, reportedly causing discomfort in Washington and dividing the president’s legal advisers.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted Khadr’s case in criticising the U.S. for not applying “international standards of juvenile justice” traditionally afforded child soldiers...
[Source: The Toronto Star]
Read blog updates from Amnesty - Canada on the trial of Omar Khadr in the US. Khadr was 15 when he was arrested by U.S. forces in Afghanistan, making him the first child combatant ever to be brought before a court for alleged “war crimes”
http://www.amnesty.ca/blog_post2.php?id=1623
Further information
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INDONESIA: Prosecute abusive soldiers in civilian courts [news]
[JAKARTA, 22 April 2010] - The Indonesian parliament should enact a pending bill that would permit civilian authorities to investigate and prosecute soldiers responsible for crimes against civilians, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to a key lawmaker released today. Human Rights Watch said that a recent case in which soldiers allegedly assaulted four children in Depok, near Jakarta, highlighted the armed forces' longstanding failure to prosecute abusive military personnel.
"Indonesia's military courts are opaque and lack independence," said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Reduced charges and lenient sentences mean soldiers committing serious abuses rarely face more than a slap on the wrist, if anything."
Indonesia's military justice system presently has exclusive jurisdiction over military personnel implicated in criminal offenses against civilians. Officers with conflicts of interest can supervise investigations, and senior commanders have the discretion to block cases from going to trial. Past experience in Indonesia demonstrates that this system has failed to investigate and adequately prosecute alleged serious human rights abuses by members of the military.
Human Rights Watch's letter, sent today to Kemal Aziz Stamboel, the chairman of the parliamentary committee that oversees defense, foreign affairs, and information, identified several major short-comings of the Indonesian military justice system. In October 2009, Stamboel led discussions with the minister of defense, Purnomo Yusgiantoro, in which they agreed to make the bill on military jurisdiction a priority during the next legislative term.
The law would give civilian courts the exclusive power to prosecute soldiers accused of rights abuses against civilians. The bill should also permit civilian police and prosecutors to investigate such allegations, Human Rights Watch said. Human Rights Watch urged Stamboel to act quickly to resume deliberation of the bill.
Soldiers have long committed abuses against civilians in Indonesia with impunity. According to media reports, on 28 March 2010, in Depok, at least three soldiers from the Strategic Reserve Command (Komando Cadangan Strategis Angkatan Darat, or Kostrad) assaulted and interrogated four boys, ages 10 to 14. The soldiers, suspecting that the boys had stolen a bicycle from the military housing complex, allegedly seized the children from their homes during the night, took them to the military housing complex, and beat them severely until they promised not to repeat their offence.
A Kostrad spokesman confirmed the incident and said that the soldiers involved were being detained by the military police and that an investigation was ongoing. The military courts may only enforce certain criminal laws against soldiers, so other relevant laws are inapplicable, such as Indonesia's 2002 Law on Child Protection, which imposes heavier penalties for assaulting children than may be imposed under the criminal code.
Human rights abuses allegedly committed by Indonesian military personnel against civilians rarely result in investigations, let alone prosecutions. For example, to Human Rights Watch's knowledge, no soldiers have faced trial for the incidents recounted in the June 2009 Human Rights Watch report, "What Did I do Wrong?" The report documented incidents in which civilians in the town of Merauke, Papua, alleged that they were subjected to arbitrary detention, beatings, and other ill-treatment by members of Indonesia's Special Forces (Komando Paskan Khusus, or Kopassus).
The few military personnel who have been convicted of committing serious crimes against civilians have almost always received extremely light sentences. For example, 13 navy personnel convicted of opening fire on a group of civilians in East Java in May 2007, killing four and wounding several others, received sentences ranging from 18 months to 36 months in prison, on charges that could have brought a penalty of up to 15 years in prison. In July 2007, military personnel convicted of beating to death a civilian in West Java faced the relatively lenient charge of assault and were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 6 weeks to 18 months.
"It is ridiculous that soldiers who beat up children face more lenient charges than do ordinary civilians," Pearson said. "Legislators should act quickly to ensure that the rule of law also applies to soldiers."
For more information, contact:
Human Rights Watch
350 Fifth Avenue, 34th floor, New York, NY 10118-3299, USA
Tel: + 1 212 216 1837; Fax: + 1 212 736-1300
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.hrw.org
Further information
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DR CONGO: UN fears Congo pullout will hurt fight against rape [news]
[KINSHASA, 19 April 2010] - Congolese laws against sexual violence are not being implemented and a withdrawal of United Nations peacekeepers from the country would make the struggle against endemic rape "a lot more difficult," the UN said.
Margot Wallstrom, the UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, is visiting Congo, where thousands of women are raped every year, as the UN tries to persuade the government not to demand a hasty withdrawal of the UN force.
Democratic Republic of Congo has advanced legislation in place to outlaw sexual violence but Wallstrom said the country's capacity to implement it was "near zero."
"How will it help if (the UN peacekeeping mission) withdraws? Will it help the situation here? I think not ... I have a lot of fears," she added in Kinshasa Monday.
Aid agencies and rights groups accustomed to the violence and suffering during and since Congo's 1998-2003 war, which left millions dead, have been shocked by reports of the scale and brutality of the rapes by rebel and government forces alike.
The UN warning echoes a call last week by UK rights group Amnesty International, which called the situation scandalous.
With celebrations of the 50th anniversary of independence this year and elections next, Congo is keen for the peacekeeping mission, known as MONUC, to start withdrawing within months and wants the last blue helmet out in 2011.
But Wallstrom said the peacekeepers, who are often criticised for not doing enough, were making a difference.
"Women used to be scared to go to the market ... Now a lot of people go, and peacekeepers go with them. It has brought economic development to the region," she said, referring to North Kivu province.
Congolese government spokesman Lambert Mende said keeping peacekeepers in the country would not end problems of rape and said impunity for government forces who commit crimes was becoming "rarer and rarer."
Accurate figures for sexual violence are hard to come by as many rapes are unreported but the UN said at least 5,400 women had reported being raped in neighboring South Kivu in the first nine months of 2009 alone.
Government forces as well as a plethora of rebel forces are accused of the abuse. Last year, the UN Security Council gave the government a list of officers known to have raped women and girls.
"Three of (the officers) are still free. Cases have been opened, people punished, but too low -- soldiers, not officers," Wallstrom said.
Further information
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NEPAL: Report of the UN Secretary General on Children and Armed Conflict [publication]
The UN Secretary-General has released a report examining trends in children’s rights violations in Nepal. The report also gives an update on the recommendations in the previous report of the Secretary-General and the conclusions of the Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict.
The data on specific incidents included in the report have been compiled from information documented by the Nepal country Task Force on the monitoring and reporting mechanism established under Security Council resolution 1612. The information provided includes violations perpetrated by parties to the conflict in Nepal, including youth wings and armed groups operating in the Tarai (southern plains of Nepal) and eastern hill regions.
This report does not provide an exhaustive account of violations of children's rights as the security situation makes it difficult for victims and their families to report such violations and restricts the ability of the Task Force to routinely verify them, especially in the Tarai and the eastern hills.
Significant progress was made in the latter part of 2009 in planning for the discharge and rehabilitation of the 4,008 discharged Maoist army personnel, including 2,973 verified as minors. After several months of discussion, on 16 December, an Action Plan for the discharge and rehabilitation of the discharged Maoist army personnel verified as minors was signed by representatives of the Government of Nepal and the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M) and the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator and the representative of UNICEF in Nepal. The discharge began on 7 January and ended on 8 February 2010.
Friction between youth wings of the major political parties continued, mainly the Young Communist League (YCL), affiliated with UCPN-M, the Youth Force, affiliated with the Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), and to a lesser extent the Nepali Congress-affiliated Tarun Dal. Anecdotal evidence indicates that children are being put at risk and used by the youth wings and agitating groups for conducting protests, demonstrations, extortion and violent activities.
Strikes (referred to as “bandhs”) and protests by various groups continued across the country, often severely disrupting daily life. They resulted in the frequent closure of schools, which has had a negative impact on children’s right to education, particularly in the Tarai region.
[Source: UN Security Council]
Further information
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COLOMBIA: 2,700 cases of child recruitment' by paramilitaries [news]
[13 April 2010] - A special report by Colombian newspaper El Tiempo reveals that Colombia's Justice and Peace Commission is currently investigating over 200 cases of minors recruited by paramilitary group the United Self-Defence Forces (AUC), with reports of 2,700 cases in total.
The report states that the majority of the minors recruited by the paramilitary group in the 1990s were not arrested or questioned by authorities during the demobilisation process, but that within the last few years an increasing number have been identified through investigation or come forward to give their testimonies.
According to the report, of the 236 cases known by the Prosecutor General's Office, 150 incidents of child recruitment are attributed to AUC leader "El Aleman" in the north-western Uraba region of Colombia, an area known for its high level of paramilitary activity.
Thirty-five cases of child recruitment were reported in the southwestern department of Putumayo, and 23 in Colombia's second city Medellin.
A new initiative led by Peace Commissioner Frank Pearl seeks to officially recognise the illegally recruited minors as victims.
"Locating them and protecting them is a priority," said Pearl, who said that the concern is that the former child recruits will otherwise join new illegally armed groups that are emerging in Colombia.
Several of the ex-paramilitaries who have testified in these cases have also been vocal in campaigning against the involvement of minors in armed activity. One former paramilitary appealed publicly to potential paramilitary recruits, "I will say to all those wanting to go that this brings nothing good, that you will be mistreated."
[Source: Colombia Reports]
Further information
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INDIA: Students confront rebels over India school bombings [news]
[14 April 2010] - School children in some of the remotest villages of the Indian state of Bihar have urged Maoist rebels to stop destroying their schools.
Twenty-five schools across the state have been destroyed by Maoists in the past year - five have been blown up in the last few weeks alone.
But in one Maoist-dominated district, children made a heartfelt appeal directly to the rebels.
"Maoist Uncle, what is our mistake that you keep blowing up our school buildings? This deprives us of our education.
"You may have problems with the police, but we fail to understand why you destroy our schools."
The rebels say that school buildings are being used by security forces battling the Maoists - but the students' emotional appeal appears to have had some kind of impact.
Recently the rebels actually apologised to students for targeting their schools.
'Soft targets'
This is just one aspect of the brutal and protracted fight between the guerrillas and the security forces in which civilians are invariably the biggest losers.
Santu Kumar, 11, and his younger sister Priyanka now have to travel 15km (10 miles) every day from their remote village in Aurangabad district to attend another school after their local school building was destroyed last December.
"Nobody takes care of our education," they told the BBC by telephone from Aurangabad. "Who will compensate us for our education?"
When parents pleaded and tried to stop Maoists in the village of Dughda, in Rohtas district, from blowing up the local school buildings, the rebels locked them up inside their houses and dynamited the school regardless.
"What to do? There is no way out. We are quite helpless. Here in these remote areas, no rule of government exist," one parent said.
The police say that school buildings and mobile phone towers have become "soft targets" for Maoists keen to assert and maintain control. Thirty out of 38 districts in Bihar are affected by the Maoists, officials say. Fifteen of these have been designated under the most sensitive "A zone".
But Bihar has been exempted from the government's biggest-ever operation against the rebels. This is because the state government has consistently said the Maoist problem can only be tackled through development.
Despite this, police suspect the anti-Maoist offensive in neighbouring Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh states has spilled over into Bihar.
The government in the area insists the key is to bring Maoists into the mainstream of local society.
"We take police action against Maoists but we believed the problem is more of a socio-economic nature than one of law and order," Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar says.
Maoist 'regret'
The Maoist apology is some indication that they do engage with local opinion. After the emotional appeal from the students of Aurangabad, they distributed leaflets explaining their actions.
"We regret our action as this creates problems for the children. But we are forced to target the school building as they are being used by paramilitary forces to launch operations against us," the leaflet reads.
The rebels claim that the government plans to turn all school buildings into military camps in the coming months.
The leaflet also reminded people of the driving force being their fight.
"The central government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P. Chidambaram has sold forests, land and mountains to foreign companies at the cost of depriving local people. Maoists are opposing it and only they are your real saviours."
For the students of Aurangabad, however, who complain of their education being "severely hampered" a continued campaign of destruction could have a serious impact on life in this far-flung and poverty-stricken part of India.
Their parents are mostly labourers or farmers, and opportunities are few for people in this corner of the country.
In their apology, the Maoists do not say if they plan to halt the campaign of school destruction. The police are sceptical.
"They may distribute pamphlets and leaflets expressing their apology... but there have been no assurances that they will not destroy school buildings again," said senior police officer KS Dwivedi.
With no end in sight to the long-running Maoist conflict, students feel their education and future livelihoods are in the balance.
[BBC]
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