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Breakthrough in Canadian Indigenous rights flashpoint

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 12:37:26 +0000

An Indigenous Canadian community’s longstanding campaign to stop clear-cut logging on its land has prompted a multinational paper company to stop buying wood fibre from the area.

On 27 February, Boise Inc announced that it would “stand in support of Amnesty International’s recommendation” and not buy any wood fibre from the traditional territory of Grassy Narrows First Nation in northwest Ontario until the community has given its consent to logging.

“Boise has done the right thing,” says Craig Benjamin, campaigner for the human rights of Indigenous peoples for Amnesty International’s Canadian section. “The company has set an example that we hope other companies and the Province of Ontario will follow.”

The Anishnaabe people of Grassy Narrows rely on the forest for hunting, trapping, harvesting food and other activities central to their culture and their livelihood. In 1873, they signed Treaty No 3 with the Government of Canada, recognizing that they had the right to pursue those activities throughout their traditional land use area.

Amnesty International’s ongoing research at Grassy Narrows has confirmed that the province of Ontario has allowed large-scale logging to proceed without adequate human rights protections and in violation of its own obligations under Canadian law.

On 2 December 2002, the youth of Grassy Narrows laid down in the path of industrial logging machines, blocking access to their traditional territory. Their action sparked the longest-standing Indigenous logging blockade in Canadian history.

In January 2007, Grassy Narrows community leaders declared a moratorium “on further industrial activity in our Traditional Territory until such time as the Governments of Canada and Ontario restore their honour and obtain the consent of our community in these decisions that will forever alter the future of our people.”

Courts have repeatedly ruled that governments in Canada have a clear legal obligation to carry out meaningful consultation in every instance when considering plans that could impact on the rights of Indigenous peoples.

The Supreme Court of Canada says that when the rights of Indigenous peoples are at stake, there is a duty to consult "in good faith and with the intention of substantially addressing the concerns of the aboriginal peoples whose lands are at issue."

Despite this, Ontario’s government has done little to protect the rights of the people of Grassy Narrows, who have had control over their traditional lands and territories taken from them before.

In the 1950s, the building of two hydro-electric dams flooded large areas of land. Wild rice beds central to their culture were wiped out. Sacred sites and the local fishery were also disrupted.

In the 1970s, a pulp and paper mill contaminated their rivers with an estimated ten tonnes of mercury. This has caused long-term health problems.

Today, about half of their traditional territory has been logged to supply mills run by the transnational corporations Abitibi Consolidated and Weyerhaeuser.

In September 2007, an Amnesty International paper detailed Grassy Narrow’s history of disastrous social and economic upheaval as a consequence of government decisions. The paper called on the province “to respect the moratorium declared by the people of Grassy Narrows and to halt all clear-cut logging and other industrial development in the traditional territory until free, prior and informed consent has been given.”

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights resigns

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 11:48:37 +0000

Louise Arbour has confirmed that she is to resign from her position as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. She announced on Friday that she will leave office on 30 June.

The 61-year-old former Canadian Supreme Court justice disclosed her decision in a speech to the 47-nation UN Human Rights Council.

Reacting to the news, Amnesty International paid tribute to her achievements. Martin Macpherson, Director of Amnesty's International Law and Organizations Programme, called on UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to ensure that her successor is of a similar high international standard with a proven track-record as a strong and independent advocate for human rights.

As High Commissioner for Human Rights since 2004, Louise Arbour has been a forceful and formidable advocate for human rights protection, stressing the need to apply and enforce legal obligations and establish accountability for the perpetrators of human rights violations. During her time in office, the resources for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights were increased.

"In an increasingly challenging global environment, the High Commissioner’s position is that of a resolute and outspoken champion for human rights," said Macpherson. “The new High Commissioner must be a strong and independent advocate for human rights with a clear vision and a proven ability to inspire the broader human rights community.”

Amnesty International has called on UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to ensure that the new High Commissioner for Human Rights is selected by means of a transparent process that includes thorough consultation with all stakeholders, including civil society.

Arbour's office deploys nearly 400 human rights monitors in UN peacekeeping missions in hotspots such as the Democratic Republic of Congo. Her office is independent but works closely with the UN Human Rights Council.

Arbour's forthright candour has prompted criticism from around the world, but she brushed this off as "inevitable".

According to Reuters, she said she wasn’t leaving her job because of these pressures. "On the contrary, I have to resist the temptation to stay on to face them.

"It is very much for personal reasons. I am not prepared to make a commitment for another four years of this work. I have a family and find myself working essentially all the time here and travelling," she said. "I'm going home, basically."

Video: Worldwide actions to close Guantánamo

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 16:28:43 +0000

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Thousands of people, including Amnesty International members and supporters from around the world, have taken action to mark the sixth anniversary of the first transfers of detainees to Guantánamo. Amnesty International staged protests in 30 countries on Friday, 11 January.

The world shouts 'Close Guantánamo'

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 12:55:25 +0000

Click on the pictures to the right to watch a slideshow with images of the day.

More than simply a call for closure, Amnesty International once again presented the US government with the organization’s framework for ending illegal detentions, whether at Guantánamo or elsewhere. This time, the framework was supported by over 1,200 parliamentarians from around the world.

In some countries, including Belgium and Ireland, some of the parliamentarians accompanied Amnesty International activists at their events and demonstrations.

The infamous orange jumpsuit – closely associated with the inhumanity and illegality of Guantánamo – became once more the icon of this anniversary. There was also street theatre, poetry readings, the recreation of Guantánamo cells in city centres, speeches, rallies and cyber activism.

US military chief wants to close Guantánamo

On Sunday, two days after the anniversary, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, US Navy Admiral Michael Mullen became the latest US official to say that Guantánamo should be shut down.

“More that anything else, I just think it has been the image – how Gitmo has become around the world, in terms of representing the United States. I believe from the standpoint of how it reflects on us that it’s been pretty damaging.”

What you can still do

Go to tearitdown.org and add your support to Amnesty International’s framework to end illegal US detentions.

Post a tearitdown banner in your website or blog.

NATO-led forces complicit in torture?

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 11:57:54 +0000

People detained in Afghanistan continue to face torture and other ill-treatment, in particular by the country's intelligence service, the National Directorate of Security (NDS). Yet, despite consistent reports of torture and other ill-treatment, including from the UN and Amnesty International,, members of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) – particularly those from Belgium, the UK, Canada, the Netherlands and Norway – have continued to hand detainees over to the NDS.

The abuses are taking place in the context of the ongoing conflict involving the Afghan government, international military forces, the Taleban and other armed groups. Over the past two years, Amnesty International has received repeated reports of torture and other ill-treatment at the hands of the NDS, including detainees being whipped, exposed to extreme cold and deprived of food. Many of them have been arrested arbitrarily and detained incommunicado, without access to lawyers and families.

By transferring individuals to locations where they are at grave risk of torture and other ill-treatment, ISAF states may be complicit in this treatment, and are breaching their international legal obligations.

The report Detainees transferred to torture: ISAF complicity? highlights cases including allegations of torture by Afghan authorities of transferred detainees; incidents where ISAF states have lost track of transferred detainees; the difficulties in independently monitoring detainees in Afghan custody and the practice of on-the-spot transfers without documentation.

Amnesty International is urging all ISAF states to suspend all transfers of detainees and hold them in their custody until effective safeguards are in place. Meanwhile, ISAF countries should promote the reform of the Afghan detention system, including by facilitating training of detention officials. The Afghan government must ensure the end of all practices of torture, other ill-treatment and arbitrary detention in the country.

Guantánamo: pain and distress for thousands of children

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 17:00:10 +0000

Thousands of children around the world have suffered pain and distress as a result of US counter-terror policies and practices.

Some have been held in indefinite virtually incommunicado detention without charge or trial. Some have been subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. And many others still at home are tormented by the absence of their fathers, brothers and other relatives who themselves have been subjected to indefinite detention, in many cases for years.

The US authorities are believed to have held at least 17 children at Guantánamo Bay. Four of them, possibly more, remain there. They are Mohammed al-Gharani and Omar Khadr, who were 15 when detained, Hassan bin Attash, aged 17 when taken, and Yousef al-Shehri, aged 16.

"Sometimes I feel like going out to Bush and say ‘What the hell do you think you are doing’? And sometimes I just feel that maybe I should leave it alone".

Zahra Paracha, 14 year-old daughter of Guantánamo detainee Saifullah Paracha

Another detainee, Yassar al-Zahrani, was reportedly 17 when he was detained. He died in Guantánamo in June 2006, after apparently hanging himself.

Only three of the children held in Guantánamo were separated from the adult detainees, though international law requires special protections for under 18 year olds in detention. The others have been detained in the same harsh conditions as adults, including prolonged solitary confinement, isolation from their families and with no access to education.

All those who were taken into custody when still children and transferred to Guantánamo are now over 18 years old. This does not alter the fact that their earlier treatment violated international principles on the treatment of children.

"As with all detainees, these juveniles were considered enemy combatants that posed a threat to US security. Age is not a determining factor in detention." US Department of Defence, January 2004.

Guantánamo is a symbol of injustice. The US government must close it down. All detainees must be released, or charged and given a fair trial.

The Convention of the Rights of the Child

International law recognizes the particular vulnerabilities of children. The Convention of the Rights of the Child, for example, protects children from indefinite detention and ill-treatment.

The USA has signed this treaty and is obliged under international law not to do anything that would undermine its object and purpose. Apart from Somalia, the USA is the only country in the world that has not yet ratified the Convention.

Conference Report

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 16:40:45 +0000

Amnesty International / Reprieve Conference

The Global Struggle Against Torture: Guantánamo Bay, Bagram and Beyond, 19-21 November 2005

SUMMARY BY DATE:

Saturday, 19 November 2005

Sunday, 20 November 2005

Monday, 21 November 2005

Saturday, 19 November 2005: Torture doesn't stop terror. Torture is terror

Survivors of torture and other ill-treatment in Guantánamo Bay spoke at a conference hosted by Amnesty International (AI) and Reprieve. For several, this was the first time they had seen each other since their release. For two of them, it was the first time they had met, even though they had been held in neighbouring cages.

Eight UK nationals told their stories of how they ended up in Guantánamo and the horrors they endured. In stark contrast to US President George Bush's assertion that the USA does not torture, Moazzam Begg, a UK national who was held in the US-run detention centre, said that "torture does happen, it continues to happen, and it destroys lives."

He and other former detainees spoke of being shackled in painful stress positions, their extreme fear and exhaustion, the lack of medical care, the beatings and broken bones. They highlighted how the rule of law was denied to those in Guantánamo. One reported that, on arrival, he was told by a US soldier "you have no rights to make a phone call, to see a lawyer, to do anything except what we tell you."

With torture thriving in secrecy and the US government blocking meaningful access to Guantánamo, Clive Stafford Smith, Legal Director of Reprieve, said, "if we open Guantánamo up, they will have to close it down."

A panel of experts looked at how to challenge the practice of "outsourcing" torture and the use of "evidence" obtained from torture abroad. Governments that want to ignore the ban on sending people to countries where they risk torture or other ill-treatment have sought "diplomatic assurances" that the person will not be ill-treated on arrival. These assurances were described as not worth the paper they are written on.

Elsewhere, delegates shared their campaigning and legal strategies to combat torture.

The day ended with several family members in tears, talking about their loved ones in Guantánamo Bay.

The conference continues with detainees, family members, lawyers and other activists not only sharing stories but, as Irene Khan, AI Secretary General, said, "harnessing the voices of all who know that torture doesn't stop terror. Torture is terror."

Sunday, 20 November 2005: Torture is killing a person without them dying

"I didn't want to make a big, grand speech. I am just deeply hurt," a mother said after talking about her son detained in Guantánamo Bay. As they did yesterday at the conference hosted by Amnesty International and Reprieve, family members expressed the difficulties and desperation of not knowing if their loved one is being tortured and whether they will ever see them again.

One US research group estimates there to be some eight to 15 secret detention sites throughout the world in at least eight countries. It's believed that detainees are being moved from site to site to evade public knowledge and scrutiny and that foreign intelligence agents are being used to extract information, usually through torture and ill-treatment.

Prolonged incommunicado detention can amount to torture. A Canadian, picked up in a US Airport, sent to Jordan and then to Syria, agreed -- the 10 months and 10 days he was held alone in a dark cell 0.9 meters long by 1.8 meters deep by 2.1 meters high was torture, as were the beatings he received.

When people are held in secret detention and the authorities refuse to disclose their fate or whereabouts, they are described as having been "disappeared". Such "disappearances" often go hand-in-hand with torture and other ill-treatment.

Family members of people who have been "disappeared" are themselves being ill-treated when deliberately deprived of any information and are desperate for news. But as a panelist noted, "while the government practice of 'disappearances' may erase someone from society for a time, the memory of the person cannot be erased. This memory is what spurs family, friends, activists to search for them, no matter what. Eventually, the truth comes out."

The conference discussed the medical impact and effects of torture. One medical expert described torture as "killing a person without them dying". Juvenile detentions, problems with the repatriation of formers detainees, as well as litigation strategies and the role of the UN in defense of individuals' rights were addressed by ex-detainees, family members, lawyers and other activists.

Despite the immense challenges, participants are making new contacts, sharing ideas and strategies and exploring new approaches to combating torture together.

The conference day ended on a rousing note with an impromptu rap performed by an ex-detainee released earlier this year after more than two and a half years in Guantánamo Bay.

Monday, 21 November 2005: Guantánamo: only the tip of the iceberg

“Where is public outrage?" asked Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International, on the final day of conference the organisation has hosted with Reprieve conference.

In the past three days, the conference has highlighted Guantánamo, where many conference delegates have spent time, as the public face of authority stepping outside the rule law in the name of the "war on terror".

However, Guantánamo is only the tip of an iceberg of abuse. Secret detentions, renditions, unfair trials and "disappearances" are practices that fuel torture and create division; ultimately endangering us all.

"We are forced to grapple with a betrayal of common values, double standards and double speak," Ms. Khan said. "Only through continuing to work together: ex-detainees, families, lawyers and other activists -- using a variety of tactics, from media work to litigation, demonstrations to letter-writing -- can we end the abuse and combat impunity for torture and other ill-treatment."

"Through AI's global network of activists in 74 countries, we must galvanize public opinion to work towards achieving security through the respect of human rights and dignity. We each must take the responsibility of shattering public apathy. "

In the words of Clive Stafford-Smith, Reprieve's Legal Director: "What are YOU going to do about it?"