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Update

Last week Zimbabwe's Global Political Agreement (GPA) turned one year old. The GPA was negotiated as a political compromise following the violence and contested elections of March-June 2008. And how did the proud parents (the Southern African Development Community, or SADC, which brokered and now guarantees the agreement) and family members (President Mugabe of ZANU-PF, Prime Minister Tsvangirai of MDC-T and Deputy Prime Minister Mutambara of MDC-M) celebrate this milestone? Well, they didn't. But since every birthday should be commemorated, here's my retrospective on the year. In haiku. Mugabe no sign Gono, Tomana stay on No rule of law yet Abuse rise, fall,…

September 22, 2009

Update

Gouri is in Sierra Leone this week to get a first-hand perspective of how maternal mortality affects the women and families living there. She will be sharing stories throughout her trip as a part of our Maternal Mortality in Sierra Leone series. Sunday, September 20th: I arrive in Sierra Leone Sunday at 3:30 p.m. From the airport there are two ways to get to Freetown, the capital: by boat or by helicopter. We take the ferry along the Atlantic Ocean, which takes about 35 minutes, and we arrive in Freetown. Freetown seems to have grown around itself. Its infrastructure barely…

September 22, 2009

Update

Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) took to the streets of Zimbabwe over the last two days to commemorate International Day of Peace. As the flyer they handed out during their march explains, "[I]t is a year after the global political agreement (GPA) was signed on 15 September 2008. This deal was supposed to bring peace to Zimbabwe. The United Nations theme this year is: Better than a thousand empty words is ONE WORD that brings peace. The GPA contains 6,567 words but we are yet to see if these words really stand for peace. Because we are still waiting for…

September 22, 2009

Update

HONDURAS – Surprise Return of Ousted President Sparks Protests Following the surprise return of ousted President Manuel Zelaya on Monday, thousands of protestors gathered in support outside of the Brazilian embassy where Zelaya is currently seeking refuge, defying a city-wide curfew. As reported by the AP, a 26-hour curfew in the capital began Monday afternoon, with the international airports closed and road blocks erected to prevent future protests. According to the BBC, police have surrounded the Embassy, wearing riot gear and firing tear gas into the crowd in order to dissolve the protesters. De facto President Roberto Micheletti, initially unaware of…

September 22, 2009

Update

The United States is fast losing their credibility in the region and among Human Rights organizations and activists over our reluctance to support the recommendations contained in Justice Richard Goldstone's report (pdf). Justice Richard Goldstone, who gained respect internationally for his work in the UN International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda and his human rights work in Argentina, South Africa and Kosovo led an investigation into violations of international law committed by all parties involved in the fighting last winter in Gaza and southern Israel.  The UN mandated investigation found that both Israeli forces and Palestinian…

September 22, 2009

Update

(Originally posted on Daily Kos) Last Friday seven former Directors of Central Intelligence wrote an open letter to President Obama calling for him to reverse the Attorney General's decision to reopen an investigation into alleged criminal acts committed by CIA interrogators. This letter marks a new low point in the debate about accountability. Can it really be true that none of the authors are in any way troubled that officers in an agency they once ran tortured prisoners in their care? The authors state that these cases have already been reviewed and discarded by career Department of Justice prosecutors and…

September 22, 2009

Update

Amnesty International is sad to learn of the death of Felipe Arreaga, former environmental activist from Petatlán, Guerrero, in Mexico. Arreaga, founder of the Peasant Environmentalist Organization of the Sierra de Petatlán (Organización Campesina Ecologista de la Sierra de Petatlán - OCESP), died last Wednesday morning September 16th, after being hit by a mini bus while he travelled along the national highway, connecting Acapulco and Zihuatanejo. In 2004, Amnesty International adopted Felipe Arreaga as a prisoner of conscience, issuing Urgent Actions and initiating other work on his behalf. On November 3, 2004, Felipe was detained and unjustly charged for a…

September 21, 2009

Update

by Lillian Tan, Corporate Action Network Intern On September 11th, 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals of the D.C. District ruled 2 to 1 to dismiss Saleh v. Titan, a lawsuit brought against CACI International, a private military and security company (PMSC), which alleged that CACI personnel participated in torture and abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib. CACI was awarded a Department of Interior (DOI) contract to provide translation services at Abu Ghraib. Judge Silberman, in his majority opinion, concluded that the plaintiffs' state law tort claims under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) were preempted by the Federal Tort Claims…

September 20, 2009

Update

Its official: Amnesty International USA is touring with U2. U2’s “360 Degrees” US tour kicked off this past Saturday, September 12th in Chicago, but Amnesty has been a part of the tour since the first date in Barcelona over the summer. Amnesty International’s focus will be the new campaign Demand  Dignity that works to end the human rights abuses that are a cause and a consequence of poverty. Volunteers will be taking photos of fans holding placard signs that say “Justice Against Poverty”, as well as signing up new members and explaining to people how they can take action on…

September 18, 2009

Update

Human Rights Watch said something on Sri Lanka yesterday at the UN Human Rights Council that bears repeating: "Additionally, the Council should establish an independent international investigation into violations of international humanitarian law during the fighting between the government and the LTTE." Amnesty International has been calling for such an investigation for some time.  Thousands of civilians were killed in the last stages of the fighting between the Sri Lankan government and the opposition Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).  Amnesty has received testimonies that both the Sri Lankan security forces and the LTTE were responsible for severe violations of international human rights…

September 17, 2009

Update

Today is Constitution Day.  On this day, September 17, in 1787, the US Constitution was signed by a group of men known collectively these days as the “Founding Fathers”.  Yesterday, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (TCCA) celebrated a day early by denying relief to Charles Dean Hood despite the fact that the judge and prosecutor were sleeping together during his trial.  Charles Dean Hood received a death sentence in 1990 in Collin Country, Texas for the murders of Ronald Williamson and Tracie Lynn Wallace.  The Honorable Verla Sue Holland served as the judge during his trial while Thomas O’Connel—Collin…

September 17, 2009

Update

Prisoner of conscience Jacinta Francisco Marcial, a mother of six who was falsely accused in 2006 of kidnapping six federal agents has been released after serving three years in prison in Mexico. Amnesty pressed for her release after concluding no evidence existed against her and she had been arrested, tried and convicted because she was poor and of indigenous heritage. Her release raises serious questions about the reliability of the entire prosecution case and highlights clear failings in the investigation. Amnesty International is calling for a full review into her unfounded prosecution and for her to receive full compensation for…

September 17, 2009