Amnesty International | ukwatch.net

Gaza: Humanitarian situation worst since 1967

JamieSW — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 23:34:27 +0000

The humanitarian situation in Gaza is worse now than it’s been at any time since the beginning of the Israeli occupation in 1967, according to a new report published today (6 March) by a coalition of leading humanitarian and human rights organisations. The weekend’s upsurge in violence and human misery underlines the urgency of this report.

In their new joint report, the coalition – comprising Amnesty International, CARE International UK, CAFOD, Christian Aid, Médecins du Monde UK, Oxfam, Save The Children UK and Trócaire – warns that Israel’s blockade of Gaza is a collective punishment of the entire Gazan civilian population of 1.5 million. The report concludes that the Israeli government’s policy of blockade is unacceptable, illegal and fails to deliver security for Palestinians and Israelis alike.

Geoffrey Dennis, Chief Executive of CARE International UK said:

‘The recent escalation in violence, both from rocket attacks and military strikes, will make life even more unbearable in Gaza. Unemployment has soared and 80% of people in Gaza are now dependent on food aid compared to 63% in 2006. Water and sewage infrastructure is on the point of total collapse. Unless the blockade ends now, it will be impossible to pull Gaza back from the brink of this disaster and any hopes for peace in the region will be dashed.’

According to the report, the blockade of Gaza has dramatically worsened levels of poverty and unemployment and has led to deterioration in education and health services. Over 1.1 million people are now dependent on food aid and of 110,000 workers previously employed in the private sector, 75,000 workers have now lost their jobs.

Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen said:

‘Israel has the right and obligation to protect its citizens, but as the occupying power in Gaza it also has a legal duty to ensure that Gazans have access to food, clean water, electricity and medical care. Punishing the entire Gazan population by denying them these basic human rights is utterly indefensible. The current situation is man-made and must be reversed.’

The coalition’s 16 page report, ‘The Gaza Strip: A humanitarian implosion’, urges the UK government and EU to press for a new strategy for Gaza. In particular, the report calls on the UK government to:

Exert greater pressure on the Israeli government to open the crossings into Gaza and stop fuel and electricity cuts in order to stem the worsening humanitarian crisis.

Help facilitate a process of Palestinian reconciliation that can lead to a credible and effective peace process with Israel.

Abandon the failed policy of non-engagement and begin negotiations with all Palestinian parties, including Hamas.

The report calls on the Israeli Government and Palestinian armed groups to immediately cease all attacks against civilians. All unlawful attacks must stop: the Government of Israel should put an immediate end to disproportionate attacks in Gaza and Palestinian armed groups should immediately stop indiscriminate rocket attacks into southern Israel.

Christian Aid’s Director, Daleep Mukarji, said:

‘The UK government should acknowledge that a new strategy is needed for Gaza. The current policy does not secure vital security for Israeli citizens, and even if it did the blockade policy would still be unacceptable and illegal. Humanitarian aid can help stave off total collapse but it will not provide a long-term solution. Gaza cannot become a partner for peace unless Israel, Fatah and the Quartet engage with Hamas and give the people of Gaza a future.’

Read the full report here (.pdf).

UK: No extension to pre-charge detention limits is acceptable

JamieSW — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 23:15:37 +0000

No extension to pre-charge detention limits for terrorism suspects is acceptable, said Amnesty today (6 December) as the organisation reacted to Home Office proposals to raise the limit to 42 days.

Amnesty International UK Campaigns Director Tim Hancock said:

‘Granting the power to detain suspects for 42 days without charge would rob people of their basic rights. No amount of parliamentary window-dressing can disguise that fact. The ‘consensus’ is against extending pre-charge detention, not in favour.’

Amnesty recently published a briefing outlining ten arguments against extending pre-charge detention.

UK: Ten good reasons why extending pre-charge detention is a bad idea:

1. UNDERMINES one of our most basic rights, enshrined in UK law as far back as Magna Carta and now at the heart of the European Convention on Human Rights, to which UK is a signatory: the right for anyone who is detained by the state to be told promptly why they are being held and what they are charged with.

2. COMMUNITY relations will suffer if the Muslim community appears to be particularly targeted for prolonged pre-charge detention. This could have an impact on intelligence gathering and policing, and could undermine positive efforts to engage with Muslims in the UK.

3. IMPACT on any individuals detained for such a long time – in terms of their job, family, house, friendships and relationships within their community – would be devastating.

4. QUESTIONED widely by experts – Lord Goldsmith (former Attorney General), Stella Rimington (former MI5 Chief), Sir Ken Macdonald (Director of Public Prosecutions and head of the Crown Prosecution Service) and parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights.

5. UNDERMINES presumption of innocence -Two months in prison is roughly equivalent to the length of time someone might serve in prison for assault. Lengthy pre-charge detention would impose what is in effect a ‘sentence’ of two months on somebody who may never be charged with any crime.

6. UK ALREADY has by far the longest pre-charge detention period for offences related to terrorism of any common law state.

7. INTERNATIONAL STANDING – it is much harder for the UK to criticise the human rights records of other countries that lock people up without charge when we are doing so at home. This measure would give other countries a ‘green light’ to curtail civil liberties.

8. HISTORY – from Northern Ireland and Amnesty’s experience all over the world – shows that locking people up without charge doesn’t work.

9. STATEMENTS obtained from suspects could be deemed inadmissible at trial if detention conditions are considered to be unduly harsh.

10. SAFEGUARDS discussed are insufficient – the kind of judicial oversight proposed is in no way the same as charging someone and giving them the chance to defend themselves in a fair trial.

UK Must do More to Ease Iraqi Refugee Crisis

Ellie Keen — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 23:37:52 +0000

The Iraqi refugee crisis is reaching breaking point, said a new Amnesty International report today following a research mission to Syria and Jordan which host the bulk of Iraq’s refugees. Help from the international community has been ‘seriously inadequate,’ concludes the report, focusing particularly on countries like the UK which participated in the invasion of Iraq and hence ‘carry particular responsibilities to Iraqis’.

The report, Millions in flight: the Iraqi refugee crisis, commends the Syrian and Jordanian governments for largely keeping their borders open to date but accuses other states of doing too little to help them meet the needs of almost two million Iraqi refugees whom they now host. As a result, the two countries are taking steps to tighten border controls and so cut off the main escape routes for people fleeing from sectarian and other violence in Iraq.

The new report highlights the ‘negative measures’ employed by some countries, identifying the UK as forcibly returning more Iraqi refugees than any other country in Europe. The organisation opposes forcible returns to any part of Iraq, including the North, noting the persistence of violence and instability and the potential for civil war to spread to the Northern Governorates. It also criticises the UK policy of cutting-off support to refused asylum seekers who cannot return home, a policy that has left some Iraqi asylum seekers destitute.

Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen said:

‘The international community has largely ignored the plight of millions of Iraqis displaced inside and outside Iraq.

‘With Syria and Jordan now preparing to tighten border controls, desperate people fleeing violence and death threats may have no escape route available.

‘It’s staggering that the UK is sending people back to Iraq when it should be helping Syria and Jordan to cope with this refugee crisis. As one of the countries involved in the invasion of Iraq, it has a moral obligation to help those displaced by the bloodshed that has followed.’

Amnesty is also co-hosting an event at the Labour Party conference, Iraqi refugees: our responsibility? with Human Rights Watch and the Refugee Council. The event is at 12.45 on Monday 24 September at the Wessex Hotel, Bournemouth. An Iraqi man who served with the coalition forces in Iraq and is now seeking asylum in the UK following threats against him will be speaking at the event.

At least four million Iraqis are now displaced and their numbers are continuing to rise at an estimated rate of 2,000 people per day, making this the world’s fastest growing displacement crisis. Syria now hosts 1.4 million Iraqi refugees and Jordan 500-750,000 – making up 10% of Jordan’s population – while 2.2 million people are displaced but still remain within Iraq.

Kate Allen said:

“The international community – including the UK – must do more to assist Jordan and Syria by providing increased financial, technical and in-kind bilateral assistance and by accepting greater numbers of especially vulnerable refugees for resettlement.”

‘The modest steps taken by the international community simply do not measure up to the magnitude of the crisis.’

Although many pledges for assistance have been made, some have not yet been honoured and the level of support delivered has been seriously insufficient given the actual needs on the ground.

Amnesty International is also calling for on-going assistance to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), as well as national and international humanitarian organisations to enable them to continue to provide and expand their current work to protect and assist Iraqis in need.

The report criticises the slow pace of resettlement of those considered most vulnerable among the Iraqi refugees in Jordan and Syria, including victims of torture and other grave abuses. It notes that between 2003, when the US-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussain, and 2006, the number of Iraqi refugees who were resettled in third countries fell by more than a half, despite rising political violence. According to UNHCR, 1,425 Iraqi refugees were resettled in third countries in 2003 but only 404 in 2006.