Impunity Watch: Special Features

The First Steps Toward De-nuclearization

An Eye on North Korea

by Jeff Nelson

Multiple talks have finally resulted in progress with North Korea in the area of nuclear weapons, and it is about time.  Two weeks ago the nuclear reactor at Yongbyon was shut down, the event confirmed by IAEA inspectors.  Hopefully future talks can continue the cooperation from all sides and the termination of North Korean nuclear capabilities.

So the story goes...  During February of 2007, six nations struck an agreement to initialize an end to the North Korean nuclear programs. The talks between North Korea, South Korea, Japan, China, Russia, and the U.S. resulted in UN: IAEA  nuclear inspectors returning to North Korea and the nuclear facilities at Yongbyon closing operations. All five facilities a the Yongbyon complex have been confirmed shut down and the aid is flowing into North Korea.  After receiving the first 50,000 tons of energy aid in the form of fuel oil the North Korean minister to the U.N. declared that the reactor was shut down.  Confirmation came a few days later, after which the first sixty trucks carrying rice crossed the border into North Korea as part of the promised 400,000 tons of food aid.  The agreement last February called for one million tons in energy aid and the promised food aid to be given to North Korea in exchange for shutting down the nuclear complex at Yongbyon, declaring all nuclear programs, and disabling all other existing nuclear facilities.

The first steps have been taken, but talks last week failed to set a timetable for disclosing and disabling all nuclear programs.  Nobody wants the process to drag on and the U.S. envoy would like to see the process completed by the end of the year.  But if you ask me that it a little two optimistic.  It took over four years of talks to get a nuclear reactor shut down.  Pushing the rest of the deal through in less then six months seems like it may stint the progress that has been made with the rouge state.   They are considering providing other forms of energy aid to North Korea to quicken the process because they only have the capability to receive 50,000 tons of fuel oil a month.  That means we are looking at around twenty months if no other forms of aid are provided. 

Drawing out the process a little bit longer may be a benefit.  I can see cutting down the process by a few months or a year, but trying to hurry everything up may come back to bite us.  The longer process should ensure that the IAEA has plenty of time for setting up surveillance and managing the dismemberment of the complex at Yongbyon and other facilities.  Sending the aid over a longer period of time can be used as an extra bargaining chip in negotiations to get full disclosure from North Korea and eventually convince them to turn over their nuclear materials.  Providing more aid faster could even be used as incentive to agree on a timetable when the working groups meet again in August.

With the capabilities North Korea has shown, getting the nuclear facilities at Yongbyon shut down is a step in the right direction toward reigning-in the unpredictable state. As they say, "the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." The first few steps have been taken, but we should still be questioning how far we have really traveled before we start running.   We have no guarantees when it comes to North Korea and the stability of the regime there, but so far a little bit of patience and diplomacy has paid off.   Hopefully this sets a precedent for dealing with other nations like say Iran...

Sources:
BBC News: "N Korea talks finish without deal" 20 Jul. 2007 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6907709.stm>.
BBC News: "North Korea talks set no deadline" 19 Jul. 2007 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6905806.stm>.
CNN.com: "S. Korea: NK willing to disable nuke program" 18 Jul. 2007 <http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/07/18/nkorea.nuclear.ap/index.html#cnnSTCText>.
BBC News: "Small step on long road for N. Korea" 18 Jul. 2007 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6901861.stm>.
CNN.com: "UN: All N. Korea nuclear facilities closed" 18 Jul. 2007 <http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/07/18/north.korea.inspectors.reut/index.html#cnn STCTex >.
The Economist: "North Korea: Pyongyangology" 7 Jul. 2007, p. 59.

 

Female Feticide and Female Infanticide in India

The Indian government claims that around 10 million girls have been killed by their parents – either before or immediately after birth – over the past 20 years.1

Fetal sex determination and medical termination of pregnancy on the basis of a fetus’ gender has been illegal since 1994, yet people are still practicing female feticide.2 Female feticide is a horrific practice that has emerged due to recent technology allowing the sex of a baby to be determined before birth.

Female infanticide (the killing of the baby soon after birth) continues to occur alongside female feticide throughout the country. Just recently thirty polythene bags stuffed with the body parts of female fetuses and newly born babies were found in a dry well near a private clinic in the East Indian state of Orissa.3

The question emerges as to why is there this huge preference for males in India, and what can be done to protect these innocent girls. In some instances, the dowry system has been a concern for families, due to the economic burden and strain it places on families, especially where more than one daughter is concerned. Despite being illegal, it is still customary to pay the husband’s family dowries at the time of a daughter’s marriage.4

Although the dowry system plays a role, female feticide and female infanticide is not restricted to poverty stricken families. Recent data shows that prosperity, not poverty, leads to a preference for the male child and to selective abortions of the female fetus.5 Some causes cited for the preference of males include: a preference of boys who can carry on the family line (girls are typically seen as joining their husband’s families), and some say a father needs a son to light his funeral pyre when he dies.6

Tougher legislation is making it possible for authorities to stage raids on pre-natal clinics to check records and look for evidence of illegal sex selection.7 However, one concern is that it is difficult to determine which abortions were performed based solely on sex-selection.

Another attempt to stop female infanticide is the Cradle Baby Scheme whereby parents can surrender unwanted baby girls to the state.8

Recently a cabinet member has suggested that all Indian women would be required to register their pregnancies and would need government permission for abortions-the standard has not been fully explained but it has been said there would need to be a “valid and acceptable reason.”9 It appears that some women activists are against this idea due to the enormous intrusion it would place on a woman’s privacy.

While a pregnancy registration system may not be the answer, something must be done to stop this deep-rooted gender bias, and mass killing of girls.

Sources:
1. CNN.COM, “Indian police find bags of babies’ bones” (Reuters), July 23, 2007.
2. International Herald Tribune, “10 Million aborted female fetuses in India” (The Associated Press), January 9, 2006. (www.iht.com).
3. CNN.COM, “Indian police find bags of babies’ bones” (Reuters), July 23, 2007.
4. CNN.COM, “Grim motives behind infant killings” July 7, 2003.
5. UNICEF.ORG, “Prosperity, not poverty behind female foeticide” by Vichitra Sharma and Karuna Bishnoi, September 2005.
6. BBC NEWS, “India targets female foeticide” by Jill McGivering, February 15, 2003. (http://news.bbc.co.uk)
7. Id.
8. CNN.COM, “Grim motives behind infant killings” July 7, 2003.
9. New York Times, “India Tries to Stop Sex-Selective Abortions” July 15, 2007. (www.nytimes.com)

Corrupted Numbers

by: D. Pandian

Newspapers are frequently plastered with allegations of political scandal and corruption, most recently seen with the media circus surrounding Former French President Jacques Chirac. Though it is easy to succumb to an apathetic attitude that nothing can be done to remedy such situations, it is important to remember that behind every act of political corruption is a group of individuals adversely affected. Professor Arvind Verma of Indiana University provides us with an example of this in his article "Lies, Damn Lies and UP Crime Statistics", which evaluates claims that crime had decreased by the incumbent candidate, Mulayam Singh Yadav, in the most recent elections in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

Verma points out that "dark" (non-reported) figure of crime in India is at least 10-20 times more than is reported by the police. Factors impeding people from reporting include having to go to a police station to lodge a complaint, especially in areas with poor communication and transport systems. With the 2001 Indian census reporting a literacy rate of 57.36 percent in Uttar Pradesh, Verma also listed rampant illiteracy as a factor in under-reporting of crimes. More insidiously, Verma notes that police corruption also contributes, noting that officers are notorious for ignoring citizen complaints and usually need to be bribed to lodge a complaint. Trends in reported robberies indicate that numbers are being under-reported or more probably doctored.

In the course of his own research, Verma was told that the incumbent candidate had ordered police to under-report crime statistics. A recent scandal in Noida City, uncovering the illegal distribution of public lands to favorite officers, including many district police chiefs who carried out government orders to control crime, shows one of the ways in which the incumbent government had repaid officers that complied with their request.

Verma makes the morbid point that while robbery numbers are more easily manipulated, "Murder figures are difficult to manipulate because dead bodies have to be counted." Crime statistics put Uttar Pradesh as having one of the highest incidences of crimes such as murder, kidnapping, violent crime, and crimes against particular caste.

Verma recounts some of the notably gross miscarriages of justice that occurred under Yadav’s watch. Such incidents include the murder of a young businessman cum whistleblower for attempting to expose dishonest traders, the murder of a couple that dared to break caste taboos, and the gruesome murder of several children by a businessman in Noida City. This last incident made international headlines and highlighted police neglect. Missing children complaints had been ignored for more than twenty months, and were only investigated after locals unearthed the bones of children near the home of the accused businessman. Delays in investigation were attributed to the lower social status of the persons who filed missing persons reports.

Though Verma’s article mainly seeks to highlight the misuse of statistics to further a political end, the content of his article makes a larger point. In the face of such horrific consequences, can we afford to be apathetic to political corruption?

Source:

"Lies, Damn Lies, and UP Crime Statistics." India in Transition.                                                     Center for the Advanced Study of India, University of Pennsylvania.     http://casi.ssc.upenn.edu//india/index.html - 9 July 2007.

Forced Prostitution in Greece

By: Gabie Hart

Women and young girls being trafficked across borders and forced into prostitution is a form of slavery that is not isolated to a few select regions of the world, but instead is a horrific practice that takes place all over the world. In Europe, Greece has been one of the countries taking center stage as a place where forced prostitution occurs.

As far back as 6 years ago, in 2001, Human Rights Watch issued a memorandum in which the Greek government was criticized for allowing the traffickers and their accomplices to enjoy impunity, while the victims themselves are treated almost like criminals by the police who apprehend, detain and deport them.1

Unfortunately, it has recently been reported that the situation in Greece is much unchanged. Amnesty International released a report, Greece: Uphold the rights of women and girls trafficked for sexual exploitation, explaining that forced prostitution is still occurring today, and that many of the victims come from Eastern Europe and Africa.2 The report points out that these women and children are not only victims of serious human rights abuses by the traffickers, including freedom from torture or other ill-treatment, but also are victims of serious human rights abuses by the subsequent violations of the criminal justice system in Greece.3

The issue with the law in Greece is that the laws that have been introduced since 2001 have failed to correctly identify most trafficked women and only a few have received limited protection or other assistance.4 These women and children have faced such horrific abuses, and to think that once they finally get away, they are either deported, or are offered limited protection if they are to bring justice is completely absurd. Imagine, being a woman in such a situation, to have had your body abused over and over again, to at some point think that this could be how you are to spend everyday for the rest of your life, and then when you do get away to know that your captors will not be punished, and to know that your body will be replaced by another woman’s body because your traffickers will receive impunity.

It is important to note despite the large number of traffickers that receive impunity, there are a few who are held accountable. Recently, 3 Ukrainian women were taken to a shelter for abused women, when the police arrested 11, apparently their captors, during a raid to break up a prostitution ring.5 It has been said, as happens to many of these women, that they were lured to Greece on false job premises and then upon arrival were beaten, raped and held against their will.6 However, the arrest of 11 is not enough to stop the abuse that is occurring in this country. The Greek Government needs to do something to ensure, for these victims of forced prostitution, that justice is served.

Sources:
1. Human Rights Watch: “Greece: Urgent Action Required on Trafficking,” July 24, 2001. www.hrw.org
2. Amnesty International USA Press Release: “Greek Government Failing Women and Girls Trafficked For Forced Prostitution, Amnesty International Reveals” June 13, 2007. www.amnestyusa.org
3. Id.
4. Id.
5. International Herald Tribune, Associated Press: “11 Arrested As Forced Prostitution Ring Uncovered In Greece” July 9, 2007. www.iht.com
6. Id.

Trouble in Pakistan

by: D. Pandian

Entering his eighth year as Pakistani head of state, President Pervez Musharraf is increasingly faced with serious challenges to his rule. Though Musharraf's reign was originally intended as a temporary means to restore stability, Musharraf’s repeated attempts to lengthen his stay in power likens him more to past Pakistani military dictators than the proponent of democracy he claims to be.

One direct challenge to Musharraf’s authority manifested in Musharraf’s attempt to force the resignation of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhury, a noted progressive in women’s rights and human rights. Though Musharraf claims this request was made on account of corruption and nepotism charges brought against Chaudhry, it is more widely recognized that the forced resignation was motivated by  Chaudhry’s criticism of human rights abuses committed by the Pakistani military in the province of Balochistan. Chaudhry’s removal has vaulted him to iconic status, as he has come to be regarded as a  symbol of defiance to the country’s military regime. The proof to popular support behind Chaudhry was shown by the explosion of riots throughout Pakistan to protest Chaudhry's removal.

Another challenge to Musharraf’s power has manifested itself in the nation’s religious establishment. Clerics of the notorious Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) have been implicated in moves to enforce Sharia (Islamic) law in the region, repeatedly taking hostages of local police and persons the clerics accuse of crimes against Islam. Over the past week, a major stand-off developed between the military and the mosque members. More than 1000 people, including many young students, were holed up in the mosque while government forces set off explosions in front of the mosque and urged those inside to surrender.

These events evidence the decline of Musharraf’s influence over the nation’s social institutions, and increasing dissatisfaction with the current military regime. Considering the nation’s history with fallen military dictators, Musharraf may wish to take recent events as his cue to step down in a good faith gesture to his supposed democratic values.

Sources:

"'Mass exodus' at Pakistan mosque." BBC.                               http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6271894.stm - 5 July 2007.

"The judge Vs the dictator: the law takes on the military." The Independent. http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article2733261.ece - 5 July 2007.

"The Musharraf Dilemma." Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118152136978730715.html?mod=googlenews_wsj - 11 June 2007.

Zimbabwe: Food Crisis Escalates

Since the year 2000, when the ZANU-PF government started its land reform after a clear defeat in the constitutional referendum, the food crisis in Zimbabwe has escalated to unprecedented levels. Coupled with climatic factors, rising unemployment, staggering inflation rate, effects of HIV/AIDS, and a biased administration of aid programs, it is estimated that by September 2007, more than 2.1 million Zimbabweans will be in dire need of food aid. By early 2008 this number could easily reach 4.1 million.

The “fast-track land reform programme” implemented by Mugabe’s government comes as the result of a constitutional amendment which was rejected in a referendum but implemented nevertheless. The program allows for land to be taken from commercial farmers without compensation and in many instances without due process. Since its inception, the program has been plagued with accusations of harassment and violent assault on commercial farmers and farm workers. Corruption has also affected the program’s implementation since many accuse the government of biased allocation of land according to political affiliation.

Supporters of the political opposition have been excluded in many instances from participation in the land reform. Also, despite the fact that a third of the households in Zimbabwe are headed by women, only 18 percent of the new small-scale farms and 12 percent of beneficiaries of the new commercial farms are women-headed households.

The land reform program aimed at reducing poverty and population pressure in the communal areas. However, as implemented, the program has had little effect on both fronts. There has not been any significant reduction in poverty and communal areas are still under the stress caused by overpopulation. “Both the farm invasions and the way in which the fast-track land reform programme was implemented have contributed to a reduction in the domestic production of both food and export crops in Zimbabwe.”[1]

Despite President Mugabe’s pledge to implement a mechanization program to enable new farmers to gain access to agricultural equipment, political affiliation continues to play a role in the way these relief programs are implemented. It has also been reported that food aid is only distributed by the government when campaigning for parliamentary elections.

Regardless of the gravity of the food scarcity situation, there have been reports by relief agencies about senior government officials threatening the closure of agencies such as World Vision. Moreover, the government has asked other organizations to leave, alleging the food crisis is under control.

The politization of programs designed to offer relief to needy populations continue to undermine their effectiveness. Development experts argue that access to simple agricultural technologies in rural areas which continue to be marginalized, but which ironically possess the best natural resources to be tapped, will enable these communities to close the gap between the urban communities and between Africa and the rest of the developed world in terms of technological development. Unfortunately, many people in Zimbabwe and elsewhere in the continent are more concerned about access to basic needs rather than technologies. However, in the long run, un-biased technology transfer to these communities is a prerequisite to sustainable development and for African development.

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[1] Amnesty International, Zimbabwe: Power and hunger – violations of the right to food, 15 October 2004. AI Index: AFR 46/026/2004.

For more information please see:

The Legal Office of the Right to Food, The Right to Food in Theory and Practice, http://www.fao.org/Legal/rtf/bkl.htm

Makanga, Davison, Food a Political Tool?, Allafrica.com, 25 June 2007, http://www.allafrica.com

Amnesty International, Zimbabwe, http://www.amnesty.ca/zimbabwe

The Zimbabwe Independent, Zimbabwe: Economy in Crisis, 29 June 2007, http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/