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	UN mercenary experts voice concern over indiscriminate shootings in Iraq by UN News / Washington Post Iraq   25 September 2007   UN mercenary experts voice concern over indiscriminate shootings in Iraq. (UN News)   The United Nations Working Group on the use of mercenaries today expressed its concern over the 16 September “indiscriminate” shooting – claiming the lives of more than 10 Iraqi civilians – in a heavily-populated Baghdad neighbourhood involving a foreign private security company.   In a statement, the Working Group, comprising five independent experts serving in their personal capacities, welcomed investigations in progress to bring to light the facts of this and other reported killings of Iraqi civilians by foreign private security company employees.   The experts noted that “in a number of situations of low intensity armed conflict or post-conflict these private security companies have been given immunity through bilateral Government agreements or decrees – immunity which in many cases becomes a sort of impunity.”   Cautioning against the dangers of privatization and the internationalization of the use of violence, the Working Group stressed Member States’ responsibilities under international law to effectively regulate and control the behaviour of private military and security guards.   The military assistance, consultancy and security services offered by private companies at the global level must not violate human rights, the experts said, recommending that the Governments of the countries where these companies are incorporated or registered and the nations where they operate join forces to create mechanisms to control their activities.   Today’s statement also called on States to accede to the International Convention against the Use, Recruitment, Financing and Training of Mercenaries.   September 18, 2007   Iraqi government vows to challenge the immunity of private security contractors. (Washington Post)   The Iraqi government vowed to challenge the immunity of private security contractors from prosecution under Iraqi law and review the operations of all such companies in Iraq, following a deadly shootout over the weekend involving its private security guards from Blackwater USA.   The decision effectively halted Blackwater"s operations because a main task of the company is to escort diplomats.   The crisis began Sunday when Blackwater employees guarding a U.S. State Department motorcade opened fire in downtown Baghdad, killing at least nine people and as many as 28, according to Iraqi officials. Several witnesses said in interviews Tuesday that Blackwater guards fired without provocation and indiscriminately.   Iraq"s Interior Ministry said Monday that it had revoked Blackwater"s license and launched an investigation, with which U.S. officials said they would cooperate.   The issue has raised fundamental questions over whether Iraq has the ability to regulate the use of force within its borders or whether U.S. officials can supersede that authority.   Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said in an interview that civilian hired guns "should not have immunity" from Iraqi law. "We are a sovereign country and there is no country in the world where security companies could move so freely without being subjected to local laws."   An order created during the tenure of the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority, and still in effect, gives immunity to civilian private contractors from prosecution in Iraqi courts.   18.09.2007 (World News Australia)   The Iraqi Government has banned the private US security firm Blackwater from operating in the country after a deadly shoot-out in Baghdad. Eight Iraqi civilians were killed after Blackwater contractors, escorting a US diplomatic convoy, opened fire in a busy street in the west of the capital. With nearly 1,000 contractors in Iraq, Blackwater is the major private security provider for US officials working in the country.   The Iraqi Government says what happened to these people was a crime. They were on a busy street in western Baghdad when Blackwater security guards escorting a US embassy convoy allegedly opened fire. "They shot randomly," says a man, injured in the incident, "shooting at cars with women and children inside." At least 11 people were wounded. Eight were killed, all civilians.   Accounts of what happened differ, including reports of a shoot-out with insurgents and of a roadside bomb exploding near the convoy. The US and Iraqi governments have agreed to investigate.   A US State Department spokesman said "It seems as though there was an incident and there was innocent loss of life. It"s important for all involved that we allow the investigation to take place".   In the meantime, Iraq has banned Blackwater from operating, and told the company to leave the country. With nearly 1,000 contractors on the ground, Blackwater is the principal security provider for US officials in Baghdad. If expelled, embassy employees would essentially be confined to their compound, unable to carry out much of their work.   The widespread use of private security outfits is highly controversial. The Iraqi Government says the contractors involved in the shooting will stand trial, but it"s a grey area, and their legal status is murky.   Jeremy Scahill, a US author who has investigated the private security sector in Iraq, says "The mercenary component of that private sector involvement has been totally unaccountable - they operate with impunity. And no charges are ever brought against them - in Iraqi law, US law, military law".   This is not the first incident involving private contractors - their resort to lethal force prompting many Iraqis to accuse them of being trigger-happy.
	Between arbitrariness and respect for the rule of law by The International Federation for Human Rights France   September 11, 2007   Human Rights First Statement on the Sixth Anniversary of September 11.   On this, the sixth anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, we commemorate the tragic loss of nearly 3000 innocent people and express our heartfelt condolences to their families.   Every government has a duty to protect its people from violence, and the United States government has taken many steps toward this end that have been both prudent and appropriate.   But the post-9/11 world also has been defined by a dramatic expansion of executive power in this country, which has undermined the structures of American democracy and resulted in violations of fundamental civil liberties and human rights. These actions have included prolonged detention without charge or trial of terrorist suspects, illegal intrusions on the constitutional right to privacy, and expansion of government secrecy – including even the refusal to disclose basic information about government policies to the Congress.   Particularly troubling has been the continued assertion by the executive branch that it can authorize abusive interrogations of prisoners in U.S. custody using techniques that have been rejected by the military as violations of the Geneva Conventions. Most recently, this has taken the form of an Executive Order authorizing the CIA’s program of secret detention and interrogation and finding the program – which in the past reportedly has included the use of torture techniques such as waterboarding and forced hypothermia – to be consistent with Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions.   The military’s own experts on the Geneva Conventions – the Judge Advocates General of the different military services – appear not to have been consulted in the development of this order and reportedly have serious concerns about its impact on the integrity of the Geneva Conventions standards and the safety of U.S. troops.   According to a retired four-star general who served as commandant of the Marine Corps under President Reagan, “The language in the executive order cannot even arguably be reconciled with America’s clear duty under Common Article 3 to treat all detainees humanely and to avoid any acts of violence against their person.”   Human Rights First is concerned that the order risks repeating many of the same mistakes that gave rise to notorious incidents of torture and abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan. The effects of the Executive Order must be reversed by Congress without delay.   The retreat from well-established legal principles over the last six years has weakened human rights standards both at home and internationally, impairing the ability of the United States effectively to counter violent groups and promote human rights abroad.   On this anniversary, we urge the United States government to restore respect for these bedrock principles and reclaim America’s role as the world leader in the struggle for human rights.   Human Rights First has spoken out on these important issues and will continue to do so. We believe that adherence to core American values and universal human rights standards – which in truth are one and the same – will advance national security and the rule of law.   7/09/2007   September 11: Six years on : The fight against terrorism, between the temptation of arbitrariness and respect for the rule of law. (International Federation for Human Rights)   Six years after the attacks of September 11, 2001 arbitrary arrests, acts of torture and condemnations to death - all in the name of the so-called war on terror - are widespread. The continuing failure of regional and international human rights mechanisms to protect human rights when confronted with such violations is of grave concern to FIDH.   There is much to to be learnt from the recent investigations in the United Kingdom, Denmark and Germany that succeeded in preventing reportedly deadly terrorist attacks. For while the investigations highlight the existence of the ever-present terrorist threat, the successful intervention of the relevant authorities show it is possible to combine the fight against terrorism with respect for international law.   In its rapport published today, FIDH condemns the systematic use of torture in the case of the Islamists’ Affairs in Mauritania. In addition, FIDH last month undertook an international fact-finding mission to the Philippines that exposed the all too common use of torture against suspected terrorists, ranging from supposed members of armed so-called leftist groups to sympathisers with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front or the armed group Abu Sayaf.   Since 2001, the United States of America has undertaken a series of anti-terrorism measures that violate international law, including the CIA flights, illegal renditions and detention in undisclosed locations. On 24 August 2007, in support of its affiliate league in the USA, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and in partnership with other NGOs, FIDH filed an amicus curiae in the Supreme Court of the United States of America challenging the constitutionality of the Military Commissions Act of October 2006, which denies suspected terrorists from effective judicial means to challenge the validity of their detention.   While it is important for member States of the European Union to continue to work together in their fight against terrorism, it is equally necessary for those states to establish a number of safeguards that will prevent potential human rights violations. This would include stenghtening the accountability of the activities of European intelligence services and the right for those groups or individuals listed as terrorists to contest the decision before an independent body. No exceptions to the rule of law should be tolerated.   Furthermore, deportation decisions must be able to be contested so as to guarantee the respect of the principle of non-refoulement preventing to return individuals to countries where they would face serious risks to their safety.   FIDH believes that the strict respect of legal norms in the fight against terrorism is an essential condition for success. To this end, FIDH reaffirms the urgence of the international community finalising the International Convention against Terrorism.   Attacks against a civilian population can in no way be justified and the perpetrators must be bought to justice based on universal norms of human rights protection. FIDH recalls the publication of its report, in October 2005, entitled "Anti-Terrorism versus Human Rights: the Key to Compatibility", which demonstrates the strong link between the success in the fight against terror and the respect for fundamental human rights. Violations of fundamental human rights undermine the legitimacy of states responsible for such practices and serve only to feed the terrorist propganda of hate.   Sept 2007   Student Protestors in Bangladesh Violently Suppressed.   The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) reports that on August 20 and 21, army personnel violently suppressed student protests at Dhaka University in Bangladesh and other educational institutions.   Students were protesting against a number of alleged assaults on students by soldiers in Dhaka during a recent football match.   Reports indicate the protestors were calling for the withdrawal of military and police camps from all educational institutions, an apology from the army chief for the assaults, punishment of the security forces involved in the assaults, proper medical care for the injured, and the lifting of the nationwide state of emergency.   There are also reports that security officers arrested a number of teachers and professors from Dhaka University without making public their whereabouts or the nature of the charges against them. FIDH is urging the authorities in Bangladesh to put an end to all acts of retaliation against legitimate and peaceful protesters.They also call on the government to ensure that the rights of those arrested will be observed. Visit the related web page
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