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	Civilians bear cost of escalating Insurgent Attacks by UN News / Human Rights Watch Afghanistan   21 May 2007   UN appeals for halt to attacks on food convoys in Afghanistan.   The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) today appealed for an end to the increasing attacks on food convoys in the southern part of the strife-torn country.   “The UN has been working in Afghanistan for half a century to help people in need, and these food supplies are destined for some of the country’s most vulnerable people in some of the most vulnerable communities,” UNAMA spokesperson Adrian Edwards said in Kabul.   Over the past 11 months there have been 16 incidents in which convoys of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) have been attacked, and food and vehicles damaged or stolen, with seven of the attacks occurring since the start of April.   “We call upon those responsible to immediately halt these acts, which are robbing Afghanistan of badly needed aid,” Mr. Edwards said.   23 April 2007   Use of minor in Taliban execution sparks UNICEF outrage.   Condemning the use of a minor in an execution carried out by the Taliban in Afghanistan, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said today that such acts – deplorably not uncommon in many countries – constitute war crimes under international law.   A video circulating currently in Pakistan shows a young boy beheading an adult, UNICEF said in a statement released in New York and Geneva.   “The act was a terrible example of how children can be used by adults to commit heinous crimes in times of conflict,” the statement noted, adding that the use of any child under the age of 15 in a conflict in any capacity represents a war crime.   “It is not uncommon to see children forced to commit atrocities against their neighbours and even their own families. These acts cut off all ties between these children and their original communities and strengthen their dependency on the armed group that has recruited them.”   UNICEF has programmes in many countries where former child soldiers are helped to reintegrate into their communities and given psychological and emotional support to overcome their distress.   Kabul, April 17, 2007   Civilians bear cost of escalating Insurgent Attacks. (Human Rights Watch)   Civilian deaths from insurgent attacks in Afghanistan increased dramatically over the past 15 months, and many were the result of insurgents’ failure to respect the laws of war, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.   The 116-page report, “The Human Cost: The Consequences of Insurgent Attacks in Afghanistan,” describes how Afghan insurgent groups, primarily Taliban and Hezb-e Islami forces, sharply escalated bombing and other attacks in 2006 and early 2007. The report is based on dozens of interviews with civilian victims of attacks and their families and a lengthy review of available documents and records.   “Suicide bombings and other insurgent attacks have risen dramatically since 2005, with almost 700 civilians dying last year at the hands of the Taliban and other such groups,” said Joanne Mariner, terrorism and counterterrorism director at Human Rights Watch. “The insurgents are increasingly committing war crimes, often by directly targeting civilians. Even when they’re aiming at military targets, insurgent attacks are often so indiscriminate that Afghan civilians end up as the main victims.”   The report documents how, in violation of the laws of war, insurgent forces have repeatedly, directly targeted civilians for attack, and how even attacks directed at Afghan and international military forces have often been launched without due regard for civilian life.   Human Rights Watch has previously reported on numerous cases in which Afghan government and international forces in Afghanistan appear to have conducted indiscriminate attacks in violation of the laws of war.   This report explains that 2006 was the deadliest year for civilians in Afghanistan since 2001. Overall, at least 669 Afghan civilians were killed in at least 350 armed attacks, most of which appear to have been intentionally launched at civilians or civilian objects. An additional 52 civilians were killed in insurgent attacks in the first two months of 2007.   Increasingly, the Taliban has been targeting certain groups of civilians, including humanitarian aid workers, journalists, doctors, religious leaders, and civilian government employees, condemning them as spies or collaborators. In 2006, at least 177 civilians were killed in assassinations, and similar ambushes and attacks have continued in 2007. A recent and horrific example was the Taliban’s summary execution of Afghan journalist Ajmal Naqshbandi and his driver, Sayed Agha, in violation of the laws of war. “The Taliban’s murders of Afghan journalist Ajmal Naqshbandi and driver Sayed Agha were war crimes,” Mariner said.   The report contains numerous accounts from Afghan civilian victims and their relatives, speaking about insurgent attacks and their consequences. For instance, 9-year-old Sherzad (not her real name), severely injured in a suicide attack in the capital, Kabul, in March 2006, told Human Rights Watch about how shrapnel tore open her stomach, spilling her intestines. “Sometimes I dream about that day – I have nightmares,” Sherzad said. “I thought that I would not survive. I started saying the Kalimah [the martyrs’ prayer] when I was hurt that day, because I thought I was going to die.”   The report describes how insurgents have regularly carried out bombings and suicide attacks on military targets in crowded, highly populated areas, killing combatants and civilians without distinction or causing excessive civilian harm that was disproportionate to expected military advantages. Many Afghans told Human Rights Watch they could not understand why insurgent forces would choose to carry out attacks in civilian areas. Visit the related web page
	UN rights expert calls on United States to re-examine gun laws by UN News / Inter Press Service USA   25 April 2007   The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to education has called on the United States to consider reforming its gun laws in the wake of last week’s shooting rampage at a university campus where a man killed 32 others and then himself.   Voicing his “profound sadness” following the massacre on 16 April at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Vernor Muñoz Villalobos issued a statement yesterday saying he was confident that US authorities would undertake a thorough investigation.   “Given the fact that similar incidents occurred in educative establishments on other occasions, I hope that the renewed reflection and debate that this sad event has triggered in the United States on the implications of the legislation related to the possession of arms by the general public will encourage the society to consider the possibility to revise it,” he said.   Mr. Muñoz Villalobos reiterated that everyone has the right to a safe and protected learning environment.   “As I have stated before, the targeting of schools, universities, students, teachers and other civilians for any reason is unacceptable,” the statement said.   Extending condolences, he added: “My thoughts are with the parents, families and friends of all those who were victims in the attack.”   Apr 17, 2007   Massacre renews call for "Common-Sense" Gun Policy, by Eli Clifton. (IPS)   The massacre at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, which left at least 33 dead and 29 injured in the worst school shooting in U.S. history, has led gun control advocates in Congress and elsewhere to call for immediate reforms to current gun control legislation.   The National Rifle Association, the leading gun rights defender in the United States, expressed its "deepest condolences to the families of Virginia Tech University and everyone else affected" by Monday"s tragedy. The NRA"s statement ends abruptly with: "We will not have further comment until all the facts are known."   "It is my deep belief that shootings like these are enabled by the unparalleled ease with which people procure weapons in this country," said Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein (California). "And I believe this will reignite the dormant effort to pass common-sense gun regulations in this nation."   Politicians from the Democratic Party have traditionally led efforts to pass gun control legislation, but newly elected Democratic lawmakers have shown an unwillingness to push for tighter measures, partly a result of their narrow majority and a fear of alienating rural Democratic voters.   But Monday"s events may give renewed life to gun control laws, such as the bill by Senator Carolyn McCarthy (Democrat-New York) -- introduced in February -- which would reinstate the ban on assault rifles.   The most recent gun-related legislation was in 2005 when, after years of Republican efforts, Congress passed legislation prohibiting civil liability lawsuits against firearms manufacturers, distributors, dealers and importers.   "Lawmakers in Congress have to get some spine and not just bow to the gun lobby," said Jackie Kuhls, executive director of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence (NYAGV). "It"s like a sickness where they look past what is clearly common sense and pass laws that are clearly protecting criminals."   In 1994 Congress passed a law which imposed a 10-year prohibition on manufacturing, selling or possessing 19 models of semiautomatic guns as well as outlawing ammunition magazines holding more than 10 rounds, and toughened federal licensing requirements for gun dealers.   But critics of the U.S."s liberal gun control policy have said that major loopholes exist in the sales process for firearms and the permits required for their possession.   Most of the nation"s 50 states do not require gun owners to be licensed or guns to be registered, nor do they require background checks for guns purchased at gun shows.   Every state should license gun owners and register all guns, said Kuhls. "There"s no reason this can"t be done. We do this with cars and it doesn"t limit anyone"s freedom."   NYAGV pointed out that major media coverage of the Monday"s tragedy have focused on police SWAT team strategies and the university"s immediate response to the shootings.   Instead, NYAGV said in a statement released Tuesday, the public should be taking a closer look at the laws and policies which allowed an individual to gain access to firearms with which to go on a deadly rampage.   In Washington, the George W. Bush administration has stood firm on its gun control policy -- a core Republican issue is gun rights -- since the VT killings Monday.   White House spokeswoman Dana Perino emphasised that the administration is focused on, "enforcing all of the gun laws that we have on the books and making sure that they are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."   She said in Monday"s press briefing: "As far as policy, the president believes that there is a right for people to bear arms, but that all laws must be followed. And certainly bringing a gun into a school dormitory and shooting -- I don"t want to say numbers because I know that they"re still trying to figure out many people were wounded and possibly killed, but obviously that would be against the law and something that someone should be held accountable for."   Gun control advocates have argued that the national response to the gun violence epidemic has fallen short of the necessary measures.   "We lost 3,000 people in 9/11 (the Sep. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks). Thirty thousand people lose their lives each year from handgun violence, so why aren"t we seeing 10 times as much action?" asks Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan, a founding member of the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA).   "When this has happened in other countries, such as in Australia, it led to huge gun control and a drop in gun-related crime and violence. It"s a public health problem and one thing to do is look at the cause and effect factors," he said in an interview with IPS.   More than 80 people in the United States die from gun violence each day, according to the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, and the rate of firearm deaths among children is almost 12 times higher in the U.S. than in 25 other industrialised countries combined, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.   The massacre at Virginia Tech comes just four days before the United States marks the eighth anniversary since the Columbine High School shootings shocked the nation. Twelve students and a teacher were shot and killed in the western state of Colorado.
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