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	Bhopal gas tragedy: “Financial compensation will never be sufficient without clean-up” by Baskut Tuncak Special Rapporteur on human rights and toxic waste   24 November 2014   The United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights and toxic waste, Baskut Tuncak, welcomed the announcement of the Indian Government to reconsider the official figures of people affected by the catastrophic leak of toxic gas in Bhopal in 1984, and provide additional compensation. “However, financial compensation alone will not stop the ongoing human rights violations of Bhopal’s toxic legacy,” the human rights expert stressed.   “New victims of the Bhopal disaster are born every day, and suffer life-long from adverse health impacts.”   Almost 30 years after one of the worst industrial accident in history, the soil and groundwater at the site of the old Union Carbide chemical factory in Bhopal remain contaminated despite the fact people live in and around the affected area.   “It is long overdue that action is taken to stop the ongoing violations,” Mr Tuncak said, emphasizing that the Indian Government has a human rights obligation to provide access to remedy.   The Special Rapporteur explained that prevention of harm is an essential component of an ‘effective remedy’ where remedy for toxic chemical pollution is required.   “In order to prevent harm, environmental remediation is essential,” he said. “Without cleaning the contamination, the number of victims of the toxic legacy left by Union Carbide will continue to grow, and, together, India’s financial liability to a rising number of victims,” Mr. Tuncak highlighted. Visit the related web page
	Victims families still waiting for justice five years after journalist killings by Committee to Protect Journalists, agencies Philippines   22 Nov 2014   Victims families still waiting for justice five years after journalist killings.   Commemorations are being held in the Philippines this weekend to mark the fifth anniversary of the world"s worst mass killing of journalists.   But five years on, no-one has been convicted of the massacre of 32 journalists and 26 others in the town of Ampatuan on the southern island of Mindanao.   Mary-Grace Morales lost both her husband and her sister on November 23, 2009, when they were part of a convoy to cover the filing of candidacy papers for a local politician.   "I want the world to know my husband and my sister died in the massacre and there were many people killed," she told the ABC.   "It"s been five years and there is no justice. I don"t know if there is any justice".   The victims were shot dead and buried in three pits after being ambushed by about 100 gunmen near the town of Shariff Aguak in Maguindanao province.   Philippine journalist Nonoy Espina said half of the local media population was "wiped out" in one day.   "All indications are they were executed in groups. It was pretty cold-blooded murder," he said.   "At least two of the victims contacted their families as they were waiting to be killed."   Espina, who was the first journalist to arrive at the scene after the massacre, said he was confronted by three large pits filled with bodies and cars.   "It was like a birthday cake of death - vehicles, bodies, just like a layered cake. By the end of the day I thought, when is this going to stop?"   Six of the victims were "caught in the wrong place at the wrong time" because they had not been part of the convoy but had overtaken some of the cars travelling slowly along the main road.   There were 197 people named as suspects in the case, including members of the powerful Ampatuan family, who had control of the province with the support of the government.   A total of 108 people are facing a trial that has been mired in delays and accusations of bribes since it began in 2010. At least four witnesses have been killed.   "The witnesses were killed one by one. They should be inside witness protection ... they aren"t safe," Ms Morales said.   The widow, who makes ends meet by sewing at home and working in a chicken factory, said it was sad there had been little progress in the case.   "We"re marking five years with nothing to show for it, but we"ve somehow got to cling to hope that the world hasn"t forgotten us."   To mark the anniversary, Ms Morales was heading to the massacre site with other families.   "It"s difficult when I go there; I light a candle and I say a short prayer," she said.   "It"s a call to the government that here we are, in this place again where our loved ones died, calling for your help to solve this case."   Four journalists have been murdered in the Philippines this year. A total of 177 journalists have been killed since 1986.   http://www.cpj.org/blog/2014/11/maguindanao-five-years-on.php   Dec 2013   Defining success in the fight against impunity, by Joel Simon.   For the second time this year, the U.N. Security Council took up the issue of protection of journalists. In a discussion sponsored by the French and Guatemalan delegations, and open to NGOs, speaker after speaker and country after country hammered home the same essential facts: The vast majority of journalists murdered around the world are local reporters working in their own country, covering human rights, corruption, conflict and politics. In nine out of ten of these murders, no one is ever prosecuted.   It is encouraging that the issue of impunity now features on the U.N. agenda and that there is such a clear consensus about the gravity of the problem. Many member states made similar interventions at the first Security Council debate on the topic, held in July. Last month, the U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution declaring November 2 the International Day to End Impunity in crimes against journalists.   On December 30, CPJ will release its annual tally of journalists killed around the world while carrying out their work. Currently, the toll stands at 52, still intolerably high. At least 20 journalists have been killed in Syria, six in Egypt, five in Pakistan, and three in Brazil. Others have fallen in Colombia, India, Iraq, Mali, the Philippines, Russia, Somalia, and Turkey. As usual, they were overwhelmingly local journalists reporting local news.   Many of the issues covered by these murdered journalists involve transnational issues firmly on the Security Council"s agenda - terrorism and counterterrorism, human trafficking, international organized crime.   We have seen over and over how the killing of even one journalist can traumatize a whole society, silencing critical debate and stifling the flow of information. We cannot allow violent forces to dictate the permissible limits of expression.   Combating impunity in the killings of journalists seems intractable until you consider the facts.   In 2008, CPJ launched its Impunity Index which annually spotlights the countries around the world where journalists are slain and the killers go free. The list is not long--about a dozen countries are included each year.   These countries need to be the focus of international attention and advocacy. Some are undergoing conflict, but others like Brazil, Pakistan, Mexico, Russia, and the Philippines, are not.   Countries that demonstrate the political will to solve these crimes should be given the support and resources to achieve their goal, as envisaged under the U.N. Plan of Action on Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, which is being implemented by UNESCO.   Countries that demonstrate a callous indifference to these killings should confront the opprobrium of the entire world.   Talk is important. But what really matters is results.   A number of suggestions came out of the meeting. My counterpart at Reporters Without Borders, Christophe Deloire, proposed that Article 8 of the International Criminal Court"s statute be amended so that "deliberate attacks on journalists, media workers and associated personnel" are defined as war crimes. He also called for creation of a group of independent experts to assist the UN Secretariat in the implementation of international law to protect journalists.   Frank LaRue, the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, called for a U.N. resolution protecting journalists similar to the one passed on human rights defenders. And Irina Bukova, the director-general of UNESCO, announced that the organization has partnered with outside groups to study special risks faced by female journalists.   These are important initiatives, but, ultimately, progress in the fight against impunity must be achievable and measurable.   According to CPJ data compiled since 1992, 88 percent of all killings of journalists are carried out with impunity.   * Joel Simon is the executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists.   http://cpj.org/blog/2013/12/defining-success-in-the-fight-against-impunity.php http://en.rsf.org/rwb-publishes-2014-round-up-of-16-12-2014,47388.html http://www.cpj.org/reports/2014/12/international-journalists-killed-at-high-rate-in-2014-middle-east-deadliest-region-for-press.php http://cpj.org/reports/2014/12/journalists-in-prison-china-is-worlds-worst-jailer.php http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/freedom-of-expression/press-freedom/unesco-condemns-killing-of-journalists/ http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/events/prizes-and-celebrations/celebrations/international-days/int-day-to-end-impunity/international-day-to-end-impunity-2014/ http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/FreedomOpinion/Pages/FeatureStories.aspx Visit the related web page
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