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	The Syrian people have a fundamental right to justice by Navi Pillay UN High Commissioner for Human Rights   July 2014   UN Emergency Relief Coordinator warned today that attacks on civilians by all parties to the conflict and human rights abuses continue “in flagrant violation of the most basic principles of international law.”   Valerie Amos, who is also the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, delivered that warning and reiterated her appeal for action in a briefing to the Security Council on the situation of the millions of Syrians in desperate need of aid and protection, and on progress in implementing resolutions 2139 and 2165 on humanitarian access in Syria.   “In addition attacks on medical facilities are at their highest levels since December 2012,” said Ms. Amos, adding that the targeting of vital services like the main Aleppo water pumping station has interrupted the supply of clean water and electricity.   “Almost one million people remain without safe drinking water, in temperatures as high as 50 degrees Celsius,” she said.   Deliveries to people in hard-to-reach areas have further dropped this month, largely due to the centralization of Government approvals of deliveries to those areas, she said, while arbitrary restrictions by some opposition groups are also obstructing humanitarian access, especially in the eastern governorates of Syria.   June 2014   Impunity, unprecedented violence, denial of aid hallmarks of Syria conflict – UN rights panel.   The majority of civilians in Syria continue to bear the brunt of the ongoing conflict, the head of a United Nations-appointed human rights panel said today, noting that violence has escalated to an unprecedented level, humanitarian aid is arbitrarily denied and perpetrators of crimes have no fear of consequence.   “Impunity has made its home inside the Syrian Arab Republic,” Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Chair of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, said during his presentation to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.   In over 3,000 interviews, the Commission has collected “detailed narratives” indicating a massive number of war crimes and crimes against humanity, said Mr. Pinheiro. “Patterns of violations have been established. The culpability of hundreds of alleged perpetrators is being determined. The result is a solid foundation of evidence that contains a resolute commitment to accountability.”   Presenting the Commission’s latest findings, Mr. Pinheiro said that the conflict in Syria – now in its fourth year – has reached a “tipping point,” threatening the entire region.   “With warring parties in unrelenting pursuit of the illusion of military victory, violence has escalated to an unprecedented level. Perpetrators of crimes have no fear or thought of consequence,” he stated.   “The international community, and specifically the Security Council, has yet to demand accountability for the crimes that are being committed daily against the Syrian people. Through their inaction, a space has been created for the worst of humanity to express itself.”   It has done so, Mr. Pinheiro continued. “People are tortured to death inside detention centres in Damascus, men are beheaded in public squares in Al Raqqah, women live with the scars of sexual abuse, and children are recruited and used as members of fighting forces.   “Syrians live in a world where decisions about whether to go to the mosque for prayers, to the market for food and to send their children to school have become decisions about life and death.”   He noted that the Government’s aerial bombardment, including its continued use of barrel bombs, across Syria results in significant civilian casualties and severe injuries, and people continue to be killed while held in Government detention centres, where torture remains in “widespread and systematic” use.   The Commission recently received and has begun to investigate thousands of photographs of bodies, many of them emaciated, he said. Almost all bear marks of horrific abuse – including strangulation, mutilation, open wounds, burns and bruising. Such injuries are consistent with torture methods previously documented by the Commission.   In addition, the Syrian Government and non-State armed groups continue to restrict the flow of food, water and medicines, ignoring the call made in Security Council resolution 2139 (2013).   They have also deliberately disabled and destroyed essential civilian infrastructure, such as water distribution networks and electricity grids. Violence targeting humanitarian workers continues to obstruct the efforts of aid agencies to deliver assistance to those Syrians most in need.   May 2014   Russia, China block Security Council referral of Syria to International Criminal Court. (UN News)   Despite repeated appeals by senior United Nations officials for accountability for crimes being committed in Syria, the Security Council was unable today to adopt a resolution that would have referred the situation in the war-torn nation to the International Criminal Court (ICC), due to vetoes by permanent members Russia and China.   The resolution, which was backed by the other 13 members of the Council, would have given the Court the mandate to investigate the horrific crimes committed during the course of the conflict in Syria, which since March 2011 has witnessed the deaths of over 150,000 civilians, the displacement of millions and widespread violations of human rights.   “The Syrian people have a fundamental right to justice. The United Nations and its Member States have a fundamental duty to defend that right,” Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson said.   “Since the outbreak of the war in Syria, I have persistently called for accountability for perpetrators of grave human rights violations, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The recent attacks against humanitarian convoys and personnel, which may constitute war crimes, add to the urgent need to see action now on accountability in Syria,” he stated.   “The Security Council has an inescapable responsibility in this regard. States that are members of both the Security Council and the Human Rights Council have a particular duty to end the bloodshed and to ensure justice for the victims of unspeakable crimes.”   In February 2013, the UN-appointed Commission of Inquiry concluded that the ICC is the appropriate venue to pursue the fight against impunity in Syria.   “If members of the Council continue to be unable to agree on a measure that could provide some accountability for the ongoing crimes, the credibility of this body and of the entire Organization will continue to suffer,” Mr. Eliasson warned.   http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/IICISyria/Pages/IndependentInternationalCommission.aspx http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/05/22/un-security-council-vetoes-betray-syrian-victims http://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/syrian-aid-efforts-have-lethally-failed-say-charities   April 2014   UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Monday condemned the rampant use of torture in detention facilities across Syria by Government forces and some armed opposition groups, as her office issued a paper containing detailed testimony from victims and witnesses.   The paper describes a broad pattern of torture and ill-treatment against individuals in Government facilities. It also documents reports of torture by some armed groups. The analysis is based on interviews by the UN Human Rights Office with individuals who have spent time in detention facilities in Syria during the conflict.   “Upon arrival at a detention facility, detainees are routinely beaten and humiliated for several hours by the guards in what has come to be known as the ‘reception party’,” the paper states, citing accounts of torture and ill-treatment by various components of the Government’s security apparatus.   “Men, women and children have been routinely picked up from the street, their homes and workplaces, or arrested at Government-manned checkpoints,” the paper states. “Many are activists – often students – as well as lawyers, medical personnel and humanitarian workers, and some just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”   The paper also makes reference to cases of individuals who died in detention, in circumstances which suggest that torture was the cause.. “Occasionally, families are asked to sign papers stating that their relative was killed by armed opposition groups, and to immediately and discreetly bury the body,” the report states.   Reports of torture by armed opposition groups appear to be on the rise since 2013, particularly in Al Raqqa, northern Syria, the paper states. Testimony collected from victims suggests that those most at risk of being detained and tortured by some armed opposition groups are activists attempting to document human rights violations and individuals perceived to be pro-Government or affiliated with other armed opposition groups.   Former detainees described abhorrent conditions in Government detention centres, including one case where 60 people were crammed into one cell, with a hole in the corner to be used as a toilet.   One 60-year-old man who spent three months in different detention centres described how, every day, “cellmates were taken for 30 or 45 minutes of interrogation and came back with their faces bleeding, barely able to walk, and with open wounds that remained untreated and became infected.” Pillay stressed that international law unequivocally prohibits the use of torture, at all times and under all circumstances.   “Our findings confirm that torture is being routinely used in Government detention facilities in Syria, and that torture is also used by some armed groups,” she said. "My office is also aware of serious allegations of torture and ill-treatment of children in Syria.”   “In armed conflict, torture constitutes a war crime. When it is used in a systematic or widespread manner, which is almost certainly the case in Syria, it also amounts to a crime against humanity,” Pillay added.   “I urge the Government and armed opposition groups in Syria to immediately halt the use of torture and ill-treatment, and to release all those who have been arbitrarily detained in conditions that clearly breach international human rights standards. Those detained must be treated humanely.”   Pillay said it was crucial that those in positions of authority publicly condemn the use of torture and other ill-treatment and ensure that those found guilty of perpetrating torture are held accountable. She stressed that all victims of torture and ill-treatment should be provided with redress, including fair compensation and rehabilitation.   http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/syria-harrowing-torture-summary-killings-secret-isis-detention-centres-2013-12-19 Visit the related web page
	Sharp Rise in Environmental and Land Killings as Pressure on Planet’s Resources Increases by Global Witness   April 15, 2014   Killings of people protecting the environment and rights to land increased sharply between 2002 and 2013 as competition for natural resources intensifies, a new report from Global Witness reveals.   In the most comprehensive global analysis of the problem on record, the campaign group has found that at least 908 people are known to have died in this time. Disputes over industrial logging, mining and land rights the key drivers, and Latin America and Asia-Pacific particularly hard hit.   Released in the year of the 25th anniversary of the assassination of Brazilian rubber tapper and environmental activist Chico Mendes, Deadly Environment highlights a severe shortage of information or monitoring of this problem. This means the total is likely to be higher than the report documents, but even the known scale of violence is on a par with the more high profile incidence of journalists killed in the same period.   This lack of attention to crimes against environment and land defenders is feeding endemic levels of impunity, with just over one per cent of the perpetrators known to have been convicted.   “This shows it has never been more important to protect the environment, and it has never been more deadly,” said Oliver Courtney of Global Witness. “There can be few starker or more obvious symptoms of the global environmental crisis than a dramatic upturn in killings of ordinary people defending rights to their land or environment.   Yet this rapidly worsening problem is going largely unnoticed, and those responsible almost always get away with it. We hope our findings will act as the wake-up call that national governments and the international community clearly need.”   The key findings in Deadly Environment are as follows:   At least 908 people were killed in 35 countries protecting rights to land and the environment between 2002 and 2013, with the death rate rising in the last four years to an average of two activists a week.   2012 was the worst year so far to be an environmental defender, with 147 killings – nearly three times more than in 2002.   Impunity for these crimes is rife: only 10 perpetrators are known to have been convicted between 2002 and 2013 – just over one per cent of the overall incidence of killings.   The problem is particularly acute in Latin America and South East Asia. Brazil is the most dangerous place to defend rights to land and the environment, with 448 killings, followed by Honduras (109) and the Philippines (67).   The problem is exacerbated by a lack of systematic monitoring or information. Where cases are recorded, they are often seen in isolation or treated as a subset of other human rights or environmental issues. The victims themselves often do not know their rights or are unable to assert them because of lack of resources in their often remote and risky circumstances.   John Knox, UN Independent Expert on Human Rights and the Environment said, “Human rights only have meaning if people are able to exercise them. Environmental human rights defenders work to ensure that we live in an environment that enables us to enjoy our basic rights, including rights to life and health. The international community must do more to protect them from the violence and harassment they face as a result.   Indigenous communities are particularly hard hit. In many cases, their land rights are not recognized by law or in practice, leaving them open to exploitation by powerful economic interests who brand them as ‘anti-development’. Often, the first they know of a deal that goes against their interests is when the bulldozers arrive in their farms and forests.   Land rights form the backdrop to most of the known killings, as companies and governments routinely strike secretive deals for large chunks of land and forests to grow cash crops like rubber, palm oil and soya. At least 661 – over two-thirds – of the killings took place in the context of conflicts over the ownership, control and use of land, in combination with other factors.   The report focuses in detail on the situation in Brazil, where land disputes and industrial logging are key drivers, and the Philippines, where violence appears closely linked to the mining sector.   This week, a new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is expected to issue a stark warning that governments are failing to reduce carbon emissions. It is likely to show the world is on course to miss the targets required to stay within the accepted 2C temperature increase that is generally considered a line that must not be crossed to avoid climatic upheaval.   Global Witness’ research suggests that as well as failing to reduce their emissions, governments are failing to protect the activists and ordinary citizens who find themselves on the frontline of this problem.   “This rapidly worsening situation appears to be hidden in plain sight, and that has to change. 2012, the year of the last Rio Summit, was the deadliest on record. Delegates gathering for climate talks in Peru this year must heed this warning – protection of the environment is now a key battleground for human rights.   While governments quibble over the text of new global agreements, at the local level more people than ever around the world are already putting their lives on the line to protect the environment,” said Andrew Simms of Global Witness, “At the very least, to start making good on official promises to stop climate change, governments should protect and support those personally taking a stand.”   The report also underlines that rising fatalities are the most acute and measurable end of a range of threats including intimidation, violence, stigmatization and criminalization. The number of deaths points to a much greater level of non-lethal violence and intimidation, which the research did not document but requires urgent and effective action.   Global Witness is calling for a more coordinated and concerted effort to monitor and tackle this crisis, starting with a resolution from the UN’s Human Rights Council specifically addressing the heightened threat posed to environmental and land defenders.   Similarly, regional human rights bodies and national governments need to properly monitor abuses against and killings of activists, and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice. Companies must carry out effective checks on their operations and supply chains to make sure they do no harm.   http://www.globalwitness.org/deadlyenvironment/ http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/Defendersurgentlyneedasafeandenablingspace.aspx Visit the related web page
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