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	Illicit Financial Flows – A Violation of Human Rights? by Professor Thomas Pogge International Bar Association   March 2012   An international task force comprised of leading academics, tax experts, and lawyers has been convened to analyse how illicit financial flows – specifically the proceeds of tax abuse – contribute to poverty and subsequently affect the enforcement of economic, social, and cultural rights (ESCR) across the globe.   The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute Task Force on Illicit Flows, Poverty and Human Rights (IBAHRI Task Force) recently held its inaugural plenary meeting in the City of London to discuss the scope of the project, potential outcomes, and research priorities. The three key objectives of the IBAHRI Task Force are as identified as:   1 - To publish an innovative report containing findings and a set of recommendations on the correlation between tax havens, poverty, and human rights;   2 - To widely disseminate the report with the aim of elevating the issue of tax evasion and human rights onto global policy agendas, and sustaining discussion thereafter; and to incite multi-level policy changes in the area of tax evasion and ESCR adjudication to help end global poverty.   While substantive links have been established between human rights and poverty, and between poverty and tax evasion, comparatively little time has been spent considering tax evasion and tax avoidance as a human rights concern.   Chaired by Professor Thomas Pogge, Professor of Philosophy and International Affairs at Yale University in the United States, the IBAHRI Task Force will explore the relationship between these themes, including a pointed examination of the mining and resources industries in developing countries.   Professor Pogge commented, ‘Severe poverty is avoidable, yet persists at an astonishing level. Roughly one billion human beings are chronically undernourished, and 2.5 billion subsist on less each day than what could be bought for $2.50 in the US in 2005, according to figures of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Bank, respectively.’   He added, ‘The poorer half of humankind has less than three per cent of global household income. Complementing explorations of how aid can be better focused and made more effective, our task force will consider reforms that would enhance access by the poor to a larger share of their country''s wealth which is often unjustly appropriated by local elites or foreign firms or banks.’   The project follows the adoption of a resolution on poverty and human rights by the IBAHRI Council in May 2010 which posited severe, endemic and chronic poverty as a violation of human rights.   Sternford Moyo, Co-Chair IBAHRI said, ‘Few will require persuasion to appreciate that poverty limits, and sometimes even eliminates, access to fundamental rights. Furthermore, the negative impact of poverty on the quality of life seriously undermines enjoyment of the right to life.   Accordingly, those responsible for national poverty, whether through tax evasion or other forms of illicit financial flows, should be viewed as being partly responsible for the violations of fundamental human rights which often accompany poverty.’   The IBAHRI Task Force was launched on 30 March 2012 at the offices of the International Bar Association. Visit the related web page
	Hundreds of Women, Girls Jailed for ‘Moral Crimes’ by AP, Avaaz & agencies   March 28, 2012   Afghanistan: Hundreds of Women, Girls Jailed for ‘Moral Crimes’. (Human Rights Watch).   (Kabul) – The Afghan government should release the approximately 400 women and girls imprisoned in Afghanistan for “moral crimes,” says Human Rights Watch. The government must end the wrongful imprisonment of women and girls who are crime victims rather than criminals.   The report, “‘I Had to Run Away’: Women and Girls Imprisoned for ‘Moral Crimes’ in Afghanistan,” is based on 58 interviews conducted in three prisons and three juvenile detention facilities with women and girls accused of “moral crimes.”   Almost all girls in juvenile detention in Afghanistan had been arrested for “moral crimes,” while about half of women in Afghan prisons were arrested on these charges.   These “crimes” usually involve flight from unlawful forced marriage or domestic violence. Some women and girls have been convicted of zina, sex outside of marriage, after being raped or forced into prostitution.   “It is shocking that 10 years after the fall of the Taliban, women and girls are still imprisoned for running away from domestic violence or forced marriage,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. “No one should be locked up for fleeing a dangerous situation even if it’s at home. Afghanistan should act decisively to end this abusive and discriminatory practice.”   http://www.hrw.org/node/106082   Mar 2012   Rape Victim, commits suicide after Forced Marriage to Rapist. (Morocco)   The case of a 16-year-old girl who killed herself after she was forced to marry her rapist has spurred outrage among Morocco"s woman"s rights activists, with calls for changes to the country"s laws.   Social media sites expressed horror over the suicide of Amina Filali, who swallowed rat poison on Saturday to protest her marriage to the man who raped her a year earlier.   Article 475 of the Moroccan penal code allows for the "kidnapper" of a minor to marry his victim to escape prosecution, and it has been used to justify a traditional practice of making a rapist marry his victim to preserve the honor of the woman"s family.   "Amina, 16, was triply violated, by her rapist, by tradition and by Article 475 of the Moroccan law," said activist Abadila Maaelaynine.   Abdelaziz Nouaydi, who runs the Adala Assocation for legal reform, said a judge can recommend marriage in the case of agreement by the victim and both families.   "It is not something that happens a great deal," he said, but admitted that the family of the victim sometimes agrees out of fear that she won"t be able to find a husband if it is known she was raped.   The marriage is then pushed on the victim by the families to avoid scandal, said Fouzia Assouli, president of Democratic League for Women"s Rights.   "It is unfortunately a recurring phenomenon," she said. "We have been asking for years for the cancellation of Article 475 of the penal code which allows the rapist to escape justice."   The victim"s father said in an interview with a Moroccan newspaper that it was the court officials who suggested from the beginning the marriage option when they reported the rape.   "The prosecutor advised my daughter to marry, he said "go and make the marriage contract," said Lahcen Filali in an interview that appeared on goud.ma Tuesday night.   In many societies, the loss of a woman"s virginity outside of wedlock is a huge stain of honor on the family.   In many parts of the Middle East, there is a tradition whereby a rapist can escape prosecution if he marries his victim, thereby restoring her honor. There is a similar injunction in the Old Testament"s Book of Deuteronomy.   Morocco updated its family code in 2004 in a landmark improvement of the situation of women, but activists say there"s still much room for improvement.   In cases of rape, the burden of proof is often on the victim and if she can"t prove she was attacked, a woman risks being prosecuted for debauchery.   "In Morocco, the law protects public morality but not the individual," said Assouli, adding that legislation outlawing all forms of violence against women, including rape within marriage, has been stuck in the government since 2006.   According to the father"s interview, the girl was accosted on the street and raped when she was 15, but it was two months before she told her parents. He said the court pushed the marriage, even though the perpetrator initially refused. He only consented when faced with prosecution. The penalty for rape is between five and 10 years in prison, but rises to 10 to 20 in the case of a minor.   Filali said Amina complained to her mother that her husband was beating her repeatedly during the five months of marriage but that her mother counseled patience.   A Facebook page called "We are all Amina Filali" has been formed and an online petition calling for Morocco to end the practice of marrying rapists and their victims.   Fouzia Assouli, president of Morocco"s Democratic League for Women"s Rights and 300 protesters staged a sit-in outside the local court in Larache that had approved the marriage on March 15, 2012.   Forced to marry her rapist. (Dalia Hashad -Avaaz)   Last week, Amina Filali, raped, beaten and forced to wed her rapist, drank rat poison and killed herself -- the only way she saw to escape the trap set for her by her rapist and the law. If we act now together, we can stop this unspeakable tragedy from happening to anyone else.   Article 475 in Morocco"s penal code allows a rapist to avoid prosecution and a long prison sentence by marrying his victim. Since 2006, the government has promised to strike this down and pass legislation prohibiting violence against women, but it hasn"t happened.   Moroccan protestors are demanding real reform, turning up the heat on the prime minister and heads of other ministries, who write and sponsor bills. In days, they"ll decide whether to legislate real protection for women.   Please sign the petition for a comprehensive law to stop violence against women, including repeal of Article 475. When we reach 250,000, we"ll deliver it directly to the decision makers.   When 15 year-old Amina was brutally raped, her family reported it to officials. Instead of prosecuting the rapist, the court allowed him the option of marrying his victim, with Amina"s family"s assent -- permitted by a vestige of French colonial law and allowed by a judge hostile to women"s rights.   This practice of victims forced to marry their rapist occurs in cultures where rape is often seen as shameful to the victim and destroys her prospects for marriage.   Women"s groups in Morocco have long fought this backward thinking and its time for the legislature to reject this wretched tradition and pass real protections for women.   Outraged Moroccans are flooding social networking sites and the streets in protest. Let"s join in the demand that laws should protect, not trample on women. Visit the related web page
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