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	Burma: End repression of Buddhist monks by Human Rights Watch   Sept. 21, 2009   Buddhist monks in Burma face continuing repression, intimidation and harsh prison sentences two years after the military government"s brutal crackdown on peaceful demonstrations, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.   The 99-page report, "The Resistance of the Monks: Buddhism and Protest in Burma," written by longtime Burma watcher Bertil Lintner, describes the repression Burma"s monks experienced after they led demonstrations against the government in September 2007. The report tells the stories of individual monks who were arrested, beaten and detained. Two years after Buddhist monks marched down the street of the detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, hundreds of monks are in prison and thousands remain fearful of military repression. Many have left their monasteries and returned to their villages or sought refuge abroad, while those who remained in their monasteries live under constant surveillance.   "The stories told by monks are sad and disturbing, but they exemplify the behavior of Burma"s military government as it clings to power through violence, fear, and repression," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "The monks retain a great deal of moral authority, making principled stands by monks very dangerous for a government that doesn"t."   The report says that since the 2007 events, thousands of monks have been disrobed (defrocked) and deterred from fulfilling their pivotal role as social mediators in Burmese society. The report also details the crucial social-service role played by monks following the devastation of Cyclone Nargis in 2008 - and the repression faced by many as a consequence.   In a December 2007 report, Human Rights Watch documented 21 deaths as a result of security forces shooting and beating crowds of monks and civilians. Thousands of monks and their supporters were arrested.   * Visit the link below to access this disturbing report. Visit the related web page
	ICJ urges new expert mandate to protect individuals against abuses in times of crises by International Commission of Jurists   Sept 2009   United Nations: ICJ urges that the Human Rights Council establish new expert mandate to protect individuals against abuses in times of crises.   The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) urged the UN Human Rights Council during its 12th session in Geneva on 14 September 2009 to establish a new expert mandate to improve protection of human rights of individuals in armed conflicts and generally in any crisis situations.   The ICJ requested the Council to harness protection of judges and lawyers from violence and intimidation inflicted on them for their professional functions. It also sought accountability for human rights violations and international crimes committed by Hamas, other Palestinian armed groups and the Israeli Army during the recent war in Gaza.   “This Council should establish a dedicated expert mandate - such as the Early-warning Commission, to identify the emergence of human rights violations in any crisis situations, such as in public emergency, armed conflicts, internal instability or generalized situation of violence,” stated Lukas Machon, ICJ Representative to the UN. “Such a mandate would carry out an early-warning role and make recommendations to the UN in order to prevent and help stop human rights violations and crimes, and ensure accountability of their perpetrators,” added Machon.   It is important that the Council halt systematic impunity, which has become emblematic of the latest armed conflicts in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Sri Lanka, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Colombia, and also of the crises such as the suffering of large numbers of individuals in Myanmar or the clampdown on peaceful opposition in Iran.   Growing challenges to the independence of judges and lawyers are another source of concern. It is the obligation of all Governments to enhance the capacity of judges and lawyers as protectors and guarantors of human rights and of the rule of law in all circumstances. Judges and lawyers must be protected against any violence, threats or retaliation for the exercise of their professional functions. “The UN mechanisms need to be particularly sensitive to the attacks against judges and lawyers that indicate emergence of the rule of law crises,” continued Machon.   The Governments that have violated their international obligations when countering terrorism, including the US administration, are yet to strive for accountability of perpetrators of gross human rights violations, including torture and other international crimes. The UN technical assistance on human rights aspects in countering terrorism and compliance of the UN listing and de-listing procedures with the due process guarantees would help reinforce the accountability and the rule of law.   The ICJ supports the establishment at this session of the Council of a mandate of the Special Rapporteur against the discrimination of women. Such a new mandate would be instrumental for devising the strategies to achieve both de jure and de facto equality of women and non-discrimination in their enjoyment and exercise of human rights. It should also help enhance the human rights perspective within the UN gender strategies.   The time for accountability for grave violations of human rights committed during the Gaza conflict has come. The ICJ calls on individual States and on the international community to stop condoning the systematic impunity as it instigates further violence and undermines justice and the rule of law.   It is essential that the Council address, by way of follow-up to its special session, the ongoing crises in Sri Lanka, where the humanitarian aid remains paralyzed. It is essential that the Government of Sri Lanka end limitations on access to the internally displaced persons (IDPs), refrain from maintaining the internment camps, lift restrictions on freedom of movement and ensure unhindered access to the registration lists of IDPs.   The Council should also seek release of the Sri Lankan journalist J. S. Tissainayagam, who was sentenced to a 20-year imprisonment, under the overly vague and far-reaching anti-terrorism laws, for the simple expression of criticism of treatment of Tamil civilians by the Sri Lankan army. His trial became emblematic of the systematic violations of the freedom of expression and weakening of the democratic and rule of law institutions by the Government of Sri Lanka.   Given the fresh human rights violations in Iran following the disputed presidential election, the Council is expected to seek release of those arbitrarily detained, along with investigation of acts of torture and other ill treatment against them. The Iranian Government must end all violations of freedoms of expression and assembly, abolish the death penalty and co-operate with international human rights mechanisms, including the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council and the treaty bodies.   The Council will also consider a sensitive context of the four fragile country situations – Burundi, Somalia, Liberia and Cambodia. “Given the status of transformation, eruptions of major violence and killings or prevalence of impunity for the past injustices, any of these situations require a sustained assistance by the Council backed by extension of the expert mandates,” concluded Machon.   * The International Commission of Jurists is dedicated to the primacy, coherence and implementation of international law and principles that advance human rights. What distinguishes the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) is its impartial, objective and authoritative legal approach to the protection and promotion of human rights through the rule of law.   The ICJ provides legal expertise at both the international and national levels to ensure that developments in international law adhere to human rights principles and that international standards are implemented at the national level. For more ICJ news visit the link below. Visit the related web page
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