JURIST - Paper Chase: Monday, May 14, 2012

[JURIST] The International Crimes Tribunal in Bangladesh (ICTB) [Facebook page] on Sunday indicted a former opposition leader for alleged human rights atrocities committed during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War [GlobalSecurity backgrounder] against Pakistan. Ghulam Azam, 89, is the former head of the Jamaat-e-Islami party (JI) [GlobalSecurity backgrounder]. He opposed the independence of Bangladesh and reportedly aided the Pakistani Army during the war. Azam stands accused of crimes against humanity, genocide, murder, rape, arson and other international crimes carried out during the liberation conflict, in which Azam allegedly created and led violent pro-Pakistan militias. Azam is the third suspect and highest profile opposition figure to have been charged since the ICTB was established by Bangladesh in 2010. He claims that the charges against him are politically motivated. The trial is set to begin on June 5.

The ICTB ordered Azam's arrest [JURIST report] in January. Bangladeshi officials established the tribunal [JURIST report] in March 2010 to investigate and prosecute crimes committed in the Liberation War, during which officials estimate that Pakistani soldiers and local militia participated in more than three million killings and 200,000 rapes. The ICTB includes three high court judges and six investigators retired from civilian, law enforcement and military careers. In November the ICTB began its first trial [JURIST report] in the case against Delwar Hossain Sayedee, a former member of Parliament in the National Assembly of Bangladesh [official website, in Bengali] and one of the former leaders of JI. Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] last year sent a letter to the Bangladesh government praising its efforts through the ICTB to prosecute war crimes, but urged the government to ensure that the trials are carried out in accordance with international human rights expectations [JURIST report].

[JURIST] Ugandan military forces Saturday captured one of the highest leaders of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) [BBC backgrounder], the rebel militia group headed by alleged Ugandan war criminal Joseph Kony [BBC profile; JURIST news archive]. The Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF) ambushed and captured [Al Jazeera report] Major General Caesar Achellam along the banks of the River Mbou in Central African Republic (CAR). Achellam is said to be a top rebel military strategist [BBC News report] and close ally of Kony. Achellam has been fighting in the jungles of Africa for almost 30 years. He was taken into custody during a return trip from the Democratic Republic of Congo following a skirmish between about 30 rebels and the UPDF, who had been on Achellam's trail for a month before conducting the ambush. Ugandan officials cite the capture of the major general as significant progress against the LRA, labeling Achellam a "big fish" and expressing hope that his arrest will prompt other LRA fighters to abandon the fight and leave the rebel group. Achellam was reportedly captured with an AK-47, eight rounds of ammunition, a wife and young daughter and an aide.

Since the recent campaign by Invisible Children [advocacy website] to arrest Kony became popular, the international community has shown an increased commitment to his capture. In March International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo [official profile] expressed his support [JURIST report] for the Invisible Children campaign. Kony is wanted by the ICC for 12 counts of crimes against humanity and 21 war crimes [ICC arrest warrant, PDF], including murder, rape, mutilation and the forced enlistment of child soldiers. Also in March the US House of Representatives proposed legislation [JURIST report] to support and protect Uganda through increased military presence and support in expanding its telecommunications system. In 2009 the ICC said that it was still looking for Kony [JURIST report]. Kony has denied the allegations [JURIST report] against him. Despite ICC calls for global cooperation [JURIST report] to execute the arrest warrant, Kony has remained at large.

[JURIST] UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay [official profile] on Friday remarked on her visit [press release] to South Sudan, praising the country's development and calling on the new nation to commit to a human rights infrastructure of laws, institutions and practices. Pillay met with top government officials, civil society organizations and other UN divisions working in the country, offering the continued support of her office and urging South Sudan's speedy ratification of all the main international human rights treaties. Pillay advocated that the treaties build on the principles laid down in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [text] and would set legal standards of human rights in South Sudan, to be reflected by the new country's national laws:

Once sound national laws that abide by international treaty standards have been adopted, the national and local authorities, security services, NGOs and other members of civil society, the judiciary and the media, have a clear legal framework to guide them. Rule of law, based on a good human rights system, is fundamental to a properly functioning democracy, and I have been encouraged by the acceptance of that fact by the country's leadership.

Specific areas of concern for Pillay include due process and state detention procedures, impunity among security forces that have lead to torture and beatings of civilians, discrimination and tyranny against women and minority groups, a moratorium on capital punishment and the importance of maintaining freedom of expression, particularly for a free press and for human rights defenders. Pillay stated that South Sudan's Constitutional Bill of Rights provides a good foundation, and that the South Sudanese with whom she met during her visit imparted to her their desire to to have human rights reflected in their daily lives.

The Republic of South Sudan was recognized as an independent country [JURIST report] in July 2011, making it the world's 193rd nation. In February 2011, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir [BBC profile; JURIST news archive], who campaigned against secession, issued a formal decree [JURIST report] accepting the result of the referendum. However, tensions between the newly independent country and Sudan remain high, and late last month al-Bashir declared a state of emergency [JURIST report] in the South Sudan border areas, imposing a trade embargo on South Sudan and granting authorities in the region wider latitude to arrest and detain than is normally afforded by Sudan's constitution. The UN has been closely monitoring the violence and providing humanitarian relief [UN News Centre report] to victims of attacks in South Sudan but has called on the government to take control of the situation. In November 2011, Pillay called for an investigation of an aerial bombing of a refugee camp in South Sudan [JURIST report] by an Antonov plane often used by northern Sudan. In June 2011, a UN official denounced continued human rights abuses [JURIST report] against civilians in the region. The UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs [official website] and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos [official profile] said that the UN knows of more than 70,000 people who have been displaced by the conflict, many of whom are subject to violence and targeting due to their ethnic heritage.

[JURIST] The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) [official website] should acknowledge civilian casualties from air strikes in Libya and investigate possible unlawful attacks [press release], Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] urged Monday. In a 76-page report [text, PDF], "Unacknowledged Deaths: Civilian Casualties in NATO's Air Campaign in Libya," HRW examined eight NATO air strikes which resulted in 72 civilian deaths, claiming that "the absence of a clear military target at seven of the eight sites Human Rights Watch visited raises concerns of possible laws-of-war violations that should be investigated." HRW urged NATO to:

Conduct transparent and impartial investigations into credible allegations of laws-of-war violations during NATO's air war in Libya [and] Make public the findings and include recommendations for disciplinary measures or criminal prosecutions where violations are found.

HRW also urged cooperation from Libya's ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) [official website, in Arabic].

Allegations of war crimes and human rights violations resulting from the Libya conflict [JURIST backgrounder] have been widespread. In March Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] issued a similar report claiming that NATO failed to investigate [JURIST report] the Libyan civilians killed by air strikes which assisted in the downfall of Muammar Gaddafi [BBC obituary; JURIST news archive]. In February AI released a report accusing the NTC of allowing the abuse and torture [JURIST report] of Gaddafi supporters by unofficial militias. In January AI reported the recent deaths of several Libyan detainees who were apparently tortured while in custody [JURIST report]. The deaths came amid allegations of widespread torture and ill-treatment of detainees accused of being pro-Gaddafi loyalists and fighters during the Libyan conflict last year. In October of last year AI alleged that Libyan forces arrested nearly 2,500 people who face ongoing torture and detainment [JURIST report] without formal charges. In September the NTC vowed to investigate allegations of human rights abuses after AI published a report [JURIST report] alleging that both sides of the Libya conflict are responsible for human rights abuses and warning the NTC to act quickly to investigate these allegations.