Media advisories

Human rights in Bahrain - Media Briefing

SUMMARY
The human rights crisis in Bahrain is not over. Despite the authorities’ claims to the contrary, state violence against those who oppose the Al Khalifa family rule continues, and in practice, not much has changed in the country since the brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters in February and March 2011

The Bahraini authorities have been vociferous about their intention to introduce reforms and learn lessons from events in February and March 2011. In November 2011, the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), set up by King Hamad bin ‘Issa Al Khalifa, submitted a report of its investigation into human rights violations committed in connection with the anti-government protests. The report concluded that the authorities had committed gross human rights violations with impunity, including excessive use of force against protesters, widespread torture and other ill-treatment of protesters, unfair trials and unlawful killings.

Authorities across the Americas must take urgent action to protect the rights of the most vulnerable people in the region, said Amnesty International in a new paper released ahead of the VI Summit of the Americas.

The paper Connecting the Americas: Prosperity with Respect for Human Rights explores some of the main human rights challenges in the region, including the abuses against Indigenous Peoples, widespread violence against women and girls, attacks against human rights defenders and the criticism by several governments of the Inter-American human rights system.

“The Summit is an important opportunity for regional leaders to commit to taking concrete steps to improve human rights across the Americas,” said Susan Lee, Americas Director at Amnesty International.

“The global prosperity that regional leaders are aiming for can only be achieved if the human rights of all in the Americas are respected and protected.”

The VI Americas Summit will take place between 14 and 15 April 2012 in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia.

On Tuesday 13 March, at a press briefing in Geneva, Amnesty International will launch a report exposing how hundreds of people languish in detention without trial in Sri Lanka despite the end of the country’s long conflict.
 
Locked away: Sri Lanka’s security detainees reveals how the arbitrary and illegal detention that were a hallmark of Sri Lanka’s security regime during its long war has become routine. Detainees are vulnerable to torture, extrajudicial execution and are often held incommunicado.

Sri Lankan authorities detain those deemed to be security threats, and, sometimes, their families and colleagues. Peaceful critics have also been arrested and detained. Authorities continue to justify these practices in the name of public security.

Despite the end of the armed conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, in Sri Lanka human rights abuses of all types go un-investigated and unpunished

The UN Human Rights Council is currently meeting in Geneva, and Sri Lanka is on the agenda.
 

Amnesty International Canada and six prestigious universities (below) are working together to host a visit by four respected Mexican human rights defenders. Each has a compelling story to tell about courageous efforts to protect rights and dignity in Mexico amidst a terrifying increase in threats and violence.
 
Vidulfo Rosales Sierra is a lawyer with the renowned Tlachinollan Human Rights Centre that does human rights monitoring and works with Indigenous communities in Guerrero State to defend their rights
 
Dolores González Saravia is Director of SERAPAZ, an NGO founded by Bishop Ruiz with extensive experience in southern Mexico that works on conflict prevention and peace building
 
Yolanda Moran Isais is a member of FUUNDEM, an organization formed by a growing number of families whose relatives have been forcibly disappeared
 
Alberto Xicotencatl Carrasco is Director of the Casa del Migrante shelter in Saltillo, Coahuila, recipient of last year’s prestigious Letelier Moffitt Human Rights Award for work with vulnerable migrants

The victor in Russia’s presidential elections on 4 March must place human rights at the heart of their political agenda, Amnesty International said.

During the past few weeks, all the presidential candidates have touched on issues preventing Russian society from fulfilling its rich potential.

In A Human Rights Agenda for Russia, Amnesty International details how human rights-based solutions are essential for Russia to move forward.

“As the first generation of post-soviet voters heads to the polls, the hopes and expectations of all Russians remain what they always were – the full enjoyment, for so long denied, of their most basic rights as individuals and as citizens,” said Sergei Nikitin, Director of Amnesty International Representative Office in the Russian Federation.

“During elections, we often hear the right words from the various candidates. This time, the future president must lay out specific steps for change and demonstrate action – there can be no more excuses.

Amnesty International Canada /Amnistie Canada    Assembly of First Nations     Canadian Friends Service Committee (Quakers)   First Nations Summit    Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee)    Indigenous World Association   International Indian Treaty Council (IITC)    KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives     Kanehsatake Cultural Center    National Association of Friendship Centres    Native Women's Association of Canada    Treaty Four First Nations    Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs

On February 22 and 23, Canada’s record on combating discrimination will be examined by a high level body of the United Nations. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) is the independent expert body that monitors compliance with the international treaty of the same name.

As a signatory to the Convention, Canada is required to report regularly to the Committee on measures taken to comply with its provisions. Key issues concerning the rights of Indigenous peoples were glossed over or ignored in Canada’s report.

 On Friday 20 January, the fifth anniversary of the illegal rendition of a Canadian citizen Bashir Makhtal from Kenya to Ethiopia, family, friends and human right supporters will be holding a vigil outside the Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s office in the Langevin Block to draw attention to his plight.

 Bashir Makhtal, originally from the Ogaden region of Ethiopia was arrested at the Kenya-Somalia border in December 2006 and flown in shackles to Ethiopia in January 2007. After 18 months without access to a lawyer or consular officials he was eventually of accused of providing support to an armed group, the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF).  He was sentenced to life imprisonment after a grossly unfair trial in 2009. In the absence of credible evidence, the basis for the charges seemed to be the role his grandfather played in the founding of the ONLF decades ago.

 Supporters of Bashir Makhtal will bring their concerns about his illegal rendition and unfair trial to the attention of Prime Minister Harper. They will be renewing the call that has been repeatedly made for his direct intervention with the Ethiopian government on this case.