In March-April, 12 Jehovah’s Witnesses sentenced to 76 years in prison in all

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29 April 2023

Stop deporting Haitians: Rights experts’ appeal to countries in Americas

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) sounded the alarm after 36,000 people of Haitian origin were deported during the first three months of the year, according to figures from the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Some 90 per cent were deported from the Dominican Republic.

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Violations and abuses against Haitians

The experts expressed concern over collective expulsions which did not take into consideration individual circumstances and needs.

They also highlighted alleged human rights violations and abuses against Haitians on the move along migration routes, at borders and in detention centres in the Americas region, “as a result of strict migration control, the militarization of borders, systematic immigration detention policies and the obstacles to international protection” in some countries.

Such obstacles exposed these vulnerable migrants to “killings, disappearances, acts of sexual and gender-based violence, and trafficking by criminal networks”, the Committee warned.

Demanding protection for Haitian refugees

Caribbean countries, such as the Bahamas as well as the Turks and Caicos Islands, have announced measures against undocumented Haitian migrants. The United States in January also made public new border policies to permit fast-tracked expulsions to Mexico of Haitian migrants and others, crossing the southern border of the US without documentation.

Considering the desperate situation in Haiti, which does not currently allow for the safe and dignified return of Haitians to the country, as pointed out by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Committee called for an end to the collective expulsions of Haitians on the move.

It also said assessments of each individual case needed to be carried out, to identify protection needs in accordance with international refugee and human rights law, with particular attention to the most vulnerable groups.

Combatting racism and xenophobia

The independent human rights experts requested States parties in the Americas to investigate all allegations of excessive use of force, cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, and racial profiling against Haitians.

They also demanded protection of refugees against other allegations of human rights violations and abuses committed by both State and non-state actors; including at borders, migrant detention centres and along migration routes, to punish those responsible and to provide rehabilitation and reparations to victims or their families.

The experts also called for measures to prevent and combat xenophobic and racist violence and incitement to racial hatred against people of Haitian origin, and to publicly condemn racist hate speech, including those uttered by public figures and politicians.

Independent human rights experts are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, in Geneva. They are mandated to monitor and report on specific thematic issues or country situations. They are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work.

2022 broke records in the art market

By

Gaston de Persigny

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29 April 2023

The most expensive private collection and the most expensive work of art of the 20th century were sold

The past year 2022 will go down in history as one of the most profitable for the art market. The most impressive commercial achievement through it is undoubtedly the sale of the collection of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen for a record 1.62 billion dollars. The art collection of Allen, who died in 2018, was sold at a two-day Christie’s auction in November, with five works fetching more than $100 million each. These were Georges Seurat’s Models, Ensemble (Small Canvas) ($149.2 million), Paul Cézanne’s Mount Saint-Victoire ($137.7 million), Vincent van Gogh’s Cypress Orchard ( 117.1 million), “Maternity II” by Paul Gauguin (105.7 million) and “Birch Forest” by Gustav Klimt (104.5 million).

That evening, an absolute record for an art auction was also set – more than 1.5 billion US dollars. A day later, on November 10, the second part of Allen’s collection was sold for “just” 116 million. In total, the collection included 155 masterpieces spanning 500 years of art history – from Sandro Botticelli to David Hockney. According to Christie’s executive director Guillaume Ceruti, “100 percent of them” have found a new owner. The company, controlled by French billionaire Francois Pinault’s Artemis holding company, announced that all proceeds from the sale would be donated to charity.

The previous record for a private collection, set just a few months earlier, belonged to Harry and Linda Macklowe’s collection, sold off after their divorce. Her works, offered at two Sotheby’s auctions – in May this year and in November 2021 – collected 922.2 million US dollars. At the May auction, 30 works from their collection fetched US$246.1 million in just 90 minutes. Among the Macklow family’s possessions sold were the paintings “Untitled” by Mark Rothko, “Seascape” by Gerhard Richter, “Self-Portrait” by Andy Warhol, “The Nose” by Alberto Giacometti, “Number 17, 1951” by Jackson Pollock.

A record was also set on May 9 this year at Christie’s with the portrait of the film icon Marilyn Monroe Shot Sage Blue Marilyn by Andy Warhol. It fetched US$195 million, making it the highest-priced work of art of the 20th century at auction. Until now, this record was held by “Untitled” by Jean-Michel Basquiat. The 1982 painting of a skull-like face was bought in 2017 for US$110.5 million.

Warhol’s most expensive work to date was Silver Car Crash (double disaster), which depicts a car accident. The painting was sold for 105 million in 2013. As for the portrait of Marilyn, it was owned by the Thomas and Doris Ammann Foundation of Zurich, which announced its intention to use all proceeds from the auction for charitable purposes.

These impressive sales contributed to auction houses Christie’s and Sotheby’s announcing record receipts for 2022 of US$8.4 billion and US$8 billion, respectively.

Photo: “Madonna Magnificat” by Botticelli.

Russia, Moscow City Court orders oppressive liquidation of human Rights NGO SOVA Center

By

Newsdesk

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29 April 2023

As reported by SOVA Center, the remaining most active human rights NGO in Russia, the Russian oppressive fist is now falling on them.

We reproduce here the statement of SOVA:

On April 27, 2023 Judge Vyacheslav Polyga of the Moscow City Court considered the request filed by Russia’s Ministry of Justice to liquidate the Regional Public Association “Sova” and decided to approve the request.

Our petition requesting postponement of the proceedings until the Gagarinskiy District Court considers the counterclaim of SOVA Center against the Moscow Department of the Ministry of Justice was not granted. The formal reason for the liquidation of SOVA was the organization of and participation in events outside its region of registration (Moscow).

The court did not agree with the arguments of the defense that participation in events outside Moscow is not a violation of the law. The court also disagreed with the claim that even if such participation was considered a violation, it certainly should not be considered intentional and gross, and therefore the liquidation of the Center was a disproportionate measure.

We certainly do not agree with the decision of the Moscow City Court and will appeal. SOVA Center will continue to operate until the liquidation order comes into force.

The first prison sentence for opposing the war on religious grounds was issued in Russia

By

Gaston de Persigny

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29 April 2023

A 63-year-old Russian Orthodox Christian has become the first person to be sentenced to prison for expressing his opposition to Russia’s war in Ukraine in religious terms. Mikhail Simonov is accused of spreading “false information” about the Russian armed forces based on “political hatred” over two social media posts in which he condemned the Russian attacks on Kiev and Mariupol.

In March 2022, he wrote on a social network: “We kill children and women, and we sing songs on the First TV channel. We, Russia, have become godless! Forgive us, Lord!”. It was this publication that became the basis of his accusation.

On March 30, 2023, a Moscow court sentenced Mikhail Simonov to seven years in prison, followed by a four-year internet ban. He has been in pre-trial prison No. 5 in Moscow since November 2022. Before the court, M. Simonov asked to be placed under house arrest due to poor health – hypertonic crises, headaches and loss of consciousness, coronary heart disease. His defense request was denied and he remains in pre-trial detention in Moscow pending a possible appeal.

Mihail Simonov is charged under Art. 207.3 of the Criminal Code, which Vladimir Putin signed in March 2022, shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Russians who oppose the war, including a small number who do so on religious grounds or express their opposition in religious terms, are also prosecuted under Art. 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code on “Public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the armed forces of the Russian Federation.”

Two more people – both Orthodox Christians – are on trial for their religious opposition to Russia’s war on Ukraine. One is Fr. Ioan Kurmoyarov, who has been in pre-trial detention since June 2022 because of a video in which he says that there is no holy war in Orthodoxy, and only peacemakers will go to heaven. He was detained on a tip-off by the Anti-Sectarian Service of the Western Vicariate of the Moscow City Diocese. His trial is scheduled for April 25. The second case is against the music teacher Anna Chagina, an Orthodox Christian, because on March 22, 2022, she silently held a poster with a quote from the Gospel: “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matt. 5:9). The case against her is being heard in the court in Tomsk.

UN condemns ‘inexcusable’ deadly airstrikes in Ukraine

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28 April 2023

UN condemns ‘inexcusable’ deadly airstrikes in Ukraine

Dozens of civilians across the country were killed and injured, and homes and other vital infrastructure, destroyed.

More than 20 people were killed in the small central city of Uman alone, when their apartment building collapsed after it was hit, according to international media reports.

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‘Inexcusable’ attacks

“It is just inexcusable that in places like Uman, far from the frontline, civilians were killed while sleeping at their homes. This must stop,” Mr. Hollingworth wrote on Twitter.

Catherine Russell, Executive Director of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) also took to the platform to denounce the bloodshed.

“At least three children were reportedly killed in an attack on Uman, Ukraine today, including two 10-year-old children and a toddler. A three-year old was reportedly killed in Dnipro. War is the worst enemy of children. The violence must stop,” she tweeted.

Not a target

In New York, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric noted that deadly attacks were also reported in Donetsk city, capital of the eastern region of the same name, and currently under Russian control.

Authorities there said several civilians were killed and injured when a bus and hospital in the city centre were struck.

“It is an important reminder that civilians and civilian infrastructure are protected under international humanitarian law and they must never be targeted, wherever those facilities may be,” Mr. Dujarric said.  

Delivering critical supplies

As a result of the increased fighting and violence, humanitarian needs are deepening in Ukraine, and the UN and partners are trying to provide as much assistance as possible.

“Since January, we have organized almost 40 humanitarian convoys to areas as close as a couple of hundred meters from the frontlines,” he said.

On Friday, humanitarians delivered six truckloads of critical supplies to the 3,000 people remaining in communities around Lyman, in the Donetsk region, which included medical supplies and enough food to last for three months.

Earlier this week, they reached the city of Orikhiv, located just 10 kilometers from the frontline in the Zaporizhzhia region, and delivered water, hygiene and shelter kits for some 1,600 civilians, mostly older people.

Mr. Dujarric told journalists that these residents have been sheltering in basements to keep safe from shelling, and lack access to markets, electricity, piped water and gas, which is make life more difficult.  

UN expert urges Japan to ‘step up pressure’ on Myanmar junta

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28 April 2023

UN expert urges Japan to ‘step up pressure’ on Myanmar junta

“The international community’s response to the crisis in Myanmar is failing, and that failure has contributed to a lethal downward spiral that is devastating the lives of millions of people,” Tom Andrews, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, said at the end of a 10-day official visit to Japan.

Referring to the worsening situation in the country, he said Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who has led the junta since the February 2021 coup, had responded to widespread opposition to their rule with “barbarism and oppression” against the people of Myanmar.

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‘Hallmarks of the junta’

“Arbitrary detention, torture and systematic attacks on villages have become hallmarks of the junta,” he said. “The military is repeatedly attacking civilian populations throughout the country and has quite literally made war on the Myanmar people.”

Japan’s leadership will be “vital” in recalibrating a failing international response to the crisis, he said, calling on Tokyo to work with regional and global allies to weaken the capacity of Myanmar’s military junta to attack its citizens.

‘This is an emergency’

The Special Rapporteur also raised alarms about an impending humanitarian disaster in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh. Without immediate additional funding, a decision to cut food rations by an additional 20 per cent will be made in the coming weeks, reducing daily food rations to 27 cents per person. The cuts would also potentially eliminate food rations completely for hundreds of thousands.

“This is an emergency,” he warned, adding that he had visited Japan based on his belief Tokyo has an “essential” role to play in resolving the crisis. “Further cuts will leave the Rohingya, already victims of genocidal attacks in Myanmar, at risk of starvation and drive thousands into boats and dangerous land routes in utter desperation.”

Impose sanctions

As such, he called on the Government of Japan and all Member States to immediately increase humanitarian contributions, including by redirecting funds from development programmes in Myanmar. He also urged Japan to impose targeted economic sanctions on the Myanmar military and its key sources of funding, just as it is doing in response to the crisis in Ukraine.

“Economic sanctions that deprive the junta of the resources required to operate its war-making machinery would weaken the capacity of the junta to attack its people,” the Special Rapporteur said.

Renounce ‘fraudulent’ elections

In addition, he urged Japan to terminate a Ministry of Defence training programme for military personnel from Myanmar, referencing credible reports linking previous trainees to military units that have committed atrocities against civilians.

He also called on the Government of Japan to clearly and consistently renounce the junta’s plan to stage fraudulent national elections as a means of legitimizing itself.

“It is not possible to hold a genuine election when opposition leaders are arrested, detained, tortured and executed, when key political parties have been dissolved, when it is illegal to criticize the junta, and when journalists are imprisoned for doing their job,” he said.

The upcoming Group of Seven (G7) Summit of leading economies in Hiroshima presents an opportunity for Japan to shine a light on the situation in Myanmar before the world, he said, urging the Prime Minister to ensure that the crisis is high on the agenda and that a strong, unified message and action emerges.

Unsplash/Harish Shivaraman

The Sule Pagoda in downtown Yangon, Myanmar.

Special Rapporteurs

Special Rapporteurs and other rights experts are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, are mandated to monitor and report on thematic issues or country situations, are not UN staff, and do not receive a salary for their work.

Sudan: Tens of thousands on the move; spectre of ethnic clashes, hunger draws closer

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28 April 2023

Sudan: Tens of thousands on the move; spectre of ethnic clashes — © UNHCR/Charlotte - Hallqvist UNHCR has set up a transit centre in Renk in South Sudan for people fleeing violence in Sudan.

Civilians in Sudan, including scores of internally displaced people and refugees, are scrambling for safety and suffering the disastrous consequences of the violence there, as many aid operations have been forced to pause, UN humanitarians said on Friday.

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said that tens of thousands of refugees from South Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea living in the country have fled the fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the Khartoum area.

#Sudan's Human rights situation dramatically deteriorating. Hundreds of thousands have fled. Thousands of others trapped by the fighting & face acute shortages. We call on the parties to immediately end hostilities. Protecting civilians must be paramount https://t.co/mWw4W66NON pic.twitter.com/nBlfqwub7l
— UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) April 28, 2023

The newly displaced have found shelter in existing refugee camps further east and south, creating new humanitarian challenges.

UNHCR is also particularly concerned about the situation in the Darfur region, where fears are deepening of a revival of ethnic tensions.

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Darfur alert

The agency’s representative in Sudan, Axel Bisschop, told reporters in Geneva that Darfur might present the “biggest challenge” from a humanitarian point of view. “We’re concerned that the intercommunal violence is going to increase and that we might have some situations which will repeat in relation to what we had a couple of years ago,” in a region which has already experienced severe conflict and displacement, he said.

UNHCR stressed that Darfur presents “a myriad of pressing protection issues”, highlighting that a number of sites hosting internally displaced people have been burned to the ground, while civilian houses and humanitarian premises have been hit by bullets.

Concerns over the region are shared by the UN rights office (OHCHR), which warned on Friday of a “serious risk” of violence escalating in West Darfur as the hostilities between the RSF and SAF have triggered intercommunal violence.

OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said that in El Geneina, West Darfur, “deadly ethnic clashes” have been reported and an estimated 96 people have been killed since 24 April.

Guterres ‘deeply grateful’ to governments aiding UN evacuation

The UN Secretary-General expressed his gratitude to France and other nations who have helped with the relocation and evacuation of UN staff from Khartoum and elsewhere this week.

In a statement issued by his Spokesperson, he highlighted help from France in safely transporting more than 400 UN personnel and dependents out of Sudan.

“The French Navy transported more than 350 of our colleagues and their families from Port Sudan to Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday night.”

On Thursday, more than 70 UN and affiliated personnel, as well as others, were flown on a French Air Force plane from El Fasher, Sudan, to the capital of Chad.

“We also thank the authorities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Chad, Kenya and Uganda for facilitating the arrival of our colleagues and their families.

The Secretary-General is also very thankful to the many other Member States, including the United States, Jordan, Sweden, Germany, the United Kingdom and Canada, who have assisted in ensuring the safe transport of UN personnel.”

Rights abuses rise

The overall death toll in the conflict has risen to at least 512, according to the latest figures from the Sudanese Ministry of Health quoted by OHCHR on Friday, with the understanding that this is almost certainly a very conservative estimate.

While the fragile ceasefire has led to a decrease in fighting in some areas, allowing some to flee their homes in search of safety, human rights abuses against people on the move – such as extortion – have been rife, Ms. Shamdasani said.

Growing displacement

Mr. Bisschop said that Sudan hosts over a million refugees, notably from South Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea.

UNHCR has received reports of around 33,000 refugees having fled from Khartoum to refugee camps in White Nile State, 2,000 to the camps in Gedaref and 5,000 to Kassala since the start of the crisis two weeks ago.

Thousands of people – Sudanese citizens, including many internally displaced people, and refugees living in Sudan – have also fled the country.

UNHCR spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh said that in Chad, UNHCR together with the Government has registered around 5,000 arrivals so far, and that at least 20,000 have crossed.

Some 10,000 people have crossed to South Sudan, while in Egypt, Central African Republic and Ethiopia, there have been an unknown number of arrivals, given the speed at which the situation is unfolding and the scale of the country.

© UNHCR/Charlotte Hallqvist – Dispalced people who arrive at the UNHCR transit centre in Renk, South Sudan, receive relief items.

Lifesaving assistance on pause

UNHCR said the security situation has forced it to “temporarily pause” most of its aid operations in Khartoum, the Darfurs and North Kordofan, where it has become “too dangerous to operate”.

“The suspension of some humanitarian programmes is likely to exacerbate protection risks faced by those who rely on humanitarian assistance to survive,” UNHCR warned.

Mr. Bisschop said that UNHCR was working closely with the UN World Food Programme (WFP), to see how the food that is already positioned in the country can be provided.

Brenda Kariuki, WFP’s Regional Communications Officer for East Africa, said that amid the crisis, millions more across the region could be plunged into hunger. In Sudan, security threats to humanitarian operations, as well as the looting of WFP supplies from warehouses and the theft of vehicles used to transport aid, were depriving the most vulnerable of desperately needed assistance, the UN agency said.

Around one-third of the country’s population, or some 15.8 million people, were already in need of aid before the fighting started. The UN’s 2023 Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan, for a total of $1.7 billion, remains only 13.5 per cent funded.

Healthcare in jeopardy

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Thursday that in Khartoum, more than 60 per cent of health facilities are closed and only 16 per cent are operating as normal.

WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier told media in Geneva on Friday that WHO has verified 25 attacks on healthcare since the start of the fighting, which killed eight people and injured 18.

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) previously warned that the ongoing violence has disrupted “critical, life-saving care” for some 50,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

Singapore, Rights experts call for moratorium on the death penalty

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28 April 2023

Singapore, Rights experts call for moratorium on the death penalty — © UNICEF/Josh Estey - Only in exceptional circumstances and with incontrovertible evidence of intentional murder does international law permit the death penalty. (file)

Experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council on Friday called for Singapore to impose an immediate moratorium on capital punishment, denouncing the Government’s continued use of the death penalty for drug-related crimes.

They strongly condemned the execution this week of Tangaraju s/o Suppiah, who was convicted of conspiring to traffic cannabis from Malaysia to the country in 2013.

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Fair trial concerns

Mr. Suppiah, a 46-year-old Tamil from Singapore, was hanged on Tuesday despite claims that he had not been provided with adequate interpretation during police interrogations.

#Singapore: UN experts call on the government to impose an immediate moratorium on capital punishment in the country, strongly condemning the execution of 46 year-old Tamil national, Tangaraju on Tuesday. https://t.co/5HZ4TmyLtV pic.twitter.com/B9PGhDGzzL
— UN Special Procedures (@UN_SPExperts) April 28, 2023

“The death penalty can only be carried out after a legal process with every possible safeguard that ensures a fair trial, including legal representation at every stage of proceedings and necessary interpretation in all oral proceedings,” the experts said.

Alarming executions rate

They added that the rate of execution notices for drug-related offences in Singapore was “highly alarming”.

Mr. Suppiah reportedly was the 12^th person to be hanged since March 2022, according to the UN human rights office, OHCHR, which had urged the Government not to go ahead with his execution, citing concerns around due process and respect for fair trial guarantees.

The UN experts said States that have not yet abolished the death penalty may only impose capital punishment for the most serious crimes.

“Under international law, only crimes of extreme gravity involving intentional killing can be considered as ‘most serious’. Drug offences clearly do not meet this threshold,” they argued.

Discrimination against minorities

The rights experts also voiced concerns about discriminatory treatment of people from minority groups, such as Mr. Suppiah, as well as reports of reprisals against their lawyers.

Mr. Suppiah was sentenced under Singaporean law, which makes capital punishment mandatory for certain offences, including drug-related convictions. The experts said the mandatory sentencing law strips judges of discretion to consider individual cases, context and circumstances.

“We reiterate that the mandatory use of the death penalty constitutes an arbitrary deprivation of life, since it is imposed without taking into account the defendant’s personal circumstances or circumstances of the particular offence,” they said.

About UN experts

The nine experts monitor and report on issues such as extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions; arbitrary detention, and minority rights.

They serve on a voluntary basis and are independent from any Government or organization.

They are not UN staff and do not receive payment for their work.

EUCDW leaders: “Europe needs a strong industry and high-quality jobs!”

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Newsdesk

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28 April 2023