View previous stories
	Human rights in Iraq remain fragile by United Nations News   August 2011   Human rights in Iraq remain fragile amid armed violence, torture and impunity.   Armed violence continues to affect large numbers of Iraqis, with minorities, women and children suffering disproportionately, torture widely reported and impunity rife, according to a United Nations report released today.   “The human rights situation throughout Iraq remains fragile,” the report notes, also citing so-called “silent” human rights violations, such as entrenched poverty.   “Widespread poverty, economic stagnation, lack of opportunities, environmental degradation and an absence of basic services constitute ‘silent’ human rights violations that affect large sectors of the population,” it says.   The report, released by the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), covers the human rights situation throughout 2010 and studies a range of human rights issues, including the impact of armed conflict and violence on civilians, detention and the rule of law, and protection of the rights of specific groups.   On political rights, including freedom of assembly and expression, it notes that while there has been improvement in some areas, many challenges remain.   According to UNAMI and Government estimates, around 3,000 civilians were killed in violence in 2010, largely perpetrated by armed insurgents and terrorist groups. Members of minorities, women and children continue to suffer disproportionately from indiscriminate and targeted violence, the report notes.   Significant problems remain with law enforcement and the administration of justice, especially provision and respect for due process and fair trial rights, it adds.   While there has been some improvement in the physical conditions of many detention facilities and prisons, incidents of abuse and torture remain widely reported. An over-reliance on confessions to convict encourages an environment where the torture of detainees takes place, the report notes.   “Ending impunity also remains a serious challenge in Iraq,” it stresses. “Perpetrators of crimes committed over many years continue to be unaccountable. A number of mass graves were discovered during the year containing the victims of various human rights abuses committed at various times over the past few decades.”   The report also notes that women’s rights in some ways deteriorated in 2010 and children continue to suffer from violence and armed conflict, in some instances having been recruited or used to commit acts of violence. Minorities suffered from a number of attacks.   The report’s recommendations include a call on the Government to complete the establishment of an independent human rights commission, ratify the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment, and ensure compliance by security forces, police and all officials engaged in law enforcement and justice with the requirements of international humanitarian law and human rights law in combating armed violence.   Information for the report was gathered from direct monitoring by UNAMI as well as from a variety of other sources, including Government, UN Agencies, civil society and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Visit the related web page
	Mexico tormented by unending drug-related murders by Reuters & agencies   July 2011   UN human rights chief voices concern over high level of violence in Mexico.   The United Nations human rights chief has voiced concern over escalating violence in some parts Mexico, saying organized crime and brutality could undermine the State and threaten the people"s basic rights.   “Let us not forget that ensuring citizen security means upholding the right of the whole population to live free of threat to their basic rights – such as life, physical integrity and liberty, and justice – and for the State to respond and provide redress when those rights are violated,” Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, told a news conference in Mexico City at the end of her mission to Mexico.   She acknowledged the that the magnitude of the human rights challenges and violence facing Mexico were enormous, saying some of them had their root causes across Mexico"s borders. “I call on the United States of America, reported to be the main consumer of drugs and supplier of guns in and out of Mexico, to do more to help this country be safe,” said Ms. Pillay.   “I understand that in extraordinary circumstances difficult decisions have to be taken – like the use of the military in public order functions – while a State builds the capacity to protect its citizens according to the rule of law.   “But such exceptional measures must remain true to their nature – extraordinary, and limited in time. And they must be carried out under civilian control and within the boundaries set by human rights standards and principles,” she added.   April 2011   Mexicans march against drug violence. (BBC)   Protest marches have been held in more than 20 cities across Mexico against the drug-related violence sweeping the country. More than 35,000 people have died in Mexico"s drugs conflict.   Thousands of people joined the protest in the main square in Mexico City, chanting "no more blood".   Some called for President Felipe Calderon to resign, saying his strategy had exacerbated the bloodshed.   As the marches got under way, police said they had found at least 40 bodies in a mass grave in Tamaulipas state.   At least 35,000 Mexicans have died in drug-related violence since President Felipe Calderon began deploying the army to fight the the cartels in December 2006.   The demonstrations were inspired by the poet and journalist Javier Sicilia, whose son was killed last week.   Mr Sicilia has blamed Mexican politicians as well as criminal gangs for the violence, saying they have "torn apart the fabric of the nation".   Javier Sicilia called for the protests after his 24-year-old son, Juan Francisco, was found dead inside a car along with six other people in the city of Cuernavaca last week.   "The citizenry has lost confidence in its governors, its police, its army, and is afraid and in pain”, said Javier Sicilia.   In an open letter to Mexico"s politicians and criminals published in Proceso, he said President Calderon"s campaign against the drugs gangs was "badly planned, badly carried out and badly led".   Mr Sicilia also condemned the criminals as "subhuman, demonic and imbecilic".   "We have had it up to here with your violence, your loss of honour, your cruelty and senselessness," he wrote.   In the latest violence, police in the northern state of Tamaulipas, on the US border, said they had found a mass grave containing at least 40 bodies.   The human remains were uncovered in the same area where the bodies of 72 migrants from Central and South America were found last August.   Tamaulipas state has been the scene of bloody confrontations between rival drugs gangs who also exploit migrants heading to the US.   June 2010   Mexico is experiencing a surge of drugs-related murders.   Gunmen brought terror to two towns in northern Mexico, killing at least 39 people, police said Friday, as the country struggles to tackle the scourge of powerful and violent drug cartels.   In Chihuahua, the capital of northern Chihuahua state, more than 30 armed men stormed a drug rehabilitation centre overnight, killing 19 people and wounding four others.   Meanwhile, an unknown number of gunmen carried out a series of armed attacks and executions across the town of Madero, in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas, police said.   In Chihuahua, the gunmen arrived in six trucks and fired large-calibre weapons at patients and employees, killing 14 people immediately and then fatally shot another five people before fleeing. Shortly afterward, police and soldiers surrounded the area searching in vain for the perpetrators, and ambulances ferried the wounded, to local hospitals.   In Madero, a gang of gunmen killed scores of people in a series of armed confrontations and shootings in at least five different locations in the city. So far, "20 bodies have been found in different parts of the city," a federal police officer said.   April 2010   Mexico drug violence claims 22,743 lives.   Almost 23,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence in Mexico since the launch of a government crackdown on drug gangs at the end of 2006, a parliamentary source says.   The new figure of 22,743 deaths was given to lawmakers during a congressional debate on the controversial use of the army in Mexico"s battle against its powerful drug gangs, the source said, declining to be named.   It was a rise of more than 7000 compared with previous official estimates, and showed 3365 murders between January and March this year, they added.   Interior Minister Fernando Gomez Montt confirmed in a news conference that new figures had been passed on to lawmakers without giving further details.   The worst-hit regions were in northern areas near the 3200km border with the United States, which lie on key drug trafficking routes into the US.   Violence has spiked since Mexican President Felipe Calderon launched a military crackdown on organised crime, involving tens of thousands of troops, when he took office after disputed elections at the end of 2006.   * Mexican Caravan of Solace: a movement begins. Journalist William Lloyd George reports on the movement that has begun in Mexico, united by the poet Javier Sicilia, to resist the drug cartels and the country’s widespread and seeming unending violence - visit the link below for more details.   http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/presscenter/pressreleases/2013/11/12/citizen-insecurity-thwarts-latin-america-s-development-says-undp/ Visit the related web page
	View more stories