April 11
UNITED NATIONS:
Rights groups set 'priorities' for next UN chief----Rights groups say the next
leader must strike a new deal for refugees and end the death penalty. This
week, 8 candidates for the top job will outline their vision for the role at
the UN General Assembly.
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and 4 other rights groups have listed
8 priorities for the next UN secretary-general, who will be elected later this
year to replace Ban Ki-moon.
Their unofficial job description was released on Monday as United Nations
member states were due to begin week-long question and answer sessions with
each of the eight candidates currently running for the position. Other
candidates are expected to emerge.
The priorities include forging a new deal for refugees and migrants that is
based on "sustained international cooperation with an equitable sharing of
responsibilities for resettlement." They also called for a full review of the
bodies that manage international migration.
The rights groups said the next UN chief should be prepared to invoke the UN
charter to prevent and end mass atrocities such as the deliberate targeting of
civilians in wars.
Current UN chief Ban Ki-moon steps down in December
Candidates were also urged to promise to work towards abolishing the death
penalty during their term, after a recent Amnesty report showed that executions
worldwide rose by more than 1/2 in 2015, compared to the previous year.
The surge was largely due to Iran, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia carrying out more
killings, but China and the United States also regularly resort to the death
penalty.
Minority rights, gender equality
The NGOs also called on the next UN leader to champion the rights of
marginalized people, ensure gender equality and work to combat impunity for
crimes under international law.
The new secretary-general must also be willing to stand up to big powers at the
Security Council to discourage them from using their veto power to block action
to end atrocities, they said.
In 2014, the Security Council failed to refer Syria to the International
Criminal Court for war crimes prosecutions after Russia and China blocked the
measure.
UN officials said the two-hour public interviews of candidates, which will
begin on Tuesday, were part of broader plans to make the selection process for
the position of UN chief more transparent.
8 candidates so far
So far, 8 candidates have declared their interest. They include Irina Bokova,
the chief of UN children's body UNESCO, Helen Clark, former prime minister of
New Zealand, and Antonio Guterres, the former UN high commissioner for
refugees.
The Associated Press cited unnamed UN officials as suggesting that German
Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission budget chief Kristalina
Georgieva may also make strong candidates for the role, although Merkel is
reportedly not keen on the job.
The new UN secretary-general is formally picked by the 193-member General
Assembly. But the 15-member Security Council recommends the successful
candidate, and in practice the five permanent Security Council members - the
US, Russia, China, Britain and France - have veto power over the nominees.
The successful candidate will take over the position on January 1, 2017, when
incumbent Ban's 2nd 5-year term ends.
The human rights 'priorities' agenda was also endorsed by Civicus, the
International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH), the Global Centre for the
Responsibility to Protect and the World Federalist Movement - Institute for
Global Policy.
(source: Deutsche Welle)
INDIA:
CSWO demands death penalty for rape & murder accused
The Irene Hujon faction of the Civil Society Women Organisation (CSWO) has
demanded death sentence for a rape accused even as it asked the State
government to appoint a special prosecutor to expedite trial in the case.
In a shocking incident, one Vicky Syiemlieh allegedly raped and murdered a
19-year-old-girl at 41/2 Mile in Upper Shillong on March 17.
"Crimes like these can no longer be tolerated and should be dealt with a firm
hand," Hujon said in a memorandum to the Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma.
Hujon suggested the name of Additional Advocate General, WHD Syngkon to handle
the case.
Meanwhile, in a letter to Home Minister Roshan Warjri, the Seng Teilang Kynthei
said that the incident has shamed the state. "We feel ashamed that even little
children are not spared from being raped and murdered in this once beautiful
and peaceful state of ours. It is the bounden duty of our public
representatives whom we have elected, to strengthen the judicial system and put
in place tough laws to protect women and children," the Seng Teilang Kynthei
said. "We also demand that others who were involved along with Vicky Syiemlieh
in this gruesome act be awarded the same punishment," the organisation said.
(source: sentinelassam.com)
SOMALIA----execution
Former Al-Shabaab media officer executed for murder of journalists
Former Al-Shabaab group media officer was executed by a firing squad on Monday
for murdering journalists in the Horn of Africa nation.
Hassan Hanafi Haji, who used to arrange for media briefings by the insurgents
in the capital, was shot in Mogadishu following his recent sentence by the
country's military court.
"The Court found him guilty of killing five journalists. He also admitted his
involvement in killing the journalists including former Chief of Somalia news
agency Sheikh Nor Abkey. National military court sat for his case 2 times and
found enough evidence and sentenced him to death penalty twice on March, but
finally his execution happened this morning," said Col. Abdulahi Hussein
Mayonge, one of the prosecutors.
Somalia journalists welcomed the execution of Haji, saying the deceased was a
threat to journalism in the Horn of Africa nation.
"It is something very important to see and witness a criminal who was behind
the killing of my colleagues facing justice. We used to hear perpetrators
escaping from justice, but this gives us sign of hope and confidence," Omar
Farah, a radio journalist, said.
Haji was arrested in Kenya and brought to Mogadishu for further investigation.
He appeared from the State run television last month, admitting his involvement
in the killing of journalists in Mogadishu.
The execution came 2 days after the court executed 2 other Al-Shabaab men who
were found guilty of killing another journalist, Hindiya Haji Mohamed, in
Mogadishu.
Hassan Nur Ali, 37, and Abdirisak Mohamed Barow, 28, were shot in Mogadishu on
Saturday.
Mohamed, who was a journalist for 2 state-run news outlets, Radio Mogadishu and
Somali National TV, was killed when a bomb planted under the seat of her car
exploded.
(source: Shangnhai Daily)
GLOBAL:
The death penalty is past its kill-by date
The number of countries that no longer apply the death penalty continues to
grow. Yet the global execution count is also on the rise. That is primarily the
fault of 4 countries, DW's Matthias von Hein writes.
The most fundamental human right - inalienable and also anchored in the UN's
Universal Declaration of Human Rights - is the right to live. This right, of
course, is often violated by conflict, terrorism and crime, and it is often
violated by the law. Last year, 25 states legally executed at least 1,634 human
beings.
Those numbers, from Amnesty International, represent a setback in the global
fight to abolish the death penalty. In 2015 the number of executions was higher
than it had been at any time in the previous quarter century. And, sadly, one
must assume that a great many more people lost their lives at the hands of
executioners. Many countries simply refuse to release such data, treating
executions like state secrets. 46 offenses are punishable by death in China,
which does not let on how many people are killed there annually, though the
total is likely more than in the rest of the world combined.
90 % of the executions recorded in Amnesty's numbers are carried out in Iran,
Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. And it's not just an antiquated Old Testament
principle like "an eye for an eye" that will get you killed. Adultery,
blasphemy and homosexuality have all been used to justify the death penalty in
such places. And, if that were not bad enough, one cannot even begin to speak
of fairness in the judicial proceedings that lead to executions.
Other nonviolent offenses, such as drug dealing or smuggling, are also punished
by death on a massive level. For instance, two-thirds of the thousand or so
executions carried out in Iran last year were related to drug offenses. But
such measures have done little to stem the flow of drugs into the country. That
favored argument of death penalty supporters - that executions have a deterrent
effect - simply doesn't hold true.
One of the biggest disappointments in the run-up to the UN General Assembly's
special session on the world drug problem in New York this month is that the
European Union was unable to push through its calls for abolishing the death
penalty for such crimes. Drafts of the conference's closing document contain no
references to that. China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Egypt and others
maintain their position that the death penalty is a judiciary issue for
individual sovereign states and not a topic for drug conferences.
Belarus clings to the death penalty in Europe. The United States, which claims
political and moral superiority over many other nations, executed one inmate
every 2 weeks last year on average. The death penalty has its roots in eras in
which people were concerned with revenge, not justice. It is senseless,
gruesome and degrading; executions lead to brutal societies.
The majority of countries around the world have realized that state-sanctioned
killing is not the answer to murder or other crimes: A total of 102 states have
completely abolished the death penalty. 4 did so just last year. These
countries show that justice and criminal law have no need for executioners.
(source: Opinion, Deutsche Welle)
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