Commission Chair Erik Møse provided harrowing details on the findings to the Council, noting that in the Kherson region, “Russian soldiers raped and committed sexual violence against women of ages ranging from 19 to 83 years”, often together with threats or commission of other violations.
“Frequently, family members were kept in an adjacent room, thereby forced to hear the violations taking place,” Mr. Møse said.
‘Widespread’ torture
The Commission said that its investigations in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia indicate the “widespread and systematic” use of torture by Russian armed forces against persons accused of being informants of the Ukrainian military, which in some cases led to death.
Mr. Møse quoted a victim of torture as saying, “Every time I answered that I didn’t know or didn’t remember something, they gave me electric shocks… I don’t know how long it lasted. It felt like an eternity.”
Probe into child transfers a ‘priority’
The Commissioners also indicated that they have continued to investigate individual situations of alleged transfers of unaccompanied children by Russian authorities to the Russian Federation.
“This item remains very high on our priority list,” Mr. Møse assured the Council.
Possible ‘incitement to genocide’
The Commission expressed concern about allegations of genocide in Ukraine, warning that “some of the rhetoric transmitted in Russian state and other media may constitute incitement to genocide”
Mr. Møse said that the Commission was “continuing its investigations on such issues”.
Call for accountability
The UN-appointed independent rights investigators emphasized the need for accountability and expressed regret about the fact that all of their communications addressed to the Russian Federation “remain unanswered”.
In their report, the Commissioners also urged the Ukrainian authorities to “expeditiously and thoroughly” investigate the few cases of violations by its own forces.
No equivalence
Replying to questions from reporters in Geneva on Monday, the UN-appointed independent rights investigators strongly refuted any suggestions of an equivalence in the violations committed by both sides.
Mr. Møse stressed that on the Russian side, the Commission had found a “wide spectrum” and “large number of violations”. On the Ukrainian side, there were “a few examples” related to indiscriminate attacks as well as “ill-treatment of Russians in Ukrainian captivity”, he said.
More in-depth investigations
The latest update reflects the Commission’s ongoing investigations during its second mandate, which started in April this year.
Mr. Møse said that it was now undertaking “more in-depth investigations” regarding unlawful attacks with explosive weapons, attacks affecting civilians, torture, sexual and gender-based violence, and attacks on energy infrastructure.
“This may also clarify whether torture and attacks on energy infrastructure amount to crimes against humanity,” the Commissioners said.
The Commission
The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine was established by the Human Rights Council on 4 March 2022 to investigate all alleged violations and abuses of human rights, violations of international humanitarian law and related crimes in the context of the aggression against Ukraine by Russia.
Its three members are Chair Erik Møse, Pablo de Greiff and Vrinda Grover. They are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work.
The mandate of the Commission of Inquiry was extended by the Council last April for a further period of one year. Its next report to the General Assembly is due in October.
Marta Valiñas, Chair of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela, presented its latest report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, which covers the period from January 2020 to August this year.
The report, which was published last week, focused on two areas: the various “repression mechanisms” used by the State, and the need to monitor a new security force whose members include officers who allegedly were involved in crimes against humanity.
‘Repressive tactics’
“What we are witnessing is the accumulated impact of these repressive tactics which have given rise to a predominant environment of fear, mistrust and self-censorship. As a consequence, the fundamental pillars of civic and democratic fora have been seriously eroded in Venezuela,” said Mr. Valiñas, speaking in Spanish.
She warned that repressive measures are likely to increase in the run-up to the presidential elections next year.
During the reporting period, at least 58 persons were arbitrarily detained, according to the report.
They included trade union leaders, human rights defenders, members of non-governmental organizations, journalists, opposition party members, and others who voiced criticism of the Government of President Nicholas Maduro.
Arbitrary killings and torture
The Mission investigated nine deaths to determine if they were linked to detention, finding reasonable grounds to believe that five were arbitrary killings that could be attributed to the State authorities.
Furthermore, at least 14 individuals were forcibly disappeared for periods ranging from several hours up to 10 days. The Mission documented 28 cases of torture or degrading treatment in official or clandestine places of detention, with sexual and gender-based violence being most prevalent.
Ms. Valiñas said these incidents represent a decrease over previous reporting periods, reflecting a shift in the political and human rights crisis in Venezuela.
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the end of opposition protests, and subsequent mass arrests, torture and large-scale reprisals.
Freedoms under attack
“Our conclusion is that in Venezuela, serious human rights violations continue, and that these violations are not isolated events. Rather, they reflect a policy of repressing dissent,” she said.
The Mission also investigated attempts against the freedoms of expression, assembly and peaceful association, and the right to participate in public life.
“Numerous cases” of selective repression were documented, including against trade unionists, journalists, human rights defenders, political leaders, and their relatives. Key civil society institutions, political parties and the media have also been targeted.
New strategic force
The report also expressed concern over a new police body, the Directorate of Strategic and Tactical Actions (DAET), created in July 2022.
The Mission concluded that the DAET is a continuation of the disbanded Special Action Forces (FAES), which it had identified as one of the structures most involved in extrajudicial executions, among other gross human rights violations, in the context of fighting crime.
Ms. Valiñas said 10 of the 15 top positions are held by former FAES leaders, “and these were already people who were named in former reports of our Mission because we believe that they have been involved in international crimes.”
She cited allegations around the new force’s involvement in operations last year that were linked to multiple assassinations and over 300 detentions.
“These actions were very similar to the strategies used by the Special Forces when they existed, including extrajudicial killings,” she said, calling for further investigation.
The World Health Organization’s representative to the DRC, Dr Boureima Hama Sambo, warned that in six eastern provinces, health facilities have been set alight, health workers killed and others face constant physical and psychological threats, while supplies have been looted. Heavy rain, flooding and landslides have also compromised aid access.
Dr Sambo said that the DRC is facing its worst cholera outbreak since 2017, with the eastern provinces accounting for 80 per cent of the cases. The country is also battling a major measles epidemic and the combination of measles and malnutrition was particularly deadly for children under five.
The UN health agency official said that WHO has deployed experts to the affected areas to support the authorities in investigating and responding to these outbreaks, delivered medical supplies for cholera treatment, supported transportation of samples to labs for testing, and built cholera treatment centres.
Vaccine campaign
The World Health Organization recently completed a vaccination campaign in Ituri province reaching over one million of children under five, with more campaigns to follow in Kasaï and Mai-Ndombe.
WHO was also providing health services, including access to mental health and psychosocial support, to victims of gender-based violence. Some 23,000 cases were reported in the six provinces from January to August 2023 and Dr Sambo said that the real figures were “probably much higher”.
For a “more sustainable and resilient health response” in Eastern DRC, Dr Sambo called for stronger donor support, as the UN health agency’s response in the region was only 14 per cent funded so far.
Iran: new hijab bill must be shelved: Türk
Staying with the High Commissioner for human rights: Volker Türk said on Friday that Iran’s “draconian” Chastity and Hijab Bill “flagrantly flies in the face of international law” and must be shelved.
Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, addresses the 54th Session of the Human Rights Council.
The bill vastly increases jail terms for offenders and provides for crushing fines on women and girls who do not obey the compulsory dress code.
According to the UN rights office (OHCHR), under the new, “even stricter” bill, now in its final stage of consideration before Iran’s constitutional court, those who do not comply with country’s strict Islamic dress code on head coverings and modest clothing risk up to 10 years in jail.
Those found in breach could also be flogged, as well as fined up to an equivalent of $8,500, subjected to travel restrictions and deprived of online access.
OHCHR called the decree “repressive and demeaning”, insisting that “women and girls must not be treated as second class citizens”.
Russia expert says mandate provides ‘bridge to the Russian people’
The independent UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Russia, Mariana Katzarova, underscored on Friday the importance of her mandate to give a voice to victims of alleged violations in the country.
“Why is my mandate important? Because it’s also the bridge to the Russian people, to the victims, to the civil society, to those who dare speak against the war on Ukraine”, she told reporters in Geneva.
“It’s a voice for the people of the Russian Federation, this mandate.”
The independent Human Rights Council-appointed expert presented her first report to the Council on Thursday, sounding the alarm about what she says is a pattern of suppression of civil and political rights in Russia.
‘Persistent use of torture’
She voiced grave concerns over mass arbitrary arrests and the “persistent use of torture and ill-treatment.”
Citing almost 200 sources from inside and outside the country, the independent expert expressed concern about a lack of judicial independence and right to a fair trial.
The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Russia was created by the Human Rights Council in October last year, for a period of one year.
Ms. Katzarova told reporters that she thought a continuation of the mandate would be important, especially amid what she called “dark times for human rights” in Russia.
This is the first time in its history that the Council has authorised a rights expert to investigate rights violations within the borders of one of the permanent members of the UN Security Council, the so-called “P5”.
Ms. Katzarova stressed that the P5 had a special responsibility to set an example for the rest of the world.
India: UN rights chief welcomes new bill to boost women in parliament
Rights chief Volker Türk welcomed on Friday the passage of a landmark bill in India which will reserve one third of seats in national and state parliaments for women.
The UN rights office (OHCHR) said that the Women’s Reservation Bill will constitutionally entrench women’s representation in parliament and be a “transformative move” for gender equality in India.
Citing India’s example, Mr. Türk called on parliamentarians around the world to adopt legislative measures – including, where necessary, gender quotas – to ensure women’s equal participation in the political discourse.
The new Bill requires ratification by at least 50 per cent of India’s states to enter into force and the UN rights office called for their “swift support” and rapid implementation of the new system.
The fifth session of the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM-5), organized by UN environment programme UNEP and hosted by Germany, kicks off in Bonn on Monday.
“ICCM-5 is expected to be a watershed moment for international cooperation on chemicals and wastes”, said a statement released by the group of more than 30 experts.
‘Once in a generation’ chance
“It is a once in a generation opportunity to deliver a robust outcome to confront the global toxic tide.”
They urged those attending the conference to be guided by human rights principles in line with a “post-2020 global policy framework on the sound management of chemicals and wastes.”
According to the experts, “the threats of infertility, deadly illnesses, neurological and other disabilities resulting from exposure to hazardous chemicals and wastes, reveal the widespread and systematic denial of basic human rights for countless persons and groups in vulnerable situations.”
The experts went on to list people who are mostly exposed to these toxic environments, including workers, women and children, the poor and Indigenous Peoples.
‘Toxification’ must stop
“Humanity cannot afford to further aggravate the toxification of the planet,” the experts added.
“For ICCM-5 to deliver the ambition and strength needed to overcome the global toxic emergency facing humanity, it needs to explicitly embrace a human rights-based approach,” the group of UN experts warned.
Special Rapporteurs and other UN experts are not UN staff and are independent from any government or organisation. They serve in their individual capacity and receive no salary for their work.
A former fishing village based in the Buhuka flats on the Uganda side of Lake Albert on the DRC border. Residents in the area say oil exploration has come with changes. Credit: Wambi Michael/IPS
by Wambi Michael (kampala, buliisa, kikuube)
Inter Press Service
KAMPALA, BULIISA, KIKUUBE, Sep 21 (IPS) – French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) are moving with pace in the development of oil and gas projects with a potential investment portfolio estimated at more than USD 15 billion. IPS looks at the project’s human rights record for the compensation of affected communities.
The development of oil and gas infrastructure in Uganda’s Albertine has been moving quickly since February 2022 when China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and France’s TotalEnergies signed the Final Investment Decision (FID).
It is anticipated that part of the 1.4 billion barrels of oil discovered in the Rift Valley region bordering DRC should be pumped out of the ground by the end of 2025.
TotalEnergies EP Uganda is working with CNOOC Uganda and Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) through a Joint Venture Partnership plan to invest more than USD 10 billion to develop upstream facilities alongside the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) that will transport oil produced from Uganda’s Lake Albert oilfields to the port of Tanga in Tanzania onwards to world markets.
Some Have Benefitted
The effect of the flow of so-called “petrodollars” to a region whose people have for ages begged for development is visible to those who have been to this area long before oil and gas were discovered there. From once-dirt roads to several newly constructed tarmacked roads, an international airport near completion, and new iron-roofed houses in some communities as compensation to the Project-Affected Persons (PAPs), as they are commonly referred to in the Districts of Hoima, Buliisa, Kikuube, and Nwoya.
“I think oil has impacted the Buliisa district greatly. Because I would not expect this road. Can you imagine a tarmac road has reached my home? It is because of oil. It was going to take us many years to get such good roads if the oil project had not kicked off,” says Mugaye Richard.
While there are serious environmental concerns related to the developments, the developers and the government are determined to proceed. Some residents, like Richard Mugaye, have benefited from compensation in cash or had new houses say they benefited way before the oil gets out of the ground.
“I’m expecting an even better life when oil production begins,” says Amina Lubyayi, a 38-year-old mother of seven who lives near the Buhuka flats, where China National Offshore Oil Corporation’s (CNOOC) Kingfisher development is located. The project will produce 40,000 barrels of crude oil per day during peak production.
Lubyayi is among those who had houses constructed for by CNOOC under the King Fisher resettlement action program in Buhuka flats.
“Our house was walled with mud and reeds. The mud would collapse whenever it rained. That is no more; I used to cook from a makeshift kitchen, but now I have a permanent one. We have light from solar, and we have a pit latrine, too,” Lubyayi told IPS.
Over 100 kilometers away from Kikuube to Buliisa district, 40-year-old Phinehas Owor-Mungu is planting fruit trees in the gardens of his newly acquired four-roomed stone-built house.
He told IPS that he was among the “lucky ones” whose land and developments were affected by TotalEnergies projects. “Because I and my family live in a much better house. I also got some cash in compensation for trees and crops and a disturbance allowance,” he explained.
“You see, sometimes, when you are eating well, your neighbors may be jealous. People have been compensated. Those who opted for cash got their cash, and we who opted for houses have had houses built for us. The roads here have improved, and people are getting employed. And then one says people are worse off?”
Down the road, 33-year-old Stephen Enach is busy placing a slab on a pit latrine to one of the houses that will soon be handed over to another person affected by the oil projects.
Jobs like Enach’s have become plentiful, and many young men and women are directly working with TotalEnergies or its subcontractors.
So far, 12,000 jobs have been created, according to Betty Namubiru, the Manager of National Content at the Petroleum Authority of Uganda.
“It is important to note that 94 percent of the 12,000 are Ugandans. We hope to hit 160,000 jobs when the construction of facilities is at its peak. And more Ugandans will have more opportunities,” Namubiru told IPS.
Compensation Complaints
Fred Lukumu, the District chairperson, told IPS that while the Buliisa District is witnessing some of the benefits of oil and gas developments, there has been an outcry over the delay in compensating the PAPs.
“So many people have lost their lives before earning their compensation which they were entitled to because of the delay. There has also been an outcry that compensation rates have been generally low. Especially for land.”
He told IPS that land in Buliisa district was valued at 3.5 million shillings ($945) per acre, yet in the neighborhood, the cost of land there was almost double the cost.
Fred Balikenda is one of those who have refused to be relocated from their land before they are adequately compensated. He is a resident of Kigwera sub-county, where TotalEnergies is putting up several structures, including a central processing facility. While all his former village mates accepted compensation and moved to their resettlement houses, Balikenda told IPS that he was determined to die for his land.
“They came and fenced my land illegally. They were supposed to construct a house for me before I vacated. The road which I was using was closed,” he narrated. “A man will remain a man. I will stay here. If they don’t pay me 200 million shillings, I will not shift. They will kill me, and it will remain as history.”
Peter Lokeris, Minister of State for Minerals, is one of the government officers who has tried to resolve compensation-related complaints. He told IPS that the 200 million shillings ($540,000) that Balikenda was demanding was exorbitant. He told IPS that the government has faced challenges with “speculators” who said have tended to hike the price of the land beyond the market rates.
“We shall have to repay the oil companies the money they have used to build houses and pay compensation. They are not free,” he said. “So, if we think that we will cheat the companies, the companies will cheat us. If we produce and there is no profit, we shall not earn anything as a country.”
In July, Human Rights Watch released a report, “Our Trust is Broken,” which documented what it described as “devastating impacts” on the livelihoods of Ugandan families from the land acquisition process.
“Critically, Human Rights Watch found that affected households are much worse off than before,” said the report.
“Most lands were initially evaluated in 2017-2019. Compensation was not received until three to five years later, in 2022 or 2023. Considerable hardship accrued from these delays that were also poorly communicated amidst confusion over the ability to access crops during this time,” the Human Rights Watch report said.
“EACOP has been a disaster for the tens of thousands who have lost the land that provided food for their families and an income to send their children to school and who received too little compensation from TotalEnergies,” said Felix Horne, senior environment researcher at Human Rights Watch. “EACOP is also a disaster for the planet, and the project should not be completed.”
Dickens Kamugisha, a lawyer and the Executive Director of the African Institute for Energy Governance (AFEIGO), told IPS that some of the PAPS have waited for over five years without compensation.
“We have seen hundreds of Ugandans who are being displaced without fair and adequate compensation. The constitution says you must give those who are affected adequate and fair compensation.”
TotalEnergies says it would apply an uplift of additional financial compensation of 15 percent per year for the period between the valuation of the inventory and payment in Uganda to mitigate the impact on the communities.
“These measures were aimed at mitigating the effects of these delays on the PAPs in their daily lives. In practice, most people interviewed by Human Rights Watch only received 30 percent (two years of 15 percent) even though compensation delays, in many cases, were between three and five years. One man said: “This was grossly inadequate to make up for several years of diminished or no revenue from lost land.”
Another man said: “For three years, I did not access my coffee plants. Two kids dropped out of school. My revenue went from 4 million to 1 million a year. They gave me 30 percent.”
Patrick Jean Pouyanné, TotalEnergies’ Chief Executive Officer, has continued to dismiss reports like the one by Human Rights Watch.
“I can tell you that we always take care of community concerns. There are so many reports by third parties. Not by us because nobody believes in us. The fact is that you can have one or two people who may not be happy with the way they are relocated. But we are doing that in the best standards possible.”
However, Human Rights Watch said TotalEnergies’ practices on EACOP’s land acquisition process were inconsistent with its expressed commitment to uphold relevant international standards on land acquisition.
Why the Delay in Compensation?
Ernest Rubondo, the Executive Director at the Petroleum Authority of Uganda, whose Authority regulates the Oil and Gas Sector, told IPS that the delay in compensation for EACOP, Tilenga, and Kingfisher developments was one of the challenges. However, he noted that no land can be utilized for the projects before full compensation.
He explained that the processes of land acquisition and compensation in Uganda are not short.
“First of all, you have to properly identify the land that you would like to acquire. Secondly, you have to confirm the number of people who are on the land. And that isn’t always easy because the land ownership systems in the country are quite different,” he said. “There are many people sitting in Canada and the US, but they have land here.”
Rubondo told IPS that in some instances, they found people occupying land but had no proof of ownership and did not know how much land they had, especially in the Albertine region, where land had not been titled right from the colonial period.
The Determination of Compensation Rates
According to Rubondo, the determination of compensation rates originated from the district where the land is located.
“The district has to propose the rate; the government Chief Government Valuer has to compare them with what happens in other districts and the other values. As you would expect, no one ever accepts that this is the right amount for ‘my land’. So, you start going back and forth,” explained Rubondo.
He said once the rates are determined, they are communicated to the landowners who had options whether to receive cash compensation in exchange land for land, or have houses built for them.
“For those that opt for cash, you have to help them to open bank accounts; then you have to educate them on how to handle the money. Because NGOs are saying it is unfair to get these large amounts of money and put them in the hands of people who have never had such large sums of money,” added Rubondo. “You will never have all of them to agree. You put those who disagree in a certain bracket. So that process is not short.”
He noted that the value of the land identified for the project changes per year.
“The delays have been recognized. And these project-affected persons are being compensated for the delay at a rate of 15 percent per year. Thirty percent of the value of land compensation for disturbance is a disturbance allowance. And then they are given things like food to take them through the transition.”
However, Dickens Kamugisha told IPS that government officers tended to prioritize fast-tracking projects like EACOP regardless of the complaints by PAPs.
“It’s those officials who say that they have learned from the failures of those other oil producers, that they will not repeat those mistakes. But when you say the project must move on when you know that there are things you must address, what are you doing to your country? What are you doing to your citizens?” asked Kamugisha.
Compensations Update
IPS received information from the Petroleum Authority about the status of compensation under the King Fisher Development Project (KFDP) operated by CNOOC, Tilenga Development, operated by TotalEnergies, and EACOP under a joint venture led by TotalEnergies.
Tilenga Project by TotalEnergies
The total land requirement for the Tilenga Project is approximately 2,901 acres. The land acquisition process for the Tilenga project stands at 97 percent, with approximately 5,412 out of 5,523 PAPs fully compensated, with 143 resettlement houses handed over, 15 are ready to be handed over, and 77 under construction.
The Kingfisher Development Project (KFDA) by CNOOC.
The acquisition of land for the KFDA was concluded at 100%. The total land requirement for the KFDA is approximately 1,020 acres with 727 Project Affected Persons (PAPs). Sixty-five (65) resettlement houses were constructed and handed over to the owners.
EACOP Compensation Ugandan Side
The total land taken for the EACOP project was estimated at 2,740 acres, housing four construction camps, heating stations, and the pipeline right of way (ROW). The compensation stood at 84 percent, with 3,062 out of 3,656 having received their compensation and a total of 177 resettlement houses handed over to the respective owners.
72-year-old Kawthar Ajlouni stands alone in her yard in H2, Hebron, the occupied Palestinian territory. The backdrop reveals a fortified Israeli checkpoint. Amid 645 documented movement obstacles in the West Bank, 80 are here in H2 as of 2023. Isolated due to strict Israeli policies, she is one of 7,000 Palestinians enduring heavy restrictions, while many others have left. The Israeli-declared ‘principle of separation’ (between Palestinians and Israeli settlers) limits their life, generating a coercive environment that risks forcible transfers. Kawthar stays, fearing her home’s conversion into a military post. Credit: OCHA/2023
by Abigail Van Neely (united nations)
Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 21 (IPS) – Sundus Azza scans the news before she heads home, checking for signs that her 30-minute commute could turn into a four-hour-long slog. Any incident could make travel difficult.
Sometimes Azza waits for her father to call and tell her if the checkpoints around their home are open. After living in Hebron, a city in the West Bank, for the last 20 years, she is used to planning her day around unpredictability.
Obstacles to movement in the West Bank have increased in the last two years, preventing Palestinians from accessing hospitals, urban centers, and agricultural areas. Restrictions and delays are the new normal.
In a recent review, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports an 8 percent increase in the overall recorded number of physical barriers, from 593 in 2020 to 645 in 2023. They range in scale from elaborate checkpoints guarded by military towers to a pile of rocks in the middle of the road.
The number of barriers has fluctuated over the past years. However, OCHA finds a notable 35 percent increase, especially in the number of constantly staffed checkpoints in strategic areas. Zone C, the area still under Israeli administrative and police control, is home to most roads and most obstacles to movement. It covers 60% of the West Bank.
Under international law, Israel must facilitate the free movement of Palestinians in the occupied territories. Cities’ entry points and main roads are often shut down without warning for arbitrary “security reasons.”
“The objective of the occupying forces is to make sure that they can isolate entire areas if security requires to do so,” Andrea De Domenico, the deputy head of OCHA’s office for the Occupied Palestinian Territory in Jerusalem, explains. “It’s always a little bit of an unknown- when you get out, you don’t know when you will be able to come back.”
As a result, most activities require extensive coordination- whether it’s getting a firetruck past checkpoints in time, filtering passengers off and on a bus during an ID check or planning a trip to visit relatives.
Guarded Life in Hebron
The H2 area of Hebron is one of the most restricted in the West Bank. Facial recognition cameras, metal detectors, and detention and interrogation facilities fortify 77 checkpoints that separate the Israeli-controlled parts of the city.
To get to her house in the H2, Azza knows she must pass through at least two checkpoints. But planning is difficult. There aren’t specific times when the checkpoints will be open. If they are closed, there aren’t waiting areas. Azza says when that happens, she hopes there’s a nice guard – and that he speaks Arabic or English – and explains that she’s just trying to get home.
The checkpoint near Azza’s university was closed for three months following a stabbing incident in 2016. She remembers the streets being crowded with soldiers as she was walking one chilly winter. Azza put her hands in her jacket pockets to warm them, 100 meters away, a guard she recognized yelled at her to remove her hands. Now, Azza says she is cautious about even buying a kitchen knife she may get in trouble for carrying home.
There are other challenges to navigating the historic Palestinian city littered with checkpoints. De Domenico tells stories of an elderly woman who stopped going out to avoid being harassed by soldiers. “If settlers are in the streets, they can attack me anytime they want,” Azza says.
De Domenico says Palestinians often don’t report incidents to the Israeli police for fear of having their permits taken away in retaliation. Besides, just getting to a police station in an Israeli settlement is a challenge. Because their cars are not permitted to drive through, Palestinians must walk behind Israeli cars sent to escort them.
When soldiers ask for her ID, Azza says they want her ID number, not her name: “They consider us as a number.”
Permits as Power
Permits control life across the occupied Palestinian territories.
Musaab, a university student in Nablus, submitted six permit applications for travel to receive cancer treatment. All were denied. He was finally forced to travel to Jordan twice, without his father, for care.
“This is so inhumane. How can this happen in any place in the world? Why are they blocking me from accompanying my son? I just want to hold his hand when he goes for surgery,” Musaab’s father told WHO.
Stories like Musaab’s are common as patients across the West Bank and Gaza are kept from seeking healthcare by permit restrictions. According to OCHA, in 2022, 15 percent of patients’ applications to visit Israeli health facilities in East Jerusalem were not approved in time for their appointments. 93 percent of ambulances were delayed because patients were required to transfer to Israeli-licensed vehicles.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 160,000 physical restrictions in Zone C have led many communities to depend on mobile clinics funded by humanitarian aid. This year, OCHA’s humanitarian response plan was only 33% funded.
“ warns that humanitarian needs are deepening because of restrictions of movements of Palestinians inside the West Bank. This undermines their access to livelihoods and essential services such as healthcare and education,” Florencia Soto Nino, associate spokesperson of the Secretary-General, told reporters.
Putting up Walls
Walls aggravate these humanitarian issues.
A now 65 percent constructed barrier runs along the border of the West Bank and inside the territory, often carving out Israeli settlements, dividing communities, and sometimes even literally running through houses.
To enter East Jerusalem, women under 50 and men under 55 with West Bank IDs are required to show permits from Israeli authorities. Even then, they can only use three of the 13 checkpoints.
Palestinian farmers have also been separated from their land- and livelihoods.
According to OCHA, many private farms have been trapped inside areas Israeli military forces established as “firing zones.” As a result, they are sometimes only accessible twice a year. The UN Food and Agricultural Organization reports that the region’s agricultural yield has been reduced by almost 70% because Palestinians have had to abandon their land.
The size of a farmer’s plot determines when and for how long it can be tended. Farmers must coordinate times when soldiers will open the gates that allow them onto their land. Harvest days are especially tricky. In some cases, De Domenico says, an agricultural permit is only given to the owner of the land and none of their laborers.
Meanwhile, De Domenico describes Gaza, a territory separated from Israel by a 12-meter-high wall, as a “gigantic prison” for 2.3 million Palestinians. Here, less physical obstacles are required to limit movement.
“It is the only place on the planet where, when a war starts… people cannot flee,” De Domenico said.
Living with Tension
Riyad Mansour, permanent observer of Palestine to the United Nations, expressed disappointment at the “paralysis of the international community” when it came to protecting Palestinian people from discrimination during a meeting of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of Palestinian People at the end of August.
At the same time, OCHA is working to facilitate “humanitarian corridors to ensure that basic services are delivered,” De Domenico says. For instance, the office has helped teachers reach communities where students would have had to walk for miles.
De Domenico adds that reports can facilitate important discussions. Israeli authorities, who have contested materials OCHA produced in the past, have been invited to ride along while UN agents map new barriers.
Still, “there is always the potential of tension flying in the air,” even for UN agents, De Domenico says. “You constantly live with this tension.”
NEW YORK, Sep 20 (IPS) – On September 16th Iranians everywhere commemorated the first anniversary of Mahsa Jina Amini’s murder by the country’s notorious ‘guidance patrol’. Arrested for being badly covered, the 22-year-old was beaten so violently, she died from brain injuries.
This violence and the regime’s obfuscation of its crime unleashed a forty-years long pent-up fury among Iran’s women and girls. Protests ensued in cities and towns across the country’s length and breadth. Young and old men, who in past generations had shown limited empathy for the daily humiliations and systemic discrimination facing women, joined.
Amini’s Kurdish origins prompted mobilization of Iran’s Kurds, Baluch, and other minorities. As protesters’ images flooded social media, the #WomenLifeFreedom movement was born. With the regime cracking down, killing over 500 people, raping, injuring, and threatening countless others, young Iranians’ message to the world was ‘be our voice’.
The world responded. A year on, what is there to show for the sacrifices and lives? Civil Disobedience in Iran: The Fire Under the Ashes Anticipating mass demonstrations for the anniversary, the regime rounded up people, killed more protestors and deployed security forces across major cities. Lawmakers have threatened new legislation to reinforce harsh hejab rules and punishment.
Politically, faced with an existential threat, the regime’s competing flanks – hardline principalists and moderate reformists -closed rank and arguably are more consolidated than in recent years.
Economically, thanks to the mix of sanctions and internal corruption, the revolutionary guard have monopolized much of the private sector space. Security-wise the state is beefed up, with a mix of old-fashioned hired hands and the latest surveillance and face recognition technologies.
But facing a deep domestic crisis of legitimacy, the leadership also sought external support. This time, Saudi Arabia, Iran’s longstanding regional nemesis, was their proverbial knight in shining armor. This rapprochement with China as guarantor has enabled the regime to save face and turn eastward.
But none of this has deterred Iran’s Gen-Z. The heavy crackdowns of the past year did result in significant back-downs too. From Tehran to Mashad and beyond, many women no longer wear the mandatory headscarf.
As the Persian saying goes, the WLF movement is like burning fire underneath the ashes. Knowing the regime’s playbook, the young developed new tactics. A recent visitor to Tehran noted that for weeks prior to the anniversary, young women were sharing flyers advising people to dress in solidarity. White t-shirt and jeans for women, button down shirts and cargo shorts for men.
Such nonconfrontational civil disobedience tactics are low-risk and thus high participation. Iranians knows that the regime’s arrests of musicians, artists, students, film directors, authors, poets and even chefs, was indicative of an existential fear.
With ten-year old girls ripping up photos of Ayatollah Khamenei and school age students singing protest songs, the generational tectonic shift taking place inside Iran is undeniable.
It is a shift towards greater freedom, modernity, and gender equality. It is not simply a ‘bottom up’ revolution. It is a radical societal evolution that has entrenched itself in the homes of the country’s most powerful, conservative figures.
To put it bluntly, the regime’s leadership know that their attempt to turn Iran into an ideologically Islamist society has failed with their own children and grandchildren, girls, and boys.
This is a key political, social, and ideologically symbolic victory, that no one should underestimate. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of the Iranian Diaspora The call to ‘be my voice’ led to unprecedented mobilization of the Iran’s global diaspora.
A community traumatized and mistrustful of each other, characterized by their aversion to political engagement, was suddenly energized, vocal, and flexing political muscle from the streets of Los Angeles to the corridors of the European Parliament.
Not surprisingly some marginal exiled political forces sought to co-opt the events for their own political gain. Others tried to forge coalitions to offer a viable challenge to the regime. There was emotional and cognitive dissonance.
At a public level pent-up anger towards the regime, coupled with hope for a different future, became the emotional fuel for diaspora participation in demonstrations and political activism.
But hope and anger are not sufficient. Political figures who united around their shared opposition to the Islamic regime, faltered as they disagreed on a shared vision for the country and the roadmap to achieving it.
Too often it seemed that these opposition forces, from the Monarchists to the MEK, were relitigating the revolution of 1979, with old tactics, instead of embracing the Gen-Z and intrinsically feminist nature of the WLF movement inside Iran.
A year on the political groups remain divided. The wider diaspora, however, has become more empowered and with greater access to the political arenas of their adopted nations. Their challenge now is to make nuanced and responsible choices that support and not inadvertently harm the domestic WLF movement.
The world will cheer from the sidelines, but self-interest is the driver The world also responded to the call of ‘be my voice’.
For forty years, western media had demonized Iran through stereotypical images of militancy, aging angry clerics, black-clad women, and nuclear weapons. The burst of smiling, defiant Iranian teenagers on Instagram, waving scarves, singing, or dancing, bearing a striking resemblance to teenagers around the world, touched a nerve.
The news of their arrests and assassinations, prompted greater outrage. College students, artists, rock, and movie stars, showed their solidarity, by cutting their hair, and speaking out.
The emotive power of ‘Baraye’, the anthem of the burgeoning revolution, generated a level of empathy that is rare in modern times. But public attention came with stark political realities. The heartfelt support of US, Canadian and European politicians was largely rhetorical.
There is no appetite for interventionism and their overarching priority is to contain the nuclear program. For understandable reasons: On the one hand, a nuclear-armed Iranian regime that will have an interminable existence.
On the other hand, Israel has consistently warned that it would not wait for Iran to achieve breakout capacity. It would strike preemptively. So, geopolitically, the threat of a devastating war, the unknowable chaos and human suffering that comes with it, is inextricably linked with the fate of Iran’s young.
Regionally too, despite their disagreements, the Arab states prefer the proverbial devil they know, then the uncertainly of a power vacuum that a revolution could foment.
The Saudi regime and its proxies were key players in unfolding event. Since the signing of the JCPOA in 2015 and the break in Saudi-Iran relations in 2016 they had supported the armed insurrection of ethnic groups and enabling political access to the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) across Europe and North America.
Private Saudi funding bolstered the satellite television channel, Iran International, enabling it to broadcast a diet of nostalgia for the Shah and anti-JCPOA messaging into Iranian homes. It was also a prime channel covering the WLF protests.
But the Saudis, were neither interested in the regime’s collapse or chaos nor an independent, strong Iranian democracy, particularly women-led and feminist. Their ideal scenario was a weakened Iranian regime, in need of Saudi’s hand. This is exactly what they got.
Meanwhile the Iranian regime is benefiting from the ebbing power of democracies and the rise of authoritarianism. Its distancing from the west and closer allegiance to Russia, and the BRICS countries is a bet on greater economic ties to bolster the regime apparatus domestically. It is unlikely that the regional or BRIC countries will voice concerns over women’s rights.
So, the world may have sympathy for young Iranians but will not stand with them. So, what will become of WLF? The answers lie in Persian poetry. The first is the parable of the Rock and the Spring. A trickle of melted snow hurtling down the mountain hits a rock. The trickle asks the rock to move aside. The rock refuses to budge.
Over time, the water pools and erodes the rock, turning first into a stream and then a powerful river. Iranian women – the grandmothers, mothers and now daughters (and sons) = who have fought the regime’s misogyny day in, year out, for decades, inching back the hijab, populating universities, and fighting for equality under the law are an unstoppable river.
“We will stay and reclaim Iran” they shout, refusing to be pushed into exile. They have ideals but are not ideologically driven. In chipping away from within, they are fostering evolution and transformation, not revolution or reform.
As for the exiled figures who seek to claim leadership of WLF, they should revisit the epic 10th poem, ‘Conference of the Bird’. As the story goes, the world was in strife.
The Hoopie bird calls on all birds to journey in search of the mythical ‘seemorq’, a wise leader. The birds soar above mountains and valleys, through snowstorms, firestorms, and deserts.
Some give up, others falter. Ultimately thirty reach the final mountain peak with a glacial lake. ‘Where is the Seemorq?’ they cry. “Look into the lake and you will see.” replies the Hoopie.
The birds peer in and see their own reflections – the faces of thirty birds (See-morq). The leadership lies within themselves. In Iran, a year on from Mahsa’s death, the river is gathering force. There will be tough times ahead, but the millions are emerging as the Seemorq.
Sanam Naraghi Anderlini, MBE Founder/CEO, International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN) Adjunct Professor, School of International Public Affairs (SIPA), Columbia University, New York. [email protected]
A new report by UNAMA’s Human Rights Service has documented over 1,600 cases of human rights violations including torture, committed by the de facto authorities across the country during the arrest and detention of individuals from 1 January 2022 to 31 July this year.
Commenting on the findings, UN rights chief Volker Türk described as “harrowing” the personal accounts of beatings, electric shocks, water torture and numerous other forms of cruel and degrading treatment, along with threats made against individuals and their families.
“Torture is forbidden in all circumstances,” he insisted.
According to the report, violations of due process guarantees, including denial of access to lawyers, have become the “norm” in the country.
Mr. Türk urged the Taliban to halt the abuses and hold perpetrators accountable.
Afghanistan remains bound as a State Party by numerous international human rights treaties. UNAMA is mandated by the UN Security Council to support their implementation.
Armenia-Azerbaijan: UN reiterates calls for humanitarian access
Through his Spokesperson, Mr. Guterres reiterated his call for full-fledged access for aid workers to people in need.
In a statement referring to the situation between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Mr. Guterres said that he was “extremely concerned” over the use of military force in the region and reports of casualties, including among the civilian population.
According to the latest media reports, a cessation of hostilities in the region was announced on Wednesday.
Conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region has persisted for more than three decades, but a ceasefire was agreed almost three years ago following six weeks of fighting, by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia, leading to the deployment of several thousand Russian peacekeepers.
The UN chief urged “in the strongest terms” for de-escalation and “stricter” observance of the 2020 ceasefire and principles of international humanitarian law.
Just last month, UN humanitarians and partners briefed the Security Council on the need for unimpeded passage of aid in the region through the Lachin Corridor. The key route reportedly reopened last week.
Mr. Guterres said that he regretted that the latest “worrying developments” followed the delivery of “much-needed humanitarian assistance” to the local population on 18 September.
The UN rights chief Volker Türk also said on Tuesday that he was worried about “the impact of renewed use of armed force on civilians”. He insisted that it was “absolutely critical” that Azerbaijan and Armenia return to the peace process and work on an agreement “grounded in human rights”.
UN launches star-studded road safety campaign
Coming soon to a billboard near you: a new global UN road safety campaign launched on Wednesday to help prevent road traffic crashes, which kill 1.35 million people each year.
Crashes are the leading cause of death for people aged five to 29 around the world and developing countries account for a staggering 93 per cent of the victims.
According to the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the most vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, and the poor are disproportionately affected.
The UN chief’s Special Envoy for Road Safety, Jean Todt, said that road safety was “not high enough” on the political agenda in most countries.
To raise awareness of the issue, the new UN campaign mobilizes celebrities ranging from pop star Kylie Minogue to football icon Ousmane Dembélé who are encouraging road users to adopt safe practices. The billboards will go on display in some 1,000 cities worldwide.
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 19 (IPS) – In 2015, the UN’s 193 member states adopted 17 goals for the health of the world that together comprise the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be reached worldwide by 2030.
The UN hosted a SDG Summit 2023 on September 18-19 to review progress toward those goals. Among the aims is to “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.” On this, progress is not going well.
As UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned in July, “Halfway to the 2030 deadline, the Sustainable Development Goals are dangerously off track. Gender equality is almost 300 years away.”
Among the furthest behind is the Asia-Pacific. Although a dynamic region, at this point the Asia-Pacific should have made half the progress needed to achieve the goals but its progress has reached only 14.4%.
According to the UN Women report on Women’s Leadership in Asia-Pacific, women’s representation in parliament is at 20% in the Asia-Pacific, below the global average of 25%. Women are underrepresented among chairs of permanent committees in charge of finance and human rights.
Women’s participation in peace negotiations — as negotiators, mediators and signatories — is notably rare. Women hold managerial positions at only 20%. This lack of progress exists at the UN as well.
The Asia-Pacific is home to around 4.3 billion people — 54% of the world population — and more than half of the world’s women. Yet only 18% of women are from the region among women in professional and higher categories of staff in UN organizations.
Among the professional staff in UN organizations, there is a visible disproportionate parity between the West and the rest of the world. Out of five regional groups of the UN member states — Western European and Other States, African States, Asia-Pacific States, Eastern European States, Latin American and Caribbean States — women from Western European and Other States, including North America, constitute just more than half of the population of professional women (51%) in the UN system.
Women from the Asia-Pacific constitute only 6% of senior or decision-making posts in UN organizations. The majority of these posts (about 53%) are held by staff from Western European and Other States.
The recent review of racism in UN organizations by the Joint Inspection Unit, the UN’s external oversight body, confirmed that UN staff from countries of the Global South, where the population is predominantly people of color, tend to be in lower pay-grades and hold less authority than those from countries where the population is predominantly white or from the group of Western European and Other States. This racial discrimination in seniority and authority has emerged as a macro-structural issue to be addressed.
At the opening of the 61st session of the Commission on the Status of Women, the Secretary-General Guterres declared: “We need a cultural shift — in the world and our United Nations. Women everywhere should be recognized as equal and promoted on that basis. We need more than goals; we need action, targets and benchmarks to measure what we do. But for the United Nations, gender equality is not only a matter of staffing. It relates to everything we do.”
If the UN is serious about definitive advancement in the status of women, its organizations should focus exclusively on necessary measures to increase the representation of women from Asia-Pacific countries.
These measures should include, but not be limited to, establishing targets for balanced regional diversity in UN organizations, ensuring recruitment and selection assessments are free from biases, and conducting audits of Asia-Pacific women’s career progression to identify and eliminate barriers. It is equally essential to ensure that women from the region are placed in decision-making positions.
UN organizations must faithfully reflect the diversity and dynamism of staff from all countries and regions of the world, including at senior and decision-making levels. This aspect is critical if the organizations are to implement mandates to help deliver the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
At the event organized by the UN Asia Network for Diversity & Inclusion to commemorate the 77th UN Day, Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury, former Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN and former UN Under Secretary-General, noted that the UN Charter “is the first international agreement to affirm the principle of equality between women and men, with explicit references in Article 8 asserting the unrestricted eligibility of both men and women to participate in various organs of the UN.”
“It would therefore be most essential for the UN to ensure equality, inclusion and diversity in its staffing pattern in a real and meaningful sense,” he said.
“Leave no one behind” is the central, transformative promise of the Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals adopted eight years ago. Fulfilling this promise for all women and girls requires addressing the rights, needs and concerns of marginalized groups.
Leaders of UN organizations need to ensure that they meet their goals at home and in their own organizations, while calling for their achievement worldwide.
Shihana Mohamed is one of the Coordinators of the United Nations Asia Network for Diversity and Inclusion (UN-ANDI) and a Public Voices Fellow with The OpEd Project and Equality Now.
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, Sep 19 (IPS) – It’s a year since a photo of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini – bruised and in a coma she would never recover from after being arrested by the morality police for her supposedly improperly worn hijab – went viral, sending people onto the streets.
The protests became the fiercest challenge ever faced by Iran’s theocratic regime. The unprecedented scale of the protests was matched by the unparalleled brutality of the crackdown, which clearly revealed the regime’s fear for its own survival.
Led by women and young people, mobilisations under the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ banner articulated broader demands for social and political change. They spread like wildfire – to streets across Iran, to universities, even to cemeteries where growing numbers of the regime’s victims were being buried. They were echoed and amplified by the Iranian diaspora around the world. The Iranian people made it abundantly clear they wanted the Islamic Republic gone.
A year on, the theocratic regime still stands, but that doesn’t mean nothing has changed. By sheer force, the authorities have regained control – at least for now. But subtle changes in daily life reveal the presence of active undercurrents that could once again spark mass protests. The regime knows this, hence the fear with which it has awaited this date and its redoubled repression as it neared.
A glimpse of change
Last December, as protests raged and the authorities were busy trying to stop them, women could be seen on Iranian streets without their hijabs for the first time in decades. After the protests were quelled, many simply refused to resubmit to the old rules. A tactical shift followed, with mass street mobilisation turning into more elusive civil disobedience.
Women, particularly Gen Z women just like Mahsa, continue to protest on a daily basis, simply by not abiding by hijab rules. Young people express their defiance by dancing or showing affection in public. Cities wake up to acts of civil disobedience emblazoned on their walls. Anti-regime slogans are heard coming from seemingly nowhere. In parts of the country where many people from excluded ethnic minorities live, protest follows Friday prayers. It may take little for the embers of rebellion to reignite.
Preventative repression
Ahead of the anniversary, family members of those killed during the 2022 protests were pressured not to hold memorial services for their loved ones. The lawyer representing Mahsa Amini’s family was charged with ‘propaganda against the state’ due to interviews with foreign media. University professors suspected to be critical of the regime were dismissed, suspended, forced to retire, or didn’t have their contracts renewed. Students were subjected to disciplinary measures in retaliation for their activism.
Artists who expressed support for the protest movement faced reprisals, including arrests and prosecution under ridiculous charges such as ‘releasing an illegal song’. Some were kept in detention on more serious charges and subjected to physical and psychological torture, including solitary confinement and beatings.
Two months ago, the regime put the morality police back on the streets. Initial attempts to arrest women found in violation of hijab regulations, however, were met with resistance, leading to clashes between sympathetic bystanders and police. Women, including celebrities, have been prosecuted for appearing in public without their hijab. Car drivers carrying passengers not wearing hijab have been issued with traffic citations and private businesses have been closed for noncompliance with hijab laws.
The most conservative elements of the regime have doubled down, proposing a new ‘hijab and chastity’ law that seeks to impose harsher penalties, including lashes, heavy fines and prison sentences of up to 10 years for those appearing without the hijab. The bill is now being reviewed by Iran’s Guardian Council, a 12-member, all-male body led by a 97-year-old cleric.
If not now, then anytime
In the run-up to 16 September, security force street presence consistently increased, with snap checkpoints set up and internet access disrupted. The government clearly feared something big might happen.
As the anniversary passes, the hardline ruling elite remains united and the military and security forces are on its side, while the protest movement has no leadership and has taken a bad hit. Some argue that what made it spread so fast – the role of young people, and young women in particular – also limited its appeal among wider Iranian society, and particularly among low-income people concerned above all with economic strife, rising inflation and increasing poverty.
There are ideological differences among the Iranian diaspora, which formed through successive waves of exiles and includes left and right-wing groups, monarchists and ethnic separatists. While most share the goal of replacing the authoritarian theocracy with a secular democracy, they’re divided over strategy and tactics, and particularly on whether sanctions are the best way to deal with the regime.
Ever since the protests took off last year, thousands of people around the world have shown their support and called on their governments to act. And some have, starting with the USA, which early on imposed sanctions on the morality police and senior police and security officials. New sanctions affecting 29 additional people and entities, including 18 members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and security forces, were imposed on the eve of the anniversary of the protests, 15 September, International Day of Democracy. That day, US President Joe Biden made a statement about Mahsa Amini’s inspiration of a ‘historic movement’ for democracy and human dignity.
The continuing outpouring of international solidarity shows that the world still cares and is watching. A new regime isn’t around the corner in Iran, but neither is it game over in the quest for democracy. For those living under a murderous regime, every day of the year is the anniversary of a death, an indignity or a violation of rights. Each day will therefore bring along a new opportunity to resurrect rebellion.
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