Amnesty International Group 22 Pasadena/Caltech News Volume XIV Number 8, August 2006 UPCOMING EVENTS Thursday, August 24, 7:30 PM. Monthly Meeting Caltech Y is located off San Pasqual between Hill and Holliston, south side. You will see two curving walls forming a gate to a path-- our building is just beyond. Help us plan future actions on Sudan, the War on Terror, death penalty and more. Tuesday, September 12, 7:30 PM. Letter-writing Meeting at the Athenaeum. Corner of California & Hill. The cafeteria area is closed in summer so look for us outside on the lawn if weather permits, or in the lounge close to the entryway. This informal gathering is a great way for newcomers to get acquainted with Amnesty! Sunday, September 17, 6:30 PM. Rights Readers Human Rights Book Discussion Group. Vroman's Book Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. This month we read Michela Wrong's book on Eritrea, I Didn't Do it For You, (More below.) COORDINATOR'S CORNER Hello everyone. Summer is winding down and it's almost time to go back to school. I myself returned to work this week, after taking most of the summer off (no paycheck in August, thus my early return to the job!). In July Rob and I spent a week and a half in Manhattan and Boston. I had never been to either city before; Robert has been to NYC. What a contrast to Los Angeles! We did all the usual touristy things, which was fun. The weather was great and the city pretty with lots of green trees and parks. We did not encounter the legendary New York rudeness! We also paid a visit to ground zero. They are working on the memorial site. We couldn't tell what they were doing; it looked like a jumble of rubble to me, but the memorial will have 2 reflecting pools with waterfalls where the two towers were, a tall white "freedom tower", trees, a plaza/transportation hub where the current subway station is now, a museum, performing arts center and commercial buildings. It is supposed to open September 11, 2009. We went downstairs to the subway station and saw a display of tiles that were painted by children who had lost family members in 911. You would have to have a heart of stone not to tear up looking at these paintings-"my dad-my hero", "poppy died here", drawings of hearts, American flags, rainbows, family members, and the two towers with a plane flying toward them. My favorite was one that had a giant heart, giant earth, and peace symbol interlaced with the word "ONE" in caps at the top. I look forward to seeing the Oliver Stone movie "World Trade Center"-don't care if Kenny Turan panned it! Group 22 has had a few activities this summer. On July 23, another Camp Darfur was held in Altadena at the First Presbyterian Church. Group 22 member Lucas Kamp and a few others were there and so was Representative Adam Schiff! The purpose was to invite his constituents to come write letters to raise awareness and to call for action to stop the genocide in Darfur. Group 22 member Paula Tavrow has been involved with the Stop Genocide Now group and we thank her for her tireless organizing and work on this issue. The Western Regional Conference will be held in Tucson, Arizona Oct 13-15, 2006. It is titled "Human Rights Have No Borders". Larry Cox, the new AIUSA director, is one of the featured speakers, along with the director of Borderlinks and other immigration rights organizations and a speaker from the Hopi Foundation. Tucson has a reputation since the 80s- when the Southside Presbyterian Church and the Quakers were assisting refugees fleeing war-torn El Salvador-for humanitarian actions toward immigrants from "Old Mexico" and other Latin countries. I attended University of Arizona there to get my BSN(Bachelors of Science in Nursing) and have very fond memories of the city, so we will probably attend the conference! For more info, call the Region Office at: 310-815-0450 or go online to: http://www.amnestyusa.org/events/western/regionalconference.html. Take care and hope to see you at one of our meetings! Kathy aigp22@caltech.edu SUDAN Push for Intl Agreement to Control Arms Continuing with the "100 Days of Action" on Sudan, we offer this action on arms control this month: The Honorable Adam Schiff United States House of Representatives 326 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC 20515- RE: Help Establish International Agreement to Determine When Governments Should Prevent Arms Brokering Dear Representative Schiff I am deeply concerned about the ease with which ruthless arms brokers provide weapons to countries under regional and U.N. arms embargoes. These globetrotting merchants of death continue to facilitate shipments of arms to Sudan and others, threatening the lives of innocent civilians. In the last decade and a half, unscrupulous arms brokers have been at the center of many of the most disturbing arms deals. In a typical example, an Irish arms broker reportedly arranged the transfer of 50 T72 tanks from Ukraine to the Sudanese military in late 2004. The notorious arms broker, Victor Bout, continues to be linked to arms transfers to Sudan. Bout, the above Irish arms broker, and many others, however, remain free and continue to fuel violent conflicts. Addressing the threat of these globetrotting brokers, the U.S. government adopted a tough law on arms brokering in 1996. The U.S. law, for example, covers a wide range of brokering activities and both U.S. and some foreign persons operating in the United States or abroad. This law, however, will not be fully effective until other governments adopt and work to implement similar laws. Without similar international laws, U.S. government officials find it difficult to investigate and extradite perpetrators of U.S. law in foreign countries. In order to better enforce U.S. law and stop ruthless arms brokers from supporting abusive armed groups around the world, I urge you to encourage the Bush Administration to establish a strong global agreement on arms brokering to tackle this global threat. Sincerely, Your Name and Address RIGHTS READERS Human Rights Book Discussion Group Vroman's Bookstore 695 E. Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena Sunday, September 15, 6:30 PM Keep up with Rights Readers at http://rightsreaders.blogspot.com I Didn't Do it For You: How the World Betrayed a Small African Nation by Michela Wrong Scarred by decades of conflict and occupation, the craggy African nation of Eritrea has weathered the world's longest-running guerrilla war. The dogged determination that secured victory against Ethiopia, its giant neighbor, is woven into the national psyche, the product of cynical foreign interventions. In I Didn't Do It for You, Michela Wrong reveals the breathtaking abuses this tiny nation has suffered and, with a sharp eye for detail and a taste for the incongruous, tells the story of colonialism itself and how international power politics can play havoc with a country's destiny. LETTER COUNT Israel - Lebanon 25 Eritrea POC 3 Urgent Actions 5 Total: 33 To add your letters to the total contact lwkamp@sbcglobal.net PriSONER OF CONSCIENCE Eritrean Estifanos Seyoum Next month will mark the fifth anniversary of the arrest of Estifanos Seyoum, Group 22's adopted prisoner of conscience. The Eritrea authorities arrested him and 10 others on Sep. 18, 2001, because they signed open letters criticizing government policies and calling for reforms and open debate. For five years Estifanos and the others have been held in secret places of detention and have never been tried in court or formally charged. More information is available on our web site at http://www.its.caltech.edu/~aigp22/eritreaPOC. The September selection of our human rights book discussion group is a book about Eritrea, I Didn't Do It for You : How the World Betrayed a Small African Nation, by Michela Wrong. Please visit http://rightsreaders.blogspot.com now for a description of the book, and visit again in September to see what new supplementary information our bookgroup moderator has posted. We are looking forward to learning more about the country of our adopted POC. The long term goal of our work for Estifanos Seyoum is of course his immediate and unconditional release. In the short term, our goals are to ensure that the Eritrean authorities make public his whereabouts in detention, to obtain information about his health and treatment in custody, and to ensure that he has access to his family, lawyers, and necessary medical treatment. Please join us this month in writing to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. (Postage is 84 cents.) Mr Mohamed Omar Ministry of Foreign Affairs P O Box 190 Asmara Eritrea Dear Minister, I am writing to you about ESTIFANOS SEYOUM, formerly a Brigadier General and head of the Inland Revenue Service until August 2001. He was arrested on 18 September 2001. His current whereabouts and condition of health are unknown. Amnesty International considers Estifanos Seyoum to be a Prisoner of Conscience, since he has neither used nor advocated violence in the peaceful expression of his political opinions. Incommunicado detention increases the risk of prisoners being denied the basic rights and protection of Eritrean and international law. Therefore I urge that the whereabouts of Estifanos Seyoum be made known immediately. I call upon the government of Eritrea to provide access for Estifanos Seyoum to his family and lawyers and necessary medical care, in accordance with the United Nations Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, Principle 18(3) and Principle 19. I ask that international humanitarian organizations such as the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) be given immediate access to Estifanos Seyoum. Thank you very much for your consideration of this important matter. Sincerely, [Your Name and Address] STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN Justice for Survivors of WWII Sexual Slavery Survivors of the "comfort women" system are very elderly, and many have died. At least two survivors AI delegates met with when researching for the report on this issue have since died. It is therefore important to work towards realizing justice for these women as soon as possible. The Japanese government has vigorously defended its legal position on this issue and has persistently maintained that all issues of compensation have been settled by post World War II (WWII) peace treaties (including the San Francisco Peace treaty and bi-lateral treaty arrangements between Japan and relevant parties). Japan's apologies to the former "comfort women" have also been half-hearted. Japan's answer to compensation - the Asian Women's Fund (AWF) - has failed to meet international guidelines on reparations and has divided many of the former "comfort women" and their support groups. Amnesty International calls on the government of Japan to ensure that survivors receive full reparation including: restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition. The organization calls on the government of Japan to: 1) Accept full responsibility for the "comfort women" system, including publicly acknowledging the harm that these women suffered, restore the dignity of the survivors and publicly denounce sexual violence against women, whenever and wherever it occurs. 2) Issue an apology from the Japanese Diet that is acceptable to the majority of "comfort women" and their immediate relatives. 3) Offer adequate and effective compensation directly from the Japanese government to the "comfort women" or their immediate relatives. This compensation should take into account the violations committed against them including the long term denial of the remedy itself and issues such as lost opportunities and livelihoods. 4) Guarantee non-repetition by: * Ratifying the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court; * Supporting efforts to agree on an international arms trade treaty to stop the proliferation of weapons used to commit human rights violations such as violence against women; 5) Provide an accurate account of the sexual slavery system in Japanese educational text books on World War II. (For more information see Still Waiting After 60 Years: Justice for Survivors of Japan's Military Sexual Slavery System, AI Index: ASA 22/012/2005) Ambassador Ryozo Kato 2520 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington, DC 20008 RE: Ratify the ICC's Rome Statute Dear Ambassador Kato I am writing to you on the 61st anniversary of the end of World War II in the Pacific to call for justice for the survivors of Japan's sexual slavery system. Up to 200,000 women and girls were forced to become "comfort women" by the Japanese Imperial Army before and during World War II. Survivors of this system of sexual slavery are still awaiting full reparations. They are now very elderly and many have died without seeing justice. I am calling on the government of Japan to accept full responsibility for the crimes committed against the "comfort women" and provide full reparations to survivors of the sexual slavery system in accordance with international standards and in a way acceptable to survivors themselves. To date, your government has taken limited steps to atone for the crime of sexual slavery. Survivors of Japanese military sexual slavery suffered over 50 years of physical and mental ill-health, isolation, misplaced shame, and often extreme poverty before breaking their silence in the early 1990s. Despite their tireless campaign for justice, the government of Japan refuses to acknowledge these women's right to justice. I urge the Japanese government to: 1) Provide direct adequate and effective compensation to the "comfort women" or their immediate relatives. 2) Make a full and frank public apology to survivors accepting the government's responsibility for the crimes, acknowledging the harm suffered by survivors and admitting that the sexual slavery system amounts to crimes under international law. 3) Include an accurate account of the sexual slavery system in educational materials and school history textbooks. 4) Immediately ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court as an important guarantee of non-repetition of these crimes. Sincerely, Your Name and Address CORPORATE ACTION NETWORK Investigate/Prosecute Contractors who Torture The United States government is outsourcing key security and military support functions to private companies, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan. Government reports have implicated these private contractors in serious human rights violations - including participation by contractors in the torture at Abu Ghraib - yet only one civilian contractor has faced charges. Background The publication of photos depicting Iraqi detainees being physically and mentally abused at Abu Ghraib prison caused shock and outrage across the world. Following publication of these horrific images, serious allegations of involvement in the abuse by private military companies contracted by the U.S. government emerged. Yet years later, Bush administration officials have made virtually no effort to hold contractors accountable or to compensate victims. The U.S. government has outsourced billions of dollars in contracts to private companies, leaving to civilians some of the most essential and sensitive functions in the war, including providing security for U.S government personnel and reconstruction projects, operating and maintaining weapons systems, translating during interrogations and conducting interrogations. Despite weak reporting requirements placed on private security firms, allegations have surfaced implicating civilians working for the U.S. government in mistreatment of Iraqi and Afghan civilians. Currently the contractors operate in a virtually rules-free zone; they are exempt from Iraqi law per a Coalition Provisional Authority order and they fall outside the military chain of command. Further, of the 20 known cases of alleged misconduct by civilians in the "war on terror" that were forwarded by the Pentagon and CIA to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for investigation, the DOJ has prosecuted one case, dismissed two, and left open the remaining 17. Recommended Action: Tell the Department of Justice to immediately investigate and prosecute all cases of human rights violations committed by employees or contractors of private military companies. Write a letter or e-mail to the Department of Justice: Alberto Gonzales U.S. Attorney General U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530-0001 AskDOJ@usdoj.gov We have provided a sample letter, but please be encouraged to add your own thoughts: Dear Mr. Gonzales, At your January 2005 confirmation hearing, you promised that "abuse will not be tolerated by this administration" and that if confirmed, you would "ensure that the Department of Justice aggressively pursues those responsible for such abhorrent actions." However, today I am deeply concerned that serious allegations of government contractors' involvement in grave human rights violations in the War on Terror have largely been ignored by the Department of Justice. The Army's Fay / Jones and Taguba reports investigating abuse at Abu Ghraib implicated contractors from two companies in torture and ill treatment. Yet of the 20 known cases of abuse allegedly committed by civilians working for private military contractors that have been forwarded to the Department of Justice, and the hundreds of serious incident reports voluntarily filed with U.S. authorities in Iraq, only one trial has been initiated. Amnesty International condemns torture and abuse committed in the name of the War on Terror and demands that those responsible for the abuses be brought to justice in accordance with U.S. obligations under international and domestic law. Accountability is a critical component of enforcing human rights. Where clear evidence of human rights violations exists, perpetrators should be immediately prosecuted. I ask you to uphold your commitment to pursue those responsible for abuses, and ensure that the Department of Justice promptly investigate all allegations of human rights violations committed by employees or contractors of private military and security firms. Thank you for your attention to these very serious matters. I look forward to your response. Sincerely, Your Name and Address DEATH PENALTY Urge Korean Govt to Abolish Death Penalty The Legislation and Judiciary Committee (LJC) of the South Korean National Assembly (or Parliament), which has in the past delayed the enactment of the Special Bill on Abolishing the Death Penalty (Special Bill), is finally about to consider it, and is proposing a public hearing on the Special Bill in the National Assembly in April. Despite the fact that a majority of National Assembly members have voted for the bill, the 13 member LJC has never in the past considered it. This is a crucial step before the bill can be enacted into legislation. It is not clear how many members in the LJC are in favour of the Special Bill, but the vote is expected to be very close. International pressure from the AI movement is seen as being very important to demonstrate to the LJC that the international community is expecting them to vote for this historic legislation, and thus enact the first death penalty abolition bill in Northeast Asia. Sample Letter follows: Chairman Sang-soo An Room 507, National Assembly Member's Office Bldg. Yeouido-dong Yeongdeungpo-gu Seoul, 150-702, KOREA Member Yoon-keun Woo Room 239, National Assembly Member's Office Bldg. Yeouido-dong Yeongdeungpo-gu Seoul, 150-702, KOREA Member Byung-yul Seon Room 344, National Assembly Member's Office Bldg. Yeouido-dong Yeongdeungpo-gu Seoul, 150-702, KOREA Member Seung-jo Yang Room 404, National Assembly Member's Office Bldg. Yeouido-dong Yeongdeungpo-gu Seoul, 150-702, KOREA Member Won-young Lee Room 535, National Assembly Member's Office Bldg. Yeouido-dong Yeongdeungpo-gu Seoul, 150-702, KOREA RE: Urge the Adoption of Death Penalty Legislation Dear Chairman An/ Member Woo/Seon/Yang/Lee: As a member of Amnesty International, I write to urge you as a member of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee to pass the Special Bill on Abolishing the Death Penalty which calls for the abolition of the death penalty in the Republic of Korea. Amnesty International unconditionally opposes the death penalty on the grounds that it is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. The death penalty violates the right to life; it is irrevocable and has been inflicted on the innocent. It has not been shown to deter crime more effectively than other punishments. A majority of the countries in the world, 120, have abolished the death penalty in law or practice. Since 1990 over 40 countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes. Among Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, all countries except South Korea, Japan, the United States of America (USA) and Mexico have abolished the death penalty for all crimes. Mexico has abolished the death penalty for all ordinary crimes. Amnesty International welcomes the fact that there have been no executions since former President Kim Dae-jung, a former death row prisoner himself, took office in February 1998 and that the present President Roh Moo-hyun has continued to honor this commitment. However, at least three people were sentenced to death in South Korea in 2005 and at least 63 prisoners remained under sentence of death at the end of the year. I urge you to support this historic step in passing into legislation the first death penalty abolition bill in Northeast Asia. The adoption of this Special Bill would be in line with an international trend to abolish the death penalty worldwide. South Korea can send an important message to Asia as a whole and become the leading force in abolishing the death penalty in the region. Sincerely, Your Name and Address