Chechnya Genocide
Introduction
Threats to human rights can take various forms. They range from large-scale abuses like genocide, slaughter of innocents and forced migration to chronic, systemic problems that deny citizens the basic rights of freedom of religion, speech and assembly, and protections against the arbitrary exercise of state power. The United States cannot afford to ignore either type of human rights problem, or to excuse them as cultural differences. ... Positive signs in Africa included developments in Kenya, where the new Government acted to establish an autonomous national human rights commission to investigate abuses and educate citizens. A ministry of gender affairs was also set up; three bills to protect women’s rights were submitted to the parliament but they still await passage. The Government also took several steps to curb corruption, including the establishment of an anti-corruption authority to investigate and prosecute cases of corruption and the dismissal of 38 magistrates and transfer of 40 others on official accusations of corruption. In Rwanda, a new constitution was adopted, ending a nine-year transitional period, and the country held its first post-genocide presidential and legislative elections in August and September. However, the right of Rwandan citizens to change their government was effectively restricted, and government harassment of the political opposition continued. ... [Read More]
Daily Press Briefing for September 8 - Transcript
MR. BOUCHER: That is one of the points of genocide, if that's the question. ... But that's the essence of what we found in our own research. It's, as I said, similar to information we'd heard before, similar to the information now being reported in some detail by the African Union. But it's also, I think, collected in a more systematic manner than we had before, and therefore, a more solid basis for making determinations of two kinds. One is, the big question is, you know, is it genocide? What does it all mean? ... [Read More]
Issues of Democracy, May 2000 --Towards A Community of Democracies
The preliminary puzzle is why sovereign states would participate in the creation of a legalframework that by its very nature is subversive of territorial supremacy, which was the hallmarkof Westphalian era (1648) worldorder. In the period after World War II starting with the Universal Declaration of Human Rightsand the Genocide Convention, this dynamic ofsubversion was initiated. It can be best explained by two mutually reinforcing sets ofconsiderations: First of all, an awareness of the historical circumstances surrounding theexposure of atrocities by Nazi Germany generated pressures to create conditions that wouldwork against the repetition of such behavior in the future. The fact that what the Nazi regimedid to its own citizenry had generated such a passive response on the part of Western liberaldemocracies was part of this awareness, giving rise to the pledge of "never again." Such aresolve was associated with the foundational idea that there were limits on what ... [Read More]
Introduction
Despite the Government's repeated commitments to refrain from further violence in Darfur, the atrocities continued. Government and government-supported militias known as the Jinjaweed routinely attacked civilian villages. Typically, the Jinjaweed, often in concert with regular government forces, conducted attacks under cover of military aerial support. In September, after carefully reviewing a detailed study conducted by independent experts covering the experience of more than 1,100 refugees, Secretary of State Colin Powell concluded that genocide had been committed against the people of Darfur, saying that "Genocide has been committed in Darfur and that the Government of Sudan and Jinjaweed bear responsibility and that genocide may still be occurring." ... [Read More]
Supporting Human Rights and Democracy: The U.S. Record
Answer: The Secretary of State has determined that what is happening in Sudan is genocide. The human rights situation there is extremely poor because the Government of Sudan is failing to protect its own citizens. In Darfur alone, over 1.5 million civilians are internally displace; over 200,000 refugees have fled to camps along the Chad border. More than 70,000 have been killed. So what is the U.S. doing about this terrible situation? We have been at the forefront of UN action to bring peacekeeping forces into Sudan, the sanction the Government of Sudan, to urge accountability for the war crimes and other abuses, and to provide relief of the suffering for the civilians. The U.S. has contributed millions of dollars and logistical assistance in support to the African Union peacekeepers, almost $600 million in relief assistance, and continues to lead in multilateral and bilateral diplomacy to end the violence and resolve the crisis. ... [Read More]
18. Domestic and International Law
On December 31, 2000, Ambassador Scheffer signed the 1998 Rome Treaty on the International Criminal Court. In a statement that same day, President Clinton acknowledged concerns about "significant flaws" in the treaty that he hoped could be corrected in later negotiations, but indicated that signing the treaty would "reaffirm our strong support for international accountability, and for bringing to justice perpetrators of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity." By signing, he noted, the United States would be able to influence the structure and rules of the court. (Document XVIII-3) ... [Read More]
N - Appendix C: Background Information on Other Terrorist Groups
The group seeks to topple Rwanda’s Tutsi-dominated government, reinstitute Hutu control, and, possibly, complete the genocide. In 1996, a message¾allegedly from the ALIR¾threatened to kill the US Ambassador to Rwanda and other US citizens. In 1999, ALIR guerrillas critical of alleged US-UK support for the Rwandan regime kidnapped and killed eight foreign tourists, including two US citizens, in a game park on the Congo-Uganda border. In the current Congolese war, the ALIR is allied with Kinshasa against the Rwandan invaders. The Government of Rwanda recently transferred to US custody three former ALIR insurgents who are suspects in the 1999 Bwindi Park murder case. ... [Read More]
Introduction
Later in 1998, Congress passed the International Religious Freedom Act, which mandated annual reports on the state of international religious freedom in every country. The first of these reports appeared in September 1999, the same year that Congress requested that a new section be added to the reports on trafficking in persons. The reports that year also included a new focus on access to political prisoners and genocide. ... U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan reiterated the United Nation's support for the promotion of human rights and instructed its agencies to place emphasis on both reporting and programming initiatives that strengthened respect for human rights. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia continued to try alleged war criminals, including a war crimes trial based on charges of rape and other sexual violence. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda also continued to try persons for genocide-related crimes. At the regional level, a number of institutions continued to work to strengthen democratic norms and practices. The Organization of African Unity denied a seat at its summit to Cote d'Ivoire due to its 1999 coup. The Organization of American States (OAS) sent a mission to Peru in the wake of elections that international and domestic observers deemed to be seriously flawed. The Government subsequently announced new elections that ... [Read More]
Lithuania
Lithuania is a constitutional parliamentary democracy. The Constitution establishes a 141-member unicameral Parliament; a directly elected President; and a government whose ministers are nominated by the Prime Minister, appointed by the President, and approved by the Parliament. The Government exercises authority with the approval of the Parliament and the President. The judiciary is independent.A unified national police force under the jurisdiction of the Interior Ministry is responsible for law enforcement. The State Security Department is responsible for internal security and reports to Parliament and the President. The police committed a number of human rights abuses. Since its independence in 1990, the country has progressed steadily toward developing a market economy. The country has a population of 3.472 million. The Government continued to privatize the ... [Read More]
|