Nigeria: No Justice For Kaduna Killings

Mysterious Diseases Haunt U.S. Troops In Iraq

BAGHDAD - Several mysterious diseases were reported among a number of American troops within the vicinity of Baghdad airport, a military source closely close to NATO unveiled. U.S. soldiers deployed around Baghdad airport started showing symptoms of mysterious fever, itching, scars and dark brown spots on the skin, the source, who refused to be named, said in statements published Thursday, July 17, by the Saudi Al-Watan newspaper. He asserted that three soldiers who suffered these symptoms did not respond to medical treatment in Iraqi hospitals and were flown to Washington for medication. The military source reported a media blackout by U.S. officials to hide such information from the public.

The Americans claim the symptoms and the mysterious diseases were resulting from exposure to the scourging sun, which the U.S. troops are not used to, he added. U.S. officials did not come up with an explanation for the symptoms, which NATO experts tend to believe result from direct exposure to powerful nuclear radiations of the sophisticated B-2 bombs used in the war on Iraq, particularly in striking Iraqi Republican Guards forces who deployed to defend the vicinity of Baghdad airport.

The military source stressed that the shrouds of secrecy imposed by American officials on the issue were prompted by fears of creating waves of panic and anger among the troops, particularly after announcements that American troops would remain in Iraq indefinitely. He asserted that NATO experts measured levels of radioactive pollution in Iraq and confirmed there were levels of radioactive pollution with destructive impacts on man and environment that may lead to risks suffered by generations to come.

On April 25, the British Observer quoted military sources as affirming that depleted uranium shells and bombs used by U.S. and British troops during Iraq invasion were five times more than the number used during 1991 Gulf war. The Pentagon had admitted shelling Iraq with about 350 tons of depleted uranium in 1991, aggravating cancerous tumors cases among Iraqis.(keralamonitor.comP

African Union: Adoption of the Protocol on the Rights of Women - positive step towards combating discrimination and violence against women

The African Union's (AU) adoption of the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa is a significant step in the efforts to promote and ensure respect for the rights of African women.

Adopted on 11 July 2003, at the second summit of the African Union in Maputo, Mozambique, the Protocol, among others, requires African governments to eliminate all forms of discrimination and violence against women in Africa and to promote equality between women and men.The Protocol also commits African governments, if they have not already done so, to include in their national constitutions and other legislative instruments these fundamental principles and ensure their effective implementation.

In addition, it obligates them to integrate a gender perspective in their policy decisions, legislation, development plans, and activities, and to ensure the overall well-being of women. The Protocol will enter into force after fifteen states have ratified.In March 2003, Amnesty International urged the African Union ministerial meeting convened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to agree on the measures to be included in the Protocol to include provisions that would ensure greater accountability of states to eliminate prejudices and practices that impede African women's rights to equality and freedom from discrimination. The organization also reiterated the need for African governments to send a clear message that the human rights of women are inalienable, integral and indivisible part of internationally human rights.

"Now that the Protocol has been adopted, African governments should show their commitment to end discrimination and violence against women by ensuring a speedy and full ratification to pave the way for a prompt entry into force of the instrument, and its effective implementation," Amnesty International said.

If fully ratified and implemented, the Protocol could become an important framework for ending impunity for all attacks on human rights of women in Africa." We urge all the fifty-three member states of the African Union to pursue the process of ratification within the shortest possible time," Amnesty International said.

Background

The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa was adopted on 11 July 2003 by the Assembly of the African Union second summit in Maputo Mozambique.

The Protocol will enter into force thirty (30) days after the deposit of the fifteenth (15) instrument of ratification. The Protocol will complement the African Charter in ensuring the promotion and protection of the human rights of women in Africa. Its provisions include the right to life, integrity and security of person, right to participation in the political and decision making process, right to inheritance, right to food security and adequate housing, protection of women against harmful traditional practices and protection of women in armed conflict. Others include access of women to justice and equal protection before the law.

The implementation of the Protocol will be supervised by the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, the body established to monitor compliance of states parties to the African Charter, pending the establishment of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights. Also, states parties to the Protocol commit themselves to indicate in their periodic reports to the African Commission the legislative and other measures undertaken to ensure the full realization of the rights recognized in the Protocol. The first African Union Ministerial Conference in May 2003 in Kigali, Rwanda calls upon member states of the AU to take all necessary measures for early adoption, ratification of the Protocol.

Nigeria: No Justice For Kaduna Killings

(Abuja, July 22, 2003) - Not a single member of the Nigerian police or
security forces has been charged with dozens of killings during the "Miss
World" riots in Kaduna last November, Human Rights Watch said in a new report
released today.

The 32-page report, "The `Miss World riots': continued impunity for killings
in Kaduna," provides detailed eyewitness accounts of how soldiers and police
killed people in cold blood between November 21 and 23, during an operation
intended to restore law and order.

One of the most serious cases described in the report is the November 22
execution of eight men by a group of police and military, led by a member of
a local defense force. Eyewitnesses told Human Rights Watch how the
perpetrators picked out their victims one by one, tied them together, led
them to a rubbish dump by a riverside and shot them dead at close range.

Fighting between Muslims and Christians broke out in the northern city of
Kaduna in November 2002 following controversy around the Miss World beauty
contest. Some Muslims considered an article in the newspaper ThisDay to be
blasphemous. Muslim youths started attacking Christians, Christians
retaliated, and within three days, around 250 people were killed.

"The Nigerian government has not brought anyone to justice for these terrible
killings," said Peter Takirambudde, Executive Director of the Africa Division
of Human Rights Watch. "This lack of response raises serious questions about
the government's commitment to protecting the lives of ordinary Nigerians."

Not only did the security forces fail to intervene at the first signs of
violence, but once they were deployed, they contributed significantly to the
violence by killing and injuring people who were not posing any threat to
security.

For reasons that remain unknown, orders were not given to deploy special
military "strike force" units, which had been stationed in Kaduna since 2000
with the specific aim of averting such clashes.

When confronted with rioters, the police and soldiers who were deployed often
made no attempt to arrest criminal suspects, instead shooting them dead on
the spot. The victims included children.

In several cases, the security forces shot people arbitrarily. One man
was shot dead by a soldier without warning as he was trying to enter
his house in the Nasarawa area. According to eyewitnesses, the soldier
shot him in the chest, from the front, then walked away. The victim was
unarmed.

The police executed several other people, in some cases after forcing
their way into their homes. In several cases, eyewitnesses claimed to
have identified the perpetrators.

In response to complaints from local residents, the police said they
were launching investigations into some of these cases. However,
police threatened and intimidated witnesses who gave statements to
them. Several policemen were arrested, but were released within a few
days and posted elsewhere. Human Rights Watch does not know of any case
that has resulted in formal charges or prosecution.

The Human Rights Watch report also describes well-organized attacks by
Muslim and Christian youths during the three days of violence. Youths
of both faiths singled out their victims and attacked them purely on
the basis of their religion. In addition to killing scores of people,
they destroyed many buildings, including churches, mosques, schools and
homes.

"Like the security forces, the people who organized and carried out the
riots have not been brought to justice," said Takirambudde. Around 350
people were arrested in connection with the riots, but most were
released within a short period. No one has been charged or tried for
organizing the violence.

The Human Rights Watch report concludes that the conflict in Kaduna was
more political than religious and stemmed from unresolved disputes
between different ethnic and political groups. It links the 2002 riots
to clashes between Muslims and Christians in Kaduna in 2000, in which
more than 2,000 people were killed following disagreements over the
introduction of Sharia (Islamic law).

"The Miss World issue was just the trigger," said Takirambudde. "Sooner
or later, violence in Kaduna would have erupted again anyway, because
the government has never satisfactorily addressed the underlying
tensions which caused such massive loss of life in 2000."

The report makes a number of recommendations to the Nigerian government
including:

- Investigating and bringing to justice those responsible for the killings
in Kaduna in November 2002, including those who planned the inter-communal
violence, and members of the Nigerian security forces.
- Immediately suspending from active duty individual members of the police
and military reported to have committed killings, pending investigation and
prosecution.
- Issuing clear instructions to the police and the military that
operations to restore law and order are never a justification for
extrajudicial killings, and that every effort should be made to arrest
criminal suspects without using lethal force.
- Intensifying efforts to prevent inter-communal violence, including by
supporting grassroots initiatives to foster dialogue between Muslims and
Christians, and making a concerted effort to listen to the grievances of
local communities.