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Category: NGOs

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: USA: Rohingya survivor demands US regulator investigates Meta’s role in Myanmar atrocities

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Amnesty is supporting activist Maung Sawyeddollah in filing a complaint against Meta and its role in Myanmar violence

    Meta was warned repeatedly by activists and researchers that its algorithms were amplifying hateful content against the Rohingya

    The violence that unfolded in Myanmar in 2017 has been classified as a genocide

    ‘We hope the Securities and Exchange Commission will consider the submission and investigate Meta for any potential violations of federal securities laws’ – Mandi Mudarikwa

    Rohingya human rights activist, Maung Sawyeddollah, has filed a whistleblower complaint with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), asking the agency to investigate Meta for alleged violations of securities laws stemming from the company’s misrepresentations to shareholders on its substantial contribution to what the US government has classified as genocide perpetrated against the Rohingya in Myanmar in 2017. 

    Amnesty International, the Open Society Justice Initiative and Victim Advocates International have jointly supported the submission. 

    Mandi Mudarikwa, Head of Strategic Litigation at Amnesty International, said: 

    “The submission provides information on Meta’s alleged role in the atrocities perpetrated against the Rohingya, and highlights misrepresentations to the SEC and public investors. We hope the SEC will consider the submission and investigate Meta for any potential violations of federal securities laws.”

    Meta: Repeatedly warned against amplifying harmful content

    The submission to the SEC, an independent US agency responsible for ensuring that shareholders are treated fairly and honestly, details how Meta was repeatedly warned by activists and researchers about the risk of Facebook being used to foment and incite violence against the Rohingya in the lead-up to 2017. The filing argues that, despite this, Meta continued leaving out key information on this risk of real-world violence in statements made to public investors. 

    A 2022 report by Amnesty  found that Meta contributed to the atrocities in Myanmar against the Rohingya through Facebook’s use of algorithms that amplify harmful content and inadequate moderation of harmful content, which breached its own Community Standards – rules that define permissible content on the platform. 

    The report revealed that Meta’s business model relied on invasive profiling and targeted advertising, which promoted the spread of harmful content including incitement to violence. Meta’s algorithmic systems are designed to maximize user engagement in order to increase its advertising revenue. As a result, these systems often have the effect of prioritising inflammatory, divisive, and harmful content. 

    Maung Sawyeddollah, recalling his frustration at his futile attempts to alert Meta about the proliferation of harmful content on Facebook, said:

    “I saw a lot of horrible things on Facebook, and I just thought that people who posted were bad. I didn’t realise then that Facebook was to blame. One day I saw a post that made me feel so bad. I tried to report that to Facebook. I said it was hate speech but I got a response that said…it does not go against Community Standards.” 

    Even though such content clearly violated Facebook’s Community Standards, which recently changed as part of a new policy shift, Meta did not sufficiently enforce these in Myanmar nor adequately remove anti-Rohingya content in the months and years before the 2017 atrocities in northern Rakhine State. The insufficient number of content moderators with necessary language skills, the result of the company’s budgeting and staffing choices, also contributed to Meta’s shortcomings. This reflects the company’s broader failure to adequately invest in content moderation across many countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, notwithstanding its public claims. 

    Eva Buzo, Executive Director at Victim Advocates International, explained:

    “In Myanmar, where Facebook served as the primary social media platform and news source, the reckless deployment of Meta’s harmful algorithms, with negligible safeguards in place, promoted widespread anti-Rohingya online campaigns which contributed to offline violence.”

    The SEC complaint underscores Meta’s failure to heed multiple civil society warnings from 2013 to 2017 regarding Facebook’s potential role in fueling violence. During that time, civil society repeatedly warned Meta employees that the platform was contributing to a pending “genocide”, similar to the role radios played in the Rwandan genocide. 

    James Goldston, Executive Director of the Open Society Justice Initiative, added:

    “Although investors had asked Meta to look into the human rights implications of its business, Meta fell far short of being fully transparent towards them, even though by that time Meta had been warned multiple times about the escalating situation in Myanmar and Facebook’s role in it.”

    Despite these warnings, between 2015 to 2017, Meta told investors that Facebook’s algorithms did not result in polarization, despite having been warned of Facebook’s role in proliferating anti-Rohingya content in Myanmar. At the same time, Meta did not fully disclose in its financial reporting to shareholders the risks the company’s operations in Myanmar entailed. Instead, in 2015 and 2016 Meta objected to shareholder proposals to conduct a human rights impact assessment and to set up an internal committee to oversee the company’s policies and practices concerning international public issues, including human rights. 

    Violence in Ethiopia

    Public pressure in 2018 forced Meta to partially and belatedly acknowledge Facebook’s role in the Rohingya atrocities. However, between November 2020 and November 2022, Meta again failed to adequately curb the spread of content advocating hatred and violence, this time against the Tigrayans in Ethiopia, ultimately contributing to severe offline violence. This is despite the company’s public claims to the contrary. Plainly, Meta has neither learned its lesson nor taken meaningful steps to curb its role in fueling ethnic violence around the world. 

    Recent policy changes by Meta in the US abolishing independent fact-checking, which may well be rolled out internationally, risk even further exacerbating Meta’s contributions to human rights harms and offline violence, as egregious as the crimes against the Rohingya.   

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Cameroon: In Campo, local residents express their annoyance with Camvert

    Source: Greenpeace Statement –

    Yaounde: 21rd January 2025 – The population of Campo in the south region of  Cameroon have taken to the streets to express their dissatisfaction with the companies CAMVERT, SOPHONY and BOISCAM. Following the demonstrations at the weekend, one local resident was arrested and subsequently released, while others were arrested, questioned and given a statement of facts. The communities are demanding, among other things, that Camvert revise the specifications and that the logging companies (SOPHONY and BOISCAM), which own the logging sales in FMU 0925, pay royalties.

    His Majesty, Abel Mvondo, chief of the village of Ndoumessamebenga, in the Campo district, said: ‘Enough is enough, we have been patient enough and so far nothing has changed. In December, we sent a petition to the Divisional Officer, but nothing has been done. It’s time for us to make ourselves heard and demand that all these companies respect our rights. We’re not going to let Camvert continue to sacrifice our forests and exploit our lands’.  

    For three years now, the communities have been calling for a participatory review of the specifications with Camvert, a request that has so far gone unheeded. Likewise, the company continues to violate the law and the rights of these communities by failing to pay land royalties. Article 17 of Decree no. 76-166 of 27 April 1976 setting out the terms and conditions for the management of the National Estate stipulates that ‘revenue from the allocation of plots of land in the National Estate, either as a concession or a lease, shall be distributed as follows: 40% to the State, 40% to the Commune where the land is located, and 20% to the village community concerned for a project of interest’.

    Stella Tchoukep, Forest Campaigner at Greenpeace Africa, said: ‘A framework for dialogue is needed so that the various stakeholders have a safe and structured space to discuss and find solutions to their differences. However, this framework for dialogue can only be effective if the resolutions adopted are implemented. So far, Camvert has failed to honour its commitments and has violated the law in force in Cameroon, all of which has fuelled the anger of local residents and the indignation of environmental organisations’. 

    Camvert SA, which has been based in Campo in the South of Cameroon  region since 2019, obtained a provisional concession of more than 40,000 hectares in March 2022, under unclear circumstances. A project that has contributed significantly to the violation of the rights of local and indigenous communities whose survival depends essentially on the forest.  It is also a weapon of massive destruction of the biodiversity to which Cameroon is committed. In recent years, local people have also had to contend with incursions by roaming animals, a direct consequence of the destruction of their natural habitat.Read the latest Greenpeace report on Camvert here

    Media contact:

    Pressdesk Africa, [email protected]

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Yanette: My sister was forcibly disappeared by the Colombian military

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Yanette Bautista was just 27 when her sister Nydia was forcibly disappeared in 1987. Three years later, Yanette found Nydia’s remains – she had been murdered by state authorities and her whereabouts concealed to her family. It was the first time she learnt about enforced disappearances, an issue that is rife in Colombia – even today – with an estimated 200,000 people disappeared between 1985 and 2016 according to the 2022 Final Report of Colombia’s Truth Commission.

    Since her sister’s enforced disappearance, Yanette, now 66, has dedicated her life to supporting Colombian women to search for their loved ones without fear. She has set up her own organization, as well as spearheaded a new bill that became a law in 2024, calling for better protection for women searchers. In honour of the bill, Colombia has recently introduced International Women’s Searchers Day, which takes place on 23 October.

    Here she tells her incredible story, spanning three decades…

    I found my sister three years after she was taken away and disappeared. I knew it was her. She was wearing the same clothes she had on the day she disappeared. It had been a day of celebration, the day our children received their first communion. When we found Nydia, she was still wearing the same dress and a jacket I had lent her. The only thing missing was her underwear. There was no reason for her underwear to be missing. I had to beg the authorities to hand her body over. I even threatened to go on hunger strike. When they eventually agreed to give me Nydia’s body, they handed it over in a trash bag.

    My sister was forcibly disappeared when I was 27. At the time, I didn’t know enforced disappearances existed. She was studying economics at university. We knew she was part of an opposition guerrilla group, M-19, that signed a peace agreement and became a legal political party a couple of years later. We thought that the worst that could happen was for her to be sent to jail by a judge for her political activities. It felt shocking to learn that we lived in a country where there was a huge lack of human rights. If you supported the opposition, you paid for it. It was a situation of desperation and confusion.

    My father and I started searching together – we went to hospitals, to military brigades, to the police intelligence, the secret police and the jails to see what could have happened. It was dangerous from the beginning as I started to be threatened many times just for asking for her. Eventually I was forcibly displaced. I left my home, sent my children to live elsewhere and I moved to another location. I soon started receiving anonymous calls. On one occasion, someone said: ‘Don’t look for her, she’s fine.’ It wasn’t a comforting call, and I knew I had to continue searching.

    Yanette Bautista is the founder of Nydia Erika Bautista Foundation, created to fight against impunity in enforced disappearance in Colombia.

    I sought help from the Colombian NGO Committee for Solidarity with Political Prisoners (CSPP) and we were provided with legal assistance, while the Association of Family Members of Disappeared Detainees (ASFADDES) shared advice. While I searched for my sister, I started working with other families and we eventually got in touch with Colombia’s Inspector for Human Rights – he was determined to help. He somehow found a witness who claimed to know where Nydia was. By that point I didn’t have hope we would find her alive. I’d come to realize that those searching for their loved ones, were searching for people who had been murdered.

    A case was opened, and the well-known lawyer Eduardo Umaña took it on. I was told the witness was part of the Colombian military. He wanted to confess and said Nydia had been murdered and was buried in a rural town near Bogota. Together, with the inspector, forensic experts and our lawyer, we exhumed the body. I immediately knew it was her, even though she had been buried under NN (No Name).

    Life changed dramatically

    After Nydia disappeared, my life changed. I used to be an executive secretary for an important CEO, but it felt artificial after I started searching. I found it impossible to continue in this bubble, while people were being forcibly disappeared. That’s why I took off my heels and put on my shoes so I could start searching.

    After my sister disappeared, life changed. So I took off my heels and put on my shoes so I could start searching for her.

    Yanette Baustista

    Even though we found Nydia’s body, we have never got the justice we deserve. The inspector for human rights sanctioned in 1995 one general and four military officials – a first in our country. However, two months later, he had to flee because he started receiving threats. During that time, I was calling for a change in law, speaking out about the military – and I was eight months pregnant. I was under constant surveillance. Eventually the four sanctioned men were set free even though it was clear it was the military committing these crimes.

    By this time, it was too dangerous for me to stay in Colombia. Following a trip to Germany I just couldn’t come home. In 1997, I was forced into exile for seven years. During this time, I worked for Amnesty International, writing and researching about violence against women. I also became President of Federation of Family Members of Disappeared Persons (FEDEFAM), working with victims of forced disappeared in different countries.

    Returning home

    When I eventually returned to Colombia in 2007, I started my own organization. I’d met people from the Philippines, Albania, Kosovo, Turkey. We had so much collective knowledge. I wanted to empower families to search for their loved ones, so we started our organisation in my living room, with a small group of families.

    Our collective, Nydia Erika Bautista Foundation, is designed for women to help one another. There’s no hierarchy. It is an exchange of knowledge. We provide legal support, document stories and advocate. We have a leadership school to empower the women searching in different parts of the country. We work in eight regions of Colombia and we are supporting 519 cases.

    Our collective is mostly women – our research has revealed 95% of those searching for their loved ones are women – they’re mothers, sisters and wives. In a patriarchal society, it’s a task handed to the caregivers. But to me, we’re more than caregivers. When women start searching, we become human rights defenders – searching fearlessly, we challenge the rules of silence and oppression imposed by those who disappeared our loved ones, and we end up defending the rights of everyone.

    Yanette leads a workshop with women searchers in Bogotá, Colombia.

    The women who search are incredibly brave, even though there is no support from the authorities and no political will to investigate these crimes. In fact, enforced disappearance isn’t seen as a crime – it’s normalized; sometimes it’s even justified by the Colombian authorities.

    Moving forward

    As a collective, we want to turn our pain into rights. That’s why we wrote a law in a bid to empower women searching for the forcibly disappeared and to promote the rights of these women. It was signed into law in 2024.

    However, our next task is to ensure it is implemented and becomes a reality. We have so many allies supporting us, including Amnesty International, and it is spurring us on every day. 

    While I have hope going forward, advocating for this law brings fear. As I continue to call for change, enforced disappearances are continuing, women searchers are suffering violence, and our funds are decreasing – making our work even tougher.

    However, in my darker moments, I remember Nydia. Nydia dreamt of an army of women, who were armed with voices, not guns. I am determined to pursue her dream, so women can search without fear of suffering violence or of not having food at their family’s table, so women can search with freedom and dignity.

    This piece is part of Amnesty International’s new campaign #SearchingWithoutFear, supporting women across the Americas searching for their loved ones. 

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: MSF temporarily suspends activities in Djibo, Burkina Faso

    Source: Médecins Sans Frontières –

    Geneva – Faced with ongoing security challenges that threaten the ability to carry out activities in Djibo, Burkina Faso, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has made the difficult decision to temporarily suspend our humanitarian response in the city. This decision prioritises the safety of our staff, and allows us to reassess working conditions, given the increasing difficulty of providing humanitarian medical assistance. MSF’s medical teams remain committed to continuing their efforts and maintaining a presence in other regions where we operate, to provide medical care to communities in need across Burkina Faso.

    MSF teams have been in close contact with local authorities, informing them of the reasons behind this suspension of activities. In November 2023 and again in July 2024, MSF offices, Ministry of Health-supported medical facilities, and water distribution sites were repeatedly targeted by gunfire. Tragically, a child was killed after being hit by a bullet near a water distribution point in September 2023.

    Four buildings still bear visible bullet holes, medical facilities have been set on fire, water distribution points vandalised, and our ability to supply the area by road has been severely restricted. These attacks have placed vital medical assistance and access to safe drinking water at serious risk for those impacted by the ongoing security crisis. As a result, we have been forced to significantly scale back our capacity to protect both patients and staff and we have now suspended activities altogether.

    This suspension comes during a particularly painful time for MSF. On 2 September, we were deeply saddened to learn of the tragic death of one of our team members in Djibo under unknown circumstances. A 37-year-old father of 10, he had joined MSF in 2020. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones. MSF offers its deepest condolences and is working to understand the circumstances surrounding his death.

    In Burkina Faso, local communities are the primary victims of insecurity and violence. As a neutral and impartial medical organisation, our priority remains providing humanitarian medical assistance. Caught in the crossfire, people have seen their living conditions deteriorate rapidly, and humanitarian aid is essential for their survival. MSF calls for the protection of healthcare facilities, displaced people, and humanitarian missions.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Hasta 41.000 millones de dólares de la financiación climática del Banco Mundial no aparecen en los balances

    Source: Oxfam –

    De acuerdo con un nuevo informe de Oxfam publicado hoy con motivo de las Reuniones Anuales del FMI y del Banco Mundial que se celebrarán en Washington D. C., hasta 41 000 millones de dólares de la financiación climática del Banco Mundial —cerca de un 40 % del financiamiento climático total desembolsado por la institución financiera durante los últimos siete años— no figuran en los balances debido a prácticas de registro deficientes.

    Una auditoría de Oxfam de la cartera de financiación climática del Banco Mundial de 2017-2023 ha evidenciado que se ha perdido el rastro de entre 24 000 y 41 000 millones de dólares durante el tiempo transcurrido entre la aprobación y la clausura de los proyectos.

    No hay registros públicos claros que muestren a dónde ha ido a parar este dinero o de qué forma se ha usado, de forma que es imposible evaluar su impacto. Tampoco está claro si estos fondos se han invertido en iniciativas climáticas con el objetivo de ayudar a países de renta media-baja a proteger a la población de los efectos de la crisis climática e invertir en energías limpias.

    «El Banco Mundial no pierde ocasión para alardear de los miles de millones que destina a la lucha contra la crisis climática, pero esas cifras se basan en sus planes de inversión, no en lo que realmente invierte una vez un proyecto se pone en marcha», declara Kate Donald, directora de la oficina de Oxfam Internacional en Washington D. C. «Es como pedir a tu doctora que evalúe tu dieta a partir de tu lista de la compra, sin comprobar nunca lo que realmente termina en tu nevera.»

    El Banco Mundial es el principal financiador climático multilateral, representando el 52 % del flujo total de fondos de los bancos multilaterales de desarrollo en conjunto.

    La financiación climática estará en el centro del debate en la COP29, que este año se celebrará en Azerbaiyán, y en la que los países negociarán un nuevo objetivo mundial de financiación climática: el Nuevo Objetivo Colectivo Cuantificado (NCQG, por sus siglas en inglés). Activistas de la lucha contra el cambio climático exigen que los países del norte global destinen a los países del sur global un mínimo de 5 billones de dólares anuales en financiación pública «como anticipo de su deuda climática» con sus pueblos y comunidades, dado que estos países son los menos responsables de la emergencia climática, pero los más afectados. Oxfam advierte que, en esta coyuntura crítica, la falta de trazabilidad de los gastos podría minar la confianza en los esfuerzos globales en materia de financiación climática.

    «La financiación climática es escasa y, sí, sabemos que es difícil de proveer. Pero, ¿no monitorear cómo o dónde se invierte realmente el dinero? No se trata simplemente de un descuido burocrático; es una quiebra esencial de la confianza que pone en riesgo los avances que debemos lograr en la COP29. El Banco Mundial debe actuar como si nuestro futuro dependiera de abordar la emergencia climática, porque así es», afirma Donald.

    La investigación de Oxfam revela que incluso obtener información básica sobre cómo el Banco Mundial gestiona la financiación climática fue laborioso y difícil.

    «Tuvimos que desgranar grandes cantidades de informes complejos e incompletos e, incluso entonces, los datos contenían lagunas e incoherencias. Es alarmante que esta información sea de tan difícil acceso y comprensión. No debería hacer falta un equipo de investigadores profesionales para saber cómo se están invirtiendo miles de millones de dólares destinados a la acción climática. Esta información debería ser transparente y accesible para todo el mundo, sobre todo para las comunidades a quienes tiene que beneficiar la financiación climática», señaló Donald.
     

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Cuba: Amnesty International designates four persons as prisoners of conscience in the midst of a new wave of state repression

    Source: Amnesty International –

    In a context of systematic human rights violations, a completely restricted civic space and the criminalization of any form of dissent, Amnesty International today declared political dissident Félix Navarro, independent journalist and Dama de Blanco Sayli Navarro, 11J protester Roberto Pérez Fonseca and activist Luis Robles as prisoners of conscience.

    “These designations are a recognition of the dozens of people who remain in prison in Cuba for peacefully exercising their rights, and of all those who live under constant surveillance, harassment and the threat of criminalization. A recognition of the courage and resistance of the people of Cuba who are standing up to constant and generalized repression and fighting for their rights and the rights of all people,” said Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International.

    Félix Navarro is a 71-year-old political dissident and founder of the “Pedro Luis Boitel” Party for Democracy. For over 30 years, he has been the coordinator of the Patriotic Union of Cuba and has been associated with the Cuba Decides platform and the Council for the Democratic Transition in Cuba. Félix is currently serving his third prison sentence for political reasons. He was imprisoned in 1992 on charges of “enemy propaganda” for putting up “anti-revolution” posters in his home town. In 2003, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison in the criminal proceedings following the crackdown known as the “Black Spring”, along with 75 other dissidents, journalists and activists. In this context, he was declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. He was released on extra-penal leave on 23 March 2011, together with fellow prisoner of conscience José Daniel Ferrer, as the last of the group of 75 to be freed after previously refusing to be released in exchange for exile.

    Sayli Navarro, his daughter, is a 38-year-old activist and cofounder of the Damas de Blanco (Ladies in White), a group of mothers, wives and daughters of the group of 75 people arrested during the “Black Spring”. Sayli has lived with the consequences of the state repression exercised against her father since she was a child. She was expelled from university in 2010 because of her “counter-revolutionary links”, and has been arbitrarily detained, subjected to interrogation and threatened on a number of occasions by state security agents and police authorities.  

    Félix and Sayli Navarro were sentenced in March 2022 to 9 and 8 years in prison respectively for events related to the protests of 11 and 12 July 2021. Both were violently arrested on 12 July at their local police station in the town of Perico, Matanzas province, when they went to enquire about the situation of members of their movement who had been arrested during the protests the day before.  

    Luis Robles, 32, was sentenced to four years and six months in prison in March 2022 on charges of enemy propaganda and disobedience for peacefully protesting on a pedestrian street in central Havana in December 2020. Luis was holding up a sign that read ‘’Freedom‘’, ‘’No+Repression‘’ and ‘’#Free-Denis‘’ and walking in circles as dozens of people began to film him. Luis Robles held up the sign for several minutes until the police approached him, took the sign from him and arrested him, with Luis putting up no resistance. This happened a few days after the San Isidro Movement staged a lockdown and hunger strike to demand the release of rapper Denis Solís. Luis wanted to express his solidarity with the rapper and his support for the San Isidro Movement.

    Roberto Pérez Fonseca, 41, was sentenced in October 2021 to 10 years’ imprisonment for his participation in the protests of 11 July 2021. Roberto was charged with the offences of contempt, assault, public disorder and incitement to commit a crime, all of which are typically used by the Cuban authorities against those who exercise their right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found Roberto’s detention to be arbitrary and motivated by the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of assembly and association, as well as to freedom of opinion and expression. It also found that Roberto’s right to a fair and impartial trial had been violated.

    These designations come in the context of renewed repression by the Cuban authorities against activists, human rights defenders, journalists, intellectuals and independent media in the last weeks of September. This includes an alarming increase in ill-treatment, harassment, arbitrary detentions, new threats of criminalization, denial of prison benefits and worrying reports of deterioration in the health and physical integrity of detainees.

    “Following the widespread state repression unleashed by the July 2021 protests, and with many activists, political opponents and dissidents unjustly imprisoned, the Cuban state seems intent on eradicating any capacity for resistance within Cuban society, which now extends to projects, spaces and activism not linked to traditional political opposition or dissidence,” added Ana Piquer.

    Independent media organizations El Toque, Periodismo de Barrio and Cubanet have claimed in editorials and on social media that their contributors have received threats of criminalization from the authorities in recent weeks. According to these reports, contributors have repeatedly been summoned by police and state security agents and informed of possible criminal prosecution for “mercenarism”. In addition, activists and independent media contributors reported on their social networks that they had received arbitrary summonses followed by interrogations by the authorities and state security agents about their journalistic work and their links to certain individuals or media outlets considered to be “counter-revolutionary”. In this context, Amnesty International has had access to the testimonies of at least 20 activists, who have reported being threatened with imprisonment, forced to record themselves and sign declarations of self-incrimination, and deprived of their mobile phones and computers. Similarly, Cuban human rights organizations reported that at least three independent media contributors were forced to write public resignations on their social networks, expressing their intention not to work with independent media. On 16 September, the cultural magazine PM Magazine announced that it was closing down permanently due to increasing pressure and harassment against its director by state security agents.

    “This climate of constant fear and intimidation adds to our concern at the continuing reports of the deteriorating health and ill-treatment of prisoners of conscience Loreto Hernández, Pedro Albert and José Daniel Ferrer, and the increasing and systematic harassment of journalist Carlos Michael Morales, and Damas de Blanco leader Berta Soler. It is imperative that the international community show solidarity and demand the immediate release of those imprisoned for exercising their rights, and an end to the repression and harassment of dissidents in Cuba,” said Ana Piquer.

    Amnesty International calls for the immediate and unconditional release of prisoners of conscience, and of all those unjustly imprisoned solely for exercising their human rights. The organization also calls on the government of Miguel Díaz-Canel to respect human rights, including the right to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, to repeal repressive legislation, and to end the repression of dissidents.

    In order to determine whether a person is a prisoner of conscience, Amnesty International uses the information available to it regarding the circumstances leading to their detention. By designating a particular person as a prisoner of conscience, Amnesty is affirming that this person must be immediately and unconditionally released but is not endorsing their past or present views or conduct.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Cuba: Amnesty declares four new prisoners of conscience in midst of new wave of state repression

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Widespread state repression has been enforced since the July 2021 protests, but a renewed effort to suppress dissent began this September

    Félix Navarro, Dama de Blanco Sayli Navarro, Roberto Pérez Fonseca and Luis Robles have been named as prisoners of conscience

    ‘This is a recognition of the courage and resistance of the people of Cuba who … fighting for their rights and the rights of all people’ – Ana Piquer

    Amnesty International has declared political dissident Félix Navarro, independent journalist Dama de Blanco Sayli Navarro, 11J protester Roberto Pérez Fonseca and activist Luis Robles as prisoners of conscience.

    These designations come in the context of renewed repression by the Cuban authorities against activists, human rights defenders, journalists, intellectuals and independent media in the last weeks of September. This includes an alarming increase in ill-treatment, harassment, arbitrary detentions, new threats of criminalisation, denial of prison benefits and worrying reports of deterioration in the health and physical integrity of detainees.

    Ana Piquer, Director of the Americas at Amnesty International, said:

    “These designations are a recognition of the dozens of people who remain in prison in Cuba for peacefully exercising their rights, and of all those who live under constant surveillance, harassment and the threat of criminalisation. This is a recognition of the courage and resistance of the people of Cuba who are standing up to constant and generalised repression and fighting for their rights and the rights of all people.

    “Following the widespread state repression unleashed by the July 2021 protests, and with many activists, political opponents and dissidents unjustly imprisoned, the Cuban state seems intent on eradicating any capacity for resistance within Cuban society, which now extends to projects, spaces and activism not linked to traditional political opposition or dissidence.

    “It is imperative that the international community show solidarity and demand the immediate release of those imprisoned for exercising their rights, and an end to the repression and harassment of dissidents in Cuba.”

    Prisoners of conscience

    • Félix Navarro is a 71-year-old political dissident and founder of the “Pedro Luis Boitel” Party for Democracy. For over 30 years, he has been the coordinator of the Patriotic Union of Cuba and has been associated with the Cuba Decides platform and the Council for the Democratic Transition in Cuba. Félix is currently serving his third prison sentence for political reasons. He was imprisoned in 1992 on charges of “enemy propaganda” for putting up “anti-revolution” posters in his hometown. In 2003, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison in the criminal proceedings following the crackdown known as the “Black Spring”, along with 75 other dissidents, journalists and activists. In this context, he was declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty. He was released on extra-penal leave on 23 March 2011, together with fellow prisoner of conscience José Daniel Ferrer, as the last of the group of 75 to be freed after previously refusing to be released in exchange for exile.
    • Sayli Navarro, Félix Navarro’s daughter, is a 38-year-old activist and co-founder of the Damas de Blanco (Ladies in White), a group of mothers, wives and daughters of the group of 75 people arrested during the “Black Spring”. Sayli has lived with the consequences of the state repression exercised against her father since she was a child. She was expelled from university in 2010 because of her “counter-revolutionary links”, and has been arbitrarily detained, subjected to interrogation and threatened on a number of occasions by state security agents and police authorities.  

    Félix and Sayli Navarro were sentenced in March 2022 to 9 and 8 years in prison respectively for events related to the protests of July 2021. Both were violently arrested on 12 July at their local police station in the town of Perico, Matanzas province, when they went to enquire about the situation of members of their movement who had been arrested during the protests the day before.  

    • Luis Robles, 32, was sentenced to four years and six months in prison in March 2022 on charges of enemy propaganda and disobedience for peacefully protesting on a pedestrian street in central Havana in December 2020. Luis was holding up a sign that read “Freedom”, “No+Repression” and “#Free-Denis” while walking in circles as dozens of people began to film him. Luis held up the sign for several minutes until the police approached him, took the sign from him and arrested him, with Luis putting up no resistance. This happened a few days after the San Isidro Movement staged a lockdown and hunger strike to demand the release of rapper Denis Solís. Luis wanted to express his solidarity with the rapper and the San Isidro Movement.
    • Roberto Pérez Fonseca, 41, was sentenced in October 2021 to 10 years imprisonment for his participation in the protests of July 2021. Roberto was charged with the offences of contempt, assault, public disorder and incitement to commit a crime, all of which are typically used by the Cuban authorities against those who exercise their right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found Roberto’s detention to be arbitrary and motivated by the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of assembly and association, as well as to freedom of opinion and expression. It also found that Roberto’s right to a fair and impartial trial had been violated.

    Climate of repression

    Independent media organisations El Toque, Periodismo de Barrio and Cubanet have claimed in editorials and on social media that their contributors have received threats of criminalisation from the authorities in recent weeks. According to these reports, contributors have repeatedly been summoned by police and state security agents and informed of possible criminal prosecution for “mercenarism”. In addition, activists and independent media contributors reported on their social networks that they had received arbitrary summonses followed by interrogations by the authorities and state security agents about their journalistic work and their links to certain individuals or media outlets considered to be “counter-revolutionary”.

    Amnesty has had access to the testimonies of at least 20 activists who have reported being threatened with imprisonment, forced to record themselves and sign declarations of self-incrimination, and deprived of their mobile phones and computers. Similarly, Cuban human rights organisations reported that at least three independent media contributors were forced to write public resignations on their social networks, expressing their intention not to work with independent media.

    On 16 September, cultural magazine PM Magazine announced that it was closing down permanently due to increasing pressure and harassment against its director by state security agents.

    Ana Piquer said:

    “This climate of constant fear and intimidation adds to our concern at the continuing reports of the deteriorating health and ill-treatment of prisoners of conscience Loreto Hernández, Pedro Albert and José Daniel Ferrer, and the increasing and systematic harassment of journalist Carlos Michael Morales, and Damas de Blanco leader Berta Soler.”

    Amnesty calls for the immediate and unconditional release of prisoners of conscience, and of all those unjustly imprisoned solely for exercising their human rights. The organisation also calls on the government of Miguel Díaz-Canel to respect human rights, including the right to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, to repeal repressive legislation, and to end the repression of dissidents.

    In order to determine whether a person is a prisoner of conscience, Amnesty uses the information available to it regarding the circumstances leading to their detention. By designating a particular person as a prisoner of conscience, Amnesty is affirming that this person must be immediately and unconditionally released but is not endorsing their past or present views or conduct.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Uganda: ‘Drastic’ increase in online attacks against LGBTQ people having ‘devastating consequences’ – New Report

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Amnesty research reveals widespread patterns of online violence against LGBTQ people, including blackmailing, outing and threats of physical attack

    Cases of police using social media to connect with individuals before targeting them with physical violence and blackmail

    ‘Nowadays, digital spaces, which are so vital for LGBTQ people in Uganda, are often no safer than offline spaces’ – Roland Ebole

    Online attacks against Uganda’s LGBTQ communities have drastically increased, owing to overly broad laws that criminalise various aspects of the lives of LGBTQ people and entrench discrimination, Amnesty International said in a new report published today.

    The report – “Everybody Here Is Having Two Lives and Phones”: The Devastating Impact of Criminalisation On Digital Spaces for LGBTQ People in Uganda – is based on research across six Ugandan cities and neighbouring areas, including 64 interviews with LGBTQ people and organisations.

    The research reveals widespread patterns of technology-facilitated gender-based violence against LGBTQ people in Uganda. It documents cases of doxing, outing, threats of violence, blackmailing, impersonation, hacking and disinformation – further marginalising LGBTQ people, especially those from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds – and highlights not only the failure of state authorities to prevent or address these abuses, but also their active role in encouraging and condoning them, exposing LGBTQ people to grave human rights abuses.

    The Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023, in particular, has fostered a climate of impunity for attacks against LGBTQ people, forcing both individuals and organisations to significantly alter how they present themselves and engage with people online.

    Amnesty has documented numerous instances where police have seized devices or data of LGBTQ people by threatening them with arrest and found cases where both police and members of the general public have used social media platforms to connect with LGBTQ people before targeting them with physical violence and blackmailing. Blackmail was the most prevalent form of technology-facilitated gender-based violence noted across all locations.

    Shreshtha Das, Amnesty International’s Gender Researcher, said:

    “Our research shows that, while LGBTQ activists and organisations have continued to use digital spaces in a very hostile environment, the stigma, violence, and discrimination they face in offline spaces has been mirrored and amplified in digital spaces.

    “Technology-facilitated gender-based violence has devastating consequences for LGBTQ people, as online targeting can result in offline consequences, including arbitrary arrests, torture and other ill-treatment, forced evictions, dismissal from work, exposure to offline violence, as well as stress, anxiety and depression.”

    A ‘witch hunt’

    LGBTQ people and organisations in Uganda rely on digital platforms to connect with their communities, share information about sexual health services, and protect their rights.

    The prevalence of technology-facilitated gender-based violence has severely limited the possibilities for LGBTQ people to access, communicate and come together in digital spaces, while also hindering the outreach efforts of many organisations.

    Those providing health services to marginalised groups have been forced to avoid advertising their services online, fearing that the authorities could arbitrarily suspend their registration based on spurious accusations of “promoting homosexuality”.

    Marco Perolini, Amnesty International’s Civic Space Policy Advisor, said:

    “Instead of adopting policies to combat technology-facilitated gender-based violence, the Ugandan authorities have clamped down on human rights defenders and organisations, placing discriminatory restrictions on their work. Their acts amount to a witch-hunt against those perceived as “promoting homosexuality”, creating a chilling effect on the rights to freedom of expression and association.”

    Prejudicial laws worsening homophobia and transphobia

    While technology-facilitated gender-based violence against LGBTQ individuals was common in Uganda before, its severity and prevalence have surged since the passage of the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023, which has intensified homophobic and transphobic public discourse.

    All interviewees told Amnesty that they would not report technology-facilitated gender-based violence to the police due to fears of being outed, blackmailed or arrested. In the few instances when LGBTQ people reported cases, the police failed to take any action and instead subjected them to further humiliation.

    Roland Ebole, Amnesty International’s Uganda researcher, said:

    “Nowadays digital spaces, which are so vital for LGBTQ people in Uganda, are often no safer than offline spaces — they are experiencing discrimination and violence in both.”

    LGBTQ individuals and organisations said that reporting cases of technology-facilitated gender-based violence on social media platforms remained challenging. They often did not know how to report abuses. In spite of social media platforms’ policies to address technology-facilitated gender-based violence, concerns remain regarding content moderation, especially in widely spoken local languages other than English.

    Out of all the organisations Amnesty wrote to – including various government authorities in Uganda, private organisations, and social media companies (Meta, TikTok and X) – only Meta and TikTok responded. Their responses have been reflected in the report.

    Amnesty’s calls

    Amnesty is calling on the Ugandan Parliament to immediately repeal the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 and other laws that criminalise acts and behaviours that disproportionately impact LGBTQ people.

    The authorities must also establish an independent mechanism to conduct effective, prompt, impartial, and independent investigations into allegations of technology-facilitated gender-based violence and other human rights violations committed against LGBTQ people.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: UK: Make it a compassionate Christmas with Amnesty’s new retail range

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Shop for Christmas gifts that support defending human rights 

    Hundreds of products mean sustainable and ethical shopping couldn’t be easier 

    ‘A gift from the Amnesty festive range works as a present two-fold, as every purchase help us continue defending human rights and fighting atrocities around the globe’ – Sacha Deshmukh 

    Samples and high-res images available 

    Amnesty International UK has launched its Christmas catalogue with hundreds of ethically sourced and imaginative gift ideas that will delight recipients and support communities around the world. 

    Shoppers can choose from a wide range of sustainable, festive cards with each set of ten featuring the message inside of ‘Season’s Greetings’ in nine different languages – Russian, Chinese, Irish, Scots Gaelic, English, Welsh, Arabic, French and Spanish.  

    For those who want to impress an interior-design aficionado in their life, there are dazzling décor options from patchwork kantha throws, recycled sari hanging wreaths to Chara hammered vases, which have been handmade in India. 

    For friends and family who enjoy seasonal snacks there are tantalising treats to be snapped up from chocolates and fudge to spicy sauces.  And for the lovers of kitchen kits and culinary curios, options include beautiful recycled Izaan spice jars, tea-towels emblazoned with powerful prints and charming handmade bread baskets, handwoven in Vietnam using water hyacinth. 

    Amnesty is also showcasing their own range of handmade bath and body care for those who deserve a little luxury, with options of wellbeing gift sets, vegan lip balms and natural soaps. 

    Gift-grabbers can also peruse garden gifts for the green-fingered, the stunning collection of elegant fairtrade jewellery, children’s toys, gifts and organic cotton clothing and a cosy range of knitwear – seasonal socks included, of course! 

    Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK’s Chief Executive, said: 

    “A gift from the Amnesty Christmas range works as a present two-fold, as every purchase helps us continue defending human rights and fighting atrocities around the globe. 

    “The unique and beautiful products featured provide much-needed support to the incredible craft-makers and will connect the lucky recipients to global communities from their home.” 

    With prices to suit all shoppers, more highlights from the 2024 catalogue include: 

    Guatemalan Christmas Angel: A charming and unique tree decoration. 

    The World in your Kitchen 2025 Calendar: Every month features a new vegetarian recipe accompanied by a beautiful illustration. 

    Gaza collection: Tote bags, T-shirts and candles created by Aya Mobaydeen, an illustrator from Amman, Jordan, in collaboration with Amnesty. 

    These Rights are your Rights: With a foreword by Angelina Jolie, this paperback guide to child rights is packed with fun facts, top tips, comic illustrations by Sue Cheung and inspiring stories of young activists from around the world. 

    Virtual gifts:   For minimum fuss and maximum impact, money raised from Amnesty’s virtual gifts will be used wherever its needed most, from responding to crisis and conflict, campaigning for refugee rights, or educating the next generation of leaders and change makers. Shoppers can choose either e-card or traditional greeting card’ 

    Products can be purchased online, by phone or by post. Free packaging and posting is available on all orders over £75. 

    For more information, please visit: https://amnestyshop.org.uk/ 

     

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Uganda: Criminalization shrinks online civic space for LGBTQ people – report

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Online attacks against Uganda’s LGBTQ communities have drastically increased, owing to overly broad laws that criminalize various aspects of the lives of LGBTQ people and entrench discrimination, Amnesty International said in a new report today.

    The report, “Everybody Here Is Having Two Lives and Phones”: The Devastating Impact of Criminalization on Digital Spaces for LGBTQ People in Uganda, details widespread patterns of technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TfGBV) against LGBTQ people in Uganda. It documents cases of doxing, outing, threats of violence, blackmailing, impersonation, hacking and disinformation — further marginalizing LGBTQ people, especially those from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds.

    The Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA) 2023, in particular, was found to have fostered a climate of impunity for attacks against LGBTQ people, forcing both individuals and organizations to significantly alter how they present themselves and engage with people online.

    “Our research shows that, while LGBTQ activists and organizations have continued to use digital spaces in a very hostile environment, the stigma, violence, and discrimination they face in offline spaces has been mirrored and amplified in digital spaces,” said Shreshtha Das, Amnesty International’s Gender Researcher/Advisor.

    “TfGBV has devastating consequences for LGBTQ people, as online targeting can result in offline consequences, including arbitrary arrests, torture and other ill-treatment, forced evictions, dismissal from work, exposure to offline violence, as well as stress, anxiety and depression.”

    TfGBV has devastating consequences for LGBTQ people, as online targeting can result in offline consequences, including arbitrary arrests, torture and other ill-treatment, forced evictions, dismissal from work, exposure to offline violence, as well as stress, anxiety and depression.”

    Shreshtha Das, Amnesty International’s Gender Researcher/Advisor

    Amnesty International conducted research across six Ugandan cities and neighbouring areas, including 64 interviews with LGBTQ individuals and organizations. The research reveals widespread TfGBV and highlights not only the failure of state authorities to prevent or address these abuses, but also their active role in encouraging and condoning them, exposing LGBTQ people to grave human rights abuses.

    A ‘witch hunt’

    LGBTQ individuals and organizations in Uganda rely on digital platforms to connect with their communities, share information about sexual health services, and protect their rights.

    “Instead of adopting policies to combat TfGBV, the Ugandan authorities have clamped down on human rights defenders and organizations, placing discriminatory restrictions on their work.

    Marco Perolini, Amnesty International’s Civic Space Policy Advisor

    The prevalence of TfGBV, however, has severely limited the possibilities for LGBTQ people to access, communicate and come together in digital spaces, while also hindering the outreach efforts of many organizations. Those providing health services to marginalized groups have been forced to avoid advertising their services online, fearing that the authorities could arbitrarily suspend their registration based on spurious accusations of “promoting homosexuality”.

    “Instead of adopting policies to combat TfGBV, the Ugandan authorities have clamped down on human rights defenders and organizations, placing discriminatory restrictions on their work. Their acts amount to a witch-hunt against those perceived as “promoting homosexuality”, creating a chilling effect on the rights to freedom of expression and association,” said Marco Perolini, Amnesty International’s Civic Space Policy Advisor.

    The report documents numerous instances where police seized devices or data of LGBTQ people by threatening them with arrest. Moreover, both police and private individuals have used social media platforms to connect with LGBTQ people first, and then target them with physical violence and blackmailing.

    Blackmail was the most prevalent form of TfGBV noted across all locations. In addition, both police and private individuals have outed LGBTQ people, exposing them to online abuse, threats, physical violence, forced evictions and dismissal from work.

    Amnesty International found that the widespread use of derogatory and offensive language against LGBTQ people is pervasive online, as well as disinformation campaigns that portray LGBTQ people in harmful ways, including depicting them as “sexual predators”.

    These narratives reinforce the stereotyping of LGBTQ people and led to emotional distress, social ostracization, economic hardship and, in some cases, physical violence.

    “Nowadays, digital spaces, which are so vital for LGBTQ people in Uganda, are often no safer than offline spaces — they are experiencing discrimination and violence in both,” said Roland Ebole, Amnesty International’s Uganda researcher.

    Prejudicial laws worsening homophobia and transphobia

    While TfGBV against LGBTQ individuals was common in Uganda before, its severity and prevalence have surged since the passage of the AHA 2023, which has intensified homophobic and transphobic public discourse.

    All interviewees told Amnesty International that they would not report TfGBV to the police due to fears of being outed, blackmailed or arrested. In the few instances when LGBTQ people reported TfGBV cases, the police failed to take any action and instead subjected them to further humiliation.

    “Nowadays, digital spaces, which are so vital for LGBTQ people in Uganda, are often no safer than offline spaces — they are experiencing discrimination and violence in both,”

    Roland Ebole, Amnesty International’s Uganda researcher.

    LGBTQ individuals and organizations also said that reporting cases of TfGBV on social media platforms remained challenging. They often did not know how to report abuses. In spite of social media platforms’ policies to address TfGBV, concerns remain regarding content moderation, especially in widely spoken local languages other than English.

    Out of all the entities Amnesty International wrote to, including various state authorities in Uganda, private organizations, and social media companies (Meta, TikTok and X) detailing our findings, only Meta and TikTok responded. Their responses have been reflected in the report.

    “The Ugandan Parliament must immediately repeal the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 and other laws that criminalize acts and behaviours that disproportionately impact LGBTQ people,” said Shreshtha Das.

    “The authorities must also establish an independent mechanism to conduct effective, prompt, impartial, and independent investigations into allegations of TfGBV and other human rights violations committed against LGBTQ people.”

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Last remaining hospitals in North Gaza under siege and population trapped

    Source: Médecins Sans Frontières –

    “While the northern part of the Strip is under siege since over two weeks, it is absolutely crucial to ensure the protection of the few remaining functional healthcare facilities. People must continue to access medical care and lifesaving treatments. We call on the Israeli forces to immediately stop their attacks on hospitals in North Gaza,” says Anna Halford, MSF emergency coordinator in Gaza.

    According to the Ministry of Health and health workers on the ground, Israeli forces are currently besieging and targeting the Indonesian, Al-Awda and Kamal Adwan hospitals. More than 350 patients are reported to be trapped inside, including pregnant women and people who just underwent surgical operations. These patients require continuous medical treatment and are unable to leave.

    “The ever-worsening escalation of violence and non-stop Israeli military operations that we have been witnessing over the past two weeks in northern Gaza have horrifying consequences,” says Halford. Tens of thousands of people remain trapped in Jabalia camp under daily bombing, including six of our staff unreachable due to electricity blackout, while one of our colleagues was killed after sustaining injuries from shrapnel. “When hospitals are attacked, their infrastructure destroyed, and the electricity cut off, the lives of patients and medical staff are under threat.”

    Hundreds of people in need of vital care must urgently be evacuated as their lives are in danger. Essential items, including food, are only entering in quantities that are largely insufficient for the population in the north of the Strip.

    “This is purely and simply a collective punishment imposed on Palestinians in Gaza, who must choose between being forcibly displaced from the North or killed. We fear that this will not stop,” says Halford.

    “Israel’s all-out war on Gaza seems to have no end in sight. Israel’s allies bear a heavy responsibility for this dire situation, caused by their unwavering support for the war. They must immediately do everything in their power to obtain a sustained ceasefire. Not tomorrow, not in a week. Now,” says Halford.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Saudi Arabia: Migrant workers at Carrefour sites exploited, cheated and forced to live in squalor

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Migrant workers contracted to sites in Saudi Arabia franchised by French retail giant Carrefour were deceived by recruitment agents, made to work excessive hours, denied days off and cheated of their earnings, said Amnesty International.

    In the new report, “I would fear going to work”: Labour exploitation at Carrefour sites in Saudi Arabia, the human rights organization also documents how workers were made to live in squalid accommodation and feared being ‘fired’ if they complained or resisted working additional overtime.

    The abuses suffered by some of the contracted workers likely amount to forced labour including human trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation, yet neither Carrefour Group nor its partner Majid Al Futtaim, which operates the franchise in Saudi Arabia, took adequate action to stop them or offer redress to workers.

    “Workers thought they were opening the door to a better life but instead many were subjected to appalling exploitation and abuse. Carrefour’s inaction meant it failed to prevent this suffering, which for some contracted workers likely amounts to forced labour including human trafficking,” said Marta Schaaf, Amnesty International’s Director of Climate, Economic and Social Justice, and Corporate Accountability Programme.

    “Carrefour has a clear responsibility under international human rights standards to ensure abuses do not occur throughout its operations, including its franchises. Now Carrefour and Majid Al Futtaim should act to remedy the abuses – including urgently compensating those affected – and ensure that workers in their operations are never harmed again.”

    Carrefour has a clear responsibility under international human rights standards to ensure abuses do not occur throughout its operations, including its franchises.

    Marta Schaaf, Amnesty International

    Amnesty International’s report comes just two weeks before the International Labour Organization (ILO) Governing Body will consider a landmark complaint against the Saudi Arabian government regarding wage theft, forced labour and the prohibition of trade unions. The complaint was submitted by global trade union Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI) in June 2024, supported by Amnesty International and other organisations.

    Deceived, overworked and underpaid

    Amnesty International’s investigation follows a 2023 report published by the organization exposing abuses at Amazon facilities in Saudia Arabia, involving one of the same labour supply companies. The latest research was based on interviews and information provided by 17 men from Nepal, India and Pakistan. They all worked in various Carrefour facilities in Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah between 2021 to 2024 and nearly all are or were employed by labour supply companies and contracted out to Majid Al Futtaim.

    To secure jobs the workers paid recruitment agents in their home countries an average fee of $1,200, and often took on high-interest debt to do so, despite such charges being outlawed by Saudi legislation and prohibited by Majid Al Futtaim’s own policies.

    Almost all the workers interviewed were lied to or misled by the agents, sometimes with the involvement of labour supply companies, about the nature and benefits of the jobs in Saudi Arabia or tricked into believing they were being hired directly by international companies. Many only found out they would be employed by Saudi Arabian supply companies – which are notorious amongst workers – after paying the fees, by which time most could not recoup the money paid and therefore felt unable to backout.

    In Saudi Arabia the men were met with arduous work and repeated underpayment. They described regularly walking more than 20km per day and working 60-hour weeks, sometimes up to 16 hours a day, especially when business was booming in periods such as ‘salary weeks’ and the month of Ramadan. In breach of both Saudi Arabia’s laws and Majid Al Futtaim’s policies, workers said managers at the facilities – which included supermarkets and warehouses, or ‘dark stores’ – would sometimes cancel their weekly rest days. 

    Anand*, a former warehouse ‘picker’, told Amnesty: “Inside Carrefour stores, workers are not treated as humans. They treat workers as animals. They keep on saying, ‘yallah, yallah’ [‘let’s go’, ‘let’s go’]. They cling to our T-shirt to make us work fast.”

    Many of the workers said the hardest part of the experience was not being paid properly for these overtime hours as required by national law and company policies. As a result, they were often denied dozens of additional hours’ pay a month, amounting to hundreds of dollars each year.

    Accommodation provided by the labour supply companies was often dirty and overcrowded, contrary to Majid Al Futtaim’s requirements. Workers said they slept six or eight to a room, with one describing it as “like a cowshed”.

    Contracted workers described a culture of fear. Workers who raised complaints directly with managers at the Carrefour facilities said they were ignored or told to take up the matter with the labour supply companies instead. Some workers who did speak out experienced retaliation from the supply companies or Carrefour facility managers, intimidating others into silence. Although Majid Al Futtaim told Amnesty International that it prohibits retaliation against anyone sharing a “good-faith concern”, workers reported that if they resisted working extra hours, they would be threatened with not being paid or facing dismissal.

    Baburam* told Amnesty International:

    “It was tough to work that long. But the manager wouldn’t let me go… He would say, ‘You must complete the order process, then you can go.’ What could I do? If we didn’t work 15 hours, he would also say, ‘I will terminate you. I won’t pay for your overtime’.”

    Being ‘terminated’ from these facilities could result in workers being made ‘jobless’ until their labour supply company found them a new role – often weeks or months later. During this time, the worker would be left with no income from the supply company or support from the Saudi Arabian state.

    Gopal* said: “Had I complained, I could have lost my job. That’s why I couldn’t complain. Once, 14 or 15 workers complained about it, and they were expelled from the job. When a worker loses his job, the supply company makes him jobless for four to five months.”

    Had I complained, I could have lost my job. That’s why I couldn’t complain.

    Gopal*, contracted worker

    High risks of forced labour        

    The experiences of workers interviewed by Amnesty International indicates that the two key elements of forced labour – involuntary work and threat of penalty – are present in Carrefour Group’s franchise operations in Saudi Arabia.

    While Carrefour Group’s policies make clear it is aware of its responsibilities and has committed to upholding international human rights standards, including throughout its franchises and suppliers, Amnesty International’s research demonstrates that its due diligence processes are wholly inadequate. This is despite the fact that in Saudi Arabia, the severity and frequency of labour abuses – including forced labour – are acute and well-documented.

    “It is well known that despite some reforms, migrant workers in Saudi Arabia continue to be subjected to the country’s Kafala sponsorship system, have no guaranteed minimum wage and are prohibited from joining or forming trade unions. Carrefour has no excuse for failing to protect its workers from exploitation, and no justification to avoid paying them the compensation they deserve,” said Marta Schaaf.

    “The high risk of exploitation in Saudi Arabia highlights an undeniable need for fundamental reform of the country’s labour system. The ILO Governing Body should urgently open an investigation into violations of workers’ rights and ensure Saudi Arabia brings its labour laws and practices fully in line with international standards.”

    In response to Amnesty International’s findings, Carrefour Group and Majid Al Futtaim said they have launched an internal investigation into the treatment of migrant workers in their Saudi Arabia facilities, while Carrefour Group has also instructed a third-party audit of its franchise partner’s operations. Majid Al Futtaim detailed steps it has taken to remediate abuses since Amnesty International first alerted it, including moving some workers to new housing; reviewing policies on overtime and the ban on recruitment fees; increasing screening of new suppliers and improving access to its employee hotline.

    “Serious questions remain, however, as to why neither company identified or addressed long-standing abuses prior to being alerted by Amnesty International in mid-2024, including after we published our investigation into one of their suppliers last year.Neither company has yet committed to reimburse recruitment fees or compensate workers for harms suffered,” said Marta Schaaf.

    *Names of workers have been changed.

    Background information

    • Carrefour Group was a sponsor of the 2024 Paris Olympics and has an annual turnover of more than €94 billion.
    • Carrefour facilities and stores in Saudi Arabia are operated by UAE-based Majid Al Futtaim via a franchise agreement with Carrefour Group, headquartered in France.
    • The ILO Governing Body is due to discuss BWI’s complaint on 7 November.
    • Following Amnesty International’s Amazon investigation, Amazon eventually paid over $1.9 million to reimburse recruitment fees to over 700 workers.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Saudi Arabia: migrant workers at Carrefour sites exploited and forced to live in squalor – new report

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Workers from Nepal, India and Pakistan made to work 16-hour days and threatened with costly lay-offs if they refused to work overtime

    Workers report sleeping six or eight to a room, with one describing it as ‘like a cowshed’

    ‘Inside Carrefour stores, workers are not treated as humans. They treat workers as animals’ – former warehouse picker

    Carrefour, a sponsor of the Paris Olympics with an annual turnover of more than €94 billion, says it has launched an internal investigation 

    ‘Migrant workers in Saudi Arabia continue to be subjected to the country’s kafala sponsorship system, have no guaranteed minimum wage and are prohibited from joining or forming trade unions’ – Marta Schaaf 

    Migrant workers contracted to sites in Saudi Arabia franchised by French retail giant Carrefour have been deceived by recruitment agents, made to work excessive hours, denied days off and cheated of their earnings, said Amnesty International today in a new report. 

    In a 56-page report – ‘I would fear going to work’: Labour exploitation at Carrefour sites in Saudi Arabia – Amnesty also shows how workers have been made to live in squalid accommodation and to fear being fired if they complained or resisted working overtime.

    The research – based on interviews with 17 men from Nepal, India and Pakistan who worked in various Carrefour facilities in Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah between 2021 to 2024 – shows that the abuses suffered by some of the workers are likely to amount to forced labour, including human trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation.

    The Carrefour Group, which was a sponsor of the 2024 Paris Olympics and has an annual turnover of more than €94 billion – has a franchise agreement with the UAE-based Majid Al Futtaim company which operates Carrefour facilities and stores in Saudi Arabia. Neither the Carrefour Group nor Majid Al Futtaim took adequate action to stop worker abuses or offer redress to workers. 

    To secure their jobs the workers paid recruitment agents in their home countries an average fee of £900 and often took on high-interest debt to do so, despite such charges being outlawed by Saudi legislation and prohibited by Majid Al Futtaim’s own policies.

    Almost all the workers interviewed by Amnesty were lied to or misled by the agents – sometimes with the involvement of labour supply companies – about the nature and benefits of the jobs in Saudi Arabia, or tricked into believing they were being hired directly by international companies. Many only found out they would be employed by Saudi Arabian supply companies – which are notorious among workers – after paying the fees, by which time most could not recoup the money paid and felt unable to back out. 

    In Saudi Arabia, the men were met with arduous work and repeated underpayment. They described regularly working 60-hour weeks, sometimes up to 16 hours a day, especially when business was booming in periods such as “salary weeks” and the month of Ramadan. In breach of both Saudi Arabia’s laws and Majid Al Futtaim’s own policies, workers said managers at the facilities – which included supermarkets and warehouses – would sometimes cancel their weekly rest days. They reported regularly having to walk more than 12 miles per day in their course of their working day.

    Anand*, a former warehouse picker, told Amnesty:

    “Inside Carrefour stores, workers are not treated as humans. They treat workers as animals. They keep on saying, ‘yallah, yallah’ [‘let’s go’, ‘let’s go’]. They cling to our t-shirt to make us work fast.”

    Many of the workers said the hardest part of the experience was not being paid properly for overtime hours as required by national law and company policies. As a result they were often denied dozens of additional hours’ pay a month, amounting to hundreds of pounds each year. Workers described a culture of fear, with those who raised complaints directly with managers at the Carrefour facilities reportedly ignored or told to take up the matter with the labour supply companies. Some workers who did speak out experienced retaliation from the supply companies or Carrefour facility managers, intimidating others into silence. Although Majid Al Futtaim told Amnesty it prohibits retaliation against anyone sharing a “good-faith concern”, workers said if they resisted working extra hours they would be threatened with not being paid or dismissal. 

    Meanwhile, accommodation provided by the labour supply companies was often dirty and overcrowded, contrary to Majid Al Futtaim’s requirements. Workers said they slept six or eight to a room, with one describing it as “like a cowshed”.

    In response to Amnesty’s findings, Carrefour and Majid Al Futtaim said they’ve launched an internal investigation into the treatment of migrant workers in their Saudi Arabia facilities, while Carrefour has also begun a third-party audit of its franchise partner’s operations. Majid Al Futtaim detailed steps it has taken to remediate abuses since Amnesty first alerted it, including moving some workers to new housing, reviewing policies on overtime and the ban on recruitment fees, increasing the screening of new suppliers and improving access to its employee hotline. 

    Marta Schaaf, Amnesty International’s Director of Climate, Economic and Social Justice, and Corporate Accountability, said:

    “Workers thought they were opening the door to a better life but instead many were subjected to appalling exploitation and abuse. 

    “Carrefour’s inaction meant it failed to prevent this suffering, which for some contracted workers likely amounts to forced labour including human trafficking.

    “It is well known that despite some reforms, migrant workers in Saudi Arabia continue to be subjected to the country’s kafala sponsorship system, have no guaranteed minimum wage and are prohibited from joining or forming trade unions. 

    “Carrefour and Majid Al Futtaim should act to remedy the abuses – including urgently compensating those affected – and ensure that workers in their operations are never harmed again.

    “The high risk of exploitation in Saudi Arabia highlights an undeniable need for fundamental reform of the country’s labour system. 

    “The ILO Governing Body should urgently open an investigation into violations of workers’ rights and ensure Saudi Arabia brings its labour laws and practices fully in line with international standards.”

    Further case studies

    Baburam* told Amnesty:

    “It was tough to work that long. But the manager wouldn’t let me go … He would say, ‘You must complete the order process, then you can go’. What could I do? If we didn’t work 15 hours, he would also say, ‘I will terminate you. I won’t pay for your overtime’.”

    Being “terminated” from these facilities could result in workers being made “jobless” until their labour supply company found them a new role – often weeks or months later. During this time, the worker would be left with no income from the supply company or support from the Saudi Arabian state.

    Gopal* said:

    “Had I complained, I could have lost my job. That’s why I couldn’t complain. Once, 14 or 15 workers complained about it, and they were expelled from the job. When a worker loses his job, the supply company makes him jobless for four to five months.”

    The experiences of workers interviewed by Amnesty indicates that the two key elements of forced labour – involuntary work and a threat of penalty – are present in Carrefour’s franchise operations in Saudi Arabia. While Carrefour’s policies make clear it is aware of its responsibilities and has committed to upholding international human rights standards, including throughout its franchises and suppliers, Amnesty’s research demonstrates that its due diligence processes are wholly inadequate. This is despite the fact that in Saudi Arabia, the severity and frequency of labour abuses – including forced labour – are acute and well-documented.

    *Names of workers have been changed.

    Amazon research and landmark ILO complaint

    Amnesty’s Carrefour investigation follows a 2023 Amnesty report exposing abuses at Amazon facilities in Saudi Arabia, involving one of the same labour supply companies. Following the investigation Amazon eventually paid more than $1.9 million to reimburse recruitment fees to more than 700 workers. Amnesty’s new report comes just a fortnight before the International Labour Organisation’s governing body will consider a landmark complaint against the Saudi Arabian government regarding wage theft, forced labour and the prohibition of trade unions. The complaint was submitted by the global trade union Building and Wood Workers’ International in June, supported by Amnesty and other organisations.

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  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Oxfam condemns killing of water engineers in Gaza

    Source: Oxfam –

    Oxfam condemns in the strongest terms the killing in Gaza today of four water engineers and workers from the Khuzaa municipality who were working with our strategic partner the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU).  

    The four men were killed on their way to conduct repairs to water infrastructure in Khuzaa, east of Khan Younis. Despite prior coordination with Israeli authorities their clearly-marked vehicle was bombed. Oxfam stands in solidarity with the CMWU, their partners and the families of the victims.  

    Their deaths deepen the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza where access to clean water is already severely compromised.  

    Dozens of engineers, civil servants and humanitarian workers have been killed in Israeli airstrikes throughout this war. They were all working on essential services to keep Gaza’s fragile infrastructure running. Despite their movements being coordinated with the Israeli authorities by the CMWU and the Palestinian Water Authority, to ensure their safety, they were still targeted.  

    Attacks on civilian infrastructure and those who maintain it are clear violations of international humanitarian law. Those responsible must be held to account. Such attacks are part of the crime of using starvation as a weapon of war.   

    Oxfam demands an independent investigation into this and other attacks on essential workers. We reiterate our calls for a ceasefire, an immediate halt to arms transfers to Israel, and the international community to ensure Israel is held accountable for its continued assault on civilians and those working to deliver life-saving services. 

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: “Dispiriting, dangerous, anti-development” education and health cuts by nearly every country with World Bank and IMF loans

    Source: Oxfam –

    New global index reveals that nine out of ten countries worldwide are pursuing policies that are likely to increase levels of economic inequality.

    94 percent of countries (94 out of 100 countries) with current World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans have cut vital investments in public education, health and social protection over the past two years, according to a new report published today by Oxfam and Development Finance International (DFI).

    The figure is even higher for International Development Association (IDA) countries, the world’s poorest countries —95 percent (40 out of 42 countries) have pursued such cuts.

    “These cuts are not just dispiriting; they’re dangerous and fundamentally anti-development,” said Kate Donald, Head of Oxfam International’s Washington DC Office. “Too many Global South countries are facing the agonizing choice between investing in education and health or adopting austerity measures to keep up with crushing debt payments. These decisions come at a terrible human cost —millions of people depend on public services to thrive and build better lives for themselves and their children.”

    “Last year, we applauded the World Bank for finally making inequality an institutional priority. But our latest findings show that both the Bank and IMF have a lot of work to do if they are to genuinely contribute to tackling inequality rather than perpetuate it,” said Donald.

    In 2023, under growing pressure from economists, shareholders and civil society, the World Bank introduced its first-ever “vision indicator” aimed at reducing the number of countries with high inequality (Gini of 0.4 or above). Despite this step forward, the Bank has watered down previous commitments to support progressive taxation, including increased taxation of the super-rich. Tackling inequality has so far not been incorporated into the policy framework for the upcoming replenishment of the Bank’s IDA, which provides grants or low-interest loans to the world’s poorest countries, over half of which are in Africa. Inequality is high or increasing in 54 percent of countries that receive funds from IDA.

    Using the latest data from government budgets, the “Commitment to Reducing Inequality (CRI) Index 2024” ranks 164 governments on their policies regarding public services, tax, and workers’ rights —policies central to reducing inequality. This year’s edition shows that, for the first time since the Index began in 2017, the majority of countries are backsliding across all the three critical areas.

    Overall, 84 percent of countries have cut investment in education, health and social protection, 81 percent weakened their tax systems’ ability to reduce inequality, and in 90 percent of them, labour rights and minimum wages have worsened.

    Some countries have improved their ranking since 2022. Burkina Faso and Vanuatu increased their minimum wage, Croatia boosted investment in health, and Guyana retains one of the highest corporate tax rates (40 percent).

    Others have fallen sharply, including Argentina whose new government has slashed public health and education budgets by 76 percent and 60 percent, respectively, and is phasing out the country’s wealth tax. Pakistan has cut education and social protection budget shares by a third under IMF-imposed austerity measures.

    Even the top performers, high-income countries led by Norway and Canada, are lagging in many indicators. Around 5 percent of their populations face catastrophic out-of-pocket healthcare costs. Excepting Japan, most have low rates of corporate income tax. Denmark has been cutting the income tax rate paid by the richest 1 percent for years.

    The bottom performers in the Index remain dominated by those from Sub-Saharan Africa (all countries in the region have World Bank and IMF programs). In addition to low tax revenues, the debt crisis, conflict and climate breakdown are diverting scarce resources from education, health and social safety nets. On average, low- and middle-income countries are spending 48 percent of their budgets on debt service, far more than they do on education and health combined. Six of the bottom ten countries are in or at high risk of debt distress.

    Higher taxes on the income and wealth of the super-rich could raise trillions of dollars to plug financing gaps for public services in low- and middle-income countries. At the G20 finance ministers’ meeting in July 2024, for the first time in history, the world’s largest economies agreed to cooperate to tax the ultra-rich, a move welcomed by President of the World Bank Ajay Banga.

    “The world’s governments are doing even less to fight inequality, exacerbating extremism and undermining growth. With the World Bank adopting a new anti-inequality target, the World Bank and IMF have a new opportunity to champion policies which cut inequality —free public services, fairer tax systems, and stronger workers’ rights. They must seize this with both hands,” said Matthew Martin, Executive Director of DFI.
     

    Download Oxfam and DFI’s “Commitment to Reducing Inequality (CRI) Index 2024” at http://www.inequalityindex.org. Development Finance International (DFI) is a non-profit capacity-building, advocacy, advisory and research group.  

    According to Oxfam’s research, inequality is high or increasing in 25 (54 percent) of countries that receive funds from IDA.

    Significant investment from the World Bank is needed to radically and rapidly improve data on inequality, particularly on the incomes and the wealth of those at the top.  For more than 100 countries, the most recent data available is from 2019 or earlier, predating the last five years of crisis.
     

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Urgent: Last remaining hospitals in northern Gaza under siege as people are trapped story Oct 20, 2024

    Source: Doctors Without Borders –

    Tens of thousands of people remain trapped in Jabalia camp under daily bombing, including six of our staff unreachable due to electricity blackout. At least one of MSF’s colleagues died after sustaining injuries from shrapnel. 

    “When hospitals are attacked, their infrastructure destroyed, and the electricity cut off, the lives of patients and medical staff are under threat.”

    Hundreds of people in need of vital care must urgently be evacuated as their lives are in danger. Essential items, including food, are only entering in quantities that are largely insufficient for the population in the north of the Strip.

    “This is purely and simply a collective punishment imposed on Palestinians in Gaza, who must choose between being forcibly displaced from the North or killed,” said Halford. “We fear that this will not stop. Israel’s all-out war on Gaza seems to have no end in sight. Israel’s allies bear a heavy responsibility for this dire situation, caused by their unwavering support for the war. They must immediately do everything in their power to obtain a sustained ceasefire. Not tomorrow, not in a week. Now.”

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Why should India’s human rights record matter in its bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council?

    Source: Amnesty International –

    There has been much talk of late about the possibility of India joining the UN Security Council (UNSC) as a permanent member, while most of the current permanent members have expressed public support for expansion of the UNSC.

    India has been falling far short of its domestic and international human rights obligations, and its desire to expand its role in the UN presents an opportunity to assess its record of engagement as a member of other UN political bodies, including the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

    It’s important to review India’s pattern of engagement with the human rights architecture as a whole, including with  the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and UN human rights treaty bodies.

    Such analysis, as presented below, indicates that India has not been a strong leader at the UNHRC, willing to take difficult and principled stands with consistent application of human rights values; nor has it engaged particularly constructively with Council mechanisms. There is much room for improvement on India’s engagement with the human rights system in relation to its own domestic human rights challenges.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Northern Ireland: Government’s appeal of Troubles Act judgement a ‘betrayal’

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Amnesty has today said the UK Government is betraying its own legacy commitments and failing victims by diluting its election promise to repeal and replace the widely opposed Troubles legacy Act. Amnesty made the comments today at a press conference in Belfast, held along with victims following the Government’s decision to seek to appeal a court of appeal judgment which found core parts of the Troubles Act including the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) to be unlawful.

    Grainne Teggart, Amnesty UK Deputy Director in Northern Ireland said:

    “The UK Government’s decision to appeal, is a betrayal of their own legacy commitments and fails victims. It is a staggering dilution of their pre-election position.

    “The Government’s decision raises serious questions about their commitment to their own promise to repeal and replace the Troubles Act.

    “The Government needs to own this change of direction. The categorical pledge by the Labour party prior to the election was to repeal and replace the Troubles Act. That pledge has been increasingly qualified over recent months, and we now see them propping up the legacy body established by the last Government.

    “The Government should change course again, immediately, and fulfil their manifesto promise to repeal the Troubles Act. This should be done in full, as well as abandoning any attempt to prop up the ICRIR, which was condemned by the court ruling and by victims groups alike.

    “Stormont House Agreement remains the foundation on which to build.”

    On Friday 20 September, the Court of Appeal in Belfast ruled that the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information (ICRIR) was not human rights compliant in respect of effective victim participation and that the Troubles Legacy Act gives the UK Government too much veto power over the disclosure of material.

    Martina Dillon, whose husband, Seamus, was shot and killed outside the Glengannon Hotel in Dungannon on 27 December 1997 said:

    “Repeal and replace the universally-opposed Troubles Act as well as the investigations body which is a hangover from the last Government’s flawed plan. That’s what we were promised and that’s what we are now demanding.

    “The Secretary of State should categorically not be seeking to prop up a body he should clearly see there are problems with. Anything short of the return of my inquest is unacceptable. Others who need inquests should have access to them too. Victims have waited long enough for justice for our husbands, brothers, sisters, and children. Enough is enough, we won’t be fobbed off again.”

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Beyond survival: Helping children and adults cope with the traumas of war in Lebanon

    Source: Médecins Sans Frontières –

    “My daughter is only 14, but with all the difficulties we’ve faced, she’s reacting like an adult to the bombings,” says Ezdihar, a displaced mother in Lebanon. “She’s had to grow up quickly.”

    On the night of 28 September, Ezdihar and her family were having dinner at home in the southern suburbs of Beirut when they received an alert about an imminent strike by Israeli forces. While her husband went to care for his mother, Ezdihar took her children and, with neighbours, sought refuge in central Beirut.

    After spending a night on the streets, they moved into the Azarieh shelter, a repurposed commercial building now housing around 3,500 displaced people. Today, they are among 1.2 million people displaced by the war between Hezbollah and Israel, according to Lebanese authorities.

    Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is attending to the medical and mental health needs of people living in collective shelters like Azarieh, including children like Ezdihar’s daughter. She is one of a generation navigating a landscape of fear and uncertainty, in which children are hit the hardest. 

    The mental health impacts of war and displacement

    In less than a month since the escalation of war, more than 2,300 people have been killed in Lebanon, with the majority of deaths occurring in the last 3 weeks. More than 11,100 have been injured, according to health authorities.

    The violence and destruction people are witnessing can have lasting impacts on psychological and emotional well-being, especially for children. Like Ezdihar’s daughter, countless children across Lebanon have had to grow up quickly under the harsh realities of war, including being uprooted from their homes, having their schooling disrupted, being separated from their friends, and losing access to basic necessities like food and shelter.

    Ezdihar, a displaced mother in Lebanon “My daughter is only 14, but with all the difficulties we’ve faced, she’s reacting like an adult to the bombings.”

    “Many parents are observing behavioural issues in their children—anger, aggression, and other troubling behaviors—which heightens concern for their well-being,” said Amani Al Mashaqba, MSF’s mental health activity manager in the Bekaa governorate.

    Children are not the only ones in need of mental health support, however. Many of MSF’s patients report feeling overwhelmed and traumatised by the constant threat of violence, expressing deep concerns about their future in an unstable environment.

    Grief over lost family members and the pain of separation due to displacement further compound their distress. Others worry about managing chronic health conditions or the possibility of missing a year of school. These experiences have had a significant impact on people’s mental health.

    “People are expressing a strong need for mental health services, particularly for trauma,” Al Mashaqba added. “It’s affecting their daily lives, from sleep disturbances to appetite loss.”

    MSF teams are responding by providing general and mental healthcare to displaced people, including psychological first aid and psychoeducation through our mobile medical units across the country. However, getting people to acknowledge their struggles and express vulnerability isn’t always easy.

    Many feel they should remain resilient in the face of hardship, as our mental health teams have observed. Convincing them that it is okay to experience emotions has been a challenge at times, particularly for young boys who are commonly taught to suppress their feelings.

    An MSF staff member organises activities for children in Azareh shelter. Beirut, Lebanon, 11 October 2024.
    Antoni Lallican/Hans Lucas

    To further extend this support, MSF has also launched a helpline through which people can receive remote assistance from clinical psychologists who help manage trauma-related symptoms such as anxiety and grief.

    A helpline for healing

    The MSF helpline allows us to reach people who are unable to access our services in person, particularly in the south of Lebanon, where heavy bombardments and mobility restrictions make travel difficult. This accessibility is crucial during such a volatile period, as many individuals are on the move and face barriers to accessing care including the high cost of transportation and cultural stigma surrounding mental health.

    Many of the helpline callers are parents facing difficulty trying to help their children cope during the war, often while noticing changes in their children’s behavior.

    Parents are struggling to explain the frightening sounds of bombs and gunfire to their kids, at times resorting to misleading explanations in an effort to reassure them. Gunfire, for example, may be described as “happy shooting,” such as shots fired in celebration during weddings. Our helpline psychologists equip parents with strategies to communicate honestly and create safe spaces for their children to express their feelings.

    “While we must be realistic about the situation, we also need to normalise their feelings,” explained Al Mashaqba. “It’s important for parents to listen to their children and understand how the sounds affect them. They can encourage kids to share their feelings through drawing or talking.”

    Facing increasing demand, the helpline has seen a dramatic rise in calls, from five calls a day in the beginning to as many as 80 in a single afternoon. Overall, the helpline has received nearly 300 mental health calls, the majority coming in the last two weeks alone.

    In addition, our mobile teams have facilitated psychological first aid group sessions for nearly 5,000 individuals as of 21 October, and more than 450 people have benefitted from individual mental health sessions.

    Our teams also provide psychological first aid, which includes active listening and techniques for stress relief, allowing patients to express their feelings and concerns. Along with critical medical and mental healthcare, our teams are also distributing essential items such as mattresses and hygiene kits to displaced people.

    A country in crisis

    This current war comes on the heels of a prolonged economic crisis that left over 80 per cent of the Lebanese population living below the poverty line and in urgent need of assistance. The healthcare sector has faced severe challenges, with public services deteriorating and private healthcare becoming increasingly unaffordable.

    “One of my psychologists shared that when a woman learned our services are free, she began to cry,” Al Mashaqba noted. “People are often unaccustomed to having access to these kinds of resources without the financial burden.”

    Moreover, Lebanon is home to a significant number of refugees, including 1.5 million Syrians and over 200,000 Palestinians, many of whom have faced repeated displacements. For these individuals, the fear of deportation and the struggle to find safety can be overwhelming.
     
    “Some have told me they would rather die than experience the trauma of being a refugee again,” Al Mashaqba said.

    MSF is conducting ongoing needs assessments for internally displaced people, and as the situation evolves, our teams are working closely with partners and hospital networks to provide comprehensive support wherever possible.

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  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Israel/Lebanon: Branches of Hezbollah-affiliated financial institution not military targets

    Source: Amnesty International –

    The Israeli military’s targeting of branches of Qard al-Hassan, a non-profit financial association affiliated with Hezbollah, with over 30 branches across Lebanon, likely violates international humanitarian law and must be investigated as a war crime, Amnesty International said today.

    Under the laws of war, branches of financial institutions are civilian objects unless they are being used for military purposes. Therefore, these attacks likely constitute a direct attack on civilian objects.

    At 8:55pm on 20 October 2024, the Israeli military’s Arabic spokesperson announced on X (formerly Twitter) that its forces would begin “attacking infrastructure belonging to the Hezbollah’s Qard al-Hassan” instructing residents to get away from those branches immediately. The first strike was reported 35 minutes later at around 9:30 pm. Lebanese state media reported a total of 11 strikes on Qard al-Hassan buildings in the southern suburbs of Beirut, as well as several other branches in other parts of the country, including the south and the Bekaa.

    Qard al-Hassan, operating under a license granted by the Lebanese government, is currently Lebanon’s biggest microcredit provider.  It is used by many Lebanese civilians, predominantly Shiites, to access small, interest-free loans.  Many Lebanese people from various sects have increasingly relied on Qard al-Hassan for loans to pay for education, health care and small businesses, particularly since the collapse of Lebanon’s banking sector in 2019. It has been under US sanctions since 2007.

    Israeli forces have targeted an institution that serves as an economic lifeline for countless Lebanese civilians

    Erika Guevara Rosas, Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns

    “Israeli forces have targeted an institution that serves as an economic lifeline for countless Lebanese civilians. This, along with an evacuation warning issued less than 40 minutes before the start of the strikes, shows Israel’s disregard for international humanitarian law. Even if as the Israeli military alleges, the institution does provide financing to Hezbollah, it is not likely to meet the definition of a military objective, particularly for branches serving civilian customers,” said Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns.

    “Under international humanitarian law, attacks against civilians and civilian objects are prohibited. An international investigation into the attacks on Qard al-Hassan must be urgently initiated. In the meantime, the Israeli military must take all necessary steps to safeguard civilian lives and strictly adhere to international humanitarian law. Israeli forces must maintain a clear distinction between military objectives and civilian objects at all times. Israel must abandon a definition of military objectives that is so broad as to include branches of a financial institution.”

    According to customary international humanitarian law, an object must meet two criteria to be classified as a military objective. First, it must effectively contribute to military action, based on its location, nature, purpose or use. Second, destroying the object must provide a definite military advantage in the circumstances ruling at the time.

    International humanitarian law prohibits direct attacks against “civilian objects,” such as homes and apartments, businesses and shops, unless these buildings are being used for military purposes. Having an association with Hezbollah is not sufficient to classify a civilian building or the civilians inside it as military objectives.

    Many of Qard al-Hassan’s branches and offices are located in residential buildings and in the middle of densely populated residential areas. Hundreds of residents had to flee their homes after the Israeli military issued several evacuation warnings.

    A senior Israeli intelligence official was quoted in the media stating that in addition to hindering the ability of Hezbollah to function and rebuild following the war, “the main objective is to affect trust between Hezbollah and a lot of the Shiite community that uses this association as a banking system”. Undermining the trust between Hezbollah and the Shiite community is not a lawful justification for militarily targeting an institution.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Lebanon: Israeli attacks on financial institutions are possible war crimes

    Source: Amnesty International –

    There have been multiple attacks on branches of Qard al-Hassan, a non-profit financial association affiliated with Hezbollah 

    Under laws of war, financial institutions are civilian objects unless being used for military purposes

    ‘Israeli forces have targeted an institution that serves as an economic lifeline for countless Lebanese civilians’ – Erika Guevara Rosas

    The Israeli military’s targeting of branches of Qard al-Hassan, a non-profit financial association affiliated with Hezbollah with over 30 branches across Lebanon, is likely to be a violation of international humanitarian law and must be investigated as a possible war crime, Amnesty International said today. 

    Under the laws of war, branches of financial institutions are civilian objects unless they are being used for military purposes. These attacks are likely to constitute a direct attack on civilian objects. 

    On 20 October, the Israeli military’s Arabic spokesperson announced on X that its forces would begin “attacking infrastructure belonging to the Hezbollah’s Qard al-Hassan”, instructing residents to immediately move away from areas in the vicinity of these buildings. The first attack was reported only 35 minutes later at around 9:30 pm. 

    Lebanese state media has reported a total of 11 attacks on Qard al-Hassan buildings in the southern suburbs of Beirut, as well as several other branches in other parts of the country, including in the south and in the Bekaa Valley.

    Qard al-Hassan, operating under a licence granted by the Lebanese government, is currently Lebanon’s biggest microcredit provider and is used by many Lebanese civilians, predominantly Shiites, to access small, interest-free loans. Many Lebanese people from various religious communities have increasingly relied on Qard al-Hassan for loans to pay for education, healthcare and small businesses, particularly since the collapse of Lebanon’s banking sector in 2019. It has been under US sanctions since 2007. 

    Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns, said:

    “Israeli forces have targeted an institution that serves as an economic lifeline for countless Lebanese civilians. 

    “This, along with an evacuation warning issued less than 40 minutes before the start of the strikes, shows Israel’s disregard for international humanitarian law.

    “Even if as the Israeli military alleges the institution does provide financing to Hezbollah it is not likely to meet the definition of a military objective, particularly for branches serving civilian customers.

    “Under international humanitarian law, attacks against civilians and civilian objects are prohibited. An international investigation into the attacks on Qard al-Hassan must be urgently initiated. 

    “Israel must abandon a definition of military objectives that is so broad as to include branches of a financial institution.”

    Civilian objects protected under international humanitarian law

    International humanitarian law prohibits direct attacks against “civilian objects” such as homes, businesses and shops unless these buildings are being used for military purposes. Having an association with Hezbollah is not sufficient to classify a civilian building or the civilians inside it as military objectives. Many of Qard al-Hassan’s branches and offices are located in residential buildings in the middle of densely-populated residential areas. Hundreds of residents had to flee their homes after the Israeli military issued evacuation warnings. A senior Israeli intelligence official was quoted in the media stating that in addition to hindering the ability of Hezbollah to function and rebuild following the war, “the main objective is to affect trust between Hezbollah and a lot of the Shiite community that uses this association as a banking system”. Undermining trust between Hezbollah and the Shiite community is not a lawful justification for militarily targeting an institution.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: MSF resumes activities in Darien Gap

    Source: Médecins Sans Frontières –

    Earlier this month, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) resumed activities at the Lajas Blancas migrant reception station in the province of Darién, in southern Panama. This comes after the authorities approved MSF teams to undertake a three-month medical response to help migrants crossing the Darién jungle, the only land route between South and North America, and the local community who have been affected by the crisis.

    “During the first two weeks of our activities, we saw that the health needs of those leaving the Darién jungle continue to be immense,” said Carlos Estrella, MSF project coordinator in Darién. “In 10 days, we carried out about 280 medical consultations in Lajas Blancas, including 72 patients with symptoms of mental distress.”

    MSF teams have also treated patients for diabetes, hypertension, and epilepsy, and provided contraceptives and consultations to pregnant women. The team has also seen and treated victims of sexual violence.

    Since 2022, MSF has witnessed the multiple health risks faced by people who cross the Darién Gap, the natural border between Colombia and Panama, on their way north to the United States and Canada. This has also had an impact on the local community, as health centres have been overwhelmed by the increase in consultations due to the high numbers of people in the area.

    Some 260,000 migrants have crossed the Darién so far this year, according to the latest figures released by the Panamanian migration authority.

    “This new collaboration will provide access to healthcare for people in extreme need,” Estrella said. “That is why we welcome this decision and are committed to continue working closely with the Panamanian Ministry of Health to provide comprehensive healthcare to people crossing the jungle and to the local community in the area.” 

    The MSF team in Darién includes doctors, nurses, psychologists, and social workers.

    Beyond Darién, MSF teams carry out medical and humanitarian activities to assist people on the move in different parts of the Americas, including in parts of Central America and Mexico. The teams constantly adapt to a changing migration route. Until the end of September 2024, MSF supported a response in Costa Rica focussed on migrants.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Guatemala: Internacional organizations demand due process guarantees at key hearing for Jose Rubén Zamora’s release

    Source: Amnesty International –

    19 international civil society organisations demand due process at the review of journalist Jose Rubén Zamora’s detention due on Friday 18 October 2024. A Guatemala City court will consider the request for revision of pre-trial detention order issued against journalist Zamora. He has been unjustly imprisoned since 29 July 2022. We, the undersigned organisations, express our deep concern regarding the violations of his human rights and the new threats to judicial independence.

    Since being appointed to preside over the hearing on Friday the 18, the substitute judge has faced stigmatisation on social media and a criminal complaint, intended to exert undue pressure. This kind of intimidation is not an isolated incident. It is part of a broader, deeply troubling trend of criminalisation targeting those implicated in politically motivated prosecutions. This tactic is frequently deployed against human rights defenders, journalists, judicial officers and others. They, like Jose Rubén Zamora, have courageously taken a stand in the fight against impunity and corruption.

    At least 10 lawyers who have taken up Zamora’s defence have been forced to abandon the case due to external pressures. Some have even faced unjust criminal proceedings leading to their imprisonment, as reprisal for their  efforts on behalf of the journalist. These alarming incidents, combined with a series of irregularities, unjustified delays, and the absence of credible evidence, have severely tainted the criminal proceedings against Zamora and violated his rights to a defense, to the presumption of innocence and to a fair and impartial trial.

    Jose Rubén Zamora has been unjustly deprived of his liberty for over 800 days in the Mariscal Zavala prison in Guatemala City. International experts have raised alarming concerns that the conditions of Zamora’s imprisonment could constitute torture, and cruel and inhumane treatment. Such conditions are a grave violation of human dignity and justice. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has classified his prolonged detention as arbitrary and has unequivocally called for his immediate release. The criminal prosecution against Jose Ruben also violates freedom of expression and seeks to silence critical voices in the country.

    Jose Rubén Zamora is currently facing two separate criminal proceedings, both resulting in pre-trial detention orders. His path to freedom is blocked unless both courts handling these cases concurrently decide to replace his pre-trial detention with house arrest.

    In August 2024, the court overseeing the alleged money laundering offence case ruled to modify Jose Rubén Zamora’s pre-trial detention order. However, a second pre-trial detention order remains in force in a separate case, and on 18 October, another court will examine this order. This is the only legal rationale currently keeping the journalist behind bars.

    We, the undersigned organisations, call for this pivotal hearing to be conducted with full guarantees of independence and impartiality, ensuring strict compliance with the fundamental requirements of due process.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Mozambique: Stop shooting at peaceful political rallies amid disputed election results 

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Responding to reports that police in Mozambique’s Nampula city fired at and detained supporters of opposition presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane at a rally following disputed national elections, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, Khanyo Farise, said: 

    “Regardless of who wins the election, Mozambican police must respect people’s right to peaceful assembly. Shooting live bullets at a peaceful political rally and arbitrarily detaining opposition supporters is a gross violation of both Mozambican and international human rights law. 

    Shooting live bullets at a peaceful political rally and arbitrarily detaining opposition supporters is a gross violation of both Mozambican and international human rights law.

    Khanyo Farise, Amnesty International Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa

    “If people of any political views continue to hold peaceful rallies during and after the vote counting, police must uphold their obligation to ensure the safety of all those present.” 

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Four challenges to reaching remote communities in Nigeria

    Source: Médecins Sans Frontières –

    Come rain or shine, Patrick A. Njok, has been ensuring patients in need of essential medical care get to the hospital in time for two years as a driver with Médecins Sans Frontières. Patrick manoeuvres across remote and rural terrain in the Cross River region of southern Nigeria, an area where many communities, including an estimated 15,000 refugees from Cameroon, do not have clean water or phone service.

    “I’m a driver by profession and I love the job. The primary aspect of my job is to drive emergency patients from the MSF facility to the referral hospital.”

    While people can receive basic healthcare at MSF’s facilities in the area, more serious cases need to be referred to hospitals in the area. That is where Patrick comes in, bringing patients to hospital no matter the obstacles on the road. He shares four challenges he often overcomes on his journeys.

    1. Fallen trees

    When rainy season comes, there are windstorms, and these knock down the trees. It can happen suddenly, even when you are already out on the road. The rain can come at any time.

    If you don’t take a machete, a cutlass, or a chainsaw with you, you can end up getting blocked by the fallen trees until the villagers can help you remove them. This can seriously delay patients getting to hospitals, which can have potentially life-threatening consequences.

    An MSF truck drives through mud carrying staff to the healthcare facility we are supporting at Old Ndebeji and Akor communities in Akamkpa local government areas of Cross River. Nigeria, April 2024.

    2. Muddy roads

    From May to October, when it is raining very heavily, the soil texture is very difficult to drive on. Hilly, muddy and slippery. I know some of my colleagues who have spent almost half of the day trying to dig out the car when we get stuck.

    Even the off-road vehicles we use sometimes struggle in the mud and you become stuck, wheels spinning but not moving anywhere! We have to make sure all cars come with all-terrain tires and an electrical winch so that the driver can get himself out.

    A side view of a broken bridge at Oban community in Akamkpa local government area of Cross River state. People from the community are using bags of sand and wood to temporarily fix the road so that motorists can pass. Nigeria, April 2024.

    3. Broken bridges

    Just today, two bridges have collapsed. These bridges were constructed in 1973, when I was still in primary school. To this date, those bridges are still the same ones we are driving over now.

    These are simple wooden bridges, and you have vehicles that are crossing with a load of more than 30 tonnes. Sometimes when we drive over these delicate bridges, all the passengers have to get out and walk across to reduce weight.”

    An MSF truck crosses a wooden bridge without passengers inside to reduce weight. Nigeria, April 2024.

    4. High cost of transportation

    In the rainy season, the price of taxis and transportation goes up. It can be around four times more. If people don’t come to the clinic, then we cannot refer them, and I cannot drive them to other hospitals.

    Drivers are often the number one advertiser for MSF, the vehicle is the first thing people see. I would encourage people to go to the MSF clinic. If you are sick, you come to the facility and MSF will treat you.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Iran: Young man arrested as a child scheduled to be executed within days

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Iranian authorities must stop the imminent scheduled execution of Mohammad Reza Azizi, a 21-year-old man, who was a 17-year-old child at the time of offence. Amnesty International has learned that the Iranian authorities plan to carry out his execution on Monday, 21 October 2024 in Shiraz, Fars province. His death sentence and planned execution contravene international law which strictly prohibits the imposition of the death penalty against individuals who were under 18 at the time of the alleged crime. 

    In response, Sara Hashash, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said:  

    “The planned execution of Mohammed Reza Azizi puts on full display the Iranian authorities’ cruelty. Their repeated flagrant disregard for the right to life is an abhorrent assault on children’s rights. Using the death penalty against someone who was a child at the time of the crime is prohibited under international human rights and customary law and violates Iran’s international obligations. 

    “Mohammed Reza Azizi’s rights to a fair trial were violated, including by being interrogated without a lawyer and the court relying on his coerced ‘confessions’ as evidence to convict and sentence him to death. His execution would amount to arbitrary deprivation of life.

    “The Iranian authorities must immediately halt Mohammad Reza Azizi’s execution, quash his conviction and sentence, and grant him a fair retrial in full compliance with the principles of juvenile justice and international standards and without resorting to the death penalty. The international community, including UN bodies and the EU and its member states, must urgently intervene to save this young man’s life.”

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Zambia: Authorities must immediately release arrested journalist Thomas Allan Zgambo  

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Responding to the arrest of Zambian journalist Thomas Allan Zgambo in Lusaka, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for East and Southern Africa, Vongai Chikwanda, said: 

    “Zambian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release journalist Thomas Allan Zgambo and stop targeting him simply for doing his job.  

    Journalism is not a crime. In fact, Zambia’s Constitution guarantees the right to freedom of expression and media freedom.

    Vongai Chikwanda, Amnesty International Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa

    “Journalism is not a crime. In fact, Zambia’s Constitution guarantees the right to freedom of expression and media freedom. Authorities must uphold their constitutional and international human rights obligations and allow journalists to freely carry out their work.” 

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Thailand: Authorities must urgently enforce arrest warrants for Tak Bai suspects

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Ahead of the 25 October expiry of the statute of limitations in a case in which 85 people died during and after protests in the Tak Bai district of Narathiwat province, Thailand in October 2004, Amnesty International’s Thailand Researcher Chanatip Tatiyakaroonwong said:

    “The Thai authorities must take urgent action – before it is too late – to ensure long-delayed justice for the victims of human rights violations committed by state officials violently suppressing a protest in Tak Bai two decades ago.

    “A landmark court decision to accept the lawsuit initiated by the victims and their families in August was a beacon of hope amid entrenched impunity for violations against protesters in Thailand. But days ahead of the expiry of the statute of limitations for these crimes, the legal case raised by victims is in jeopardy.

    “Defendants in this lawsuit, who are all former or current high-ranking officials – including individuals allegedly in Japan and the United Kingdom – have failed to present themselves at court. Unless at least one of them does so before 25 October 2024, this lawsuit will be dismissed.

    “The Thai authorities must take all necessary steps to ensure there is no impunity for those suspected of criminal responsibility for grave human rights violations in this case. This includes by enforcing arrest warrants against suspects and presenting them in court before 25 October 2024 to enable the victims and their families to have the opportunity to

    pursue criminal accountability in this case.”

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Iran: authorities set to execute child offender contrary to international law

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Mohammad Reza Azizi is due to be executed in the city of Shiraz on Monday 

    Arrested as a 17-year-old, his execution would violate international law 

    ‘The international community, including UN bodies and the EU and its member states, must urgently intervene to save this young man’s life’ – Sara Hashash 

    The Iranian authorities must stop the imminent scheduled execution of Mohammad Reza Azizi, a 21-year-old man who was a 17-year-old child at the time of his alleged offence. 

    Amnesty International has learned that the Iranian authorities plan to carry out his execution on Monday (21 October) in the city of Shiraz in Fars province. 

    His death sentence and planned execution contravene international law which strictly prohibits the imposition of the death penalty against people who were under 18 at the time of the alleged crime. 

    Mohammad Reza Azizi was arrested in September 2020 when he was 17 years old and was subsequently convicted of murder and sentenced to death by Branch 1 of Criminal Court One of Fars province on 15 August 2021. 

    According to legal documents reviewed by Amnesty, he was interrogated without a lawyer being present after his arrest and the court subsequently relied on supposed “confessions” to issue its verdict sentencing Mohammad Reza Azizi to death. The Iranian supreme court upheld his conviction and death sentence in November 2021, and a request for judicial review was rejected in July 2023.

    According to legal documents reviewed by Amnesty, the Legal Medicine Organisation of Iran – a state forensic institute under the judiciary’s supervision – concluded that Mohammad Reza Azizi had attained “mental growth and maturity” at the time of the crime. The organisation didn’t provide an explanation of how it had reached this conclusion beyond noting he was able to name his first and last name.

    Amnesty has repeatedly urged the Iranian authorities – including judges and doctors from the Legal Medicine Organisation of Iran – to halt these “maturity assessment” processes as they fundamentally violate children’s human rights and risk subjecting them to the death penalty. Instead, the authorities should adopt a position that treats all of those aged under 18 as less mature and culpable than adults, in accordance with international juvenile justice principles.

    Mohammad Reza Azizi is currently held in Adel Abad prison in Shiraz in Fars province. According to information received by Amnesty, the Iranian authorities have previously scheduled his execution at least once previously this year.

    As a state party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Iran is legally obliged to treat anyone under the age of 18 as a child and ensure they are never subjected to the death penalty or life imprisonment without the possibility of release.

    Sara Hashash, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director, said:  

    “The planned execution of Mohammed Reza Azizi puts on full display the Iranian authorities’ cruelty. Their repeated flagrant disregard for the right to life is an abhorrent assault on children’s rights. 

    “Using the death penalty against someone who was a child at the time of the crime is prohibited under international human rights and customary law, and violates Iran’s international obligations.

    “Mohammed Reza Azizi’s rights to a fair trial were violated, including by being interrogated without a lawyer and the court relying on his coerced ‘confessions’ as evidence to convict and sentence him to death. 

    “The Iranian authorities must immediately halt Mohammad Reza Azizi’s execution, quash his conviction and sentence, and grant him a fair retrial.

    “The international community, including UN bodies and the EU and its member states, must urgently intervene to save this young man’s life.”

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Indonesia: New Government must protect human rights and end impunity

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Human rights violations include repression of freedom of expression and marginalised Indigenous communities

    1,262 human rights defenders attacked

    ‘The new administration must recognise that protest is not a threat to the state, but a fundamental aspect of the rights to freedom of expression’ – Usman Hamid

    Ahead of Prabowo Subianto’s inauguration on Sunday 20 October, Amnesty International Indonesia is calling on the new Government to take immediate and effective measures to uphold the human rights of everyone in the country and ensure accountability for human rights violations. 

    Under the previous administration, human rights defenders, journalists, and environmental activists faced repression, land was seized from Indigenous communities with little or no compensation or consultation, despite Indonesia’s claims of progress in human rights and the rule of law and stated commitment to address past human rights violations and end impunity, which it failed to do.

    The authorities cracked down on peaceful protests, including on development policies threatening Indigenous communities, with numerous reports of security forces using intimidation, harassment, excessive use of force, arbitrary arrests, and beatings.

    Usman Hamid, Amnesty International Indonesia’s executive director, said:

    “The new administration must recognise that protest is not a threat to the state, but a fundamental aspect of the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly as guaranteed by the constitution and international human rights treaties.

    “We call on the new president and Government to evaluate the existing heavy security approach in the region. For the past decade, the intensified military deployment has only resulted in more human rights violations. The new Government must uphold the human rights of everyone in the country and ensure justice and accountability for human rights violations.

    “If Indonesia is to move forward, the new president and his administration must immediately prioritise respect for human rights, accountability and the rule of law. This includes reopening or conducting thorough, independent, impartial, transparent and effective investigations into past human rights violations, ensuring access to justice and effective remedies for victims, and strengthening existing legal rules and institutional mechanisms to prevent and redress future violations.

    “The new president and Government should prioritise sustainable development that respects Indigenous land rights, access to justice and effective remedies and ensures that affected communities have a meaningful say in decisions that impact their livelihoods. The rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities must be effectively respected and safeguarded in all national development projects.

    “A Government that fails to confront its past is doomed to repeat it, and Prabowo’s administration has the obligations to ensure that Indonesia’s history of impunity is not carried into the future.”

    From January 2019 to October this year, Amnesty Indonesia recorded attacks against at least 1,262 human rights defenders, including Indigenous people.

    Stifling critical voices

    Repressive laws include the Electronic Information and Transaction Law, which criminalises human rights defenders and stifles critical voices. Over the years, it transformed into a tool used to suppress criticism of the Government stifling the right to freedom of expression and intimidating those who sought to hold the authorities to account for human rights violations. Human rights defenders were frequently targeted, facing legal charges simply for speaking out against allegations of corruption, environmental destruction, or abuses of power.

    From January 2019 to September this year, Amnesty Indonesia recorded at least 521 cases with 554 people charged under this law for defamation and hate speech.

    Catalogue of land seizures from Indigenous peoples

    Poco Leok residents in Manggarai Regency, East Nusa Tenggara Province have been opposing the Government’s seizure of their land for the construction of a Geothermal Power Plant, part of the Government’s national strategic projects. On 2 October, police arrested and allegedly beat four residents, several protesters, including women, fell after being pushed and one resident fainted after being kicked by an officer.

    Similar treatment of protesters occurred in the Mandalika Circuit in Nusa Tenggara Barat ahead of the MotoGP races last September. The authorities banned banners and demonstrations during the event, reflecting the ongoing silencing of critical voices, particularly from local Indigenous communities whose lands were seized for the construction of the Mandalika Circuit and establishment of a Special Economic Zone without fair compensation.

    The national strategic projects threaten to displace Indigenous peoples from their ancestral lands, with little to no consultation or compensation.

    In Papua, the new Trans-Papua Highway cuts through Indigenous territories without proper consultation. Similarly, in the district of Merauke in South Papua, Indigenous people reject the national strategic food estate project, citing its aggressive implementation without prior agreement or consultation.

    In North Sumatra, the Batang Toru Hydroelectric Dam project threatens Indigenous communities living near the Batang Toru forest and its ecosystem, including Tapanuli orangutan habitat.

    In Central Java, the Kendeng cement factory was built following minimal consultation and a lack of adequate compensation despite the Indigenous Sedulur Sikep community’s opposition.

    In East Kalimantan, the ongoing development of a new capital threatens the rights of Dayak Paser Indigenous communities, whose lands are located within and around the planned construction zone.

    In many cases, such projects have also led to environmental degradation, as forests were cleared, ecosystems disrupted, and local communities were left to bear the brunt of the ecological destruction.

    MIL OSI NGO –