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Middle East and North Africa: Regional Overview 2004
Amnesty International
Grave and multiple human rights violations, including the killing of hundreds of civilians in armed conflicts and political violence, continued with impunity throughout the region. Political and human rights reforms were debated at national and regional levels, with significant input from civil society groups, writers and journalists. The League of Arab States adopted a revised version of the Arab Charter on Human Rights.
The political and human rights situation continued to receive international attention. In June the G8 summit of major industrialized states endorsed a US-sponsored "partnership" plan, the Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiative, which pledged support for "democratic, social and economic reform emanating from [the] region" and "effective guarantees in the areas of human rights and fundamental freedoms". The Initiative was met with a mixture of scepticism and interest among governments and civil society. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), at a gathering held in parallel to a follow-up G8 meeting in December in Morocco, pushed for a more effective mechanism to achieve reform. The NGOs recommended that reform be genuine and inclusive and that the G8 take a strong stand, collectively and as individual states, on progress towards democracy in the region. They called for the G8 to participate in monitoring elections and put pressure on the region's governments to stop harassing NGOs.
The European Union (EU) remained engaged with states in the region through the Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreements and through dialogue with Iran, Libya and the Gulf states. At the UN, the General Assembly adopted a resolution on human rights in Iran in November. In an advisory opinion, the International Court of Justice ruled that the construction by Israel of a fence/wall inside the occupied West Bank was unlawful under international law.
Armed conflict and impunity
Civilians bore the brunt of the casualties as the war in Iraq intensified and the death toll rose. Tens of thousands of men, women and children were reported to have been killed or injured since the armed conflict began in March 2003. Both the US-led occupying forces and armed groups operating in Iraq - often with the declared objective of resisting foreign occupation - continued to violate international human rights and humanitarian laws with impunity.
Throughout the year there were reports that scores of civilians had been killed unlawfully by the US-led forces during bombardments of Fallujah, Najaf and Samarra', and in various operations in Baghdad. Before the transfer of power to an interim Iraqi government in June, and in the run-up to general elections scheduled for January 2005, armed groups stepped up attacks against US-led forces, Iraqi police and army recruits, government personnel and professionals. Hundreds of civilians were killed in indiscriminate or direct attacks by armed groups, as in the attacks on Shi'a visitors to the holy shrines in Baghdad and Karbala in February. Scores of hostages, including Iraqis, foreign aid workers, journalists and security contractors, were abducted by armed groups, and dozens were killed. Although in several hostage cases political demands were made, for the withdrawal of foreign troops or companies for example, other hostages appeared to have been abducted to extract ransom payments.
Increasing numbers of Palestinians were killed and homes destroyed by the Israeli army in the Palestinian Occupied Territories. Some 700 Palestinians died, including about 150 children. Most were killed unlawfully, in reckless shootings, shellings or air strikes on refugee camps and other densely populated areas throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israeli forces continued to carry out extrajudicial executions of members and leaders of Hamas and other Palestinian groups, in which bystanders were frequently killed or injured. Some 109 Israelis, most of them civilians and including eight children, were killed by Palestinian armed groups in suicide bombings, shootings and mortar attacks inside Israel and in the Occupied Territories.
Routine destruction of Palestinian homes, land and property in the West Bank and Gaza Strip was stepped up in the biggest wave of house demolitions in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the intifada (uprising). In May the Israeli army destroyed some 300 homes and damaged about 270 others in a refugee camp in Rafah, leaving close to 4,000 Palestinians homeless. In the West Bank, Israel continued to build a 600-kilometre fence/wall encircling and cutting off Palestinian towns and villages, despite the ruling by the International Court of Justice. The fence/wall and hundreds of Israeli army checkpoints and blockades throughout the Occupied Territories continued to hinder or prevent Palestinians' access to their land, their workplaces and to education, health and other crucial services.
Political violence and the 'war on terror'
Human rights violations continued to be justified by the global "war on terror" as security forces across the region responded to attacks by armed groups they accused of links with al-Qa'ida. Dozens of people, including children, were killed in Saudi Arabia as armed groups carried out bomb attacks, hostage-takings and targeted killings of Western nationals. Bomb attacks claimed the lives of over 30 civilians and injured more than 100 others, most of them Israeli tourists, in Taba, in the Sinai region of Egypt. In Yemen, there were reports that hundreds of people were killed, most of them as a result of excessive force by the security forces, in clashes with followers of Hussain Badr al-Din al-Huthi, a cleric from the Zaidi community.
Scores of people were detained in countries across the region on suspicion of "terrorist" acts or links to opposition armed groups. Hundreds remained in detention, denied their basic rights, after being arrested in previous years on similar grounds. Unfair trials of scores of suspects on "terrorist" charges were reported in Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Yemen. In Algeria, Libya and Tunisia, torture remained a concern as the "war on terror" was used to justify arbitrary detentions and unfair trials.
States continued cooperating on security operations, also as part of the "war on terror". Suspects held on grounds of security were reportedly transferred between Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and other Gulf countries without due regard to risks of human rights violations in the receiving countries. Those held or extradited within the "war on terror" framework were at risk of arbitrary detention, torture, ill-treatment and unfair trial. States in the region continued to implement the 1998 Arab Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism, which lacked safeguards against torture, unfair trial and other human rights violations. Dozens of detainees released from US custody at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and in other countries were returned to their countries of origin, including Kuwait, Morocco and Yemen.
Women's rights and violence against women
Debate on women's rights increased at official levels and within civil society. A new Family Code issued in Morocco significantly improved the legal framework for women's rights. Women's groups and NGOs continued to press for the increased participation of women in public affairs, and a more robust approach to violence against women.
In Iraq, Israel and the Occupied Territories, violence against women was directly linked to conflict, or was exacerbated by the easy availability of arms and the social disruption of war. Across the region, violence within the home and family was perpetuated by state inaction, inadequate or discriminatory legislation, and social prejudice. Women in Iran faced discrimination in the courts and, in at least one case in 2004, a girl under the age of 18 was executed after a flagrantly flawed trial.
Refugees and migrants
In most countries in the region, there was no legal regime for the protection of refugees and asylum-seekers. Ratification of the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol remained limited, the only countries that were party to them being Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Morocco, Tunisia and Yemen.
Restrictive immigration policies in many European countries resulted in migrants and asylum-seekers employing the help of criminal people-smugglers. Numerous would-be immigrants and asylum-seekers died in boat accidents, trying to cross the Mediterranean. In October and December, hundreds of people, most of North African origin, were deported from Italy to Libya under a bilateral agreement. They had no access to the protection of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in either Italy or Libya. On several occasions throughout 2004, Libya expelled large numbers of individuals to countries where they might have been at risk of serious human rights violations, without giving them access to the UNHCR. The Algerian security services reported that they had arrested some 3,500 suspected illegal immigrants in the first 10 months of 2004, the majority from African countries. Most were apparently deported to neighbouring countries or to their home countries without any consideration of their protection needs. In Iran, the introduction of primary education fees and the non-renewal of residency cards for Afghan refugees pressured many of them to return to Afghanistan, where the preconditions for a sustained, safe and dignified return might not be guaranteed.
Palestinian refugees, one of the largest refugee groups in the world, continued to suffer hardship in their host countries, while their right to return remained unfulfilled. Many were prevented from receiving the assistance they needed because the resources of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) were overstretched. Palestinian refugees continued to undergo particularly severe hardship in Lebanon, where discriminatory policies undermined their ability to earn their livelihoods and effectively restricted their access to economic and social rights.
Justice, impunity and the death penalty
Throughout the region, states continued to pay little regard to their obligations under international human rights law. Arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture and ill-treatment, and unfair trials - sometimes before exceptional courts - were routine. In Algeria, Iran, Libya, Syria, Tunisia, Yemen and other countries, the authorities regularly placed restrictions on freedom of expression and association, or carried out sporadic clampdowns, often resulting in the detention of prisoners of conscience. Political activists continued to face arbitrary detention or prolonged imprisonment after unfair trials in countries such as Iran, Libya and Syria.
Perpetrators of human rights violations continued to enjoy complete impunity in most countries in the region. However, in Morocco, in an unprecedented measure in the region, an Equity and Reconciliation Commission was inaugurated to look into cases of "disappearances" and arbitrary detention in previous decades.
Death penalties continued to be imposed and carried out throughout the region. In Libya and other countries, death sentences were handed down after unfair trials, and in Iran, the execution of children under the age of 18 was still permitted. There was a setback in Lebanon, where capital punishment was reintroduced following a five-year de facto moratorium, when three executions were carried out at the beginning of the year. Human rights activists launched a campaign against the reintroduction of executions in Lebanon. There were public debates about the death penalty in Egypt and within the regional human rights NGOs.
The Arab Charter on Human Rights
In May the League of Arab States adopted a revised version of the Arab Charter on Human Rights, a redraft of a 1994 document. Submissions from international and regional NGOs, made to a Committee of Experts established by the League, were utilized in the Charter. AI submitted recommendations on restrictions and derogations of rights, the death penalty, torture, women's rights, the independence of the judiciary, and freedom of expression, many of which were reflected in the final text adopted by the League. However, concerns remained over provisions in the new Charter that were inconsistent with international human rights law. These included, among other things, provisions for death penalties to be passed and carried out on minors if allowed under national laws, and for the right to life to be subject to derogations in states of emergency. In addition, the Charter was silent on the subject of cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, although it contained a prohibition of torture.
Human rights defenders
Human rights activists throughout the region continued their efforts to defend and promote human rights. As public debate on human rights spread, new human rights groups emerged in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and human rights organizations received official recognition in Kuwait.
Yet human rights defenders and bodies continued to be restricted in their activities and freedom of movement. In most states, they were at risk of intimidation and harassment. In Egypt, the authorities denied human rights organizations official registration, then prosecuted their members for pursuing "illegal activities". Several governments continued to use the criminal justice system to harass, threaten and restrict the activities of human rights defenders. In 2004 human rights defenders in Algeria, Bahrain, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Syria were arbitrarily detained. Many of them were brought before courts that failed to meet international standards for fair trial. In certain cases, for example in Iraq, the authorities provided no protection to women's rights activists and other human rights defenders who received death threats from private individuals or organizations because of their human rights work.
Regional initiatives
In March, AI carried out a regional launch of its global Stop Violence Against Women campaign in Amman, Jordan. A symposium brought together participants from across the region to discuss legal reform strategies on strengthening women's rights and ending violence against women. AI raised concerns about the effect of reservations entered by the majority of countries in the region to the UNWomen's Convention, which reinforced discrimination against women and undermined their protection and freedom from violence.
In April, AI organized a Conference, Human Rights for All, in Sana'a, Yemen, in cooperation with the National Organization for the Defence of Rights and Freedoms, a Yemeni organization. The participants included regional and international lawyers, human rights activists, and relatives of the victims of abuses. The Conference called on the US and Gulf governments to end the legal limbo of "terrorist" suspects in US custody, including those held in undisclosed locations, and to grant them full access to lawyers, doctors, families and the International Committee of the Red Cross. A Sana'a Committee was subsequently established to follow up the conference and to coordinate information exchange between detainees, lawyers and families in different countries.
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