Monitoring rights abuses in Western Sahara

(Thanks to IntLawGrrls for the opportunity to contribute this guest post)

In January, a delegation from the RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights, led by prominent Sahrawi activist Aminatou Haidar, 2008 recipient of the RFK Center's Human Rights Award, found evidence of human rights abuses that Moroccan government forces have inflicted on civilians in Western Sahara. (credit for 2009 Borja Suarez/Reuters photo of Haidar) Regularly referred to as the "Sahrawi Gandhi," Aminatou is one of the most prominent human rights defenders in Western Sahara -- as IntLawGrrls have posted, a region in northwest Africa (below left) occupied by Morocco.
Our delegation comprised Lynn Delaney, Executive Director of the RFK Center, Advocacy Officer Mary Beth Gallagher, and myself, the Director of the Center for Human Rights.
Many of our meetings focused on abuses that ensued from last November's dismantling of the Gdaim Izik protest camp, which houses 12,000 displaced Sahrawis, and the aftermath in the following weeks and months. We interviewed dozens of people who were victims of abuse, torture, and imprisonment, along with witnesses and family members.
We also met with representatives of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara, which has operated in the region since 1991. MINURSO was created to oversee the ceasefire between Morocco and the Polisario Front (the representative of the Sahrawi people) and to implement a referendum on self-determination. Two decades later, this referendum has not occurred, and widespread human rights abuses by the Moroccan government persist. MINURSO remains the only modern-day peacekeeping mission in the world without a human rights mandate.
Our accounts have been compiled into a new report. Entitled Western Sahara: Accounts of Human Rights Abuses Persist in Wake of November Unrest, it is available, in English, French, and Spanish, here.
The report reinforces the need for international human rights monitoring in West Sahara.
It includes several stories of human rights violations, including that of 15 young men who disappeared in 2005 and have yet to be accounted for. Their families told us that repeated complaints to government officials have led nowhere. When we inquired about the case, the government told us that their family members had "drowned in the sea."
We were told about human rights defenders who were sent to a military prison hundreds of miles away from their homes and brutally beaten. Lawyers and recently released detainees spoke about the use of fraudulent evidence and forced confessions, and about the failure to treat serious medical conditions in prisons -- all acts that violate Morocco's own laws.
Looking for all sides of the story, we spoke to the Moroccan government as well. We were told unequivocally that the government does not use torture and that any reports of torture would be duly investigated. But defense lawyers told us they have repeatedly lodged complaints, only to have them ignored.
This report will be disseminated to lawmakers, advocates, and civil society in order to encourage greater protection of human rights in Western Sahara.

On November 14

On this day in ...

... 1975 (35 years ago today), the Madrid Accords were signed by Spain, Morocco, and Mauritania. By the terms of this treaty respecting the region now known as Western Sahara, Spain agreed to withdraw from its former colonial holding no later than February 28, 1976. Following governance by a transitional tripartite administration, administrative control was to be ceded to Morocco and Mauritania, 2 countries that each had wanted to annex the entire territory. As we've posted, the region came under Moroccan military control the same year that the Accords were signed, and the status of Western Sahara remains in dispute to this day.

(Prior November 14 posts are here, here, and here.)

Nexus of Film & Activism in Kampala

(Delighted to welcome back IntLawGrrls alumna and filmmaker Pamela Yates, who contributes this guest post to IntLawGrrls' series on the ICC Kampala Conference)

At Skylight Pictures we (Peter Kinoy, Paco de Onís, and I) spend a lot of time thinking about ways to heighten the impact of our films in order to increase awareness of human rights and justice issues. For over 25 years we’ve been committed to the art of storytelling through the language of cinema – lush cinematography, music woven in to enhance the narrative, thoughtful editing that seamlessly transports the viewer through time and space – in the belief that it will bring audiences to a deeper level of engagement.
In recent years, as social media tools have proliferated, we have adapted many of them to our mission. An example is the international justice Twitter feed on the IJCentral map, about which I blogged in this IntLawGrrls post.
But because much of our outreach work is in developing countries, we also produce lo-tech projects designed to engage audiences on the ground, for whom traveling through cyberspace is not an option.
And that’s the reason that Skylight's at the International Criminal Court Review Conference in Kampala, with 1,000 Screening Kits of our film The Reckoning: The Battle for the International Criminal Court (prior IntLawGrrls posts here and here) -- to give out free of charge to civil society organizations, to country delegations, and to the press. (Thanks to generous support from Humanity United and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.) The Kits are in English and French, and include:
► The Reckoning (60-minute version)
► ICC and Africa (20-minute film)
► Peace & Justice (20-minute film)
► Screening/Discussion Guide
► Audience Survey Form
► FAQs about the ICC
The impetus to make the Screening Kits came from 180 African civil society organizations that banded together and signed a petition to protest the 2009 declaration (available here) by the African Union (logo at right) of non-cooperation with the ICC with regard to the arrest warrant it issued for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. While the international press focused on the AU declaration and its critique of the ICC, the pushback against impunity coming from the civil society organizations wasn’t getting any attention. The latter organisations were saying that the AU wasn’t offering the victims any justice alternative to the ICC -- that it was effectively declaring Africa an “impunity zone”. They wanted to raise public awareness of how the ICC works and how it operates as a court of last resort.
So we reached out to these organisations to see if we could produce a media tool they could use to increase awareness of the role that the ICC can play in the battle against impunity. In coordination with Pivot Pictures, a media initiative of the International Center for Transitional Justice, we coordinated with the ICTJ country offices in Kenya, Uganda, Morocco, and South Africa to work out what materials and themes to include in the Kit. After a period of exchanging ideas and getting feedback from the civil society organizations on 2 short films that we produced for the project, we arrived at the menu listed above. Now those organisations will receive their Screening Kits and go forth to use them – we’ve created an online Screening Report form for the them to use, so that we may track the use of the Kits and the impact they are having.
The Kampala ICC Review Conference is an extraordinary opportunity to have massive impact with The Reckoning and a range of short films and microdocs we produced about international justice themes. We will be screening all this material non-stop at the RC Media Centre, and we also have several screenings planned at the People’s Space, where civil society organizations from around the world are gathered this 2 weeks in order to discuss the ICC. The Kampala theatrical Premiere of The Reckoning was at Watoto Church yesterday, and there will be a national broadcast on UBC, Ugandan national television, today.
And watch for our video blogs at the RC Media Centre. They'll be posted daily at IJCentral.

Expulsion repulsion

Causing concern in France these days are cases in which the government's kicked out of the country women who've cried for help.
Among them is Najlae Lhimer (left (credit)), a 19-year-old student who resided in the north-central département of Loiret. As reported in Le Monde, she'd fled her home in Morocco in 2005 in order to escape from forced marriage -- only to end up living with a brother who "mistreated her regularly."
A few weeks ago Lhimer filed an official complaint alleging that she was the victim of domestic violence. Police responded quickly. But not as she'd hoped. Within days, she was sent back to Morocco.
Hers is not a unique case. It's reported that 4 battered women in Loiret have been threatened with expulsion or actually expelled. As a result, legislator Danielle Bousquet (below right (credit)) has urged

'a moratorium on the expulsions of foreign women who are the victims of violence.'

Protests have been ongoing, and more are planned for this weekend in the runup to International Women's Day, which as we've posted, is this Monday, March 8.

May 16

On this day in ...
... 1804 (205 years ago today), Elizabeth Palmer Peabody (right) was born in Massachusetts, to a father who was a doctor and a mother who ran a school at the family home. (photo credit) Eventually Elizabeth became her mother's assistant. (It is telling that despite the influence of her mother, on her death 89 years later, her New York Times obituary mentioned only her father.) She opened many schools from 1820 on. In 1860, a year after learning of the work of "German educator Friedrich Froebel, who had worked with very young children and formulated an approach based on organized play, the use of the hands and the senses, and involvement with nature," she "established the first formally organized American kindergarten." She would spend much of the rest of her life advocating, "with missionary zeal," early childhood education. This, however, was but 1 of her causes: Peabody was a "[t]eacher and educational reformer," an "abolitionist, opponent of European autocratic despotism, friend of political refugees," and an "advocate of Native American rights and education, of woman's suffrage, and of world peace."
... 1997, President Mobutu Sese Seko went into exile, bringing to an end 3 decades of dictatorial rule in Zaire, and leaving the capital of the country, known today as the Democratic Republic of Congo, to rebels who were by then within 5 miles of the capital, Kinshasa. Mobutu (right) would die in Morocco less than 1/2 a year later, felled by prostate cancer at age 66.

(Prior May 16 posts are here and here.)

On April 8

On this day in ....
... 1904 (105 years ago today), Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, the British Foreign Secretary known as Lord Lansdowne (left), and French Ambassador Paul Cambon (right) signed an instrument titled, in English, the "Declaration between the United Kingdom and France Respecting Egypt and Morocco, Together with the Secret Articles Signed at the Same Time," but commonly known as the Entente Cordiale. The bilateral treaty signed in London settled lingering colonial disputes and established a "diplomatic understanding" without fully committing to mutual defense. Motivating the initiative was apprehension about German militarism; thus the Entente is a precursor to World War I.
... 2004 (5 years ago today), at N'Djamena, Chad, representatives of Sudan and 2 rebel groups, the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army and the Sudan Justice and Equality Movement, signed a Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement, in which they pledged to stop fighting in Darfur. Violence in that province, in western Sudan and at Chad's eastern border, continues to this day, as our posts on Darfur make evident.

(Prior April 8 posts are here and here.)

On March 2

On this day in ...
... 1923, Canada and the United States signed a treaty setting forth fishing rights in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean. This Halibut Treaty was significant because it was the 1st such agreement Canada negotiated and entered in its own rather than through its colonizer, Britain. "The Halibut precedent, confirmed by the Imperial Conference of 1923, was an important step towards establishment of Canada's right to separate diplomatic action." (credit for circa 1920 Canfisco photo of halibut unloading crew at the company's Vancouver, British Columbia, plant)
... 1956, in Paris, Christian Pineau, the French Foreign Minister, and Embarek Bekkai, the Moroccan Prime Minister of Morocco (flag below right) signed the Déclaration commune de reconnaissance de l'indépendance du Maroc, or France-Morocco Joint Declaration, in which France

solemnly confirms its recognition of the independence of Morocco -- which implies in particular the right to a diplomacy and an army -- as well as its determination to respect, and to see to it that others respect, the integrity of Moroccan territory, as guaranteed by international treaties.

In so doing France further put an end to the 1912 Treaty of Fez, by which Morocco's ruler had ceded sovereignty to the French.

(Prior March 2 posts are here and here.)

Iran's inexorable sexual revolution

Since the revolution in 1979, when I've thought of Iran, I've thought of the color black: the black of oil, of religious garb, of violent repression. We've all read of Islamic women's "under cover" rebellion: under their veils, many wear sexy underwear or Western clothing, but the movie Persepolis (image at right) and my contact with Iranian friends and colleagues in Paris tended to confirm the black image, This report in Friday's Herald Tribune, by Nazila Fathi, provides a bright and heartening contrast. Fathi writes that the religious revolution led to an information revolution that is leading, slowly yet "inexorably," in the words of Janet Afary (below left) author of Sexual Politics in Modern Iran (2009) and professor of Middle East and women's studies at Purdue University, to a sexual revolution.
Remember that Iranian law provides for male supremacy: while men may be polygamous, forbid their wives from working and divorce them whenever their wish and take custody of any children older than 7, girls as young as 13 can be forced to marry, women inherit from their parents only half what their brothers' do, their word in court counts only half as much as a man's, refusal to cover one's hair can result in a jail term and 80 lashes and stoning is still the legally prescribed punishment for adultery. Despite these obstacles, women are uncovering their rebellion. For example, 1 in 5 marriages now ends in divorce as women from all socio-economic levels refuse to accept their unequal status, which often results in unabated domestic violence. After 1979, somewhat like the draft dodgers of the 1960s, women went to university to postpone, if not avoid, the restrictions of marriage, motherhood and low social status forced upon them by the religious revolution. And religious women who had previously shunned mixed university classrooms came to study once classes were segregated. Thus, in 1982, slightly more than 30% of students were women. Today, even though classrooms are no longer segregated, women make up over 60% of university students. And for those who cannot go to university, satellite TV and the internet have given Iranian women a glimpse of life as men's equals. And seeing is believing: being able to imagine a different reality is the first step to realizing it, and Iranian women and men are now openly questioning sex discrimination. In contrast to a popular movie about a woman denied a divorce despite her husband's adultery, Mehrdad Oskouei (left) has won wide international acclaim for his documentary The Other Side of the Burka, which reveals the plight of women from poor, traditional families on the Iranian island of Qeshm, for whom divorce is no option: rather than go from bad with their husbands to worse with their fathers, these women are committing suicide in increasing numbers.
Yet the 1979 revolution instituted programs to improve literacy, health and infrastructure that have benefited women: sexual segregation meant building schools and universities just for girls and women; improved infrastructure and transportation brought rural and/or poor women to school and big cities, where they gained exposure to different ideas and lifestyles. Then in 1993, to control population growth, the state began requiring engaged couples to attend premarital sex education classes, which included information on birth control. Delayed pregnancies helped shift views about marriage: young people very quickly began to seek compatible partners with whom they could be intimate. Today, they are seeking equality. In 2005, inspired by a similar movement against misogynist laws in Morocco, the Campaign for One Million Signatures began circulating a petition calling for greater equality in the areas of marriage, divorce, adultery and polygamy. Almost 50 of the groups members have been jailed, 6 cannot leave the country and their Iranian website has been blocked 18 times.
Perhaps a sign that, as women's rights advocates claim, differences are less pronounced between religious and secular women, the granddaughter of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Zahra Eshraghi (left, photo credit), signed the Campaign's petition. As both secular and religious Iranian women have become more educated and traveled more -- even attending women's rights conferences -- they've found common ground in their desire for equality. Such news is certainly encouraging, as is the success of a group called Meydaan, whose web reports and videos on stonings embarrassed the government enough for the head of the judiciary to urge judges not to order stonings. Though the number of stonings has thus been reduced, Parliament has not outlawed them and they continue. And due to government backlash against the Campaign for a Million Signatures, collection of those signatures has slowed and is now conducted mostly on the web, as women avoid being seen with campaigners and signing this or any other petition.
Still, Sussan Tahmasebi (left) says she and other women's rights activists have made great strides. One of the Campaign's founding members and one of the 6 subject to a travel ban, Tahmaseb and other members of her group are facing security charges. For her, this is a great achievement: "No one is accusing us of talking against Islam. No one is afraid to talk about more rights for women anymore."

Sahrawi activist to receive RFK rights award

Soon to receive the 2008 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award is Aminatou Haidar (right), for the last 2 decades a campaigner for the self-determination of the people of her native Western Sahara. (photo credit)
Haidar's homeland, once a Spanish colony, has been under Morocco's military control since 1975. That same year that an International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion rejected Moroccan claims to sovereignty. Soon the independence Frente Polisario proclaimed a government in exile for the region. The United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) has operated there since a ceasefire was signed in 1991. The planned referendum has yet to be held. (A new article on this matter is hot off the presses: Erika Conti, The Referendum for Self-Determination: Is it still a solution? The never-ending dispute over Western Sahara, 16 African Journal of International & Comparative Law 178 (2008).)
Because of her own efforts on behalf of self-determination Haidar has spent years behind bars:

In 1987, at the age of 21, Ms. Haidar was one of 700 peaceful protestors arrested for participating in a rally in support of a referendum. Later she was 'disappeared' without charge or trial and held in secret detention centers for four years, where she and 17 other Sahrawi women were tortured. In 2005, the Moroccan police detained and beat her after another peaceful demonstration. She was released after 7 months, thanks to international pressure from groups like Amnesty International and European Parliament.

Notwithstanding, Haidar continues to work for nonviolent settlement of the dispute, an approach for which she's known as the "Sahrawi Gandhi."
Haidar will receive a prize of $30,000 at a November ceremony in Washington. That is "the beginning of the RFK Center's long-term partnership with Ms. Haidar and our commitment to work closely with her to realize the right to self-determination for the Sahrawi people," said Monika Kalra Varma (left), Director of the RFK Memorial Center for Human Rights (and, I'm proud to say, a former student of mine). The 1st such award was given in 1984, since then, 38 human rights defenders, from 22 countries, have been honored.

On October 3

On this day in ...
... 1904, the Declaration Between the Governments of France and Spain, Respecting the Integrity of Morocco was signed in Paris. In it the 2 European governments "[d]eclare[d] that they remain firmly committed to the integrity of the Moroccan Empire under the sovereignty of the Sultan." Germany would test this promise of Morocco's independence the following year. (credit for contemporary map of Morocco)
... 1858 (150 years ago today), Eleanora Duse (below right), "considered by many to be one of the most gifted actresses of her time," was born Vigevano, Italy. Her family were actors; she herself 1st appeared on stage at age 4, and received acclaim for a lead performance age 20. La Duse, as she came to be known, was a rival of Sarah Bernhardt and a favorite of George Bernard Shaw. Duse founded a theater company and toured Europe and the Americas; she died on tour in 1924, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Among her famous quotes:

To save the theatre, the theatre must be destroyed, the actors and actresses must all die of the plague. They poison the air, they make art impossible. It is not drama that they play, but pieces for the theatre. We should return to the Greek, play in the open air; the drama dies of stalls and boxes and evening dress, and people who come to digest dinner.

Duse is commemorated in a floor tile in Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party.

Migration Benefits Women

The World Bank recently released a report on International Migration, Economic Development, and Policy that indicates that women are the primary beneficiaries of migration. For example, girls in Pakistan see their rate of school attendance rise 54%, as against 7% for boys, when a family member migrates – the money sent home means the family can afford to send girls, as well as boys, to school. In both Pakistan and Central America, these girls tend to stay in school two years longer than girls without a migrant family member. Migration also seems to affect birthrates, as migrants tend to adopt the behavior prevailing in the countries they work in. For example, wives of Turkish and Moroccan men who have gone to work in Europe have fewer children than do other Turkish and Moroccan women, whereas wives of Egyptian men who go to work in the Gulf countries do not have the same experience. So when we work to implement thoughtful, humane immigration policies, we may also be working to improve female literacy and the numerous benefits that can accompany lower birth rates.