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Amnesty meets with Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

Bangladesh, one of the world’s poorest countries, is primarily dealing with the catastrophe that has befallen the Rohingya people. It is in the interests of advanced economies to lend a hand, writes Dr Stephen Moss.

I recently returned from Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh where I was part of an Amnesty International delegation. I witnessed first-hand the results of one of the world’s worst abuses of human rights and injustice of our time.

We interviewed and spoke personally with survivors and heard their many horrific and painful stories.

The Rohingya people have experienced a long history of oppression, minority persecution and abuse over many generations.

But the scale and ferocity of the recent events in Myanmar, forcing some 800,000 mainly women and children into camps across the border in Bangladesh, surpasses anything recorded in recent history.

The United Nations described the military offensive in Rakhine State, which provoked the exodus, as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing.” Militia in Myanmar began a systematic “cleansing” of Rohingya people, burning their villages, slaughtering them, raping the women, brutally killing their children in ways too violent to describe, and forcing them to make the trek on foot and by boat into Bangladesh.

Dr Stephen Moss (background) and Amnesty International Australia National Director (foreground) speak with Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh — Dr Stephen Moss (background) and Amnesty International Australia National Director Claire Mallinson (foreground) speak with Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh © Salman Saeed / Amnesty International

Visiting Cox’s Bazar

During our trip to Cox’s Bazar, we met and talked to women who said they had seen their husbands and children slaughtered in front of them. The surviving women then faced systematic abuse themselves, before ending up in refugee camps in Bangladesh.

Those camps, with their makeshift houses made largely of bamboo and plastic sheeting, are made up of 80 per cent women and children.

We heard stories of the most horrific violations of human rights and a scale of torture, separation and abuse beyond imagination.

One young woman I met spoke of her baby being ripped from her arms and brutally slaughtered in front of her eyes. She told me of how her village was burnt to the ground before she was violently attacked and sexually humiliated.

Despite such a terrible event, she was one of the ‘lucky ones’ to escape with a surviving child, making a seven-day trek into neighbouring Bangladesh, fearing for their lives all the way.

A Rohingya woman holds her child. The woman is looking straight into the camera and the child is smiling and looking off-camera. — Senowara, a Rohingya refugee now living in Bangladesh with her child © Salman Saeed / Amnesty International

A global solution

The Bangladeshi people have been largely welcoming, and the world emergency aid community has clearly swung into action, with 150 non-profit organisations now on the ground.

Despite this, there are some serious infrastructure issues facing those in Cox’s Bazar. Current shelters are woefully unprepared for the impending monsoon season and the cyclones that will inevitably come later in the year. Bangladesh has not permitted any permanent infrastructure, like monsoon shelters, to be built on the fragile land the Rohingya refugees now live on.

We witnessed thousands of people living on hillsides without any trees to bind the soil which, despite sandbagging, will be destroyed by the winds and rains expected over the coming months. It is publicly (and conservatively) stated by UNHCR that 200,000 people are severely at risk of being affected by landslides. Many of the people we saw and met will almost certainly die if more is not done – proper shelters must be built, new land in Bangladesh must be allocated and these people must be protected.

As with all communities and groupings of people, the Rohingya camps are rife with challenges. These challenges are heightened by the fact that they have between 60,000 and 95,000 people crammed in per square kilometre – even more dense than Dhaka, the most densely populated city in the world today.

Issues from people trafficking through to emerging and competing leadership dynamics across the camps all present their challenges. Basic food, medical supplies and primitive shelter needs are being met but the camps are not a viable long-term solution for the Rohingya people.

A photo of makeshift refugee shelters clinging to a hillside in Bangladesh. — Thousands of people live on hillsides in a refugee camp in Bangladesh. Without any trees to bind the soil and despite sandbagging, these shelters will likely be destroyed by the winds and rains expected over the coming months © Salman Saeed / Amnesty International

Doing nothing is not an option

We know from history that oppressed people eventually rise up. Young people in particular will be susceptible to radicalisation and further harm via abuse and trafficking.

They are vulnerable and we, the global community, need to stay vigilant of this situation.

The issue of refugees and displaced people is a serious global issue. Currently, many Western societies either look away, demonise ‘the other’ or let poorly equipped developing nations handle the bulk of the problem. It is time for wealthy nations to play a more prominent role in attempting to confront this issue.

There are 72 million displaced people in the world today. Despite the obvious humanitarian need to offer a solution to displaced and persecuted people, there are also serious infrastructure, security and economic consequences for all nations if inequality and oppression is not addressed.

What I witnessed in the Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar has deeply moved me. Together, we can shine a light on these human rights abuses and help deliver systematic change in our world.

I challenge anyone who has seen what I have seen in Cox’s Bazar to maintain the position that this is not their problem. We are all part of the solution.

Change is possible

Amnesty International is working hard to re-establish a humane and safe way for refugees to find safety. Change is possible but they need your help. Be there for refugees by making a tax-time donation today – your donation will change someone’s life.

Dr Stephen Moss visited Bangladesh as part of his role as an Amnesty International Australia’s 2020 Council member.

Community sponsorship: a new way to help refugees

The Federal Government’s Community Support Program is a new way for communities to help refugees by sponsoring them to set up home in Australia. This is an exciting opportunity to connect people seeking safety with compassionate communities willing to help.

But the program also has some significant flaws. We think it can be made better and here’s how you can help.

Embracing new neighbours

Australian communities are known for their generosity, not least towards refugees seeking a safe place to live. In the past few years, almost 150 local government areas have become self-declared Refugee Welcome Zones, committing to welcoming refugees, upholding their human rights and promoting diversity.

Lithgow in New South Wales is one of the most recent communities to become a Refugee Welcome Zone. Debbie Rayner is the chairperson of the Lithgow Asylum Seeker and Refugee Support Group, which successfully campaigned for the council to adopt the initiative.

“We felt that it was important to take the first step of acknowledging the value of welcoming refugees and asylum seekers who are in our community. It’s nice for them to hear that they’re welcome here because there’s quite a lot of negative press in Australia about refugees.”

But it’s not just a show of spirit – Lithgow residents are doing practical things that make a difference. They’ve supported newcomers with English tutoring, taken part in a ration challenge to raise money for refugees overseas and even helped lodge visa applications to reunite a family that was dispersed by persecution.

“We’ve been trying to seed into the community empathy and the ability to help. It’s good to see the community rise up and try to help in all different ways” – Debbie Rayner

It’s clear that communities like Lithgow have a lot of enthusiasm to do what they can for those whose lives have been uprooted. And now there’s a new way for them to channel their energy – by directly sponsoring refugees to come and set up a safe home in Australia.

Woman in with head scarf hugs a laughing, middle-aged woman of Western appearance. — Wissam from Syria, and sponsor Janet in a Toronto park.
Wissam fled the war in Syria along with her husband and children. After living for three years in a refugee camp in Jordan, the family were sponsored by a group of people in Canada.

What is community sponsorship?

After a four-year pilot, the government introduced Australia’s Community Support Program (CSP), allowing community groups, businesses, families and individuals to become refugee ‘sponsors’. Sponsors propose refugee applicants for a humanitarian visa, help them to integrate into the community and commit to supporting them financially for the first year.

Up to 1,000 CSP places are available this financial year and priority is given to refugee applicants who are:

aged 18 to 50
employable
willing to live and work in regional areas
able to become financially self-sufficient within their first year in Australia.

Community sponsorship brings diversity and valuable skills into our communities. It also provides newcomers with an established network, helping them adapt to their new life and make friends more easily. It’s a win-win approach that the United Nations refugee agency has encouraged and that several countries have taken up.

Canada has had a successful private sponsorship scheme in place for almost 40 years. Together Canadians have welcomed approximately 300,000 refugees, in addition to the country’s regular humanitarian intake.

“I think anything that brings refugees into communities rather than detention should be applauded. We should go for it!” – Debbie Rayner

Changes needed to the CSP

The CSP is a great first step but there are some significant flaws in the program that should be addressed.

More spots should be created to welcome refugees into our society

Three children holding soccer balls and wearing soccer jerseys in a sunlit park. — Majed, Zahiya and Moutayam in a Toronto park. A group of people in Toronto, Canada, sponsored the Hajj Mouhamed Ali family to come to Canada. © Stephanie Foden/AI

Under the current model, the government has included the 1,000 places available for this financial year within its existing quota for the Refugee and Humanitarian Program. This shifts the government’s own responsibility to resettle and protect refugees to the private sector.

With Australia’s population, wealth and community interest, we can welcome around 10,000 refugees per year through the CSP.

A fair program cannot take places from others in need

The current CSP takes places from those who desperately need protection but don’t have the job-ready skills needed to qualify for the program. According to the Refugee Council of Australia, the criteria for selection is “likely to exclude those who are particularly vulnerable and in particular need of resettlement”.

For the CSP to have true impact, the government has to separate CSP places from its existing commitments to resettle refugees under the Refugee and Humanitarian Program.

The program should be affordable for refugees and sponsors

Sponsorship is also not cheap for Australians to take part in. It’s estimated the cost of sponsoring a family of five could be in the vicinity of $92,844. That’s potentially more than three times the cost of the program in Canada.

This is unfair to both the vulnerable people seeking to rebuild their lives, and the communities willing to help.

With the 2018-19 federal budget soon to be announced, the government needs to seriously look at limiting the cost of sponsorship so that people wanting to help, can.

You can read more about our proposed improvements.

How you can help

If you want to see a fairer approach to refugee sponsorship in Australia, sign our petition calling on the Federal Government to expand and improve the CSP.

You can also start discussions in your community to encourage sponsorship, or even lobby your council to pass a motion for the Federal Government to enhance the program.

Interested in becoming a sponsor? Keep an eye on the Department of Home Affairs website for details about how to get involved.

Got thoughts to share? Tweet us at @amnestyOz using the hashtag #mynewneighbour

Ala Al-Mahaidi is an Amnesty volunteer and currently undertaking a Masters in human rights.

Thailand: Country’s first execution since 2009 a deplorable move

Responding to the news that Thailand executed a 26-year-old man for aggravated murder on 18 June, in the country’s first execution since August 2009, Katherine Gerson, Amnesty International’s Thailand Campaigner, said:

“This is a deplorable violation of the right to life. Thailand is reneging on its own commitment to move towards the abolition of the death penalty, and is putting itself out of step with the current global shift away from capital punishment.

“There is no evidence that the death penalty has any unique deterrent effect, so the Thai authorities’ hope that this move will reduce crime is deeply misguided. The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and provides no quick-fixes to problems the authorities want to confront.

“After almost nine years without an execution, this represents a major setback in the country’s journey towards abolition. The Thai government must immediately halt any plans to carry out further executions and establish a moratorium on the implementation of the death penalty.”

Background

This is the first execution in Thailand since two men were executed by lethal injection in August 2009, which followed a period of no executions since 2003.

Figures provided by the Ministry of Justice in March 2018 state that 510 people, including 94 women, were on death row of whom 193 had exhausted all final appeals. More than half are believed to have been sentenced for drug-related offences.

While the imposition of the mandatory death penalty is prohibited under international law, the death penalty in Thailand remains mandatory for a number of offences, including aggravated murder. Many of the offences for which the death penalty may be applied do not meet the threshold of the “most serious crimes” to which the use of the death penalty must be restricted under international law in countries where it has not yet been abolished.

As of today, 106 countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes and 142 in total are abolitionist in law or practice.

Turkey: Case against Amnesty Chair must be dismissed after long-awaited police report finds no evidence of wrongdoing

Police report finds nothing to suggest Taner Kılıç ever had the controversial ByLock app on his phone
Trial resumes in Istanbul on 21 June
Amnesty Secretary General and directors from four countries to attend trial

More than a year after his arrest, a 15-page police report finally submitted by the prosecution fails to find any evidence that Amnesty International Turkey’s Honorary Chair, Taner Kılıç, ever had ByLock on his phone. The alleged presence of the secure messaging application was central to the case against the rights defender, who is still languishing in prison.

As the findings of the police report do not substantiate the central accusation against Taner, Amnesty International is therefore renewing its call for his immediate release and acquittal.

“The failure to substantiate the accusation against Taner comes as no shock. What is shocking is that it has taken more than a year for this police report to be submitted, and during that time Taner has been locked behind bars,” said Salil Shetty, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.

“Without a shred of credible evidence presented to substantiate the absurd charges made against him, Taner must now be released. The charges and his detention fly in the face of justice and must be brought to an end once and for all.”

Taner’s trial, and that of 10 other human rights defenders, resumes in Istanbul on 21 June.

Taner was initially detained by police on 6 June 2017 and later charged with “membership of a terrorist organisation.” The central accusation against him is the claim that he had downloaded ByLock, a messaging app the state claims was used by the Gülen movement, who the authorities blame for the 2016 coup attempt.

However, after more than a year, the Turkish authorities have still not been able to provide any credible evidence to substantiate this allegation, or indeed any criminal wrongdoing.

The police report – seen by Amnesty International – reveals that forensic examinations were carried out on Taner Kılıç’s laptop, mobile phone, three USB sticks, a SIM card and a memory card. ByLock does not appear on the list of items found on the phone, including deleted applications.

The police report – seen by Amnesty International – reveals that forensic examinations were carried out on Taner Kılıç’s laptop, mobile phone, three USB sticks, a SIM card and a memory card. ByLock does not appear on the list of items found on the phone, including deleted applications.

This corroborates the findings of four independent forensic reports previously submitted to the court. All found no evidence that Taner had downloaded or used the ByLock app.

“Nothing can bring back the precious moments that Taner has missed, such as his oldest daughter’s graduation, or he and his wife Hatice’s 25th wedding anniversary. The court can put an end to this injustice on 21 June and allow Taner to return to his family and resume his vital work,” said Salil Shetty.

“Taner has become a potent symbol of what is happening in today’s Turkey where many human rights defenders spend their days either languishing in jail or living in constant fear of being imprisoned for months or years. It is high time to end this relentless crackdown on human rights.”

As well as Salil Shetty (@salilshetty), a delegation of Amnesty International directors from around the world will attend and tweet live from the trial: Kate Allen (UK – @KateAllenAI), @Estaban Beltran (Spain – @_estebanbeltran), Manon Schick (Switzerland – @manonschick), Jon Peder Egernaes (Norway – @johnpeder) and Europe Director Gauri van Gulik (@GaurivanGulik). Also Amnesty’s Turkey Strategy and Research Manager Andrew Gardner (@andrewegardner) and Senior Campaigner Milena Buyum (@MilenaBuyum).

Background

For Amnesty International’s analysis of the case against Taner Kılıç see here.

Taner Kılıç, was detained on 6 June 2017 and sent to jail three days later, where he has been ever since. Ten other activists, including İdil Eser, the Director of Amnesty International Turkey, were detained a month later. Eight of them were held for almost four months before being released on bail at their first hearing in October.

They are all accused of “membership of a terrorist organisation”, a baseless allegation for which the prosecution has yet to provide any concrete evidence that would stand up to scrutiny.

Last December, Turkish authorities admitted that thousands of people have been wrongly accused of downloading ByLock. They published lists containing the numbers of 11,480 mobile phone users, leading to mass releases. Taner Kılıç is not yet among those listed for release.

More than a million people from 164 countries and territories have signed Amnesty International appeals demanding the release of Taner Kılıç and the other human rights defenders since their arrest last summer. Scores of well-known figures have called for the release of Taner and the dropping of charges against the Istanbul 10.

USA: Policy of separating children from parents is nothing short of torture

The sickening images of children cruelly separated from their parents and held in cages as a result of Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ policy of ‘zero-tolerance’ will leave an indelible stain on the reputation of the USA, said Amnesty International today.

“This is a spectacularly cruel policy, where frightened children are being ripped from their parent’s arms and taken to overflowing detention centres, which are effectively cages. This is nothing short of torture. The severe mental suffering that officials have intentionally inflicted on these families for coercive purposes, means that these acts meet the definitions of torture under both US and international law,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International’s Americas Director.

“There is no question that President Trump administration’s policy of separating mothers and fathers from their children is designed to impose severe mental suffering on these families, in order to deter others from trying to seek safety in the USA.”

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International’s Americas Director.

“There is no question that President Trump administration’s policy of separating mothers and fathers from their children is designed to impose severe mental suffering on these families, in order to deter others from trying to seek safety in the USA. Many of these families come from countries experiencing generalized violence and grave human rights violations, including Honduras and El Salvador. This is a flagrant violation of the human rights of these parents and children and is also a violation of US obligations under refugee law.”

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the “zero-tolerance policy for criminal illegal entry” on 6 April 2018. Since the policy came into effect, more than 2,000 children have been separated from their parents or legal guardians at the US border.Children’s rights are violated in multiple ways: they are detained, they are separated from their parents or guardians, and they are exposed to unnecessary trauma that might affect their development.

Statistics obtained by news media suggest that thousands more migrant families may have been separated by the Trump administration even prior to this new policy.

Amnesty International recently interviewed 17 asylum-seeking parents who were forcibly separated from their children, and all but three of them had entered the USA legally to request asylum.

“The claims of the Trump administration ring hollow. This cruel and unnecessary practice is being inflicted not only on families crossing irregularly, but also on those seeking protection at ports of entry. The majority of these families fled to the US to seek international protection from persecution and targeted violence in the Northern Triangle, where their governments are unwilling or unable to protect them,” said Guevara-Rosas.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen has denied a policy of separating families is in place, but her statement from January this year confirms that the intention all along has been to target families: “We’re looking at a variety of ways to enforce our laws to discourage parents from bringing their children here.” Her predecessor John Kelly, now Trump’s chief of staff, suggested the policy as early as March 2017 “in order to deter” families of migrants and asylum seekers from coming to the USA.

“Make no mistake, these family separations are a crisis of the government’s own making. The U.S. government is playing a sick game with these families’ lives by playing politics with what is a serious and mounting refugee crisis. Just as we have seen with previous immigration reforms from this administration, authorities have chosen to target the very families seeking safety in the USA, adding to the trauma and pain they have already experienced,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas.

Amnesty International is calling on the administration to immediately put an end to this unnecessary, devastating and unlawful policy of forced separation, and to reunite those families that have already been separated as quickly as possible.

BACKGROUND

Amnesty International staff recently conducted a research mission along the U.S. southern border, and preliminarily found that since 2017 the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) is increasingly forcibly separating children from their parents or guardians when these families request asylum. Amnesty International will be publishing its findings in a report later this year.

Earlier this year, Amnesty International campaigned to reunite four families separated from each other at the border in violation of existing Department of Homeland Security policy to keep families together.

Amnesty International is specifically calling on the U.S. government to:

Reunify, as quickly as possible, those families that have been separated.
Halt the forced separation of children from their parents or guardians. Family units must be kept together in accordance with international standards on family unity.
Halt prolonged detention of parents and guardians who arrived in the U.S. with children.
Reject any increase in funding for immigration detention facilities for children and families.

For additional background, see the June 2017 Amnesty International report, Facing Walls, which documents how US border authorities have routinely denied asylum seekers the ability to claim asylum at US ports of entry, resulting in greater irregular flows of asylum seekers across the US-Mexico border.

Community is Everything crowd sourced video

Thanks for helping us get the word out for kids! Here’s what you’ll need to do.

Step 1
Sign up using the form below so we know you’re keen and we can get in touch to help if you need.

Step 2
Film unscripted, genuine, funny and poignant responses that come from your kids. It’s best to give them a little background on the situation and go from there. If your child wants a bit more information, they can read a bit more about the issue here.

Step 3
Film it on your smartphone at home using the information and questions below and send it to us!

How to set it up

You have two options:

You filming your child at home somewhere quiet, asking them questions from behind the camera.
One parent sitting with the child, second parent filming. The parent sitting with a child asking the questions.

What equipment do I need?

Filming with a smartphone is fine – make sure you film holding the phone in a “landscape” position (sideways) rather than “portrait” (upright)
If you have a DSLR that shoots video or a Handycam “point and shoot” camcorder, even better!
If you have a microphone, however small, please use it – it will hugely improve the audio quality of your footage
If you have a tripod or firm surface on which to balance your camera, that will guarantee a steadier shot. Try to avoid “handheld” shots as these will probably be too wobbly for us to use!

How to film

If possible, position the camera no more than a metre or so away from the people you are filming.
Ideally, the people being filmed will be seated. Choose a mid-shot – ie so that their head and upper body are in the frame. Here are one of Amnesty staff members to give you the idea:

Make sure you film somewhere where there is plenty of light and the people on camera can be clearly seen.
Try to find somewhere quiet where there is little or no background noise for your interviewees to compete with – this is especially important if you’re not using an additional microphone!
If possible, get the people being filmed to talk directly to the camera – one way to help this is to get them to imagine that the lens is a person. If this proves too difficult, interview the subject from off camera (position yourself just by the lens, at the same level as your subject, so that they will be looking at you just off camera as you ask them questions).

What questions should I ask?

(Warm-up questions) What’s your name? How old are you? Where do you live?
Did you know that kids as young as 10 locked up in prison in Australia? What do you think about that? Do you think that’s fair or not? Why?
What do you think it would feel like to be in prison? (How scary would it be? What would there be to do? Who would you miss – eg your family, friends etc?)
What do you think you’d spend your days doing, what would your cell look like, what would you be eating?
If a kid gets in trouble, what do you think would be a better way to help them not be naughty again?
If you could send a message right now to kids in prison, what would you say? (straight to the camera if possible)
If you had the Prime Minister sitting in front of you right now, what would you say to him/ask him to do to change this? (straight to the camera if possible)

upload your video here

When do I need to send it by?

Please send us your videos before 1st July so we can use them to raise awareness on our campaign to end the overrepresentation of Indigenous kids in prison.

NAURU: Another tragic death in Australia’s offshore detention

Responding to the tragic news that a 26-year-old Iranian man reportedly died on Nauru this morning, Kate Schuetze, Refugee Researcher at Amnesty International said:

“This is extremely sad and heartbreaking news. Amnesty International is extending our sincere condolences to the man’s family and friends.”

“This tragic death is the second death to occur in Australia’s offshore system in a matter of weeks, following the death of a Rohingya refugee on Manus Island on 22 May, and the 12th since this system was established.

“How many more people need to die before the Government acts? Australia’s reckless and cruel refugee policies continue to endanger lives and must end immediately.”

“How many more people need to die before the Government acts? Australia’s reckless and cruel refugee policies continue to endanger lives and must end immediately.

“The fact that this man and his family have spent the last five years living in a tent in an Australian-run detention centre on Nauru is in itself disgraceful. He came to Australia seeking protection, a request that was denied, and was instead detained in appalling and inhumane conditions on the remote island.

“The ongoing uncertainty with the US deal will heighten the anxiety and stress for refugees who have been in limbo for five years now. This only further emphasises the urgent need to bring refugees and asylum seekers to safety in Australia and provide adequate care for them.

“There must be an independent, impartial, prompt and effective investigation into this man’s death. The Australian government must bring all refugees and people seeking asylum to Australia immediately, or to a safe third country, and offer them the protection they need and deserve.”

Japan: Investigate brewer Kirin over payment to Myanmar military amid ethnic cleansing of Rohingya

Japanese beer company admitted its subsidiary made three donations during recent violence in Rakhine State
Head of military filmed receiving donation which he said was for security forces
Kirin admits it does not know how its donations were used

Japanese authorities must urgently launch an investigation into payments that a subsidiary of the multinational brewing giant Kirin made to Myanmar’s military and authorities at the height of an ethnic cleansing campaign against the Rohingya population in late 2017, Amnesty International said today.

In correspondence with Amnesty International (including a clarification note sent on 13 June), Kirin Holdings Company, Inc. said that its subsidiary Myanmar Brewery made three donations totalling USD$30,000 to the authorities between 1 September and 3 October 2017.

Kirin said that the payments were intended to help the victims of the violence. However, Amnesty International understands that the first donation was made by Myanmar Brewery staff to the Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar’s armed forces, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing at a televised ceremony in the capital Nay Pyi Taw on 1 September 2017, according to the Senior General’s own Facebook page. Kirin later confirmed that a donation of $6,000 was made on that date. Min Aung Hlaing said the donations would in part go towards, “security personnel and state service personnel”, operating in Rakhine State.

“It beggars belief that any international investor would make donations to Myanmar’s military at a time when those very forces were carrying out ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya population in northern Rakhine State,” said Seema Joshi, head of Business and Human Rights at Amnesty International.

“Not only is there a risk that these donations actually funded the operations of military units involved in crimes against humanity, but the choice to appear in a donation ceremony with Myanmar’s top military leaders also sends a worrying message that Myanmar Brewery endorsed the military’s actions against the Rohingya population.

“Japan has a responsibility to ensure that its companies do not contribute to human rights abuses, regardless of where they operate. The Japanese authorities should urgently investigate these questionable gifts.”

Kirin’s investment in Myanmar

In 2015 Kirin bought a 55% stake in Myanmar Brewery, the country’s largest beer maker, for USD$560 million. A powerful conglomerate owned by serving and former members of the military – Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (UMEHL, also known as Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited) – owns the remainder. On 29 August 2017, the Myanmar government gave Kirin clearance to invest a further USD$4.3 million for a 51% stake in Mandalay Brewery, in a separate joint venture with UMEHL. Through these investments, Kirin says it controls 80% of Myanmar’s growing beer market.

Kirin is a major international brewer, which along with its own brands owns the Lion beverage company in Australia and New Zealand and has a 48.6% stake in San Miguel, of the Philippines.

The donations were made at a time when global media were awash with reports of the Myanmar security forces committing atrocities against Rohingya women, men and children, who were already fleeing by their tens of thousands into neighbouring Bangladesh.

On 11 September 2017, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights described the attack on the Rohingya as “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing” and extensive research by Amnesty International went on to identify multiple crimes against humanity being committed by Myanmar’s security forces. These were widely reported on internationally, but Kirin made further donations to the Rakhine State authorities even after this, on 23 September and 3 October 2017, the company has disclosed.

Open source evidence debunks ‘humanitarian’ claims

In an April 2018 letter to Amnesty International, Kirin stated that all three donations – two financial contributions as well as an in-kind donation of rice and cooking oil – were made to the Rakhine State government, in response to a request for humanitarian relief for victims of the violence. But Kirin’s assertions the donations were not made to the military are contradicted by open source evidence, including statements posted online by Myanmar’s Commander-in-Chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.

Amnesty International’s Digital Verification Corps analysed and verified videos posted to the Senior General’s Facebook account, one of which shows him and other uniformed military officials accepting gifts from representatives of various Myanmar companies at an official ceremony on 1 September.

This came a week after the start of the most recent crisis in Rakhine State, when there was a series of attacks by the armed group Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on 25 August 2017. Amnesty International and others have documented in detail how the Myanmar military’s vicious response was marked by killings, rape and other sexual violence, torture, village burning, forced starvation tactics, and other violations which constitute crimes against humanity under international law. More than 702,000 Rohingya people were forced to flee to Bangladesh, where they remain.

In his televised address on 1 September 2017, Min Aung Hlaing justified the military operations, and said that the gifts from businesses were “cash donations for security personnel and state service personnel who risked their lives while shouldering national defence and security duties and ethnic natives who fled their homes due to brutal attacks of ARSA.”

Joint venture donations

To Amnesty International’s knowledge, the Senior General did not make public statements about the other donations that Kirin has admitted to.

But he did post remarks on Facebook on 11 September about a separate ceremony, where UMEHL and 18 of its joint venture businesses donated a further USD$19,200 to the military. Kirin did not state whether it had contributed then as well.

According to Min Aung Hlaing, these donations were “for security troops and departmental personnel discharging State defence and security duties at risk of sacrifice in Rakhine State and local people who fled from native places due to terror attacks of ARSA … and to carry out fencing at the border region.”

Only days earlier, Amnesty International and media reports had documented how the Myanmar security forces were using internationally banned landmines along the border fence. Bangladesh’s government lodged a formal complaint with Myanmar’s authorities over their use.

No paper trail provided

According to Kirin, Myanmar Brewery “has never made donations with the intent of supporting military operations in Rakhine State or anywhere else, either directly or through [U]MEHL.”

Kirin also stated that under the terms of its partnership with UMEHL, there is a clause “that explicitly prohibits the use of Myanmar Brewery funds for military purposes.”

However, the company provided no evidence that it conducted checks to ensure UMEHL’s compliance with this clause. When pushed, Kirin said that the terms of this agreement are confidential. Also, it is not certain that donations of this nature would be covered by Kirin’s joint venture agreement with UMEHL.

Kirin told Amnesty International that UMEHL had requested the donations and later informed Kirin they had been deposited directly into a bank account owned by the Rakhine State government. But the company did not provide any evidence of these bank deposits, nor could it account for how the money was ultimately spent, admitting that, “we did not sufficiently pursue details of which vehicle would ultimately be responsible for doing so.”

Even if the Rakhine State government was the recipient of the donations, rather than the military, it would still raise serious human rights concerns – Amnesty International has found those authorities responsible for creating and maintaining a longstanding state of apartheid for Rohingya, a crime against humanity.

“By donating to the military and/or the Rakhine State authorities, Myanmar Brewery has risked worsening the human rights situation for Rohingya and other ethnicities who face longstanding discrimination. It is extremely worrying that the company could not account for where these funds ended up,” said Seema Joshi.

Corporate responsibility

Kirin’s responsibility to respect human rights has been outlined by the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Under this internationally recognised standard, companies like Kirin have a responsibility to respect all human rights wherever they operate.

In order to fulfil this responsibility, companies must ensure that their business activities do not cause or contribute to human rights abuses. Companies should identify and assess their potential or actual human rights impacts by undertaking a risk-based due diligence analysis.

According to information provided in its letters to Amnesty International, Kirin has not undertaken such steps, and as a result has risked contributing to human rights abuses in Myanmar, both through its donations to the authorities, as well as appearing to endorse the military’s actions in Rakhine State.

“It beggars belief that any international investor would make donations to Myanmar’s military at a time when those very forces were carrying out ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya population in northern Rakhine State” – Seema Joshi, Amnesty’s head of Business and Human Rights

Kirin instituted a new global human rights policy in February 2018 and the company told Amnesty International that it intends to prioritise a review of Myanmar Brewery’s dealings in the country. It has also announced the suspension of all donations.

“An internal review at this stage based on a policy that was put in place four months after these dodgy donations is simply too little, too late. Any potential damage has likely already been done,” said Seema Joshi.

“This is a textbook example of why companies need to conduct human rights due diligence. To be clear – Amnesty International is not calling for businesses to boycott Myanmar. Nor are we opposed to foreign companies investing in Myanmar. But we do call on Kirin, as with other companies, to act responsibly and disclose the steps they take to avoid contributing to human rights violations in a high-risk environment.”

Japan also has a duty to ensure that its corporations doing business in Myanmar do not cause or contribute to human rights abuses. The Japanese authorities should investigate these payments, and also require Japanese companies to undertake due diligence prior to investing or undertaking business operations in Myanmar.

The correspondence between Amnesty International and Kirin is available here.

Background

In 2016 the Government of Japan officially announced its intention to formulate a National Action Plan (NAP) on Business and Human Rights. Efforts to regulate the conduct of companies to ensure they respect human rights are of course needed, and Amnesty International is calling for the NAP to finalised as soon as possible. However, Japan’s government must not use the ongoing development of the NAP as an excuse to delay immediate action on corporate wrongdoing.

WA’s youth justice system still has a way to go

By Tammy Solonec, Indigenous Rights Manager. This article originally appeared in the Koori Mail.

Western Australia’s youth justice system has been crumbling under successive governments for a long time and, while last month brought two promising moves for change, this has yet to translate into reality for children suffering in the system.

Target 120

On 11 May the Government of Western Australia (WA) announced the rollout of ‘Target 120’, which, though light on detail, at first glance looks like a positive program.

Target 120 aims to support up to 300 WA young people and their families with the difficulties they face in their young lives, like substance abuse, domestic violence, low school attendance and mental health issues.

The program’s aim is to prevent young people from spiralling to the point of offending and being locked up – a win-win situation for young people and the broader WA community.

Custody Notification Service

The same day, WA announced the rollout of the long-awaited Custody Notification Service which means police must inform the Aboriginal Legal Service every time an Indigenous child or adult is taken into custody.

In the two decades a similar service has been running in NSW, only one Indigenous person has died in custody

While both programs are welcome there are still stark stark reminders of the damaging reality of the youth justice system for those young people suffering in it right now.

Young people in adult prison

In May, a teenager in Banksia Hill Detention Centre had his application approved to transfer to adult prison. It is shocking that Banksia has been so harmful for this young person he would rather be sent to a harsh, maximum-security Hakea Prison with adults, than suffer another day in Banksia.

His story is one of institutionalisation and brutalisation in WA’s youth justice system.

He has been locked up for over a year in the so-called ‘Intensive Support Unit’ (ISU), in forced separation from the general population in Banksia. The name of the unit is misleading because what it has done for this teenager is the opposite of support.

The WA Inspector of Custodial Services recently labelled the Unit “a highly inappropriate and counter-therapeutic environment to house young people who are, or had been, acutely mentally unwell.”

Within the unit, the teenager has been held in a cell no bigger than a car parking space. He sleeps on a thin plastic mattress on a metal bed and takes his daily exercise in a cage.

His mother told me that, when she visited her son, even on 40-degree days, he wore a jumper to hide his self-harm scars.

The Inspector is currently investigating serious allegations of the abuse of the teenager in this unit, including:

excessive use of force and restraints
limited access to a psychologist and education
denial of access to a shower
having to ‘earn’ the use of bedding materials
having to kneel for his food or be fed through a grill in the door.

Perhaps most seriously, it is alleged he was held in solitary confinement for up to a fortnight, a breach of WA’s Young Offenders Act 1994 and the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty.

System not working

These allegations follow decades of damaging treatment of children in Banksia.

In 2015 to 2016, there were a staggering 13,000 strip searches, with kids as young as 10 made to strip naked in front of adult staff. Out of all those searches, only 10 contraband items were found.

On top of this, the Telethon Institute found earlier this year that 90 per cent of kids in WA detention have a brain injury. What these kids need is healthcare, not a criminal record.

Clearly, the system is not working. A recent Productivity Commission report found that more than half of children released from WA detention were locked up again within a year. Indigenous children, who make up seven out of ten children in Banksia, and with WA having Australia’s highest overrepresentation of Indigenous children in detention.

Therapeutic approach is crucial

It is vital that WA stops hurting kids and switches to a therapeutic approach. This is particularly crucial for Indigenous children, who make up seven out of ten children in Banksia and with WA having Australia’s highest overrepresentation of Indigenous children in detention.

The WA Government must support Indigenous children to thrive, through innovative Indigenous-led programs such as the Wirrpanda Foundation in Perth and the Kimberley’s Yirriman Project.

Childhood is such an important time, when kids are shaped into the adults they become.

All kids make mistakes – it’s a normal part of childhood. It’s how we learn. Children need to be around healthy adults in a healthy community, so they can learn from their mistakes with our guidance, with our support, and with our love.

Yemen: Attack on Hodeidah threatens civilian lives and life-saving humanitarian aid

Responding to the news that Yemeni forces backed by a Saudi Arabia-led coalition have launched an offensive on the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah, Amnesty International’s Middle East Research Director Lynn Malouf said:

“The assault on Hodeidah could have a devastating impact for hundreds of thousands of civilians – not just in the city but throughout Yemen.

“With an estimated 600,000 people living in and around Hodeidah, all sides to the conflict must take all feasible precautions to ensure that the civilian population is protected.

“Equally vital is that the Saudi Arabia-led coalition and Huthi forces ensure the flow of aid and essential goods isn’t impeded in any way, as millions of people remain at risk of famine across the country.

“Hodeidah’s port is crucial to a country that is 80% dependent on imports to meet basic necessities. Cutting off this crucial supply line would further exacerbate what is already the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

“During the past three years of fighting in Yemen, all parties to the conflict have disregarded their obligations under international humanitarian law, consistently carrying out unlawful attacks that have killed or injured civilians. A repeat of such violations in Hodeidah would put thousands of lives at risk and must be avoided at all costs.”

Background

Research carried out by Amnesty International prior to today’s military operation, due to be published soon, shows that the Saudi Arabia-led coalition had been restricting or severely delaying commercial imports to the Red Sea ports, despite announcing in November 2017 that it had lifted its blockade.

The organisation has also documented how the Huthi de facto authorities have obstructed the movement of humanitarian aid within the country through its permit system, fragmented approach and, in some cases, extortion. These restrictions and obstacles have compounded the already dire humanitarian situation and violate international law.

Amnesty International is calling on all sides to abide by international humanitarian law, including by taking precautions to minimise civilian casualties and the destruction of homes and civilian infrastructure.