1WORLDINTERNATIONAL GLOBAL PERSONALITY OF THE WEEK

The apparent suicide of Ethiopian maid, Alem Dechasa-Desisa, in Lebanon highlights the dangers faced by expatriate domestic workers in the Middle East.

Thousands of African and South East Asian women leave their homelands with the promise of a better life to take up jobs as domestic workers or maids in the Middle East. These women aim to send the money earned back to relatives in their home countries. These domestic workers often suffer mental, sexual and physical abuse silently in the homes of their employers unaware of the laws in the countries in which they reside. The women are also often afraid to report to the authorities.

Alem Dechasa-Desisa hung herself after being humiliated by her employer who dragged her across the streets before forcefully shoving her into a car. The assault was filmed and has been broadcast on Lebanese TV. She was thereafter taken to hospital where she later hung herself. Reports of the mistreatment of women who leave their impoverished countries in search of opportunities which do not exist in the said countries can no longer be ignored. We hope that the unfortunate death of Alem Dechasa-Desisa forces the governments of the Middle East into taking steps to prevent the frankly deplorable treatment which domestic workers of maids are subjected to in these countries.

GUATEMALA: HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATORS BROUGHT TO JUSTICE A DECADE AFTER CIVIL WAR

A few months ago, 1worldinternational published a feature on the Argentinean Generals who had been made to face justice decades after their involvement in crimes against humanity committed during the darkest period of the country’s history. The same fate has befallen military officers in Guatemala who presided over alleged crimes against humanity and genocide committed mainly against the country’s indigenous Mayan populace.

The UN Truth Commission set up in the aftermath of the country’s 36-year civil war which lasted from 1960 to 1996 estimates that 200,000 people were killed and/or are still missing since the civil war. The country with a population of 13 million and second only to El Salvador as Central America’s most populated country comprises mainly of indigenous Mayan Indians.

During the ‘dark period’, the country’s army was engaged in a war against left-wing guerrillas who comprised mainly of individuals of Mayan origin. As a result, the government endorsed death squads and paramilitaries akin to the Sudanese government’s use of the Janjaweed in Darfur in its attempts to squash the guerrillas and suspected collaborators. In fact the UN backed Commission for Historical Classification also surmised that Guatemalan security forces were behind 93% of all human rights atrocities which took place in that period and that 83% of the victims of the crimes were Mayans.

The worst of the human rights violations including rape, wanton executions and massacres of whole villages are said to have occurred during the rule of Generals Efrain Rios Montt and Oscar Meja Victores between 1970 and 1983. Survivors of the civil war welcomed last week’s conviction of five right-wing paramilitaries (Eusebio Grace, Julian & Maria Acoj, Santos Rosales, Lucas Tecu) and their subsequent sentencing to a total of 7,710 years in jail for their role in a 1982 massacre in the village of Plaza de Sanchez. The sentence is largely symbolic as the maximum term served under Guatemalan law is 50 years. Four of those individuals were members of a government-sponsored militia and the fifth was a former army intelligence officer.

These latest convictions follow the earlier conviction of a former Guatemalan soldier, Pedro Pimentel Rios, who was sentenced to 6,060 years in prison for his role in the massacre of 201 people in the village of Dos Erres during the brutal 36-year civil conflict. Amnesty International, for long a solitary voice in advocating the bringing to justice of the perpetrators of the mass crimes has welcomed the latest convictions. Sebastian Elgueta, Amnesty International’s Central America Researcher, said: “slowly but surely, justice is beginning to prevail for these horrendous crimes that have hung over Guatemalan society for three decades.” He continued “each new verdict erodes the long entrenched impunity in the country and the authorities must continue to ensure that the thousands of victims and their relatives are given access to justice and full reparation as well as the truth about what happened.”

General Efrain Rios Montt for his own part in the civil war faces charges of genocide and crimes against humanity following the Guatemalan court’s recent revocation of an amnesty granted to Montt by his successor. General Victores on the other hand was ruled unfit to answer to charges of genocide as a result of a stroke suffered recently. Despotic governments around the world will do well to monitor the developments in Guatemala not least because of the message the recent convictions send to the world, that being that as was also the case in Argentina, justice delayed is not justice denied.

1WORLDINTERNATIONAL RETURNS

1worldinternational returns after a week-long hiatus.

Enjoy

GLOBAL PERSONALITY OF THE WEEK

Dr Atar Adaha Evans is 1worldinternational’s global personality of the week for his work in one of the most tempestuous regions of the world.

The border region between Sudan and South Sudan has long been the scene of conflict for as long as one can recall. Global affairs observers will note that the Sudan is a country which has been embroiled in conflict since 1956 with an estimated 2m people losing their lives as a result in that time.

Aid agencies have not been immune to bombing and shelling which has seen many of the agencies leave the country. Dr Evans has however stayed behind and equipped with a solitary ambulance and also under the hail of enemy fire, attended the dying and injured caught up in the conflict.

Understandably, his family have vociferously objected to his vocation due to the dangers he faces on a daily basis. Asked by the BBC who he specifically treats on the frontline, Dr Evans responded “anyone who is desperate…civilians, rebels, troops, prisoners of war. During Sudan’s last war I even treated government army officers. They continue to write me”.

1worldinternational salutes Dr Evans as one of the few remaining modern day heroes.

AID GROUP WARNS OF HUMANITARIAN CATASTROPHE IN WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA

Last week the international aid group, Oxfam, launched a £23m ($36m) emergency appeal in response to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Sahel region of East and Central Africa. The funds are expected to assist the 1 million or so people who are at risk of severe acute malnutrition in accessing food, cash, water, livestock support, and sanitation and hygiene information. Oxfam also warn that a further 13 million people in Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal face a real risk of being embroiled in the crisis if urgent action is not taken.

The crisis has resulted from unexpected weather patterns in the region which has led to erratic rains and in turn failed harvests. Global news outlets have filed unpleasant reports of people digging the grounds for ants and grains at a time of year when vegetation is usually at knee-high level.

The statistics especially highlight the difficulties which the inhabitants of the region face in the immediate future. Oxfam reports that the malnutrition rates across the 6 countries in the Sahel are between 10-15%, with some areas beyond the emergency threshold. Grain harvest is also said to be down by 1.4m tonnes across the Sahel region. In addition the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) state that agricultural production in the region is down 25% from 2010.

The most affected of the countries is Mauritania, with a 52% drop in crop production from last year, while Chad’s food production is down by 50% and Niger’s by 27%. Alarmingly food prices are said to be 25%-50% higher than the average for the last 5 years and real possibility exists that this could rise even further.

In urging the world to act promptly in response to the worsening situation, Mamadou Biteye, Oxfam’s Director for West Africa stated: “millions of people are on the threshold of a major crisis. All signs point to a drought becoming catastrophic if nothing is done soon. The world cannot allow this to happen. A concerted aid effort is needed to stop tens of thousands dying due to international complacency.”

The hunger crisis and the situation in the Sahel have been further compounded by clashes between Tuareg rebels and Malian government forces which has led to about 170,000 people fleeing their homes. Added to this are political conflicts and tension within the region, high food prices and entrenched poverty. One recalls the Oxfam and Save Children commissioned report published earlier in the year, which was also examined in some depth by 1worldinternational, criticised the international community’s response to last year’s famine in the horn of Africa. It is hoped that lessons have been learnt from the past and that the international community will act in tandem on this occasion to curtail preventable deaths.

Please visit www.oxfam.org.uk/westafrica to support Oxfam’s disaster relief efforts in the Sahel region of Africa.

GLOBAL PERSONALITY OF THE WEEK

Jacques Beres, the 71-year old surgeon and co-founder of the NGO, Medecins Sans Frontieres, is this week’s 1worldinternational Global Personality of the Week. Monsieur Beres was recently in the besieged Syrian city of Homs where he worked in a makeshift operating theatre attending to individuals injured in the ongoing conflict.

In a world severely short of heroes, Beres told the BBC, “I travelled there because it had to be done. It’s an emergency, I’ll return if I can”. On the Syrian people, he remarked, “these people are immensely brave. They just want to get rid of the tyrant”. Mosieur Beres, 1worldinternational salutes you.

THE MIDDLE EAST: IRAN, ISRAEL, THE US AND THE LEGALITY OF A POTENTIAL PRE-EMPTIVE STRIKE

This week’s proclamations from President Barack Obama and the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu regarding Iran’s budding nuclear ambitions has led to fears that the war of words between Iran and the rest of the world may metamorphosize into armed conflict, most likely sparked by a pre-emptive strike. In the lead up to next week’s meeting between President Obama and PM Netanyahu, the latter appeared to seek the reassurance and support of the US in tackling the problem that is Iran.


Iran buying time?

One recalls that, in what appeared at the time as an attempt to cool tensions, the Tehran government wrote to Catherine Ashton, the EU foreign policy head in February promising “new initiatives” in its attempts to negotiate its way out of this political impasse. To date however, the EU has failed to respond to the Iranian olive branch which involves a return to the negotiating table which both parties have not sat at since negotiations stalled last year. This recent shift in position by Iran is undermined by last week’s report released by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) which revealed that Iran is significantly stepping up its uranium enrichment arsenal.

Israel fears that the recent overture offered by Iran is merely a ploy to buy time in order to complete its enrichment programme. Speaking last week whilst in the company of the Canadian PM, Stephen Harper, himself a staunch Israel ally, PM Netanyahu warned the west against falling “into this trap”. Netanyahu propounded “it could do again what it has done before; it could pursue or exploit the talks as they’ve done in the past to deceive and delay so that they can continue to advance their nuclear programme and get to the nuclear finish line by running up the clock, so to speak.”


US backing for a pre-emptive strike?

Netanyahu appears to have received the backing he has sought from President Obama. In an interview with Atlantic magazine, Obama stated “I think both the Iranian and the Israeli governments recognise that when the US says it is unacceptable for Iran to have nuclear weapons, we mean what we say.” He added: “all options are on the table…it includes a military component. And I think people understand that”. Obama however slightly put the breaks on any suggestions that it supports a full scale pre-emptive strike in asserting that he felt it unwise for Israel to go ahead with any attack which may enhance the ‘victim status’ position which Iran has played on during the course of this long running dispute.


Any hopes of roundtable talks?

Chances of a resolution by negotiation and diplomacy are gradually dissipating by the day. The Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 72, at the end of last month declared that the country would “impose its own threats at the right time” in response to armed conflict or war. The Ayatollah has used the country’s recent elections to bolster his credibility and to assure his people that he will preserve their security against “the arrogant powers bullying us to maintain their prestige.” Nevertheless, the credibility of the aforementioned elections will come under some scrutiny as the two main opposition leaders, Mirhossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi were excluded from the process as they are currently under house arrest. It is no exaggeration to state that the Ayatollah is even more of a hard line figure than President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who is famed for his poisonous rhetoric against Israel and the west. This is best demonstrated by events of 2009 when Ahmadinejad appeared to favour a compromise solution involving nuclear fuel swap; an idea which was extinguished almost immediately by the Ayatollah.

Needless to say, Iran has no intention of acceding to the pre-conditions favoured by Israel prior to entering any negotiations. The demands include (a) the dismantling of the underground nuclear facility near the city of Qom; (b) to stop uranium enrichment; and (c) to remove all uranium enriched above 3.5 percent from the country (the 3.5 percent level is usually required to power nuclear energy plants). Therefore the spectre of pre-emptive strike looms large although Israel and the US, if the latter is co-opted into a potential military mission, risk violating the UN Charter against the use of force in doing so.


The legality of pre-emptive strikes

Article 51 of the Charter permits the use of force by a State only when it has suffered an ‘armed attack’ against it. This would therefore mean that Israel can only legally launch an attack against Iran only, and only if it has been attacked by Iran. It would be right to argue that in drafting the Charter, its drafters did not anticipate a world in which many nations would have access to nuclear weaponry. The age of nuclear weaponry may have made the Charter redundant in that the victim State stands the risk of being annihilated or severely handicapped if it stands back and allows an initial nuclear attack to be launched by the ‘aggressor state’. This will be the argument forwarded by the Israeli government.


Where do we go from here?

Global affairs pundits, scholars of international law and the International Court of Justice have not provided the clarity sought by most. However the present writer favours the interpretation propounded by the renowned scholar, Yoram Dinstein, in his seminal volume, War, Aggression and Self-Defence. In my opinion he successfully argues that the right to self-defence can be invoked in response to an armed attack as soon as it becomes evident to the victim State (on the basis of hard intelligence available) that the attack is in the process of being mounted. In his opinion, under Article 51, there is no need for the victim State to wait for bombs to fall as it is entitled to intercept the armed attack with a view to blunting its edge.

If this view is accepted as customary international law, then it would appear that Israel and/or the US can legally, based on the evidence of the IAEA as well as the Natanz and Qom nuclear facilities, act pre-emptively without fear of breaching international law. However, one hopes that common sense will prevail before matters escalate any further. Western sanctions have already had a debilitating effect on the Iranian economy with evidence of spiralling inflation and rising food and fuel costs. The worsening economic crisis may lead Iran back to the negotiating table like it has with North Korea, or in the alternative make the Ayatollah even more resolute. What is however certain is that the future will certainly become clearer after next Monday’s meeting between the leaders of Israel and the US.