Iraq: Stop Killings for Homosexual Conduct

The 67-page report, "‘They Want Us Exterminated': Murder, Torture, Sexual Orientation and Gender in Iraq," documents a wide-reaching campaign of extrajudicial executions, kidnappings, and torture of gay men that began in early 2009. The killings began in the vast Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City, a stronghold of Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia, and spread to many cities across Iraq. Mahdi Army spokesmen have promoted fears about the "third sex" and the "feminization" of Iraq men, and suggested that militia action was the remedy. Some people told Human Rights Watch that Iraqi security forces have colluded and joined in the killing.
"Iraq's leaders are supposed to defend all Iraqis, not abandon them to armed agents of hate," said Scott Long, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights Program at Human Rights Watch. "Turning a blind eye to torture and murder threatens the rights and life of every Iraqi."

Silence and stigma surrounding sexuality and gender in Iraq make placing a precise figure on the number killed almost impossible, but indications are that hundreds of men may have died.
One man told Human Rights Watch that militiamen kidnapped and killed his partner of 10 years in April: "It was late one night, and they came to take my partner at his parents' home. Four armed men barged into the house, masked and wearing black. They asked for him by name; they insulted him and took him in front of his parents. ... He was found in the neighborhood the day after. They had thrown his corpse in the garbage. His genitals were cut off and a piece of his throat was ripped out."

The killers invade homes and pick people up in the street, witnesses and survivors said, interrogating them before murdering them to extract names of other potential victims. They practice grotesque tortures, including gluing men's anuses shut as punishment. Human Rights Watch spoke to doctors who said that hospitals and morgues have received dozens of mutilated bodies, living and dead.

"Murder and torture are no way to enforce morality," said Rasha Moumneh, Middle East and North Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. "These killings point to the continuing and lethal failure of Iraq's post-occupation authorities to establish the rule of law and protect their citizens."

Consensual homosexual conduct between adults is not a criminal offense under Iraqi law. Although many militias in Iraq claim to be enforcers of Islamic law, the Human Rights Watch report also shows how the killings - committed without evidence or trial, on the basis of prejudice and whim - violate standards in Sharia law for legality, proof, and privacy.
International human rights law forbids all forms of torture and inhuman treatment and guarantees the right to life, including the right to effective state protection. In its 1994 decision in the landmark case of Toonen v. Australia, the United Nations Human Rights Committee held that the protections against unequal treatment in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) extend to sexual orientation as a protected status.

The report also documents how fears that Iraqi men's masculinity is under threat propel the killings as much as prejudices about sexuality. Many men told Human Rights Watch that their parents or brothers have threatened them with honor killings because their "unmanly" behavior threatens the reputation of the family or tribe. In a provision left over from the Saddam Hussein era, Iraqi law allows mitigated penalties for crimes committed "with honorable motives." This exception encourages gender-based violence.

Many Iraqis who fear being attacked have sought safety in surrounding countries, but those countries are no safe haven, the report says. Consensual homosexual conduct is criminalized in most of these countries, and prejudice based on sexual orientation and gender identity fosters violence and discrimination in all of them. Human Rights Watch urges the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), as well as governments that accept Iraqi refugees, to offer rapid resettlement to these endangered people.
Accounts from the report (all names are aliases, to protect the speakers)

"[The killers'] measuring rod to judge people is who they have sex with. It is not by their conscience, it is not by their conduct or their values, it is who they have sex with. The cheapest thing in Iraq is a human being, a human life. It is cheaper than an animal, than a pair of used-up batteries you buy on the street. Especially people like us. ... I can't believe I'm here talking to you because it's all just been repressed, repressed, repressed. For years it's been like that - if I walk down the street, I would feel everyone pointing at me. I feel as if I'm dying all the time. And now this, in the last month - I don't understand what we did to deserve this. They want us exterminated. All the violence and all this hatred: the people who are suffering from it don't deserve it."- Hamid, in Iraq, April 24, 2009

"We've been hearing about this, about gay men being killed, for more than a month. It's like background noise now, every day. The stories started spreading in February about this campaign against gay people by the Mahdi Army: everyone was talking about it, I was hearing about it from my straight friends. In a coffee shop in Karada, on the streets in Harithiya [Baghdad neighborhoods], they were talking about it. I didn't worry at first. My friends and I, we look extremely masculine, there is nothing visibly "feminine" about us. None of us ever, ever believed this would happen to us. But then at the end of March we heard on the street that 30 men had been killed already."- Idris, in Iraq, April 24, 2009

"They did many things to us, the Mahdi Army. ... They kidnapped [my partner] for six days. He will not talk about what they did to him. There were bruises on his side as if he was dragged on the street. They did things to him he can't describe, even to me. They wrote in the dust on the windshield of his car: ‘Death to the people of Lot and to collaborators.' They sent us veiled threats in text messages: ‘You are on the list.' They sent him a piece of paper in an envelope, to his home: there were three bullets wrapped in plastic, of different size. The note said, ‘Which one do you want in your heart?' ... I want to be a regular person, lead a normal life, walk around the city, drink coffee on the street. But because of who I am, I can't. There is no way out."- Mohammad, in Iraq, April 21, 2009

"At 10 a.m., [Ministry of Interior officers] cuffed my hands behind my back. Then they tied a rope around my legs, and they hung me upside down from a hook in the ceiling, from morning till sunset. I passed out. I was stripped down to my underwear while I hung upside down. They cut me down that night, but they gave me no water or food. Next day, they told me to put my clothes back on and they took me to the investigating officer. He said, ‘You like that? We're going to do that to you more and more, until you confess.' Confess to what? I asked. ‘To the work you do, to the organization you belong to, and that you are a tanta' [queen]. For days, there were severe beatings, and constant humiliation and insults. ... It was the same form of abuse every day. They beat me all over my body; when they had me hanging upside down, they used me like a punching bag. ... They used electric prods all over my body. Then they raped me. Over three days. The first day, 15 of them raped me; the second day, six; the third day, four. There was a bag on my head every time."- Nuri, on April 15 and 27, 2009

REPORTED TORTURE OF IRANIAN ELECTION PROTESTORS CONCERN UN RIGHTS EXPERTS

A group of independent United Nations human rights experts voiced serious concern today over accusations of torture and rough interrogation tactics in connection with trials of protesters of Iran's disputed presidential elections.

The victims include lawyers, journalists and other human rights defenders, as well as members of the opposition who took to the streets to demonstrate over the results of the 12 June polls, according to the UN experts.

"No judicial system can consider as valid a confession obtained as a result of harsh interrogations or under torture," stressed Manfred Nowak, the Special Rapporteur on Torture.

"These confessions for alleged crimes such as threats against national security and treason must not, under any circumstances, be admitted as evidence by the Revolutionary Court," added El Hadji Malick Sow, the Vice-Chairperson of the Working Group on arbitrary detention.

Foreign media have been banned from covering the judicial proceedings and it is unclear whether the defendants have adequate legal counsel, noted the experts, which also include the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Margaret Sekaggya.

The experts added that many detainees are kept without any communication with the outside world, without knowing the charges they face, medical treatment, legal assistance or family visits.

The group said they continue to receive reports of people dying in custody, and whose families are given false or contradictory information regarding the cause of death.
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FORMER CHADIAN LEADER TO REMAIN IN SENEGAL PENDING FINAL RULING BY UN COURT

FORMER CHADIAN LEADER TO REMAIN IN SENEGAL PENDING FINAL RULING BY UN COURT
New York, May 28 2009 2:00PM
The United Nations International Court of Justice (<"http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/index.php?p1=3&p2=2&case=144&PHPSESSID=66df0eb20403f92383dc3ea447d6af5c">ICJ) today issued an <"http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/144/15149.pdf">order leaving former Chadian president Hissène Habré in the custody of Senegal, where he is under house arrest for alleged war crimes.

Belgium lodged a request to the ICJ in February to bar Mr. Habré, who has been accused in a Senegalese court of massive human rights abuses committed by his regime during the 1990s, from leaving Senegal while his trial is pending.

It had also sought to have him extradited to face charges in Belgium, citing among other things procedural delays in Senegal's handling of the case. For its part, Senegal had asked the Court to dismiss the Belgian filing, saying its judiciary is competent to carry out the prosecution.

In its order, the ICJ found that "there does not exist, in the circumstances of the present case, any urgency to justify" Belgium's bid.

However, the Court also stressed that today's order leaves unaffected Belgium's right to pursue the case should new facts emerge.

In addition, Senegal has given assurances it would not allow Mr. Habré, who has been living in house arrest for nearly 20 years, to leave the country pending a final ICJ ruling on the matter, noted the Court, which is based in The Hague, Netherlands.

Mr. Habré ruled Chad from 1982 to 1990, when he was overthrown and went into exile in Senegal, and it is alleged that during his rule thousands of Chadians were tortured and unlawful killings and other serious human rights violations took place.

Although he was charged in February 2000 by a lower court in Senegal's capital, Dakar, an appeals court later ruled that Senegalese courts did not have the legal competence to try such cases if they were perpetrated in another country.

But then in April 2008, Senegal's National Assembly adopted an amendment to the constitution that together with previous changes allowed the country's legal system to deal with such cases.
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Bangladesh: Executions, Torture by Security Forces Go Unpunished

New Government Must Address Impunity to Make Good on Human Rights Promises

May 18, 2009

(New York) - The Bangladeshi government should take urgent action to make good on its campaign promise to end impunity for human rights abuses and to establish the rule of law, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Successive governments have promised but failed to ensure that law enforcement officials and soldiers responsible for abuses are brought to justice.

The 76-page report, "Ignoring Executions and Torture: Impunity for Bangladesh's Security Forces," details the involvement of soldiers, paramilitary officers, and police in so-called "crossfire killings" and other custodial killings, torture, "disappearances," and arbitrary arrests. It examines a number of cases that have received national and international attention, in which those responsible have not been prosecuted. Facing constant threats, harassment, and even physical abuse, victims and family members have often been forced to abandon their efforts to seek justice, and the suspected perpetrators have continued serving in the security forces.

"If you are a soldier, a member of the Rapid Action Battalion or the intelligence services, or a police officer, you can get away with murder in Bangladesh," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "But those who kill or torture should be behind bars with other violent criminals."

Over the past five years, the military, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) - an elite crime-fighting force - and the police have been responsible for well over 1,000 killings. Human Rights Watch and others have long contended that many of these deaths, often described as "crossfire killings," were actually extrajudicial executions of people in custody. Bodies of the victims often had wounds that suggested that they had been tortured. While there have been far fewer extrajudicial killings since the new government took power in January 2009, new cases have begun to emerge in recent weeks and no one has been held accountable for past abuses.

The report highlights the case of Choles Ritchil, a leader of the indigenous Mandi tribe, who was arrested and tortured to death by a group of soldiers in March 2007. It also describes how Khabirul Islam Dulal, a local politician in Bhola district, was tortured by navy officers in front of his family and neighbors a few weeks earlier. Although witnesses have identified suspects in both cases, no one has been prosecuted and imprisoned.

"The very forces tasked with upholding the law and providing security to the public have become well known for breaking the law in the gravest manner without ever facing any consequences," Adams said. "Forces such as RAB and the military intelligence agency DGFI have become symbols of abuse and impunity."

The report concludes that Bangladeshi governments since independence in 1971 have been unwilling to prosecute and punish state officers responsible for grave human rights violations. The problem is one of both law and practice. Alleged human rights violations should be investigated by an independent and neutral body, and archaic laws that shield security officials from prosecution should be amended. The report urges the government to set up a witness protection program and to prosecute or take disciplinary action against anyone who tries to stop or hinder a criminal investigation.

The situation is partially the result of an outdated legal framework under which law enforcement officers and members of the armed forces are shielded from prosecution. In violation of international legal standards, article 46 of Bangladesh's Constitution empowers parliament to pass laws that provide immunity from prosecution to any state officer for any act done to maintain or restore order, and to lift any penalty, sentence, or punishment imposed.

Soldiers and RAB officers are also protected from the civilian criminal justice system under rules that ensure that they can only be prosecuted in internal courts by their peers through processes that lack independence or impartiality. While the civilian courts have jurisdiction over cases involving police officers suspected of involvement in criminal activities, such officers are protected by Section 197 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which requires explicit government approval to prosecute an officer purporting to act in an official capacity. Several other laws state that no legal action can be taken against a person who in good faith acts to implement any of its provisions.

Foreign governments are well aware of the poor human rights record of these agencies, but nevertheless cooperate with and provide training to them.

For all of these reasons, senior law enforcement and military officers have never been under strong systemic pressure to ensure that soldiers, paramilitaries, or police officers operate within the law or human rights norms. They take for granted that they have complete discretion in carrying out their mandate, even if it includes the use of unlawful violence. They send the message to victims that anyone who attempts to hold them accountable will have to pay a high price and that, in any case, the efforts will be fruitless.

Bangladesh's new government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has declared a "zero-tolerance" policy for extrajudicial executions and stated that state officials who engage in such acts will be punished. There are, however, no indications that the authorities have initiated any serious investigations into past abuses or into credible allegations that several suspects in the February 2009 rebellion and massacre at the headquarters of the Bangladesh Rifles, the country's border security forces, have been tortured and killed while in custody.

Given their long history of arbitrary arrests, torture, and extrajudicial killings, Human Rights Watch recommends that DGFI and RAB be disbanded or, at the very least, that an independent commission be set up to assess their performance, identify and recommend for dismissal officers believed to be responsible for serious human rights violations, and develop an action plan to transform them into agencies that operate within the law and with full respect for international human rights norms.

DGFI's operations should be strictly limited to lawful military intelligence activities and in no circumstances should it have powers to detain or to engage in surveillance of the political opposition and critics of the government.

"As a party to the UN human rights conventions, Bangladesh is obliged to ensure that all violations - past and future - are investigated, and that those responsible are brought to justice," Adams said. "If Bangladesh is to become a country in which fundamental human rights are respected and the law is applied equally to the poor and the powerful, the existing culture of impunity has to be torn down."

Kyrgyzstan: Investigate Torture Allegations

Supreme Court Hearing Provides Opportunity to Ensure Justice

May 13, 2009

(New York) - A review hearing related to last year's protests in southern Kyrgyzstan is a crucial opportunity for the Kyrgyz authorities to investigate the defendants' torture allegations and to ensure justice, Human Rights Watch said today.

The hearing at Kyrgyzstan's Supreme Court is scheduled to start on May 14, 2009. The 32 defendants are accused of organizing last October's demonstration in Nookat, in southern Kyrgyzstan, to protest a government decision not to allow a religious celebration for Eid al-Fitr. After the protest, the police arrested dozens of people, claiming they were Islamic "extremists." During their trial a month later, at the Osh Province Court, many defendants said that they had been tortured and ill-treated in police custody. An independent commission under the ombudsman's office documented many of their accusations.

"The prosecutor's office should have started an investigation into the torture allegations a long time ago," said Holly Cartner, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Torture is a common problem in Kyrgyzstan, and the Supreme Court hearing is a chance for the authorities to make clear that the abusers can no longer get away with it."

On November 27, 2008, the Osh Province Court found the defendants guilty of a number of offenses, including "incitement to cause or participate in mass unrest," "separatism," "attempted overthrow of the constitutional order," and "spreading ethnic or religious strife." The defendants were sentenced to prison terms ranging from nine to 20 years, which in Kyrgyzstan is an unusually harsh punishment for a local protest.

A commission established by the Kyrgyz ombudsman documented in a report in February based on interviews with all defendants, their lawyers and relatives and court material that most of the defendants were ill-treated and tortured during their arrest and in pre-trial detention. According to the report, the detainees were thrown into minibuses, where they were beaten with guns and batons, and kicked.

While the detainees were in police custody, law enforcement officials poured hot and cold water on them, beat them on the soles of their feet, and semi-suffocated them using plastic bags or gas masks. Detainees also had to stand in their underwear in a cold room with their feet in water for up to three days, were not allowed to use sanitary facilities, and did not receive needed medical treatment.

A 24-page report by the Russian human rights organization Memorial, published in January 2009, documented similar violations. After the report's publication, its author was deported from Kyrgyzstan and barred from re-entering.

At their trial, the defendants testified about torture and ill-treatment, but the judge neither urged the prosecutor's office to investigate the allegations nor dismissed the evidence defendants said had been obtained under torture. Under article 19 of the Kyrgyz Criminal Procedural Code, a court can issue a separate opinion (chastnoe opredelenie) if procedural norms or legal provisions were violated during the investigation, but the court did not do so. The Supreme Court hearing is a review to determine whether the trial conducted in full accordance with the law.

Kyrgyzstan is a state party to the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. This requires the Kyrgyz authorities to conduct a prompt and impartial investigation when there are reasonable grounds to believe torture has taken place (article 12), and to bar the admission of any statement made as a result of torture as evidence in any proceeding, except against the person accused of the torture (article 15). Article 305-1 of the Kyrgyz criminal code bans torture. Under article 325 of the criminal code, officials "may be held criminally liable for coercion to testify by means of threats, violence, or blackmailing of a person being questioned or other unlawful acts."

On April 14, 2008, Kyrgyzstan also ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, which stipulates that there should be regular visits to correctional institutions by international experts, as well as the creation of a national prevention mechanism to combat torture and cruel treatment.

Despite these provisions, torture and ill-treatment of detainees are pervasive in Kyrgyzstan. For example, in 2008, a network of human rights defenders, Golos Svobody (Voice of Freedom), submitted 26 complaints of torture and ill-treatment to the office of the prosecutor general. In response, prosecutors initiated about a dozen inquiries, but either concluded that the other allegations were not confirmed or did not reply. No case was heard by Kyrgyz courts in 2008 under the criminal code article banning torture.

Kyrgyz human rights groups have also criticized the lack of fair-trial standards and the unusually harsh sentences in the Nookat case. The first two trial hearings were closed. According to the reports by the ombudsman's commission and Memorial, several lawyers complained they did not have access to court materials, and relatives were not informed about the detention of their family members.

"The Supreme Court has a chance here to send an important signal to the authorities and law enforcement officials," said Cartner. "It should not allow Nookat to become a synonym for injustice and police arbitrariness."

Background on the Nookat events

In 2008, Nookat residents planned a celebration for Eid al-Fitr to mark the end of Ramadan, a celebration that is common throughout Kyrgyzstan.

The Nookat mayor's office first told residents in late September they could not hold the celebration at the main square, and then designated it to be held at a stadium outside town. But when residents arrived at the stadium for the celebration on October 1, it was closed. The crowd proceeded to the mayor's office to protest.

Accounts vary as to the number of protesters and the conduct of the protest. The authorities have stated that it was a well-organized and violent protest by a thousand followers of Hizb ut-Tahrir, an international Islamic organization that is banned in Kyrgyzstan and several other countries in the region. Local residents say several hundred protesters initially peacefully gathered at the mayor's office. Riot police brought in from Osh dispersed the protest after protesters threw stones at the municipality building.

In the following days, the police arrested several dozen people based on video material and a list of "previously known extremists" compiled by the Nookat district police department. Initially, the defendants were charged with organizing or participating in mass unrest, and the remaining charges were added during the investigation. On October 13, 2008, the State Committee for National Security announced that 32 people were in custody. It also said that the detainees were all members of Hizb ut-Tahrir.

TORTURE ALLEGATIONS IN KAZAKHSTAN CONCERN UN RIGHTS EXPERT

TORTURE ALLEGATIONS IN KAZAKHSTAN CONCERN UN RIGHTS EXPERT
New York, May 13 2009 2:00PM
While lauding the efforts made by authorities in Kazakhstan to improve conditions in prisons and other facilities, an independent United Nations expert today expressed his concerns about allegations of torture in the Central Asian nation.

"I conclude that the use of torture and ill-treatment certainly goes beyond isolated instances," Manfred Nowak said in a <"http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/view01/0BE9B42AD9B38DD6C12575B500527CC8?opendocument">statement issued today in Astana, following a nine-day visit to the country.

Mr. Nowak, the UN Human Rights Council's Special Rapporteur on Torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman, degrading treatment or punishment, said he received many "credible allegations" of beatings with hands and fists, plastic bottles filled with sand and police truncheons.

He was also told of kicking, asphyxiation through plastic bags and gas masks used to obtain confessions from suspects. "In several cases, these allegations were supported by forensic medical evidence."

The Special Rapporteur added that there are some groups that run larger risks of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment than others, noting that the likeliness for foreigners to be subjected to such treatment seems to be "higher than average."

Another concern is the "almost total absence" of official complaints, which raises doubt about whether there is in fact a meaningful complaint mechanism. "It appears that most detainees refrain from filing complaints because they do not trust the system or are afraid of reprisals," noted Mr. Nowak.

On prisons, the expert said the country has made considerable efforts in recent years to improve the conditions in its prisons, including bringing physical conditions and food supply in line with minimum international standards.

At the same time, he noted that one of the key-requirements of international human rights law is that penitentiary systems put the rehabilitation and reintegration rather than the punishment of the individual offender at their core.

"This has clearly not been achieved: the current law still provides for different prison regimes as a form of punishment and places heavy restrictions on contact with the outside world; exacerbated by the fact that the locations of the facilities per se make family visits difficult,"
he stated.

Furthermore, only a very small percentage of the prison population appears to have access to meaningful activities, and the hierarchy among prisoners appears to lead to discriminatory practices and, in some cases, violence, Mr. Nowak said, adding that the same is true for pre-trial detention and custody facilities.
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DARFURI SURVIVORS TO RALLY IN LONDON AS ICC DECIDES ON BASHIR ARREST WARRANT

Today the judges at the ICC will announce whether or not they are going to issue an arrest warrant for Omar Bashir, the President of Sudan, on charges of crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide in Darfur.

If a warrant is issued, it will be the first time that such a step has been taken against a sitting head of state. As the ICC judges announce their decision in the Hague, Darfuri survivors will be gathered in capital cities across Europe to remember their murdered loved ones and destroyed communities – the victims of this crisis, whose slaughter demands justice.

London rally. In London, they will congregate for a commemoration outside the Sudanese Embassy from midday to 2.00pm, reading out the names of over a thousand victims and holding a minute’s silence at 1.00pm, the moment the ICC’s decision is announced.

“Khartoum will make a lot of noise that this is a politically motivated assault on the President, and through him, the Sudanese state and Sudanese people,” says Ishag Mekki, Humanitarian Officer for the Darfur Union – the umbrella group for Darfuri exiles living in the UK. “Amid that noise, just remember that on Bashir’s watch, millions of Sudanese men, women and children have been driven from their homes, killed or raped in Darfur. Not because they carry guns, but because of who they are. This is a matter of justice, not politics. And we, the survivors, know how desperately justice is needed.”

Darfur perpetrators implicate Bashir

Ahead of the ICC’s announcement, in a film released by the Aegis Trust (see earlier article) even the perpetrators themselves have begun to speak out against their masters in Khartoum; Janjaweed fighters describing how they call in Government airstrikes before attacking, and soldiers explaining how they were ordered by senior officers to rape girls as young as eleven or twelve.

“The rape and murder of the innocent is completely contrary to the tenets of Islam. It is contrary to basic principles of humanity. And it is a crime in International law. Would you accept it if your loved ones were the victims?”, asks Nejwa Gabir Ahmed, a survivor from Darfur living in the UK. She adds: “Unless the perpetrators are brought to justice, and unless justice is seen to be done, there will never be peace and reconciliation in Darfur. And we, the exiled, will never be able to return to our homeland with peace in our hearts.”

Call to UN Security Council: resist pressure from Khartoum over Article 16

It is widely expected that if the ICC issues an arrest warrant for Omar Bashir, politicians and diplomats in many quarters will increase the pressure for the UN Security Council to invoke Article 16 and suspend the process of international justice for Darfur.

“I ask the decision-makers at the UN Security Council; do not lightly trade away justice for the victims, or give it up in the face of blackmail from Khartoum,” says Darfuri survivor Khatir Mohammed, General Secretary of the Darfur Union. “A murder suspect is not let off the charges if he threatens to go out and kill more people. Nor should Omar Bashir, or any of those suspected of crimes against humanity in Darfur, be allowed to get off the hook by threatening peacekeepers, aid workers or our people in Sudan.”

A new report just released by Aegis, ‘The Enforcement of International Criminal Law’, addresses ways in which the international community could strengthen prospects for enforcement of any arrest warrant against Bashir.

Darfur Destroyed: Sudan's Perpetrators Break Silence

Darfur Destroyed: Sudan's perpetrators break silence from Aegis Trust on Vimeo.