Women's Rights Speaker from DRC at The College of New Jersey 11/10/08

On Monday, November 10, the Mercer County Amnesty Local Group and the Amnesty chapter at The College of New Jersey will host a presentation on violence against women by Dr. Roger Luhiriri from the Democratic Republic of Congo. There will also be opportunities for those attending to learn about and support the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA).

Dr. Luhiriri is currently in residence at the Human Rights Advocates Program at Columbia University. The Program's website provides the following biographical information about him:

Dr. Roger Luhiriri serves as a specialist physician in traumatic fistula at Panzi Hospital, the only center for victims of sexual violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Dr. Luhiriri also helps to guide the hospital’s other services for survivors of sexual violence, including psychological support, vocational training, and childcare. As a representative of Panzi Hospital, Dr. Luhiriri has built alliances between the Hospital and other nongovernmental organizations in the immediate area to encourage local participation in conflict resolution.

In addition to his work at Panzi Hospital, Dr. Luhiriri collaborates with Synergie des Femmes pour les Victimes des Violences Sexuelles (SFVS), a coalition of women’s organizations addressing sexual violence against women. To address a growing need to support the caregivers of sexual violence survivors, Dr. Luhiriri has introduced
a new Program of Psychological Assistance for Social Workers and Doctors. Dr. Luhiriri recently advocated this new initiative at Toronto University’s Stephen Lewis Foundation, where he studied women’s human rights.

The event will take place at 6:30 in Forcina Hall 130 at The College of New Jersey in Ewing. Directions to TCNJ are available at http://www.tcnj.edu/~pa/about/directions.html.

Those of you going to the Northeast Regional Conference

The Northeast Regional Office has asked me to co-facilitate a workshop on the Stop Violence Against Women Act. It will focus on efforts to promote the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA) in key states, including New Jersey.

Zimbabwe’s new government has to tackle culture of impunity

As many of you may know, AIUSA's Northeast Regional Office is focusing on the issue of impunity in Zimbabwe this year. Amnesty's International Secretariat has posted the following statement on its website:


Zimbabwe’s new government has to tackle culture of impunity

23 September 2008

Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe signed a power-sharing agreement with the Movement for Democratic Change’s leaders on Monday, 15 September 2008 in an attempt to resolve the political crisis that has been developing since 2000 and escalated sharply in the last six months.

The crisis has been characterised by a series of politically-motivated violations of civil, political, social and economic rights against real and perceived opponents of President Mugabe. Those who instigated or committed these violations have enjoyed almost total impunity.

In the run-up to the 27 June presidential election run-off, the country saw a wave of state-sponsored human rights violations that left at least 165 people killed, thousands tortured and nearly 30,000 people internally displaced. How Zimbabwe’s unity government will tackle important questions of justice and impunity remains unclear.

Amnesty International has said that the validity of the deal would be seriously compromised if it includes amnesties or pardons that prevent human rights violators being brought to justice, the emergence of the truth, and full reparations to victims.

"Nothing should be agreed that would prevent the full emergence of the truth – and those responsible for the gross human rights violations that took place must be brought to justice," said Simeon Mawanza, Amnesty International's expert on Zimbabwe who recently returned from speaking to victims of state-sponsored violence in the country.

"The victims of human rights violations are demanding justice for the crimes they have suffered – and they deserve no less than that. It will be a great betrayal of these victims if national, regional and international leaders were to support pre-trial amnesties for perpetrators of human rights violations."

Simeon Mawanza added that Zimbabwe has clear obligations under international law and that the country must not fail to fulfil those obligations, particularly in this critical point in their history."

Any durable solution to the crisis in Zimbabwe must have the respect and protection of human rights at its foundation," Mawanza said.

SEN. MENENDEZ MEETS WITH U.S. ENVOY TO SUDAN

I received the following press release about Darfur from Senator Menendez's office:

SEN. MENENDEZ MEETS WITH U.S. ENVOY TO SUDAN
Foreign Relations Committee member expresses frustration with slow deployment of peacekeepers


WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), a member of the Foreign Relations Committee who has consistently pushed the Bush administration to become more engaged in combating genocide in Darfur, met with the U.S. envoy to Sudan, Ambassador Richard Williamson in the Senator’s Washington offices this week. Senator Menendez released the following statement:

“I expressed to Ambassador Williamson my continuing frustration and concern over the stunningly-slow deployment pace of the essential peacekeeping forces. I also expressed the need for the Department of Defense to step up its logistical support in order to facilitate the deployment of these troops. Ambassador Williamson seems to share these concerns and have a better grasp of situation than previous Bush administration officials, and I hope that this will result in a more aggressive and focused administration Darfur policy over the next four months. We must not let Bashir off the hook as he allows more slaughter to take place. Just because this administration is coming to an end doesn’t mean that it can relax in regard to Darfur – the bloodshed and misery continues.”

# # #

Update: Sires Also Signs Indonesia Letter

In my last post, I thanked Congressman Rush Holt and Congressman Steve Rothman for signing a letter to the president of Indonesia calling for the release of Filep Karma and Yusuf Pakage.

Unfortunately, the list of signers that I was given was incomplete. I have since received letter from Congressman Albio Sires’s office indicating that he also signed this important letter. I have also obtained a copy of the signed letter with Representative Sires’s signature.

Naturally, Amnesty International greatly appreciates Congressman Sires’s support for these two prisoners of conscience. I am sorry for the oversight in my original message.

NJ Congressmen Rothman and Holt Support POCs in Indonesia

Representatives Steve Rothman and Rush Holt joined thirty-eight other House members in signing a letter in support of Filep Karma and Yusuf Pakage, prisoners of conscience who have been jailed and abused by Indonesian authorities for the simple act of peacefully raising a flag.

Amnesty greatly appreciates Rothman and Holt’s support for these men and hopes that the Indonesian government responds by releasing them and demonstrating respect for freedom of expression.

Update on Guantanamo Lobbying

So far, activists in New Jersey are organizing meetings with nine of the state’s fifteen members of Congress.

You can join the following meetings that are being organized by visiting http://www.amnestyusa.org/delegation/list.php:

Congressman LoBiondo
Senator Menendez
Congressman Jim Saxton
Congressman Pallone
Congressman Rush Holt
Congressman Chris Smith
Congressman Garrett
Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen
Congressman Albio Sires

Don’t see your member of Congress on the list? There is still time to volunteer to organize a meeting in your district by filling out the application at http://www.amnestyusa.org/delegation/leader.php!

Tell Congress to FINALLY Close Guantanamo!

Once again, the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay remain operating as we mark Torture Victims and Survivors Month this June. Hundreds of people remain in the prison without formal charges. Those who have been charged face the prospect of an unfair trial at the hands of a “military commission” that lacks independence and is allowed to use evidence that would be thrown out in a normal court of law as tainted by torture and other abusive interrogation methods.

June also marks the beginning of Congress’s annual Independence Day recess. Many our elected officials will return home from Washington during this break, creating an excellent opportunity to for us to meet with them in person and remind them that it is long since time to close the detention facilities at Guantanamo. All prisoners should either be charged with a recognized criminal offense or released. Those that are charged should be given fair trials in civilian courts.

You can help out by volunteering to organize a meeting with one of our members of the House or the Senate. You can also join an existing delegation.

Lobbying Congress is easy and effective, especially with the materials and training that Amnesty provides. As the Legislative Coordinator for New Jersey, I will also be available to assist delegation leaders plan their visits.

NJ in AI's 2008 Report

Here is a section of Amnesty International’s 2008 Annual Report I have been looking forward to reading! Congratulations and thanks to all those who helped out!

Larry Ladutke

On 17 December, New Jersey became the first US state since 1965 to abolish capital punishment. The following day, the UN General Assembly passed its landmark resolution calling for a global moratorium on executions. Sixty years after the right to life and the prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment were written into the UDHR, and three decades after executions resumed in the USA, advocates of the death penalty are increasingly on the defensive across the world.

In the USA, the abolitionist cause looks far less bleak than it was even a decade ago. A number of factors have contributed to this trend, including the release of more than 100 people from death row since 1977 on grounds of innocence – three of them in 2007. The number of death sentences passed each year continues to decline from its peak in the mid-1990s. Just over 100 death sentences were believed to have been handed down in the USA during 2007. Yet from 1995 to 1999, on average 304 people were sent to US death rows annually.

The 42 executions in the USA during 2007 – while 42 too many – represented the lowest annual judicial death toll in the country since 1994. This was at least in part due to the moratorium on lethal injections since late September 2007 when the US Supreme Court agreed to consider a challenge to the constitutionality of that method of execution.

AI Group Cosponsors Army Doctor Talk Against Torture in Princeton 6/23

I wanted to make sure you saw this upcoming event by AI LG 67 in Princeton. It is taking place right before activists across the country will meet with the congressmen and senators to urge them to support legislation to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay.



Monday, June 23 7:30 p.m. co-sponsored by Amnesty International Local Group 67Nassau Presbyterian Church61 Nassau Streetright across from Palmer Square)Princeton, NJ
To mark Torture Awareness Month, the Princeton Area Anti-Torture Advocacy Group is hosting a talk at 7:30 pm on Monday, June 23, at Nassau Presbyterian Church, 61 Nassau Street in Princeton (right across from Palmer Square). Torture Awareness Month commemorates the date, June 26, 1987, when the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment went into effect.
The speaker is Brigadier General (Ret) Stephen Xenakis, MD. His talk is entitled No More Torture: Defending Against Global Risk.
Dr. Xenakis served 28 years in the US Army as a medical corps officer. He is on the Board of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT), is an advisor to Physicians for Human Rights, and a contributor to Human Rights First. Dr. Xenakis is a member of Rock Spring United Church of Christ in Arlington, VA, and a Princeton University alumnus.
Dr. Xenakis has held a wide variety of military assignments -- as a clinical psychiatrist, staff officer, and senior commander including Commanding General of the Southeast Army Regional Medical Command. Dr. Xenakis has spoken and written widely on medical ethics, military medicine, and the treatment of detainees. He has an active clinical and consulting practice, and currently is working on the clinical applications of quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG) to brain injury and other neurobehavioral conditions.
Dr. Xenakis has written: "Until now, perhaps the most well-known image of the American military doctor was Hawkeye Pierce of M.A.S.H., who protected his patients from dubious orders from his superiors, even when his patients were enemy soldiers. Now, the world's impression of the American military doctor is something quite different. The International Committee of the Red Cross has accused American military physicians of participating in actions that are 'tantamount to torture."
The Princeton Area Anti-Torture Advocacy Group is affiliated with NRCAT, which is headquartered in Washington, D.C. The NRCAT slogan "Torture is a Moral Issue" will be displayed on banners by a number of area churches in June. NRCAT's Founding Conference at Princeton Theological Seminary in January 2006 was organized by the Coalition for Peace Action and the Rev. Dr. George Hunsinger of the Seminary faculty. Nassau Church, in which Dr. Hunsinger is an active participant, became a participating member of NRCAT in March 2007.
Co-sponsors of the presentation include: Nassau Presbyterian Church-Princeton; Coalition for Peace Action; ACLU-NJ; Amnesty International-Mercer County Group; Mercer County Coalition for Civil Liberties; New Brunswick Presbytery, PC (USA)-Social Witness Committee; Princeton Clergy Association; Princeton Friends Meeting-Peace & Social Concerns Committee; Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton; Westminster Presbyterian Church-Trenton; Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church-Princeton.
The presentation is a free public event. It will be followed by a question and answer period, as well as light refreshments.

Support NJ Representative Chris Smith’s Global Online Freedom of Information Act

I wanted to draw your attention to an action that listed in the May 2008 issue of Connect: supporting the Global Online Freedom Act of 2007. This legislation—which was introduced by New Jersey’s Chris Smith—would prevent U.S. internet companies from cooperating with repressive governments in their efforts to stifle freedom of expression.

Unfortunately, the need for this legislation is clearly demonstrated by the case of Shi Tao, a journalist who was sentenced to ten years after Yahoo! provided his identity to the Chinese government.

Please call the office of your House member and urge him to support H.R. 275, the Global Online Freedom Act of 2007. You can find the name and contact information for your House member by entering your zip code at www.house.gov.

Amnesty has also set up an online action on this issue.

Update: 4 NJ Congressmen Sign Solis Letter on Sexual Violence in Mexico

The following NJ members of Congress have signed the letter calling upon the Mexican government to investigate the sexual abuse of Barbara Italia Mendez and other female protestors arrested in May of 2006 and punish those responsible:

Rush Holt
Donald Payne
Steven Rothman
Albio Sires

Congressman Chris Smith's office has indicated that he is planning to send his own letter about this matter.

Update on Barbara Italia Mendez Letter!

Congressmen Albio Sires and Steve Rothman have joined Donald Payne in signing the congressional letter asking the Mexican government to investigate the rape of Barbara Italia Mendez and twenty-five other women who were arrested after a protest in May 2006!

If you live in one of the remaining NJ congressional districts, please call your House member’s office ASAP to urge him to sign on to this important letter by contacting Congresswoman Hilda Solis’s office. TOMORROW, May 9th, is the deadline!

Update on Barbara Italia Mendez Letter and IVAWA

We have received the list of the first fifty House members that have agreed to sign the letter urging the Mexican government to fully investigate the sexual abuse of Barbara Italia Mendez and twenty-five other women after they were arrested at a demonstration in San Salvador Atenco in May 2006.

Thanks to Congressman Donald Payne for being the first member of the New Jersey delegation to sign this important letter! There is still time, however, for the others to join him. Please contact the office of your Congressman and urge him to sign the Barbara Italia Mendez letter by contacting Laura Marsh in Representative Hilda Solis’s office.

As you may recall, Amnesty recently asked House members to support the International Violence Against Women Act once it was introduced. On Thursday, Congressman Howard Berman introduced this legislation as HR 5927! Please contact your congressman’s office to let him remind him to support this important bill that would coordinate U.S. foreign policy programs to effectively fight gender-based violence by implementing the practices that our own government knows work best.

Report from Lobby Day

The post-AGM lobby day went really well yesterday! Do to an oversight, the DC office had not arranged a meeting with Congressman Chris Smith’s office. As you probably know, Smith has been a very important leader on gender-based violence and human rights in general. It was therefore very important to contact him about the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA) yesterday. I was therefore very excited to be able arrange a meeting first thing Monday morning. A senior staff member even decided to take part!

Unfortunately, however, I wound up missing the meeting that Amnesty’s staff had scheduled with Congressman LoBiondo’s office. Two volunteers from the lobbying training sessions at the AGM were able to be there, though, and I have heard that the meeting went well. I also made a point of going to the office to apologize in person for not being able to attend.

I also had meetings with the offices of Albio Sires and Rush Holt. In general, all three of the offices that I met with were very positive about IVAWA and the congressional letter regarding the rape of Barbara Italia Mendez by Mexican police agents. Naturally, Smith’s office wants to make sure that IVAWA does not promote abortion. I told the Smith staff members I met with that Amnesty had made sure that the legislation does not deal with this issue. Understandably, however, they need to read the text of the bill once it is introduced.

The offices were also very interested in the northeast region’s special focus case, Fathi el-Jahmi of Libya.

It looks like our next big legislative push will be to press for closing the detention center at Guantanamo Bay. We are going to arrange some district meetings during the congressional recess in early July. This will be a great opportunity to actually meet with our representatives themselves! Please keep an eye out for further details. It would be great if student groups could try to stay in contact about this after classes end. Students can also check http://njailegaction.blogspot.com for more information!

Support Lobby Day (even if you can’t stay in DC Monday!)

As you know, Amnesty International is planning a day of lobbying in support of women’s rights following this weekend’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Washington, DC. Activists from across the country will be meeting with their congressional offices to ask them to sign a letter to the Mexican government calling for justice in the case of Bárbara Italia Méndez. Ms. Méndez was one of several women arrested, beaten, and raped by Mexican police following a demonstration in San Salvador Atenco in 2006. We will also ask our representatives to be prepared to support the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA) when it is introduced in the near future. This legislation would seek to coordinate and improve U.S. efforts to protect women and girls against violence through various foreign policy programs.

If you are staying to lobby on Monday, I look forward to working with you! Even if you can’t stay (or can’t attend the AGM), however, you can still support these efforts. Call your Congressman’s office and urge him to sign the letter on Ms. Méndez that is being circulated by Representative Hilda Solis. Be sure to mention that you also want him to support the International Violence Against Women Act when it is introduced!

(You can find the name and contact information for your Congressman by entering your zip code at http://www.house.gov/).

You can also take part in an online action regarding Ms. Méndez’s case. It calls Members of Congress to make sure that safeguards are put into police/military assistance to Mexico and Central America to prevent further abuses.

Thanks,
Larry Ladutke
NJ Legislative Coordinator, AIUSA

Support Freedom of Expression in China!

There is an online action to support Shi Tao, a Chinese journalist who is in prison for the “crime” of sending e-mail messages to a pro-democracy website in the United States. All you need to do is enter your contact information and Amnesty will send an e-mail message urging your Congressman to sign a letter urging U.S. Secretary of State Rice to take action on this case and other violations of the right to freedom of expression in China.

Week of Action on Darfur!

This week, activists across the nation are meeting with their local congressional offices to urge them to support the deployment of peacekeepers in Darfur. You can help by calling your Representative, along with Senators Lautenberg and Menendez!

Since 2003, 200,000 people have been killed in Darfur and 2.5 million have been displaced. Both government-aligned and rebel organizations have prevented humanitarian organizations from delivering food, medical treatment, and other urgent supplies to the population. In 2006 and 2007, Amnesty and other groups asked Congress to send strong messages to the Arab League and China to use their influence to persuade the Sudanese government to allow UN peacekeepers into Darfur.

These efforts have paid off. Roughly 9,000 UN/African Union peacekeepers have already been deployed. Yet the Sudanese government has tried to slow or prevent the complete deployment of 26,000 peacekeepers. Worse yet, it continues to create obstacles that prevent the peacekeepers from doing their job. Furthermore, the peacekeeping force does not have the financial resources it needs from the international community.

Please call the offices of your Congressman and both of our Senators and urge them to write to Secretary of State Rice and ask her to:
· Increase the diplomatic pressure on Sudan to cooperate with the complete and effective deployment of UN/African Union peacekeepers in Darfur
· Provide an addition $334 million for peacekeeping operations in Darfur for fiscal years 2008 and 2009

Upcoming Torture Vote in the Senate

In December, activists across the country told the House of Representatives to approve legislation that would ensure that all U.S. agencies and personnel are bound by the same rules regarding torture and interrogation. It makes it clear that even the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is bound by the standards set forth in the Army Field Manual.

The next step is a senate vote on the same conference report. Please call the offices of Senator Lautenberg (202-224-3224) and Senator Menendez (202-224-4744) and urge them to support section 327 of the Conference Report on the Intelligence Authorization Act (H.R. 2082).” Doing so will help

·Ensure the accuracy of intelligence because information obtained through torture and other inhumane methods is inherently unreliable

·Strengthen U.S. efforts to stop terrorism by improving relations with our allies

·Protect U.S. citizens, including servicemen, by supporting international law and thus removing any cynical justification for violating their rights

·Decrease support for anti-Americanism by improving our nation’s image

·Restore the America that We Believe—the nation governed by the U.S. Constitution

Why Congress Needs to Do More on Darfur NOW

In UN police into Darfur refugee camp, Alfred de Montequiou of the Associated press quotes a tribal leader's reaction to the United Nation's peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID): We know they're our last chance, so we hope they're serious about helping us.

The elder's words also apply to those of us in the United States. As de Montequiou writes,

barely 1,400 of UNAMID's planned 6,000 police officers are in Darfur, and Bangladesh is the only contributing nation to have sent a new contingent so far. More urgently, the mission has only 7,000 troops instead of the expected 20,000, and wealthy Western countries are balking at offering crucial equipment such as helicopters. With so many troops and gear still missing, "we can only fulfill some of the mandate of UNAMID," Gen. Martin Agwai, the force commander,
told the AP last week.

Without financial support, the UN mission will fail and the people of Darfur will be left completely unprotected. You can help out by asking your Congressman and Senators to urge the State Department to provide funds for peacekeeping in Darfur and to help pursuade our European allies to do likewise! Please volunteer to organize or join a congressional visit in your area! Show the people of Darfur that we are serious about helping them!

The Peacekeepers Can't Protect Darfur Without OUR Help!

Last spring, activists across the nation met with their senators and congressmen to urge them to sign a letter urging the Chinese government to persuade Sudan to allow UN peacekeepers into Darfur. The mobilization was a success, and the joint UN-African Union peacekeeping force has begun to deploy.

Unfortunately, however, this is not enough to guarantee the safety of the people of Darfur. The peacekeeping force continues to faces obstacles from the Sudanese government as well as financial shortfalls that prevent it from carrying out its mission of ending the violence.

Amnesty International wants the U.S. government to help overcome these problems! We are organizing another week of lobbying at the end of February to ask members of the House and Senate to sign a letter urging Secretary of State Rice to increase pressure on the Sudanese government to cooperate with the peacekeeping force; contribute needed funds and equipment; and help convince our allies to do likewise.

You can volunteer to lead a delegation to your Congressman and/or Senator at http://www.amnestyusa.org/darfurlobby. Once again, Amnesty International will provide online training, phone conferences, and other resource to help prepare those chosen to lead delegations.

Senator Lautenberg Response on Cluster Bombs

I wanted to pass along this response from Sentator Frank Lautenberg regarding the Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act":


Dear Mr. Ladutke:

Thank you for contacting me about cluster munitions. I appreciate and share your concern for innocent people who have been maimed and killed by cluster bombs.

Cluster bombs' wide-area coverage make s them particularly dangerous. These weapons are used in military operations but often fail to explode on contact , as- designed . They can remain in the soil long after the reason for their use has passed and the conflict h as ended . There are instances where such buried munitions end up harming innocent civilians.

I am pleased that the Senate included in the Fiscal Year 2008 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Act a provision restricting the sale and transfer of cluster munitions . It also urges the President to take steps toward protecting civilians from unintentional exposure to harm . I supported this bill. Currently, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is reviewing the "Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act" (S. 594) which would permanently restrict the sale and transfer of cluster munitions . While I do not serve this committee , please be assured that I will keep your views in mind should this legislation come before the full Senate.

Thank you again for contacting me about this very important issue.