--- On Fri, 2/4/10, Human Rights Watch <weba...@hrw.org> wrote:
From: Human Rights Watch <weba...@hrw.org>
Subject: Human Rights Watch Exposes Congo Massacre
To: "Avnish Jolly" <avnis...@yahoo.com>
Date: Friday, 2 April, 2010, 4:04
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| DR Congo Rebel Group Kills 321 |
| Lord's Resistance Army Kidnaps 250 Civilians, 80 Children |
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In a remote area of northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, one of Africa’s most notorious armed groups – the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) – brutally attacked civilians, killing at least 321 people with machetes, axes, and heavy wooden sticks. Another 250 civilians, including at least 80 children, were abducted and led away into the wilderness.
A new Human Rights Watch report is the first detailed documentation of the massacre, which happened in December. Despite the enormous death toll, the LRA attack was initially unreported, in part because the region is so remote – there are no telephones, electricity, or roads – but also because few paid attention when reports about the killings began to surface.
Publicly, the governments of Uganda and Congo maintain that the LRA, a Ugandan rebel group, is no longer a serious threat as a result of joint military operations by their armies. But this massacre illustrates that the LRA’s ability to attack civilians remains intact.
The United Nations is under pressure from the Congolese government to remove some of its peacekeeping forces from Congo. But considering the scope of the rampage, the Ugandan and Congolese governments, together with UN peacekeepers, should develop a more effective strategy to tackle the LRA threat and to apprehend its leaders – three of whom are already sought on arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court.
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| Photo: © 2009 Reuters |
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| US Immigrants Gain Protection |
| US Agency Promises to Minimize Transfer of Immigrant Detainees |
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The US agency responsible for detaining immigrants facing deportation has promised to transfer these immigrants between detention centers as little as possible. This news came shortly after Human Rights Watch released a report condemning the practice of moving detainees far from their homes.
The report, “Locked up Far Away,” illustrates that moving people away from their families, lawyers, and evidence hurts their ability to present a legal defense. It shows how detainees, barred from calling family members and lawyers before being moved, are often “lost” to loved ones for days. Often moved thousands of miles, many detainees end up in remote lock-ups in states unable to handle their legal needs.
About 1.6 million detainee transfers occurred between 1997 and 2006, and in 2008, a majority of detainees were transferred two or more times.
After releasing the report, Human Rights Watch, together with other nongovernmental organizations, held several consultations with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. In a recent letter to Human Rights Watch, the agency announced it intended to “minimize the number of detainee transfers to the greatest extent possible.”
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| Read about the report » |
| An undocumented immigrant arrives in Arizona. © 2009 Reuters |
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