In a recent BBC News update, it was reported that the UN Development Programme has warned that if the Guatemalan government does not intervene soon, the racial situation may become extremely unmanageable. According to the report, Guatemala suffers from “historically racist attitudes” towards the indigenous people of the region; indigenous people make up 50% of the population and most of them live in poverty. It is imperative that these attitudes are overcome, not only for the government’s sake of manageability, but for the sake and humanity of the indigenous inhabitants[1].

On top of these racial attitudes, land issues are a major part of indigenous struggles in Guatemala. In many indigenous communities, rural workers are simply evicted as a way to solve land issues that arise; however, the present laws and practices used by the Guatemalan government are “fundamentally unfair, biased and flawed.” Numerous violent and forced evictions have been reported and severe racial discrimination is experienced by these indigenous evictees (“[these] human rights violations [are] committed in the context of agrarian disputes”). Many of those evicted never receive compensation in any form whatsoever[2]. 

Within the past week, droves of indigenous and rural workers demonstrated in Guatemala City to “express discontent with the government’s failure to keep its promises to solve the land issue,” said Santiago Itzeo Chibalan, president of the Maya Farmers Association. The group demanded rights to their land and questioned the Guatemalan government about compensation they have yet to receive. Prensa Latina reports that about 50 land conflicts remain unsettled in the country, the worst having occurred about two years ago and resulting in the death of nine people and the eviction of hundreds of families. The land from which many of these indigenous people are being evicted belonged to their ancestors and they feel they have a right to that land[3].

Guatemalan authorities are infringing upon the following rights contained in the UDHR: Article 12, “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to protection of the law against such interference or attacks,” and Article 17, “1. Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others. 2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.”

The way to solve these supposed land conflicts should never be through violent or forceful evictions (and in some cases, killings). Some sort of change needs to be brought about that does not allow for racial discrimination or bias in the decision to evict those who most likely have every right to be on the land they are on. At any rate, those evicted (peaceably, of course) do not deserve to wait around on compensation; they should at least be compensated greatly for the suffering they must endure at the hands of their government.

---

 

In recent weeks, several uprisings by indigenous workers have occurred over possibilities of the signing of a free trade agreement with the United States. Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported on the less-than-satisfactory worker and trade situation in Ecuador in September of last year. HRW even suggested that the United States hold off on any Ecuador trade benefits until improvements were made in the area of workers’ rights. Ecuadorian workers (many of whom are indigenous peoples) lack mainly decent rights to freedom of association, among other things. Labor rights and trade researcher for HRW, Carol Pier said, “Ecuador made impressive promises on workers’ rights before receiving expanded U.S. trade benefits in 2002, but since then, it has produced few real results[1].” 

BBC News recently reported on the several roadblocks and protests by indigenous groups in Ecuador and on attempts by the government to stop these actions. Indigenous workers feel that free trade agreements with the United States will hurt or alter their way of life, and have thus been spending the last couple weeks protesting against possible futures agreements. Due to the protests, trades worth millions of dollars have been foregone, roads have been blocked, and there have been shortages of fuel and food in many regions of Ecuador. Government officials have attempted to stop the protests and have even asked the indigenous workers to quietly get signatures for a referendum instead[2]. 

Another stance on the situation (taken by the alternative online source “Worker’s World”) concentrates more on the government’s treatment of the protestors in Ecuador. There have been reports of police harassment and even the detention of people who just appear to be “indigenous.” Concerning free trade agreements with the US, certain indigenous groups have reported the following: “Now 50 out of 100 indigenous children [in Ecuador] suffer from chronic malnutrition, hunger, with the FTA that will affect the production of food, it will be millions of children and adolescents along with their parents that will suffer hunger and will have to migrate to the big cities or to other countries[3].”

Specific articles of UDHR called into question in this case are Article 23 concerning employment rights, Article 20 concerning assembly and association rights, and Article 9 concerning arbitrary detention.

As long as the indigenous peoples are not harming anyone through their protests, they should not be hindered from expressing their voices and opinions in that manner. It is not right for the government to try to force a “quieter” approach through signatures on a referendum. While other countries may have successfully made free trade pacts with the US or not, there seem to be serious issues with the amount of opposition the Ecuadorian government faces in this matter. It appears there is still much to be done in the area of Ecuadorian indigenous (and non-indigenous, for that matter) workers’ rights.

---

Violence continues to rise in the Darfur region and the overall lack of progress in the area continues to put many of the black Arab tribes in Sudan at risk of genocide. The African Union has been at work in Darfur, but militiamen continue to wipe out entire villages in attempts to ethnically “cleanse” the region. Recently, “the African Union agree…to turn its peacekeeping mission in Darfur over to the United Nations in the fall[1].” This is a much anticipated development in the cause for Darfur, but countries around the world still need to lend a great deal of support to the AU in the coming months while the transition to UN help gradually takes place.

The Sudanese government has been a major hindrance to many possible developments in Darfur.   There has been a complete lack of action against the several militia groups committing acts of genocide against the tribe; many of these groups have actually been tied to the Sudanese government. Although a peace agreement was signed last year, it has been completely ignored, armed groups are “on the rise,” and Sudan has even imposed restrictions on the UN troops in the area[2]. It is a grave crime against humanity when a government murders, drives out, rapes, etc., its own tribes due to ethnicity.

What has the United States been doing to alleviate the situation in Darfur? Justin Podur wrote in Left Turn Magazine, “Mass-murder, rape, starvation and ethnic cleansing continues in Darfur, Sudan but the selective indignation shown by the US and wester nations exposes the hypocrisy of western interventionists[3].” Certain nations, such as the US, have been accused of hypocrisy for their provision of “help” (if you want to call it that) to Iraq, but extreme inaction for the grave situation in Darfur. Some proposed reasons for US inaction include the idea that “the US is more interested in building bases, controlling regions, and controlling energy sources than solving local humanitarian crises (as evidenced by the current situation in Iraq,” and “the oil connection in Darfur also casts doubt on US humanitarian intentions.

Whatever the reasons for US and international inaction in Darfur, something needs to be done. Several articles of the UDHR have been blatantly violated in this situation are include, but are not limited to Articles 3 (“right to life, liberty and security of the person”), 4 (“no one shall be held in slavery or servitude”), 5 (“no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”), 8 (“right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights”), and 12 (“no one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family home, etc.”).

---

 

            One of the tribes indigenous to central Brazil (the Guarani Kaiowa Indians) in just the past year earned the right to re-inhabit their native land. Since that victory, almost 40 of the Indians have been murdered and continue to face a crisis of land deprivation. Current president of Brazil, Lula da Silva, promised to alleviate the situation in central Brazil, but as of yet has not done enough to remedy the situation. Much has been done to protect the environmental diversity of the region, but not enough has been to stop the movement of agriculturists further and further into the forest.

            Because of growing agriculture, many of the native Indians are left with less land and fewer reserves in which to live. With lack of land, many of the Indians starve to death. Huge areas of forest have been burned down illegally (leaving the indigenous people there with no land to live on) and one of these areas is home to 90% of US company Cargill’s soya purchases. It’s extremely troubling if this company is willingly engaging in trade with agriculturists who have driven indigenous people out of their land; it would be just as troubling if we, as US citizens, supported this practice through our buying power[1].

            While President da Silva hasn’t done well following through on his promises to help the Brazilian Indians, he did open a conference held in Brazil concerning agrarian reform. This reform is aimed at helping the rural poor produce their own food and is intended to provide better access to land and water resources in order to help eliminate poverty and hunger [2] [3]. This type of reform could be very helpful in the case of the indigenous people who are losing their land. If they were to receive better access to these types of resources, they might not have quite the threat of starvation. However, it is also extremely necessary that their land rights be respected and something must be done to better prevent the illegal destruction of their land.

            In particular, UDHR Article 17.2 is under violation and reads, “No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.” While it’s important and commendable that da Silva is helping protect Brazil’s great environmental diversity, it is imperative that the nation’s ethnic diversity is protected as well. This must be done through the protection of indigenous reserves and land rights.

 

---

 

            A major gas pipeline runs along 430 miles of Peru’s southern Amazon rain forest, home to one of the most diverse forests on the planet. In the past eighteen months alone, this gas pipeline running through the Camisea region of Peru has leaked five times, most recently injuring a couple people and igniting a fire. The pipeline has been supplying gas to Lima, Peru since 2004 and the several gas leaks have been attributed to poor construction/faulty welding. The large numbers of indigenous (and non-indigenous) people who live along its route are enraged by its presence and disfunctionality[1].

            One of the worst of these five leaks occurred last November when about 6,000 barrels worth of fuel leaked into the rainforest. Local communities, indigenous groups, and even the government have been concerned about the gas leaks; the government has even threatened to cancel the contract that exists with the company who operates the pipeline. Several environmental rights groups are up in arms not only about the threat to the biodiversity of the jungle but also about the fact that the pipeline runs straight through a major indigenous reserve[2]. The pipeline has also leaked into rivers which the indigenous people use for water and for fishing (fish=food).

            The construction of the Camisea pipeline runs through the Nahua-Kugapakori indigenous reserve andhas caused the violation of many of the human rights of these indigenous tribes. First of all, the pipeline has been infringing upon the tribes’ property rights and is also causing environmental problems due to the gas leaks. Also, since the construction of the pipeline, incidences of several types of diseases upon the indigenous people have greatly increased. Many kinds of illnesses were not present until the tribes made contact with a greater number of outsides due to the pipeline[3].

            The specific rights contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) being violated are: Article 3 (“Everyone has the right to life, liberty and the security of person;” disease infringes upon this right), Article 17.2 (“No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.”). The indigenous peoples’ rights to life, property, health, and the environment are being infringed upon.

            Obviously there is not much that can be done about the areas of the rainforest that have been affected by the construction of this large pipeline; it’s been built and parts of the jungle have been hurt by its’ construction. Either there needs to be much better maintenance of the pipeline to prevent future leaks or the pipeline should be shut down. As far as the indigenous peoples are concerned, the pipeline never should have been built through the reserve in the first place. A route for natural gas is not a good excuse for the disruption of these peoples’ lives; I suggest that either an alternate route be created so as not to impede on these people, or again, the other option is that it be shut down. It just doesn’t seem that the “convenience” of having a 400-odd mile long pipeline is worth the trouble it is causing the indigenous Peruvians.

---

            In the past month, at least 3,500 Burundian refugees and asylum seekers have fled their country and heading to a few way stations in Tanzania. As each new day arrives the number of Burundian refugees entering into and finding safety in Tanzania increases greatly. Originally thousands of Burundians evacuated to Tanzania due to grave ethnic violence, but since the peace agreement of 2002 many of these refugees have chosen to be repatriated. Now these Burundian asylum seekers are leaving for different reasons. They claim that food shortages, malnutrition, and decreasing security are forcing them to leave their homeland. A UNHCR spokesperson describes the situation: “There are visible cases of malnutrition among the new arrivals. A toddler died last week on arrival suffering from dehydration and three young children died in January from acute respiratory infection ("UN, 2/14/06").”

            While the UN offers aid to about 350,000 refugees overall in Tanzania, the overwhelming number of Burundian refugees finding shelter in small short-term way stations has proven to be a problem. Living conditions are generally not up to standard in these stations since they are only designed to help a small number of refugees for a short period of time while these refugees make the trip from one country to another. Along with the living conditions, the overflowing number of refugees staying at these stations at the moment creates dangerous situations for many of those seeking help there, especially the elderly, the sick, pregnant women, and children. The UN is working to make the way stations as up to standard as possible, but it is still a most difficult and daunting task.

      

“You may have thought the terrible situation in Darfur couldn’t get worse, but it has,” said Peter Takirambudde, executive director of the Africa division at Human Rights Watch. “Sudan’s policy of arming militias and letting them loose is spilling over the border, and civilians have no protection from their attacks, in Darfur or in Chad ("HRW, 2/5/06").” Since this past December, Human Rights Watch has reported that almost daily there are occurrences of violent raids against civilians in Darfur. Arab militiamen who are most often backed by the Sudanese government continue to take part in this horrible ethnic genocide and it seems to be getting worse. Civilians who are targeted in the attacks are generally black Africans, especially those from Dajo and Masalit groups.

Since May of 2005 when terrible violence broke out in Andijan, several hundred Uzbek refugees find themselves being resettled in foreign permanent homes. The UN has been working with refugees who are temporarily staying in Kyrgyzstan and Romania to find them homes in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe. Several hundred refugees were forced to seek asylum after the uninvestigated attacks in Andijan last year where an unknown number of civilians were murdered. It does appear, however, that Uzbek military forces are to blame for the serious human rights violations that occurred in Andijan. Nevertheless, the approximately 500 refugees are in the process of being placed in countries and cultures very different from those to which they are familiar. However, according to one UN resettlement officer, “It is amazing, how positive and cooperative these refugees are, how gratefully they accept our assistance. They are prepared to learn and to adapt to the new situation although, only a few months ago, it never occurred to them that they might become refugees ("UN, 2/7/06").”

Major international efforts by the UN and assisting countries are under way in Latin American to help resettle hundreds of thousands of refugees in the region. In the past few years, about 250,000 Colombian refugees have been forced to flee their homeland and find shelter in such countries as Ecuador and Venezuela ("UN, 2/8/06"). Over the past forty years or more, however, the UN reports there have been about 2 million Colombian refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) due to dangerous armed conflict. Many of these Colombians have fled to neighboring countries and live in economic depression. In one Bogotá, Colombia suburb alone, “makeshift housing, high unemployment, and poverty are the norm. Displaced people who fled armed groups are still suffering from their activities. There have been numerous reports of youngsters being murdered in the area by members of irregular armed groups ("UN, 2/3/06").”

Thanks to two of the United Nations’ refugee repatriation programs in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the number of Congolese refugees who have returned home has reached more than 10,000. This total is the result of much smaller numbers of refugees in several convoys taking the step of repatriation since the programs were implemented. Although several thousand refugees in the past few years have traveled back to their homelands without UN assistance, these repatriation programs offer a great deal of aid to those who voluntarily take part in them. “Returnees receive a start-up package that includes food for three months, supplies such as blankets, sleeping mats and a kitchen set, and a shelter kit containing a machete, saw, hammer, roofing nails and plastic sheeting ("UN, 2/8/06").”

Also, the same day Kofi Annan publicly urged for the violence to stop immediately, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released a report including all details of the current situation in Darfur. The report consists of refugee and IDP testimonies about terrifying situations of violence. The Sudan government has been working with a militia group known as the Janjaweed to carry out numerous violent attacks on unsuspecting villages throughout Darfur. Claims have been made by the government that these attacks have been carried out in suspicion of rebel activity, but it is clear that specific civilians based on ethnicity have been targeted in the attacks. One IDP even gives an account of the sexual violence she encountered. She was “approached by three armed military men, ‘slapped in the face, kicked in the stomach, and accused of being a rebel. She was then raped by two of the men’.” I most certainly agree with Kofi Annan – Sudan needs to hold up its end of the agreement and stop this senseless violence immediately.


When Liberia was ruled by Charles Taylor in 2000, thousands upon thousands of Liberians left their home in an attempt to escape the violence which was brought about by the horrible war that was taking place in their country. About 60,000 Liberians found refuge in Sierra Leone where the UN and other organization operate several refugee camps. However, with the installation of the new Liberian president, refugees may now have hope in returning to their homeland without much fear. According to UNHCR deputy representative Andrew Mayne, “the large number of refugees in this latest convoy show[s] Liberians’ strong desire to go home. ‘UNHCR is committed to assisting those refugees who want to go back to Liberia to do so as soon as possible, both in safety and dignity.’ ("UN, 1/30/06")” Returning refugees can look forward to new opportunities in their recovering homeland of Liberia, and upon return can expect to find UN programs that have been developed to help refugees become repatriated and integrated back into society.

“’The African Union troops have acted with great resolve and courage in Darfur,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, who signed the letter with Gareth Evans, president of the International Crisis Group. “But the deteriorating situation in Darfur demands a major new international effort to save lives there and the U.S. should use its Security Council presidency to jumpstart this effort ("Human Rights Watch, 2/1/06").” As the number of those displaced increases, as violence and fear increases it is so important that the UN is able to increase forces and efforts in the Darfur region and save as many lives as possible. The U.S. must head up some sort of coalition and increase awareness and aid to protect Darfur civilians from the Sudanese government. Since it does not appear that Darfur is a top U.S. priority, it is up to us to voice our concerns, anguish, anger, and such to our government so that this Security Council presidency will be used to bring about change in Darfur.  

The situation in Sudan remains fragile and continues to deteriorate “as violence and impunity – never completely in check – are again everyday occurrences in Darfur ("UN Article 1, 1/24/06"),” said Antonia Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Violence has entered into Chad, where there are already 200,000 Sudanese refugees being helped by UN humanitarian workers. About 800 Sudanese refugees have fled into Chad in the past few weeks alone. Although a peace agreement mission was deployed in 2004 and one was signed about a year ago, tension and violence still exist throughout southern and eastern Sudan. Security in west Darfur has continued to deteriorate as Janjaweed militiamen continue to increase tension and violence between Sudan and Chad ("UN Article 2, 1/24/06").

Due to increases in violence and deteriorations in security, the amount of aid and the number of humanitarian workers employed in Chad continues to decrease for safety reasons. The UNHCR has stressed the importance though of “massive economic and political support” for the region. It is warned that as the violence continues to increase and security deteriorates in Darfur, an even bigger humanitarian catastrophe lies ahead. While the UN is working to restore peace to Darfur, it is imperative that large-scale economic and political help is implemented before certain “rules of conditionality” are met, because there may not be enough time to wait (“UN Article 1, 1/24/06”). The situation in Darfur is a priority for the UN as it is one of the most difficult situations at this time; it is necessary that we do all we can do bring about political support from our own nation before it is too late.

January 25, 2006
Refugee Smuggling Deaths
Despite the United Nation’s efforts to inform Somali and Ethiopian refugees about the dangers of using smuggling boats to flee across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen, large numbers of these refugees continue to resort to this method of transportation in order to get out of their home countries. The number of refugees registered in Yemen in just the past week is about 1300 Somalis and about 75 Ethiopians. However, at least 70 refugees (both Somali and Ethiopian) have been confirmed dead after attempting to make the trip to Yemen by smuggling boats. There are even more missing refugees who have not yet been confirmed, but are assumed also to be dead. 

While Yemen is very welcoming to Somali refugees who flee into its borders, Somali refugees still risk their lives by using smuggling boats because of “drought, recent clashes in parts of Somalia and general instability,” said spokesman for the UNHCR Ron Redmond ("UN, 1/24/06"). The majority of deaths in these smuggling cases result from dehydration and the fact that refugees can often be stranded on smuggling boats for days with hardly any food or water.

Is it enough for the UN to simply call “for international action to stem the flow of desperate people across the Gulf of Aden?” Is it enough to just inform refugees of the dangers of traveling by smugglers’ boats or should they be prevented from even attempting to use this form of escape? It appears that no matter how much some of these refugees might be informed of the dangers, they are still willing to risk their lives in order to flee to a safer and more welcoming country than their own. 

January 26, 2006
Refugees in Côte d’Ivoire Without UN Aid
The 10,000 Liberian refugees who have sought shelter in Côte d’Ivoire find themselves in a very precarious and saddening position this week. After fleeing violence in their own country, Liberian refugees found assistance, food, relief items, etc. at the United Nations relief headquarters in Guiglo, Côte d’Ivoire. Sadly, last week, the offices of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees were attacked by protesters and looted (food, vehicles, and more were stolen). Hardly any supplies remain and the entire staff was evacuated; without food, staff, or other UN assistance, the 10,000 refugees have basically been left high and dry.  In upcoming days, the situation will be measured and officials will try to figure out how soon operations can be started back up again in Côte d’Ivoire. 

It is incredibly saddening that people like these protestors would be so violent about interrupting global efforts by others to help refugees, internally displaced persons, and others seeking refuge from the UN. To think that anyone would want to stand in the way of UN relief efforts to begin with disturbs me greatly, but the fact that this incidence in Côte d’Ivoire (and in places where other UN headquarters are located as well) happened is something I feel extremely saddened about. “UNHCR is shocked at the level of the violence and saddened that its staff and other UN and humanitarian workers were targeted,” [Ron] Redmond said. “UNHCR has been in Guiglo for more than 10 years, working on behalf of refugees and the local host population ("UN January 24, 2006").” I am shocked as well at the kind of violence being committed toward those involved in humanitarian efforts; I suppose every good deed does not go unpunished.