US Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011

Security forces reportedly committed extrajudicial killings in connection with conflicts in Balochistan, FATA, and KP (see section 1.g.). A May 24 report by the Asian Legal Resource Center (ALRC) stated that from October 2010 to May government agencies abducted and killed more than 120 persons. Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated that between January and July security forces abducted and killed at least 150 persons and abandoned their bodies across Balochistan, in acts widely referred to as “kill and dump” operations. “The surge in unlawful killings of suspected militants and opposition figures in Balochistan has taken the brutality in the province to an unprecedented level,” HRW concluded, and it urged the government to investigate all those responsible, especially in the military and Frontier Corps (FC), and hold them accountable.

http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/186685.pdf

امریکی وزرات خارجہ انسانی حقوق پر سالانہ رپورٹ

’حقوق انسانی کی خلاف وزریوں پر شدید تشویش‘

 

امریکی وزرات خارجہ نے دنیا بھر میں انسانی حقوق کی صورتحال پر اپنی سالانہ رپورٹ جاری کی ہے جس میں اس نے پاکستان میں انسانی حقوق کی سنگین صورتحال پر شدید تشویش کا اظہار کیا ہے جبکہ رپورٹ میں لاپتہ افراد کے بارے میں تفصیلی ذکر کیا گیا ہے۔

امریکی محکمۂ خارجہ کی رپورٹ میں پاکستان میں سکیورٹی اداروں اور عسکریت پسندوں کے ہاتھوں عام شہریوں کا اغوا، گمشدگیاں اور قتل کو انسانی حقوق کی سنگین ترین خلاف ورزیاں قرار دیا ہے۔
امریکی وزارتِ خارجہ کی جانب سے اختتام ہفتہ پر جاری ہونے والی رپورٹ میں پاکستان سمیت دنیا بھر میں گزشتہ سال دو ہزار گیارہ میں حقوق انسانی کی صورتحال کا جائزہ لیا گیا ہے۔

رپورٹ میں بلوچستان میں لاپتہ افراد کے لیے کام کرنے والے تنظیم وائس فار بلوچ مسنگ پرسن کے حوالے سے بتایا گیا ہے کہ جون دو ہزار دس سے لیکر دسمبر دو ہزار گیارہ تک بلوچستان سے تین سو پچپن گمشدہ افراد کی تشدد شدہ لاشیں ملیں اور اب تک سات سو پچپن افراد گرفتار کیے جانے بعد سے لاپتہ ہیں جن میں سے پینتیس کی مسخ شدہ لاشین ملی ہیں۔
امریکی محمکمہ خارجہ کی پاکستان میں انسانی حقوق کی صورتحال کے متعلق اسی رپورٹ میں وائس فار بلوچ مسنگ پرسن کے حوالے سے بتایا گیا ہے کہ دو ہزار ایک سے اب تک چودہ ہزار افراد لاپتہ ہو چکے ہیں۔

رپورٹ میں پاکستان میں انسانی حقوق جن خلاف ورزیوں کا ذکر کیا گیا ہے ان میں شہریوں کے حقوق اور آزادی، سیاسی مخالفین کی گمشدگیاں، غیر قانونی نظربندیاں، تشدد اور دیگر غیر انسانی سلوک، مقدمہ چلانے کے طریقۂ کار، سیاسی نظر بندیاں، اندرونی عدم تحفظ کے مسئلے کو طاقت سے حل کرنے، انتہاپسندی اور دہشت گردی، جیلوں اور قید خانوں کی حالت زار، قتل، اغوا، بچوں کی مسلح گروہوں میں بھرتی ،خواتین کے حقوق کی خلاف ورزیاں شامل ہیں۔
امریکی وزرات خارجہ کی سلانہ رپورٹ میں پاکستانی سکیورٹی فورسز کے ہاتھوں صوبہ خیبر پختون خواہ اور بلوچستان
میں شہریوں کے قتل کے واقعات کا تفصلی ذکر کیا گیا ہے۔

Forces Set Houses On Fire And Abducted 5 Persons.

May 28, 2012; Pakistani forces set houses on fire and abducted 5 Baloch men.

Video evidence of May 28, 2012 military offensive in Beti area of Pat feeder, Dera Bugti where occupying Pakistani forces violated sanctity of many households and set on fire standing crops and houses of the people and abducted five men including three sons of Mehr Gul Bugti namely Shahal, Meeral, Sharbat and Billo s/o Ghulam Haider and Punnoh Bugti.

 www.youtube.com/brponline

اپنے لاپتہ والد کے انتظار میں

یہ معصوم بچے مقبوضہ بلوچستان کے دیگرہزاروں بلوچ بچوں کی طرع اپنے لاپتہ والد کے منتطر ہیں جو کہ پاکستان کے ریاستی جبر کے نظر ہو چکے ہیں۔

پاکستانی خفیہ ادارے حقوق کی پامالی میں ملوث: ایمنسٹی

حقوق انسانی کی بین الاقوامی تنظیم ایمنٹسی انٹرنیشنل نے سال دو ہزار گیارہ کے حالات پر مبنی اپنی تازہ رپورٹ میں کہا ہے کہ پاکستان میں حقوق انسانی کی صورتحال خراب ہی رہی اور سکیورٹی فورسز اور خفیہ اداروں کے اہلکار اکثر خلاف ورزیوں میں ملوث رہے۔

رپورٹ کےمطابق سکیورٹی فورسز اور انٹیلیجنس ادارے عمومی طور پر بغیر کسی روک ٹوک کے سرگرم رہے ۔ ان پر جبری گمشدگیوں، تشدد اور شہریوں، صحافیوں، کارکنوں اور مسلح گروہوں کے مشتبہ افراد پر بلاامتیاز تشدد اور ماورائے عدالت ہلاکتوں کے الزامات کا سامنا رہا۔

نامہ نگار ہارون رشید کے مطابق رپورٹ میں مزید کہا گیا ہے کہ سکیورٹی فورسز پر اب بھی بلوچستان اور شمال مغرب کے علاقوں میں جبری گمشدگیوں، تشدد اور ماورائے عدالت قتل کے الزامات عائد کیے جا رہے ہیں۔ اس کے علاوہ تمام سال اعلیٰ امریکی اہلکار پاکستان پر افغانستان میں طالبان کی مدد کے الزامات سرعام عائد کرتے رہے۔
ماورائے عدالت ہلاکتوں کی زیادہ خبریں بلوچستان کے ساتھ ساتھ شمال مغرب اور تشدد سے متاثرہ کراچی میں عام رہیں۔
ایمنٹسی نے الزام عائد کیا کہ ریاست جبری گمشدگیوں میں ملوث افراد کو انصاف کے کٹہرے تک نہیں لاسکی اور اکثر شکار افراد لاپتہ رہے۔
حکومت نے گزشتہ برس مارچ میں جبری گمشُدگیوں کی تحقیقات کے لیے ایک نیا کمیشن تشکیل دیا۔ لیکن سابق سپریم کورٹ کے جج جسٹس جاوید اقبال کو اس کمیشن کے سربراہ کے طور پر تعینات کرنے میں مزید چھ ماہ کا وقت لیا۔
اس سے پہلے ایک دوسرے کمیشن نے مارچ دو ہزار دس میں کام شروع کیا تھا جو سینکڑوں لاپتہ افراد میں سے دو سو بیس کو تلاش کرنے میں کامیاب رہا۔ دونوں کمیشنوں پر شاہدین کو تحفظ فراہم نہ کرنے اور خصوصاً ان واقعات کی مناسب تحقیقات نہ کرنے پر تنقید کی گئی جن میں سکیورٹی فورسز اور خفیہ ادارے پر مبینہ طور پر ملوث ہونے کا شک تھا۔
ایمنٹسی انٹرنیشنل کے مطابق پاکستان میں سکیورٹی فورسز اور طالبان کے درمیان جاری لڑائی کی وجہ سے تقریباً دس لاکھ افراد اس سال گھر بار چھوڑنے پر مجبور ہوئے۔

"حکومت نے مارچ 2011 میں جبری گمشُدگیوں کی تحقیقات کے لیے ایک نیا کمیشن تشکیل دیا۔ اس سے پہلے ایک دوسرے کمیشن نے مارچ دو ہزار دس میں کام شروع کیا تھا جو سینکڑوں لاپتہ افراد میں سے دو سو بیس کو تلاش کرنے میں کامیاب رہا۔ دونوں کمیشنوں پر شاہدین کو تحفظ فراہم نہ کرنے اور خصوصاً ان واقعات کی مناسب تحقیقات نہ کرنے پر تنقید کی گئی جن میں سکیورٹی فورسز اور خفیہ ادارے پر مبینہ طور پر ملوث ہونے کا شک تھا۔"

ان علاقوں میں جنہیں شدت پسندوں سے خالی کروا لیا گیا وہاں بھی عدم تحفظ اور بنیادی سہولتوں کے فقدان کی شکایات عام رہیں۔ گزشتہ جون میں صدر زرداری نے شمال مغرب صوبہ خیبر پختونخوا میں سکیورٹی فورسز کو مقدمات سے بعد از تاریخ استثناء اور بغیر کسی روک ٹوک کے نظربندی اور سزا کا بےتہاشہ اختیار دیا۔

رپورٹ کے مطابق عورتوں اور بچیوں کو لڑائی سے متاثرہ ملک کے شمال مغربی علاقوں اور بلوچستان میں تعلیم اور صحت کی سہولیات تک رسائی میں شدید مشکلات کا سامنا رہا۔
پاکستانی طالبان نے شہریوں کو نشانہ بنایا اور خودکش حملوں اور خودساختہ دھماکہ خیز مواد یعنی آئی ای ڈیز کے ذریعے بلاامتیاز حملے کیے۔ کئی قبائلی عمائدین کو نشانہ بنا کر ہلاک کر دیا گیا۔
طالبان نے عوامی نیشنل پارٹی سے منسلک کئی سیاستدانوں کو ہلاک کرنے کی کوشش کی۔ حکومت کے مطابق خیبر پختونخوا میں دو سو چھیالیس سکولوں کو (انسٹھ لڑکیوں کے اور ایک سو ستاسی لڑکوں کے) تباہ کیے جبکہ سات سو تریسٹھ (دو سو چوالیس لڑکیوں اور پانچ سو انیس لڑکوں کے) نقصان پہنچایا گیا۔ اس سے ہزاروں بچے تعلیم تک رسائی سے محروم ہوگئے۔
پاکستانی طالبان کے تشدد کے خوف کی وجہ سے صحت کی سہولتوں، تعلیم اور عوامی سرگرمیوں تک عورتوں اور بچیوں کی رسائی محدود رہی۔
آزادی اظہار کا مسئلہ بھی ایمنسٹی کے مطابق ایک بڑا تشویشناک پہلو رہا۔ دو ہزار گیارہ میں اس کے مطابق کم از کم نو صحافی ہلاک کیے گئے۔ میڈیا کے نمائندوں کو سکیورٹی فورسز، خفیہ اداروں، سیاسی جماعتوں اور مسلح گروہوں سے متعلق رپورٹنگ پر دھمکیوں کا سامنا رہا۔ پاکستانی حکام ان واقعات میں ملوث افراد کو کیفر کردار تک پہنچانے یا صحافیوں کو تحفظ فراہم کرنے میں ناکام رہے۔
تنظیم کے مطابق فرقہ وارانہ گروہ اقلیتی احمدی، مسیحی، ہندو اور شیعوں کے ساتھ ساتھ معتدل سُنیوں کو ڈراتے دھمکاتے اور ملک میں رائج توہین رسالت کے قانون میں ترمیم کی بات کرنے والوں کے خلاف تشدد کے لیے ورغلاتے رہے۔ ریاست مذہبی اقلیتیوں کے خلاف فرقہ ورانہ حملے روکنے یا ان میں ملوث افراد کو کیفر کردار تک پہنچانے میں ناکام رہی۔
عورتوں کو قانونی اور غیرارادی امتیازی سلوک اور تشدد کا اندرون و بیرون خانہ سامنا رہا۔ عورت فاونڈیشن نے عورتوں کے خلاف تشدد کے مجموعی طور پر آٹھ ہزار پانچ سو انتالیس واقعات ریکارڈ کیے۔ان میں پندرہ سو پچھتر قتل، آٹھ سو ستائیس زنا بلجبر، چھ سو دس گھریلو تشدد، سات سو پانچ غیرت کے نام پر قتل اور چوالیس تیزاب گرانے کے واقعات تھے۔

 "سکیورٹی فورسز پر اب بھی بلوچستان اور شمال مغرب کے علاقوں میں جبری گمشدگیوں، تشدد اور ماورائے عدالت قتل کے الزامات عائد کیے جا رہے ہیں۔ اس کے علاوہ تمام سال اعلیٰ امریکی اہلکار پاکستان پر افغانستان میں طالبان کی مدد کے الزامات سرعام عائد کرتے رہے۔"

دسمبر میں پاکستانی پارلیمان نے ان مسائل پر قابو پانے کی خاطر ایسڈ کنٹرول اور ایسڈ کرائم پریوینشن بل 2010 اور خواتین مخالف واقعات (کریمنل لا امینڈمنٹ) بل 2008 منظور کیے تشدد میں ملوث افراد کی سزائیں مزید سخت کرکے عورتوں کو تحفظ فراہم کیا جاسکے۔ یہ پہلا موقع ہے کہ پاکستان میں تیزاب پھینکنے اور جبری شادیوں کو جرم قرار دیا گیا۔
سزائے موت کے مسئلے پر پیپلز پارٹی حکومت کو حمتی فیصلہ نہیں کر سکی ہے۔ رپورٹ کے مطابق ملک میں آٹھ ہزار سے زائد قیدیوں کو سزائے موت کا سامنا ہے۔ ہیومن رائٹس کمیشن آف پاکستان کے مطابق کم از کم تین سو تیرہ افراد کو جن میں آدھے سے زائد قتل کے مقدمات تھے سزائے موت سنائی گئی۔ تین افراد کو توہین رسالت کے مقدمات میں سزائے موت سنائی گئی۔ البتہ آخری مرتبہ سزائے موت سال دو ہزار آٹھ میں دی گئی تھی۔
کراچی مختلف سیاسی اور نسلی گروہوں کے ساتھ منسلک مخالف گینگز کے درمیان میدان جنگ بنا رہا۔ مون سون سیلاب کے دوسرے سال نے مزید نقل مکانی اور ملک بھر میں ڈینگو بخار کی بیماری عام کی۔ بجلی کی جاری شدید قلت ملک بھر میں پرتشدد احتجاجی مظاہروں کا سبب اور معاشی ترقی کی راہ میں رکاوٹ بنی۔

Balochistan law and order case

Balochistan law and order case

Deputy attorney general resigns during hearing

 daily times


QUETTA: Following tough questions by the Supreme Court Treasury Bench about lukewarm response from the federal government to court orders, Deputy Attorney General Malik Sikandar tendered his resignation and said he wants to live his life with respect.

The Supreme Court once again directed the Balochistan home minister to appear before the court in the case of Ali Hassan Mengal who was listed as missing from Wadh area of Khuzdar.

The absence of the defence and interior secretaries as well as principal secretary to the prime minister annoyed Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who said that it appeared the officials had an enmity with court as court orders were being ignored. “Why did they not turn up to appear before the court,” the CJP asked Deputy Attorney General Malik Sikandar and Advocate General Amanullah Kanrani.

The bench, comprising Justice Chaudhry, Justice Jawwad S Khawaja and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, expressed anger over the deputy attorney general for not implementing court orders. Several relatives of missing persons from interior Balochistan and nearby districts appeared before the court.

The bench observed that 60 percent problems will be resolved if the issue of missing persons was addressed. The CJP said allegations were being levelled against Frontier Corps (FC), ISI and MI in the missing persons’ cases. “It is really regrettable that there is a common perception that security forces and security agencies are behind practices of forced disappearances,” the CJP said.

FC DIG Farrukh Shehzad said the FC is a fighting force and responsible for maintaining law and order. “FC is making utmost efforts for the recovery of missing persons and cooperating with the police,” he informed the court. FC set up an investigation cell in Quetta and is in contact with ISI, MI and IB, he added.

Then CJP said the cases of missing persons were increasing with each passing day while police completely lacked competency to investigate the cases. “The court had taken up all the cases of missing persons though it was the responsibility of the police,” he said.

The deputy attorney general said neither he received copies of the orders nor did the institutions concerned. He sought more time to convey the message to the federal institutions concerned.

The CJP refused to grant him time and continued to criticise the DAG, who later walked out from the proceedings. He later returned and informed the court that he had tendered his resignation. “I want to spend my life with honour and respect, thus I am going to resign as deputy attorney general,” Malik Sikandar responded after being repeatedly criticised.

The CJP said the court was working to secure the province and end the miseries of families of missing persons waiting outside the court. “They all are suffering and court will not sit silent. The institutions concerned should have respected the court orders.”

Furthermore, the CJP summoned the provincial home minister again to appear before the court in missing Ali Hassan Mengal’s case.

Protest Against Killing Razaq Gul

Baloch Human Rights Orgenization (BHRO) Protest Against Killing Razaq Gul Senior Journalist & Leader of Baloch National Movement and Against State Terrorism in Balochistan By Pakistan in front of Karachi Press club . 22 May 2012

Baloch Human Rights Orgenization (BHRO) Protest Against Killing Razaq Gul Senior Journalist & Leader of Baloch National Movement and Against State Terrorism in Balochistan By Pakistan in front of Karachi Press club . 22 May 2012

At least 17 journalists And more than 450 Baloch from different field of life have been killed and dumped in Balochistan during the last three years.

The bullet-riddled body of Baloch Leader and

Senior Journalist Razaq Gul was found  near Turbat city in Kech on Saturday morning. Gul was correspondent of  Express News. He was kidnapped from near his house on Friday evening.

Against the killing of Razaq Gul demonstrations by journalists, political and local human rights organizations along with complete shutter down strike was observed in allover Balochistan.

Human Rights Violations

Human rights advocates agree that, sixty years after its issue, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is still more a dream than reality. Violations exist in every part of the world. For example, Amnesty International’s 2009 World Report and other sources show that individuals are:
    Tortured or abused in at least 81 countries
    Face unfair trials in at least 54 countries
    Restricted in their freedom of expression in at least 77 countries

Not only that, but women and children in particular are marginalized in numerous ways, the press is not free in many countries, and dissenters are silenced, too often permanently. While some gains have been made over the course of the last six decades, human rights violations still plague the world today.


ARTICLE 3 — THE RIGHT TO LIVE FREE

“Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.”

An estimated 6,500 people were killed in 2007 in armed conflict in Afghanistan—nearly half being noncombatant civilian deaths at the hands of insurgents. Hundreds of civilians were also killed in suicide attacks by armed groups.

In Brazil in 2007, according to official figures, police killed at least 1,260 individuals—the highest total to date. All incidents were officially labeled “acts of resistance” and received little or no investigation.

In Uganda, 1,500 people die each week in the internally displaced person camps. According to the World Health Organization, 500,000 have died in these camps.

Vietnamese authorities forced at least 75,000 drug addicts and prostitutes into 71 overpopulated “rehab” camps, labeling the detainees at “high risk” of contracting HIV/AIDS but providing no treatment.

Top 6 Human Rights Violations

  The Most Severe Human Rights Violations Around the World

Congolese slave children soldiers

Article 18. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

On 27th of February 2002, in the Indian city of Godhra, Gujarat, a Muslim crowd attacked a train filled with Hindu activists, firing two cars, and killing 27 persons. The event triggered a violent spiral of religious revenge and four days later, 2,000 Muslims were killed, their houses, mosques and trades destroyed and hundreds of women raped and mutilated before the members of their families.

Later investigations revealed that the attacks had been planned and done with the mutual approval and collaboration of the local authorities.

Religious intolerance has been signaled in Afghanistan, Algeria, Brazil, Burundi, Colombia, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Liberia, Nigeria, many countries of the Middle East, Congo, Russia, Uganda, China (see the Muslims of Xinjiang) and others.


Article 5. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Torture is a common practice in Brazil and the violence in prisons is common and with tragic consequences. At the end of May 2002, 20 convicted and a guardian died during a revolt in the prison of maximum security of Manaus. The imprisoned protested against the tortures and the subsequent killing of an inmate and against the overpopulation and the inhuman life conditions in the prison.

In January 2002, 27 prisoners were assassinated during a revolt in the prison of Oso Blanco (the Amazonian state of Rondonia). The victims were stabbed, shot, hung or tossed from the roof by inmates belonging to rival bands.

The more recent episodes of Abu Graib are too fresh in our minds...

These infringements have also been signaled in Angola, Argentina, US, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iran, Peru, Congo, Dominican Republic, South Africa, Russia, Turkey, Tunisia, Vietnam and other countries.


Article 4. No one shall be held in slavery or servitude;
slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

For 18 years, LRA (Lord Resistance Army) guerrilla from northern Uganda has been kidnapping boys to train them as soldiers and girls to turn them in sexual slaves of the commanders. In 2002, the number of children found in the power of LRA was of 20,000.

Slavery has been also signaled in Albania, Saudi Arabia, Belarus, Myanmar, Brazil, Cambodia, Colombia, Georgia, Kirghistan, Sudan, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Turkey, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and other countries.


Article 13.(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state. (2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

After the fire cease between the government of Angola and UNITA in 2001, the number of people experiencing hunger reached 2 millions. 4.5 million people were refugees. The harassment and extortion amongst refugees is common, just like rapes.

This violation is also signaled in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Colombia, ex-Yugoslavia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, Congo, Uganda ...The Darfour case of Sudan is much too famous.


Article 19. Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

15 journalists were killed and 68 experienced violent attacks in turbid circumstances for having denounced the corruption and abuses of the Russian Army in Chechnya. The special correspondent of "Novaia Gazeta" in the Caucasian republic was "invited" in 2002 to leave the country.

Infringement of the freedom of speech and media, and killed/attacked journalists have been also signaled in Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Kenya, Sudan, Panama, Macedonia, Turkey, Ukraine, Iran, Pakistan, Tunisia, Vietnam, China ...

Article 3. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

The Vietnamese authorities adopted an increasingly severe attitude towards the so-called 'groups of high risk behavior for contracting HIV', like drug addicted and prostitutes, qualified as "social demons". At least 75,000 drug dependent persons were detained in 71 overpopulated rehab camps in 2002.

Similar situations have been signaled in Belarus, Brazil, China, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, India, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Pakistan, Congo, Russia, Ukraine, Zambia...

Oppression

Oppression derives from the concept of being weighted down, and is often depicted as such. Here, a political cartoon shows a Jew laboring under the metaphorical oppression of the Russian Tsar

Oppression is the exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner. It can also be defined as an act or instance of oppressing, the state of being oppressed, and the feeling of being heavily burdened, mentally or physically, by troubles, adverse conditions, and anxiety.
Social oppression

The systematic; socially supported mistreatment and exploitation of a group or category of people by anyone.

Institutionalized oppression

"Institutional Oppression occurs when established laws, customs, and practices systematically reflect and produce inequities based on one’s membership in targeted social identity groups. If oppressive consequences accrue to institutional laws, customs, or practices, the institution is oppressive whether or not the individuals maintaining those practices have oppressive intentions."

Systematic oppression

Anarchists and other libertarian socialists argue that police and law themselves are oppression. The term oppression in such instances to refer to the subordination of a given group or social category by unjust use of force, authority, or societal norms in order to achieve the effects noted above. When institutionalized, formally or informally, it may achieve the dimension of systematic oppression. Oppression is customarily experienced as a consequence of, and expressed in, the form of a prevailing, if unconscious, assumption that the given target is in some way inferior. Oppression is rarely limited solely to formal government action: an individual may be the particular focus of oppression or persecution and in such circumstances have no group membership in which to share, and thus maybe mitigate, the burden of ostracism.

In psychology, racism, sexism and other prejudices are often studied as individual beliefs which, although not necessarily oppressive in themselves, can lead to oppression if they are codified in law or become parts of a culture. By comparison, in sociology, these prejudices are often studied as being institutionalized systems of oppression in some societies. In sociology, the tools of oppression include a progression of denigration, dehumanization, and demonization; which often generate scapegoating, which is used to justify aggression against targeted groups and individuals.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the concept of "human rights" in general were designed to limit oppression by giving a clear articulation of what fundamental freedoms any system should allow to all of the people over whom it has power.

When oppression is systematized through coercion, threats of violence, or violence by government agencies or non-government paramilitiaries with a political motive, it is often called political repression. More subtle forms of political oppression/repression can be produced by blacklisting or individualized investigations such as happened during McCarthyism in the United States. [Most of the above definitions can be seen actualized and visible in the U.S. governments' current Cannabis prohibition laws.]

Transnational systems of oppression include colonialism, imperialism, and totalitarianism, and can generate a resistance movement to challenge the oppressive status quo.

Internalized oppression

In sociology and psychology, internalized oppression is the manner in which an oppressed group comes to use against itself the methods of the oppressor. For example, sometimes members of marginalized groups hold an oppressive view toward their own group, or start to believe in negative stereotypes.

Resistance

Several movements have arisen that specifically aim to oppose, analyse and counter oppression in general; examples include Liberation Theology in the Christian world, and Re-evaluation Counselling in the psychotherapeutic arena. Modern-day groups that actively oppose oppression include Ligali, a British African organization headed by civil rights activist Toyin Agbetu.

Death squad

A death squad is an armed military, police, insurgent, or terrorist squad that conducts extrajudicial killings, assassinations, and forced disappearances of persons as part of a war, insurgency or terror campaign. These killings are often conducted in ways meant to ensure the secrecy of the killers' identities, so as to avoid accountability.
Death squads are often, but not exclusively, associated with the violent political repression under dictatorships, totalitarian states and similar regimes. They typically have the tacit or express support of the state, as a whole or in part (see state terrorism). Death squads may comprise a secret police force, paramilitary group or official government units with members drawn from the military or the police. They may also be organized as vigilante groups.
"Extrajudicial killings" are the illegal killing of leading political, trades union, dissidents, and social figures by either the state government, state authorities like the armed forces and police (as in Liberia under Charles G. Taylor), or criminal outfits such as the Italian Mafia.
Extrajudicial killings and death squads are most common in the Middle East (mostly in Iraq) Central America, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, several nations or regions in Equatorial Africa, Jamaica, Kosovo, many parts of South America, Uzbekistan[citation needed], parts of Thailand and in the Philippines.


History


Although the term "death squad" did not rise to notoriety until the activities of such groups in Central and South America during the 1970s and 1980s became widely known, death squads have been employed under different guises throughout history. The term was first used during the Battle of Algiers by Paul Aussaresses.
One of the earliest cases of extrajudicial killings was in Weimar Germany.

Cold war usage

In Southeast Asia, extrajudicial killings were present in the context of the Vietnam War. Nguyễn Văn Lém (referred to as captain Bay Lop) (died 1 February 1968 in Saigon) was a member of the Viet Cong who was summarily executed in Saigon during the Tet Offensive. The picture of his death would became one of many an anti-Vietnam War icons in the Western World.
During the 1960s and throughout the 1970s, death squads were used against the Viet Cong cadre as well as supporters in neighbouring countries (notably Cambodia). See also Phoenix Program (also known as Phung Hoang). The Viet Cong also used death squads of their own against civilians for political reasons.
In Latin America, death squads appeared first in Brazil where a group called Esquadrão da Morte (literally "Death Squad") emerged in the 1960s; then death squads apperead in Argentina, and Chile in the 1970s; and later in Central America in the 1980s. Argentina used extrajudicial killings as way of crushing the liberal and communist opposition to the military junta during the 'Dirty war' of the 1970s. Alianza Anticomunista Argentina, a far-right death squad mainly active during the "Dirty War". The Chilean military regime of 1973–1990 also committed such killings. See Operation Condor for examples.
During the Salvadoran civil war, death squads achieved notoriety when a sniper assassinated Archbishop Óscar Romero during Mass in March 1980. In December 1980, three American nuns, Ita Ford, Dorothy Kazel, and Maura Clarke, and a lay worker, Jean Donovan, were raped and murdered by a military unit later found to have been acting on specific orders. Death squads were instrumental in killing hundreds of peasants and activists, including such notable priests as Rutilio Grande. Because the death squads involved were found to have been soldiers of the Salvadoran military, which was receiving U.S. funding and training from American advisors during the Carter administration, these events prompted outrage in the U.S. and led to a temporary cutoff in military aid from the Reagan administration[citation needed], although Death Squad activity stretched well into the Reagan years (1981–1989) as well.
Honduras also had death squads active through the 1980s, the most notorious of which was Battalion 316. Hundreds of people, teachers, politicians, and union bosses were assassinated by government-backed forces. Battalion 316 received substantial support and training from the United States Central Intelligence Agency.

Recent use

As of 2010, death squads have continued to be active in several locations, including Chechnya, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Colombia, Iraq, and Sudan, among others.

Arbitrary arrest and detention

''Arbitrary arrest and arbitrary detention are the arrest or detention of an individual in a case in which there is no likelihood or evidence that they committed a crime against legal statute, or in which there has been no proper due process of law. In a way, such forms of arbitrary actions are done out of pure whim or flimsiness.''

Background

Arbitrarily arresting or detaining persons contradicts rule of law established in democracies as well as habeas corpus and is thereafter illegal in those regimes. In practice in the 2000s (decade), arbitrary arrest or detention (the definitions of these terms vary between different national jurisdictions) is typically tolerated by the legal system for a short duration, of a few hours up to a few days, in most democracies, especially in response to political street demonstrations. It is often a characteristic of dictatorships or police states, which may also engage in forced disappearance.
Virtually all individuals who are arbitrarily arrested are given absolutely no explanation as to why they are being arrested, and they are not shown any arrest warrant. Depending on the social context, many or the vast majority of arbitrarily arrested individuals may be held incommunicado and their whereabouts can be concealed from their family, associates, the public population and open trial courts. Many individuals who are arbitrarily arrested and detained suffer physical or psychological torture during interrogation, as well as extrajudicial punishment and other abuses in the hands of those detaining them.

International law

Arbitrarily depriving an individual of their liberty is strictly prohibited by the United Nations' division for human rights. Article 9 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights decrees that "no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile"; that is, no individual, regardless of circumstances, is to be deprived of their liberty or exiled from their country without having first committed an actual criminal offense against a legal statute, and the government cannot deprive an individual of their liberty without proper due process of law. As well, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights specifies the protection from arbitrary arrest and detention by the Article 9.

Forced disappearance

In international human rights law, a forced disappearance (or enforced disappearance) occurs when a person is secretly abducted or imprisoned by a state or political organization or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organization, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the person's fate and whereabouts, with the intent of placing the victim outside the protection of the law.
According to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which came into force on 1 July 2002, when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed at any civilian population, a "forced disappearance" qualifies as a crime against humanity and, thus, is not subject to a statute of limitations. On 20 December 2006, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

Often forced disappearance implies murder. The victim in such a case is first abducted, then illegally detained, and often tortured; the victim is then killed and the body hidden. Typically, a murder will be surreptitious, with the corpse disposed of in such a way as to never be found, so that the person apparently vanishes. The party committing the murder has deniability, as there is no body to prove that the victim has actually died.


Human rights law

In international human rights law, disappearances at the hands of the state have been codified as "enforced" or "forced disappearances" since the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. For example, the Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court defines enforced disappearance as a crime against humanity, and the practice is specifically addressed by the OAS's Inter-American Convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons. There is also some authority indicating that enforced disappearances occurring during armed conflict,[2] such as the Third Reich's Night and Fog program, may constitute war crimes.

The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, adopted by the UN General Assembly on 20 December 2006, also states that the widespread or systematic practice of enforced disappearances constitutes a crime against humanity. Crucially, it gives victims' families the right to seek reparations, and to demand the truth about the disappearance of their loved ones. The Convention provides for the right not to be subjected to enforced disappearance, as well as the right for the relatives of the disappeared person to know the truth. The Convention contains several provisions concerning prevention, investigation and sanctioning of this crime, as well as the rights of victims and their relatives, and the wrongful removal of children born during their captivity. The Convention further sets forth the obligation of international co-operation, both in the suppression of the practice, and in dealing with humanitarian aspects related to the crime. The Convention establishes a Committee on Enforced Disappearances, which will be charged with important and innovative functions of monitoring and protection at international level. Currently, an international campaign of the International Coalition against Enforced Disappearances is working towards universal ratification of the Convention.

Disappearances work on two levels: not only do they silence opponents and critics who have disappeared, but they also create uncertainty and fear in the wider community, silencing others who would oppose and criticise. Disappearances entail the violation of many fundamental human rights. For the disappeared person, these include the right to liberty, the right to personal security and humane treatment (including freedom from torture), the right to a fair trial, to legal counsel and to equal protection under the law, and the right of presumption of innocence among others. Their families, who often spend the rest of their lives searching for information on the disappeared, are also victims.

Political repression

Political repression is the persecution of an individual or group for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing their ability to take political life of society.

Political repression is sometimes used synonymously with the term political discrimination (also known as politicism). It often is manifested through discriminatory policies, such as human rights violations, surveillance abuse, police brutality, imprisonment, involuntary settlement, stripping of citizen's rights, lustration and violent action or terror such as the murder, summary executions, torture, forced disappearance and other extrajudicial punishment of political activists, dissidents, or general population.

Where political repression is sanctioned and organised by the state, it may constitute state terrorism, genocide, politicide or crimes against humanity. Systemic and violent political repression is a typical feature of dictatorships, totalitarian states and similar regimes. In such regimes, acts of political repression may be carried out by secret police forces, army, paramilitary groups or death squads. Relevant activities have also been found within democratic contexts as well.

If political repression is not carried out with the approval of the state, a section of government may still be responsible. An example is the FBI COINTELPRO operations in the United States between 1956 and 1971.

In some states, "repression" can be an official term used in legislation or the names of government institutions. For example, the Soviet Union had a legal policy of repression of political opposition defined in the penal code, and Cuba under Fulgencio Batista had a secret police agency officially named the "Bureau for the Repression of Communist Activities."

What is Genocide?

THE TERM "GENOCIDE"

Genocide

The term "genocide" did not exist before 1944. It is a very specific term, referring to violent crimes committed against groups with the intent to destroy the existence of the group. Human rights, as laid out in the US Bill of Rights or the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, concern the rights of individuals.

In 1944, a Polish-Jewish lawyer named Raphael Lemkin (1900-1959) sought to describe Nazi policies of systematic murder, including the destruction of the European Jews. He formed the word "genocide" by combining geno-, from the Greek word for race or tribe, with -cide, from the Latin word for killing. In proposing this new term, Lemkin had in mind "a coordinated plan of different actions aiming at the destruction of essential foundations of the life of national groups, with the aim of annihilating the groups themselves." The next year, the International Military Tribunal held at Nuremberg, Germany, charged top Nazis with "crimes against humanity." The word “genocide” was included in the indictment, but as a descriptive, not legal, term.

It is a very specific term, referring to ''violent crimes committed against groups with the intent to destroy the existence of the group''

THE CRIME OF GENOCIDE

On December 9, 1948, in the shadow of the Holocaust and in no small part due to the tireless efforts of Lemkin himself, the United Nations approved the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. This convention establishes "genocide” as an international crime, which signatory nations “undertake to prevent and punish.” It defines genocide as:

Genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethical, racial or religious group, as such:
(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

While many cases of group-targeted violence have occurred throughout history and even since the Convention came into effect, the legal and international development of the term is concentrated into two distinct historical periods: the time from the coining of the term until its acceptance as international law (1944-1948) and the time of its activation with the establishment of international criminal tribunals to prosecute the crime of genocide (1991-1998). Preventing genocide, the other major obligation of the convention, remains a challenge that nations and individuals continue to face.

Human rights violations in Balochistan

 

Human rights abuses in balochistan

Human rights violations in Balochistan are a major cause of concern to the international community and have been described by Human Rights Watch (HRW) as having reached epidemic proportions. Brad Adams the director of the Asia branch of HRW has said that the Pakistani government has not done enough to stop the violence. Violations include torture, enforced disappearances of those suspected of either terrorism or opposing the military, ill treatment of those suspected of criminal activity and extrajudicial killings.