3 Resume of letters sent to

3 Resume of letters sent to Presidents and Ministers Prime Minister P.J. Patterson Office of the Prime Minister - Jamaica House 1 Devon Road Kingston 6, Jamaica April 06, 2005 Dear Prime Minister, I am writing to express my deep concern about the level of homophobic violence perpetrated against members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in Jamaica. Reports received by Amnesty International range from vigilante action by members of the community to ill-treatment and torture by the police. Lesbians and gay men have been beaten, cut, burned, raped and shot on account of their sexuality. All of this takes place in a climate of extreme homophobia where many popular Jamaican artists sing openly about maiming and killing homosexuals. We urge you, as a leader, to publicly condemn homophobic violence and state that abuses against LGBT people will not be tolerated. As a first step in addressing this human rights issue, we urge you to use your power to call for legal reforms, including debate of the repeal of the Jamaican sodomy statutes (Art. 76 and 79 of the Jamaican Offences against the Person Act), and the adoption of additional legal protections that would protect LGBT people from discrimination. Yours respectfully Jimmy Leon O´Swaldstrasse 7a Hamburg, 22111 Germany Coordinator for African-rapport Educator activist for Amnesty International USA www.africanrapport.net.ms The Hon. Mr Charles Nqakula Minister of Safety and Security Ministry of Safety and Security Private Bag X463 Pretoria 0001 South Africa Fax: + 27 12 393 2167 Hamburg 3rd of April 2005 Dear Sirs: I am writing regarding concerns over allegations of torture and assault at Protea Police Station on the night of 14-15 April 2004, which were made in complaints lodged by four members of the Gauteng branch of the Landless People’s Movement (LPM), namely Samantha Hargreaves, Ann Eveleth, Maureen Mnisi and Moses Mahlangu. I welcome the fact that a police officer from the Crime Intelligence Gathering unit at Protea Police Station has now been charged with “assault GBH” and “assault common” in relation to their allegations. Please note that, under Article 3(b) of the UN Principles on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, "Those potentially implicated in torture or ill-treatment shall be removed from any position of control or power, whether direct or indirect, over complainants, witnesses and their families, as well as those conducting the investigation." I ask that you please inform me whether steps have been taken, consistent with this standard, to remove the officer charged and other possible suspected police officers from duties which might give them the potential to interfere with any aspect of the investigations into the complaints of torture or ill-treatment made by the four LPM members. I also ask that you please let me know what steps the authorities (both South African Police Service [SAPS] and political authorities) have taken to address the recommendation made by the Independent Complaints Directorate in September 2004 that disciplinary proceedings be instituted against the suspected officer by the SAPS. Finally, I appeal to the police authorities to: - affirm publicly that human rights violations by the police will not be tolerated under any circumstances and that the need to investigate crime or deal with threats to public disorder can never be used as a justification for human rights violations; - ensure that all members of the SAPS fully respect the rights of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, as guaranteed under the national constitution and under human rights treaties to which South Africa is a party. Thank you for your urgent attention to this matter. Sincerely, Jimmy Leon Coordinator for African-rapport Educator activist for Amnesty International USA www.africanrapport.net.ms The Prime Minister's Office, South Block, Raisina Hill, New Delhi, India-110 011. Telephone: 91-11-23012312. Fax: 91-11-23019545 / 91-11-23016857. Prime Minister of India. Dr,Manmohan Singh Hamburg 5 th of April 2005 Your Excellency I am writing you to express concern for the movement of India to amend the law to end cheap generic drugs to bring India in line with requirements of the World Trade Organisation. India’s roll as a leading supplier of affordable medicines to the developing world is vital for many countries in Africa where expensive drugs cannot in anyway be acquired at normal prices. According to Dr.Brian Chituwo in Zambia the law would affect the country as the drugs were Zambia’s lifeline in the fight against AIDS. He said the cost of putting a patient on generic drugs was currently K40,000 per course per month as considered to the K260,000 per course per month. We believe that Governments and international institutions have to enforce international trade agreements concerning pharmaceutical patents to address health emergencies, and to reinforce the right to health as stated in the international human rights law. The links between HIV/AIDS and human rights in Africa and around the world show that protection of human rights is a necessary component of HIV/AIDS prevention and care, and that health and human rights are inextricably linked. Over 15 years into the HIV/AIDS epidemic, still question what human rights have to do with a successful strategy to contain the spread of HIV. Because of this, many around the world have urged individuals, organizations, and states to analyze the HIV epidemic from the perspective of human rights and human dignity. As a citizen of this world, I urge you your Excellency to do all you can to protect the right of those who are unlucky enough not to be born in the rich part of our planet and to continue access to affordable ARVs and other HIV-related medicines promises to prolong millions more lives in the immediate future. Thank you very much for your prompt attention to this matter, and I look forward to the honor of a reply. Yours respectfully Jimmy Leon Coordinator for African-rapport networks Educator activist for Amnesty International USA. www.africanrapport.net.ms Ministry of Women, Family Affairs and Children BP V200 Abidjan Côte d’Ivoire Hamburg 3rd of April 2005 Dear Minister: I am writing you to express concern for child soldiers in Côte d’Ivoire. In a recent UN operation, two children were among the combatants who were supposed members of the Mouvement de Libération de l'Ouest de la Côte d'Ivoire (MILOCI). Thirty-five African States currently abide by the minimum age for recruitment of 18 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. The Cape Town Principles define a child soldier as any person under 18 years who is part of any kind of regular or irregular armed force in any capacity. I am writing to ask you to ensure that all armed forces immediately demobilize children under the age of 18 from their ranks and stop further recruitment of children (including re-recruitment of children who have been demobilized), as it is prescribed by national law. I ask that you genuinely engaged in the demobilization of child solders in Côte d’Ivoire, facilitating their reintegration into society by providing adequately resourced rehabilitation programs that promote a return to civilian life and viable future for former child soldiers in civilian life. It is important to immediately remove from positions of command and control any commanders suspected of recruiting and using child soldiers. I urge you to investigate independently, impartially and exhaustively the use and recruitment of child soldiers in all parts of the country, ensuring that suspected perpetrators are brought to justice in accordance with international fair trial standards, without recourse to the death penalty. Finally, I urge you to ratify and rigorously implement both the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. Thank you for your urgent attention to this matter. Sincerely, Jimmy Leon Coordinator for African-rapport Educator activist for Amnesty International USA www.africanrapport.net.ms 4 African Gay life and worldwide Algerian Press Release 21 February 2005 INTERNATIONAL / ASYLUM Gay Algerian faces deportation after 10 years in UK Lover pleads for partner to be allowed to stay By OutRage! News Service After living a happy, secure life in Britain since he was 15, a 25-year old gay Algerian, Saad B, now faces being torn apart from his lover and deported to his violently homophobic homeland of Algeria. His asylum application has been rejected. All his appeals have been turned down – despite the fact that he has lived his entire adult life in the UK. Last week the courts turned down his request for a Judicial Review into the way his asylum application has been handled by the Home Office. Saad B is panic-stricken:”I fear for my safety and mental well-being if I am sent back to Algeria,” he said. Queer rights group OutRage! is backing Saad‟s asylum bid. Spokesperson Brett Lock said: “The way Saad is being treated is typical of the inhumanity of the asylum system. It is appalling the government wants to deport him to a country he barely knows, where his family have disowned him, and where he has no friends. “If he is forcibly returned, Saad will be at risk of imprisonment by the Algerian authorities and could be murdered by the country‟s violently anti-gay Islamic fundamentalists,” said Mr Lock. Lock‟s OutRage! colleague, Peter Tatchell, added: “Sending him back would tear his life apart. He has established a happy, fulfilling gay life in Britain. It is unbelievably cruel for the Home Office to expect him to return to Algeria, hide his sexuality, and live in constant fear of arrest and murder”, said Mr Tatchell. Saad B has good reasons to fear being deported back to Algeria: Homosexuality is illegal in Algeria and punishable by up to three years jail. Gay prisoners face beatings and rape. The police and army harass and brutalise gay people with impunity. Islamic fundamentalists target queers for assassination. Public attitudes are violently homophobic. Honour killings by family members and neighbours are not uncommon. Saad B has been rejected by his family. He has no friends in Algeria. It would be like being exiled to a foreign land. Saad B explains why he believes he deserves asylum in the UK: “I grew up in the UK. I belong here. I have no other home to go to and I don‟t want to live anywhere else. The UK is the only place I know. I haven‟t lived anywhere else since my childhood. Here I felt I was free, alive and safe. I grew up fast and worked hard to build my life here. I can‟t imagine hiding in Algeria and leading a „discreet‟ life, like the Home Office suggests. I‟d rather die. “I have been in this country for ten years, during which time I have enjoyed the freedom of living my sexual identity openly, without the fear of being found out. Back in Algeria, it would be impossible and extremely dangerous to lead an openly gay lifestyle. Homosexuals in Algeria suffer all types of persecution and inhuman treatments. “Going back to Algeria will expose me to great danger, and reignite the hostility and hatred my family feel towards me. I cannot live discreetly, because I cannot pretend to be someone other than my true myself. No matter where I went, I would be always vulnerable to blackmail, bullying, harassment, violence, rape and torture from the police, army, fundamentalists, vigilantes and my own family”, said Saad B. Saad B‟s partner, Matthew Skelly, is pleading for him to be allowed to stay in the UK: ”I first met Saad in April 2001 and after a couple of dates I knew I was in love for the first time in my life. Without hesitation, I moved to Woolwich to be with him. The past four years have been the greatest of my life. ”I am left cold inside at the thought I could lose my boyfriend. I try to block things out and get on with life as normal, but the constant worry and sleepless nights serve as a reminder that two lives can be so arbitrarily ruined. I pray every night that sense and compassion will prevail; that Saad will be allowed to stay with me in the UK”, said Mr Kelly. Saad B cannot give his full name as he fears being targeted by the government and Islamists if he is forcibly returned to Algeria. Saad B is asking reader‟s to send messages of support to his solicitor: Mr H Samra, Sheikh and Co solicitors, 208 Seven Sisters Road, London N4 3NX. These letters will then be presented to the Home Secretary in support of his request to remain in the UK. BACKGROUND Saad B. vs The Home Secretary Saad B was born in 1979 in north-east Algeria. In 1992, at the height of the Algerian civil war, the area became a stronghold of the Islamic fundamentalist insurgents of the Groupe Islamique Armée (GIA). In 1994, when SB was 14, the local GIA threatened his parents with „repercussions‟ unless SB joined their forces. The forced recruitment of young people into the terrorist army was then very common, with child draftees being used to assist with bombings and assassinations. At his parent‟s request, SB fled the country. After a period in Spain, and then France (where his eldest sister lives), he was eventually brought into Britain by a family friend, a few days after his 15th birthday. He relied on his family friend to make an application for asylum on his behalf, but this person failed to do so. SB‟s guardian subsequently disappeared and he was left alone. After six months, the isolation became overpowering. In 1996, SB fled to Belgium (where his eldest brother lives). But he was returned from Brussels the same day, due to his lack of authorised travel documents. On his return, SB applied for asylum. At this point, UK immigration officials incorrectly assessed him as an adult and he was interned in an adult prison (HMP Rochester) for nearly one year, until social services recognised the mistake and secured his release. This error by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) apparently extinguished consideration of his asylum application and his long-standing presence in Britain. SB was provided with housing and support in Worthing. However, on receiving a letter from the IND requesting an interview, SB panicked. Fearing this meant he would again be detained in HMP Rochester, he fled to his brother in Belgium. On this occasion he stayed there approximately six weeks. His brother advised him to return to Britain and resume his asylum application. On being interviewed by immigration officials on his return, SB reiterated his claim for asylum. His current claim therefore dates from January 1998 (because his previous claim was incorrectly discounted). The original reasons for SB leaving Algeria and coming to Britain stemmed from a genuine fear of forced conscription into the GIA terrorist army. The entire last ten years of SB‟s life, between the ages of 15 to 25, have been spent in the UK (apart from an absence of 6 weeks). All his friends are here. All his work experience is here. Britain is his home. Since coming to the UK, SB has realised he is gay – and has begun to accept his sexuality - something he would probably have never been able to do if he had remained in the repressive, threatening, violent and homophobic atmosphere of Algeria. One result of him being gay is that his entire family, on whom he relied so heavily, have ceased contact with him. If he was deported back to Algeria, he would be returning to a country he barely remembers, with no family support or protection. SB‟s 1998 application for asylum was eventually considered in July 2003. It was only at that moment he told the IND he was gay. This was unsurprising since SB has found it incredibly difficult to reconcile his sexuality with his Muslim faith - let alone being open about it to other people – especially government officials. It is acknowledged by the IND that SB is homosexual and homosexuality in Algeria is punishable by up to 3 years imprisonment. Nevertheless, his application was refused by the Home Office. SB appealed this decision in October 2003 and was refused again. It was suggested by the asylum adjudicator that he would be in no danger of persecution in Algeria if he was „discreet‟ ie. kept his sexuality secret. Having been increasingly open and well-adjusted about his homosexuality, SB would find it an incredible strain to go back into the closet and always being looking over his shoulder in case he was discovered and arrested or murdered. It was also suggested by the adjudicator that the close friendships, and a long-term gay relationship he had formed with Matthew Skelly, did not warrant consideration. This ruling does not accord to the rights enshrined in Articles 3 & 8 respectively of the Human Rights Act 1998. SB subsequently appealed once more against the adjudicator's decision in October 2004. His appeal was dismissed. Application for a Judicial Review of the case has been lodged, and SB awaits a decision in the coming weeks or months. Letters of support for SB should be sent to his solicitor: Mr H Samra, Sheikh and Co solicitors, 208 Seven Sisters Road, London N4 3NX Stateme by Saad B: “I have been in this country for ten years, during which time I have enjoyed the freedom of living my sexual identity openly, without the fear of being found out. Back in Algeria, it would be impossible and extremely dangerous to lead this openly gay lifestyle. Homosexuals in Algeria suffer all types of persecution and inhuman treatments. “Going back to Algeria will expose me to these dangers, and reignite the hostility and hatred my family feel towards me. I cannot live discreetly, because I cannot pretend to be someone other than my true myself. No matter where I go and hide, I will be always vulnerable to blackmail, bullying, harassment, violence, rape and torture from the police, army, fundamentalists, vigilantes and my own family. “I have recently met a gay man from Algeria who was blackmailed and brutally attacked at work and in his neighbourhood. He suffered a broken nose and ribs, and his face has been permanently scared and disfigured. I cannot imagine living like this. Going back to Algeria I would be risking my life. I would not survive such brutality. I wouldn‟t have anyone to turn to for protection. “Both the Home Office and the Adjudicator know about these facts and have chosen to ignore them. Instead of offering me protection they decided that I should go back and live discreetly. “Algeria is a Muslim country where homophobia is deeply rooted in the culture and compounded by the government policy. Indeed, according to Article 333 of the penal code, a homosexual behaviour between consenting adults is punishable with between 6 months and 3 years of imprisonment, together with a fine of DA1,000 and DA10, 000. “I grew up in the UK. I belong here. I have no other home to go to and I don‟t want to live anywhere else. The UK is the only place I know - I haven‟t been anywhere else since my childhood. Here I felt I was free, alive and safe. I grew up fast and worked hard to build my life here. I can‟t imagine living elsewhere in hiding; leading a „discreet‟ life, like the Home Office suggests. I‟d rather die. ”The Home Office decision in my case is unjust. It is uncivilised and morally wrong to expect me to put my life on hold for nearly ten years - often unable to study or to work - whilst waiting for them to make a decision on my asylum. How can they expect me to throw away the life I have managed to salvage and go live somewhere else just like that!” Statement by Saad B‟s partner, Matthew Skelly: ”I first met Saad in April 2001 and after a couple of dates I knew I was in love for the first time in my life. Without hesitation I moved to Woolwich to be with him. The past four have been the greatest of my life. ”I am left cold inside at the thought I could lose my boyfriend. I try to block things out and get on with life as normal, but the constant worry and sleepless nights serve as a reminder that two lives can be so arbitrarily ruined. I pray every night that sense and compassion will prevail; that Saad will be allowed to stay with me in the UK.