May, 21 2019, 12:00am EDT
USA: Authorities Must Stop Criminalizing Humanitarian Aid
WASHINGTON
The U.S. Department of Justice should immediately drop all criminal charges against humanitarian volunteer Scott Warren and stop criminalizing humanitarian aid, Amnesty International said today.
"The U.S. government is legally required to prevent the arbitrary deaths of migrants and asylum seekers in border areas. Yet instead, authorities have willfully destroyed humanitarian aid provisions in deadly desert terrain and are criminally prosecuting humanitarian volunteers in order to deter them from saving lives," said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International.
The U.S. government is prosecuting Dr. Warren for allegedly "harbouring" two undocumented migrants by providing them with humanitarian aid in the form of food, water, and clean clothing,in the desert town of Ajo, Arizona, where he lives. If convicted on all three criminal charges against him, Dr. Warren could face up to 20 years in prison. His felony trial is scheduled to begin on 29 May.
Amnesty International has sent an open letter to U.S. authorities as part of an international campaign calling for the charges against Dr. Warren to be dropped.
"Providing humanitarian aid is never a crime. If Dr. Warren were convicted and imprisoned on these absurd charges, he would be a prisoner of conscience, detained for his volunteer activities motivated by humanitarian principles and his religious beliefs," said Erika Guevara-Rosas.
"Amnesty International opposed similar criminal prosecutions of humanitarian volunteers in Arizona 15 years ago, and we will continue to do so as long as necessary, until the government stops abusing its power. The U.S. government should immediately adopt and implement exemptions from criminal prosecution under 'smuggling' and 'harboring' charges, for the provision of humanitarian aid."
Earlier in 2019, Dr. Warren and eight other volunteers with the organization No More Deaths/No Mas Muertes were also prosecuted for misdemeanor charges of littering and trespassing, specifically for leaving water and other humanitarian aid in desert areas where migrants have frequently died.
Arizona has the deadliest border area in the USA, accounting for 38.3 percent of the 7,242 border deaths recorded by U.S. border authorities over the last 20 years. The actual number of deaths is likely higher, as local media and organizations have sometimes counted more than official statistics, and border authorities have not always registered or collected the remains of bodies reported to them by volunteers.
Amnesty International acknowledges the volunteer activities of Dr. Warren and his associated organization No More Deaths/No Mas Muertes, as vital humanitarian aid directed at upholding the right to life and preventing the deaths of migrants and asylum seekers in the Sonoran Desert.
Amnesty International is a global movement of millions of people demanding human rights for all people - no matter who they are or where they are. We are the world's largest grassroots human rights organization.
(212) 807-8400LATEST NEWS
Biden Moves Forward With 'Immoral' $1 Billion Arms Shipment to Israel
The new shipment was announced "right after the State Department admits Israel has 'likely' used U.S.-supplied weapons in violation of humanitarian law," said one journalist.
May 15, 2024
Less than a week after U.S. President Joe Biden said he was pausing a shipment of thousands of bombs to Israel, citing concerns over the safety of civilians in Rafah and other "population centers" in Gaza, the White House informed Congress Tuesday that it will soon send over $1 billion more in arms and ammunition to the Israel Defense Forces.
The package includes about $700 million for tank ammunition, $500 million in tactical vehicles, and $60 million in mortar rounds, congressional aides toldTheAssociated Press.
Despite the Biden administration's repeated claims that it believes U.S. bombs should not "be dropped in densely populated cities," Intercept reporter Prem Thakker pointed out that the arms shipment was announced days after the State Department admitted in a report that it was "reasonable" to conclude Israel has used U.S. weapons to violate international humanitarian law in its relentless bombing of Gaza.
It was unclear whether the $1 billion shipment was part of an existing arms sale or a new transaction with Israel. The weapons are not among those included in the $17 billion in military aid for the IDF included in a foreign aid package passed last month.
At Al Jazeera, Shihab Rattansi reported that the weapons shipment is "being presented as the long-term U.S. commitment to supplying Israel with weaponry" and "has been under consideration since mid-spring," with some of the weapons potentially not reaching the IDF for months or even up to three years.
But foreign policy analyst Rula Jebreal suggested that regardless of whether the weapons are used in Rafah, where Israel is currently expanding its assault, the shipment goes "against U.S. national security interest and global standing" and will aid Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "on his lawless path of colonization."
The shipment was announced ahead of a statement released by Amnesty International and other humanitarian groups condemning international governments—including that of the U.S.—for standing by as Israel has killed at least 35,173 Palestinians in Gaza since October while also blocking nearly all humanitarian aid, pushing part of the enclave into famine that is expected to spread.
The U.S. and other suppliers of weapons to Israel must respect last month's United Nations Human Rights Council resolution demanding an end to weapons sales to the IDF, said the groups.
"As the main weapon provider for Israel's military effort, the United States bears a significant responsibility for Israel's international humanitarian law violations. In addition to halting the transfer of high payload bombs, the U.S. should also use all its leverage to halt the ongoing military operation in Rafah," said the organizations, including Relief International and Oxfam. "All states must act now to ensure an immediate and sustained cease-fire."
Amnesty released an analysis late last month showing that U.S. bombs were used in attacks on Gaza that likely fit the definition of war crimes.
Al Jazeera's Tareq Abu Azzoum reported Wednesday from Deir el-Balah, Gaza that Israel has intensified its attacks on Rafah as well as in cities in northern Gaza.
"Over the past couple of hours, we have recorded more victims in central areas of Gaza City," reported Abu Azzoum. "Ten Palestinians have been killed in the city's Sabra neighborhood after a U.N.-run clinic was targeted by Israeli jets."
The IDF said Tuesday that it had hit more than 100 targets across the Gaza Strip in a 24-hour period and was continuing to carry out attacks in Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians have been forcibly displaced since October.
Nearly 450,000 people have now been forced to flee the southern city once again, and Al Jazeerareported Tuesday that at least one family that escaped Israel's Rafah incursion was killed days later in an attack on a refugee camp.
Moving forward with another weapons shipment to Israel, said U.S. economic justice group Debt Collective, was "murderous" and "immoral."
Keep ReadingShow Less
World Leaders Blasted Over 'Grave' Violations of International Law by Israel
"The first step for Third States in upholding their own legal obligations to ensure [international humanitarian law] is respected is to stop the Rafah invasion, open all land crossings and lift internal barriers for humanitarian access," said an international coalition.
May 15, 2024
While ordinary citizens from across the globe have expressed their condemnation of the ongoing carnage and suffering in Gaza, a coalition of 20 international human rights groups on Wednesday excoriated world leaders for standing idly by as Israel carries out "a grave violation of international humanitarian law" with its military assault on Rafah.
With the United Nations agencies reporting that as many as 450,000 people have already attempted to flee the encircled southern city where more than 1.4 million had sought refuge, a joint statement by the groups—including Amnesty International, Oxfam, Médecins du Monde International Network, and Mercy Corps—rebuked Israel's evacuation orders as "unlawful" and chided third-party countries for violating their own obligations under international humanitarian law (IHL) by refusing to intervene.
"Third States have the responsibility to urgently act in bringing to an end, and pursue accountability for, the Grave Breaches of IHL taking place in Gaza," said the groups. "The first step for Third States in upholding their own legal obligations to ensure IHL is respected is to stop the Rafah invasion, open all land crossings and lift internal barriers for humanitarian access."
According to the statement, Israel's ongoing violations are clear and obvious:
The Israeli military's "evacuation orders" are unlawful and amount to forcible transfer, a grave violation of international humanitarian law (IHL). Israel has ordered hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to flee, without providing civilians and humanitarian actors clear information nor timeframe. IHL sets clear conditions for an evacuation to be lawful: the occupying power must ensure that these displacements are temporary and that displaced persons are provided with satisfactory conditions of hygiene, health, safety and nutrition, and members of the same family must not be separated. Israeli authorities have failed to meet any of these requirements.
With Wednesday marking the 76th anniversary of the Nakba, when Palestinians were forced to leave their homes en masse following the establishment of the Israeli state in 1948, a new wave of forced displacement is now upon the people of Gaza only served to heighten the harsh reality for those with nowhere safe to go.
Ilan Pappe, a scholar of Palestinian history at the University of Exeter, explained to Al-Jazeera that while some comparisons with the original Nakba make sense, what is happening now to the people of Gaza is "even worse" in many ways.
"What we see now are massacres which are part of the genocidal impulse, namely to kill people in order to downsize the number of people living in Gaza," Pappe said. On Tuesday, a group of ultra-nationalist Israelis, including members of the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Cabinet, marched in the city of Sderot near the Gaza border as they called for resettlement of the enclave.
"Ethnic cleansing is a terrible crime against humanity but genocide is even worse," said Pappe. "So I think we are seeing a transition from using ethnic cleansing as the main method of taking as much of Palestine as possible, with as few Palestinians in it as possible—we are moving into a far more lethal method, that of genocide."
According to the joint declaration by rights groups on Wednesday, Israel's military assault in Rafah is "disrupting the humanitarian response" of relief organizations and the United Nations, amounting to a "breach of the U.N. Security Council resolutions 2720 and 2728 as well as the International Court of Justice's provisional measures ordering Israel to enable the provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance."
In remarks Tuesday, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said Israel's escalating military operations and evacuation orders in Rafah "are further impeding humanitarian access and worsening an already dire situation."
"For people in Gaza," said Guterres, "nowhere is safe now."
Despite the concerns from U.N. agencies and international relief groups, the U.S. government under President Joe Biden on Tuesday said it was preparing a $1 billion weapons shipment for Israel to bolster its military capabilities.
Because of such military support, the human rights coalition argued in its Wednesday declaration that the U.S. "bears a significant responsibility" for Israel's violations of international humanitarian law. "In addition to halting the transfer of high payload bombs, the U.S. should also use all its leverage to halt the ongoing military operation in Rafah," the groups said.
Those in the human rights coalition said it is the Palestinian people paying the price for the failure of world leaders to meet their obligations to put a stop to the forced displacement of civilians in Gaza.
"We have been warning for months that Israel must be stopped from entering Rafah or Gaza would face an even greater humanitarian catastrophe" than it already has, said Florence Rigal, president of Médecins du Monde France. "The inaction of third countries is seen as a lack of concern for the consequences for the exhausted civilian population. It is unacceptable and immediate action must be taken to prevent further suffering."
Keep ReadingShow Less
'Billionaire Bully' for Big Business Defeated in Record-Setting Maryland Primary Race
Prince George's County executive Angela Alsobrooks wins Democratic nomination for open U.S. Senate seat over retail wine magnet David Trone, who self-funded his campaign with over $60 million.
May 15, 2024
Despite spending over $61 million of his own money in the Democratic Primary, wealthy business owner and state Rep. David Trone came up short in Maryland's Democratic primary race for an open U.S. Senate seat on Tuesday, bested by Angela Alsobrooks, executive of Prince George's County.
Due to the self-funding of Trone, co-owner of the Total Wine & More retail chain, the primary became the most expensive in state history. Despite polls showing Trone as the clear favorite leading up to Tuesday's vote, Alsobrooks won by a full 12 points. According to the Baltimore Sun, with 100% of precincts reporting, the final tally was 54% to 41.9%.
"For anyone who has ever felt counted out, overlooked, and underestimated, I hope you know that the impossible is still possible," Alsobrooks, who had the support of most major players in the Maryland Democratic Party apparatus, told supporters during a victory speech on Tuesday night.
She vowed to defeat the Republican nominee for the seat, former two-term governor Larry Hogan, and said the Democratic Party was "united in our focus to keep the Senate blue."
Political observers took note of the unexpected margin of victory as well as the dynamic of Trone's outsized spending.
"So…. Not a single poll had Alsobrooks winning by anywhere close to double digits, elections absolutely can break late, and campaigns matter," said Colin Seeberger, senior communications director for the Center for American Progress. "Feels like there are some lessons to be learned here for, I don't know, future elections."
Fight Corporate Monopolies, a progressive advocacy group opposed to concentrations of corporate power, opposed Trone based on his fealty to monopoly interests during the primary and called him "just another billionaire bully who thinks he can buy himself a Senate seat."
The group ran one ad comparing Trone to former president Donald Trump and documenting his attacks on rival small businesses and workers:
“I will f*#%ing end you. I will execute you!” - David Trone to a delivery worker.
That’s a billionaire bully for you. pic.twitter.com/cjyuJ3GAVq
— Fight Corporate Monopolies (@fightmonopolies) May 13, 2024
Following Tuesday's defeat, Faiz Shakir with Fight Corporate Monopolies, said: "I believe [our] ad against Trone—both in timing and in message—played a key role in changing the trajectory of the Senate race."
John Nichols, veteran political reporter for The Nation, said: "Maryland Democratic voters rejected mega-rich corporate monopolist David Trone in their Senate primary and instead chose highly qualified Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks to take on Republican Larry Hogan. Good move."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular