Possible Use of SMS to Tackle Domestic Violence

Because of the sensitive nature of domestic violence and the fear of reprisals, incidents of violence often go unreported. But taking the wide use of mobile phones into account, and combining it with Frontline SMS, Anthony Papillion proposes developing a system that would allow incidents of violence to be reported quickly and anonymously.

The basic idea is to give women a quick, easy, and safe way to report and catalog abuse, and reach out for either police or crisis worker help, all without ever making a traceable phone call. Piecing together a system that consists of a laptop running FrontlineSMS, a mobile phone, and a few PHP scripts sitting on an Internet connection, I’m creating a system where women can send messages to various help authorities or just record instances of abuse for later use in court. For example:

C <A message that she wants to send to a crisis counselor>
P <A message she wants to send to a police officer>
R <A message she wants to be recorded for later use in court detailing an abusive incident>

The system is currently under development.

Letter to Japanese Prime Minister Regarding Sri Lanka

11 May 2009

Dear Prime Minister Taro Aso,

We are writing to you in connection with the grave and worsening humanitarian and human rights situation in northern Sri Lanka. The undersigned nongovernmental organizations call upon Japan to play a more active role in confronting the unfolding catastrophe in what may be the military endgame between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

If the world continues to look away from the suffering of civilians in Sri Lanka, as it has largely done until now, it will be a failure of historic proportions. We believe that Japan, a powerful player on the humanitarian stage and the largest international donor to Sri Lanka, has an important role to play in saving countless civilian lives, as well as to implement aid policies that ensure sustainable peace, human rights and development in Sri Lanka. It is time for Japan to show that it is prepared to shoulder its responsibilities.

Tens of thousands of civilians remain trapped in the so-called “no-fire zone,” where John Holmes, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for humanitarian affairs, warned last month of a “bloodbath.” Each of the undersigned organizations works closely in or on Sri Lanka. Our fact-gathering leaves us convinced that the need for strong action by Japan and other influential nations is more urgent than ever.

According to United Nations statistics, more than 6,000 civilians have died and over 13,000 wounded from the fighting since late January 2009. The International Committee of the Red Cross, which rarely speaks out in public, has called the situation “nothing short of catastrophic.”

The UN Human Rights Council experts dealing with summary executions, right to health, right to food and water and sanitation noted in a joint statement on 8 May that there has been a “dramatic lack of transparency and accountability.”

Philip Alston, UN expert on summary executions, noted that the Sri Lankan Government, “has yet to account for the casualties, or to provide access to the war zone for journalists and humanitarian monitors of any type.”

Both sides in this conflict have shown wanton disregard for human life in violation of international humanitarian law. The LTTE is using civilians as human shields and is forcibly preventing civilians from escaping the conflict zone.

The Sri Lankan government has also committed grave abuses, none of which are excused by its claims that it is fighting terrorism. Its forces in numerous instances have indiscriminately shelled densely populated areas, including hospitals. The government has repeatedly lied to Japan and the United Nations by denying the use of heavy weapons in the no-fire zone.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan government has refused access to the conflict-affected areas to the United Nations, impartial humanitarian and human rights organizations and the media. It should be clear that the world needs to know what is actually happening on the ground so that it can prevent abuses and help those in need.

We know that a number of humanitarian agencies share many of the concerns expressed in this letter. For the security of their staff, they are constrained from speaking out publicly on these issues.

We urge Japan to take a more robust stance on the continuing suffering of the civilian population in Sri Lanka than has hitherto been the case. We welcome reports that Yasushi Akashi, Representative of the Government of Japan, recently urged Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to make the safety of trapped civilians the top priority, and we welcome government statements reminding all parties to respect international humanitarian law.

However, much more is needed. UN Security Council resolutions have repeatedly emphasized the importance of the protection of civilians. Resolution 1674 reaffirms the responsibility to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, which heads of state adopted at the 2005 World Summit. The resolution notes that the targeting of civilians and widespread violations of international humanitarian and human rights law in situations of armed conflict may constitute a threat to international peace and security.

We call upon Japan to support efforts for the Security Council to keep the situation in Sri Lanka under close and regular review and to consider the situation in Sri Lanka formally at the Security Council. Meetings in recent weeks have been held only informally in basement rooms, deliberately kept out of the Council’s main chamber, because of the reluctance of some member states. We believe this must change and formal meetings of the Security Council must be held urgently so that the Council can take the necessary measures to address the humanitarian and human rights crisis.

We urge the Council to call upon the Sri Lankan government to facilitate UN needs assessment, lifting restrictions on the delivery of humanitarian aid, and ensure access for UN agencies to all government reception and screening points. The Council should make clear that both the government and LTTE would be held accountable for their actions, and create a UN commission of inquiry to examine violations of international humanitarian law by both sides.

We urge Japan to support action at the Security Council in New York, and to support prompt consideration of the situation in Sri Lanka by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The need for action is urgent, ahead of a ministerial-level meeting at the Security Council on May 11. Japan needs to find its voice in international diplomacy as a leading rights-respecting democracy. We hope that Japan will rise to the challenge.

Respectfully yours,

Kenneth Roth
Executive director
Human Rights Watch

Yvonne Terlingen
Head of Amnesty International Office at the United Nations

Dr. Monica Serrano
Executive Director
Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect

Gareth Evans
President and CEO
International Crisis Group

 

Source: ICG

Sri Lanka: Lessons from the Eastern Province – ICG Report

On the 16th of April, the International Crisis Group brought out a report pointing out that the current development of the Eastern Province is far below the standard projected by the Government. 

“The twin humanitarian crises in Sri Lanka’s north – more than 100,000 civilians trapped in fighting between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and over 60,000 housed in militarised camps – require urgent and coordinated international action”, says Robert Templer, Crisis Group’s Asia Program Director. “When the fighting concludes, government calls for large-scale international humanitarian reconstruction and development assistance in the north will soon grow louder”.

Before committing any additional reconstruction and development assistance, donors must insist that the basic conditions for sustainable development are guaranteed and that the government has taken tangible steps towards democratic political transformation in both the north and the east. Otherwise, there is too great a risk that international funds will ultimately be wasted or possibly even prolong conflict.

In the Eastern Province, violence, political instability and the government’s reluctance to devolve power to the provincial administrations are undermining ambitious development plans. Rather than treating the situation as a typical post-conflict environment, donors need to ensure additional monitoring and coordinated political advocacy. They should insist on a written agreement on basic principles with the government, to be signed during a high-level donor development forum and prior to the commencement of any new projects.

Access the report here

Sri Lanka is among the list of deteriorated conflict situations in April 2009.

Resentment in Sri Lanka

The New York Times ran an article drawing attention to the conflict in Sri Lanka and the adverse effect the current military strategy will have on the future of the country: 

Ethnic Tamils who fled an earlier round of fighting three years ago, the refugees still live in uncertainty, surrounded by barbed wire, and their resentment against the majority-Sinhalese government has grown.

“If they won’t let us go back to our land, then cancel our citizenship and send us to another country,” said Chitharaval Somasundara, 55, who was once a farmer.

“For us Tamils, this is the way it is,” he said. “For Sinhalese this would not happen.”

Though it appears to be on the verge of crushing the insurgency on the battlefield, diplomats and other analysts say, the government’s military offensive may only be causing more resentment among the Tamils and sowing the seeds of future unrest.

NYT

Batticaloa, one of the first cities to be taken back from the rebels, is still in a state of instability with the armed forces still present and armed gangs carrying out intimidation and abductions. 

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay expressed her alarm in a statement on the 13th of March. She stated:

“Certain actions being undertaken by the Sri Lankan military and by the LTTE may constitute violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.” Pillay said. “We need to know more about what is going on, but we know enough to be sure that the situation is absolutely desperate. The world today is ever sensitive about such acts that could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

OHCHR said a range of credible sources have indicated that more than 2,800 civilians may have been killed and more than 7,000 injured since 20 January, many of them inside the no-fire zones. The casualties are believed to include hundreds of children killed and more than a thousand injured. 

UNHCR

A large number of civilians still remain trapped between the two groups in the Vanni region.

Louise Arbour – Crisis Group President

On the 12th of March, the Board of the International Crisis Group announced that Louise Arbour has been selected to be the organisations  President and CEO. 

From 2004 to 2008, she served as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the highest office mandated by the international community to promote and protect human rights. Before this, she was a Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.

The International Crisis Group (Crisis Group) is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organisation working through field-based analysis and high-level advocacy to prevent and resolve deadly conflict.