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Disarmament, Demobilization, and

Reintegration of ex-combatants in Afghanistan

Hiroya Takagi
The Japan Center of Conflict Prevention

1. What is DDR? And what is DDR like in Afghanistan?

Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration program(hereafter 'DDR) is central to

improving security and maturing labor market.

a) The reasons why DDR is needed are:

1. DDR is the transition of soldiers and officers from military to civilian life
2. DDR promotes the restoration of nationwide security and creates an environment
enabling further security sector and governmental reforms (police, judicial reform,
elections)
3. Specifically, DDR will provide ex-combatants and officers the opportunity for
reintegration into their communities.

b) The reasons whey DDR is needed in Afghanistan are:

1. DDR enables successful elections and full implementation of the Bonn
Agreement.(de-functioning and braking up structures of commanders, decommissioning
AMF units and formations by providing alternatives to life with guns)
2. DDR gives income-generating opportunities for ex-combatants, who were deprived
of the opportunities of education and job.
3. DDR provides economic support to their communities, and launches national
reconciliation initiatives and peace education campaign.

But please note that it is impossible and even not aim of DDR in Afghanistan to collect
all of small arms. It is said that one household possesses more than two guns and in
reality, Afghans submit old and almost broken 'one' gun, reserving other properly
working guns.

2. Reintegration program of DDR program.

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Reintegration program is the most crucial part of DDR process for the success, since
unless reintegration is to succeed, it is relatively easy in Afghanistan for ex-combatants
to go back to the culture of war. In order to pursue the true meaning of reintegration, it
is indispensable that a comprehensive approach should be based on the needs of both
ex-combatants and the community they are reintegrating into. UN led Reintegration
program tends to concentrate on physical vocational training, but mental training for ex-
combatants who had held guns and war culture in the program.

Although UN-led DDR has made some achievements, we need to review carefully it to
make effective and sustainable impacts on Afghanistan reconstruction and development.

I. Ex-combatants do not understand DDR program enough.

Ex-combatants usually misunderstand DDR project for welfare program. This
misunderstanding easily leads them to disappointment after reintegration program and
hinders growing self-reliance.)

II. Limited beneficiaries.

It is indispensable to tighten the relationship between ex-combatants in DDR program
and community. There are manycomplaints from the people in the community why only
ex-combatants can have, for example, vocational training. Benefits for the people in the
community should be taken into consideration. Also, people in community are not
necessarily willing to welcome ex-combatants.

III. DDR program in the long run.

What kind of vocational training is promising and helpful for the regional economic
development should be considered. Required jobs must be different region by region.
Economic, industrial and labor marketanalysis in each region, before deciding which
vocational training, should be planed. This process must be one of the main conditions
for effective and sustainable

IV. Follow-up program after reintegration program.

If the ex-combatants cannot find the job opportunities after re-integration program or if
they cannot find job opportunity is given continuously, it cannot be denied that the main
objective of DDR cannot be achieved. It is necessary to consider after the reintegration
program in the long run.

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V. Trainees have to learn business discipline.

After the vocational training, discipline is asked in the workplace. In business, for
example, every work is to be efficient and supposed to meet the requests and the
deadline posed by contractor. Training under the time pressure is the important aspect
not to be ignored.

VI. Concept of "peace" have to be placed as the central issue in DDR program.
The main objective of DDR program is to prevent conflict and contribute to
sustainable peace in Afghanistan. Reintegration program, which emphasize only on job
training, is not enough to satisfy with the main objective of DDR program. Mental
training for peace have to be installed in the reintegration program.

3. Reintegration program in Shamori region, Kabul province

Project region:
Kalakan, district and Mir Bacha-kot District, Kabul province
Shamori region isone of the main war places. Therefore, population of ex-combatants is
large. Most of them are jobless or disguised employers.

Project goals:
� Prevent ex-combatants and potential combatants from engaging in future combat
activities.
� Enhance their reintegration as productive members of society on a permanent basis.
� Provide human capital to the society for recovery and development, which in turn
contributes to the assurance of security.
� Contribute to regional economic development

Key Activities:

I. Economic Survey
Economic survey is conducted for assessing which vocational training is needed and
possibility of economic development in the target region.

II. Recruitment
The target group in the project is ex-combatant.

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III. Vocational Training

Vocational training is to be decided after economic survey in the target regions and
consultation with AGEF which is one of the main UN partners for reintegration program
in Afghanistan.

IV. Peace education class

The class is designed to raise awareness about peace and conflict prevention and to
present the participants with some practical tools to prevent conflict situations and build
harmonious relations with others in their daily lives.

V. Basic education class

There are many illiterate among ex-combatants who lost education opportunities due
to conflict. The class is designedto provide basic education enabling participants to
better cope with society and life and business activities. The class is divided into two
sections: reading/writing of Dari (one of the major languages in Afghanistan) and basic
math.

VI. Post-training assistance

The post-training assistance is designed to help the participants to secure
permanent/long-term employment and thus sustainable income for their smooth
reintegration in the society.

VII. Community Activities

One of the main aims of DDR program is to facilitate reintegration of ex-combatants
into society. Trainees in JCCP reintegration program contribute to the community with
the vocational skills gained in the program. (ex. Repairing broken handcart, windows,
or broken desks and chairs in school for free of charge)

Landmines, Humanitarian Demining and Afghanistan

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HAYASHI Yutaka
Representative
The Japan Center for Conflict Prevention
Afghanistan Office

1. The types of Landmines 1

2. Impact of Landmines 1
3. What is humanitarian demining? 2
4. Afghanistan and mine clearance 3

1. The types of Landmines

There are basically two types of landmines found in Afghanistan. First, Anti-personal
mines (AP mines). The second is Anti-Tank mines (AT mines). In addition, we can find
many kinds of UXOs. The term, UXO Recently in the UN documents, the term, AXO
(Abandoned Explosive Ordnance), becomes a new terminology. The notion of AXO is
more broad than that of UXO because UXO implies one object. On the other hand,
AXO can represent some amount of ordnance, which is quite common in Afghanistan.,
means "Unexploded Ordnance" which is explosive malfunctioned or abandoned. In
addition, there are notorious booby traps made by a combination of mines and UXOs.
Because of the 23 years of wars and conflicts, Afghanistan is heavily contaminated by
those mines and UXOs.

2. Impact of Landmines

In Afghanistan, it is reported that the number of landmine victim reaches around 150
victims per month. It should be, however, emphasized that this number is only
mentioned the victims reported to the international organizations. In other words, the
actual number of victims would be estimated around 300 victims per ONE month. Half
of the victims are under 18 years old and more than 80% of victims are civilians see the
International Campaign to Ban Landmines "Landmine Monitor Report"
(http://www.icbl.org/lm/2003/afghanistan.html) . Within a year, the total victims can be
around 3,600. Considering the population in Afghanistan, which is roughly 25 millions,
the impact of landmine contamination would be serious.

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It is said that those who lost legs or hands become a burden for each family. It is quite
difficult to find a proper work for those victims in Afghanistan. Usually, the most
common work in the country is farming. Casual labour would be the one next to
farming. Those works require a good health condition and no physical defect. Once a
person lost their limbs, it means the loss of work. The physical defect cannot meat the
requirement for the works. Recently, there are some efforts to create jobs for those
landmine victims. Those wheel chair riders can be messengers for letters and
documents. This is only within the big cities, like Kabul.
In general, the loss of limbs is the loss of works. Considering the IDPs and refugees
returning from neighbouring countries, such as Iran and Pakistan, those newly returned
Afghans are not so familiar with current landmine contamination around their
hometown. During their absence for last couple of years, the warring parties put many
landmines around their strongholds and frontlines, where were one before the verdant
county side and green pastures. In addition, those landmines were put without making
any mine maps, which makes demining difficult and takes time for demining. Taking
time for demining means making farmers and returnees waiting during those demining
period with no means of livelihood for earning their bread and butter.

3. What is Humanitarian Demining?

In this world, there would be three categories for demining. They are: (1)Military
Demining, (2)Commercial Demining, and (3)Humanitarian Demining.
The first, military demining is apparently a part of military operation. The main
purpose of military demining is to make troops possible to advance through the
minefield. In other words, this demining operation DOES NOT expect high quality of
mine clearance and DOES accept some casualties through and after the demining.
Secondly, commercial demining aims to open a safe way in order to pave roads or build
infrastructures. This task requires more trustworthy clearance works than that of
military demining.
Finally, humanitarian demining. This task would demand the most reliable clearance
works. The land cleared will be handed over to the villagers and farmers after demining.
The relationship between deminers and beneficiaries is quite obvious. Although it can
be said that the humanitarian demining cannot make any mistakes for the sake of
beneficiaries, the actual clearance achievement is not 100% safety. The reality is only
99.7%. 0.7 per sent of cleared land had mine accident after the clearance.

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4. Afghanistan and Mine Clearance

At this moment in Afghanistan, there are 15 humanitarian demining organizations.

They are clearing the highest priority land first, where returnees and farmers are waiting
for the clearance. Around 90% of Afghans are farmers and they are cultivating
uncleared land every year. The pace of demining work is not so fast to prevent mine
accident in Afghanistan now. The contaminated land is too vast. It is, however, true that
removing one mine means saving one persons life and body. The death rate of technical
advisors and deminers per year in Afghanistan is around 50 personnel.
The United Nations try to clear every PRIORITY 1 area up to the year of 2007, but it
seems slightly difficult to achieve on ground. The priority 1 area is the urgent are to be
cleared. The rest of the uncleared land will be cleared after clearing the priority 1 area,
which means a realistic decision-making. Men, women, especially children and
domestic livestock would not distinguishthose priority 1 area and the rest. Therefore, the
work of demining should be speeded up, but actually, because of the limited resources,
the demining operations cannot be so fast and so nationwide. In that sense, those who
working for humanitarian demining sometimes fall in a depressed mood being
pessimistic for the loss of lives. It is, however, worth thinking the brave predecessors
who foughtfor human beings such as those in 1980 in Gwangju. Then we have to look
our past and present considering the words of Edmund Burke. "The only thing
necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing".

The Dispute between the Government Forces and Maoists and

Human Rights in Nepal

Rajesh Hamal,
Advocacy Forum, Nepal

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Introduction to the Problem

The Maoist problem sprouted in the country after the declaration of "People's War" by
the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) on 13 February 1996. It is considered that it
was a result of non-fulfillment of the people's aspirations by the governments formed
after the success of people's movement to restore multi party system in the country. The
revolutionary slogans of the CPN (Maoist) touched the hearts of suppressed and very
poor people of the country who are in majority. The Maoists started butchering the so-
called exploiters and landlords of the villages. They also started collecting donations
from teachers and other people from the villages. The government did not pay much
attention to the problem in the beginning. The morale of the Maoists went on an on and
they started robbing banks and killing people for not providing donations to the party or
for spying against them.

After the launch of ''security mobilization operation'' in late May 1998 by Nepal
Police, the incidents of human rights violations increased significantly. In November
2001 a peace talk between the government and the Maoists was heldbut it failed and the
Maoists again declared the war on 23 November 2001. The government responded it by
declaring a state of emergency on 26 November, suspending most of the constitutional
rights. The government declared the Maoists to be terrorists and army were officially
deployed to control them. A Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Control and
Punishment) Ordinance (TADO) was promulgated, granting wide powers to the security
forces to arrest people involved in ''terrorist'' activities. The emergency was extended by
the parliament on 21 February 2002 by three months.

On 22 May 2002 the parliament was dissolved by the king in the advice of the Prime
Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba amid the fragile political situation and elections were
scheduled for 13 November 2002. The PM also dissolved the local elected bodies in
mid-July and replaced them with government employees. Because of Maoist problem in
the country the political parties found difficult to hold election, so upon their advice, the
PM asked the King to postpone parliamentary elections by one year. But the King,
instead sacked the Prime Minister on 4 October 2002 on grounds of "incompetence" and
dissolved the existing cabinet. The parliamentary elections were postponed for an
indefinite period.

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Another peace talk was organized by the government in August 2003 but it was also
unsuccessful. Five major political parties continued their agitation against the sacking of
the elected PM by the King for months. Finally the King nominated Mr. Deuba again as
the PM on June 2, 2004 and the agitation almost ended after that. But the King sacked
him on Feb 1, 2005 and imposed state of emergency again and took direct control of the
government charging the politicians for tussle for power, abuse of authority on gaining
power and unhealthy competition in fulfilling personal and communal interests at the
expense of the nation and citizenry and not being capable of addressing deteriorating
situation of the country. Immediately after the proclamation of the king that day all
internal and international communication were cut for seven days in the capital and
even longer in other places. The mobile phones are still restricted in the country;
however some post paid mobiles are released from 2nd of May 2005. The King then
formed council of Ministers under his chairmanship to fulfill people's desire for the
restoration of peace and security and to activate the democratic dispensation soon. The
state of emergency was lifted on 29th of April, before 2 days of the expiry date, after the
king's visit to Indonesia and China.

Human Rights Violation

The interim government of Nepal formed after the restoration of multi party
democracy ratified almost all the major treaties of human rights including ICCPR,
ICESCR, CAT, CRC, CEDAW and CERD. After the declaration people's war by the
Maoists, the human rights abuses by their side started increasing. The major abuses
included killing, abduction and torture. Side by side the government also started its
repressive activities, which took its height in May 1998 when the police started
"security mobilization operation" from 26 May. According to Home Ministry statistics,
the number of people killed by police between 26 May 1998 and 7 November 1998 was
227, compared with 97 between 13 February 1996 and 25 May 1998. According to the
record of Amnesty International, more than 130 'disappearances'' had taken place
between 1998 and mid-2001 and more than 2,500 people were arrested after the
breakdown of peace talks between the government and the Maoists in2001. The number
of killing during the conflict after 1996 is considered to be more than 11,000 and cases
of disappearances is believed to be more than 2000. According to the Report of the
Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances produced in mid-December
2004, National Human Rights Commission (Established in May 2001) has got 1619
cases of disappearance to be investigated.

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Thus we can say that the major human rights violation seen during the conflict
between the Maoists and the Government can be noted as extrajudicial killing,
disappearances, arbitrary arrest and detention and torture. In many instances, rape is
also recorded as violation against women's rights. Because of the oppression of the
security forces and the Maoists, hundreds of thousands people are internally displaced
resulting into the violations of many economic and social rights as well.

The human rights NGOs have nicely raised the issues inside and outside the country
and have been successful to attract international attention. International communities
have also paid due attention to the problems of human rights violations. Visit of UN
High Commissioner for Human Rights, Working group on disappearances, SG and other
research teams of Amnesty International, Representative of Human Rights Watch and
Asian Human Rights Commission and International Commission of Jurists etc.
In later days, before February 1 move, the rate of disappearance seemed reducing but
the rate of extra-judicial killing in the name of cross-firing were noticed to be
increasing. A new trend has been observed after the February 1 move as the reaction of
retaliation groups or vigilante groups. Such groups are killing or beating so called
Maoists and they are also burning such villages where Maoists are supposed to live,
resulting in the internal displacement of a large number of people. They are supposed to
be united together to take action against the terrorists. In fact, such groups are seen to be
composed of few dacoits (robbers) residing in bordering areas and villagers mobilized
or supported by government authorities. Such groups also target many human rights
defenders. Such groups are also authorized to collect and use arms.

Rule of Law and Redress to Victims

Thus the country is facing a situation of zero rule of law, at least in the issues relating
to the conflict. Law is attracted only in the traditional type of crimes or civil affairs. In
the areas where the Maoists have captured, the government is unable to show its
presence. If Maoists or the government security forces commit a crime, the government
takes no action. The government has rarely taken action against the soldiers who have
committed crimes such as extra-judicial killing or rape. Both the parties to conflict are
violating rules of international humanitarian law. Civilian objects are being targeted and
used. Maoists take captive of government officials and security personnel make them or

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other civilians disappeared and kill after taking them into control. Both the parties can
be seen without uniform or insignia.

Coordination committees are formed in the districts composed of military and police
chief of the area, chief district officer, chief judge of the area and some human rights
NGO leaders to build harmony among these stakeholders so that they could adopt
similar opinion about the terrorists. This has, in fact, established de-facto military rule in
the country.
The present legal framework has not declared involuntary or enforced disappearances
and torture crime, however there is a law to compensate torture by government
authorities. The common courts of law are unable to compensate extra-judicial killing.
Although National Human Rights Commission can do it, it has not used this power
except in one or two cases when it was recently established.

Disappeared person's family members are taking resort to habeas corpus writ to find
out their beloved, but it has not proved to be an effective remedy so far. Even in cases
where there are witnesses, the arresting or detaining authorities flatly deny it. The court
has sometimes ordered search in suspected detention center but the detaining authority
sometimes denied the entrance of the search team or they transfer the detainee from that
place to another place or carry the detainees in patrolling van with them. Extra-judicial
killing is termed as killing in cross firing. Police is unable to register the case as murder.
Tortured is used systematically. The security personnel enjoy wide range of impunity.
The victims or their family members fear registering a case against security personnel
even when NGOs are ready to provide them legal assistance.

Thus we that the human rights of Nepalese people have been violated continuously
because of the conflict going on between the government and the Maoists. Both the
sides of the conflict have been insensitive towards the human rights. Sincere efforts of
human rights NGOs in the country have been successful to attract international
attention. The 26th session of Human Rights Commission of United Nations has passed
the agenda item no. 19 for the betterment of the human rights situation in Nepal and
going to send international monitors to monitor the situation. Though the king lifts the
state of emergency, many political leaders, journalists and human rights activists are still
in detention. Let's hope that the situation will improve in the forthcoming days.

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Taking chance for Aceh

Raharja Waluya Jati(YPKP)

Indonesia

Democratic Movement in Indonesia, which has been happened along 1998 had
successfully forced to coup Soeharto as president. The wind of change spread to all the
country, also endured to the very north of Sumatra Island, named Tanah Serambi
Mekkah, or Aceh. The spread of spirit to fight is caused by the oppression and violation
of Human Rights so Aceh's people find their courage again in time the supremacy of
Soeharto and military ended.

Ministry of Defense, Gen. Wiranto in August 7, 1998 declared the condolence to

Aceh's people for the violence and very bad experience, which has been happened along
the County of Military Operation (Daerah Operasi Militer - DOM) since 1989. He also
revoked that status on the same day. Actually, DOM in Aceh began by and operation
coded Operasi Jaring Merah, by excuse to combat the agitator of security movement or
next they mention it by Gerakan Aceh Merdeka (GAM). But what happened in Aceh
during 10 years of DOM? GAM's members and sympathizers increase steadily from
200 personnel in 1989 to 5,000 personnel in the end of 90s. Then the conscience is the
majority of people who join GAM are the youth. They come from family which the
member of their family is victim of GAM, or villagers who are marginalized by
economic exploitation in Jakarta.

10 years in DOM, Aceh's people are forced to live without the guarantee of law and
safety. Like noted here, 871 people dead in the place where the violence was happened,
387 people were missing and then found dead, 550 people still missing, 368 people
were tortured by military, 102 women had been rapped, and 120 houses burnt
Positioning Paper of Coalition of Human Rights NGO for Aceh, Formation an Ad-hoc
Court of Human Rights for County Military Operation (DOM) Cases in Aceh
www.koalisi-ham.org. . As an addition, we can point out that there are several mass
graves, the hurler of victims of DOM. One can be mentioned is placed in

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Seureuka,Jambo Aye District, North Aceh. In that location, which is then called by
Bukit Tengkorak, buried hundreds dead bodies, as the victims of extra judicial
executions. Another mass grave is located in Bukit Ujong Salam, 50 km from Lhok
Seumawe, which is known as Bukit Seuntang or, like local people call it: "Teungku
Rame-rame" mass grave GATRA Magazine, No. 41/IV, August, 29 1998..

In august 1998, National Commission of Human Rights dug Bukit Seuntang mass
grave. The digging was directly commanded by General Secretary, Baharudin Lopa (the
late). In that activity, mound of bones, separated in several holes, two sacks of complete
bones, still with black cloth to cover the eyes, rope to tights the hands, hole of bullets,
etc.
Even though the evidences were collected by National Commission of Human Rights,
and complete, but it was just stored as Human Rights Violation as files. There are no
efforts or clarities from that national institute to continue it by instruments or
mechanisms they haveThere are two mechanisms to solve out human rights violation in
Indonesia; first is through human rights ad-hoc court (UU No.26/Th. 2000), second is
through Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Beside the two mechanisms there's Bill
of Human Rights No.39 / 1999 which guarantee fulfilling and protection of human
rights existence, but it is not to pro-justicia's mechanism because National Commission
for Human Rights just has a competence to verify and investigate a case and give their
recommendation to the parliament. . In fact, by their investigation and previous study, it
had enough proves for intensity of crime against humanity systematically. So it has
high possibility to form an Ad-Hoc Court of Human rights on DOM.

An arrangement for violence of Human rights in Aceh became important matter for
development of national institution and civil supremacy in Indonesia. Considering, even
after DOM was ended, violence of Human rights increased by the time military
operations were occurred, and increase Aceh's status to become Military Emergency
(Darurat Milliter, DM) I & II (2003-2004) and Civil Emergency (2004 until present).
Since DOM ended until 2005, violence against human rights like assassin, capture and
arrest without judicial process, torture, vanish, rap robbery, and punishment without fair
judicial process, extends Injustice processes happen during the military emergency I
& II. Civilians who accused involve in GAM were sentenced between 2 until 12 years
in jail and were punished through briefly trial. It means that most cases got only two
sessions of judicial process without lawyer, witnesses and sufficient evidence. It has
happen cause of justification on military emergency circumstances. There are about 214

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cases and the average of victims were common peoples, informal workers, farmer,
merchants and housewife who never involved in any kind of political activity (except
for the four negotiators of GAM). All the political prisoners were moved into prisons in
several areas in Java.

In that moment, totally noted that 1,766 victims in 2000, 2,350 victims in 2001, 655
victims in 2002, 1,127 victims in 2003, 779 victims in 2004 and until February 2005 it
has reached 15 victims.

The absence of violence against human rights arrangement process, which begins from
seeking for the truth and justice school, will legitimate impunity process. In Indonesia,
that process is gained by Human rights court this time. We can see that from East Timor
and Tanjung Priok cases. We can see that there is a scenario of impunity for exit
strategy. This can be happened because of many reasons, such as the superiority of
military institution and corruption, which is, still happens in justice institution in
Indonesia.

In Aceh's case, and violence against human rights pattern since 1966 After topple
Soekarnoe's regime in 1966, Soeharto massacred people who accused as leftist or
involve in Indonesian Communist Party or PKI. On interview with Televisie Radio
Omroep Stichting in October 9, 1976, Head of the Indonesian State Security Agency,
Admiral Soedomo estimated that people who have been killed around five hundred
thousands. Seven hundred and fifty thousands people were arrested by military during
1966-1968. Most of them sent to the concentration camp and were sentenced around 5 -
20 years in jail without trial., we have evidence that impunity process will only
reproduce new form of violence. And we cannot make attitude and collective awareness
of people to punish that acts as uncivilized matter. The absence of trial and audit for
politic policies that have been proved to produce new form of violence against human
rights, as DM case in Aceh, also make it as an important point that should be attached in
every process of the existence of human rights. This could be very important because
there is no efforts from national politic behavior and agency. They still do not show
positive changes yet, until present.

Aceh now is ruined by disasters. But it doesn't reduce the initiatives to complete the
violence against civil and politic rights which happened and still. Because the basic

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needs of people, that consists of economy, social, and cultural rights cannot be met
before the fulfillment of civil and politic rights.
Based on experience and the true conditions in Aceh, before and after Tsunami, we can
see the existence of misuse of authority occurs effectively in conflict situation. So the
arrangement for every problem in Aceh should be based on democratic way as the main
condition along the process. One of the main condition is to involve Aceh people,
inclusively.

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Sri-Lankan Peace Processing

Wimal Fernando

The Movement for the Defense of Democratic Rights (MDDR)

Fellow human rights workers and peace activists, colleagues and friends, ladies and
gentleman

Allow me, on behalf of my organization, the Movement for the Defense of Democratic
Rights (MDDR) and the Right to Life Centre, to thank you, the May 18th Memorial
Foundation of Gwangju, for giving me this opportunity to participate in the Gwangju
International Peace Camp, as well as the memorial ceremony and the 25th Anniversary
commemoration of the heroes and martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the struggle for
the freedom, liberty and dignity of the peoples of Gwangju, Korea and the freedom
loving men and women of the world.

I am very privileged to be able to attend the 18th May commemoration ceremony for
the 2nd time. I was here 7 years ago, when we adopted the Asian Human Rights Charter
and I have to thank the Asian Human Rights Commission for that opportunity.

It is a singular honour to be able to speak a few words at this very special occasion to
such a distinguished gathering. Permit me, first to introduce my organization and to
share with you very briefly a bit of our experiences.

Our organization, MDDR is a human rights organization, which as the name indicates,
seeks to develop a movement, to defend democratic and human rights. We founded this
organization in Sri lanka, in 1980, that is 25 years ago.

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Our objective, at that time was to gather together, professionals and individuals, civic
leaders, trade unionists, political activists etc to fight the terrifyingly powerful and
ruthless machinery of oppression that the government of the time had created.

They created and used that repressive machinery to achieve what they called "political
stability, to stamp out labour unrest and achieve development" They used constitutional
as well as extra constitutional means to achieve their ends. Yellow trade unions of the
government mobilized criminals as well as numerous thugs to violently attack and
silence legal and legitimate protests and demands by workers. Even blind people were
man-handled and dispersed when they sat in silent protest.

Highly esteemed academics and even Buddhist monks were attacked and vilified. The
leaders of the main opposition party were deprived of their civic rights by spurious
presidential commissions effectively emasculating political opposition.

All of this was justified in the name of development. The ruling party and its leaders
with the blessings of the so called liberal and democratic governments of the West,
sought to dismantle a relatively effective and wide spread government welfare system
which included free health and educational facilities. The government through rigged
elections, a change of constitution installing a constitutional dictatorship, with an
executive presidency and other manipulations of the constitution undermined, a
democracy, which functioned, compared to many other countries of the region, tolerably
well.

Above all, they wanted to stay in power for a decade or more and to achieve what they
claimed to be "political stability". Any and every tactic and strategy was utilized.

Violence against political opposition often extended to attacks on Tamils and

sometimes Muslim minorities. The Tamil workers in the plantations of the central hill
country were attacked by rural lumpen elements earlier. But suddenly these attacks
became more frequent and hardly anything was done to bring the culprits before the
law.

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In 1980 when the government provoked the trade unions and the work force into strike
action and then mercilessly suppressed the trade union movement, sacking nearly a
hundred thousand workers from all varieties of employment, they achieved near total
domination. The trade union movement was the only stronghold left to fight and
safeguard the rights of the people. The trade union movement of Sri Lanka had a proud
history. But in 1980 July that stronghold was also destroyed.

Then a rigged election for the presidency in 1982 was followed by the worst election
ever held. It was a referendum to extend the period of the 1977 government by a further
5 years of misrule. (This government ultimately stayed in power for 17 years. The
peaceful transfer of power to the opposition was a near political miracle. A rare instance
where the vast majority of population thinks and acts like one so that the repressive
structures are immobilized. A little like what happened in Gwangju 25 years ago.)

Then the government turned its repression against the Tamils; the incipient Tamil
militants organizations in the North and East were the proclaimed targets. But in reality,
the Sinhalese army was let loose in Jaffna and in the East against Tamil civilians. These
attacks on Tamils reached its climax in 1983 July racial riots, masterminded by
prominent leaders of the governing party.

Legislation was also passed in parliament forcing the Tamil United Liberation Front
(TULF) which was the main opposition party as well as the most important party of the
Tamils, out of parliament.

What followed is eloquently described by Professor E.Valentine Daniel in the 4th

Neelan Thiruchelvam memorial lecture on July 29, 2003 as follows:

" July 29th, 1983. We are here to remember that grim Friday and the twenty-years that
have unraveled from it. For many Sri Lankans, that was the day when our world went
spinning from God's hand; either in its preordained arc or completely out of control"
" I cannot but wish that this day twenty years ago, had marked the beginning of inter-
ethnic civility rather than a ignominious civil war. I wish that our leaders could walk the
streets with only a handful of unarmed acolytes without fear of being ambushed or
assassinated; that over these twenty years the whimsical largess of politicians
distributed to private armies of thugs had not become one of the innumerable perquisites
of power; that their children had not come to assume that power, aimless power as their

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patrimony, and violence, gratuitous violence, their birthright."

These words were spoken almost five years ago. What is the situation now?

A cease-fire agreement has been in place for almost three years. So large scale war has
stopped. But nobody is quite sure whether it will not be resumed. Peace talks have
stalled. But the peace movement is not strong enough to force the government, the
LTTE and other political actors to engage in meaningful dialogue for a just and lasting
peace. What are we, MDDR and other similar minded organizations and the peace
movement doing?

Very briefly, we are trying to prevent a reversion to war, through building a strong anti-
war movement, a peace movement of the people to achieve lasting peace and harmony
among our nationalities.

We are trying to build up a sufficiently large network of organizations to prevent

rigged elections, large scale election violence and other malpractices of the past.

We are trying to consolidate the gains obtained from the pro-human rights legislations
that have been adopted in the past few years.

We are trying to address or rather get the authorities to address, the law and order
situation and the crime waves without resorting to arbitrary arrests and executions of
suspects.

As you would notice, I only say, we are trying. How successful we are I cannot say. I
can only say that we will keep trying.

I will conclude now.

Thank you for your kind attention.

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Korea: Shaking off the remnants of its dark past

Lee Young Il
Director, Yosu Community Research Institute

During the past tumultuous 100-year period, Koreans rebelled ferociously and
consistently. The 20th century was marked by their tireless fight for independence from
Japanese colonial rule; for reunification of the country divided by foreign powers; and
for democracy in place of military dictatorship.

The Japanese colonialists slaughtered countless Koreans and abused their human rights
to foil their bid for independence. During the temporary US military rule following
independence from Japan, millions of innocent civilians were butchered, falling victim
to ideological oppression.

In subsequent years, hundreds of citizens and students were killed by the police and
the military - during the student uprising of April 19, 1960 that ousted President
Syngman Rhee; the 1979 protests in Pusan and Masan against President Park Chung
Hee; and the 1980 democratic uprising in Kwangju against the Chun Doo Hwan junta.
Also, during the 1970's and 80's, an unknown number of pro-democracy activists were
tortured, jailed, executed or assassinated by the military rulers.

This turbulent era in the country's history left a legacy - those who worked for the
Japanese colonialists and the military regimes, as well as the institutions and
instruments created for their rule. Yet these vestiges have remained largely intact,

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making it difficult for genuine democracy to take root here in Korea. This has led to
growing calls for addressing and eliminating these remnants.

How is it done?

Eliminating such vestiges involves efforts to examine the extent of the damage
wrought by the illegalities of past regimes; punish those responsible; reinstate victims;
and compensate them appropriately. If justice is to be served, culprits must be
punished and innocent victims compensated.

Ironically enough, the wrongdoings governments committed systematically or

intentionally in the past are destined to be investigated by governments today. In reality,
though, cleaning up the remnants of the past is bound to be a political activity to a
certain extent, and is thus dictated by who is in power. Also, those who were in power
often continue to wield significant influence politically and socially.

The remnants of the past can be cleaned up in two ways - in terms of people and
institutions. Wrongdoers are either punished or removed from the post where they can
wield influence, while changes are made to the institutional environment where the
wrongdoers used to prevail.

How important is it?

Eliminating the remnants of the past is about serving social justice. In Korea,
colonialists and tyrants resorted to cruel violence as a means to rule and oppress
people. In their relentless pursuit of power, they also instigated ideological
confrontation, breaking the country apart and driving it into a civil war. Eliminating the
remnants of the past means correcting these wrongs.

In terms of reforming society, rectifying the wrongs of the past is a wiser and more
feasible means than a physical one. Although righting such wrongs is certainly
unavoidable for social progress, it cannot be coerced physically today. History shows
that the transition from medieval to modern times in Europe saw a vicious cycle of
retaliation between conservatives and reformists, which proved costly and catastrophic.
A case in point: the French Revolution.

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Yet such social transition is unfathomable in today's world, which is more complex
than that of the 18th and 19th centuries. Still, this cannot be an excuse for not
correcting the mistakes of the past. Korean history has shown time and again that
failing to do so makes it impossible to creatively and actively respond to the changes in
world history. This is where a state commission for truth and reconciliation comes into
play. The classic example is South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Basically, righting the wrongs of the past helps bring justice and protect human rights.
More broadly, however, it can effectively remedy widespread political and social ills
such as irregularity, corruption, unlawfulness, and blind pursuit of certain goals at the
expense of others.

In the case of Korea, the approach can be threefold - first, eliminate anti-national
elements of Japanese colonial rule, and set history straight; second, seek reconciliation
and resolve discord over the civilian massacres committed in the throes of ideological
confrontation before and after the Korean War; and third, prosecute and reassess the
numerous cases of violence, killings and human rights violations perpetrated by military
dictators, and rectify the values they distorted.

Relationship with human rights

Every form of massacre, whether during war or political oppression, typically relegates
humans to the status of animals, and in terms of human rights, serves as a "museum"
that displays human cruelty and savagery.

In modern Korean history, with varying degrees of intensity, state violence has
sustained itself - from the Jeju massacre of April 3 1948; the Yosu-Sunchun army
mutiny of the same year; the 1950～53 Korean War; the slaughter of civilians during
the Vietnam War; the 1979 protests in Pusan and Masan; the 1980 democratic uprising
in Kwangju, countless cases of suspicious deaths of pro-democracy activists during the
1980's; to recent brutal crackdowns on striking workers and farmers.
State violence must not be tolerated any longer, if genuine democracy is to take root,
human rights are to be promoted, and national integrity is to be restored here in the
southern part of the peninsula. Civilian massacres committed under past regimes is the
root cause of all human rights issues of the South.

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When it comes to history, there can be no such thing as a statute of limitations. As

long as the truth remains hidden and the past forgotten, history is bound to repeat itself.
The 1980 Kwangju massacre was of the country's own making - its longstanding
inability to clean up the vestiges of Japanese colonial rule and punish those who
sympathized with Japan, as well as its tolerance and ignorance of the civilian massacres
committed before and after the Korean War. This is the lesson the country learned the
hard way.

Eviction and Development in India

John Abraham

Evicting the less privileged from their places of residence or depriving them of their
source of livelihood is less disturbing than the callousness or lawlessness in the process
of eviction. A distorted development paradigm is a threat to the less privileged who
according to the market has no economic value.

Personal experience

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I would like to share more of my experience to highlight the way in which the state
machinery works. I was taken into custody (no arrest) and put into the police van when I
went to photograph an illegal demolition of the indigenous people who had occupied
government wastelands. We had shown the state authorities, the High Court order,
which prohibits the demolition of our huts

- We had shown Supreme Court ruling, which says that prior notice has to be given
before demotion
-The direction of the higher courts not to demolish during the rainy season
-We also highlighted the international covenant, which prohibits such form of torture.

Despite all this, the authorities went ahead with the demolition. Small children were
dragged out of the house. Women who just delivered were dragged out. Their
belongings were plundered without making any records of the things confiscated by the
authorities. No amount of pleading for mercy at least to the old people did not work.

Other cases

Similar was the case with the recent Mumbai eviction. Slum dwellers were brutally
attacked by the police and around 50 were seriously injured. Even their right to protest
was suppressed. Their houses were demolished to make the city more beautiful. About
350,000 people who built the city became a dirt all of a sudden. Elsewhere in the same
city, within a few days the government sells large tracts of land to private companies for
building shopping and business complexes!

A few years ago near Mumbai, 50,000 people displaced from a national park. Now the
government is constructing a tourist spot in 400 acres in the same park. The poor people
have become a nuisance.

Similar is the case in Calcutta. Seven thousand people from the lower caste were
forcibly evicted to build up a Park ,no respect was shown to the human lives nor to the
law of the land.
The indigenous people are forcibly evicted from the forest land which had been their
home for time immemorial because World Bank has come up with schemes and money
for preserving the forest or the transnational companies want to do mining in these

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areas. There were firings and killings of indigenous in number of places. There is state
deployment of security forces to prevent the indigenous people from entering into or
evict from the forests.

General legal and administrative trends

There is collapse of general rule of law when it is applied to the less privileged. There
is very little chance for the poor to protect the rights when the state policies are
detrimental to their interests. Laws are broken by the administrative bodies with
impunity.

Most of the time, the market consideration have greater role to play than the basic
needs of the people. Remedial measures are very difficult. Getting compensation for
such violation is a strenuous process. The prosecution of government authorities is a
difficult or nearly impossible task.

Distorted development mode

The common thread which runs through this development paradigm is the growing
spacelessness of the marginalized

This has to be seen from two angles. One is a scant regard for their basic rights. The
second is the incapacitation of the marginalized in redressing their grievances. This
spacelessness is a greater threat than the physical evictions. Their eviction from the
societal space is a contagious phenomenon, which has to be resisted by the civil society.

Civilizations that are built on the blood and tears of a weaker section could be a
peaceful civilization but not a just one. Ideally a just society, which is inclusive, is more
beautiful than skyscrapers, flyovers and parks. It becomes an unavoidable burden of the
privileged section of the society to ensure that theydo not tamper with the basic rights of
the less privileged section of the society. This is however, far from reality. The
consequences of any such violation has to be borne by those who perpetuate such
infringements. Development which does not take into consideration the immeasurable
concept of inclusive systems can not be termed as real development. Resistance to
exclusive development trends is the objective function of a more enlightened civil
society.

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Investment in Human Rights Violated Country, Burma

Nyi Nyi Lwin

Arakan National Council

Executive Summary

Burma is infamous to human rights violation, practice of forced labors, and the arrests
of political leaders. Some even label it a "police state". Burma, on the other hand, is
known in international community as struggling for democracy and federalism under
the leadership of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize Winner Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, despite
of the military regime, State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), blocking
progresses. In a firm determination by 50 million Burmese since 1988, the dream for
democracy, equality, justice, and tranquillity ! will go on until that goal is reached.

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History and Political Background Overview:

Burma is an multi-ethnic state with rich natural resources such as oil, gas, gold, and
teaks. It is located in Southeast Asia, bordering with the Andaman Sea and Bay of
Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand and a sandwiched between China and India.
Its total area square kilometre is 678,500. The approximate population is about 50
million and ethnic portion with Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Arakan 4%, Chinese
3%, Indian 2%, Mon 2%, and other 5%.

In fact, Burma was colonized by the British for 121 years. Japanese also occupied and
ruled Burma for three years before World War II. It gained independence in 1948 from
British. Under parliamentary democracy, Burma enjoyed freedom of expression and
economic prosperity. It even became the richest nation in Asia.

The parliamentary democracy died after General New Win staged a military cope in
1962. He ruled Burma with iron grid and cracked down on all the political opponents
and pushed the nation to least developing country.

In 1988, led by university students, Burmese people protested against New Win's
regime and called for political reform and multi-parties democracy system. New Win
stepped down in later that year, but another military regime under the leadership of Gen
Saw Maung took over the power by brutally cracking down and gunning down 3,000
civilians.

Gen. Saw Maung held nationwide elections in 1990. National League for Democracy
(NLD) won 82% of the parliamentary seats in the elections. Other ethnic political
parties, Shan National League for Democracy (SNLD), and Arakan League for
Democracy (ALD), won majority seats in their own states. However, the military
regime, SPDC, has refused to transfer power to the elected representatives. It conducted
military operation in forcing political leaders in to exile, imprisoning elected MPs and
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and fighting against ethnic minorities areas. As a result, about
three hundred thousands ethnic refugees took shelters in Bangladesh, India, and
Thailand.

International Community Reaction:

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International community held high hopes that Burma might return to democracy after
the 1990 elections. Hopes faded after the regime placed Daw Aung San Suu Kyi under
house arrest in 1990. The replacement of military leader and isolationist General Than
Shaw with General Saw Maung hindered political concession and increased human
rights violations. As a result, United States imposed economic sanctions against the
regime. European Union later followed the model.

Despite Western and Burmese opposition pressure, Association of Southeast Asian

Nations (ASEAN) included Burma in their economic block because it hoped that
closely cooperating with the Burmese junta might change its behaviour. Contrarily, the
junta has its agenda in the block, covering its thin skin in human rights violation with
the ASEAN diplomat thick skins. Recently, ASEAN creditability has become a problem
for for having Burma as a member of its block. Debate has grown whether the regime
taking the ASEAN chairmanship in 2006 will increase tension between ASEAN and the
West because US and EU has already expressed their consent that they will not
participate in ASEAN plus meeting in Burma.

Overview of Korea and Burma Relationship:

Burma is not new to Koreans. It is known in both tragedy and hope. In 1983, North
Korea agents set bombs in Burma during South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan
visiting and killed 21 people in the blast. Since then Burma and Korea relation was just
information sharing stage. In 2000, Burmese Deputy Foreign Minister Khaing Maung
Win visited Korea and invited the business community to Burma for technology and
energy investment. After Daewoo International and other small investors have invested
in gas exploration in Burma. The relationship has improved. On the other hand,
democratic forces inside and outside Burma have questioned whether Korean
investments are helping military regime to prolong its military power.

Daewoo Gas Exploration and Local People Reaction:

Daewoo has singed an agreement in 2000 to explore gas and oil in Arakan State,
western part of Burma. It declared gas deposit discovery in A-1 block in 2004. It is
worth between 19 to 20 billion US dollars. To sell the gas, Burma has negotiated with
Bangladesh and India to build a pipeline route to India from Burma though Bangladesh.

After the local people know about the gas discovery and constructing a possible
pipeline route, their concern were what damages would inflicted on them, in terms of

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environmental damages, sexual violence due to expanded military presence, human

rights violation, forced relocation, and land confiscation. Their concern is real as they
have learned lessons the hardway from US based Unocal Yadana gas pipeline project.
They feel that the Dawoo investment in Burma is wrong place at the wrong time the
regime is illegitimate and not representing the people.

Possible Solutions:
Burma should be democratized and federated. To do so, regime change in Burma is
moving either gradually or abruptly. In this regards, Korea can do much. Among them,
using diplomatic toll to persuade the present regime to enter meaningful dialogue with
the NLD and ethnic nationalities' leader to solve national problems via political solution
is worthwhile. The "tripartite dialogue" is adopted by UN because it is called by
oppositions to reconcile between the military regimes and civilians.

In Addition, Korean civil societies can strengthen relationships with Burmese civil
societies in assisting knowledge, experiences, education, and humanitarian assistance on
the border areas in Bangladesh, India, and Thailand. Hope and positive input is that
Korea democratization experiences become role model among Burmese oppositions.

Migrant Workers in Asia

- Situation in Korea -

Yang Hae Woo

Director
Korea Migrant Worker Human Rights Center

Overview

A byproduct of globalization, labor migration is a global issue affecting a number of

countries around the world including Korea. The migrant workers population
worldwide is estimated at 175 million. The actual figure may be much higher, as there
are those who are unregistered and those who became citizens of receiving countries
either through naturalization or denizenship. About 6.5 million Koreans live overseas,

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while about 700,000 foreigners live in Korea (400,000 of them are unskilled). With
accurate data on Asia's migrant population unavailable, it seems that nearly all Asian
countries including Bangladesh, Nepal, the Philippines are sending their workers
worldwide. Asia's biggest receiving countries include Hong Kong, Japan, Korea,
Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan, while India, Indonesia and Thailand are both sending
and receiving countries.

Regulation on foreign workers

On August 2003, the Korean government enacted the first law ever on accepting
unskilled foreign labor - the Act on Foreign Workers Employment, etc. Before then, as
there was no such a law, most migrant workers entered the country with tourist visas
and ended up working unregistered, which was condoned by the government to some
extent. Yet as their population reached 300,000 and industrial demand for their labor
grew, the government could no longer afford to delay legislation.
In Taiwan, an employment permit system was introduced in 1992, pardoning all
unregistered migrant workers. Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore have work permit
schemes that protect employers' interests better than those of workers. Japan, though,
still prefers industrial trainees, refusing to accept unskilled foreign labor and to enact a
more responsible law. In Japan, about 200,000 migrant workers remain unregistered,
the majority of whom are Koreans.

Problems of employment permit systems

Korea and many other Asian countries receiving foreign labor have employment
permit systems to keep such workers from settling down in these countries. Foreign
workers are banned from bringing in their family members and from working longer
than three years. In order to work again, they must return to their homelands, obtain
work permits and come back. This is aimed at evading international law that requires
receiving countries to allow foreigners to work and live in these countries after they
have legally resided there for five years. In Singapore, the situation is quite inhuman.
Foreign women are required to undergo physical checkups every six months, and if
found to be pregnant or to be living with Singaporeans, they have to see their work
permits rescinded and leave the country.

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These systems are troubling because they focus merely on using cheap foreign labor,
rather than on ensuring that as humans, foreign workers lead decent lives.

Corruption in the process of sending workers

A number of Asian countries like Bangladesh, Mongolia, Nepal, the Philippines and
ex-Soviet republics, are in economic mess, with the unemployment rate hovering
around 50 percent. With remittances from overseas serving as an economic lifeline, the
governments there encourage their workers to go abroad. Yet in practice, it is extremely
difficult to do so, enabling brokers to prosper. Usually, governments sign MOUs to
send and receive workers. In some countries, though, government officials personally
get involved in this process, breeding corruption. Things are worse in cases where this
process is handled by certain interest groups, like industrial trainee systems. Korea is
no exception. A foreign worker has to pay a broker(s) over 10,000 dollars to enter the
country with a tourist visa, and at least 5,000 dollars to become an industrial trainee.
The price is much higher for Australia, Japan and the US.

Failure to register and crackdowns

Many of those who paid exorbitant broker fees or failed to find legal employment
choose to remain unregistered. Fearful of expulsion due to their status as illegal aliens,
most of them endure exploitation and human rights abuses. Nowadays in Korea, such
migrants often ask their employers for unpaid salaries, only to get beaten, handed over
to immigration officials and get expelled. They also turn to the Ministry of Labor for
unpaid wages but end up getting taken to immigration officials. To nail such aliens,
immigration officials even use handcuffs, stun guns and nets, as if they hunt animals.
Even in custody, these workers suffer from taunting, violence and solitary confinement.

In Singapore, under the pretext of promoting registration, the government fines and
flogs unregistered workers, and even punishes landlords for renting rooms to such
workers. In Germany, meanwhile, the government is tougher on employers; if found to
have exploited migrant workers without pay simply because they are unregistered,
employers are punished harshly. The government also suspends expulsion, if it could
make life harder for workers politically or economically back home. Many Asian
governments, however, pursue their national interests at the expense of those of migrant
workers, notably their human rights.

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International marriages, sexual exploitation and human trafficking

Migrants are not just workers; they are married spouses, entertainers and sex service
providers as well. With the number of international marriages growing every year,
linguistic and cultural barriers create a great deal of conflict. In Korea, one in ten
couples are known to be internationally married, while in Taiwan, the number of such
couples is over 200,000. Vietnam and other countries that send women abroad have
tried to ban international marriages arranged by marriage brokers, but to little avail.
International marriages bordering on trade in women are emerging as a major social and
human rights issue for many Asian countries.

Japan, meanwhile, has long issued foreign women entertainment visas, allowing them
to work in the sex industry. With prostitution closely linked to gangsters, many foreign
women are subjected to surveillance, confinement and violence on a daily basis.
Similarly, Korea eased in 2000 restrictions on entertainment visas, permitting
nightclubs, hotels. bars and other entertainment districts near US military installations to
hire foreign women. Yet escalating reports of human rights violations like violence,
extortion and forced prostitution compelled the government to stop issuing such visas.
Thailand is also becoming infamous for its dismal human rights record, as many young
girls from mountain villages are trafficked into sex slavery.

Conclusion

The world is becoming smaller. Capital crosses national borders looking for profits,
and the Internet breaks news from half a world away in real time. Yet migration of
workers struggling to survive is strictly regulated. While national borders are breaking
down, barriers against these workers are getting higher. Governments should reconsider
their pursuit of national interests at the expense of human rights of migrant workers,
who are serving their economies just well.

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Failure to understand the importance of "Rule of Law in relation to Human Rights" will
fail all human rights efforts

Sanjeewa Liyanage(AHRC)

"All over the world extensive programmes are now taking place to educate people on
human rights. States engage in this work to varying degrees, United Nations agencies
facilitate them, and academic institutions participate. The most important education
work is done by human rights organisations, predominantly voluntary bodies. As a
result, today there exists a vast network of persons and organisations firmly committed
to human rights: more than at any other time in the history of humankind.

Yet the actual situation is that human rights continue to be monstrously violated all
over the world. The most visible abuses take place where the majority of the world's
population lives: the so-called 'Third World', or 'Underdeveloped World'."[Article 2, vol
1. no. 1]

The above is from the "Open letter to the global human rights community" by the
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) issued in February 2002 on the occasion of
the launching of the publication article 2. The letter was an effort to appeal to the global
human rights community to seriously review the approach to human rights at domestic
levels, meaning, national, regional and local levels. Essentially, solutions to domestic
human rights violations have to be domestic. International solidarity and action is part
of the effort to improve the domestic human rights situation. But at the end of the day,
the real remedies have to be domestic. When we talk about solutions, it means
protection from the violations as well as prevention of it. So far what many human
rights groups have been doing is human rights education or promotion of the idea of
human rights. This alone cannot help improve the human rights situation on the
ground. You could have brilliant human rights education programmes at all levels, but
still could fail to stop human rights violations.

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The problem here is the ignorance of rule of law, essentially, in terms of

implementation of rights at the domestic level.

What is rule of law?

Some important and fundamental characteristics of rule of law:

Supremacy of law, meaning no person is above the law or the law prevails over
everybody. If you look at many countries in Asia, the situation is rather different. There
are provisions as to this in constitutions, but in practice you see politicians, military
generals or monarchs staying above the law.

A concept of justice, which emphasise interpersonal adjudication involves procedure

through which a average person should seek justice. This includes various institutions
that are to facilitate these procedures, such as police, prosecuting departments and
courts. This also involved fair access to justice and possibility to have a fair trial.

Restriction on the exercise of discretionary powerby the government or in other words

government of laws, not government of persons, meaning there should be safeguards by
law to restrict the discretionary use of government power against its citizens.

Independence of the judiciaryis a fundamental characteristic where the judges should

be free from political influence or interference and should be able to make decisions
impartially based on the facts and in accordance with the law.

Human rights implications

The centrality of rule of law for the promotion and the protection of human rights as
well as genuine democracy was highlighted by the AHRC in a statement, which said,
"In Asia, the collapse of the rule of law is most visible in the poor quality of basic state
services provided through the policing, prosecution and judicial arms of government.
These arms suffer from insufficient budgetary allocations, the absence of responsible
leadership, and oftentimes deliberate efforts to precipitate institutional breakdown."
(AS-35-2004).
When you look closely at this, we are talking about effective functioning of
institutions, which could guarantee rule of law. But these institutions, namely, police,

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prosecution and the judiciary, have become corrupt, biased, politicised, inefficient and
ineffective in almost all Asian countries. Many in Asia, including human rights groups,
academics, civic organisations and foundations, are well aware of the collapse or serious
deterioration of these institutions. However, they have either failed to understand their
importance to achieve human rights at the domestic level or conveniently ignored this
factor. In fact, UN Secretary General addressing the UN Commission on Human Rights
said,
"For much of the past 60 years, our focus has been on articulating, codifying and
enshrining rights. That effort produced a remarkable framework of laws, standards and
mechanisms …. But the era of declaration is now giving way, as it should, to an era of
implementation." (Emphasis mine)

This is exactly what is being missed by the human rights community in the Asian
region. This implementation, effectively, means addressing the agencies which are
causing obstacles to implementation and proposing practical but feasible changes to
reform those institutions such as the police, prosecution and judiciary. Mere discussion
on human rights issues, education on international norms on human rights, discussions
and conference on peace, or conflict resolution, would lead nowhere interms of finding
solutions. We could talk about conflict resolution, peace negotiations, and many other
human rights issues, hours and days in workshops and conferences, but at the end if we
leave out aspects relating to rule of law and implementation aspects of human rights, we
are cheating ourselves by wasting money and time. We are already late to make this
important change. We need to come out of comfortable human rights cocoons and to
work hard on implementation aspects of human rights in terms of effective remedies for
human rights violations by strengthening rule of law. If we do not do this all human
rights efforts would fail to create any substantial change in the lives of the people.

Sujeewa Pushpakumara Prasanna Handuwala

Shelton Handuwala
Right to Life
Sri-Lanka

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Intern ati on al P ea ce Camp 20 05
Gwa nju

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