The Liaison

“Internally Displaced Persons: The Scope of Their Human Rights Protections”

Rachel Proefke

We see their photos in newspapers and their faces momen­tarily plastered on TV – emaciated figures which could sooner be skeletons than humans trekking across countries and sticking arms out of barbed-wire-enclosed refugee camps. When we see them, they strike the chord of our human ethos and persuade us to consider taking action.

However, whether we take action or just think about how terrible it is, refugees alone are not the only significant aftershock of civil war, poor natural conditions, or mass persecution. The problem of internally displaced persons (IDPs) is just as notable; perhaps even more so as they do not as easily garner the same protections bequeathed to refugees by the bevy of international agreements that form the legal framework for those who cannot return to their war-shaken homelands.

We are often presented with the stories of refugees and their harrowing trials, but sometimes IDPs – at least on an individual and impacting level – are neglected. Often IDPs are solely represented through the brief statistical information of their relative numbers and do not gain the access to the spotlight that they deserve.

By remaining within sovereign borders, they remain within the repressive political structure that forced them to leave their homes in the first place. Perhaps with increas­ing significance, they will gain an increasing voice.

With civil war and genocide raging in Sudan, masses of people have been and are being forced from their homes in the south.

Some of these people will seek refuge in neighboring nations, such as Egypt, Chad, Ethiopia, and Kenya.

Others, for whom this is not a feasible option, will be trapped within the borders of Sudan, adding to the massive numbers of internationally displaced persons. Some sources report that this figure could be as high as 4 million within Sudan itself – one of the largest concentrations of IDPs in the world.

Despite the practical concerns of such an exodus and the is­sues that arise when mass groups of people are forced to subsist in whatever region of refuge they may find, there are also the legal concerns of such an increasingly prominent situation.

They entail the extent to which IDPs qualify for special protection and exactly what human rights protections these groups are entitled to. As these migrants do not qualify for refugee status, they are mostly entitled to the general protections of the international hu­man rights framework – as well as such special treaties as their nation is a party to.

In essence, their special situation denotes no special protection, such as that conferred to women, children, and refugees.

In addition to the general human rights provisions bestowed by multiple international human rights instruments, the United Nations (UN) – under the direction and suggestion of the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative on IDPs – adopted The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement in 1998. This document relates existing human rights laws to IDPs, and seeks to extend refugee protections to them. Despite the perceived international support for this document, there is no greater accountability or enforceable mechanisms as the document is not legally binding.

The state is responsible for enforcing human rights, and it agrees with the documents that detail them and offer protec­tive mechanisms to their maintenance; with greater and more extensive rights come greater bargaining power, a more tangible sense of security, and more extensive accountability.

As IDPs gain greater numbers, their plight will gain a greater amount of attention, which will bring with it the construction of new mechanisms of protection for this neglected group.

Editorial Intern, YES! Magazine

As an intern at YES! Magazine, Sarah Kuck has heavily researched human rights for its recent issue (see: Resources & Action). The focus on human rights is just one of many thematic issues that YES! Magazine churns out, but all of them encourage readership contributions.

Stationed on Bainbridge Island, YES! relies on the local community to help shape stories, voice concerns, and engage the magazine as a primary source of media content.

In these ways, YES! Magazine is an alternative to mainstream news. In its latest edition, it does not shy away from human rights, but stares them down and embraces them. Sarah Kuck deserves our spotlight because she played a critical role: she learned as well as contributed.

A staunch supporter of environmental rights, Kuck felt that human rights were secondary. She believed environmental dangers to be inevitable and of crucial importance as they seriously endanger the lives of the people. But it was that connection that enabled her to realize that the two were not mutually exclusive.

Recognizing that human and environmental rights were “even more connected” made her realize that the general public needs to start “making better choices or we’ll all face serious consequences.”

“Change requires people knowing that power is a construct, and that they can change it. For that to happen, it will take a lot of unsatisfied youth.”

This was made manifest during one discussion, in which Kuck challenged her mother’s misinformed views of socialism. She later responded:

“We just wanted to really thank you [Sarah,] for opening up our eyes to that, and we just all sat around at lunch and talked about socialism and democracy... and we’re going to start exploring these new ideas.”

Sarah will help launch an online publication called Earth.

Nari Corley-Wheeler

Guatemala’s judicial system is slowly being revitalized due to the increasing international awareness surrounding its history of genocide.

On February 1, Jillian Tuck and Emily Arfin spoke to a crowd of forty students at the University of Washing­ton (hosted by Amnesty International, the Center for Justice and Human Rights, Latin-American Studies, and Journalists for Human Rights).

Tuck and Arfin represent only a slice of the growing international movement that is encouraging survivors of the atrocities to step forward and reclaim their voices that have been silenced. Affiliated with the organization Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA), Tuck was sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Central American Network (UUCAN). As an accompanier, she was able to provide a presence for the survivors of Guatemala’s disconcerting past.

Impunity

Since the 1980s, indigenous villagers of Guatemala have witnessed crimes against humanity that have escaped punishment. Led by Rios Montt, the general of the Gua­temalan Army (backed militarily and monetarily by the United States), the “Scorched Earth Campaign” of 1984-86 systemati­cally eliminated indigenous communities, their livestock, and their fields. As a result, over 200,000 people were killed, 100,000 were “disappeared,” and 1.5 million displaced.

Rios Montt is still alive and resisting punishment.

Guatemala’s judicial system has not been able to act alone in bringing jus­tice to a leader of genocide. It is the responsibility, then, of the international community to step forward and issue arrest warrants under universal jurisdiction, whereby some crimes are qualified as crimes against humanity.

Under universal jurisdiction, Spain was able to issue the arrest of eight other men responsible for crimes of torture, terrorism, illegal detention, and genocide in Guatemala.

Rios Montt evaded an arrest warrant as he continues to wield substantial political clout in Guatemala. He is able to maintain power as few in Guatemala City (the nation’s capital) believe him to have ever orchestrated the campaign or – for that matter – that those atrocities ever occurred.

In Solidarity

Tuck lived in nine different villages in the mountains of Gua­temala over a period of ten months. With a few brief but harrowing anecdotes, Jillian illustrated how the indigenous suffered. An elderly man she befriended told her the story of his daughter. Found alive in a pile of dead bodies, his daughter lay naked – assumed to be raped.

Taking his daughter into his arms, he walked for two hours around the mountain side village to find medical aid. Within those two hours, his daughter had breathed her final breath and he was left to bury her remains. Other fami­lies fled the rural mountains during the attacks – journeys of traversing over four hours on back roads in a truck, four hours down the river, and two hours hiking uphill to reach their destination.

Tuck participated in street demonstra­tions against Montt’s continuing impu­nity. One of the witnesses she befriended, normally fearful and worn, was given an opportunity to be openly remonstrative for the voices that were discredited for twenty years – especially his own.

Dur­ing the rally, what was left of his courage erupted in passionate cries against the man who stole his family, his land, and his past.

Interview

We were able to sneak in two brief interviews with Jillian Tuck and Emily Arfin between their numerous presentations.

Journalists for Human Rights:

Emily, what is Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA) and how is it related to the Guatemala Accompaniment Project (GAP)?

Emily Arfin:

NISGUA is the main program with offices in Washington; D.C. GAP is the accompaniment program of NISGUA. It is one separate program, but it is probably the dominant program right now.

GAP existed before it joined NISGUA, 7-8 years ago – and was originally formed as grassroots sponsoring communities all around the U.S. who would take on with sponsoring (helping with costs, raising money, providing information, recruiting) for the returning refugee community. Starting in ’92-93, the United Nations started to help those return from refugee status in Mexico to the hills of Guatemala, and they were given new pieces of land and new communities were formed.

These new communities wanted to have Accompaniers living with them because they did not feel secure and that’s where the accompaniment first began.

Journalists for Human Rights:

What is an Accompanier and what do they do?

Jillian Tuck:

The work of an accompanier is three or four-fold: acting as a dissuasive physical presence for the safety of the genocide witnesses from external threats; to be the eyes and the ears of the international community; to write and diffuse reports so that the situation is being monitored; and to educate – that’s why I’m here in Seattle!

So it’s important for me to be spreading the word because most of what’s happening or what has happened hasn’t been covered by mainstream news.

Part of what we’re doing is trying to get the word out through speaking tours, “Letters to the Editor,” advocacy, and through trying to get 1 out of every 100 students to sign up for the NISGUA listserv and stay updated on Guatemala in the future.

Journalists for Human Rights:

How were you received by the villagers?

Jillian Tuck:

People understand accompaniment and they would say “We know your work doesn’t end here. We know that you are going to bring our stories to the people in your own country and this is what I want you to tell them… You can cut a stock and peel kernels off of corn; but if one remains, it can be replanted.”

Now take that and bring it to your own country; and for me now I have some serious momentum to just shout it from the rooftops.

NISGUA: www.nisgua.org / UUCAN: http://www.uucan.org/

“How the World Social Forum Got Hijacked”

Davey D

When I first arrived at the World Social Forum (WSF) in Nairobi, Kenya, things didn’t seem right from the very moment I got off the plane. I couldn’t quite place it, but things seemed a bit disorganized.

It ranged from our hotel suddenly not having any record of our reservations or an accounting of my room which we prepaid for to the registration process which became an all day affair with people from the USA having to pay damn near 10 times as much as people from other places. Banks that were supposed to be open were closed, buses that were supposed to be available suddenly weren’t.

At first I kept my complaints to myself, but as the day pro­gressed I overheard and later saw lots more people complain about the disorganization. What disturbed me were the excuses that were given. I kept hearing over and over again, that we all needed to be patient, be­cause the WSF was in Nairobi which is a third-world city. In other words, because this prestigious event designed to bring thousands from all around the world to address and strategize around social justice issues, was in Africa, we could expect confusion and mayhem.

Well many folks claimed that extreme poverty in this beautiful country pre­vented people from bringing things up to speed.

A lot of folks seemed to accept it, but it didn’t sit well with me. I recall telling a couple of folks, that there’s a big differ­ence between not having certain luxuries or amenities, and shit just being janky. I been around poor people all my life who don’t have a lot, but their graceful demeanor and their commitment to executing a task always overshadowed what they were lacking.

Me going to a hotel that attempted to double charge me because they couldn’t ‘find’ my information, an outrageous registration process that had me going from one side of town to another be­cause the banks that were supposed to be open suddenly closed, representatives for a huge corporate cell phone company being the one handling my registration at a world event that was sup­posed to be shunning mega-corporations was not the result of poor people not being able to do for self. It was just some straight up jankiness.

I wasn’t giving Africa-the motherland a pass on this one.

Some thought I was being a bit impatient and not too under­standing, but I’m glad I stuck to my guns, because my suspicions were confirmed on the opening day of the forum when several dozen youths from the Korogocha slums showed up at the WSF at great risk to their personal safety and freedom let everyone know exactly what was going on.

They stood in front of the only eatery at the WSF site which was charging crazy prices for food and had people waiting more then an hour just to get something that wasn’t all that good in the first place.

"Shame on you fellow Kenyans - shame on you for exploiting the people!" they yelled.

They told people not to eat at the food court as they fanned out and blocked the entrance. They then laid out hand-made signs that read ‘The World Social Forum Has Been Hijacked,’ ‘Reduce Prices for Kenyans,’ and ‘No Capital­ism for People in the Ghetto’.

One of the organizers began running it down for anyone who would listen. He explained that the WSF had been hijacked by corrupt government officials and mega corporations who they were in bed with.

They pointed out Kenya’s Interior Secretary as the main culprit who they accused of exploiting the WSF for per­sonal gain. They spoke passionately of how the average Kenyan could not afford to attend the WSF where issues about homeless­ness, poverty, and the health of poor people were being discussed. The people who are most impacted by these social ills found themselves having to spend like half a week’s salary to attend.

The protestors wanted to know why the WSF wasn’t free or at least affordable for Kenyans.

They also wanted to know why they were not included in the planning pro­cess. They gave a serious run down of how the WSF got compromised and explained that this disorganization many of us were experiencing was the result of greedy officials who put a bad mark on all Kenyans.

The protesters then blew the whistle about how shady things were when they pointed out that the high priced food court was owned by the Interior Secretary and that his cousin was the head of the police force that had started to show up in mass to remove the protesters. One by one WSF participants removed themselves from the food court to show solidarity with the cats from Ko­rogocho.

It wasn’t long before the only people remaining where Europeans. It was a surreal site and very blatant. My co-anchor, Angelica, went over and tried to interview those who chose to re­main in the mists of this spirited protest. Only one person, a guy from Canada, would speak. He complained that if he didn’t sit there and eat and he would have no place else to go and he wasn’t about to walk around the forum remaining hungry. He wasn’t try­ing to be down with the protest.

The police showed up and made their way inside the food court and pulled out their batons. A Latina organizer named Alma Rosa from New Mexico immediately went over the line of police and started engaging them. A veteran organizer, she had perfected the tactic of negotiating with police to get them not to exert violence on protesters in the U.S. She successfully applied those skills that day at the forum. It wasn’t long before she had the police all yielding batons, laughing, and, according to Alma Rosa, eventually seeing that it would be sad a day for them to be beating on fellow Kenyans with the whole world watching.

I spoke to one of the main Ko­rogocho activists, a young brother named Francis, and asked him what sort of ramifications will there be for them calling out government officials. Without hesitation he said before nightfall, some of them will be sitting in jail cells. He said the police will make their moves on the protesters away from the WSF. During the protests Francis can be heard chanting “Please don’t eat in the food court- These people are criminals-They will one day kill us.” At the time no one thought anything of it. Two days later two of the protesters would be assassinated by Kenyan police under suspicious circumstances.

We got the word of the police killing on our last day in Kenya when one of the organizers sought our group out at the closing ceremonies and explained that the cops had pulled over a car that had two of the protesters. The cops supposedly found a gun and without saying a word shot the two people. According to folks in the slum areas the police will shoot you with no questions asked if they find you with a gun.

In fact, the weekend we were in Nairobi, some 13 people were shot and killed by police in the slum areas. At first the story of the police killing seemed outlandish. Certainly the 5-0 wouldn’t be that brazen. Later that day we went to Korogocho with some members of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement and got confirmation that indeed two people had been killed by the police and not much else was being said. Now listening to Francis words about ‘the Government wanting to kill them’ took on a new and more sinister meaning.

It also hit home, that those of us who helped out or in my case actually reported on the protest should watch our step. There ain’t no telling what can go down in a country that is thousands and thousands of miles away from home, especially when you got powerful people being called out for corruption and being accused of undermining the WSF. I made sure my tapes were tucked away safely, my stories uploaded to the radio station, and I kept my passport in a safe and stayed close to the hotel.

The story that many people around the world got to see or hear about took place two days after the opening day protests when scores of young kids showed up at the WSF and went straight to the food court and demanded to be fed. That was a heartbreaking sight onto itself as things got out of hand. Hungry, desperate kids were grabbing dirty newspapers, stained t-shirts, or just using their bare hands to get the hot scalding food (pasta and stew).

Some of the reporters were moved to stop taking pictures and help out, while others were callous and uncaring and just watched as these kids went nuts trying to get whatever scraps of food they could gather.

The entire ordeal was beyond disturbing.

We were on the scene and covered most of the protest. As you listen keep in mind most of these protesters were around 16-17 years old. Keep in mind two of them lost their lives as they blew the whistle on government corruption.

Protest Audio: www.odeo.com/audio/7974973/view

“Are We the Answer to Homelessness?”

Lily Le

Home to the Space Needle, Pike Place Market, and Univer­sity of Washington, Seattle remains popular to visitors. In spite of their popularity, each place has one striking commonality: homeless people. Upon seeing someone that is homeless, I won­der about their situation – past and present. How and why are they homeless? Who’s responsible for their situation?

So how does a person transition from a home and then onto the streets? One significant factor is our local governance. To bring this close to home we can look at gentrification in Seattle. Seattle has been planning to build many new high-rise buildings in the downtown areas. These buildings will be occupied by highly paid and highly skilled individuals.

Each new building would take homes away from low-income, long-time residents – without replacing them. Through this process there is a piece of society that suffers for the sake of gentrification. As long as institutions fail to make choices that positively impact low-income, long-time residents, many people falling under those categories will be left without homes.

Federally funded programs are another important player in maintaining the well-being of citizens that need extra help. To give a concrete example of how cutbacks affect specific people, we can look at the mentally ill. In the 1950’s, mental institutions were funded by the government. As new priorities emerged, the government resorted to cutting funds for mental institutions to compensate for their own political priorities; as a result, the mentally ill end up on the streets.

Without the proper skills for survival, ill persons are worse off than a “normal” person and may not live as long as they would have living under a caregiv­er. Government funding allocation will re-prioritize repeatedly, and as a result the population of homeless will suffer people -- as seen in the case of mental institutions.

Even if the government funds more programs or realtors build more transitional housing, as long as norms, roles, institu­tions, and values allow homelessness to exist as “normal” or “acceptable,” homelessness will continue. To be completely rid of homelessness, society would ultimately need to change the norms, institutions, roles, and values. The norms that need to change are the parts of society that alienate outsiders with the fallacy of personal attack. Institutions need to change because it is one of the legs that help society stand strong.

So much trust is put on specific institutions and yet they mislead society with promises of change. The roles and values of society must also change because each person should have the personal respon­sibility to each other in order to create a cohesive and fulfilling society. Until we are willing to change, the lives of the homeless will remain at the hands of our government while society grows continually isolated from others.

“Homelessness as a Public Policy Problem”

Jacob Galfano

According to Senator Robert Cupp, “The goal of public policy is the greatest good for the largest number with protection for the rights of the minority.”

This philosophy – known as utilitarianism – is a contradiction, as “the greatest good” trumps the “rights of the minority” and many slip through the cracks. Government ought to check this by including civil society (consisting of advocacy groups, academic institutions, private foundations, the media, and religious organizations) in pluralistic decision-making processes.

In the Seattle area, recent incidents have local media scrutinizing the manner in which city governments regulate their respective homeless populations.

On Friday, February 9th, the City of Olympia pressured Camp Quixote – a temporary encampment of about 40 people – to relocate. The very next day, the City of Redmond threatened Tent City 4 (to be held at St. Jude Catholic Church) with a daily fine if they elected not to move. Although the circumstances for the latter incident differ from the former, both resulted in policies that marginalize the homeless instead of those that address the systemic roots of the problem.

Although the City Council remains adamant that it is not ignoring Olympia’s homeless, Camp Quixote was constructed to protest an ordinance that renders downtown squatting illegal. Threatened with trespassing, the group decided to canvas local churches in order to avoid arrest.

Redmond’s Planning Department repealed a temporary permit that it issued to Tent City 4 in December. Because there are three schools in proximity to the camp, appeals were made to overturn the permit – which occurred just days before the campers were to arrive.

To date, church staff refuses to close down the encampment.

Communities in Seattle and its outlying suburbs have long debated how they ought to treat the city’s 8,000 estimated homeless – and have enacted policies that allow “tent cities” to rotate between locations (qualifying the descriptor transient). Without access to encampments or shelters, the homeless resort to the streets.

The Seattle/King County Coalition for the Homeless conducted its annual One Night Count earlier this month – and found approximately “2,140 people trying to survive without housing or shelter throughout King County.” Although the organization cites a reduction in the quantity of homeless from the previous year’s count, the estimate can be askew.

“Due to its flaws, the One Night Count is not indicative of the actual number of homeless on the streets, as many cycle in and out of friends’ places or social service programs. It can reflect as little as two-thirds of the real population,” said Dr. Joshua Ginzler, clinical psychologist and research scientist at the University of Washington’s Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute.

Whether rotating between churches or risking survival on the streets, the homeless need access to resources and support in order to address personal problems and cultivate a sense of human dignity.

“Housing should not be contingent upon conditions such as sobriety, when in fact it may well be the lack of housing that is maintaining the stress largely responsible for the substance use problems in the first place,” said Ginzler. “Housing First (DESC) provides housing so harm-reduction programs can be applied, which – we expect – lead to a lower overall cost to society.”

Because the problem of homelessness is complex and those impacted by it extend beyond the homeless per se, policy makers would be remiss to continue to push them to the periphery and ignore the input of a civil society dedicated to stable solutions.

Seattle/King County Coalition for the Homeless:

http://www.homelessinfo.org/

Housing First:

http://www.blogger.com/www.npr.org/news/specials/housingfirst

Downtown Emergency Services Center:

www.desc.org/1811.html

“Multi-lateral Approach work towards same goal”

Nari Corley-Wheeler

Under the banner of human rights nations have fallen short in upholding fair rights upon their own citizens. New human rights issues have cropped up in the last century. Issues of homelessness ravaging our streets since the closing of mental hospitals and shelters, poverty in our neighboring district, and immigrants unable to speak English all of which touch closer to home than we may realize. Human rights now constitute a larger definition than centuries ago.

Accommodating a population whom live in worlds where the ground is always shifting is a complicated matter.

Luckily, some of us have our coat tails caught on something – our social conscience. Nurses, politicians and college students are the new wave of hands willing to lend support for the homeless. Each group has an advantage in their own field and in combination this multi-lateral approach where health, money from the state, and donations can reduce the homeless population and aid in improving the quality of their lives along the way.

Through Health Care for the Homeless Network, Aloha Inn, and Dorothy Day House are temporary residencies in which the homeless can receive medical treatment and assessment.

The King County Coalition for the Homeless is constantly networking with providers of transitional housing, medical care, and schools. Although there are numerous shelters and health facilities, there are presently not enough.

To begin reducing homelessness, Bill Block has managed lobbying money from the state capitol to start up what is called the “Ten Year Plan” where homelessness will be substantially reduced and monitored yearly. Ideally, the Ten Year Plan will be able to provide a single spot for which housing, education and health care facilities would be readily available.

Since 2005, King County has taken one winter day from the year to do an official “One Night Count” where volunteers from different districts in Seattle search for the homeless in the middle of the night. Last years count totaled around 2000 people sleeping on stoops, in cars, or squatting. Year 2007 saw a reduction of nearly 300 people.

Students from the University of Washington are also getting involved with the Ten Year Plan in their own ways. Participating in the One Night Count and organizing food and clothing drives, the student organization Huskies for Helping the Homeless are actively participating in the Ten Year Plan – if not even directly.

Additional assistance from the nurses, politicians and students demonstrates considerable concern for the sake of the homeless population. Working indirectly of each other, each group aims at a different project in order to stunt the numbers of homeless people, or improve the lives of those living in transitional housing, or even run donations all over campus to put some warm clothes on some cold feet. With help from all angles, maybe the lives of the homeless can improve substantially once they move into their subsidized home.

It's 1:11pm, and the first blog entry for UWJHR (University of Washington Journalists for Human Rights) is about to be posted. If you're unfamiliar with the concept of JHR, please visit the official website for more information.

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