People walk through the Chinatown district of Honiara in the Solomon Islands on November 26, 2021, after a third day of violence. | AFP-JIJI By Nat Hill Genocide Watch is issuing a Genocide Warning for the Solomon Islands due to anti-Chinese riots. The Solomon Islands are in the South Pacific between Fiji and Papua New Guinea. Widespread political protests have been followed by violent riots, leading to the deaths of at least 3 people and arrests of over 100. The riots stem from the Solomon Islands’ 2019 recognition of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) instead of Taiwan. Until 2019, the government of the Solomon Islands had a long-standing relationship with Taiwan. This connection weakened as trade and investment from the PRC increased. Rioters are targeting Chinese-owned buildings and businesses in the Chinatown district of the capital, Honiara. Looting, arson, and vandalism against ethnic Chinese have been documented. Security forces seem powerless to stop the violence. Crowds have attacked government buildings, burning parts of the Parliament building, police stations, and the Prime Minister’s residence. The Solomon Islands’ government requested foreign assistance to quell the violence. Soldiers and police officers from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and Papua New Guinea have been deployed. There have been prior instances of anti-Chinese rioting in the Solomon Islands. In 2006, following a general election, rioters attacked the Chinatown District in Honiara, burning buildings and sending many of the minority Chinese population into exile. There have also been increasing attacks against Chinese communities across the Oceania region. Most protestors in Honiara came from the Malaita Province, the most populous province in the Solomon Islands. From 1998 to 2003, the Solomon Islands experienced a brutal period of ethnic violence, known colloquially as, “The Tensions” which pitted ethnic Malaitian migrants from the main island of Guadalcanal against the local population and government. At least 200 people were killed and thousands of Malaitians were displaced. Peace was restored only after Australia, New Zealand and a coalition of Pacific nations occupied the Islands in 2003. Genocide Watch considers the Solomon Islands to be at Stage 1: Classification, Stage 2: Symbolization, Stage 3: Discrimination, Stage 5: Organization, and Stage 6: Polarization. Genocide Watch Recommends: 1. Australia and allied forces should stay in the Solomon Islands to ensure the safety of the country’s Chinese citizens and to quell ethnic rioting. 2. The Pacific Islands Forum, International Monetary Fund, and the United Nations Development Fund should investigate the financial schemes of Taiwan and China in the Solomon Islands and make recommendations for future government policies.

Fortify Rights August 19, 2021 New report finds Myanmar’s National Unity Government can grant jurisdiction to ICC. The National Unity Government (NUG) of Myanmar can delegate jurisdiction to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate and prosecute mass atrocity crimes that occurred in the country since 2002, according to a legal analysis published by Fortify Rights today. The NUG can do this in two ways: First, by lodging what is known as an “Article 12(3) declaration” with the ICC, and second, by formally acceding to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the Court. “The NUG has an opportunity to bring Myanmar significantly closer to justice and accountability,” said Matthew Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Fortify Rights. “Our analysis finds that the NUG can enter Myanmar into the Rome Statute under international law, and U.N. member states would do well to support these efforts.” The 48-page legal analysis, entitled Ending Impunity in Myanmar, explains how the NUG could address past, present, and future atrocity crimes in the country by issuing a declaration under Article 12(3) of the Rome Statute while also initiating the process to accede to the Rome Statute. An Article 12(3) declaration could provide immediate jurisdiction to the Court to address specific atrocity crimes in Myanmar, including past and future crimes. Full accession to the Statute would further entitle Myanmar to all the rights of a State Party to the Statute. Fortify Rights recommended the NUG pursue both paths without delay. Only State Parties to the Rome Statute can challenge a validly deposited accession to the Statute. As explained in the Fortify Rights report, the states that would be expected to challenge the NUG’s ability to accede to the Rome Statute—such as China, the Russian Federation, or certain Southeast Asian governments—are not parties to the Rome Statute, meaning they have no standing to challenge or contest the NUG’s accession to the Court. The Myanmar junta also could not challenge an accession to the Rome Statute by the NUG unless the junta itself became a State Party to the Statute. Therefore, according to the legal analysis, a successful challenge to the NUG’s accession to the Rome Statute is unlikely. “There are limits to the power of spoiler states to block international justice and accountability,” said Matthew Smith. “States that historically protected the Myanmar military from legal accountability would have no direct power to block this. The people of Myanmar are demanding justice, and while it will take time, the NUG can do its part to help deliver it.” In recent months, Fortify Rights presented the findings of this report to NUG Vice-President Duwa Lashi La and four NUG ministers in separate briefings. Representatives of the NUG have spoken publicly about engaging the ICC since the coup. Fortify Rights recommended the NUG delegate jurisdiction to the ICC for any atrocity crimes that may have occurred since 2002—the date that the Rome Statute came into force—and all future crimes. Myanmar’s many diverse ethnic minorities—the NUG’s constituents—collectively comprise a sizable share of the national population. They have faced mass atrocity crimes for decades with little to no access to justice or accountability. By lodging an Article 12(3) declaration and acceding to the Rome Statute, the NUG could help deter future crimes in Myanmar by requiring military leaders to consider the possibility of prosecution by a neutral international court. “While these measures alone would not suffice to end and remedy all ongoing atrocities, they would bring the country closer to ending deadly cycles of impunity,” the report says. As Ending Impunity in Myanmar explains, past practice suggests that governments with some level of international recognition can represent and act on behalf of the state even in situations where the government does not exercise effective control over the territory or people, such as in the case of a coup d’état. The people of Myanmar overwhelmingly recognize the NUG as their democratically elected government, and the NUG already has significant support from members of the international community. In September, the military junta and the NUG are expected to seek official credentials to represent Myanmar at the United Nations General Assembly. On August 6, U.S. authorities arrested two Myanmar men for allegedly plotting to harm or kill Myanmar’s U.N. ambassador, Kyaw Moe Tun—who denounced the coup at the U.N. General Assembly—unless he stepped down from his position as Permanent Representative of Myanmar to the U.N. On August 9, in a statement, the Myanmar junta denied any involvement in the plot but demanded the U.S. extradite Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun in order to prosecute him for high treason. Successfully engaging the ICC in the ways outlined in this report would help confer deserved political legitimacy on the NUG. It would also help deny the Myanmar junta political legitimacy, which is “crucial for promoting and protecting human rights and preventing atrocity crimes,” said Fortify Rights. * * * The Rome Statute is a multilateral treaty that came into force in 2002, providing the legal framework to establish the ICC in The Hague, the Netherlands. The ICC has the authority to investigate and prosecute mass-atrocity crimes as a “court of last resort”—that is, in situations in which the home state is unwilling or unable to investigate and prosecute atrocities. There are 123 States Parties to the Rome Statute of the ICC. By ratifying or acceding to the Rome Statute, states may delegate their jurisdiction to the ICC to prosecute individuals responsible for atrocities committed on their territory or by their nationals. For states that have not delegated jurisdiction to the Court, the ICC can only consider situations referred by the U.N. Security Council. For years, China and Russia have effectively blocked any meaningful action by the Security Council in response to atrocity crimes in Myanmar. On February 1, 2021, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and the Myanmar military overthrew the elected Government of Myanmar in a coup d’état. The junta immediately arrested President Win Myint, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, and other senior civilian leaders. The military and police have since killed more than 900 men, women, and children—primarily peaceful protesters—and imprisoned several thousand others for opposing the junta’s rule. The junta has also systematically attacked and arrested health workers and destroyed medical equipment and facilities, exacerbating the deadly effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH)—a committee of elected Myanmar parliamentarians that formed following the February 1 military coup d’état—established the NUG of Myanmar on April 16, 2021. “Atrocity crimes” are the gravest crimes under international law, defined as genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. In recent decades, the Myanmar military forcibly displaced millions of ethnic civilians, razed thousands of ethnic villages, and raped, tortured, killed, and imprisoned untold numbers of people, young and old. The military is responsible for committing genocide and crimes against humanity against Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State, according to several governments and non-governmental organizations, including Fortify Rights, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the U.N. Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, the Government of The Gambia—which is suing Myanmar at the International Court of Justice for failing to uphold its obligations under the Genocide Convention—and others. Since February 1, in addition to killing hundreds of peaceful protesters, the military has launched offensives in several ethnic states. It has deployed heavy artillery and airstrikes, particularly in Karen, Kachin, and Karenni states, killing and injuring civilians and displacing more than an estimated 177,500 people between February and June 2021, according to the U.N. Ending Impunity in Myanmar recommends that U.N. Member States acknowledge the NUG as the legitimate Government of Myanmar and support its credentials at the U.N. “Experience told the Myanmar military that they could perpetrate mass atrocities without consequences,” said Kerry Kennedy, President of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights and member of the Fortify Rights International Advisory Board. “It is our job to prove them wrong.” 2021 Fortify Rights

Police personnel at a riot-hit area in North East Delhi on 24 February. (Photo: Raj. K Raj/Hindustan Times) Islamophobia is no longer a fringe sentiment in India. It has become a state-manufactured ideology. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has made Islamophobia central to its program for harassing India's 192 million Muslims and depriving them of their rights as Indian citizens. Dalits, placed at the bottom of India’s caste hierarchy, have also increasingly come under attack. Modi rose to power by inciting Hindus with his time-tested politics of communal polarization. Beginning in 2014, Modi spent his first term as Prime Minister dehumanizing Muslims by passing laws preventing cow slaughter, restricting Muslim immigration, and purportedly countering Islamist terrorism. Modi's second term, beginning in 2019, has seen more brazen attempts by the BJP to turn India into a “Hindu Rashtra.” Modi revoked the "Special Autonomous Status of India Administered Jammu and Kashmir" under Articles 370 and 35A of the Constitution of India. In the predominantly Muslim state of Kashmir, India has positioned over 600,000 troops, who are arresting, torturing, raping, and killing Kashmiri citizens. Police arrests and forced disappearances are routine. Movement of people and freedom of the press are restricted. The government cuts off internet communications in Kashmir to stop news of atrocities from spreading. The Citizenship Amendment Bill seeks to grant preference in acquiring citizenship based on religion. This act is coupled with a nationwide verification process to identify “illegal migrants” who have come to India since 1971. It is aimed at expulsion of millions of Muslim immigrants who fled to India during the Bangladesh civil war. It also threatens rights of millions of other Indian Muslims who have no papers to prove citizenship. This discriminatory law was met with protests to which the government responded with brute force—arresting, beating, and killing protestors. Police officers and vigilante Hindu mobs led by RSS thugs attacked Muslims in North East Delhi, killing more than 30 Muslims. Rather than punish the perpetrators, the police have filed cases against the victims, naming Muslim students and activists as inciters of the violence. The latest legislative action against Muslims are the so-called anti-conversion laws. The laws are aimed at the mythical “Love Jihad,” an Islamophobic conspiracy theory claiming that Muslim men lure Hindu women into love relationships and then convince them to convert to Islam. Interfaith couples live in fear of censure from their families and Hindu nationalist groups. Now they can be arrested and tried in India's courts. Dalits face harassment and physical torture at the hands of upper castes. Dalit men and women are beaten up and killed for innocuous actions such as sporting moustaches, hiring out wedding celebrations, and sitting on chairs. Police often refuse to file cases against perpetrators from upper castes. Genocide Watch recognizes the BJP government's state-sponsored attack on the Muslim and Dalit community as Stage 6: Polarization, Stage 7: Preparation, and Stage 8: Persecution. Modi’s statements at Aligarh Muslim University perversely claiming that his new laws are intended to "uplift the Muslim community" demonstrate Stage 10: Denial. Genocide Watch recommends: · The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues should investigate India's discrimination against Muslims and report to the U.N. Human Rights Council. · The Indian Supreme Court should appoint an Independent Commission to investigate the anti-Muslim pogroms of 2020. · Indian Army and police who committed crimes in Kashmir should be prosecuted. · Prime Minister Modi should order BJP leaders to stop stoking communal violence. · International universities should stand in solidarity with Indian academic institutions.

Militant attacks are on the rise in Pakistan amid a growing religiosity that has brought greater intolerance, prompting one expert to voice concern the country could be overwhelmed by religious extremism The Independent Via AP news wire Pakistan Rising Militancy (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) Militant attacks are on the rise in Pakistan amid a growing religiosity that has brought greater intolerance, prompting one expert to voice concern the country could be overwhelmed by religious extremism. Pakistani authorities are embracing strengthening religious belief among the population to bring the country closer together. But it's doing just the opposite, creating intolerance and opening up space for a creeping resurgence in militancy, said Mohammad Amir Rana, executive director of the independent Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies. "Unfortunately, instead of helping to inculcate better ethics and integrity, this phenomenon is encouraging a tunnel vision” that encourages violence, intolerance and hate, he wrote recently in a local newspaper. “Religiosity has begun to define the Pakistani citizenry.” Militant violence in Pakistan has spiked: In the past week alone, four vocational school instructors who advocated for women’s rights were traveling together when they were gunned down in a Pakistan border region. A Twitter death threat against Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai attracted an avalanche of trolls. They heaped abuse on the young champion of girls education, who survived a Pakistani Taliban bullet to the head. A couple of men on a motorcycle opened fire on a police check-post not far from the Afghan border killing a young police constable. In recent weeks, at least a dozen military and paramilitary men have been killed in ambushes, attacks and operations against militant hideouts, mostly in the western border regions. A military spokesman this week said the rising violence is a response to an aggressive military assault on militant hideouts in regions bordering Afghanistan and the reunification of splintered and deeply violent anti-Pakistan terrorist groups, led by the Tehreek-e-Taliban. The group is driven by a radical religious ideology that espouses violence to enforce its extreme views. Gen. Babar Ifitkar said the reunified Pakistani Taliban have found a headquarters in eastern Afghanistan. He also accused hostile neighbor India of financing and outfitting a reunified Taliban, providing them with equipment like night vision goggles, improvised explosive devises and small weapons. India and Pakistan routinely trade allegations that the other is using militants to undermine stability and security at home. Security analyst and fellow at the Center for International Security and Cooperation, Asfandyar Mir, said the reunification of a splintered militancy is dangerous news for Pakistan. "The reunification of various splinters into the (Tehreek-e-Taliban) central organization is a major development, which makes the group very dangerous," said Mir. The TTP claimed responsibility for the 2012 shooting of Yousafzai. Its former spokesman, Ehsanullah Ehsan, who mysteriously escaped Pakistan military custody to flee to the country, tweeted a promise that the Taliban would kill her if she returned home. Iftikar, in a briefing of foreign journalists this week, said Pakistani military personnel aided Ehsan's escape, without elaborating. He said the soldiers involved had been punished and efforts were being made to return Ehsan to custody. The government reached out to Twitter to shut down Ehsan's account after he threatened Yousafzai, although the military and government at first suggested it was a fake account. But Rana, the commentator, said the official silence that greeted the threatening tweet encouraged religious intolerance to echo in Pakistani society unchecked. “The problem is religiosity has very negative expression in Pakistan,” he said in an interview late Friday. “It hasn’t been utilized to promote the positive, inclusive tolerant religion.” Instead, successive Pakistani governments as well as its security establishments have exploited extreme religious ideologies to garner votes, appease political religious groups, or target enemies, he said. The 2018 general elections that brought cricket star-turned-politician Imran Khan to power was mired in allegations of support from the powerful military for hard-line religious groups. Those groups include the Tehreek-e-Labbaik party, whose single-point agenda is maintaining and propagating the country's deeply controversial blasphemy law. That law calls for the death penalty for anyone insulting Islam and is most often used to settle disputes. It often targets minorities, mostly Shiite Muslims, who makeup up about 15% of mostly Sunni Pakistan's 220 million people. Mir, the analyst, said the rise in militancy is a complicated conundrum. It has benefited from state policies that have been either supportive or ambivalent toward militancy as well as from sustained exposure of the region to violence. Most notable are the protracted war in neighboring Afghanistan and the simmering tensions between hostile neighbors India and Pakistan, two countries that possess a nuclear weapons' arsenal. Mir and Rana both pointed to the Pakistani government's failure to draw radical thinkers away from militant organizations, as groups that seemed at least briefly to eschew a violent path have returned to violence and rejoined the TTP. Iftikar said the military has stepped up assaults on the reunited Pakistani Taliban, pushing the militants to respond, but only targets they can manage, which are soft targets. But Mir said the reunited militants pose a greater threat. “With the addition of these powerful units, the TTP has major strength for operations across the former tribal areas, Swat, Baluchistan, and some in Punjab,” he said. “Taken together, they improve TTP’s ability to mount insurgent and mass-casualty attacks.” See article here. © 2021 The Independent

Genocide Watch staff have published the thirty-first Timestream in a series of critical genocides in the world. This Timestream discusses what is widely considered the first genocide of the 20th century – the Herero and Namaqua Genocide. During the German colonial occupation of modern-day Namibia, resistance from the Herero and Nama communities was met with indiscriminate violence. This escalated into a brutal war from 1904 to 1908. German forces sought to eradicate the Herero and Nama peoples from the territory through mass killings, forcing civilians into the desert, and incarcerating survivors in concentration camps. Germany first acknowledged its actions as genocide in 2015, but has refused calls for reparations. See the full Timestream here and view our other Timestreams here.

Hundreds of anti-government protesters gather after climbing to the peak of Lion Rock as a lighted sign is held high in the air, in Hong Kong, China, September 13, 2019. (REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha) In 2019 and 2020, protests took place in Hong Kong against the extradition bill allowing protesters to be sent to mainland China for trials. The bill eroded the judicial independence and autonomy of the city protected under the Sino-British Joint Declaration by exposing Hong Kong to the repressive justice system in China. Signed in 1984 and effective from 1997, this agreement promised Hong Kong fifty years of political and economic liberty under Chinese sovereign rule. It has now been broken by China. The protests were initially peaceful but escalated under mounting police brutality. The protests persisted into early 2020, when the COVID19 pandemic raised public health concerns regarding mass assembly. China passed a new National Security Law (NSL) in July 2020, giving Beijing the sole power to interpret what may constitute “secession”, “subversion”, “terrorism”, and “collusion with foreign forces” against Chinese national security in Hong Kong. Hong Kong’s government and courts soon designated many protest activities as "terrorism”. The bail in cases relating to the NSL was raised. Fifty-three high-profile Hong Kong democrats who organized an unofficial democratic “primary” ahead of the cancelled 2020 Legislative Council elections were charged with conspiracy to commit subversion. Most of them have been denied bail and have remained in custody since February 2021. The accused could face life sentences in prison. As of June 22, 2022, the Hong Kong Police Force has made over 114 arrests related to the NSL. The Hong Kong and Chinese governments are also curtailing press freedom. Between June and December 2021, police raided the offices of Apple Daily and Stand News, two of the largest independent media outlets critical of the Hong Kong and Chinese leadership. They seized journalistic materials on charges of conspiracy to publish seditious publications. Both outlets subsequently closed down. Apple Daily’s founder was charged with collusion with foreign forces. In June 2022, Hong Kong’s government barred multiple news outlets from covering the Chief Executive (C.E.) inauguration scheduled for July 1, 2022. In 2022, John Lee was elected as Hong Kong’s next Chief Executive after running for election uncontested with the blessing of Chinese president Xi Jinping. Lee says national security is the fundamental mission of his administration. Due to China's imposition of direct legal control over Hong Kong, mounting authoritarianism, erosion of press freedom, and targeted persecution of political dissidents, Genocide Watch recognizes Hong Kong to be at Stage 5: Organization, Stage 6: Polarization, and Stage 8: Persecution. Genocide Watch recommends that: NATO member states grant visas to Hong Kong human rights activists. NATO members should ban exports to China of technological products that can be used for Chinese surveillance.

Fortify Rights July 22, 2022 The ICJ, also known as the World Court, delivered a judgment rejecting the Myanmar junta’s preliminary objections in a case filed by The Gambia in 2019 arguing that Myanmar authorities are responsible for genocide committed against the Rohingya. Today’s decision clears the way for the ICJ to adjudicate the merits in The Gambia’s case against Myanmar. The first public hearing on the merits of the case is expected to be in early 2024. “Today is a momentous day for the Rohingya and all people of Myanmar. International justice is slow but steady, and it can be improved with practical support from U.N. member states,” said Matthew Smith, Chief Executive Officer at Fortify Rights. “Jurisdiction in this case is settled. The international community should immediately get behind The Gambia in this case and support other efforts across mechanisms to hold the Myanmar military to account for its horrific crimes against the people of Myanmar.” The Gambia initiated proceedings against Myanmar on November 11, 2019, alleging violations of the Genocide Convention. Myanmar’s preliminary objections claimed that the ICJ lacked the necessary jurisdiction to adjudicate the case since The Gambia is not an injured party and the Genocide Convention does not provide the right to initiate cases in public interest as a non-injured party. The junta’s legal team also alleged that the case should be dismissed because it was being brought by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and not The Gambia—which is untrue. In its ruling, the ICJ rejected all four of the Myanmar junta’s preliminary objections to the case, in unanimous or near-unanimous votes. The court stated: “All the states party to the Genocide Convention thus have a common interest to prevention, suppression, and punishment of genocide by committing themselves to fulfill the obligations contained in the convention.” Rohingya women calling for justice at the International Court of Justice. ©Fortify Rights, 2019 During public hearings of the junta’s objections in February 2022, Ko Ko Hlaing, the junta’s minister for international cooperation, represented Myanmar. This was despite strong calls from civil society, including from Fortify Rights, warning the ICJ that it risked legitimizing the junta by allowing it to represent Myanmar on the global stage. The Myanmar military junta should immediately comply with the orders of the ICJ and stop ongoing acts of genocide against Rohingya, said Fortify Rights. In its case, The Gambia claims that starting in 2016 and continuing in 2017, the Myanmar military and other security forces engaged in genocidal acts, including killings, rapes, and the burning and destruction of villages, as part of so-called “clearance operations” aimed at destroying the Rohingya population. Genocide Watch was the first international NGO to declare in 2012 that Myanmar was committing genocide against the Rohingya. It issued Genocide Alerts again in 2016, 2017, and several since 2017. Since 2015, Fortify Rights has documented the military-led genocide against the Rohingya. Following the 2016 and 2017 Myanmar-military-led attacks on Rohingya civilians, Fortify Rights and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum published a joint report documenting how Myanmar state security forces and civilian perpetrators committed mass killings in dozens of villages in Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State in the first wave of violence in 2016 and in villages throughout all three townships of northern Rakhine State after August 25, 2017. This was followed by the publication of “They Gave Them Long Swords,” a 160-page report by Fortify Rights proving how the Myanmar authorities made “extensive and systematic preparations” for attacks against Rohingya civilians that amounted to genocide. The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken cited Fortify Rights and others’ work in a speech delivered at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, on March 21, 2022, while announcing the U.S. government’s determination that Myanmar’s military had committed genocide against the Rohingya. In 2017 and 2018, the Human Rights Council Independent Investigation Team on Myanmar investigated and published a 444 page comprehensive report documenting the genocide and forced displacement of over 700,000 Rohingya committed by the Myanmar military in 2016 and 2017. The ICJ held its first round of public hearings in the case filed by The Gambia from December 10 to 12, 2019. In a historic move, on January 23, 2020, the court unanimously ordered provisional measures to protect the rights of the Rohingya. The unanimous vote meant that the justice appointed by Myanmar, as the court allows, also voted in favor of provisional measures of protection for Rohingya. These provisional measures ordered Myanmar to cease and prevent further genocidal acts against Rohingya, to prevent the destruction of any evidence related to acts of genocide against the Rohingya, and to report to the court on a semi-annual basis on measures taken to implement the courts orders. None of these reports have been made public. In December 2021, new evidence published by Fortify Rights indicated that the junta breached the ICJ’s provisional measures. In June 2022, Fortify Rights also published a report titled Genocide by Attrition: The Role of Identity Documents in the Holocaust and the Genocides of Rwanda and Myanmar, which provides further information about the junta’s ongoing persecution of the Rohingya. The 63-page report provides details on how the Myanmar junta is using identity documents to facilitate its genocide of the Rohingya people, mirroring tactics used in the Holocaust and Rwandan genocides and violating existing ICJ orders for Myanmar authorities to cease ongoing acts of genocide. To date, only Canada and The Netherlands have publicly pledged support to The Gambia’s case at the ICJ. Other states should now consider supporting The Gambia’s case against Myanmar, Fortify Rights said. “The junta lacks any political support among the Myanmar population and is committing atrocity crimes throughout the country,” said Matthew Smith. “States should do everything in their power to deprive the junta of weapons, finances, and political legitimacy. The junta is a criminal regime that must be held accountable.”

In February 1991, hundreds of Albanians pushed over the bronze statue of Hoxha in Tirana’s central square [Image Source: Reuters] Modern Albania gained independence from the Ottoman Empire following the end of the First World War. During the lead-up to the Second World War, fascist Italy invaded Albania in 1939. The Italian occupation, later with assistance from Nazi Germany, was marked by brutal suppression of Albanian resistance and the persecution of Albanian civilians. During the Second World War, Italy and Germany deported and exterminated many members of the Jewish and Romani communities. Following the end of the Second World War, the leader of the communist resistance, Enver Hoxha, took control of the country and ruled as a Stalinist dictator until his death in 1985. During Hoxha’s rule, Albania was one of the most isolated countries in the world. Hoxha suppressed any dissent, banned all religion, and set up a personality cult centered around him. The ruling Party of Labor of Albania was comparable to the totalitarian domination of Kim Il Sung in North Korea or Saparmurat Niyazov in Turkmenistan. The regime maintained absolute control through a secret police organization known as The Sigurimi. Political prisoners and ordinary civilians were routinely executed or sent to concentration camps such as the Spaç Prison in Northern Albania. Many families never heard from their detained relatives again. Mass graves containing bodies from the communist era are still being found. Enver Hoxha died of a heart attack in 1976, never answering for his crimes and leaving Albania isolated and economically underdeveloped. “Hoxhaist” Albanians deny that Hoxha or his party committed any crimes or ran concentration camps. This denial is similar to the denial of systematic crimes committed in Russia, China, and elsewhere in the former communist world. Following the collapse of Albanian communism in 1992, Albania became a multi-party democracy. Minority communities, particularly the Romani people, still face discrimination. They face challenges in finding employment. They have almost no political representation. Due to crimes against humanity committed by the Hoxha regime and the continuing denial of these crimes today, Genocide Watch considers Albania to be at Stage 10: Denial. Oppression of minority communities like the Romani also puts Albania at Stage 3: Discrimination. Genocide Watch recommends: · Human rights and genocide scholars should give increased attention to the crimes against humanity committed by Hoxha and his totalitarian communist regime. · Albanian authorities and international organizations, particularly the European Union, should dedicate financial resources to documenting the missing victims of the Hoxha regime and memorializing those persecuted by it. · Seats should be allocated in the Albanian Parliament for representatives of minority groups to improve their political representation.

Fortify Rights and 16 individual complainants seek accountability for Rohingya genocide and coup-related atrocities သတင်းထုတ်ပြန်ချက်ကိုဖတ်ရန် อ่านใบแจ้งข่าว Listen to the Rohingya Audio To watch video click on the image above. (BANGKOK, January 24, 2023)—Fortify Rights and 16 individual complainants from Myanmar filed a criminal complaint with the Federal Public Prosecutor General of Germany under the principle of universal jurisdiction against senior Myanmar military generals and others for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, Fortify Rights announced today. The 215-page complaint and more than 1,000 pages of annexes provide evidence to assist the Office of the Federal Prosecutor to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the Rohingya genocide as well as atrocity crimes related to the military junta’s coup d’état launched on February 1, 2021. February 1, 2023 marks the second anniversary of the deadly coup and crackdown in Myanmar, and August 2022 marked five years since the Myanmar military’s most egregious attacks on the Rohingya people. However, the individuals responsible for crimes related to both have yet to be held accountable. Hear the voices of complainants from Myanmar who, together with Fortify Rights, filed a criminal complaint in Germany against Myanmar generals and others. “An ethnically diverse and united front of survivors from throughout Myanmar are bringing this case to seek justice and accountability,” said Matthew Smith, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder at Fortify Rights. “Despite international attention and several ongoing accountability initiatives, the Myanmar military still enjoys complete impunity, and that must end. These crimes cannot go unpunished. Germany’s universal jurisdiction law is a global model for combatting impunity for the worst crimes and providing access to justice for survivors of atrocities no matter where the crimes occur or where the survivors are located.” Universal jurisdiction is a legal principle enabling a state to prosecute individuals responsible for mass atrocity crimes—genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes—regardless of where the crimes occurred or the nationality of the perpetrator or victims. Universal jurisdiction is typically reserved for “international crimes,” which are so severe that they represent offenses against the entire international community. The criminal complaint was filed on January 20, 2023. Fortify Rights is represented by Covington & Burling LLP, which has offices in Germany. Approximately half of the 16 individual complainants survived the Rohingya genocide and Myanmar military-led “clearance operations” in Rakhine State in 2016 and 2017, and approximately half survived post-coup atrocities in states and regions throughout the country in 2021 and 2022. The complainants include six women and ten men who represent several ethnicities in Myanmar, including Arakanese (Rakhine), Burman, Chin, Karen, Karenni, Mon, and Rohingya. They include students, scholars, farmers, human rights defenders, businesspersons, former village heads, and homemakers. All the complainants survived or witnessed crimes in Myanmar, and many have since fled the country. At the time of writing, the complainants are located in several countries, including Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Germany, and the U.S. Two of the complainants—“M.K.” (not their real initials) and Nickey Diamond—are presently situated in Germany and have retained German legal counsel for matters related to the complaint announced today. They both experienced and witnessed crimes in Myanmar in 2017 and 2021, respectively. “We trust in Germany to open an investigation and seek justice for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed by the military and its leaders in Myanmar,” said Nickey Diamond, who is also a member of the Board of Directors at Fortify Rights. “This is the time to end impunity and ensure the military perpetrators and others no longer get away with their crimes.” “F.K.” (not her real initials) is a 51-year-old Rohingya woman complainant who survived genocidal attacks in Rakhine State in 2017. In August 2017, soldiers and non-Rohingya residents of Rakhine State entered her village in northern Rakhine State, burned houses, and prevented residents of the village from fleeing. Individuals under the military’s control raped F.K.’s daughter-in-law while F.K. was in earshot and as soldiers beat her in an adjacent room. The Myanmar military killed seven members of her family in the attack on her village and, in a separate incident, cut her with a knife, leaving permanent scars. F.K. witnessed piles of dead bodies of Rohingya civilians in her village and military soldiers stabbing, beating, and killing numerous Rohingya men and children. Soldiers killed one child as he begged them for drinking water. F.K. told Fortify Rights: “The Myanmar government and military have been trying to vanish our Rohingya community for 50 years. . . As a Rohingya woman, I want justice for the genocide so that it does not happen again. As a Rohingya complainant, I am ready to file the UJ [universal jurisdiction] case.” The complaint announced today alleges that the Myanmar military systematically killed, raped, tortured, imprisoned, disappeared, persecuted, and committed other acts that amount to genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in violation of the German Code of Crimes Against International Law. The complaint includes substantial evidence showing that senior military junta officials exercised superior responsibility over subordinates who committed crimes, knew about their subordinates’ crimes, and failed to take any action to prevent the crimes from happening and to punish the perpetrators. The complaint is on file with the German authorities and is not publicly available. In the complaint, Fortify Rights and the complainants request that the German Prosecutor open an investigation into specific military officials and others who, according to evidence, are liable for mass atrocity crimes. The complaint also requests that the German authorities open a “structural investigation” into the situation in Myanmar, which would uncover numerous other crimes in various locations and affecting other ethnic groups not otherwise covered by the complaint. Thi Da, one of the complainants, is a 35-year-old ethnic-Chin woman and mother of three. In September 2021, the Myanmar military arbitrarily arrested and tortured her husband, Ngai Kung, 35. Following his arrest, Thi Da received no official information about her husband’s whereabouts and well-being, rendering it an enforced disappearance. Myanmar junta soldiers reportedly informed a group of pastors that her husband was killed. At the time of writing, Thi Da does not know what happened to him. “I’m still angry with the [Myanmar junta] soldiers,” said Thi Da to Fortify Rights. “They don’t think of us as people and treat us like animals or objects.” In addition to the complainants’ testimonies to the Prosecutor General, the complaint draws on more than 1,000 interviews with survivors of international crimes in Myanmar conducted by Fortify Rights since 2013 as well as leaked documents and information provided by Myanmar military and police deserters and others that shed light on the military’s operations, crimes, and command structures. Myanmar junta forces blockade the road to parliament in Naypyidaw on the day of the coup. ©Nyein Su Wai Kyaw Soe, February 1, 2021 More than 1,000 pages of annexes accompany the complaint and include additional documentation of atrocity crimes in Myanmar that may be of service to the German authorities, including revelatory reports by Fortify Rights, U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Tom Andrews, the U.N. Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, and others. An investigation and subsequent prosecution of these crimes under German law would serve to punish those who have committed the gravest of crimes, prevent future crimes by perpetrators in Myanmar, and signal to other would-be perpetrators in Myanmar and elsewhere that accountability for atrocity crimes cannot be avoided, said Fortify Rights. As part of this complaint, several Myanmar civil society organizations agreed to cooperate with the German authorities, including the Chin Human Rights Organization, the Karen Human Rights Group, the Karenni Human Rights Group, the Human Rights Foundation of Monland, the Burmese Rohingya Organization U.K, and an organized network of Myanmar lawyers working throughout the country. Similarly, as part of this complaint, prominent human rights defenders from Myanmar and several senior U.N. officials, diplomats, and others have agreed to be resource persons for the German prosecutor in this case. They include U.N. Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews; former U.N. special rapporteurs Tomas Quintana and Yanghee Lee; former Dutch Ambassador Laetitia van den Assum; former Thai Ambassador Kobsak Chutikul; members of the U.N. Fact-Finding Mission Marzuki Darusman and Chris Sidoti; President of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Kerry Kennedy; and others. An investigation and subsequent prosecutions in Germany of the atrocity crimes detailed in the complaint would not duplicate other international accountability efforts underway but would only add to the mounting evidence about the Myanmar military’s crimes, said Fortify Rights. Other efforts include an investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC), a genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and a universal jurisdiction case in Argentina for crimes related to the Rohingya genocide. Specifically, in 2019, the ICC authorized an investigation into crimes perpetrated by Myanmar authorities against Rohingya where at least part of the crime was committed on the territory of Bangladesh or another State under ICC jurisdiction. At present, the ICC cannot investigate and prosecute any international crime completed entirely in Myanmar, and thus the investigation would not encompass the vast majority of the crimes against Rohingya alleged in the complaint. The ICC is also not investigating crimes against humanity or war crimes that occurred in the aftermath of the February 2021 coup d’état. In 2019, the Republic of The Gambia brought a case against Myanmar at the ICJ in The Hague, alleging Myanmar is responsible for genocide against the Rohingya people. While it is a critically important case, the ICJ proceeding concerns only State responsibility for Myanmar’s violation of its obligations under the Genocide Convention. The ICJ does not hold individuals criminally accountable, and no individuals will face repercussions through that court for crimes uncovered in that proceeding. Also in 2019, Rohingya human rights defender Maung Tun Khin of the Burmese Rohingya Organization U.K. (BROUK) and six Rohingya women survivors filed a petition urging an Argentinian court to investigate, under universal jurisdiction, crimes committed with impunity against Rohingya in Myanmar. That judicial investigation is ongoing; however, while critically important, the case in the Argentinian courts currently focuses only on a specific region and does not address war crimes or the conduct surrounding the attacks against Rohingya in 2016 and 2017 or crimes against humanity in connection with the coup d’état. Moreover, unlike German law, Argentine law does not prescribe a punishment for the crime of genocide, so there is no applicable penalty for the offense. Rather, a perpetrator can be convicted in Argentina in the context of genocide but would be punished for “ordinary” crimes committed, such as homicide, rape, or unlawful detention. Maung Tun Khin and BROUK have agreed to cooperate with German authorities on the complaint submitted by Fortify Rights and others. The German authorities are well-placed to fill present gaps left by the currently pending accountability mechanisms, said Fortify Rights. In 2019, Fortify Rights began exploring international legal options for survivors in Myanmar to pursue criminal prosecutions under universal jurisdiction. The organization researched and analyzed the feasibility of 16 jurisdictions in Europe, Africa, and South America that provide access to justice for atrocity crimes committed outside their national borders, ultimately deciding to file the complaint in Germany. Under German law, the Prosecutor has the ultimate discretion to bring a case under universal jurisdiction. The Prosecutor should do so in particular when important witnesses to atrocities are present in Germany, which is the case regarding the complaint announced today. German prosecutors are currently conducting more than 100 investigations into international crimes related to other countries and contexts. The Prosecutor General has also undertaken numerous structural investigations into atrocity crimes, which have led to several trials. German courts have heard cases dealing with torture in Syrian prisons as well as crimes by members of Da’esh, including against the Yazidi community. In March 2022, the German Prosecutor opened a structural investigation into Russian war crimes in Ukraine. In a statement to the United Nations on October 22, 2022, the Permanent Mission of Germany to the U.N. stated: While we would prefer to have the most serious crimes under international law tried by international tribunals, in particular the ICC if the applicable complementarity criteria are met, the Code of Crimes against International Law allows us to work towards accountability for these crimes on a national level . . . The message is clear: those who commit atrocities cannot feel safe. They will eventually be held accountable. There is no safe haven for perpetrators of international crimes against criminal prosecution in Germany. Justice will be served for the victims and survivors. Investigations by German authorities into international crimes can also potentially be used in prosecutions in venues and jurisdictions outside Germany. “Germany is in a unique position to help thwart impunity in Myanmar,” said Matthew Smith. “Fortify Rights and the individual complainants are poised and ready to assist German prosecutors. An investigation now will help ensure that those responsible for these heinous crimes are held to account and punished, whether in Germany or elsewhere.” Excerpts from select complainants’ statements to the German authorities: [T]he military found where we were hiding and started firing at us. My mother told me to run away to save my life, so I jumped into the river . . . I saw bullets coming like drops of rain . . . When I realized I lost my family, I felt totally broken inside. My village was burned before my eyes. There is not a single home left. I lost everything. —Statement of Rohingya Complainant “J.H.” (not actual initials) [The military] surrounded the village . . . [and] began tying people up. At one point, I recall that the military entered the downstairs of the house [where we were hiding] and shot a seven- or eight-year-old boy in the kitchen. His brain spread across the floor . . . The soldiers then tried grabbing me . . . I fell and became unconscious. After I became unconscious, I did not know where my baby had been taken . . . I kept screaming for my baby child. —Statement of Rohingya Complainant “S.B.” (not actual initials) After the coup occurred, . . . I was told [by my contacts in the Ministry of Home Affairs] that if I was captured, I would most likely be tortured and/or killed. Around March 10, 2021, I and my family escaped . . . We often were forced to dig our own bomb shelters to avoid the threat of airstrikes of our entirely civilian encampments, as other such civilian areas were constantly being targeted by the Tatmadaw. —Statement of Myanmar coup Complainant Nickey Diamond In the days following the military coup, the police arrested people who helped the protestors. My friend was arrested for giving water to the protesters. Because I gave them [the protestors] shelter, I knew that I would be arrested. When Muslims are arrested, they are often killed or disappeared. I am a huge target for the military because of my human rights work, identity as a Rohingya Muslim, and my political views. I believed that I would be killed if I was arrested . . . I have feared for my life since the coup. —Statement of Myanmar coup Complainant Abdul Rasheed Copyright 2023 Fortify Rights

German Federal Prosecutor dismisses criminal complaint against Myanmar generals for ongoing atrocity crimes © Yan Naing Aung, February 26, 2021. The Federal Public Prosecutor General of Germany decided not to initiate an investigation into genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in Myanmar alleged in a 215-page complaint filed in January by Fortify Rights and 16 individual complainants from Myanmar, said Fortify Rights in a statement released today. The complaint, filed in January 2023 under the principle of universal jurisdiction against senior Myanmar military generals and others, focused on those responsible for committing genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes against the Rohingya in 2016 and 2017 and for crimes against humanity committed throughout the country since the Myanmar military launched a failing coup d’état in February 2021. “The prosecutor’s decision is hugely disappointing,” said Matthew Smith, Chief Executive Officer at Fortify Rights. “We remain confident in the evidence and legal arguments in the complaint, and indeed, the German Federal Prosecutor’s office made clear that its decision was not based on the merits or strength of the evidence.” The German Federal Public Prosecutor informed Fortify Rights last month that it had declined to open an investigation primarily because of a lack of suspects present in Germany and under the belief that its investigation would duplicate the work that the Independent Investigative Mechanism on Myanmar (IIMM) is currently undertaking. “When we filed the complaint, we knew that Min Aung Hlaing and others responsible for atrocities in Myanmar weren’t present in Germany. Such presence is not required for an investigation under German law. We didn’t expect this factor to lead the Prosecutor to fully decline any investigation into the evidence presented,” said Matthew Smith. “We know that the IIMM is diligently collecting and preserving evidence, and we expected German authorities to use and leverage the IIMM’s work for future prosecutions in Germany. That is the point of the IIMM. Parts of this decision seem counter to the purpose of Germany’s universal jurisdiction.” The Federal Prosecutor underscored the absence of Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing and other named perpetrators in Germany as a decisive factor. However, history has shown that individuals responsible for atrocity crimes often elude custody until political winds and circumstances shift, leading to extraditions, trials, and convictions in courts of law, said Fortify Rights. Under German law, there are limited opportunities to formally appeal the Prosecutor’s discretionary decision not to investigate or prosecute based on Section 153f of the Code of Criminal Procedure. However, advocates in Germany, such as at the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), have recommended reforming the law to enable such reviews. “While completely disappointing, the Prosecutor’s decision underscores the urgent need for a truly international effort to prosecute the crimes unfolding in Myanmar,” said Matthew Smith. “We’re grateful the Prosecutor clarified that the German government is cooperating with efforts to collect and preserve evidence of crimes in Myanmar and that the Prosecutor’s decision was unrelated to the strength of the evidence submitted. We’ll continue to pursue accountability for the heinous crimes committed in Myanmar, and we’re already working on new strategies with survivors and others to that end. The team at Fortify Rights is growing and is more committed than ever to ending and remedying these horrors.” Approximately half of the 16 individual complainants who brought their cases to Germany with Fortify Rights survived the Rohingya genocide and Myanmar military-led “clearance operations” in Rakhine State in 2016 and 2017. The other half survived post-coup atrocities in states and regions throughout the country in 2021 and 2022. Following decades of state-sanctioned bigotry toward Rohingya in Myanmar, this universal jurisdiction complaint represented one of the first efforts to unite Rohingya and other ethnic survivors from Myanmar in their respective efforts to seek justice. The complainants included six women and ten men, including Arakanese (Rakhine), Burman, Chin, Karen, Karenni, Mon, and Rohingya. If the German Federal Prosecutor had opened an investigation and ultimately brought a case, the proceeding would have been the first prosecution to combine the military’s crimes against Rohingya people in 2016 and 2017 with its nationwide crimes following its deadly coup d’état on February 1, 2021. Two of the complainants in the filing—“M.K.” (not the real initials) and Nickey Diamond—are presently in Germany and had retained German legal counsel for matters related to the complaint. There is no reason to believe that this decision will hamper future universal jurisdiction complaints either in Germany or elsewhere, said Fortify Rights. Ongoing crimes with complete impunity in Myanmar include killings, rape, torture, imprisonment, enforced disappearances, persecution, and other acts that amount to genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. In its statement released today, Fortify Rights called on U.N. Member States to “take active measures, including through intergovernmental coordination, to stop these brutal crimes, apprehend those responsible, and hold them to account.” The evidence collected for and documented in the dismissed complaint will not go to waste. Fortify Rights will share it with the IIMM and other possible outlets—with the permission of the complainants and as appropriate—to ensure its preservation and, when possible, to hold the perpetrators of these heinous crimes to account. In its statement released today, Fortify Rights noted the Myanmar military’s “longstanding impunity for international crimes, including genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity” against “millions of innocent civilians.” The statement concludes that “Fortify Rights is determined to pursue every means possible” to ensure that accountability “happens swiftly and efficiently.” Covington & Burling LLP, which has offices in Washington D.C., Germany, and elsewhere, represents Fortify Rights. Additional Details and Background Universal jurisdiction is a legal principle enabling a state to prosecute individuals responsible for mass atrocity crimes—genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes—regardless of where the crimes occurred or the nationality of the perpetrator or victims. Universal jurisdiction is typically reserved for “international crimes,” which are so severe that they represent offenses against the entire international community. On January 20, 2023, Fortify Rights and 16 survivors from numerous ethnic groups in Myanmar filed a criminal complaint with the Federal Public Prosecutor of Germany under the principle of universal jurisdiction against senior Myanmar military generals and others for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The 215-page complaint and more than 1,000 pages of annexes provided evidence to assist the Office of the Federal Prosecutor with the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for committing genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes against the Rohingya in 2016 and 2017, as well as the crimes against humanity related to the military junta’s failing coup d’état launched on February 1, 2021. On October 11, 2023, the Federal Public Prosecutor informed Fortify Rights that they would not be initiating an investigation into the crimes alleged in the complaint. The Prosecutor’s notice identified two main reasons for not initiating the investigation, neither of which relate to the strength of the evidence submitted. The Prosecutor primarily referred to its discretion over prosecuting offenses under the German Code of Crimes Against International Law. Specifically, under the German Code of Criminal Procedure, section 153f, paragraph 1, the Prosecutor may decline to move forward if the accused is not present in Germany and is not expected to be present in Germany. Furthermore, the Prosecutor also referred to the ongoing efforts of the IIMM and noted that an investigation by German law enforcement agencies would not yield any additional benefits. The Prosecutor specifically noted that Germany has been supporting the investigative efforts of the IIMM. Copyright © 2023 Fortify Rights, All rights reserved.

After the attempted coup d'état in 2015, Turkish President Erdoğan ordered investigations of public university professors to determine their possible affiliations with FETÖ, the Gülen Movement, which the Turkish government labels a "terrorist" organization. Many professors lost their jobs because of baseless allegations. Thousands were detained and hundreds were imprisoned on charges of supporting the Gülen Movement. Since 2016, President Erdoğan himself appointed loyalists affiliated with his political party, the AKP, as rectors of public universities in order to heighten surveillance of professors' and students' activities. On January 1, 2021, Erdoğan appointed Melih Bulu, a former AKP candidate for parliament, as Rector at Turkey's most prestigious public university, Boğaziçi University. Since then, students have been protesting Bulu's appointment. Normally university rectors are chosen by democratic elections from the university faculty. They are not politically appointed. Erdoğan's larger agenda is to rewrite the Turkish Constitution. He fears that he will lose his grip on power in the next elections. Polls published in January 2021 show that Erdogan’s party, AKP, and Erdoğan himself will lose the elections, with an all-time-low percentage of votes in 2023. Erdoğan is looking for issues to instill fear in voters. Resentment of privileged students is widespread among those who support Erdoğan. Erdoğan said on February 1, ‘‘Are you students or terrorists who are attempting to raid the rector’s office?’’ Turkish government officials and party leaders have supported Erdogan’s terrorism analogy and have also called students ‘vandals.’ "Terrorist" is a dehumanizing term, intended to shut groups outside society's circle of moral concern, and justify their arrest, persecution, and extermination. LGBTI+ activists are also hated by Erdoğan's supporters. Erdoğan has started an anti-LGBTI+ propaganda campaign. He denounced an art project by a Boğaziçi student with an image of the most sacred site for Muslims, the Kaaba in Mecca, with LGBTI+ flags collaged with it. Erdoğan's attack on an artwork disrespecting a sacred symbol is a dog-whistle to conservative Muslims. Erdoğan incites hate speech toward LGBTI+ people. Erdoğan has said, ‘‘There is no such thing as LGBTI+ in our culture and values. Our country has morals.’’ The implication is that LGBTI+ people are immoral, another dehumanizing term. Police have ordered protestors to look down out of shame for their support of LGBTI+ rights and democratic elections for university rector. The hashtag #WeWontLookDown, in Turkish #AşağıBakmayacağız, is trending on Twitter. On February 1st, 2021, students gathered for another protest at Boğaziçi University. 350 students were detained by the police. 51 students have already been taken to trial, with no opportunity to contact lawyers or their families. On February 2nd, around 600 students and people supporting them gathered again, and police responded with excessive force and brutality. 104 more students were detained. Many more were injured. Protests are also being held in other cities such as Ankara and İzmir where police have also intervened brutally and have arrested protesters. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet has condemned the homophobic actions and speech of Turkish government officials. The High Commissioner called for all detained students to be released, and she urged Turkish police to cease their use of force against peaceful protestors. Genocide Watch considers Turkey to be at Stage 7: Preparation. As more protests are held, Erdogan will increasingly fear loss of his power. He will crackdown on protest and turn Turkey into an anti-democratic autocracy. Genocide Watch recommends: - Erdoğan's hate speech and incitement against the LGBTI+ community must cease immediately. - Students' rights to speak, assemble, and peacefully protest must be protected.

By Farouk Chothia British Prime Minister Theresa May has said she deeply regrets the UK's role in criminalizing same-sex relations in its former colonies. The laws were passed under British rule and are still used in 37 of the Commonwealth's 53 member nations. There is a global trend towards decriminalizing homosexual acts, but some countries, like Nigeria and Uganda, have imposed stricter laws. At a Commonwealth meeting, Mrs May said laws were "wrong then and wrong now". Same-sex relations are explicitly banned in 72 countries, according to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA). "Nobody should face discrimination and persecution because of who they are or who they love," Mrs May said in London as Commonwealth leaders gather for their summit, which is held every two years. "The UK stands ready to support any Commonwealth nation wanting to reform outdated legislation that makes such discrimination possible. "Across the world discriminatory laws made many years ago continue to affect the lives of many people, criminalizing same-sex relations and failing to protect women and girls." The number of states that criminalize same-sex relations is decreasing annually, with Belize and the Seychelles repealing such laws in 2016. But in many socially conservative and religious countries in Africa, where homosexuality is a taboo, there has been resistance to calls to decriminalize same-sex relationships. South Africa, which rejoined the Commonwealth after the end of white-minority rule in 1994, is one of the exceptions. It has one of the most liberal constitutions in the world, which protects gay rights, and was the first African country to legalize same-sex marriage in 2006. © 2018 | BBC News