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July 2003

More Countries Shutting Doors to Refugees
The last J/P Alert reported on the startling drop of numbers of refugees permitted to enter the U.S. in the last three years. According to the annual report by the U.S. Committee for Refugees, World Refugee Survey 2003, this is a world-wide problem. Millions of refugees are having a hard time finding new homes and some nations are taking in fewer asylum seekers. Almost 4.3 million people fled their countries in 2002, bringing the number of refugees to 13 million worldwide in 2003. The figure is down from the 14.9 million in 2001 largely because 1.8 million Afghans have been able to return home after the Taliban government fell. Thousands of refugees have been unable to return to their homes because of secondary measures imposed in many countries after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. In particular, individuals from largely Islamic countries have experienced more difficulty when seeking asylum. Many nations are using the fight against terrorism as an excuse for violating international law or as a cover to get rid of legitimate, nonviolent political opposition, adding to the number of refugees worldwide.

The Survey devotes particular attention to two refugee groups that have been denied international protection, Palestinians and North Koreans. According to the Survey, China forcibly returned tens of thousands of North Korean refugees to North Korea where they are subjected to detention, torture, and even death. The Survey called for equal international protection for Palestinians refugees, the only refugee group excluded from the UN Refugee Convention’s protection mandate.

The 258-page World Refugee Survey 2003 reviews refugee conditions and government policies affecting refugees and displaced persons in 134 countries worldwide. It included 13 pages of comprehensive, reliable statistics on refugees, internally displaced persons, and asylum seekers. For more information or to order a copy of the Survey visit the U.S. Committee for Refugee website at www.refugees.org.

Administration Seeks to Limit International Human Rights Cases
In the on-going so-called "war on terror" the Bush Administration is seeking to limit and possibly end the use of the Alien Tort Claims Act, enacted by the first Congress in 1789. Under this act U.S. citizens and aliens have been able to sue individuals from other nations for non-criminal abuses that occur anywhere in the world as long as the alleged wrong violates international law. This little-used law has often provided victims of human rights abuses the only mechanism to find recourse when courts in the countries where the abuses took place fail to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Attorney General John Ashcroft and the Justice Department have recently sided with the defendants in these cases, asking the Federal Courts to dismiss ACTA cases citing concern for U.S. security, especially when the nation in question is seen as a key ally in the "war on terror." In the most recent cases, the alleged abusers are not individuals or nations, but U.S. based oil companies working abroad. Workers from a Burmese village claim they were subjected to forced labor, murder, rape, and torture during the construction of a Unocal gas pipeline. Soldiers allegedly committed these abuses while providing security and other services for the project. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have documented these abuses and say there is little doubt these crimes occurred. Another case against Exxon is pending in US Federal courts.

Actions such as this further erode the protection of human rights at a time when those rights are most under threat. According to Amnesty International, governments around the world are increasing security in the name of the "war on terror" but for millions of people the real sources of insecurity are corrupt and inept systems of policing and justice, brutal repression of political dissent, severe discrimination and social inequities, extreme poverty, and the spread of preventable diseases. The "war on terror," far from making the world a safer place, has made it "more dangerous by curtailing human rights, undermining the rule of international law and shielding governments from scrutiny."

Earth Rights International is sponsoring a campaign to protect ACTA and to urge the Administration and Congress to not weaken this important law that allows victims of human rights abuses to seek redress in the U.S. courts. For more information about how you support ACTA see ERI’s website www.earthrights.org.

Action for Justice in Guatemalan Genocide
The Religious Task Force on Central America and Mexico is reporting on and calling for action regarding the genocide of over 110,000 Guatemalan civilians and the rading of about 600 Mayan villages by the Guatemalan army between 1978 and 1982. Guatemalan dictators Fernando Romeo Lucas Garcia (1978-1982) and Efrain Rio Montt (1982-1983) have been charged with genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Over the past two years, many eyewitnesses and surviving communities have been subjected to death threats, harassment, and even murder attempts, but they continue to press their cases against these dictators. Survivors need the support and attention of the international community if they can have any hope of seeing these critical cases brought to trial. RTFCAM suggests supporting the Mayan communities by writing to the Guatemalan attorney general and Supreme Court president. For more information and sample messages in English and Spanish, see their website at www.rtfcam.org.

Solidarity on the U.S./Mexico Border
RTFCAM and CMSM are members of the Washington-based ecumenical coalition, the Border Working Group that raises awareness of the problems on the US/Mexico border and advocates for changes in US law and policy to protect the rights of migrants and refugees along the border and throughout the country. The BWG is part of a nation-wide coalition sponsoring the Border Pilgrimage "A Journey of Hope and Life Along the US/Mexico border" October 27-November 2, 2003. The pilgrimage will begin in both San Diego/Tijuana and Brownville/Matamoro on Monday, October 27 and end in El Paso/Juarez the weekend of October 31-November 2. Activities will include cultural celebrations, solidarity actions along the border, interfaith services, workshops on border issues, and a special "Mass at the Border Fence" celebrated in El Paso to commemorate the Day of the Dead. Mor more information contact the Maryknoll Border Team in El Paso at 915-543-6771 or borderpilgrimage@yahoo.com or Joan Maruskin of Church World Service at 202-544-2350 or jmaruskin@churchworldservice.org.

The Border Working Group has published an 18-page study and information guide about the border that you can download from the web. The guide includes information about border enforcement and deaths, racism at the border, environmental issues, personal stories, statements from religious groups, and resources. It is an excellent resource for anyone interested in learning more about the border and wanting to take effective action to help change the situation on the border. The guide is hosted on the RTFCAM website in PFD format at www.rtfcam.org.

Stan De Boe, OSST
Editor

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