Diritti al punto - September 2024

On 29 August, Bangladesh signed the UN Convention against Enforced Disappearances. A decisive step forward in safeguarding fundamental rights in a country that in recent years has recorded an increase in cases of enforced disappearances. However, ratification of the Convention represents only a first step; Bangladesh will need to commit to implementing the Convention and making the protection of rights effective.

On 31 July 2024, the Dixinn Court in Guinea convicted eight people, including former military junta leader Dadis Camara, of crimes against humanity. The verdict comes fifteen years after the killings and violence perpetrated by police in 2009 against thousands of people gathered in Conakry's stadium to oppose Camara's candidacy. The decision represents a landmark ruling and a victory for human rights justice in Africa.

In early September, the detention of the Médecins Sans Frontières ship, Geo Barents, was suspended. Unfortunately, rescue operations were halted once again in late September by another detention order, under the Piantedosi Decree, converted into law. Amnesty International has repeatedly spoken out, criticising such measures that target NGOs by preventing them from carrying out search and rescue operations at sea, rather than focusing on the need for European states to cooperate to ensure prompt, safe disembarkations and responsibility-sharing mechanisms for assisting refugees and migrants.

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On 29 August 2024, Bangladesh took a significant step forward in safeguarding fundamental freedoms by signing the United Nations International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. This treaty, adopted in 2006, aims to prevent and punish a phenomenon that has raised growing concern globally.

In recent years, the country has witnessed an alarming rise in enforced disappearances, often attributed to government agents or their supporters. These violations have drawn the attention of several international organisations, including Amnesty International, which has denounced the government for intensifying the crackdown on freedom of expression through restrictive laws targeting journalists and activists.

The signing of the UN Convention therefore marks a crucial moment towards greater protection of fundamental rights, binding the authorities to adopt concrete measures to prevent further abuses and prosecute those responsible.

Furthermore, ratification could facilitate dialogue with other states. While the international community has welcomed this decision, civil rights organisations have maintained that accession to the treaty must translate into concrete action. Indeed, the current context, marked by repression and violence, demands a substantial commitment to addressing these violations. Signing the Convention also offers Bangladesh the opportunity to renew dialogue with the United Nations, thereby leading to increased support and cooperation on human rights, including training programmes for police forces and judicial institutions. International cooperation could enhance local capacities and foster an environment where human rights are respected and protected.

In conclusion, Bangladesh's signing of the UN Convention represents an important step forward, but genuine change will depend on the effective implementation of the announced reforms. The international community will remain vigilant, hoping that this decision leads to a tangible improvement in the human rights situation in the country.

However, other challenges remain. The culture of impunity is deeply entrenched across many institutions, and a lack of political will could hinder the implementation of the necessary measures. In addition, the lack of transparency in investigations and judicial proceedings constitutes a further obstacle. To prevent the Convention from becoming a mere formal document, continuous monitoring by local NGOs will be essential.

It is just past 12:00 on 28 September 2009, and tens of thousands of people are under siege. Inside the stadium of the capital, Conakry, Guinean security forces open fire on men and women demonstrating against the announcement by incumbent military junta leader Dadis Camara that he would stand for the country's presidency.

150 dead, hundreds injured, and hundreds of young women subjected to violence, rape, and enslavement by soldiers. In the wake of this appalling wave of violence, the sole objective was to conceal the tragedy, so security forces decided to seal off the stadium entrances and remove the corpses to bury them in mass graves.

Among the victims' testimonies is that of Fatoumata Barry, who on 15 March 2023 recounted in court that she was first struck by police before officers cut off her clothes with a knife and repeatedly raped and beat her with a piece of wood. For 10 years, Fatoumata kept her torn, blood-stained dress in a plastic bag alongside a CT scan of her fractured shoulder blade, as evidence of the sexual violence suffered at the hands of a Guinean soldier.

Amid political, financial, and logistical hurdles, an internal investigation began in October 2009 and concluded at the end of 2017. There was little hope of securing justice, especially given the widespread impunity for crimes within the country.

The survivors of the atrocities, the victims' relatives, and civil society groups fought for more than 14 years to demand accountability for what happened that day in the Conakry stadium. Many organisations championed the justice campaign: leading the way was Amnesty International, alongside the Association of Victims, Parents and Friends of the 28 September Massacre, Equal Rights for All, the Guinean Human Rights Organisation, the International Federation for Human Rights, and Human Rights Watch.

On 31 July 2024, the Dixinn Court, relocated to the Conakry Court of Appeal, convicted eight individuals of crimes against humanity: Moussa Dadis Camara himself, Moussa Tiegboro Camara, Marcel Guilavogui, Blaise Gomou, Paul Mansa Guilavogui, Mamadou Aliou Keita, Claude Pivi, and Aboubacar Diakité. The former head of the military junta was sentenced to 20 years; Pivi, currently a fugitive, to life imprisonment; and the others to sentences ranging between 10 and 20 years.

The Court's decision to reclassify the events specifically as "crimes against humanity" made it possible to acknowledge the gravity of the acts committed, including sexual crimes.

A landmark verdict, therefore, sending a clear message to political leaders, authorities, and civil society. A message of hope aimed at ensuring that crimes and violence do not go unpunished and that personal liberty, freedom of assembly, and freedom of thought are fundamental rights; thus, years of trials and judicial delays will not prevent justice from being served.

On 11 September, the Geo Barents, the search and rescue ship operated by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), was able to resume navigation. The 60-day administrative detention order imposed on the vessel for allegedly breaching requirements under the Piantedosi Decree—specifically regarding failures to communicate rescue operations to the designated maritime safety authorities (editor's note: the Libyan Coast Guard)—was suspended. The detention order had been issued following rescue operations carried out on 23 August in the central Mediterranean. According to Italian authorities, the vessel failed to provide timely information to the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) and endangered lives. These allegations were rejected by Médecins Sans Frontières and were based on information provided by the Libyan Coast Guard.

In suspending the order, the judge of the Civil Court of Salerno stated that: "prolonging the administrative detention would irreversibly undermine the right of the Geo Barents to carry out its search and rescue operations at sea, preventing it from pursuing its humanitarian objectives in accordance with constitutional principles and customary international law, which Italy adheres to and is bound to promote" (Art. 117 of the Constitution). This ruling reaffirmed the importance of maritime rescue operations complying with principles of protecting human life and providing assistance, which cannot be hindered by excessively restrictive administrative measures.

Unfortunately, this freedom was short-lived: on 23 September, the vessel Geo Barents was subjected to a new detention order, followed by a Port State Control inspection that identified eight technical deficiencies. MSF announced its intention to appeal.

The Piantedosi Decree (converted into Law 15/2023) has radically altered the operational environment for humanitarian organisations working in the Mediterranean.

The law requires NGO vessels, following each rescue operation, to immediately request a port of safety and head directly towards it without conducting further rescue operations en route, unless otherwise authorised. In the event of a breach, vessels risk penalties that may include fines of up to €50,000, administrative detention, or even vessel seizure. In the case of the Geo Barents, detention was imposed after the crew rescued several migrant boats in the Libyan SAR zone without awaiting authorisation. The situation aboard the vessels in distress had deteriorated rapidly, with many people jumping into the sea for fear of being returned to Libya. Having received no response to their requests for authorisation, the crew of the Geo Barents decided to intervene to save human lives.

According to Ricardo Martinez, MSF project coordinator, a vessel like the Geo Barents saves an average of 200 people during ten days at sea. A 60-day detention would prevent the rescue of approximately 1,200 people. These rules not only curtail emergency response capabilities, but also call into question the fundamental duty to rescue enshrined in the international law of the sea. The case of the Geo Barents and the subsequent court ruling represent an important step in defending rescue operations in the Mediterranean, yet the situation remains critical.

As early as February 2023, immediately following the publication of the Piantedosi Decree-Law, Amnesty expressed severe criticism, deploring that “these measures target NGOs and fail to address the core issues driving human rights violations documented in the central Mediterranean, such as European states' failure to act in line with international law and standards; their reluctance to cooperate to ensure prompt disembarkations and responsibility-sharing mechanisms for assisting refugees and migrants; and their efforts to instrumentalise search and rescue operations to ensure as many people as possible are returned to Libya, despite it not being a safe country.”

Just over a month later, on 18 March, Amnesty International returned to highlight the “avoidable loss of life at sea” in the aftermath of the Cutro tragedy, reiterating that this tragic event off the Calabrian coast and many others represent the predictable outcome of laws, policies, and practices of successive governments that have undermined the integrity of the search and rescue system. “A weakening that has occurred both at national and international levels, where priority has been given to cooperation with Libyan authorities to intercept people over the need to ensure prompt rescues and protect individuals from torture and other grave (human rights) violations.”

Contributors to this issue: Francesca Cocozza, Gabriele Leggeri, Giulia Solferino, and Laura Guerri

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