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12. The Pandemic Strikes: Responding to Colombia’s Mass Protests
- Author:
- International Crisis Group
- Publication Date:
- 07-2021
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- In Colombia’s history of protest, the 2021 mobilisations against inequality and police brutality stand out for their breadth and intensity. Unrest has quieted for now but could soon return. The government should urgently reform the security sector while working to narrow the country’s socio-economic chasms.
- Topic:
- Inequality, State Violence, Protests, and Police Brutality
- Political Geography:
- Colombia and South America
13. “To Make Us Slowly Disappear”: The Chinese Government’s Assault on the Uyghurs
- Author:
- Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide
- Publication Date:
- 11-2021
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Abstract:
- The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide released a report in November 2021, “To Make Us Slowly Disappear”: The Chinese Government’s Assault on the Uyghurs. The Chinese government’s attacks on the Uyghur community are alarming in scale and severity. The report expresses the Museum’s grave concern that the Chinese government may be committing genocide against the Uyghurs, a Muslim community in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of northwest China. The report also details multiple crimes against humanity that the Chinese government is committing against the Uyghur population. These crimes include forced sterilization, sexual violence, enslavement, torture, forcible transfer, persecution, and imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty. The Museum’s findings, based on publicly available information, demonstrate that China is failing to uphold its responsibility to protect its citizens from genocide and crimes against humanity. The Chinese government must halt its attacks on the Uyghur people and allow independent international monitors to investigate and ensure that the crimes have stopped. The seriousness of the assault on the Uyghur population demands the immediate response of the international community to protect the victims.
- Topic:
- Genocide, Government, Human Rights, Minorities, State Violence, Atrocities, and Uyghurs
- Political Geography:
- China and Xinjiang
14. The Drug War Rages on in the Philippines: New Data on the Civilian Toll, State Responsibility, and Shifting Geographies of Violence
- Author:
- Roudabeh Kishi and Tomas Buenaventura
- Publication Date:
- 11-2021
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED)
- Abstract:
- New supplemental data for the Philippines add nearly 1,000 events and more than 1,100 fatalities to the ACLED dataset for the period of 2016 to the present, expanding our coverage of the country’s war on drugs. This report analyzes key trends from the data and sheds new light on the drug war’s civilian death toll. Download the data and check the Resource Library for more information about ACLED methodology.
- Topic:
- State Violence, Drugs, Civilians, and Data
- Political Geography:
- Philippines and Asia-Pacific
15. The Unfinished Revolution: Police Brutality at the Heart of the 10th Anniversary of the Tunisian Revolution
- Author:
- Zied Boussen
- Publication Date:
- 07-2021
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
- Abstract:
- 14 January 2021 marked the 10 anniversary of the Tunisian revolution; it also ushered a wave of police repression against human rights activists and social movements that continues to expand. As a result, over 2000 people were arrested and several died in what many see as the greatest erosion of freedoms since Ben Ali’s ouster. This paper tracks the evolution of police powers in Tunisia over the past decade and provides recommendations for a democratic and inclusive reform.
- Topic:
- Social Movement, State Violence, Revolution, and Police Brutality
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Tunisia
16. Use of Police Force: A Framework to Ensure Good Governance Over the Use of Force
- Author:
- Gary White and Natalia Alejandra Escobar Cadena
- Publication Date:
- 08-2021
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- The use of police force, either in the context of management of public assemblies and demonstrations or in the context of more routine police functions such as searches, seizures or arrests, has come under increased scrutiny around the world. Latin America, in particular, has become the epicentre of a wave of police reforms triggered by incidents involving the use of force. This publication aims to provide guidance on the key pillars that shape governance of police use of force. The paper focuses on the three main dimensions of the use of force: rule of law, human resources, and accountability. The document was built upon the work that DCAF has undertaken with police organisations in different regions and is informed by DCAF’s decades of experience supporting police reform processes across a range of countries. It offers specific examples to illustrate the context-dependent nature of each countries’ practices. While some of the examples come from countries with relatively low levels of crime and violence, the rationale behind their use of force practices is still worth considering as the underlying principles can often be adapted even to contexts that are more fragile or complex.
- Topic:
- Crime, State Violence, Violence, Police, and Power
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
17. State Violence and Public Monitoring – Britain’s use of torture in Mandatory Palestine
- Author:
- James Hopkins
- Publication Date:
- 03-2020
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence, St. Andrews University, Scotland
- Abstract:
- In his influential work Torture and Democracy, Darius Rejali argues that when democracies use torture, they tend to resort to the use of stealthy torture techniques in order to avoid detection. Using primary archival sources, this paper examines Rejali’s hypothesis by looking at torture in the British Mandate in Palestine up to 1945. First, looking specifically at torture it will show that the case study fits the hypothesis, as torture was generally stealthy, but also systemic and at times officially sanctioned. It locates the reason for the use of torture in the failure of intelligence gathering, before examining the pressures public monitoring put on the British. The historical literature tends to emphasise the concerns British authorities had over propaganda in both the foreign and local press: however, this paper also highlights the threat of pan-Arabic and Muslim agitation across the Middle East and India. After noting that torture is merely one form of violence in the state’s repertoire, and therefore cannot be fully understood in isolation, the paper aims to put the use of torture in its wider context. In Palestine, torture took place alongside a brutal counterinsurgency campaign, in which British servicemen systemically carried out casual brutality against the local population, which, in contrast to the use of torture, was highly visible and unconcerned with public monitoring. It is argued that the reasons for this casual brutality were the poor conditions of service, the make- up of the force, and the racism endemic in it. Despite this seeming contradiction of the monitoring hypothesis, the paper concludes by arguing that the hypothesis can explain the disparity between stealthy torture and visible casual brutality. In doing so, it draws attention to the importance of perception in public monitoring as well as the shifts in the factors affecting the Mandate.
- Topic:
- Intelligence, Terrorism, Torture, State Violence, and Surveillance
- Political Geography:
- United Kingdom, Middle East, and Palestine
18. Eliminating the Protests? The Motives and Circumstances of Basra Assassinations
- Author:
- Yaseen Taha Mohammed
- Publication Date:
- 09-2020
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
- Abstract:
- Since the October 2019 protests calling for reform and an end to corruption, the Iraqi city of Basra has been the scene of a chilling spree of assassinations of activists. To date, no one has yet been held to account for these crimes that have spread fear in protestors’ ranks. This paper highlights the profile of the activists, the circumstances of the killings, and the possible motives behind them in the context of Iranian influence in Iraq, the approaching anniversary of the protests and the elections scheduled for next year.
- Topic:
- Social Movement, Political Activism, Elections, State Violence, Protests, and Assassination
- Political Geography:
- Iraq and Middle East
19. Civilians Versus Their Governments: China, the United States, and the Changing Nature of Conflict and Security in Africa
- Author:
- Obert Hodzi
- Publication Date:
- 01-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- With a few exceptions, armed civil wars are no longer commonplace in Africa, but anti-government protests are. Instead of armed rebels, unarmed civilians are challenging regimes across Africa to reconsider their governance practices and deliver both political and economic change. In their responses, regimes in countries like Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Rwanda, and Burundi have favored the combat mode—responding to dissent with military and repressive means. With few options, civilian movements look to the United States for protection and support while their governments look to China for reinforcement. If the United States seeks to reassert its influence in Africa and strengthen its democratic influence, its strategy needs to go beyond counterterrorism and respond to Africa’s pressing needs while supporting the African people in their quest for democracy and human rights.
- Topic:
- Security, Conflict, State Violence, and Civilians
- Political Geography:
- Africa, China, Asia, North America, and United States of America
20. The Inversion of Human Rights in Brazil
- Author:
- Jacob Blanc
- Publication Date:
- 01-2020
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
- Abstract:
- A dictatorship-era torturer is suing one of his victims in Brazil in a stark reminder of how Bolsonaro emboldens rights abusers.
- Topic:
- Human Rights, Torture, Authoritarianism, State Violence, and Dictatorship
- Political Geography:
- Brazil and Latin America
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