China
to amend 'martial law' clause in constitution
China
is going to amend an article in its 1982 constitution on "martial
law" and change the concept to "a state of emergency"
in a move that will pave the wave for the promulgation of a state emergency
law.
The
amendment was agreed to at a meeting of the ruling Communist Party in
October 2003 and will be put before the National People's Congress (NPC)
during its annual session in March 2004.
It
will be one of three constitutional changes to be rubber-stamped during
the NPC session, which is also slated to pass a landmark amendment offering
constitutional protections to private property.
According
to the Law on Martial Law, martial law can be implemented at times when
state unity is seriously endangered, or in times of turmoil, rioting
or chaos to security or social and public security when normal measures
are not adequate to maintain social order. However, a state of emergency
is not only in response to social turmoil, but to many other eventualities
including war, natural disaster, public health and economic crisis.
The
effort to put forward the constitutional amendment and legislate a state
of emergency law was intensified following the outbreak of Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in China in 2003.
According
to the amendment, the standing committee of the NPC will have the power
to implement a state of emergency. State of emergency legislation is
already in the works and is expected to be formally passed into law
in the coming years.
Source:
AFP
A
new step towards justice
Relatives
of the "disappeared" have renewed hope that other families
will not have to endure their suffering, Amnesty International said
as a UN working group is meeting in Geneva between 12 and 23 January
to draft a new treaty on enforced disappearance, the UN term for "disappearances".
As
currently discussed, the draft treaty would include measures for preventing
enforced disappearance, bringing perpetrators to justice and affording
reparation to victims. Also under discussion is the creation of an urgent
international humanitarian procedure for locating the "disappeared".
According
to the UN, 41,636 people remain "disappeared" around the world,
but the true figure is certainly much higher, with new cases recorded
in dozens of countries each year.
In
most cases, the victims were arrested or abducted by state agents, often
tortured or killed, but governments deny holding them.
The
working group meeting in Geneva was created in 2001 by the UN Commission
of Human Rights and entrusted with preparing a "draft legally binding
normative instrument for the protection of all persons from enforced
disappearance", for eventual adoption by the UN General Assembly.
The
working group made good progress at its first formal meeting in January
2003 and at an informal session in September 2003. In the context of
the meeting Amnesty International is calling for the speedy adoption
of a treaty giving strong protection against enforced disappearance.
Source:
Amnesty International.
