Satellite Evidence of Human Rights Violations (12): Lebanon

An amazing image from Amnesty International, of Beirut City before (June 19, 2006) and after (August 12, 2006) attacks during the 2006 Lebanon war:

Between 12 July and 14 August, 2006, a major military confrontation took place between Hizbullah and Israel, following the capture of two Israeli soldiers, and the killing of others, by Hizbullah in a raid across the border between Israel and Lebanon. Israel conducted attacks throughout Lebanon from land, sea and air, killing some 1,000 civilians. Hizbullah launched thousands of rockets on northern Israel, killing some 40 civilians.

The war caused large scale devastation, with war crimes committed by all parties, and civilians bearing the brunt of casualties. AI found Israeli forces had committed indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks, including the use of cluster bombs in civilian areas. Israeli forces also appear to have carried out direct attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, seemingly to pursue a strategy intended to punish Lebanon for not turning against Hizbullah, as well as harming Hizbullah’s military capability. Hizbullah used both indiscriminate rockets as well as direct attacks on civilian populations in towns and villages in northern Israel, which were seen as reprisals. (source)

More posts in this series are here.

Satellite Evidence of Human Rights Violations (11): Violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine State

Someone’s been taking a course on military history, in particular the chapter on the “scorched earth policy“:

After

Before

(source)

Hundreds of homes were destroyed in the city of Kyaukphyu, Rakhine state. The Digital Globe satellite image shown above, from October 25th, captures the aftermath.

In the Rakhine state (also called “Arakan” by some) of Myanmar, the unfortunate evolution of discrimination, unequal application of the law, and forced displacement into violence and humanitarian crisis has come to bear. Since June, fits of violence between Buddhist and Muslim Rakhine, and Muslim Rohingya communities have likely left tens of thousands displaced and scores dead.

In the most recent incident of ethnic clashes, thousands of Rohingya muslim, but also Rakhine Buddhist, homes have reportedly been burned down. (source)

More about Myanmar. More satellite evidence of rights violations.

Satellite Evidence of Human Rights Violations (10): Burning Village in the Nuba Mountains

On May 18, 2012, Sudanese security forces burned and looted the village of Gardud al Badry in the remote Nuba Mountains, just north of the volatile border between Sudan and South Sudan, according to evidence gathered by the Satellite Sentinel Project.

The Sudanese government accuses the South Sudanese government of backing rebels in the Nuba Mountains, charges the South denies.  Many inhabitants of South Kordofan fought for the south against the north during a civil war that lasted over two decades, and are ethnically linked to the south. (source)

This is what it looks like from above:

burned and looted village of Gardud al Badry in the remote Nuba Mountains, satellite view

And this is a ground view:

burned and looted village of Gardud al Badry in the remote Nuba Mountains, ground view

A gripping video testimony is here:

More about Sudan is here. More posts in this series are here.

Satellite Evidence of Human Rights Violations (9): Attacks on Homs, Syria

The US Administration has published declassified images that illustrate the disproportionate nature of the Assad regime’s violence against its own people and its willingness to attack civilian targets.

The first image below shows the Syrian army’s artillery aimed at the city of Homs and the fires in the city resulting from artillery shots. Those shots are supposedly aimed at armed opposition groups (that do not have artillery to shoot back, by the way) but they also hit civilians hiding in the city.

Satellite evidence of attacks on Homs, Syria

(source)

The second image – a “before and after” image – shows some of the damage in Homs:

Satellite evidence of attacks on Homs, Syria

(source)

This is the same area from another angle:

(source)

And this is a before-and-after image of damage to a hospital:

(source)

The impact scars are said to be consistent with the equipment shown in the first picture and are evidence of the Syrian government’s indiscriminate use of heavy weaponry against civilians.

More posts in this series are here.

Satellite Evidence of Human Rights Violations (8): Darfur, Ctd

(source, click image to enlarge)

Other posts in this series are here. Something on the advantages of this kind of evidence is here. More on Darfur here.

Satellite Evidence of Human Rights Violations (7): Darfur

Before and after satellite images provide evidence of the destruction of villages in Darfur. See more at http://www.eyesondarfur.org. Copyright 2009 DigitalGlobe

(source, source)

More examples of satellite evidence of human rights violations are here. Something on the advantages of this kind of evidence is here. More on Darfur here.

Related Articles

• Susan Morgan: Obama’s Sudan Moment (huffingtonpost.com)
• The Situation in Darfur Deteriorates (humanrights.change.org)

Satellite Evidence of Human Rights Violations (5): Why Do We Need It?

USHMM, crisis in Darfur interactive map of satellite images

(source, you can access this map here)

If the previous posts in this series weren’t convincing enough, here’s a short overview of some of the reasons why we need satellite evidence of human rights violations:

• Sometimes there’s no other way to gather information about human rights violations. Traditional means of reporting violations – such as field work, interviews, journalistic reporting etc. – may be unavailable, for example because there’s a war going on, or because the government doesn’t let anyone in.
• Satellite images can help to corroborate otherwise doubtful or contested information common from other sources. All sources put together create a compelling narrative.
• Images speak louder than words. Especially satellite images, which go beyond the small scale and can show the often widespread impact of rights violations. Such images can provoke activism.
• Traditional images can always be discredited by governments. It’s easy to claim that these images highlight isolated cases and that the situation isn’t as bad as some make it out to be. Satellite images can uncover the systematic nature of many rights violations.
• Satellite images can also prevent rights violations. For example, during the genocide in Rwanda, people were herded together before they were massacred. (One can assume that this type of behavior isn’t limited to the Rwandan genocide). When satellite images detect this herding, troops which are already in the country can react and intervene. Or, it can be a signal for outside troops to come into the country. (Unfortunately, in Rwanda, satellite images were not used).
• Very high-tech satellites, for example sub-0.5 meter spatial resolution, would allow identification of people, victims and perpetrators, and estimation of the sizes of populations (e.g. refugees). This, however, raises the possibility of abuse and invasion of privacy.

Unfortunately, many of this is still theory. Governments, which normally operate the satellite systems and own the images, aren’t always willing to use their tools and information for the protection of human rights.

Satellite Evidence of Human Rights Violations (4): The War Between Russia and Georgia Over South Ossetia

As is evident from the previous posts in this series, monitoring of human rights violations depends sometimes on satellite images. These are helpful for overcoming obstacles such as getting access to and information from crisis areas, war zones, or highly authoritarian countries. (This is the “catch 22 of human rights monitoring“).

This one is from the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia:

AAAS conducted a satellite imagery-based damage assessment of 24 villages around the capital of Tskhinvali in South Ossetia. Using commercial satellite imagery providers, AAAS acquired high-resolution satellite imagery (spatial resolution less than 1 meter) from August 10 and August 19, 2008, which allowed a traditional “before and after” comparison of damage. The analysis … revealed destruction concentrated on Tshkinvali and damage to surrounding villages on August 19. (source)

Satellite-based damage assessment from Kekhvi to Tskhinvali, South Ossetia (August 19, 2008)

(source, click on the image to enlarge)

From these two image, before and after, you can clearly see the destroyed houses left without a roof (some examples circled in red):

(source)

Satellite Evidence of Human Rights Violations (3): Burma

From USA Today:

satellite evidence of rights violations in Burma, click to enlarge

The top photo was taken Jan. 14, 2000. The bottom one, taken Feb. 1, 2007, shows that 17 structures disappeared. This corresponds with reports that villages in this part of Shan were attacked between mid-2005 and mid-2006, the American Association for the Advancement of Science says in its report.

There’s a whole slideshow of pictures on Burma here. More satellite pictures of rights violations elsewhere are here and here. More on Burma here.

Satellite Evidence of Human Rights Violations (2): Sri Lanka

Via Obsidian Wings:

The fighting [between the government of Sri Lanka and the Tamil rebels in the North] has recently focused on a small area on a little spit of land surrounded on three sides by water. The people who lived there were essentially trapped, and the Tamil Tigers were said to be using them as human shields. There were, reportedly, 50,000 of them as of May 15. Aid has not been able to get through for some days. Here are some photos from a report commissioned by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International (via the BBC) that give some sense of the recent damage to this area:

satellite evidence of human rights violations in Sri Lanka, click to enlarge

Bear in mind that those photos are of the same area, and that they were taken four days apart. That’s how long it took for most of those houses — which had been set up for displaced persons — to be obliterated by government shelling.

Satellite Evidence of Human Rights Violations (1): Darfur and Zimbabwe

Modern technology has provided some interesting tools to detect and combat human rights violations. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) uses satellite imagery in its Geospatial Technologies and Human Rights Project.

Here are some examples. When you look at these two satellite photos of a small village in the Darfur region of Sudan, taken in March 2003 and in December 2006, you can clearly see the destruction that has taken place:

(source)

The pictures below are of the settlement of Porta Farm, located just west of Harare, Zimbabwe. The settlement has been leveled by Mugabe, in what he called a sanitary operation to clean a “slum” (he called it “Operation Murambatsvina“, or “Operation Drive Out Trash”), but undoubtedly the real purpose was to hurt the opposition.

(source)