AAAS Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program

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AAAS Human Rights Action Network

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FACTS OF THE CASE:

On 12 August 2002, three gunmen in Makhachkala, the capital of the Russian Republic of Dagestan, abducted Arjan Erkel, Head of Mission for the French medical aid organization Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). Erkel was providing humanitarian aid to displaced people from neighboring Chechnya. Erkel, a Dutch citizen, has a degree in cultural anthropology from Nijmegen University in Holland. He first started working with MSF six years ago, when he undertook an evaluation project for the organization of their aid delivery program in a Ugandan refugee camp. As Erkel continued his work with MSF, he began to be interested in the refugee situation in the Caucasus and Central Asia. In 1998, he went on a mission to Tajikistan and in 2002 became the Head of Mission in Dagestan.

Humanitarian aid workers in the region have been at increasing risk for kidnapping by criminal groups. In January 2001, another MSF worker, Kenneth Gluck, was kidnapped and held for 25 days by unidentified gunmen in Chechnya. In July 2002, a Russian aid worker, Nina Davidovich, was also abducted in Chechnya. She was released in January 2002.

On 12 March 2003, Adilgerey Magomedtagirov, the Interior Minister of the Russian Republic of Dagestan, reported that investigators believe that Erkel is alive. However, information about his whereabouts or who is responsible for the kidnapping remains unknown.

MSF and the European Union have demanded that Russian authorities step up their investigation of the case. MSF released a public statement voicing their concerns that the Russian authorities have not demonstrated sufficient political will to fully investigate this case. MSF also criticized the authorities for not providing them with information about the likely kidnappers or their motives.

MSF has organized a campaign on Erkel’s behalf. In February 2003, they launched an online petition (http://www.msf.org/arjan/petition/international.htm). In one month, the petition campaign gathered over 220,000 signatures. On 9 March 2003, MSF volunteers from around the world organized special events to mark Erkel’s 33rd birthday. The events included posters that stated, “Happy Birthday, Arjan. Wish you were here,” birthday cakes, and petition drives.

(Sources of information for this case include: Medicins Sans Frontieres and the Associated Press.)

RELEVANT HUMAN RIGHTS STANDARDS

Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, Relating to the Protection of Non-International Armed Conflicts (Protocol II)

• Article 11: Protection of medical units and transports (1) Medical units and transports shall be respected and protected at all times and shall not be the object of attack. (2) The protection to which medical units and transports are entitled shall not cease unless they are used to commit hostile acts, outside their humanitarian function. Protection may, however, cease only after a warning has been given setting, whenever appropriate, a reasonable time-limit, and after such warning has remained unheeded.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Please sign the MSF petition online at: http://www.msf.org/arjan/petition/international.htm

Please send faxes, letters, or emails:

• Expressing your concern about the safety of Arjan Erkel;
• Requesting that the Russian authorities make every effort to fully investigate the abduction of Arjan Erkel; and
• Requesting that the investigating authorities provide the information they have about the case to officials at Medecins Sans Frontieres.

APPEAL AND INQUIRY MESSAGES SHOULD BE SENT TO:

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin
President of Russia
The Kremlin
Moscow
Russia
Fax: (011) 7 095 206 5173 or 7 095 206 6277
president@gov.ru
Salutation: Your Excellency:

Please send copies of your appeals, and any responses you may receive, or direct any questions you may have to Victoria Baxter, AAAS Science and Human Rights Program, 1200 New York Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20005; tel. 202-326-6797; email vbaxter@aaas.org; or fax 202-289-4950.

The keys to effective appeals are to be courteous and respectful, accurate and precise, impartial in approach, and as specific as possible regarding the alleged violation and the international human rights standards and instruments that apply to the situation. Reference to your scientific organization and professional affiliation is always helpful.

To ensure that appeals are current and credible, please do not continue to write appeals on this case after 90 days from the date of the posting unless an update has been issued.

To verify the contents of this alert and/or the electronic signature, please download the signed file for this alert along with the Program's PGP Public Key.

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