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Updated: 1 month 3 weeks ago

Gambia: Free Speech Ban Threatens Rights in Vote Aftermath

Fri, 02/12/2016 - 01:03
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Gambians wait in line to vote during the presidential election in Banjul, Gambia, December 1, 2016.

© 2016 Reuters

(Nairobi) – Gambian authorities should respect the rights of Gambians to peacefully express their views on the outcome of the December 1, 2016 presidential election. Prior to the vote, incumbent President Yahya Jammeh warned that protests against the election would not be permitted and the government blocked internet communications and international calls.

Although the two-week election campaign was peaceful, and included many large opposition and government rallies, President Jammeh responded to a November 29 media query about possible protests following the elections, saying, “In this country we don’t allow demonstrations.” At about 8 p.m. on November 30, the government blocked all internet services in Gambia as well as incoming and outgoing international calls. Online messaging services, such as WhatsApp and Viber, have been blocked for several weeks.

“The rights of Gambians from across the political spectrum should be respected regardless of the election outcome,” said Babatunde Olugboji, deputy program director at Human Rights Watch. “The government must publicly endorse the right to peaceful assembly and end the telecommunications ban.”

The election is the fifth time that Jammeh has sought a new five-year term since coming to power in a 1994 coup. Human Rights Watch raised concerns about the fairness of the election in a November 2 report, describing how Jammeh secured a political advantage through a crackdown on the opposition, domination of state media, and the use of state resources for campaigning.

Jammeh faced two challengers for president: Adama Barrow, the representative of a coalition of eight opposition parties, and Mama Kandeh, of the opposition party Gambian Democratic Congress. Election results are expected to be announced in the evening of December 1 or on December 2. The candidate who won the most votes will be the winner, with no second-round voting.

Jammeh’s threat to prohibit demonstrations heightens the risk of arbitrary arrests and other serious human rights abuses, particularly after the election results are announced. In April and May, Gambian security forces arbitrarily arrested more than 90 opposition activists for participating in peaceful protests, with dozens beaten at the time of arrest or while in detention. 30 protesters were later sentenced to three-year prison terms. Two opposition activists have died in custody, at least one as a result of torture by security forces.

The government’s clampdown on the internet and international phone calls will harm Gambians’ abilities to share information with media organizations and nongovernmental groups outside the country, including reports of human rights violations. The Gambian government has a long track record of intimidating journalists, which has made news and nongovernmental organizations outside the country a vital source of information.

On November 4, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which has its headquarters in Banjul, called on the Gambian government to ensure that elections are free, fair, and peaceful, refrain from the use of excessive and disproportionate force against protesters, and immediately lift all restrictions to internet and social media networks.

The Gambian government should immediately end all blocks on the internet and telephone communications. As the election results are announced, Gambian police should whenever possible allow peaceful demonstrations to occur, even if they are unplanned or spontaneous.

Law enforcement officials, in carrying out their duties, should as far as possible use non-violent means before resorting to the use of force. If it is absolutely necessary to disperse demonstrators because of an imminent threat to public order, the security forces should use the minimum force necessary in accordance with the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials.

“The government’s communications cutoff and threatened protest ban are only likely to increase tensions between the government and opposition groups,” Olugboji said. “Gambians’ rights to express their political opinions free from government interference do not end once the election is over.”

Categories: Africa

Boko Haram Food Crisis Demands Cooperation and Accountability

Fri, 02/12/2016 - 01:03

Snatched schoolgirls and suicide bomb blasts have long been the enduring images of Nigeria’s Boko Haram conflict. But now the violence is represented by thousands of new faces: those of starving children.

Scenes like these haven’t been seen here since the 1967-70 war with secessionist Biafra.

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Women and children gather at the water point at an internally displaced people’s camp in Maiduguri, Nigeria, December, 1, 2016. © 2016 Reuters

 

As many as 4.5 million people need food aid in the northeast of the country, according to the UN’s World Food Programme. It warns that “famine-like conditions” may be occurring in remote pockets of certain states. Food shortages are the inevitable consequence of the seven-year insurgency that has displaced more than 2.5 million people.

Several planting seasons have passed with little farming activity in the affected states of Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa. The conflict areas are hard to reach, but reports hint at the deliberate destruction of farm production by both sides, as well as the targeting of civilians.

Restrictions The Nigerian government’s focus on an almost exclusively military response has Boko Haram on the run. With the help of neighboring countries – Chad, Cameroon, and Niger – most of the territory previously held by the insurgents has been recovered.

But one major problem is that this military success has not been accompanied by a rigorous de-mining program. Fear of Boko Haram mines means far from all the land is back in production, in what is an agriculturally rich region.

The insurgents are also an ever-present threat in the countryside, beyond the villages and towns. That has limited the humanitarian response to this crisis, as well as the return of government services.

Fearing infiltration, the authorities have severely restricted movement around the settlements they have recaptured. Residents, mostly women and children, have been evacuated into camps strictly supervised by security forces. That has had a severe impact on the rural economy, along with people’s freedom of movement.

Take Baga, a fishing settlement in northern Borno State, for example. It was recovered by government forces in April 2015, after its near-destruction by Boko Haram. But because of the security restrictions imposed by the army, fishing has ground to a halt and trade with local communities is prevented. Baga is running out of food.

Internment The displacement camps and temporary settlements in Borno, most of them crammed into the state capital, Maiduguri, have become huge internment centers. Food supplies from the meagre harvests in areas less affected by the conflict and relief materials donated by international and local aid organizations fall woefully short of the needs of the displaced population.   As though the problems posed by the shortages are not bad enough, the distribution of relief material is fraught with allegations of corruption, mismanagement, fraud, and outright theft by government officials.   And rather than conducting transparent investigations and addressing the problems, the federal and state authorities in charge of the camps have issued blanket and vague denials.   Need for transparency In July, a state official in Maiduguri told me that she could not discuss the food supply for displaced people because the government had declared the issue a “state secret.”

That response echoes the National Emergency Management Agency’s denial of a Médecins Sans Frontières report highlighting the health crisis in June among the displaced in the town of Bama, where it said up to 30 people were dying daily from hunger and disease.

The head of NEMA, the federal agency responsible for responding to internal crises, accused MSF of using the report as a ploy to attract donor funding.

It was therefore gratifying to see the federal government respond quickly and positively to a Human Rights Watch report that detailed the sexual exploitation and abuse of displaced women and girls by government officials. Police and intelligence officers were swiftly deployed to investigate.

This response should set the tone for improved conduct by all officials tasked with protecting and supporting displaced people. It presents a great opportunity to institutionalize reforms in the vetting and training of staff, reforms that priorities accountability.

Long way to go Aid programming must include gender and human rights awareness, and allow for the thorough monitoring and investigation of abuse and misconduct, including in food distribution.   There is still a long way to go. The latest news from Maiduguri is that the state authorities – apparently unhappy about the negative publicity that followed the sexual abuse report – have tightened restrictions around the camps.
Categories: Africa

Uganda: Investigate Killings in Rwenzori Region

Tue, 29/11/2016 - 00:56

(Nairobi) – Ugandan authorities should investigate the conduct of security forces in response to recent clashes in western Uganda, Human Rights Watch said today. Security forces killed dozens of people and arrested at least 139 during violence on November 26 and 27, 2016, in the town of Kasese between Royal Guards of the region’s cultural kingdom, Obusinga bwa Rwenzururu (Bakonzo), and government forces.

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The grave of Anna Kuguma, who was killed in Katumba, Kirumya sub-county in Bundibugyo district, Uganda, around February 27, 2016.

© 2016 Human Rights Watch

Many details of the violence, including the total death toll, remain unclear. Police have stated that 46 Royal Guards were killed and 139 others arrested following attacks on several police stations on November 26, during which at least 14 police officers were killed. The king was also arrested on November 27, and eventually transferred to Nalufenya police post in Jinja, Eastern Uganda, where he is still being held. Police have not yet said what, if any, charges will be brought against him. There is no independent corroboration of affiliation or total number of those killed.

“The events on November 26 and 27 are yet another tragic loss of life in the Rwenzori region, which has already suffered many deaths,” said Maria Burnett, associate Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “The government needs to investigate and put equal effort into prosecuting crimes by both sides, including government security or intelligence forces, and address grievances in the community, or the violence in the region may ignite again.”

Photographs of what appeared to be dead bodies, some of men with their hands tied behind their backs, circulated on social media on November 27. Police have blocked access to the area around the palace in Kasese and families are not being permitted to collect bodies.

Police also arrested a prominent journalist, Joy Doreen Biira, and charged her with “abetting terrorism,” then released her. Police allege she was not permitted to photograph some events during the violence. Journalists should be able to report on events of public interest without fear of arrest or intimidation from state forces, Human Rights Watch said.

The Rwenzori region in western Uganda is the site of past violence. A Human Rights Watch investigation found that between February and April, 2016, members of the Bakonzo and Bamba ethnic groups clashed following contested local elections and political infighting, resulting in at least 30 deaths. During the subsequent law enforcement operations, the Ugandan police and military killed at least 17 people. One police officer and two soldiers were also killed.

For example, on March 10, a group allegedly from the Bakonzo ethnic group attacked soldiers in Hima Town Council, stabbing and injuring four. In response, the soldiers fatally shot two people. The clashes in Hima led to at least four more incidents between the government and Royal Guards, resulting in the deaths of six Royal Guards, three government security forces, and one person not affiliated with either security force. Footage of some of those events was shared widely on social media. Royal Guards are volunteers who provide security to the customary king.

In the wake of the violence earlier this year, Human Rights Watch wrote to the inspector general of police, urging him to order investigations into the killings of at least 50 people, including 17 killed by security forces. The inspector general has not replied.

In July 2014, local media reports suggested that after members of the Bakonzo ethnic group attacked police and army posts, government security forces killed at least 100 people in reprisal killings. Human Rights Watch raised concerns about the possible involvement of government forces in reprisal attacks and torture, and the limited protection for civilians in the following days.

There has been little or no investigation of the conduct of government forces in these violent episodes or into the arrests of hundreds of civilians, some of whom have faced trial before military courts, Human Rights Watch said. Some government officials, including a parliamentary committee on defense and internal affairs, and the Uganda Human Rights Commission, have conducted investigations that are understood to have been completed earlier in 2016, but their reports have not been made public and it is not clear if they will be.

Some leaders from the community said in a letter to President Yoweri Museveni in July 2014, that they have numerous concerns that the government is failing to address, including land conflicts and high unemployment rates among Bakonzo people.

All those arrested should be brought before a court of law within 48 hours or released, and everyone, including government troops and their commanders, should face investigations into their conduct that led to the deaths, Human Rights Watch said. The prosecuting authorities should investigate all instances of lethal use of force by security forces.

The United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials require law enforcement officials, including military units responding to national emergencies, to apply nonviolent means before resorting to force, to use force only in proportion to the seriousness of the offense, and to use lethal force only when strictly unavoidable to protect life. The principles also provide that governments shall ensure that arbitrary or abusive use of force and firearms by law enforcement officials is punished as a criminal offense under their law.

Categories: Africa

Impose Targeted Sanctions on Congo Before it’s Too Late

Tue, 29/11/2016 - 00:56

Less than one month before the December 19 deadline marking the end of President Joseph Kabila’s constitutionally mandated two-term limit, he still has not made any clear commitment on if and when he will step down. All while government repression against pro-democracy activists, the opposition, protesters, and the media has intensified at an alarming rate. The so-called “national dialogue” – which postponed the elections to at least April 2018 – and the appointment of Samy Badibanga from the opposition as prime minister have not succeeded in easing tensions. The Catholic Church is pursuing its mediation efforts to reach a more inclusive political deal – but time is running out.

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From left to right: Gen. Céléstin Kanyama © 2013 Private; Gen. Gabriel Amisi © 2016 Private; Évariste Boshab © 2015 Radio Okapi/Ph. John Bompengo.

If President Kabila stays in power beyond December 19 without a clear public commitment on when he will step down and a broad consensus on organizing the transition period to elections, there is a risk that protests will erupt and security forces respond with excessive force. The country could descend into widespread violence and chaos.

Congo’s regional and international partners should be mobilizing at the highest levels to prevent this scenario. They should apply targeted sanctions against officials implicated in abuses to show there are real consequences for repression and to help deter further violence. 

The targeted sanctions imposed by the US on several officials at the forefront of violence against protesters had a notable deterrent effect and rattled those implicated. But the impact could be much greater if they targeted more senior government and intelligence officials – and if the European Union and United Nations Security Council also took action. 

In October, the EU announced it would “use all means at its disposal” against individuals responsible for serious human rights violations, who promote violence, or who “obstruct a consensual and peaceful solution to the crisis.” The EU should move now from threats to action and impose targeted sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, against senior Congolese officials responsible for the violent crackdown.

In a resolution passed on November 15 with strong bipartisan support, the US House of Representatives called on the Obama administration to impose additional sanctions on officials in Congo “who impede progress toward a peaceful democratic transition through credible elections that respect the will of the people.” In a letter on Monday, Human Rights Watch also called upon President Barack Obama to take this step before leaving office.

Our research has found that these people played critical roles in the repression, and should be targeted for sanctions: National Intelligence Agency (ANR) Director Kalev Mutond, Vice Prime Minister and Interior Minister Evariste Boshab, Republican Guard overall commander Gen. Ilunga Kampete, western region army commander Gen. Gabriel Amisi (known as “Tango Four”), and Kinshasa police commissioner Gen. Céléstin Kanyama.

The EU, the United States, and the UN should make clear to Kabila that violating the Congolese people’s rights comes at a high price – before there is more bloodshed and it is too late to change course.

Categories: Africa

Burundi, a Country of Fear and Violence

Wed, 23/11/2016 - 00:46

For the past year and a half, the Burundian government has brutally crushed any form of dissent. Since the crisis  triggered by President Pierre Nkurunziza’s decision to run for a controversial third term  began, hundreds of people have been killed and thousands arbitrarily imprisoned. Pierre Claver Mbonimpa is one of Burundi’s most prominent human rights activists and founder of the Association for the Protection of Human Rights and Detained Persons (APRODH). In 2015, he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt, believed to have been by Burundi’s intelligence services. Pierre Claver, who now lives in Belgium, is the 2016 recipient of the Alison Des Forges Award for Extraordinary Activism. Human Rights Watch’s Benedicte Jeannerod spoke to him about the fear that has gripped his country, his life in exile, and his continued fight for the rights of all Burundians.

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Pierre Claver Mbonimpa.

© 2016 Patricia Williams

How do you view the human rights situation in your country, Burundi? 

The human rights situation in Burundi is continuing to deteriorate in an alarming way. People are being killed every day, every month. There are hardly any civil society organizations or media left in the country. Activists and independent journalists are living in exile. Those who remain must work underground with the threat of repression.

Since Burundi recently broke off all relations with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and declared its experts persona non grata, there are no observers left. Acts of violence can take place without any outside witnesses. People are living in fear, there is no justice, and the crimes we have documented are not punished. Burundi’s recent withdrawal from the International Criminal Court took the country one step further down this spiral of violations and impunity.

What’s more, there is no longer any rule of law or any institution: the intelligence services, which are responsible for most of the crimes against the population and report directly to the president’s office, control the justice system and the police – which are supposed to provide security to the population. 

My country has become a country of fear and violence, without any voices, without any respect for the law.

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© 2014 Teddy Mazina

What is the nature of the violence  taking place?

It is political violence, primarily targeted at members of opposition parties, people who don’t believe in Nkurunziza’s third term and people who took part in demonstrations.

The modus operandi has gradually changed. At the start of the crisis, dead bodies were found on the streets almost every day. Today, the killings are taking place more secretly: people are abducted in one province, killed in another, and buried without a trace. Families don’t know what has happened to their loved ones. This makes it very difficult to document these acts of violence.

The other type of violence is targeted at the families of people in exile. That is what happened to me. The government said  even those who go into exile can’t escape us because their families are still here. In my case, this threat was realized. After the intelligence services tried to assassinate me in August 2015 and I was forced to go into exile in Belgium, my son-in-law, then my 24-year-old son were both killed. 

Finally, the prisons in Burundi have never been as full as they are today. There are an estimated 10,000 prisoners. Even in 1998, when we were in the middle of a civil war, we didn’t reach that level. According to the information we have, more than half of these prisoners are detained for political reasons. They are accused of fictitious offenses of endangering state security or participation in the rebellion.  

How can you keep working under these circumstances? 

I live in exile in Belgium. The Burundian government closed my organization, the Association for the Protection of Human Rights and Detained Persons (APRODH). We are now working through a fragile network of focal points and volunteers who document violations as best they can, in a clandestine way. Our work has become extremely dangerous, not only for the people who work with us but also for those who give us information. The climate of fear is such that it has become very difficult to obtain information. That doesn’t stop us from having focal points, including in institutions like the police or in the prisons, among people who don’t agree with what the government is doing. We continue to publish reports, which we send to the international community as well as to the Burundian government. It’s essential to maintain attention and pressure on Burundi so that these crimes can’t be committed completely behind closed doors. 

After everything that you and your family have been through, how do you find the strength to continue fighting? 

What happened to me and to my family is what many Burundians are going through. In these particularly difficult moments, we must continue to fight and observe. Nkurunziza’s government is killing and terrorizing the population and could propel our country into civil war. This is not the moment to give up. If we abandon the human rights cause, then we will be abandoning the entire population to violence and to the absence of the rule of law. I will fight for peace and justice until my last breath. 

What does the Alison Des Forges prize, which you received from Human Rights Watch, mean to you? 

I have received other prizes for my work, but this is the one that means the most to me. Alison Des Forges was a friend. She used to visit me every time she came to Burundi and we would have long conversations on the human rights situation and on how to conduct investigations efficiently. Just one month before she died in a plane crash in the USA in 2009, we were together in Bujumbura. When I feel discouraged, I think of her and her strong commitment. 

Categories: Africa

Updated Submission to the Committee on the Rights of the Child concerning the Democratic Republic of Congo

Wed, 23/11/2016 - 00:46

We write in advance of your upcoming plenary review of the Democratic Republic of Congo government’s compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (the “Convention”). It is an update to our earlier submission, based on recent events. This submission relates to Articles 6, 24, 28, 29, 35, 37, 38, 39, and 40 of the Convention, and proposes issues and questions that Committee members may wish to raise with the government.

Related Content

Education (Articles 28, 29, and 38)

Human Rights Watch would like to congratulate the Democratic Republic of Congo on endorsing the Safe Schools Declaration on July 28, 2016. The Safe Schools Declaration suggests various common-sense actions that countries can take to reduce the negative consequences of armed conflict on education.[1] By committing to work towards safe schools for all children and educational staff, Congo has made a step forward in defending the right to education.

A key element of the Safe Schools Declaration, as well as of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 2143 (2014) and 2225 (2015), is that governments take concrete measures to deter the military use of schools. In this respect, we note that in early 2013, Congo’s minister of defense at the time, Alexandre Luba Ntambo, issued a ministerial directive to the Congolese army stating: “I urge you to educate all members of the [Congolese army] that all those found guilty of one of the following shortcomings will face severe criminal and disciplinary sanctions: ... Recruitment and use of children…, Attacks against schools ..., requisition of schools ... for military purposes, destruction of school facilities.”[2]

This is a positive move by the defense ministry, and has the possibility of serving as an example of good practice to other countries. However, Human Rights Watch is unaware of any existing Congolese legislation or military doctrine that explicitly prohibits or regulates the practice of military use of schools, let alone that makes it a criminal offense, in order to implement the sanctions proposed by this directive.

Congolese troops who partake in UN peacekeeping operations are also obliged to not use schools in their operations.[3]

Human Rights Watch recommends the Committee ask the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo:

  • How many schools, universities, or education facilities have been damaged or destroyed as a result of attacks by a) state security forces and b) non-state armed groups in each year of the reporting period, and since?
  • What action has the government taken to prevent attacks by non-state armed groups on schools and universities and to mitigate their impact when they do occur?
  • How many schools, universities, or education facilities have been fully or partially occupied or used by a) government security forces and b) non-state armed groups in each year of the reporting period, and since?
  • What action has the government taken to ensure that attacks on schools in contravention of international humanitarian law are investigated and those responsible duly prosecuted?
  • What measures is the government putting in place to ensure children displaced by conflict are able to safely access a quality education?
  • Is the obligation to not use schools during military operations included in pre-deployment trainings of Congolese forces contributing to United Nations peacekeeping missions?
  • Does the 2013 ministerial directive require any implementing legislation or military doctrine in order to carry out the stated sanctions for military use of schools?

 

Human Rights Watch asks the Committee to call upon the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to:

  • Take concrete measures to deter the military use of schools, following UN Security Council Resolutions 2143 (2014) and 2225 (2015), including by bringing the Guidelines for Protecting Schools and Universities from Military Use during Armed Conflict into domestic military policy and operational frameworks, as per the commitment made in the Safe Schools Declaration. 
  • Investigate and appropriately prosecute individuals responsible for involvement in the range of violations of international law that constitute attacks on education, including as a matter of command responsibility.
  • Respond to attacks on schools by promptly repairing damage and ensuring that students can safely return to class.
  • Ensure the provision of education in crises and displacement, and adopt special measures to ensure children can continue their education in highly insecure areas, including by reducing the distance to school, offering distance learning programs, and setting up protective learning spaces for girls and teachers.

Abductions/Enforced Disappearances (Articles 6, 35)

On June 7, 2016, the government published its report on Operation Likofi, an anti-crime campaign in which Congolese police shot dead at least 51 young men and boys, and forcibly disappeared another 33, between November 2013 and February 2014. Human Rights Watch documented how uniformed police, often wearing masks, dragged kuluna, or suspected gang members, from their homes at night and executed them. Some were street children, while others were youth falsely accused by their neighbors in unrelated disputes. The government report did not recognize the full extent of the abuses, provide a total of those killed during the operation, or call for those most responsible to be brought to justice. Furthermore, the identities of 421 bodies buried in a mass grave in Maluku remain unknown.[4] The operation’s commander, Gen. Célestin Kanyama, is now National Police Provincial police commissioner for Kinshasa. In June 2016, the US authorities imposed sanctions on Kanyama “for being responsible for or complicit in, or having engaged in, directly or indirectly, the targeting of women, children, or any civilians through the commission of acts of violence, abduction, or forced displacement in the DRC, and for being a leader of an entity that has, or whose members have, engaged in such conduct.”[5]

Human Rights Watch recommends the Committee ask the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo:

  • What actions have been taken to investigate and prosecute those most responsible for the summary executions and enforced disappearances during Operation Likofi, and if no action has been taken, why not?
  • What measures have been taken to protect street children and other vulnerable young children and young adults?

 

Human Rights Watch asks the Committee to call upon the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to:

  • Ensure that those most responsible for the abuses committed during Operation Likofi are criminally investigated and appropriately prosecuted, including Gen. Célestin Kanyama.
  • Ensure that all children in detention who are suspected kuluna and credibly charged with a criminal offense receive a trial before a competent, independent and impartial child court.
  • Release those in custody who have not promptly and credibly been charged with a criminal offense and those under Congo’s age of criminal responsibility, which is 14. Children found responsible for a crime should only be incarcerated as a last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time, and be separated from adults.
  • Support programs that provide education, shelter, skills training, sports, and cultural activities for street children and other vulnerable children and young adults in Kinshasa as part of a broader effort to decrease criminal activities by kuluna.
  • Take appropriate legal action against politicians and their supporters who provide weapons or bribe youth in Kinshasa to disrupt their opponents’ activities.
  • Assign the Ministry of Gender, Family, and Children as a focal point to promote the protection of street children and other vulnerable children and young adults and to monitor law enforcement practices related to street children.
  • Investigate and appropriately prosecute cases of police violence against street children.
  • Encourage the Ministry of Youth, Sports, Culture, and Arts to organize recreational activities and other pastimes for street children and other vulnerable children and young adults.

 

Detention of children (Articles 24, 37, 38 (4), 39, 40)

Security forces have arrested and detained hundreds of children suspected of association with armed groups.[6] In December 2015, Human Rights Watch documented the unlawful detention of at least 29 children, all boys ages 15 to 17, during a visit to Angenga prison in northwest Congo. Human Rights Watch interviewed 53 detainees, including 29 children, and several prison officials as well as more than 40 Congolese military and government officials, UN officials, humanitarian workers, and others, between December 2015 and March 2016.[7]

Congolese authorities alleged the children in detention were members of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a rebel armed group. Seventeen children told us they were civilians and had no affiliation with the FDLR, while others said they were former members but had demobilized months or years previously and reintegrated into civilian life. Only two children said they were active FDLR members when they were apprehended.[8]

Detention conditions at Angenga have been dire, with limited access to food, clear water, and medical care. Children were detained alongside adults during the day, and were detained in the same cells as the adults until they were transferred by prison officials to a separate block for sleeping at night in late February 2016. Some of the children had been held for more than a year. None of the children had been charged with crimes, or had access to lawyers or their families.[9]

Several weeks after Human Rights Watch’s research into the detention conditions at Angenga prison was published, the government and the UN in a joint mission removed many of the children.[10]

Human Rights Watch recommends the Committee ask the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo:

  • How many children remain detained in the military prison in Angenga?
  • What plans does the government have for the rehabilitation and reintegration of former child soldiers into society?

 

Human Rights Watch asks the Committee to call upon the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to:

  • Immediately release all children detained at Angenga who have not been charged with a crime.
  • Strictly comply with international legal obligations to detain children only as a last resort and for the shortest possible period of time.
  • When prosecuting children alleged to have committed illegal acts, treat children in accordance with international juvenile justice standards and law. In particular, ensure that children enjoy full due process guarantees, including access to counsel, the right to challenge their confinement, contact with their families, and separation from adult detainees. Ensure that any punishment for criminal offenses be appropriate to their age, and be aimed at their rehabilitation and reintegration into society.
  • In line with international law, recognize the special situation of children who have been recruited or used in armed conflict and rehabilitate and reintegrate former child soldiers into society.

 

 

[1] Safe Schools Declaration, http://www.protectingeducation.org/sites/default/files/documents/safe_sc... (accessed October 20, 2016).

[2] Minister of Defense Alexandre Luba Ntambo, Ministerial Directive on the Implementation of the Action Plan, Ministry of Defense, No. VPM/MDNAC/CAP/0909/2013, May 2, 2013.

[3] United Nations Infantry Battalion Manual, 2012, section 2.13, “Schools shall not be used by the military in their operations.”

[4] Ida Sawyer, “Dispatches: Still No Justice for Congo’s Likofi Victims,” June 7, 2016, https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/06/07/dispatches-still-no-justice-congos-l....

[5] Ibid; U.S. Department of the Treasury, “Treasury Sanctions High-Ranking Government Security Official for Role in Violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” June 23, 2016, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0496.aspx (accessed November 3, 2016).

[6] Human Rights Watch, Extreme Measures: Abuses against Children Detained as National Security Threats, July 2016, https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/04/04/dr-congo-children-held-remote-milita....

[7] “DR Congo: Children Held in Remote Military Prison: Former Child Soldiers Should Be Rehabilitated, Released,” Human Rights Watch news release, April 4, 2016, https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/04/04/dr-congo-children-held-remote-milita....

[8] Ibid.

[9] Ibid.

[10] Human Rights Watch, “Extreme Measures.”

Categories: Africa

Defend the Integrity of the Rome Statute and a Court Worth Having

Thu, 17/11/2016 - 00:38

The withdrawals by South Africa and Burundi from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) pose a real challenge to the evolving system of international justice centered on the ICC. Coming after escalating criticism from a small number of African leaders, the withdrawals represent a loss to the court, to the victims it serves and a threat to perceptions of the ICC’s legitimacy. This pushback is “buyer’s remorse” of a core principle of the Rome Statute—the irrelevancy of official position in possible prosecution before the court. While giving a respectful airing to different views, strong court-supporting states parties must remain firm in their defense of the integrity of the Rome Statute so that the ICC remains a “court worth having.” Fundamental principles agreed to in Rome cannot be “bargained off” in the face of exorbitant and baseless demands. Even with additional withdrawals, the outcome could be a strengthened Rome Statute system.

In withdrawing from the ICC, the government of South Africa cited a purported conflict between its ICC obligations and its ability to interact with leaders as a regional peacebroker. Significantly, a South African court had found that the Zuma government violated domestic law when it failed to arrest ICC fugitive President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan during his visit to the country for an African Union summit in 2015.

There is much at stake. Giving sitting leaders immunity for the most serious crimes would create perverse incentives for alleged perpetrators to hold onto power indefinitely or to gain power to avoid prosecution. Through its current about face on global justice, the Zuma government is sending a message to the nearly 20,000 African victims who have or will be participating in ICC proceedings.

Activists from across Africa highlight the need for African governments to support the International Criminal Court in a video by 21 African and international nongovernmental organizations. 

Withdrawal does nothing to address the real gaps in the reach of the international justice system, including the failure of key powers, like the United States and Russia, to sign up to the ICC treaty as well as those stemming from the veto prerogative of the Permanent Members of the UN Security Council. These ugly double-standards need to be addressed, but the solution lies in expanding the ICC’s reach, not undermining it.

Doubtless, South Africa’s withdrawal is a blow. Its government played a vital role in the negotiation of the Rome Statute. At his invitation, I participated in a September 1997 meeting of the Southern Africa Development Community’s (SADC) justice ministers convened by Nelson Mandela’s Minister of Justice, Dullah Omar, outside Pretoria. Minister’s Omar’s objective was to work with his counterparts from SADC to formulate joint in the ongoing negotiations. Six weeks later, in the United Nations General Assembly I heard South Africa’s UN Ambassador proudly proclaim “the ten SADC principles” for an effective, independent and impartial ICC. This leadership flowed from self-confidence following the end of apartheid and the promulgation of a historic new constitution enshrining human rights and respect for the rule of law domestically as well as globally.

South Africa’s regressive step could likely provide political cover for additional withdrawals possibly by Kenya and others. Nairobi has mobilized opposition to the ICC inside the African Union due to the now-withdrawn ICC charges against Kenya’s president and deputy president. The AU has called for immunity of sitting leaders, but so far efforts pushed by Kenya for a mass walkout have achieved a much wider response.

The departure of any one state party is regrettable, but regret must not cloud perspective or diminish principle. A group of departing African states, driven by buyers’ remorse, represents a small fraction of African states parties. The court is hardly at risk of collapse or irrelevance. South Africa’s announcement has prompted an increasing number of states parties to affirm strong support for the ICC’s mission. These include Canada, Switzerland, Slovenia, Czech Republic, to name a few. The withdrawals could lead to a deeper understanding of and commitment to the ICC’s importance as the world’s accountability institution. Most significantly, the withdrawal of a few African governments has prompted strong statements of support for the court from a greater number of African states parties. This activism represents a step beyond July’s African Union Summit in Rwanda. There—at the ministerial level—five states parties, Nigeria, Botswana, Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, and Tunisia, expressed their opposition to the further development of Kenya’s plan for large scale withdrawal from the Rome Statute. At the summit, several others entered objections to the final resolution. This pushback pierces the fictitious and self-serving narrative that African governments are opposed to theICC. Depending on how events unfold, factoring in additional withdrawals, the result could be a court membership that is slightly smaller but more committed to assisting the ICC.

The next round in this contentious process will play out at the fifteenth session of the Assembly of States Parties meeting. While states should be open to dialogue with South Africa and other countries, they will need to be clear in these discussions on “redlines” to preclude re-negotiation over core ICC principles. The substantive “no go areas” should include any weakening of the provision allowing sitting heads of states to be prosecuted at the cocurt..

Given South Africa and Kenya’s revision of core principles, it could well be that the great majority of ICC countries may find there is no space for principled compromise consistent with integrity of the ICC treaty and the independence of the court. These governments are drawing a circle that cannot be squared. Consistent with Dullah Omar’s visionary leadership in 1997, it is clear that it would be better for those countries unwilling to stand for justice to leave. In the long run it’s preferable for the ICC to be, as former Canadian Foreign Minster Lloyd Axworthy stated in Rome, “a court that is worth having” than one with a larger membership linked by illusory agreement to weakened principles of accountability.

This is not to say that there is not more work to be done to improve the practice of the ICC. The court’s leadership is making progress, but there are still gaps: bringing about more efficient proceedings linked to better case selection; more meaningful victim participation; more court presence in the field and; greater impact in the communities most affected by the crimes alleged. This will all need to take shape as the court extends its reach out of Africa. It is already investigating in Georgia, and the coming years could see investigations in Afghanistan, Palestine, and Ukraine. The extension of jurisdiction will also challenge the more powerful governments—Russia and the United States—that have held themselves outside of the court’s jurisdictional consent regime. Simultaneously, international agencies, donor states and civil society must ramp up efforts to enhance national accountability efforts—the first line of protection for civilians at risk.

These steps will necessarily occur on a more difficult international landscape than the one on which the ICC was created. Back then some deemed that “history had ended.” These changes won’t mollify Jacob Zuma or Uhuru Kenyatta, not to mention Vladimir Putin or Donald Trump. That is another challenge for a court that is needed now more than ever. Precisely because the ICC represents a huge advance in the fight against impunity its path was never going be a straight line forward.

Richard Dicker is the Director of Human Rights Watch’s International Justice Program

Categories: Africa

Congolese Authorities Should Release All Political Prisoners

Thu, 17/11/2016 - 00:38

Over the past two years, authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo have arbitrarily arrested scores of activists and political opposition leaders and supporters who have opposed attempts by President Joseph Kabila to extend his time in office beyond the constitutionally mandated two-term limit. Many were held for weeks or months by the National Intelligence Agency (ANR) without charge or access to families or lawyers. Others were put on trial on trumped-up charges. 

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Totoro Mukenge

© Private

Human Rights Watch has compiled a list of 29 prisoners who remain in detention in Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, or Goma. They were arrested since 2015, after speaking out against attempts to extend Kabila’s term or participating in peaceful demonstrations or other political activities. Others were suspected of having links with political opposition figures.

One of the prisoners, Totoro Mukenge, president of the youth group Union of Congolese Youth for Change (UJCC), has been held incommunicado by the ANR since September 16, after having participated in an awareness-raising campaign in Kinshasa on non-violence, peace, and respect for the constitution.

Norbert Luyeye, president of the opposition political party Union of Republicans, has been held by the military intelligence services since August 7, along with six other party members and participants who attended a political meeting at Luyeye’s home on August 4. Another opposition party president, Jean-Claude Muyambo, has been in prison since January 2015, after he mobilized participation in nationwide protests against proposed changes to the country’s electoral law. 

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Jean-Claude Muyambo

© Private

Others were arrested because of alleged links to Moise Katumbi, the former Katanga governor and opposition leader. The authorities initially investigated Katumbi for allegedly recruiting mercenaries. He was later tried and convicted in absentia for alleged forgery in connection with a real estate deal and sentenced to three years in prison and a US$1 million fine. One of the judges described in a public letter, and in an interview with Human Rights Watch, how she had been threatened by ANR director Kalev Mutond, and forced to hand down the conviction – a blatant example of the intelligence’s agency interference in the justice sector.

Congo’s government needs to get serious about easing political tensions. One of the first measures it should take is to release all political prisoners and drop politically motivated prosecutions against opposition leaders and political activists.

The list is available here: https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/11/16/dr-congo-political-prisoners-detention 

(Many other people have been arrested arbitrarily in Congo over the years and remain in detention. This list includes only those cases documented by Human Rights Watch in the context of the political repression since 2015).

Categories: Africa

Will Ethiopia’s Year-Long Crackdown End?

Thu, 10/11/2016 - 12:25

When I met 15-year-old “Meti” (not her real name), she felt her dream of becoming a nurse was over. In February, Meti and her classmates joined a protest in East Hararghe, in Ethiopia’s Oromia region, against the government’s displacement of farmers around Addis Ababa, security force abuses, and the repression of opposition voices. When security forces started shooting, she and her classmates ran; she turned to see her brother shot dead. Later that night, security forces arrested her father and two of her brothers. Then school officials informed her they were suspending her from school for her participation in the protest.

Now she is trying to leave Ethiopia for South Africa. “I have no future,” she told me. “The government will not hear our voices. They will keep killing and arresting until we stop our protest.”

This week marks one year since protests in Ethiopia began and, sadly, Meti’s words have come true.

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Demonstrators chant slogans while flashing the Oromo protest gesture during Irreecha, the thanksgiving festival of the Oromo people, in Bishoftu town, Oromia region, Ethiopia, October 2, 2016.

© 2016 Reuters

Security forces have killed hundreds, detained tens of thousands, and shattered the lives of countless families over the last year. Protester anger boiled over following October’s Irreecha cultural festival, when security forces’ mishandling of the massive crowd caused a stampede, resulting in many deaths. In response, angry mobs destroyed private and government property, particularly in the Oromia region. On October 9, the government announced a country-wide state of emergency, signaling an increase in the militarized response to protesters’ demands for reform. So far, the announced measures appear to codify many of the security forces’ abuses thus far, including arbitrary detention. 

The government’s blocking of mobile internet, restrictions on social media, and bans on communication with foreign groups mean little information has gotten out since October 9. Government limitations on free expression and access to information undermine the potential for the inclusive political dialogue needed to understand protesters’ grievances, let alone address them.

Ethiopia’s government has shown little willingness to engage in meaningful reforms over the last year, choosing brutal force over discussion. It’s clear this approach hasn’t worked – as the brutality of security forces increased, so too has the intensity of protests and the calls for reform. Moderate voices have been jailed, and outlets for peaceful expression of grievances shuttered.

The government says it is responding to the needs of the people, and has removed key regional government officials from their posts, shuffled cabinet positions, and stated a commitment to proportional representation. But these changes fall dramatically short of the protesters’ demands for reform. Meti and all Ethiopians have a right to criticize government policies without fear of reprisals, but justice and accountability for people like Meti’s family aren’t even talking points on the agenda yet.

The Ethiopian government and its international allies should refocus attention on the need for justice, accountability, and meaningful reform – or next year’s anniversary will be even less hopeful.

Categories: Africa

UN Security Council Should Use Congo Visit to Avert Large-Scale Crisis

Thu, 10/11/2016 - 12:25

In response to the worsening political crisis and human rights violations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the United Nations Security Council will be making a rare visit there later this week. The Council members are due to visit the capital, Kinshasa, and the eastern town of Beni.  They will also visit Luanda, capital of neighboring Angola, an important actor in efforts to address the political impasse in Congo. Less than six weeks before the December 19 deadline for when President Joseph Kabila is due to step down at the end of his constitutionally mandated two-term limit, the visit offers a last-minute opportunity for the international community to help prevent further bloodshed and open political space to allow for a peaceful transition of power. 

Human Rights Watch sent the following letter to Security Council delegations in advance of their visit, with our main recommendations: https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/11/09/hrw-letter-un-security-council-visit-dr-congo

Categories: Africa

Open Letter to Government of Ethiopia

Fri, 04/11/2016 - 11:42
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Armed security officials watch as protesters stage a protest against government during the Irreechaa cultural festival in Bishoftu, Ethiopia on October 02, 2016.

© 2016 Getty Images

November 4, 2016

Minister of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
P.O. Box 393
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia

Re: Human Rights Watch Reporting on Ethiopia

Dear Minister,

Human Rights Watch notes the October 22, 2016 blog post of Dr. Tedros Adhanom, then minister of foreign affairs, on the Ministry’s website about our recent presentation to the European Parliament’s subcommittee on human rights and committee on development and concerns for our research into security force abuses.

Human Rights Watch’s research and recommendations are grounded in international human rights law, including regional human rights treaties. This applies to our research on Ethiopia and the other 90 countries where we work globally. As with all countries, we welcome engaging with Ethiopian government officials regarding our research and recommendations prior to and after we publish findings. Before any major report on Ethiopia is published, we provide a summary of our findings to the government for comment and seek to meet to discuss our findings and recommendations. Our letters and responses received are included in the report or on our website. To date there has rarely been a direct response from the Ethiopian government to our communications.

Because we have not received a response to our research queries or requests for meetings, we cannot exchange information that may illuminate our conclusions, or explain to government officials how we reached our conclusions.

We go to great lengths to corroborate victim accounts and other research findings. As a general practice we make corrections to our reporting when clear and corroborated information contravening our findings comes to light. For your information, our corrections page is at: https://www.hrw.org/corrections.

In most of the contexts in which Human Rights Watch works, we do not make our sources public or reveal identifying details, because those interviewed have genuine fear of reprisals or other security concerns. The safety of those we interview is a primary consideration in everything we do.

In Ethiopia, the government’s harassment and arbitrary detention of individuals providing information to civil society has effectively been codified in the state of emergency directive, underscoring the need for those sources to remain confidential. Detention of individuals providing information to journalists, both domestic and international, has also been previously documented by Human Rights Watch and others.

The decreasing space available for independent voices to express a range of views and to have those voices be heard by the government has contributed to the current human rights crisis in Ethiopia. Recent statements directed toward international organizations who conduct independent, corroborated research is illustrative of this growing intolerance for divergent opinions and perspectives. Nevertheless, Human Rights Watch will continue to encourage the government’s feedback on the substance of our research.

Need for an independent investigation

Recent calls for an international investigation reflect the gravity of human rights violations that we and others have documented, but also the lack of a credible, transparent, and impartial national investigation into the abuses that have occurred since November 2015. The June 2016 Human Rights Commission oral report to parliament that largely exonerated the state security forces did not meet basic international standards. No one, including several parliamentarians who have spoken to Human Rights Watch, has seen a written version of the report, which reaches conclusions very different from those of all other organizations who have documented abuses. If a written version of this report exists we urge you to publicly release it. We remain concerned that an impartial international investigation is needed and those implicated in serious abuses be held to account. We have called for such investigations in other contexts, most recently Burundi, South Sudan, and Eritrea - some of which your government was quick to support. The thousands of victims of human rights violations deserve justice and accountability.

The inquiry board set up by parliament to monitor abuses under the state of emergency provides another opportunity to demonstrate impartiality. While the lack of opposition voices on that board raises concerns, it still presents an opportunity to willfully monitor abuses and show that those responsible for serious abuses will be held to account.

We reiterate our desire to meet with representatives of the government in Ethiopia or elsewhere to discuss our research findings, and welcome specific information on your efforts to meaningfully investigate allegations of abuses, hold perpetrators to account, and provide redress for victims.

Sincerely,

Lotte Leicht
EU Director
Human Rights Watch

Categories: Africa

Free Expression and Assembly in Congo Under Attack

Fri, 04/11/2016 - 11:42

A team of United Nations human rights experts are calling on authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo to lift a ban on public political meetings in the capital, Kinshasa.

The “unjustified” ban is a sign that “democratic space is rapidly dissipating in the DRC, with human rights organizations and opposition parties bearing the brunt of the repression,” the experts said in statement today.

Since early 2015, Congolese authorities have systematically repressed the growing coalition calling for a peaceful transition of power. The Kinshasa ban was announced just after security forces responded to protests in Kinshasa with lethal force, killing at least 56 people during the week of September 19, the day presidential elections were meant to be announced. Since then, at least four planned protests have been canceled after authorities said they were prohibited. Similar bans have been announced in Kalemie and Lubumbashi as well, cities home to several leading opposition figures.

The experts said peaceful protest can only be restricted in “very specific and narrowly defined circumstances” – conditions that have not been met in Congo. “Given that the country is in a hotly disputed election period people should be given more space, not less, to express their democratic freedoms.”

The experts expressed concern over the recently concluded “national dialogue” agreement.

“The protest ban and the restrictive tone of the National Dialogue agreement are both disturbing signs that democratic space is rapidly dissipating in the DRC with human rights organizations and opposition parties bearing the brunt of the repression.”

The experts’ statement comes two days before the opposition coalition known as the “Rassemblement” is due to hold a public meeting in Kinshasa. “In view of forthcoming demonstrations, in particular those planned for 5 November we urge the Congolese authorities to revoke its decision to ban demonstrations,” the experts said.

Their call echoes statements made by a number of Congolese human rights organizations, including the African Association for the Defense of Human Rights (ASADHO), the Voice of the Voiceless (VSV), and a coalition of civil society organizations and political parties that have all denounced the ban on political meetings as an illegal measure in violation of the country’s own laws and constitution.

 

Categories: Africa

Pollsters Targeted as Survey Shows Congolese Want Elections

Sun, 30/10/2016 - 23:37

A rare nationwide opinion survey released this week found that three-quarters of those polled wanted President Joseph Kabila to step down at the end of his mandate on December 19.

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Democratic Republic of Congo's President Joseph Kabila arrives for a southern and central African leaders' meeting to discuss the political crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo in Luanda, Angola, October 26, 2016.

© 2016 Reuters

Since the findings were published, officials at the Congolese polling firm that helped conduct the study say their office has been visited and staked out by suspected intelligence agents, forcing them to temporarily close their office for security reasons.

The study was led by the New York University-based Congo Research Group and a Congolese polling institute, Bureau d’Etude de Recherche et de Consulting International (BERCI). Between May and September, their researchers conducted 7,545 face-to-face interviews in randomly selected areas across the country.

Intelligence agents arrested one of BERCI’s researchers, Rodrigue Bintene Mimbo, on June 26, after two weeks conducting research in Congo’s central Sankuru province. He was held at a national intelligence agency (ANR) detention center in Lodja, capital of Sankuru, until July 9, then transferred to an ANR detention center in Kinshasa. Mimbo remains in detention, without charge and without access to his family or lawyer. The authorities should immediately release Mimbo and end any harassment of those involved in the study.

Here are some of the poll’s noteworthy findings:
•    81.4% of respondents rejected changing the constitution to allow President Joseph Kabila to run for a third term. 
•    74.3% said that Kabila should leave office when his constitutional two-term limit ends on December 19, 2016. 
•    Most want elections to happen within the coming year. If elections have to be delayed, 41% said they should be held in 2017 while 13.7% said 2018 or later.
•    7.6% said they had participated in a protest march, strike, or demonstration over the past five years. 48.5% said they would participate in a demonstration if elections are either rigged or delayed or both. 
•    57% said that members of youth groups who’ve been arrested in Kinshasa and Goma for participating in or planning protests, demonstrations, or “villes mortes” against the government were “expressing their rights of freedom of expression and assembly.” 16% said this kind of activity should cease.
•    19.9% of respondents thought that Congo’s justice system is independent, and 27.2% of respondents said that they or a member of their family had been victims of an arbitrary arrest.
•    76.4% were in favor of the creation of a Congolese tribunal to judge war crimes. Of those, 71.4% approved of foreign judges sitting on the tribunal

Categories: Africa

Map of Banjul,Gambia

Sun, 30/10/2016 - 23:37
Categories: Africa

More Activists Arrested in Lead-up to Protests

Wed, 26/10/2016 - 12:24

Congolese authorities are cracking down again on pro-democracy activists in an apparent attempt to stop protests planned for this week while spreading fear and intimidation. 

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LUCHA protest, October 18, 2016. 

© Private

Police arrested six activists from the youth movement Struggle for Change (LUCHA) yesterday as they were mobilizing students at a university in Goma to take part in demonstrations and villes mortes – general strikes – planned for Wednesday and Thursday. Another three LUCHA activists were arrested in Goma this morning. 

On Sunday, LUCHA activist Victor Tesongo was arrested at his home in Kinshasa. Intelligence agents detained him for several hours and threatened him before freeing him without charge. Tesongo was previously jailed on trumped up charges from February 16 to August 31.

Another activist, Jean Claude Ekosa from the citizens’ movement Quatrième Voix, was abducted on Sunday in Kinshasa following a meeting with colleagues. After he got into a shared taxi, a passenger took out a gun, pointed it at Ekosa, and told him not to scream. “If you cry out,” he said, “we’re going to kill you like a dog and your family is never going to find you again.” Ekosa was blindfolded and taken to an unknown destination. He was put in a cell with five other people, and interrogated that evening and the next day about his connections to the opposition and accused of being “among those disrupting public order.” Eventually Ekosa overheard the kidnappers say he “wasn’t the target they were looking for.” Early this morning, they put Ekosa back in the car and dumped him on the side of the road near Kinkole, on the outskirts of Kinshasa, still blindfolded and with his hands tied together.  
 
The demonstrations scheduled for the next two days were called for by a coalition of 173 citizens’ movements and human rights groups from across Congo, who published a roadmap last week on how to overcome the country’s political crisis. They also called on President Joseph Kabila to leave office at the end of his constitutionally mandated two-term limit on December 19. 

The planned demonstrations coincide with a summit of regional leaders and special envoys for the Great Lakes region in Luanda, Angola, to discuss Congo’s political crisis.

Categories: Africa

Clashes in Galkayo, Somalia Harm Civilians

Wed, 26/10/2016 - 12:24

“We can’t afford to keep fleeing,” said “Halima,” a 35-year-old mother of four who recently fled fighting in the contested town of Galkayo in central Somalia. “Those fighting might have big houses to hide in, but we live in tents and the bullets can easily reach us.” 

Halima (not her real name) is among thousands of Somalis affected by renewed violence in Galkayo, stemming from conflict between the Galmudug interim administration that was established in 2015, and Puntland – a conflict that is deeply rooted in regional and clan rivalries. The town of Galkayo lies on the fault line of that conflict. 

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Internally displaced Somalis stand outside a makeshift Muslim Madrasa (Islamic school) at the Halabokhad IDP settlement in Galkayo, northwest of Somalia's capital Mogadishu, July 20, 2011.

© 2011 Reuters

On October 7, 2016, forces from Puntland, which controls the north of the town, and Galmudug, which controls the south, clashed in the Garsoor area where a “green line” divides the two administrations. The outbreak of fighting comes nearly a year after another face-off between the two regional forces. Once again, civilians are paying a heavy price. Halima had already fled a year ago from fighting in the Garsoor area, which hosts many displacement camps including her own.

It is not clear yet how many people have been injured or killed in the fighting but medical officials told Human Rights Watch that at least 22 people have been killed, including at least four civilians, and dozens have been injured. Doctors say the injuries are mainly bullet wounds. Najma (not her real name), a resident of a displacement camp, saw two young men shot on October 7, as they fled the camp for safety; a third was shot dead. Residents in the town report hearing heavy weaponry during the three weeks of fighting.  

The fighters on both sides appear to show little regard for civilians or their property. Halima said that on October 7, “the bullets were flying everywhere from early in the morning until night time” across the Donyale camp where she lives, hitting several shops and tents. In south Galkayo, the director of the hospital told Human Rights Watch that during the week of October 10, they moved patients to a facility eight kilometers outside of the town as the fighting came dangerously close. The head of the main hospital in Puntland-controlled Galkayo said that on October 10, a man visiting the hospital’s morgue was wounded by a stray bullet.  

Galkayo is emptying out. According to the United Nations, at least 75,000 people have fled, including those living in displacement camps. Halima and Najma are among those who have sought safety elsewhere, finding refuge with relatives or sleeping outdoors in displacement camps on the outskirts of the town. Three weeks on, with reports of more people fleeing heavy fighting over the last 48 hours, their fate, like many others, is unclear. 

The suffering inflicted on civilians is largely ignored. Those in control should ensure civilians are protected from harm and that humanitarian aid – water, food, shelter – can reach all those in need. Those responsible for abuses owe the victims adequate compensation. Puntland and Galmudug officials need to make the safety of the population central, not an afterthought.

Categories: Africa

DR Congo’s National Dialogue Fails to Resolve Political Impasse

Thu, 20/10/2016 - 12:14

After six weeks of political maneuvering, the so-called “national dialogue” – aimed at resolving a political impasse ahead of presidential elections originally scheduled for November in the Democratic Republic of Congo – concluded yesterday with dim hopes of easing tensions in the country.

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Two dozen members of the pro-democracy youth movement LUCHA led a march to the electoral commission’s office in the eastern city of Goma, and delivered a list of youth volunteers available and willing to help organize elections, on October 18, 2016.

© 2016 Private

Under the signed agreement, President Joseph Kabila will remain in office beyond December 19 – the end of the constitutionally mandated two-term limit – and until presidential elections are held. The pact lays out a process for holding elections no later than the end of April 2018 – but doesn’t provide a specific polling day and it describes a number of challenges that could further delay the vote. The agreement also provides for a new “government of national unity” to be appointed within 21 days – November 8 – and that the prime minister post will be given to someone from the opposition.

Most of Congo’s main opposition parties either refused to participate or merely observed the dialogue, fearing it was just a ploy for President Kabila to stay in power past his term and buy time to try to amend the constitution to allow a third term.

Many opposition figures have already rejected the agreement, calling instead for a transitional leader, who could not be a presidential candidate, to lead the country while elections are organized. They also called on Kabila to step down on December 19 to avoid further delays and potential instability. Some argue that the president of the Senate should lead during the transitional period, given the constitutional provision for the Senate president to temporarily take over the functions of the presidency in the case of a “vacancy.”

Jean-Marc Kabund, secretary general of the opposition Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), rejected the agreement, demanding a “genuine dialogue.” The Research Institute for Human Rights (Institut de Recherche en Droits Humains, IRDH), a Congolese human rights group, also denounced the agreement and said it would only intensify the country’s political crisis. The Bukavu-based human rights organization Héritiers de la Justice called the agreement a “blatant violation” of the country’s constitution.

To protest the dialogue’s conclusions, two dozen members of the pro-democracy youth movement Lutte pour le Changement (LUCHA) led a march to the electoral commission’s office in the eastern city of Goma, and delivered a list of youth volunteers available and willing to help organize elections.

Opposition leaders and others have called for protests and “ville mortes” (or general strikes) on October 19.

The European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council called on Monday for “a new phase of a more inclusive political process in the coming weeks,” with participation by all major political families and civil society. Contrary to yesterday’s agreement, the council urged Congolese stakeholders that the “dialogue must lead to the holding of presidential and legislative elections as soon as possible in 2017.”

The conclusion of the national dialogue failed to ease tensions and has left a political impasse. That keeps the door open for more protests, violence, and repression in the coming weeks.

Categories: Africa

Map of Nigeria

Thu, 20/10/2016 - 12:14
Categories: Africa

Nigeria’s President Buhari Owes an Apology

Sat, 15/10/2016 - 12:00
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Kenya's Lands Minister and principal secretary in the Lands and Physical Planning Ministry welcome a group of women on October 13, 2016 who will climb Mount Kilimanjaro on October 14 as part of a campaign for land rights in Nairobi, Kenya.

© 2016 Reuters

As the issue of sexual harassment takes center stage in the US presidential election, many Africans were deeply shocked over sexist and offensive remarks today by one of Africa’s few democratically elected presidents.

Rather unusually for a politician’s spouse, Nigeria’s first lady, Aisha Buhari, publicly criticized her husband, President Muhammadu Buhari, and warned that she will not campaign alongside him for re-election again unless he reforms his leadership.  President Buhari, who was on an official visit to Germany, shocked multitudes in Nigeria and beyond when he publicly shot back, saying, “I don’t know which party my wife belongs to. But she belongs to my kitchen and my living room and the other room."

Social media almost immediately lit up with expressions of anger and disgust. Was this remark a bad joke or a personal spat between a long-married couple that had wrongly gone public? Or was it symbolic of the underlying gender relations beyond the everyday niceties about the rights of women and gender equality? Some of President Buhari’s supporters, including his spokesperson, quickly jumped to his defense, claiming it was just a joke, he has appointed female ministers, he was not talking about all women, etc.

But for anyone who watched and listened to the president’s interview, it looks anything but a joke. Under the veneer of his smile, he actually looked intent on crushing his wife’s resolve for daring to criticize him in such a public manner. Leaving aside why the first lady chose to criticize her husband in public, President Buhari’s statement is deeply offensive -- objectifying his own wife as a kitchen tool, a living room ornament and a sex object in his “other room.”

Ironically, the African Union has declared this a year of women’s rights.  While Buhari was speaking in Germany today, African women from across the continent were in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania in a landmark initiative to advocate for the rights of women. As a symbol of the difficulties faced by African women, some of the participants even climbed Mount Kilimanjaro itself with a list of demands aimed at securing real respect for the rights of women but only to hear the news that one of Africa’s major leaders was telling them they belong in a kitchen and a bedroom.

A strong response is urgently needed from Africa and beyond to condemn President Buhari’s statement objectifying women. He should urgently apologize for his words and act in a manner that demonstrates his apology is genuine.

Categories: Africa

African Women Scale Heights in Land Rights Protest

Sat, 15/10/2016 - 12:00

Rojaina and her children used to live in a brick house in a small village in rural Malawi. After a coal mine started operating nearby, she was told to leave her house as the land was needed for mining. Rojaina and her children were given little money to build a new home and she received no compensation for the loss of land her family has farmed for generations. “I used to have three fields where I was growing groundnuts, cassava, maize,” she said. “That is what fed the children. But they took it away from us. That’s why we are hungry now.” 

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Rojaina N., under the tree that served as a shelter for her family and where she and her family lived for a couple of weeks after their relocation due to coal mining operations in Mwabulambo, Karonga district. 

© 2016 Lauren Clifford-Holmes for Human Rights Watch

Most rural families in Malawi lack formal legal title to the land they live on and farm, and this creates insecurity that women often feel most acutely. When communities are resettled to make way for mining or other projects, discrimination – sometimes reinforced by local customary norms – can leave them less likely than men to receive fair compensation. And after losing their land, women are often the ones left scrambling to find some new way to feed their families. Women in Malawi are not alone in this: in many African countries women struggle to enforce their legal rights or suffer unique insecurities under legal regimes that do not grant title to farmers at all. 

Today, thousands of women from all over Africa are meeting at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania to demand strengthening women’s rights over land in rural areas across Africa. As part of the Women to Kilimanjaro Initiative, a small delegation of women even climbed the peak itself – an elevation of nearly 6,000 meters above sea level – with a list of demands aimed at securing real respect for their land rights. Their descent from the mountain on October 15 coincides with the International Day of Rural Women, which recognizes their role in improving food security and eradicating poverty. 

There are some encouraging signs: In Malawi, President Peter Mutharika just assented to a new customary land bill, which provides opportunities for women to own land and participate in resolving land disputes. Malawi is also developing a National Resettlement Policy, setting minimum standards to ensure respect for the human rights to housing and property when people are required to leave their homes. These are good first steps, but what matters most for women like Rojaina is speedy and effective implementation. 

The women climbing the Kilimanjaro have demonstrated that they can take on a huge challenge. Governments should follow their example. 

Categories: Africa

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