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Human rights
RSS FeedMorocco: Jailed Morocco Islamists on hunger strike
2012-05-16, Issue 585
Islamists who say they are being unfairly held in Moroccan prisons are staging hunger strikes to put more pressure on the new government to release them, according to campaigners who are in contact with the prisoners. Letters sent from jail by the inmates and shown to Reuters news agency by their supporters, describe a series of protests by prisoners, followed by punishments by their gaolers that include force feeding and torture.
Niger: NGO urges compensation for Areva's Niger staff
2012-05-16, Issue 585
Niger employees of Areva must benefit from the same compensation as their French colleagues, a Niger non-governmental organisation said Friday after a court near Paris said the French state-owned nuclear firm was liable. The court at Melun ordered 200,000 euros ($260,000) in damages to be paid by France's state health fund to the widow of an employee of the Areva subsidiary Cominak, a Niger company which runs an Areva uranium mine at Akokan. The deceased, Serge Venel, died of lung cancer in July 2009 at the age of 59.
Botswana: Security forces return to the Kalahari
2012-05-16, Issue 585
Botswana’s security forces are arresting and intimidating Bushmen, despite the tribe’s legal right to live and hunt in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR), says Survival International. 'Survival has received several reports that a large group of police officers have set up a permanent camp close to the community of Metsiamenong, which famously resisted Botswana’s brutal evictions.'
Somaliland: Army court sentences 17 to death
2012-05-17, Issue 585
A Somaliland military court has sentenced 17 people to death and jailed five others for life following what it said was their role in attacking an army base. The ruling by the court sitting in Hargeisa, some 1,500 kilometres northwest of Mogadishu were immediately seen as harsh and raised concerns over its impartiality given the speedy delivery and absence of independent lawyers for those charged.
South Africa: South Africa must probe rights in Zimbabwe, says judge
2012-05-08, Issue 584
South Africa should investigate whether officials in neighboring Zimbabwe are responsible for human rights abuses there, a judge said Tuesday 8 May in an order that has grave political and practical implications. The ruling handed down in a Pretoria court Tuesday by Judge Hans Fabricius was the first under South African statutes spelling out its international law obligations. Human rights lawyer Nicole Fritz, whose South African Litigation Centre joined the Zimbabwean Exiles forum to bring the suit, said human rights groups have documented cases of torture and other crimes in Zimbabwe. Under Tuesday's order, she said, investigators from a country with a strong legal framework now will be able to hold Zimbabwean officials responsible for crimes allegedly committed during that country's political meltdown.
Zimbabwe: Amnesty petitions Zimbabwe leaders over death penalty
2012-05-08, Issue 584
An international human rights group has written to Zimbabwe’s three main political party leaders urging them to scrap the death penalty from the new constitution. Amnesty International says in a letter to Zanu PF leader Robert Mugabe and the two leaders of the MDC Morgan Tsvangirai and Welshman Ncube that the death penalty’s deterrent effect is negligible. Zimbabwe’s new constitution which is being steered by the three parties is currently at drafting stage. A draft released last week shows the death penalty will be retained, but only for aggravated murder.
Egypt: Military trials continue
2012-05-09, Issue 584
Egypt’s parliament on 6 May 2012 approved amendments to the Code of Military Justice that failed to end the unprecedented expansion of military trials of civilians, despite pleas for reform from the legal and human rights communities, Human Rights Watch said. In 2011 more than 12,000 civilians, including children, faced unfair military trials which fail to provide the basic due process rights of civilian courts, more than the number of military trials of civilians during 30 years of rule by former president Hosni Mubarak.
Côte d’Ivoire: In talks, former Gbagbo party omits victims
2012-05-09, Issue 584
The much anticipated reconciliation talks between President Alassane Ouattara’s ruling party coalition and opposition parties ended much like they began: with the party of former President Laurent Gbagbo, the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), conditioning future engagement on the release of Laurent Gbagbo and the other former party leaders in detention. These preconditions not only expose the FPI political elite’s contempt for the thousands of victims of often heinous forms of political violence, but also reinforce the perception that the party remains more interested in hard-line politics than in helping end the root causes of the country’s grave human rights abuses.
Burundi: Human Rights Watch report rejected
2012-05-10, Issue 584
The Burundi government has rejected a recent critical report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) on 'the escalation of violence in Burundi' describing it as 'a declaration of war'. A statement said: 'As the previous reports were seen by the Burundi government as simple signs of provocation, the one which came out on Wednesday 2 May...is a true declaration of war against the Burundi people bound, according to the NGO, to disappear if it continues to live with the leaders it elected in the last elections.'
Swaziland: ACHPR rebukes Swaziland
2012-05-14, Issue 584
The African Commission of Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) has issued a stinging rebuke to the Swazi government - and called on it to respect human rights and take all necessary measures to ensure the conduct of free, fair and credible elections in 2013. The Swazi Media Blogspot says even though the Swazi authorities seem immune to most criticism of their anti-democratic antics and their contempt for human rights, they will surely be embarrassed to read that the Commission is deeply concerned and even alarmed by some of their actions.
Morocco: Reforms welcomed by human rights body
2012-05-02, Issue 583
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN) has called upon the European Union (EU) to continue to monitor the constitutional reforms that have recently taken place in Morocco. 'The EMHRN is pleased to note that the reforms include the recognition of a multifaceted Moroccan identity and the return of legislative power to the Parliament. While the Network also welcomes the inclusion of the principles of gender parity and the primacy of international law over domestic laws, it wishes to draw attention to the fact that the recognition of these principles remains subject to interpretation,' the organisation said in a statement.
Global: Human rights impacts of oil pollution
2012-05-06, Issue 583
This portal impartially presents the human rights impacts of oil pollution, from all sides. What are the victims, advocates, companies and commentators saying? Are the abuses continuing? Are past abuses being addressed? Are steps being taken to prevent further spills? Do victims have effective remedies? What is the latest news about lawsuits and compensation claims? The portal’s purpose is to keep an ongoing focus on these important issues, and to provide a platform to reflect the continuing public debate.
Tunisia: Demonstrators support Palestinians held in Israeli prisons
2012-05-06, Issue 583
Tunisian demonstrators have gathered in the capital, Tunis, to express solidarity with Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, Press TV reports. Demonstrators gathered on the major Habib Bourguiba Avenue in the capital on Saturday. The event was organized by a group of Tunisian activists who had gone on a 24-hour hunger strike in support of Palestinian prisoners before the demonstration on Saturday.
Burundi: Effort to block a report about political killings
2012-05-06, Issue 583
The Burundian Interior Minister ordered Human Rights Watch to cancel a news conference in the capital, Bujumbura, on May 2, 2012, that was planned to release a report on political violence in Burundi, Human Rights Watch said. The police also ordered Human Rights Watch to stop distribution of the report in Burundi. The Human Rights Watch report documents the rise of political killings in Burundi from late 2010 to late 2011.
Liberia: Taylor names lawyer to lead his appeal case
2012-05-06, Issue 583
Former Liberian President and war crimes convict Charles Taylor has picked Morris Anyah as his appeals counsel. The announcement came ahead of the sentencing hearing slated for May 16, to be followed by the sentencing judgement later on May 30. Anyah has since 2007 served as co-counsel on the Taylor Defence team. The African-American legal expert is an international legal expert, who also cross examined the actress Naomi Campbell over 'blood diamonds' at The Hague where the model acknowledged receiving 'dirty looking stones'.
Kenya: Rights groups oppose move to sideline ICC
2012-05-06, Issue 583
Rights groups in Kenya have warned of a potential miscarriage of justice after the government moved to have the cases of four people charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC) transferred to a region tribunal which has no experience in handling such crimes. Two of the suspects, Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and former higher education minister William Ruto, are likely candidates in a forthcoming presidential election.
Western Sahara: UN officials blame France for Ban's whitewash of restrictions
2012-05-07, Issue 583
When the Western Sahara report of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was watered down this year, from an April 6 to an April 11 'final' version, the first questions were directed at Morocco. But on April 16 a senior Ban administration official told Inner City Press the larger hypocrisy is France's, and sell-out of the UN is by Herve Ladsous, the fourth Frenchman in a row to run the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO).
Swaziland: Democracy movement campaign continues
2012-04-24, Issue 582
With Swaziland's economy crumbling due to falling revenues and the King's refusal to curtail his lavish lifestyle, a pro-democracy movement has been gaining steam. On April 13, political exiles from Swaziland and their supporters from South Africa and other African nations rallied outside the Swaziland Consulate in Johannesburg. Representatives from more than 20 organizations were on hand.
South Africa: Tatane murder trial resumes
2012-04-24, Issue 582
The trial of seven Free State policemen accused of murdering and assaulting protester Andries Tatane continued last week. Tatane was killed in Ficksburg during a service delivery protest, allegedly by public order police, on 13 April last year.
Africa: Britain destroyed records of colonial crimes
2012-04-24, Issue 582
Thousands of documents detailing some of the most shameful acts and crimes committed during the final years of the British empire were systematically destroyed to prevent them falling into the hands of post-independence governments, an official review has concluded. Those papers that survived the purge were flown discreetly to Britain where they were hidden for 50 years in a secret Foreign Office archive, beyond the reach of historians and members of the public, and in breach of legal obligations for them to be transferred into the public domain.
Mali: Hague court may probe Mali rapes, killing
2012-04-25, Issue 582
The International Criminal Court has warned Mali it is considering investigating reports of killings, rapes and other war crimes it fears may have been committed since January when fighting erupted there, triggering a wider crisis. 'The office has been closely following the developments in Mali since clashes erupted around 17 January 2012,' the ICC prosecutor's office said in a statement, adding it would now decide whether to conduct a preliminary investigation.
Kenya: Top Kenyan judges declared 'unfit for office'
2012-04-26, Issue 582
Four senior judges in Kenya have been declared unfit for office in a landmark ruling by a new committee investigating the impartiality of the judiciary. The vetting panel was set up as part of the deal to end post-election violence in 2008 when it was agreed to reform political and judicial institutions. Five other judges were cleared. The four told they are unfit to continue have seven days to appeal.
Egypt: Protest for human rights lawyer continues
2012-04-26, Issue 582
In two days of consecutive protest, Egyptian youth continued to demand the release of human rights lawyer, Al Gizawi, who is detained in Saudi Arabia for allegedly defaming its monarchy. The human rights lawyer is particularly contentious due to a lawsuit he filed in Egypt against King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz over alleged arbitrary detention of hundreds of Egyptians.
DRC: Mining giant Glencore accused in child labour and acid dumping row
2012-04-26, Issue 582
Glencore, the commodity and mining firm worth £27bn, stands accused in the Democratic Republic of the Congo of dumping raw acid and profiting from children working 150ft underground. The revelations come as the notoriously secretive Swiss-based company, which floated on the London Stock Exchange last year, seeks to merge with mining firm Xstrata in a £50bn-plus deal.
South Africa: Protesters grab chance for a dig at mining giants
2012-04-26, Issue 582
Two of the world's biggest mining companies endured a barrage of protests as a broad coalition of unions, individuals, social and environmental groups from as far afield as South Africa and Mongolia travelled to London for Rio Tinto and Anglo American's annual meetings. At Anglo American's AGM, the miner came under fire amid allegations its South African subsidiary is responsible for cases of silicosis and tuberculosis in the country contracted between the 1960s and 1990s. About 1,200 former gold miners suffering the lung diseases are bringing a case against it in the High Court in London next month.
Swaziland: Urgent action needed on human rights
2012-04-26, Issue 582
The Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) called on the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) to take urgent action to protect and promote human rights in Swaziland during its submission to the organisation's 51st session in Banjul. In a statement, OSISA urged the Commission to work with states to scrap outdated, colonial era offences that serve to criminalise poverty and homelessness, and allow for arbitrary arrest and detention by the police.
Uganda: Parliament passes law to criminalize torture
2012-04-29, Issue 582
Parliament has passed a law that spells out the punishment for torture - 15 years imprisonment or a fine of Shs 7.2m upon conviction. It is intended to define and criminalize torture, and provide for sanctions and compensation in case of the offence of torture, and regulate the use of information obtained through torture.
Eritrea: Human Rights Council must increase attention to violations
2012-04-30, Issue 582
In March, 44 countries called on the Government of Eritrea to end its use of arbitrary detention and torture of its citizens. Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Human Rights Concern - Eritrea and the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project welcomed this long overdue attention paid to the widespread and systematic human rights violations continuing in Eritrea for over a decade. In a statement to the UN Human Rights Council, states from Africa, Asia, Caribbean, Europe, Latin America and North America expressed their concerns about the government’s refusal to hold national elections or allow opposition parties, independent media or international non-governmental organisations to operate.
Burundi: Reopening of Manirumva murder trial an opportunity for justice
2012-04-30, Issue 582
The scheduled reopening of the trial of those accused of murdering Ernest Manirumva, a Burundian human rights defender, is a positive step, said the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (EHAHRDP) and Protection International. Ernest Manirumva was vice-president of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Malpractice Observatory (OLUCOME). He was kidnapped from his home on the night of 8 April 2009 and murdered in the early hours of the morning of 9 April.
Libya: NTC must investigate torture death, says Amnesty
2012-04-23, Issue 581
The Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) must act immediately to investigate and prosecute abuses against the Tawargha community of black Libyans, said Amnesty International today, after another Tawargha man was tortured to death in a Misratah detention centre. The body of 44-year-old father of two Barnous Bous’a was delivered to his family on 16 April. It was covered with bruises and cuts, including an open wound to the back of the head.
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