Africa - Passion of the Present

Archive for the ‘Africa’ Category

Sudan: Repression Intensifies after Border Violence

May 17th, 2012 | Author: Human Rights Watch

Sudan has stepped up harassment of journalists, censorship, and arrests of political opponents in the wake of recent fighting with South Sudan.

(New York) – Sudan has stepped up harassment of journalists, censorship, and arrests of political opponents in the wake of recent fighting with South Sudan, Human Rights Watch said today.

Posted in Africa, Press release, South Sudan, Sudan | Comments Closed

DR Congo: Bosco Ntaganda Recruits Children by Force

May 16th, 2012 | Author: Human Rights Watch

Gen. Bosco Ntaganda, who mutinied against the Democratic Republic of Congo in early April 2012, has forcibly recruited at least 149 boys and young men into his forces since April 19. Ntaganda, a former rebel leader turned army general, is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of war crimes for previous recruitment and use of child soldiers.

(Goma) – Gen. Bosco Ntaganda, who mutinied against the Democratic Republic of Congo in early April 2012, has forcibly recruited at least 149 boys and young men into his forces since April 19, Human Rights Watch said today.

Posted in Africa, Bosco Ntaganda, Child Soldiers, Children's Rights, Democratic Republic of Congo, International Criminal Court, Press release | Comments Closed

Uganda: Draft Public Order Law Would Violate Rights

May 11th, 2012 | Author: Human Rights Watch

The Uganda parliament should significantly revise the draft Public Order Management bill, which would drastically restrict freedom of assembly and expression. Despite pressure from the executive to pass the bill in its current form, key recommendations from parliament’s Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee should be used to guide revisions before the bill is presented for a vote.

(Nairobi) – The Uganda parliament should significantly revise the draft Public Order Management bill, which would drastically restrict freedom of assembly and expression, Foundation for Human Rights Initiative (FHRI) and Human Rights Watch said today.

Posted in Africa, Press release, Uganda | Comments Closed

Equatorial Guinea: Opposition Figure Wrongly Convicted

May 7th, 2012 | Author: Human Rights Watch

The conviction of a prominent member of Equatorial Guinea’s beleaguered political opposition is a travesty of justice. A trial court in the city of Bata found Wenceslao Mansogo Alo, a medical doctor, guilty of professional negligence and sentenced him to three years in prison in a politically motivated trial.

(New York) – The conviction of a prominent member of Equatorial Guinea’s beleaguered political opposition is a travesty of justice, Human Rights Watch said today.

Posted in Africa, Business, Equatorial Guinea, Mansogo, Obiang, Press release | Comments Closed

Nigeria: Show Commitment on Child Lead Poisoning

May 6th, 2012 | Author: Human Rights Watch

High-level Nigerian government participation is needed at an upcoming international conference to make progress in ending a lead poisoning epidemic among children in Zamfara State, Human Rights Watch said today.

(Gusau, Nigeria) – High-level Nigerian government participation is needed at an upcoming international conference to make progress in ending a lead poisoning epidemic among children in Zamfara State, Human Rights Watch said today.

Posted in Africa, Children's Rights, Environment, Gold, Health, Lead, mining, MSF, Nigeria, Press release, Zamfara | Comments Closed

Burundi: Effort to Block a Report About Political Killings

May 4th, 2012 | Author: Human Rights Watch

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. The police also ordered Human Rights Watch to stop distribution of the report in Burundi.

(Nairobi) − 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 today. The police also ordered Human Rights Watch to stop distribution of the report in Burundi.

Posted in Africa, Burundi, Press release | Comments Closed

Kenya: Investigate Security Force Abuses Against Ethnic Somalis

May 4th, 2012 | Author: Human Rights Watch

The Kenyan security forces have committed widespread human rights abuses against ethnic Somalis with total impunity. Between November 2011 and March 2012, Kenyan police and soldiers arbitrarily arrested and mistreated Kenyan citizens and Somali refugees in North Eastern province in response to attacks by militants suspected of links to Somalia’s Islamist armed movement al-Shabaab.

(Nairobi) – The Kenyan security forces have committed widespread human rights abuses against ethnic Somalis with total impunity, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.

Posted in Africa, Kenya, Press release, Refugees, Somalia | Comments Closed

Sudan: Crisis Conditions in Southern Kordofan

May 4th, 2012 | Author: Human Rights Watch

The Sudanese government forces are conducting indiscriminate bombings and abuses against civilians in the Nuba Mountains area of Southern Kordofan. Such attacks may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, and are creating a humanitarian crisis, exacerbated by the government’s denial of access to humanitarian agencies outside government-controlled towns.

(Juba) – The Sudanese government forces are conducting indiscriminate bombings and abuses against civilians in the Nuba Mountains area of Southern Kordofan, Human Rights Watch said today.

Posted in Africa, Press release, Sudan | Comments Closed

Burundi: Escalation of Political Violence in 2011

May 2nd, 2012 | Author: Human Rights Watch

Scores of people have been killed in political attacks in Burundi since the end of 2010. The killings, some by state agents and members of the ruling party, others by armed opposition groups, reflect widespread impunity, the inability of the state to protect its citizens, and an ineffective judiciary.

(Bujumbura) – Scores of people have been killed in political attacks in Burundi since the end of 2010, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.

Posted in Africa, Burundi, Press release | Comments Closed

Mali: War Crimes by Northern Rebels

April 30th, 2012 | Author: Human Rights Watch

Separatist Tuareg rebels, Islamist armed groups, and Arab militias who seized control of northern Mali in April 2012 have committed numerous war crimes, including rape, use of child soldiers, and pillaging of hospitals, schools, aid agencies, and government buildings. An Islamist armed group has summarily executed two men, amputated the hand of at least one other, carried out public floggings, and threatened women and Christians.

(Bamako) – Separatist Tuareg rebels, Islamist armed groups, and Arab militias who seized control of northern Mali in April 2012 have committed numerous war crimes, including rape, use of child soldiers, and pillaging of hospitals, schools, aid agencies, and government buildings, Human Rights Watch said today.

Posted in Africa, Mali, Press release | Comments Closed

Uganda: Investigate April 2011 Killings During Protest

April 29th, 2012 | Author: Human Rights Watch

The government of Uganda has failed to investigate adequately the use of lethal force by security forces that resulted in the deaths of at least nine people during protests over corruption and rising commodity prices in April 2011. A year after the nine were killed, no member of the security forces has been held accountable and only one has been arrested.

(Nairobi) – The government of Uganda has failed to investigate adequately the use of lethal force by security forces that resulted in the deaths of at least nine people during protests over corruption and rising commodity prices in April 2011, Human Rights Watch said today.

Posted in Africa, Press release, Uganda | Comments Closed

Kenya: Local Judicial Mechanism Should Complement ICC Cases

April 27th, 2012 | Author: Human Rights Watch

The Kenyan government should reaffirm its commitment to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in cases stemming from the 2007-2008 post-election violence, while establishing a local judicial mechanism to investigate and prosecute other suspects.

(Nairobi) – The Kenyan government should reaffirm its commitment to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in cases stemming from the 2007-2008 post-election violence, while establishing a local judicial mechanism to investigate and prosecute other suspects, Kenyans for Peace with Truth and Justice (KPTJ) and Human Rights Watch said today.

Posted in Africa, International Criminal Court, International Justice, Kenya, Press release | Comments Closed

Rwanda: Opposition Leader’s Sentence Upheld

April 27th, 2012 | Author: Human Rights Watch

The confirmation by the Rwandan Supreme Court of a four-year prison sentence for Bernard Ntaganda, an opposition leader, is a blow for those who had hoped the Court might protect free speech. Ntaganda, founding president of the PS-Imberakuri opposition party, is one of several government critics, including two journalists, who remain in prison solely for the legitimate expression of their views.

(Nairobi) – The confirmation by the Rwandan Supreme Court of a four-year prison sentence for Bernard Ntaganda, an opposition leader, is a blow for those who had hoped the Court might protect free speech, Human Rights Watch said today.

Posted in Africa, Press release, Rwanda | Comments Closed

Sierra Leone: Landmark Conviction of Liberian Ex-President

April 26th, 2012 | Author: Human Rights Watch

The conviction on April 26, 2012, of Charles Taylor, the former president of Liberia, for serious international crimes during Sierra Leone’s brutal armed conflict provides justice for victims and shows that no one is above the law. Taylor was convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity before the United Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone on charges that stemmed from his support for rebel groups there.

(The Hague) – The conviction on April 26, 2012, of Charles Taylor, the former president of Liberia, for serious international crimes during Sierra Leone’s brutal armed conflict provides justice for victims and shows that no one is above the law, Human Rights Watch said today.

Posted in Africa, Charles Taylor, International Justice, Judicial Accountability, Liberia, Press release, Sierra Leone, Sierra Leone civil war, Special Court for Sierra Leone, War Crimes/Crimes Against Humanity | Comments Closed

Sudan: Blue Nile Civilians Describe Attacks, Abuses

April 23rd, 2012 | Author: Human Rights Watch

Civilians are bearing the brunt of abuses in Sudan’s simmering border conflict in Blue Nile state, Human Rights Watch said today, based on a research trip in April 2012 into Blue Nile. As in neighboring Southern Kordofan, which Human Rights Watch visited in August 2011, civilians in Blue Nile continue to endure Sudan’s indiscriminate bombing and other abuses, even as new conflict between Sudan and South Sudan threatens to engulf the wider border area.

(Juba) – Civilians are bearing the brunt of abuses in Sudan’s simmering border conflict in Blue Nile state, Human Rights Watch said today, based on a research trip in April 2012 into Blue Nile. As in neighboring Southern Kordofan, which Human Rights Watch visited in

Posted in Africa, Press release, Sudan | Comments Closed