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Widowed, Left with Nothing

mer, 08/02/2017 - 08:14

“Before my husband was even buried, my brother-­in-­law was making moves [to take over my property]…,” a widow living in a homestead outside Bulawayo with her three children told me, “I only realised about three weeks later that I was being left out.”

She is not alone in this experience. We interviewed more than 60 widows from throughout Zimbabwe and found that in many cases, their in­laws would claim all of their property and resources after their husbands died, in many cases leaving them homeless, landless, and penniless.

This is a silent epidemic of gender­based violence. And the results can be catastrophic.

Widows in Zimbabwe are routinely evicted from their homes and land, and their property is stolen by in-laws when their husbands die.

Many widows lose everything they have worked for. Their children may have to drop out of school.

They depend on the charity of others when they used to be standing on their own two feet, staying with relatives, trying to find income opportunities. Those who can still work must start from nothing, resulting in poverty that follows them for the rest of their lives.

Many other widows I spoke to from all over Zimbabwe during research for the Human Rights Watch report “You Will Get Nothing” on the rights of widows said that in­laws evicted them from their homes, and forced them off the lands they worked for their livelihoods.

January 24, 2017 Report “You Will Get Nothing”

Violations of Property and Inheritance Rights of Widows in Zimbabwe

This cuts off women’s economic empowerment at the root, by taking away the stability of a home and livelihood, on top of grief over the loss of a spouse.

Over 70 percent of women in Zimbabwe are involved in the agricultural economy.

The loss of a field is the loss of the most valuable income­generating asset most women have.

This happens to thousands of women each year in Zimbabwe.

Relatives move in when the woman is grieving and vulnerable. Many widows are older women who may not have the information or the financial resources they need to fight a husband’s family.

Many families claim that it is their right to take the family’s property under customary law. But it is greed, not culture, that drives this practice.

Property grabbing is a problem in other southern African countries as well. Botswana and South Africa have both taken legal steps to end the practice.

The introduction of the Marriages Bill is an opportunity for Zimbabwe to take practical legal steps, too. It should make registration available for marriages of all types.

Widows I spoke with who were in unregistered customary unions were the most vulnerable.

Courts ask their in­laws to verify their unions in court. Even if they know their rights, and get themselves to court, the widows are often at the mercy of their in­laws to confirm that they were married.

Women whose marriages were registered and who are able to get legal help still face challenges, but are more likely to be successful in the courts.

Bethel’s in­laws tried to use her unregistered status as leverage for a bribe from her.

She was fortunate to obtain free legal services from a local organisation to rebuff them, and keep her home.

Where the law does not protect, it should be amended so that it protects everyone.

As a Zimbabwean, I have been working on human rights for many years. It is time Zimbabweans started seeing widows differently.

Their equal property rights are not optional, nor is this a “family matter.” Zimbabwe should put a spotlight on widows’ rights.

Property grabbing violates women’s rights, harms children, and hinders development.

For the good of this country, Zimbabwe should seek to change laws and support widows, because they are entitled to the same rights as every other person here.

Catégories: Africa

Map of Tanzania

mer, 08/02/2017 - 08:14
Catégories: Africa

Congolese Mourn Death of Prominent Opposition Leader

ven, 03/02/2017 - 08:07

Hundreds of Congolese gathered in Kinshasa’s Limete neighborhood after news broke last night that the Democratic Republic of Congo’s long-time opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi passed away on Wednesday in Brussels. He had left Congo last week for medical treatment.

Police deployed to control the crowds outside Tshisekedi’s home and the headquarters of his party, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS). Things grew tense, with protesters throwing rocks and shouting slurs against President Joseph Kabila; police responded with rounds of teargas. But grief and sadness were also palpable. Many of those gathered were in tears, others wrote messages for Tshisekedi’s family in a book of condolences; some wondered aloud what Tshisekedi’s death meant for the ongoing Catholic Church-mediated dialogue and Tshisekedi’s struggle for democracy and the rule of law in Congo. Congolese leaders and citizens of all political stripes, as well as foreign dignitaries paid tribute to Tshisekedi.

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Congolese opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi attends a political rally in the Democratic Republic of Congo's capital Kinshasa, July 31, 2016. 

© 2016 Reuters

Known as the “Sphinx of Limete,” Tshisekedi had become a symbol of peaceful resistance and fighter in the struggle for democracy in Congo. He was one of the rare Congolese politicians who had always been on the side of the opposition, leading peaceful resistance for the past three decades – first against the dictator Mobutu Sese Seko before taking on President Laurent Kabila and then his son and the current president, Joseph Kabila. Following the 2011 presidential elections, marred by allegations of widespread fraud and brutal repression, many Congolese believed that Tshisekedi was the real winner even though the official results put him in second place with 32 per cent of the vote. Tshisekedi never officially recognized Kabila’s victory. 

Tshisekedi was also one of the few – if not the only – Congolese political leaders who could mobilize people to the streets. When he returned to Kinshasa last July, following two years abroad for medical treatment, hundreds of thousands gathered to catch a glimpse of him and hear him speak. Despite his age and deteriorating health, it’s largely thanks to Tshisekedi’s leadership and his willingness to ally with others that the opposition remained somewhat, and unusually, united in their 2016 struggle to resist attempts by Joseph Kabila to extend his presidency beyond the constitutionally mandated two-term limit, which ended on December 19, 2016. 

The Catholic Church-mediated dialogue late last year gained its legitimacy in large part due to Tshisekedi’s blessing and the participation of his UDPS political party and the Rassemblement opposition coalition he presided over. This led to the signing of a deal on New Year’s Eve, which defused a potentially explosive situation and ostensibly set the country on the path toward elections in December 2017 and the country’s first democratic transition of power. But implementation of the deal has been painfully slow, raising doubts whether Kabila and those loyal to him are really committed to organizing elections.

Tshisekedi was due to lead a council to oversee implementation of the deal and the organization of elections. It’s now hard to imagine who will fill this void, and it remains to be seen whether the opposition will be able to maintain enough unity and legitimacy to see the deal through and maintain the pressure on Kabila.

Congo’s political leaders would perhaps pay the best homage to Etienne Tshisekedi by putting the interests of the country first and working together to fulfill his long-time dream of a truly peaceful and democratic political transition.

Catégories: Africa

Congolese Mourn Death of Prominent Opposition Leader

ven, 03/02/2017 - 08:07

Hundreds of Congolese gathered in Kinshasa’s Limete neighborhood after news broke last night that the Democratic Republic of Congo’s long-time opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi passed away on Wednesday in Brussels. He had left Congo last week for medical treatment.

Police deployed to control the crowds outside Tshisekedi’s home and the headquarters of his party, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS). Things grew tense, with protesters throwing rocks and shouting slurs against President Joseph Kabila; police responded with rounds of teargas. But grief and sadness were also palpable. Many of those gathered were in tears, others wrote messages for Tshisekedi’s family in a book of condolences; some wondered aloud what Tshisekedi’s death meant for the ongoing Catholic Church-mediated dialogue and Tshisekedi’s struggle for democracy and the rule of law in Congo. Congolese leaders and citizens of all political stripes, as well as foreign dignitaries paid tribute to Tshisekedi.

Expand

Congolese opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi attends a political rally in the Democratic Republic of Congo's capital Kinshasa, July 31, 2016. 

© 2016 Reuters

Known as the “Sphinx of Limete,” Tshisekedi had become a symbol of peaceful resistance and fighter in the struggle for democracy in Congo. He was one of the rare Congolese politicians who had always been on the side of the opposition, leading peaceful resistance for the past three decades – first against the dictator Mobutu Sese Seko before taking on President Laurent Kabila and then his son and the current president, Joseph Kabila. Following the 2011 presidential elections, marred by allegations of widespread fraud and brutal repression, many Congolese believed that Tshisekedi was the real winner even though the official results put him in second place with 32 per cent of the vote. Tshisekedi never officially recognized Kabila’s victory. 

Tshisekedi was also one of the few – if not the only – Congolese political leaders who could mobilize people to the streets. When he returned to Kinshasa last July, following two years abroad for medical treatment, hundreds of thousands gathered to catch a glimpse of him and hear him speak. Despite his age and deteriorating health, it’s largely thanks to Tshisekedi’s leadership and his willingness to ally with others that the opposition remained somewhat, and unusually, united in their 2016 struggle to resist attempts by Joseph Kabila to extend his presidency beyond the constitutionally mandated two-term limit, which ended on December 19, 2016. 

The Catholic Church-mediated dialogue late last year gained its legitimacy in large part due to Tshisekedi’s blessing and the participation of his UDPS political party and the Rassemblement opposition coalition he presided over. This led to the signing of a deal on New Year’s Eve, which defused a potentially explosive situation and ostensibly set the country on the path toward elections in December 2017 and the country’s first democratic transition of power. But implementation of the deal has been painfully slow, raising doubts whether Kabila and those loyal to him are really committed to organizing elections.

Tshisekedi was due to lead a council to oversee implementation of the deal and the organization of elections. It’s now hard to imagine who will fill this void, and it remains to be seen whether the opposition will be able to maintain enough unity and legitimacy to see the deal through and maintain the pressure on Kabila.

Congo’s political leaders would perhaps pay the best homage to Etienne Tshisekedi by putting the interests of the country first and working together to fulfill his long-time dream of a truly peaceful and democratic political transition.

Catégories: Africa

UN Reports Dramatic Increase in DR Congo Rights Violations in 2016

dim, 29/01/2017 - 19:55

Human rights violations in the Democratic Republic of Congo surged by 30 percent in 2016, spurred largely by a violent crackdown on protesters by state agents, according to a new United Nations report. 

In a report published this week, the UN joint human rights office documented a total of 5,190 human rights violations across Congo, an increase tied to election-related repression and increased activities of several armed groups. 

State agents – particularly the national police – were responsible for almost 64 percent of all human rights violations documented in 2016, while armed groups were responsible for the remaining 36 percent. The number of violations committed by state agents jumped by more than 62 percent compared to 2015.

The UN documented a total of 480 victims of extrajudicial killings by state agents, an increase of 63 percent compared to 2015. Many of these victims were shot dead by security forces during the violent crackdown on protests against efforts to extend President Joseph Kabila’s stay in power beyond the end of his constitutionally mandated two-term limit on December 19, 2016.

The number of violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms linked to the shrinking of democratic space in 2016 was more than four times higher than the total number of such violations documented in 2015, with the rights to public assembly, opinion, and expression at serious risk. Numerous media outlets and journalists were targeted and abused by government agents, while political opponents were prosecuted in politically motivated trials. The government also failed to mount credible investigations into documented violations, according to the report.

While the majority (66 percent) of all human rights violations documented occurred in the eastern part of the country, there was a notable increase in violations documented in the southern and western provinces, including due to the political repression across the country, the resurgence of inter-ethnic fighting between Twa and Luba in Tanganyika, and fighting between security forces and the Kamuina Nsapu militia in the Kasai provinces.

Catégories: Africa

Mauritania: Blogger Faces Execution for Apostasy

dim, 29/01/2017 - 19:55

(Tunis) – A Mauritanian blogger convicted of apostasy faces execution unless the Supreme Court cancels or commutes his death sentence in a ruling expected on January 31, 2017, Human Rights Watch said today. The Mauritanian authorities should drop the charges against Mohamed Cheikh Ould Mkhaitir and repeal the provision of its penal code that provides for the death sentence for apostasy.

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Mohamed Cheikh Ould Mohamed. 

© Private

Authorities arrested Mkhaitir, 30, on January 2, 2014, and charged him with apostasy on the basis of an article he published three days earlier on the Mauritanian news website Aqlame. The article said that some people in Mauritania use religion to justify racial or caste discrimination, citing examples from the life of the Prophet Muhammad to condemn the practice. His article prompted demonstrations by thousands in front of the presidential palace. On December 25, 2014, a court convicted Mkhaitir and sentenced him to death on the basis that he had “spoken lightly” of the prophet.

“Mkhaitir should be free to write without fear of being prosecuted, let alone executed, just as protesters should be free to demonstrate against what he wrote,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch.

Mkhaitir should be free to write without fear of being prosecuted, let alone executed, just as protesters should be free to demonstrate against what he wrote. Sarah Leah Whitson

Middle East and North Africa Director

Under Mauritania’s penal code, the Supreme Court has the power to cancel or reduce an apostasy sentence if the convicted person repents.

A March 2015 letter signed by six Mauritanian human rights and other nongovernmental organizations, and 16 African and other international organizations, called for Mkhaitir’s immediate release on the basis that the charges against him violate his right to free expression. They cited the fact that he had repented twice: in a pretrial hearing at a military police station, and again during his trial in December 2014. Mkhaitir repented again at the Nouadhibou Court of Appeals, but on April 21, 2016, the appeals court upheld his death sentence, which leaves the Supreme Court as the court of last resort.

Article 306 of Mauritania’s penal code provides for the death penalty for apostasy, but states that if the defendant repents before a court ruling, the Supreme Court has the authority to assess the validity of the defendant’s repentance and cancel the death sentence or reduce it to a prison term of between three months and two years and a fine of between 5,000 and 60,000 ouguiya (US$14-$167).

According to a 2015 US State Department report, Mauritania has never since its independence in 1960 carried out a death sentence for apostasy. Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which Mauritania has ratified, states that countries that have not abolished the death penalty should reserve it “only for the most serious crimes.” Human Rights Watch opposes the death penalty in all circumstances because of its inherent cruelty.

Addressing the thousands of anti-Mkhaitir demonstrators who had gathered in front of his palace on January 10, 2014, President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz was quoted in media reports as saying that the article constituted a “hideous crime” and the media “should respect our religion and not harm it under any circumstances.” In a televised interview on April 4, 2014, the president said that he did not believe that Mkhaitir was aware of the seriousness of what he had written.

The United Nations Human Rights Committee, the body of independent experts that monitors state compliance with the ICCPR, has said in a general comment on article 19, which outlines the right to freedom of expression, that “prohibitions of displays of lack of respect for a religion or other belief system, including blasphemy laws, are incompatible with the Covenant,” unless they constitute incitement to discrimination, hostility, or violence.

Catégories: Africa

Gambia Crisis Heightens as New President Inaugurated

ven, 20/01/2017 - 07:42
“This is the day we’ve been waiting for,” Sanna told me as he and hundreds of Gambians gathered outside their country’s embassy in Dakar, Senegal to celebrate the inauguration today of President Adama Barrow. Barrow took the oath of office at the embassy, wary of returning to Gambia where his safety would be at risk. Expand

Gambians await the inauguration of President-elect Adama Barrow outside the Gambian Embassy in Dakar, Senegal.

© 2017 Amnesty International/Sabrina Mahtani   But Gambia’s political crisis remains unresolved – with now former president Yahya Jammeh clinging to power in the capital, Banjul, and an Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) force at the border, preparing to intervene. In stark contrast to the jubilant scenes in Dakar, Banjul remains eerily quiet and on lockdown, with people fearing a military intervention or a crackdown by Jammeh’s security forces.    Gambian activists in Banjul told me they were happy the crisis would soon be over, but feared the political standoff would not end peacefully. “We don’t want to be Jammeh’s last victims,” one told me.   Since coming to power in 1994, Jammeh and the Gambian security forces have used enforced disappearances, torture, intimidation, and arbitrary arrests to suppress dissent and preserve Jammeh’s grip on power.   Barrow’s taking office could be hugely significant for the advancement of human rights in Gambia. He has promised to dramatically improve the country’s rights record, including by releasing political prisoners and ending Jammeh's planned withdrawal from the International Criminal Court.   Since the December 1 election that he lost, Jammeh has arrested a number of opposition sympathizers and army officers deemed disloyal. He also closed several independent radio stations.   Many Gambians outside of the embassy were still hopeful Jammeh will agree to step down peacefully. “We’re close,” Salieu Taal, a founder member of the #Gambiahasdecided movement, told me today. “It will be a new dawn for human rights and civil society in Gambia.”    If Jammeh does not step down, it is vital that the Gambian security forces, wherever their loyalty may lie, respect human rights; that all Gambians resist reprisals; and that ECOWAS forces who may enter Gambia respect rights and do all they can to avoid civilian harm.
Catégories: Africa

Satellite Imagery Shows Destruction from Military Airstrike on IDP Settlement in Rann, Nigeria

ven, 20/01/2017 - 07:42

Human Rights Watch reviewed satellite imagery in the town of Rann, Kala Balge Borno State, recorded on the morning after the attack and identified two distinct areas of destruction in densely populated areas on the western side of the town that are consistent with the detonation of multiple air dropped munitions. At least 35 structures were destroyed in the attack, including shelters for displaced people.

 

Catégories: Africa

Obama’s Premature ‘Easing’ of Sanctions on Sudan

lun, 16/01/2017 - 07:39

Sudan’s government has committed mass killings, forced millions from their homes, and used rape as a weapon of war. It has bombed children and schools, starved civilians as a counterinsurgency strategy, gunned down scores of protesters in Khartoum, its capital, and tortured peaceful activists. It’s done this repeatedly over more than 20 years, with no credible efforts to stop or hold perpetrators accountable.

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Sudan's President Omar Al Bashir arrives to address the nation during the country's 61st independence day, at the presidential palace in Khartoum, Sudan December 31, 2016.

© 2016 Reuters

Yet on January 13, the Obama administration announced a change to decades-old US policy, stating that it is “easing” sanctions on Sudan – even though the country’s president, Omar al-Bashir, is being sought by the International Criminal Court on charges of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

Lifting certain sanctions — like those on the import of medical supplies and life-saving equipment – would be welcome on humanitarian grounds, as the Sudanese people would benefit. But the US Treasury Department’s announcement apparently lifts most of the sanctions, including on the oil industry, pending a review in six months.

The Treasury Department asserts that Sudan’s government has shown “sustained progress …  on several fronts, including a marked reduction in offensive military activity, a pledge to maintain a cessation of hostilities in conflict areas in Sudan, [and] steps toward improving humanitarian access throughout Sudan.”

This statement is inexplicable. Many Sudanese, and those, like me, who have followed Sudan’s developments the past two decades, will ask, “What sustained progress?” Sudanese government forces are waging brutal offensives targeting civilians in Darfur, South Kordofan, and Blue Nile states. The government has broken innumerable promises over the years, so why not wait to lift sanctions until after there is real progress? What monitoring has been put in place to ensure these promises are kept?

The Treasury Department listed another reason for lifting sanctions, namely Sudan’s “cooperation with the United States on counterterrorism and addressing regional conflicts.” This may be the key. However, many of Sudan’s security and intelligence officials are responsible for crimes committed by their troops and subordinates.

Additionally, over the past two years Human Rights Watch and other human rights organizations have documented new, horrifying patterns of mass rape and other attacks by Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary force deployed in Darfur and other conflict zones since 2013. Amnesty International recently alleged that the government has repeatedly used chemical weapons against Darfur’s rebel-held areas.

Moreover, Sudan has long obstructed United Nations and other humanitarian agencies from helping displaced civilians in need. In the Nuba Mountains of South Kordofan, for instance, the government has blocked basic assistance into areas where hundreds of thousands of civilians have been battered by years of bombing, deprivation, and disease. Children have died from measles for lack of vaccinations. A Human Rights Watch team visiting in December 2016 documented new attacks and serious shortages of food and other humanitarian needs.

It’s impossible to match Sudan’s reality with the Obama administration’s claims of “sustained progress.” Lifting most sanctions sends an appalling message to Sudan – and other repressive governments – that whatever crimes you commit, however many of your citizens you kill, rape, and torture, all will be forgiven as long as you cooperate on counterterrorism. 

Catégories: Africa

Africa-France Summit Participants Should Stand With Victims

ven, 13/01/2017 - 07:38

The Africa-France Summit, taking place Friday and Saturday in Bamako, Mali, offers an important moment for African countries and France to stand with victims of grave international crimes by voicing their support for the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Withdrawals from the ICC, announced by South Africa, Gambia, and Burundi, pose unprecedented challenges for the court in Africa and could impede access to justice for victims of heinous crimes when their own country’s courts are not an option.
 

While the ICC is not on the official summit agenda, those attending can still find time to discuss how to best counter unwarranted attacks on the court in Africa.

A number of African countries, including Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, have said that they will not join the withdrawals, some even announcing this at the ICC’s annual member meeting in November 2016. But more robust, coordinated backing of the court is needed, particularly ahead of the next African Union (AU) summit, which will take place in Ethiopia from January 22 to 31, 2017.

Benin lawyer Francis Dako said it well in Jeune Afrique this week:

The major gathering of senior African and French representatives in Africa – in Bamako on January 13 and 14 [is] a unique opportunity to reiterate their public support for the International Criminal Court…. It is equally crucial for this summit to encourage in-depth exchanges between the African Union and the ICC to find solutions to shared concerns.

Activists in Mali issued a press release with a similar call.
 

Related Content

Like other courts, the ICC has its problems, but it is not targeting Africa over other regions as some critics claim. The majority of its investigations in Africa came about from a request by the affected African country. The cases it has pursued – including for crimes committed in Mali, Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Central African Republic – help to bring justice for African victims.

Hundreds of activists across Africa, working with Human Rights Watch and other groups, have called for their governments to support and strengthen the ICC. African countries can do so through a more coordinated, public stance on the issue. 

Catégories: Africa

World Report 2017: Demagogues Threaten Human Rights

ven, 13/01/2017 - 07:38

(Washington, DC) – The rise of populist leaders in the United States and Europe poses a dangerous threat to basic rights protections while encouraging abuse by autocrats around the world, Human Rights Watch said today in launching its World Report 2017. Donald Trump’s election as US president after a campaign fomenting hatred and intolerance, and the rising influence of political parties in Europe that reject universal rights, have put the postwar human rights system at risk. Expand

World Report 2017. Cover: Men carrying babies make their way through the rubble of destroyed buildings after an airstrike on the rebel-held Salihin neighborhood of Syria’s northern city of Aleppo, September 2016.

© 2016 Ameer Alhalbi/Agence France Presse/Getty Images

Meanwhile, strongman leaders in Russia, Turkey, the Philippines, and China have substituted their own authority, rather than accountable government and the rule of law, as a guarantor of prosperity and security. These converging trends, bolstered by propaganda operations that denigrate legal standards and disdain factual analysis, directly challenge the laws and institutions that promote dignity, tolerance, and equality, Human Rights Watch said.

In the 687-page World Report, its 27th edition, Human Rights Watch reviews human rights practices in more than 90 countries. In his introductory essay, Executive Director Kenneth Roth writes that a new generation of authoritarian populists seeks to overturn the concept of human rights protections, treating rights not as an essential check on official power but as an impediment to the majority will.

“The rise of populism poses a profound threat to human rights,” Roth said. “Trump and various politicians in Europe seek power through appeals to racism, xenophobia, misogyny, and nativism. They all claim that the public accepts violations of human rights as supposedly necessary to secure jobs, avoid cultural change, or prevent terrorist attacks. In fact, disregard for human rights offers the likeliest route to tyranny.”

Roth cited Trump’s presidential campaign in the US as a vivid illustration of the politics of intolerance. He said that Trump responded to those discontented with their economic situation and an increasingly multicultural society with rhetoric that rejected basic principles of dignity and equality. His campaign floated proposals that would harm millions of people, including plans to engage in massive deportations of immigrants, to curtail women’s rights and media freedoms, and to use torture. Unless Trump repudiates these proposals, his administration risks committing massive rights violations in the US and shirking a longstanding, bipartisan belief, however imperfectly applied, in a rights-based foreign policy agenda.

The rise of populist leaders in the United States and Europe poses a dangerous threat to basic rights protections while encouraging abuse by autocrats around the world.

In Europe, a similar populism sought to blame economic dislocation on migration. The campaign for Brexit was perhaps the most prominent illustration, Roth said.

Instead of scapegoating those fleeing persecution, torture, and war, governments should invest to help immigrant communities integrate and fully participate in society, Roth said. Public officials also have a duty to reject the hatred and intolerance of the populists while supporting independent and impartial courts as a bulwark against the targeting of vulnerable minorities, Roth said.

The populist-fueled passions of the moment tend to obscure the longer-term dangers to a society of strongman rule, Roth said. In Russia, Vladimir Putin responded to popular discontent in 2011 with a repressive agenda, including draconian restrictions on free speech and assembly, unprecedented sanctions for online dissent, and laws severely restricting independent groups. China’s leader, Xi Jinping, concerned about the slowdown in economic growth, has embarked on the most intense crackdown on dissent since the Tiananmen era.

In Syria, President Bashar al-Assad, backed by Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah, has honed a war-crime strategy of targeting civilians in opposition areas, flouting the most fundamental requirements of the laws of war. Forces of the self-proclaimed Islamic State, also known as ISIS, have also routinely attacked civilians and executed people in custody while encouraging and carrying out attacks on civilian populations around the globe.

More than 5 million Syrians fleeing the conflict have faced daunting obstacles in finding safety. Jordan, Turkey, and Lebanon are hosting millions of Syrian refugees but have largely closed their borders to new arrivals. European Union leaders have failed to share responsibility fairly for asylum seekers or to create safe routes for refugees. Despite years of US leadership on refugee resettlement, the US resettled only 12,000 Syrian refugees last year, and Trump has threatened to end the program.

2016 in Numbers

In Africa, a disconcerting number of leaders have removed or extended term limits – the “constitutional coup” – to stay in office, while others have used violent crackdowns to suppress protests over unfair elections or corrupt or predatory rule. Several African leaders, feeling vulnerable to prosecution, harshly criticized the International Criminal Court and three countries announced their withdrawal.

This global attack needs a vigorous reaffirmation and defense of the human rights values underpinning the system, Roth said. Yet too many public officials seem to have their heads in the sand, hoping the winds of populism will blow over. Others emulate the populists, hoping to pre-empt their message but instead reinforcing it, Roth said. Governments ostensibly committed to human rights should defend these principles far more vigorously and consistently, Roth said, including democracies in Latin America, Africa, and Asia that support broad initiatives at the United Nations but rarely take the lead in responding to particular countries in crisis.

Ultimately, responsibility lies with the public, Roth said. Demagogues build popular support by proffering false explanations and cheap solutions to genuine ills. The antidote is for voters to demand a politics based on truth and the values on which rights-respecting democracy is built. A strong popular reaction, using every means available – civic groups, political parties, traditional and social media – is the best defense of the values that so many still cherish.

“We forget at our peril the demagogues of the past: the fascists, communists, and their ilk who claimed privileged insight into the majority’s interest but ended up crushing the individual,” Roth said. “When populists treat rights as obstacles to their vision of the majority will, it is only a matter of time before they turn on those who disagree with their agenda.”

Catégories: Africa

Gambia: Arrests, Media Closures as Deadline Nears

ven, 06/01/2017 - 02:06

(Dakar) – The government of President Yahya Jammeh, defeated in Gambia’s December presidential election, has arbitrarily arrested opposition sympathizers and closed three independent radio stations in the past week, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said today. Jammeh is required under Gambia’s Constitution to cede power to President-elect Adama Barrow by January 19, 2017.

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Supporters of president-elect Adama Barrow celebrate Barrow's election victory in Banjul, Gambia on December 2, 2016. © 2016 Reuters

Since December 31, intelligence agents have arrested and briefly detained at least six people for wearing or selling T-shirts bearing the logo of the #Gambiahasdecided movement, which has called for Jammeh to respect the election results and step down. Several senior members of the movement have fled Gambia after receiving credible threats from alleged National Intelligence Agency (NIA) officers. On January 1, 2017, intelligence agents forcibly closed three private radio stations, depriving Gambians of independent sources of information during this critical period.

“The targeting of the #Gambiahasdecided movement and the closure of private radio stations threaten the rights of Gambians to express their opposition to Jammeh’s attempt to stay in power,” said Jim Wormington, West Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. “It’s at times like this that free expression is most crucial.”

Jammeh publicly conceded defeat the day after the December 1, 2016 election, but then rejected the results on December 9, criticizing what he called the “treacherous” Independent Election Commission (IEC) for its lack of independence. Gambian security forces on December 13 evicted Alieu Momarr Njai, the commission chairman, and his staff from their headquarters. Njai subsequently told Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International that he feared for his safety, and on December 30, he left Gambia to seek refuge abroad.

Jammeh’s party, the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC), on December 13 filed a challenge to the election results in the Supreme Court. Because the Supreme Court has no permanent associate judges, and so hearing the case would require Jammeh to appoint new justices, the Gambian Bar Association has said this appeal is “fundamentally tainted.”

The targeting of the #Gambiahasdecided movement and the closure of private radio stations threaten the rights of Gambians to express their opposition to Jammeh’s attempt to stay in power. It’s at times like this that free expression is most crucial. Jim Wormington

West Africa Researcher

Jammeh’s refusal to accept the election results has been widely condemned internationally, including by the United Nations Security Council, the African Union, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). On December 17, ECOWAS said that when Jammeh’s term ends on January 19, Barrow “must be sworn in” and promised to “take all necessary actions” to enforce the election results.

Sources in Gambia described to Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International how intelligence agents detained two men, Alpha Sey and Muhammed Kuyateh, wearing #Gambiahasdecided T-shirts on the evening of December 31. One witness said five men in civilian clothes forced Sey into a white pickup truck. “They asked to have a word with him and, after a brief conversation, they just pushed him into the car,” the witness said. “Sey was the only one wearing a #Gambiahasdecided T-shirt, and I heard him say, ‘There’s no need for me to get in the car, I can just take it off.’ But they forced him in anyway.”

Another witness described how on December 31, men in civilian clothes forced Kuyateh into a vehicle in Bakoteh, a suburb of Banjul, apparently for wearing a #Gambiahasdecided T-shirt. Kuyateh and Sey were held incommunicado at NIA headquarters, then released on bail on January 3, 2017.

Intelligence officers detained three store managers selling #Gambiahasdecided merchandise in the Westfield area of Serrekunda on the evening of December 31. Ebrima Sambou, Mamie Serreh, and Isatou Jallow told Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International that the intelligence officers came to their shops and confiscated T-shirts and other materials featuring the text #Gambiahasdecided, or graphics supportive of president-elect Barrow or the opposition coalition. They were then taken to the intelligence agency headquarters in Banjul, where they were questioned about the suppliers of this merchandise, and released a few hours later.

The store merchandise has not been returned. Serreh said that before she was released, an intelligence officer told her, “Anything you say about this, it will come back to you.” The wife of another of the store managers left Gambia soon after his release, fearing for her safety. Intelligence officers also reportedly detained a coalition supporter, Wandifa Kanyi, for selling T-shirts in Serrekunda on January 2. Kanyi was released on January 3.

Two founding members of the #Gambiahasdecided movement, Salieu Taal and Raffi Diab, fled Gambia on December 31, after receiving what they believe was credible information of their imminent detention by the intelligence agency. The agency has a long track record of arbitrarily arresting opposition activists, many of whom were tortured and sometimes killed while in agency custody. Taal, the movement’s chair, said that NIA officers nearly intercepted him outside his house on December 31. “I believe Jammeh is trying to send a message, to stop us from resisting his attempt to stay in power,” he told Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. “But we won’t be intimidated.”

On January 1, intelligence agents forced three private radio stations, Teranga FM, Hilltop Radio, and Afri Radio, to go off air. Although Afri Radio was reopened again on January 3, it is not currently airing news-related material. Given the government’s control of state television and radio, private radio stations provide an important outlet for Gambians to access dissenting views and opinions, although the security forces’ history of arresting and intimidating journalists have caused many to self-censor. Teranga FM and Hilltop Radio were two stations that discussed diverse political news in local languages.

Emil Touray, president of the Gambia Press Union, told Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International that the radio closures “denied Gambians several essential media outlets during a crucial phase in the country’s history.” Teranga FM has been closed three times in recent years and the station’s managing director, Alhagie Ceesay, was arrested in July 2015, beaten and tortured at the NIA headquarters, and then charged with sedition. He escaped from custody and fled abroad in April 2016.

As the deadline for Jammeh to leave office and transfer power nears, the Gambian authorities and security forces should respect and protect the rights of all Gambians to freely and peacefully express their political views and opinions, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said. Private radio stations should be free to operate without government interference or fear of reprisals.

“The risk of a crackdown against independent and critical voices will only increase as calls for Jammeh to step down intensify prior to the January 19 deadline,” said Sabrina Mahtani, West Africa researcher at Amnesty International. “The Gambian authorities must send a clear message that human rights abuses, including by members of the security forces, will not be tolerated and that those responsible for abuses during the transition will be adequately investigated and prosecuted.”

Catégories: Africa

Deal Sets Congo on Path toward First Democratic Transition, but Huge Challenges Ahead

mar, 03/01/2017 - 02:03

 

After weeks of intense negotiations, and much bloodshed, participants at talks mediated by the Catholic Church concluded an agreement just before midnight on New Year’s Eve. The deal – signed by representatives from the ruling coalition, the political opposition, and civil society organizations – includes a clear commitment that presidential elections will be held before the end of 2017, that President Joseph Kabila will not seek a third term, and that there will be no referendum nor changes to the constitution.

This is a significant development, following months of speculation that Kabila would not step down and open calls by some Kabila loyalists for him to defy the constitution’s term limits and cling to power indefinitely.

But huge challenges remain.

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Congolese Justice Minister Alexis Thambwe Mwamba (right) is assisted by Abbot Donatien N'shole, CENCO secretary general, as he signs the accord between the opposition and the government of President Joseph Kabila at the Conference episcopale nationale du Congo (CENCO) headquarters in Gombe Municipality, in the Congolese capital Kinshasa, December 31, 2016. 

© 2016 Reuters

The agreement calls for a national follow-up committee to oversee implementation of the deal and the organization of presidential, legislative, and provincial elections in 2017. It also says that a new prime minister will be appointed, chosen by the Rassemblement opposition coalition, and that the national and provincial governments will be made up of members of the majority and opposition. But there’s no detailed calendar. It’s not yet clear how the follow-up committee will be structured or when the new prime minister and national and provincial governments will be appointed. Many also question whether the country can organize three elections in 2017 and say it would be more realistic to focus on presidential and legislative elections before organizing provincial elections.

Kabila has not yet signed the agreement, and while many say that it’s enough for his representatives to have signed on his behalf, the deal would likely have much more credibility in the eyes of the population if it included Kabila’s signature.

The opposition Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) and the coalition Front for Respect of the Constitution expressed reservations about the agreement regarding the point that Kabila can stay in power during the transition. Many Congolese youth activists say the best guarantee of credible elections would be for Kabila to step down immediately. 

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Felix Tshisekedi, of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), signs the accord between the opposition and the government of President Joseph Kabila at the Conference episcopale nationale du Congo (CENCO) headquarters in Gombe Municipality, of the Democratic Republic of Congo's capital Kinshasa, December 31, 2016. 

© 2016 Reuters

Perhaps most importantly, “confidence building measures” have yet to be implemented, and there are no clear guarantees that two years of repression will be reversed. Senior intelligence and security force officers responsible for much of the repression remain in office. The agreement says that four of the seven “emblematic” cases of political prisoners or activists in exile have been addressed, including Antipas Mbusa Nyamwisi, Roger Lumbala, Moïse Moni Della, and Floribert Anzuluni. But they have yet to be released or cleared of charges at the time of writing. The agreement says the other three cases – Moïse Katumbi, Jean-Claude Muyambo, and Eugène Diomi Ndongala – and those of other political prisoners, will be dealt with later by a committee of magistrates.

Katumbi called on the opposition to sign, saying he didn’t want his case to block the agreement, adding that the bishops have committed to dealing with his case later.

Meanwhile, as the agreement was being finalized, repression against the political opposition, pro-democracy activists, the media, and peaceful protesters seems to have continued unabated.

There has been no attempt to seek justice for the killings of at least 40 people by security forces during protests in Kinshasa and other cities on December 20, 2016, the day after Kabila’s two-term limit ended.

Opposition leader Franck Diongo was arrested on December 19, and convicted and sentenced to five years in prison on December 28, following a hasty trial that he attended in a wheelchair and on a drip from the mistreatment he endured during arrest. And the provincial parliament of Haut Katanga voted on December 27 to lift the parliamentary immunity for opposition leader Gabriel Kyungu, accused of insulting Kabila.

At least 10 pro-democracy youth activists from LUCHA, Filimbi, and Compte à Rembours (“Countdown”) are still in detention, arrested in recent weeks over peaceful protests calling for Kabila to respect the constitution and step down. Some have been held in secret detention without access to their families or lawyers. The Kinshasa representative for Filimbi, Carbone Beni, for example, was arrested on December 13 alongside other activists outside the building in Kinshasa where the talks were being held. His family had no news about him until his wife received a handwritten note from Beni on December 26, informing her that he is being held at the Tshatshi military camp and asking her to remain strong, look after their children, and tell his mother he loves her. A month earlier unidentified assailants abducted Beni and beat him badly before releasing him.

Other activists who were released told us about the conditions of their detention. Gloria Sengha, a LUCHA activist, was arrested on December 16 while walking in Kinshasa. She was thrown into a car, blindfolded and beaten, and her belongings stolen. Held in incommunicado detention first at Camp Tshatshi and then at the 3Z detention center of the intelligence services, she was interrogated about LUCHA and its supporters. She received little food and water until her release on December 27.

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A Congolese woman holds a placard written 'Women require stable peace' as they sit in protest during talks between the opposition and the government of President Joseph Kabila outside the Conference episcopale nationale du Congo (CENCO) headquarters in the Democratic Republic of Congo's capital Kinshasa, December 31, 2016.

© 2016 Reuters

Constant Mutamba, an activist from the Nouvelle Génération pour l'Émergence du Congo (NOGEC) citizens’ movement, was arrested in the Ngiri-Ngiri neighborhood of Kinshasa in the early hours of December 20 while monitoring as Congolese took to the streets, blowing whistles and banging on pots and pans to tell Kabila his time was up. Several armed men grabbed him, beat him, put a ski mask over his head and threw him into a car. He said he was held at an unknown location, tied to a chair and beaten with blunt objects. The assailants threatened that he would never see his wife and two children again and asked him to reveal the identity of his group’s supporters. He was left blindfolded until being dropped off on the street in the early hours of December 23.

The signal for Radio France Internationale (RFI), the most important international news outlet in Congo, has now been blocked in Kinshasa for nearly two months. At least six Congolese media outlets also remain blocked.

So while the New Year’s Eve deal could prove to be a big step toward a democratic transition, there’s still a long road ahead. The parties should now work to ensure strict implementation of the deal. Concrete measures are needed to end the climate of repression. Credible elections can't be organized when opposition leaders and activists are thrown in prison and beaten, and convicted on trumped-up charges, when independent media outlets are shut down or blocked, and when security forces fire live rounds on peaceful protesters.

Congo’s international and regional partners – whose pressure seems to have led Kabila to make important concessions – should remain engaged. They should support the organization of credible, timely elections and signal that they stand ready to impose additional targeted sanctions and other punitive measures should the repression continue, if those responsible for past abuses are not held to account, or if efforts are made to prevent or delay the organization of elections. 

Catégories: Africa

South Sudan: Arms Embargo, Sanctions Fail At UN Security Council

mar, 03/01/2017 - 02:03

(New York) – The United Nations Security Council’s failure to approve a December 23, 2016, resolution that would have imposed an arms embargo on South Sudan and placed a travel ban and asset freeze on three senior South Sudanese leaders was deeply disappointing, seven nongovernmental groups said today. The measure failed to gain the nine votes needed to pass, with seven in favor and eight abstentions.

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U.N. peacekeepers engage with South Sudanese women and children before emergency supplies are distributed at a protection of civilians site in Juba on July 25. The U.N. mission in South Sudan has been accused of failing to protect civilians from rape and sexual violence.

© Adriane Ohanesian/Reuters

“South Sudanese civilians had a reasonable expectation that the Security Council would make good on its long-standing threat to impose an arms embargo and extend sanctions to some of the senior leaders who have been responsible for grave human rights abuses” said John Prendergast, founding director at the Enough Project. “I can only imagine their frustration with today’s vote.”

Amnesty International, Control Arms, Enough Project, Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, Humanity United, Human Rights Watch, and PAX issued the statement jointly.

African Union and UN investigators have documented war crimes, including killings and rape of civilians, and forced recruitment of children by the warring parties in South Sudan since the conflict began on December 15, 2013. In the last few months there has been an increase in incitement to violence, hate speech by senior leaders, and targeting of civilians, sometimes based on ethnicity, in parts of the country that were previously untouched by the civil war.

“The Security Council had an opportunity to show that it stands with the civilian victims of this conflict,” said Akshaya Kumar, deputy United Nations director at Human Rights Watch. “Instead, this failure gives the warring parties in South Sudan a green light to buy more weapons and materiel that will end up being used against civilians.”

The coalition is especially concerned that the Security Council was unable to come together and take action recommended by the UN’s senior leadership, including the secretary-general and his adviser on genocide prevention. “Once again, we are seeing civilians in dire need of protection being abandoned by the Security Council,” said Dr. Simon Adams, executive director of the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect. “We hope this effort can be revived in January when we have a new Security Council, with five new members.”

The coalition noted that some Security Council members cited President Salva Kiir’s December 2016 announcement of an inclusive national dialogue as a reason for not supporting the resolution. However, given the very limited role that nongovernmental groups, faith leaders, and women had in the process leading up to the August 2015 peace agreement, and the severe restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly in South Sudan, these assurances need to be tested.

“In a country where the media cannot report on the political situation and many civil society advocates have fled to neighboring countries for their safety – who is left to participate in a dialogue?” said David Abramowitz, managing director of Humanity United. “Rather than taking President Kiir’s announcement on face value, the international community should be asking a lot more questions about who will be part of this dialogue, who will facilitate it, and what safety assurances citizens will be given ahead of joining it.”

Following the December 23 vote, the coalition said that the Intergovernmental Authority in Development (IGAD), together with the AU and countries in the region, should take greater responsibility for ending crimes under international law and other serious violations and human rights abuses and the impunity for these crimes in South Sudan.

“African leaders should use all tools at their disposal and act swiftly – ending the atrocities should not be relegated to the AU Summit at the end of January 2017,” said Muthoni Wanyeki, Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes at Amnesty International.

The coalition asked the Security Council to strengthen its efforts to work with the AU and the regional security mechanism, IGAD, to end abuses against civilians, prevent further loss of civilian lives and support efforts to combat impunity in South Sudan by swiftly establishing a competent, independent and impartial hybrid court.

Catégories: Africa

DR Congo: Profiles of Individuals Sanctioned by the EU and US

dim, 18/12/2016 - 13:34

On December 12, 2016, the European Union and United States announced targeted sanctions against a total of nine senior Congolese officials who have played a key role in the repression over the past two years.

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Police detain members of the youth movement Filimbi after a peaceful sit-in outside the African Union (AU) office in Kinshasa on October 29, 2016.

© Private

The US sanctions, which included assets freezes, went higher up the chain of command than previous sanctions announced in June and September, targeting Kalev Mutondo, director of the country’s National Intelligence Agency, and Evariste Boshab, vice prime minister and interior minister, for “undermining democratic processes.” Mutondo and Boshab have been the architects of much of the repression over the past two years, as Kabila sought to hold onto power beyond his term limit.

The EU sanctions, which included travel bans and assets freezes, targeted four people who “contributed to acts constituting serious violations of human rights in the DRC, by planning, directing or carrying out those acts:” Ilunga Kampete, commander of the Republican Guard; Gabriel Amisi Kumba, commander for the western region of the Congolese army; Ferdinand Ilunga Luyolo, commander of the anti-riot body known as the National Intervention Legion of the Congolese National Police (LENI); and Celestin Kanyama, Kinshasa police commissioner.

The EU targeted three others for “trying to obstruct a consensual and peaceful solution to the crisis as regards the holding of elections in the DRC, in particular through acts of violence, repression or incitement to violence, or actions that undermine the rule of law:” John Numbi, former inspector-general of the Congolese National Police; Roger Kibelisa, interior director of the National Intelligence Agency; and Delphin Kahimbi, director of military intelligence.

In its declaration announcing the sanctions, the EU said that “additional restrictive measures may be considered in the event of further violence or the political process being impeded.”

Kalev Mutondo
As the director of the National Intelligence Agency (ANR), Kalev Mutondo has been among the principal architects of the government’s drive to repress political dissent. Human Rights Watch interviewed over a dozen government officials, members of Kabila’s majority coalition, and security force officers over the past two years about Mutondo’s role.

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Kalev Mutond (second from left), Director of the National Intelligence Agency (ANR) in the Democratic Republic of Congo, appears with First Lady Marie Olive Lembe and President Joseph Kabila during the country’s independence anniversary celebration in Kindu, capital of Maniema province, June 30, 2016.

© 2016 Reuters

Mutondo’s intelligence agency arbitrarily arrested scores of human rights and pro-democracy youth activists and opposition leaders, many of whom were held incommunicado for weeks or months, without charge and without access to their families or lawyers. Some were tried on trumped-up charges – with Mutondo also allegedly playing a role in intimidating judges and dictating verdicts.

Some of those the intelligence agency detained in the government crackdown were badly mistreated or tortured, including with electric shocks and a form of near-drowning. Its agents have also repeatedly intimidated, threatened, and harassed activists, journalists, and opposition leaders or supporters, apparently as part of a broader campaign to spread fear and curtail their work.

Before an opposition demonstration in Kinshasa in September 2015, Mutondo was among several senior security and ruling party officials who hired men to assault peaceful protesters. Armed with clubs and wooden sticks, the assailants beat the demonstrators, spreading fear and chaos throughout the crowd of several thousand. Several recruits told Human Rights Watch that they had been called to a meeting with officials at a military camp in Kinshasa the night before, paid about US$65 each, and given instructions for conducting the attack.

The US imposed sanctions on Mutondo on December 12.

Evariste Boshab
Evariste Boshab, the vice prime minister and interior and security minister, has played an important commanding role in the repression over the past two years.

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Evariste Boshab.

© Radio Okapi/Ph. Innocent Olenga Lumbahee Since obtaining this position in December 2014, Boshab has been officially responsible for the police and security services and coordinating the work of provincial governors. These entities have repeatedly banned or repressed opposition demonstrations, jailed activists and opponents, shut down media outlets, and blocked opposition leaders’ freedom of movement.

Before the demonstrations in Kinshasa on September 19, Boshab signed a communiqué that was presented on national television announcing that all demonstrations were banned and that anyone who went outside would “face the rigor of the law and the police would do its job.” Many interpreted this as a green light to the security forces to crack down on demonstrators.

After the crackdown on demonstrations in Kinshasa in January 2015 and in September 2016, Boshab’s office deployed police officers to the main morgue and instructed morgue employees not to provide any information to journalists or human rights defenders about the bodies of victims killed during protests, witnesses said.

Boshab has also been implicated in efforts to bar international and Congolese human rights organizations and pro-democracy movements from operating freely in Congo. On November 3, Boshab instructed all 26 governors to prohibit the youth movements Filimbi and LUCHA from holding any activities because they were not legally registered groups. That runs counter to Congolese law, which does not require citizens to register their organization to hold a peaceful assembly.

The US imposed sanctions on Boshab on December 12.

Gaston Hughes Ilunga Kampete
Gen. Gaston Hughes Ilunga Kampete has been the commander of the Republican Guard presidential security detail since late 2014. The Republican Guard is a force of around 12,000 soldiers whose primary task is to guard the president. Under Congolese law, the Republican Guard has no responsibilities for maintaining public order.

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General Ilunga Kampete (right) speaks with General Bahuma Ambamba (center) near Chanzu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, on November 5, 2013.

© 2013 Getty Images

During protests in Kinshasa in January 2015, security forces fatally shot at least 38 people. Republican Guard soldiers under Kampete’s command were among those who fired live ammunition into crowds of demonstrators. Republican Guard forces also fired indiscriminately in a hospital, seriously wounding three people. Human Rights Watch also documented several instances in which Republican Guard soldiers took away the bodies of those shot in an apparent attempt to remove evidence of the killings.

Members of the Republican Guard presidential security detail – including some Republican Guard units deployed in police uniforms – were responsible for many abuses during the September 2016 demonstrations in Kinshasa. Republican Guard forces fired on demonstrators, and attacked and burned opposition party headquarters, burning to death several people.

Several officers told Human Rights Watch that Kampete together with the army commander, Gen. Gabriel Amisi, led an operations command center in Kinshasa during the week of September 19 and gave orders to the security force units on the ground that carried out the repression. “The order was given to suppress the demonstrators so that they wouldn’t succeed in their mission,” one officer said. “The order was given to do everything so they didn’t enter Gombe [the part of the capital where most government buildings, the presidency, and embassies are located].”

Another said the orders were to “crush” the demonstrations. Republican Guard soldiers who would be deployed in Kinshasa the week of September 19 were allegedly paid bonuses on September 16 to motivate them for a strong response during the demonstrations, according to a security officer.

The EU imposed sanctions on Kampete on December 12.

Gabriel Amisi
Gen. Gabriel Amisi Kumba (known as “Tango Four”) has a long record of involvement in serious human rights abuses in Congo. An officer in then-President Joseph Mobutu’s army, Amisi joined the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (AFDL) rebellion, backed by Rwanda, which ousted Mobutu in 1997. Amisi later joined another Rwanda-backed rebellion, the Congolese Rally for Democracy-Goma, and in May 2002, was among the commanders responsible for widespread killings, summary executions, rapes, and pillage during the suppression of a mutiny in Kisangani, Human Rights Watch found at the time.

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Gabriel Amisi (known as “Tango Four”), army commander of the country’s western region.

© 2016 private The United Nations Group of Experts on Congo reported that Amisi was later allegedly involved in the trafficking of minerals, including tin and gold, while he was commander of the Congolese army’s ground forces. Amisi was suspended in November 2012 following accusations by the UN Group of Experts that he was overseeing a network distributing ammunition for poachers and armed groups. Congolese authorities cleared him of all charges in July 2014.

Amisi is currently the commander of the First Defense Zone, which covers Kinshasa and the western provinces. Troops under his command have been involved in the violent repression of political demonstrations over the past two years and excessive and unnecessary use of force.

During the September 2016 protests in Kinshasa, Amisi and the Republican Guard commander, General Kampete, led an operations command center in Kinshasa, several security officers said. The generals allegedly gave orders to the security force units on the ground that committed abuses.

Human Rights Watch found that Amisi and other senior officers and ruling party officials – including the Youth and Sports Minister Denis Kambayi – mobilized and paid youth league members to infiltrate the September demonstrations and instigate protesters to loot and commit violence. A youth league member associated with Vita Club, a soccer team that Amisi is the president of, told Human Rights Watch that he was called to a meeting in advance of the demonstrations and instructed to infiltrate the demonstrations.

The US imposed sanctions on Amisi on September 28 and the EU imposed sanctions on him on December 12.

Céléstin Kanyama
Gen. Céléstin Kanyama has been the provincial police commissioner for Kinshasa since December 2013. Kanyama officially reports to the national police commissioner, Gen. Charles Bisengimana, but also reportedly takes direction from other senior Congolese officials. Kanyama has a long record of alleged involvement in human rights abuses.

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Célestin Kanyama.

© 2014 Radio Okapi/Ph. John Bompengo

Between November 2013 and February 2014, Kanyama was the primary commander of Operation Likofi, a police operation purportedly aimed at cracking down on organized criminal gangs. He was responsible for giving the orders on the conduct of the operation, which entailed numerous grave abuses. Participating police officers summarily executed at least 51 young men and teenage boys and forcibly disappeared 33 others.

Kanyama and troops under his command were allegedly responsible for much of the repression in Kinshasa in 2015 and 2016 against activists, political opposition, and protesters, including arbitrary arrests and the crackdown on political demonstrations in January 2015 and September 2016.

Kanyama was also among senior security force and ruling party officials who hired men to assault a peaceful political demonstration in the capital on September 15, 2015.

When police commander of Kinshasa’s Lukunga district, he was implicated in violence during the 2011 electoral period, when police and other security forces killed scores of opposition supporters on the streets of Kinshasa.

The US imposed sanctions on Kanyama on June 23, and the EU imposed sanctions on him on December 12.

John Numbi
John Numbi is the former national inspector for the Congolese National Police. In 2008, he was involved in deploying about 600 police officers to repress the political-religious group Bundu Dia Kongo (BDK), based in Bas Congo. Human Rights Watch research at the time showed that during three weeks of police operations, the police used excessive and unnecessary lethal force. They fired at protesting BDK adherents, some of them violent, without adequate warning, killing over 200 and injuring scores of others. In some cases police deliberately killed wounded people, including those seeking medical treatment at health centers, running away, or otherwise in no position to threaten the police. The police systematically burned meeting places, homes, and other buildings belonging to BDK adherents. The police arrested over 150 suspected followers of the group, including people who had not participated in any actions against the police, and tortured or ill-treated some of them.

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John Numbi, a former national police inspector.

© 2016 private

On June 1, 2010, the prominent human rights defender Floribert Chebeya, who had documented police abuses against the BDK, visited the police headquarters in Kinshasa following a telephone call telling him to go to Numbi’s office. His body was found soon afterward. Chebeya’s driver, Fidèle Bazana, remains missing. Following a widespread outcry in Congo and abroad about the apparent double murder that implicated Numbi, he was suspended as national police inspector on June 5, 2010. A high military court in 2012 refused to examine Numbi’s alleged role in the murder.

Although Numbi no longer has an official function, several government and security force officials told Human Rights Watch that he remains a close adviser to President Kabila and plays an influential role in security and politics in the former Katanga province. Three candidates for governor during the March 2016 gubernatorial elections in the four provinces making up the former Katanga province told Human Rights Watch that Numbi had threatened them and told them to withdraw their candidacies. A senior government official in Katanga also said that Numbi made death threats to opposition candidates during the gubernatorial elections, telling them to withdraw their candidacies and not contest the results. The official also said that Numbi is the “real governor” of the four provinces making up the former Katanga province.

The US imposed sanctions on Numbi on September 28, and the EU imposed sanctions on him on December 12.

Delphin Kahimbi
Gen. Delphin Kahimbi is implicated in serious human rights abuses in Congo, including involvement in arbitrary arrests, torture, and ill-treatment of detainees, especially of ethnic Tutsi.

In 2006, as the deputy commander of the 8th Military Region, Kahimbi allegedly arbitrarily arrested and detained people in his private residence in Goma. A man arrested in Goma in December 2006 alleged that he was beaten with a belt and tortured with electric shocks, including by Kahimbi.

In 2008, as second in command of the Congolese army in North Kivu and in operational command of the Kiwanja and Rutshuru area during operations against the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) rebel group, Kahimbi showed considerable hostility toward UN peacekeeping troops. He knowingly put peacekeepers and the civilians who cluster near their bases at risk of being caught in crossfire. As part of a broader failure to cooperate with the UN peacekeepers, Kahimbi also appears to have been involved in instigating demonstrations against UN peacekeepers, which led to restrictions on UN patrols, leaving peacekeepers frequently absent when residents were attacked.

As coordinator of the pre-disarmament, demobilization and reintegration process for combatants, Kahimbi alongside other officials failed to provide adequate food and health care to demobilized combatants, their wives, and children in a remote military camp in Congo in 2014. Over 100 of them died there from starvation and disease.

More recently, as commander of military intelligence, Kahimbi has been implicated in arbitrary arrests, detention, and mistreatment in Kinshasa in the context of repression against the political opposition and others. Norbert Luyeye, president of the opposition political party Union of Republicans (Union des Républicains, UR), was arrested with six others on August 7, 2016 at Luyeye’s home. On August 4, Luyeye had declared at his party headquarters that a legal vacuum would ensue if the National Independent Electoral Committee (CENI) failed to call elections in September, and called for a meeting in Kinshasa’s Ndjili neighborhood on September 4 to prepare for the September 19 demonstrations. The military intelligence services are detaining them all in Kinshasa without charge and without access to their families or lawyer.

Cubain Tshimbalanga, a member of the Congolese Solidarity for Democracy (SCODE) political opposition party, was arrested in Kinshasa on September 26, detained at the military intelligence headquarters in Kinshasa, and badly beaten before his release in early October. He was not charged or allowed access to his family or lawyers during his detention. Martin Fayulu, an opposition leader and president of the Engagement for Citizenship and Development (ECIDE) political party, was also detained for several hours at the military intelligence headquarters in Kinshasa on February 14, 2016, and a number of his belongings were seized.

The EU imposed sanctions on Kahimbi on December 12.

Ferdinand Ilunga Luyolo
As commander of the anti-riot police force known as the National Intervention Legion of the Congolese police (LENI), Col. Ferdinand Luyolo commanded troops implicated in the excessive use of force during demonstrations in Kinshasa in September 2016.

Several security force officers told Human Rights Watch that Colonel Luyolo commanded the Republican Guard units that were deployed in police uniforms during the September demonstrations, armed with assault rifles and grenades, and who were responsible for many of the killings. They also alleged that troops under Luyolo’s command were responsible for taking away the bodies of victims after they were killed.

The EU imposed sanctions against Luyolo on December 12.

Roger Kibelisa
As head of the Department for Interior Security of the National Intelligence Agency (ANR), Roger Kibelisa has been implicated in the repression of political dissent, including in the arbitrary arrest, detention, and mistreatment of scores of political prisoners. Many political prisoners and activists have been detained, held in inhumane conditions, and in some cases mistreated at the “3Z” detention center, the ANR building in Kinshasa where Kibelisa’s office is located. Detainees’ families, lawyers and human rights activists have regularly been denied access to 3Z.

One political prisoner who was detained at the 3Z detention center described an overcrowded cell swarming with insects where they were forced to sleep against each other “like sardines” as large rats crawled over their bodies. He said they had to relieve themselves in plastic buckets in the cell, spent much of the day in total darkness, and were only given food once a day – a spoonful of 18 beans when he counted. They were given one bar of soap for two people every two months, and were not allowed insecticide or razors to shave.

An activist who was detained at the 3Z said the guards regularly told them: “Here you are prisoners. You don’t have any rights.”

The EU imposed sanctions on Kibelisa on December 12.

Catégories: Africa

DR Congo: Kabila Should Commit to Leave Office

dim, 18/12/2016 - 13:34

(Kinshasa) – Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila should make a public commitment before the end of his second term, on December 19, 2016, to respect the constitution and leave office, Human Rights Watch said today. Failing to do so will increase the likelihood of major violence and government abuses in the coming days and weeks.

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President Joseph Kabila at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, February 24, 2013.

© 2013 Reuters

Government repression against activists, political opposition leaders, peaceful protesters, and others who oppose attempts to extend Kabila’s presidency has escalated in recent months, Human Rights Watch said. Ongoing talks between the opposition and the ruling coalition, mediated by the Catholic Church, have not resolved the political impasse, while Kabila has repeatedly refused to declare if and when he will step down.

“There is a grave risk that Congo could descend into widespread violence and chaos in the coming days, with potentially volatile repercussions across the region,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. “President Kabila is the one person who can prevent this, by making a clear, public commitment to step down and by ending the violent repression by those under his command.”

Congolese across the country have been mobilizing for large-scale demonstrations beginning on December 19 to pressure Kabila to leave office. In addition, leaders of armed groups in the eastern part of the country have said that the army and police will no longer be “legitimate” after December 19, increasing the likelihood of armed conflict. The country’s brittle security forces could fracture if Kabila relies on force to stay in power, and Congo’s neighboring countries could become involved, as they have during past fighting in Congo.

Throughout the country, government officials and security forces have repeatedly banned opposition demonstrations and fired teargas and live bullets on peaceful protesters. During one of the deadliest crackdowns, in the capital, Kinshasa, from September 19 to 21, security forces killed at least 66 protesters, Human Rights Watch found, and possibly many more as demonstrators protested the electoral commission’s failure to announce presidential elections. Some burned to death when the Republican Guard presidential security detail attacked opposition party headquarters. Security forces took away the bodies of many victims. Some were thrown into the Congo River and later found washed up on its shores.

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Over the past three months, Human Rights Watch interviewed more than 75 victims, witnesses, security force officers, and others about the September crackdown and received credible reports of over 30 additional people killed by security forces.

Since January 2015, Congolese authorities have arbitrarily arrested scores of activists and opposition leaders, some of whom the intelligence services held incommunicado for weeks or months while mistreating or torturing them, while others were tried on trumped-up charges. The government has shut down Congolese media outlets close to the opposition, at least six of which remain blocked. The signal for Radio France Internationale (RFI), the most important international news outlet in Congo, has been blocked in Kinshasa since November 5.

One of the September protesters told Human Rights Watch that soldiers arrested him on September 19, put him in an army truck, and drove him around Kinshasa for several hours. He said he witnessed soldiers shooting at a group of peaceful protesters outside of their truck: “When we drove by a group of young men gathered together, they started shooting. ‘You shot him in the neck but he isn’t dead,’ one of the soldiers said. ‘Shoot again,’ the other said.”

Some protesters in Kinshasa turned violent, beating or burning to death at least four police officers and one bystander. They also burned and looted police stations, a courthouse, public surveillance cameras, Chinese-owned shops, buildings associated with majority party officials, and other places seen as being close to or representative of Kabila and his government. Human Rights Watch found that police officers and members of youth leagues mobilized by ruling party officials and security force officers were also involved in the violence and looting.

After the September protests, authorities banned political meetings and rallies in Kinshasa. On several occasions when the political opposition or pro-democracy youth groups attempted to organize demonstrations or rallies, security forces fired teargas to disperse groups, arrested organizers, or surrounded opposition leaders’ homes to prevent them from leaving. Unidentified assailants have also attacked several opposition leaders’ homes in recent weeks. Over 100 pro-democracy youth activists, representatives from the opposition youth leagues, musicians, and journalists have been arrested since October in Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, Goma, and Bunia – most while planning or mobilizing participation in planned protests. At least a dozen remain in detention.

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In all, at least 40 opposition leaders and supporters and pro-democracy youth activists remain in detention across Congo, some of them held since early 2015. Others have been charged or convicted during politically motivated judicial proceedings and are living in exile. Human Rights Watch has documented cases in which senior intelligence agents and officials from the presidency interfered in judicial proceedings, dictating the charges and judgments and compelling judges to comply.

On December 12, 2016, the European Union and United States announced targeted sanctions – including travel bans and assets freezes – against nine senior Congolese officials who have played a key role in the repression over the past two years.

“The EU and US sanctions send an unequivocal message that those responsible for planning, ordering, or executing violent repression will face consequences – no matter how senior their rank or position,” Roth said. “Kabila and other senior officials should end repressive measures, allow peaceful protests, order security forces not to use excessive force, release political prisoners, drop unjust charges against political leaders and activists, and allow barred media outlets to reopen.”

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Congo, MONUSCO, can also play a critical role in helping to mitigate violence in the coming days and weeks, Human Rights Watch said. The mission should do all it can with available resources to protect civilians, including by using its presence in Kinshasa and other large cities as a deterrent to violence and the use of excessive force by Congolese security forces. The mission should also be prepared to rapidly deploy peacekeepers to security incidents across the country.

“Congo’s regional and international partners should mobilize at the highest levels in the coming days to help prevent the situation from spiraling out of control,” Roth said. “Clear messages should be delivered to President Kabila, urging him to make a public commitment to step down and to ensure the security forces use maximum restraint. They should also signal that it will not be ‘business as usual’ in their relations with Congo should Kabila hold on to power by force.”

September Protests and Aftermath

The September 19, 2016 demonstrations against the electoral commission’s failure to announce presidential elections took place in Kinshasa, Kalemie, Mbandaka, Matadi, Bandundu, Kananga, Bukavu, Goma, Butembo, and Beni. Outside the capital, the authorities arrested at least 29 people that day. They were later released.

In Kinshasa, the protests and government response quickly turned violent and lasted for three days. Human Rights Watch found that security forces used excessive and unnecessary lethal force, killing at least 66 people on September 19, 20, and 21. The actual figure could be much higher. Human Rights Watch has received credible reports of over 30 other people killed by security forces. Some protesters resorted to violence, killing at least four policemen and a bystander.

The violence Human Rights Watch documented took place in Kinshasa’s Limete, Matete, Masina, Lemba, Kasavubu, Ndjili, Ngaliema, Kimbanseke, Ngaba, Kisenso, and Kalamu neighborhoods.

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Map provided courtesy of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations.

© 2012 OCHA

Human Rights Watch interviewed six Congolese security force and intelligence officers, who said that members of the Republican Guard presidential security detail – including some Republican Guard units deployed in police uniforms – were responsible for much of the excessive force used during the demonstrations, firing on protesters with live ammunition and attacking at least three opposition party headquarters.

“The order was given to suppress the demonstrators so that they wouldn’t succeed in their mission,” one officer said. “The order was given to do everything so they didn’t enter Gombe [the part of the capital where most government buildings, the presidency, and embassies are located].” Another said the orders were to “crush” the demonstrations. Republican Guard soldiers, army soldiers, and police who would be deployed in Kinshasa the week of September 19 were paid bonuses on September 16 to motivate them for a strong response during the demonstrations, a security officer said.

Several officers said that Gen. Gabriel Amisi, army commander of the first zone of defense, which includes Kinshasa and other western provinces, and Gen. Ilunga Kampete, overall commander of the Republican Guard, led an operations command center in Kinshasa during the week of September 19 and gave orders to the security force units on the ground who carried out the repression. The officers also said that Colonel Ferdinand Ilunga Luyolo, commander of the National Intervention Legion of the Congolese Police (LENI), gave orders to Republican Guard troops who were deployed wearing police uniforms and armed with assault rifles and grenades during the crackdown.

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Congolese policemen arrest opposition activists participating in a march to press President Joseph Kabila to step down in the Democratic Republic of Congo's capital, Kinshasa, September 19, 2016. 

© 2016 Reuters

Youth recruited by security force officers and government officials, including Youth and Sports Minister Denis Kambayi, were paid to infiltrate the demonstrations. A member of the ruling party’s youth league said Kambayi and other party officials recruited him and other youth, paid them about US$35 each, and instructed them to “disrupt the opposition’s demonstrations and cause trouble so that it looks like the violence was sparked by the opposition.”

“We had special clothes on to help us identify each other, and we incited demonstrators to attack offices of the parties from the ruling coalition,” he said. “The protesters were really angry against those in power, so they let themselves be manipulated without realizing it. We also led them to attack public buses and other buildings associated with the ruling party.”

Kambayi, in a telephone conversation with Human Rights Watch, said that the allegations were “baseless rumors” and that he had no official connection to the ruling party’s youth league.

A youth league member associated with Vita Club, a soccer team whose president is the army officer General Gabriel Amisi Kumba, told Human Rights Watch that he was also called to a meeting in advance of the demonstrations, with General Amisi and several dozen members of the youth league. “We received instructions to create disorder among the demonstrators and to incite them to damage property,” the youth league member said. “This would then be blamed on the protest organizers. One of our members was recognized by the protesters and seriously beaten up because they understood he was an infiltrator.” Human Rights Watch contacted Amisi about the allegation but did not receive a reply.

Two Congolese security and intelligence officers told Human Rights Watch that ruling party officials and security force officers had recruited members of youth leagues and demobilized fighters to disrupt the demonstrations. “They were there to infiltrate and make the demonstrations explode [into violence] from the inside,” one said. “They would start the trouble, the demonstrators would then respond, and that would then justify the response from the police.”

In an apparent attempt to block independent observers from documenting the government repression, security forces detained eight international and Congolese journalists and two human rights and pro-democracy activists soon after the protests began on September 19. The offices of a prominent human rights organization and a civil society organization were also vandalized.

In the days following the protests, security forces conducted warrantless door-to-door searches in several parts of Kinshasa, allegedly looking for looted goods and weapons stolen from police stations. They arrested scores of young men, many of whom appear to have been targeted at random. Opposition leaders Moise Moni Della and Bruno Tshibala were also arrested on September 19 and October 9, respectively, and accused of responsibility for the September 19 violence. Tshibala was provisionally released on November 29. Martin Fayulu, another opposition leader, was badly injured when a teargas canister hit him in the head on September 19, and hospitalized for several days.

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Relatives mourn protesters killed in the September 19 and 20 demonstrations during a funeral ceremony at the opposition Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) headquarters in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, October 31, 2016. 

© 2016 Reuters

In the aftermath of the demonstrations, authorities denied relatives, activists, and independent human rights investigators access to hospitals and morgues and threatened their staff, telling them to remain silent about those injured or killed during the protests. This made it impossible for many families to bury their loved ones or obtain the compensation Kinshasa’s provincial government officials had promised.

A preliminary report by the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO) in Congo on the protests in Kinshasa found that 53 people had been killed, including 48 by state actors; 143 people had been injured; and at least 299 arbitrarily detained. The authorities denied the UN teams access to detention facilities upon instructions from senior Defense Ministry officials, and the teams had difficulty visiting morgues. Security forces prevented two UN vehicles from reaching the demonstrations. A police agent shot teargas at one vehicle, and a sniper on top of an anti-riot police truck shot twice at another but missed.

In an October 8 “white paper,” the government said that 32 people were killed in Kinshasa on September 19-20. The government praised the police for their “professionalism” and blamed the protest organizers for having “manipulated” demonstrators, saying they were responsible for “killings, rape, pillage, arson, and willful destruction.”

Accounts From Victims, Witnesses

On September 19, some protesters tore and set fire to a poster with a photo of President Kabila in Kinshasa’s Matete neighborhood. Security forces first used teargas to disperse the protesters and then ran after them, firing live bullets into the crowd, killing at least one protester. A witness said:

When other protesters were trying to pick up the dead body, the police fired teargas to disperse the crowd and prevent them from carrying away the body. The next day, the police conducted door-to-door searches in our neighborhood, breaking down doors when residents refused to let them in. They said they were looking for the youth who had sabotaged the “symbol of power.” Many youth were arrested and others fled the neighborhood.

A member of the Innovative Forces for Union and Solidarity (FONUS) opposition party said his party headquarters was torched early on September 20 by men in military uniform:

About 4:20 a.m., we were on the balcony [of the headquarters], guarding the premises. We heard a suspicious movement outside the building and went a little closer to see what was going on. We saw a man who already had climbed over the wall and others who were trying to force the gate open. They were all armed, and they were wearing military uniforms. They had caps shielding their faces, and some had ski masks on. When they saw us, they fired three shots but we managed to flee and climb over the wall to the neighbors. We were hiding but could see them pour fuel and destroy the windows with a steel bar. In the morning, neighbors came to help us put out the fire. Then police officers came too, dispersing us with teargas as if they wanted to see the headquarters burn.

On September 20, security forces wearing police uniforms shot at protesters pillaging a Chinese-owned shop. A witness said:

I saw the police arrive to chase away the protesters who were looting. They fired live bullets at them, and three people were killed, including a man who was just walking by. The police then took all of the bodies away with them.

The uncle of a youth who was shot in the head by security forces on September 19 said that the family was not allowed to take his body out of the morgue for burial:

My nephew was shot in the head while protesting with the others on Monday [September 19]. We later learned that the Congolese Red Cross brought his body to the morgue. When we arrived at the morgue to recover his body, military police stationed at the morgue threatened us and said we would be sent to Ndolo prison [a military prison in Kinshasa]. They said they had received orders from their superiors to accuse everybody who came looking for victims of having sent their children to remove President Kabila from power.

The Red Cross later gave us a number that had been allotted to my nephew’s corpse. When we returned to the morgue, one of the staff there told us that, according to their registry, the body had already been removed. By whom and when? We have not received any response. Even if we have already held a funeral for him, we hope that the day will come that we can bury his body. We also never received the funds the governor of Kinshasa promised the relatives of victims because we haven’t received any documents from the morgue showing that the body of our nephew was brought there.

A witness told Human Rights Watch about the killing of a police officer during the demonstrations on September 19:

I saw the protesters attack the headquarters of the PPRD youth league, and as they advanced, the policeman who was guarding the building tried to resist instead of fleeing. The large crowd of protesters threw rocks at him and then set him on fire.

A Congolese journalist said that he and a colleague were detained while filming the protests on September 19:

I was filming demonstrators burning tires and barricading the street when a police truck arrived at the scene. I approached a police officer to ask him whether we could continue filming. He agreed but told me he was surprised to see me in a red zone. Later, intelligence agents arrived and told the police officer not to let me film them. The intelligence officers then asked us to identify ourselves and show our authorization to film. They took our identity cards and then told us we were arrested. They brought us to a police office, where we were held for several hours before being released. They never returned our IDs.

A human rights activist who was arrested on September 19 while observing the demonstrations with his colleagues described what happened:

Military police followed us into a house where we were trying to take cover as shots were being fired. They then ordered me to follow them and made me get in their truck. About a dozen other people were arrested with me. They drove us to a military camp, and there they took my watch, shoes and belt. I counted 121 people arrested. They identified us individually from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. and then proceeded to interrogate us. One of the officers allowed me to use his phone so I could alert my colleagues. We spent the night on the floor. They let me go on Wednesday [September 21].

A police officer told Human Rights Watch that six bodies with bullet wounds were found on the shores of the Congo River in Kinshasa’s Kinsuka neighborhood on September 21:

We received information that four bodies were discovered in the morning - two young boys, one girl and a young man. All had bullet wounds. In the early evening, two other bodies of young boys with bullet wounds were discovered. The prosecutor in charge asked us to push the bodies back into the water so they would sink. We did as we were told.

Other witnesses confirmed to Human Rights Watch that they saw dead bodies along the shores of the river in Kinsuka in the days and weeks after the September protests. One witness said that the police and Red Cross took some of the bodies away in a bus. 

Catégories: Africa

Joint Letter to H.E. Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta Regarding a Judicial Commission of Inquiry

lun, 12/12/2016 - 01:20
December 10, 2016,   H.E. Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta,  President,  Republic of Kenya,  The State House,  P.O. Box 40530 – 00100,  Nairobi, Kenya.   Re: Call for a Judicial Commission of Inquiry into human rights violations committed during security operations    Your Excellency,   We, the undersigned Kenyan and international human rights organizations urge you to promptly establish an independent judicial commission of inquiry to conduct a thorough, impartial and effective investigation into allegations of enforced disappearances, extra-judicial executions, torture and other ill-treatment of detainees by the Kenya Police Service, Kenya Defense Forces (KDF), Kenya Wildlife Service, (KWS) intelligence and law enforcement agencies mentioned in human rights and media reports. Since 2011. Some of the media reports include, Al Jazeera Investigates- “Inside Kenya's Death Squads”, Al Jazeera 2014, “Killing Kenya: People & Power”, Al Jazeera 2015.    Our request to you is made based on the Kenya Commissions of Inquiry Act of 1962, where the president has power to appoint a special commission to “inquire into the conduct of any public officer or the conduct or management of any public body, or into any matter into which an inquiry would, in the opinion of the President, be in the public interest.”   Since Kenya intervened in Somalia in 2011, several Kenyan and international organizations and media, have found that various security forces have allegedly perpetrated numerous human rights violations during counter-terrorism operations, some of which may amount to crimes under international law, in response to Al-Shabab attacks in Nairobi, in the northeast and at the coast. Allegedly, security agencies have also been implicated in extrajudicial executions of young people in rural areas and informal settlements in urban centers during routine policing.    To cite a few examples:   In July 2016, Human Rights Watch documented at least 34 people taken into custody by security forces during counterterrorism operations in northeastern Kenya between 2013 and 2015. We understand two of these people have now been located in state custody, with one now facing terrorism related charges. In addition, bodies of at least 11 people previously arrested by state agents have been found in the last two years, in some instances far from the location of their arrest. The whereabouts of the rest of those taken into custody between 2013 and 2015 remain unknown.   As far as Human Rights Watch is aware, police have not investigated these unexplained deaths or made any arrests of those allegedly responsible.    In 2013, Open Society Justice Initiative jointly with Muslims for Human Rights (MUHURI) produced a report, “We’re Tired of Taking You to the Court”, that implicated the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) in enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions of those linked to Al-Shabab.    In 2015, Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) released a report, “The Error of Fighting Terror with Terror”, which found that multiple security units were involved in extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances of those suspected of links to Al-Shabab. In 2014, an Al Jazeera documentary, Inside Kenya's Death Squads, detailed the existence of security units that extra judicially execute alleged to have links with Al-Shabaab.   These reports and media documentaries show that Kenyan security forces, especially specialized units and other security agencies, operate with impunity and with little regard for the rule of law and human rights. Kenya government officials and the police have responded by dismissing or denying the allegations.   We acknowledge that Kenya is implementing provisions of the 2010 Constitution that establishes accountability institutions such as the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), a statutory body mandated to investigate allegations of human rights violations by the police. But the scope and nature of abuses in Nairobi, northeast and at the coast are such that the existing accountability institutions and framework cannot adequately respond.    For example, the wildlife police and units of the Kenyan military, which are not subject to adequate and effective oversight, are reportedly involved in committing human rights violations.    Those seeking information from KDF regarding the whereabouts of detainees believed to be held in military barracks, for instance, have no clear avenues for asking even basic questions compared to the police where there is a civilian oversight mechanism.    We believe that it is critical to establish a new mechanism, a commission of inquiry, specifically to investigate human rights violations allegedly committed during counterterrorism operations and other security operations and to ensure, that if sufficient admissible evidence exists, those responsible are held to account. The commission of inquiry should be comprised of individuals with proven expertise, knowledge and experience in the promotion and protection of human rights, including expertise in Kenyan and international human rights law. The commission should be granted unhindered access to relevant locations, including all places of detention, such as police stations, military barracks and other suspected un-official sites.    The commission should be mandated to summon commanders and officers from any agencies, including the police, military and the KWS and any government officers believed to have information relevant to ensuring accountability for the abuses. The mandate of the commission should make it clear that no one should be able to claim immunity, or for whatever other reason refuse to appear before the commission, if summoned.    Further, unless the interest of justice dictates otherwise and only to the extent it is necessary for the purpose of criminal prosecution, the Commission’s findings should be made public. Otherwise they should be handed over to a judicial authority to pursue possible prosecutions.   We would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss this and other pressing human rights concerns in Kenya.    We would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss this and other pressing human rights concerns in Kenya. Alternatively, your staff could contact Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch, Otsieno Namwaya, at mattheo@hrw.org; Eastern Africa researcher at Amnesty International, Abdullahi Halakhe Boru at Abdullahi.Halakhe@amnesty.org or Executive Director at Kenya Human Rights Commission, George Kegoro, at GKegoro@khrc.or.ke.    Signed,   Kenya Human Rights Commission Haki Africa Muslims for Human Rights Wajir Paralegals Network Amnesty International Human Rights Watch Independent Medico – Legal Unit International Justice Mission
Catégories: Africa

Rights Groups Call for EU, US to Sanction Senior Congolese Officials

lun, 12/12/2016 - 01:20

In an effort to stem violence in the coming weeks, 72 Congolese and 15 international human rights organizations issued a statement on Friday calling on the United States and the European Union to expand targeted sanctions against senior Democratic Republic of Congo officials implicated in serious rights abuses. The EU’s Foreign Affairs Council is due to discuss Congo on Monday.

Meanwhile, an opening ceremony was held on Thursday to mark the start of Catholic Church mediated talks between opposition political groups and members of the ruling coalition, providing a glimmer of hope that a negotiated solution could be found before the December 19 deadline, when President Joseph Kabila’s constitutionally mandated two-term limit ends. The talks were suspended until Tuesday, as discussions on participant lists continued today.

A key part of any agreement should include concrete steps to end the government-orchestrated crackdown on free expression and peaceful assembly. Government repression continued this week, as police in the eastern city of Bunia prevented a dozen members of the youth movement Filimbi from staging a sit-in on Wednesday morning. The activists wanted to deliver a letter calling on provincial deputies and other administrators to step down December 19.

Bunia’s mayor said he had prohibited the demonstration to comply with instructions given in a November 3 letter to all governors from Interior Minister Evariste Boshab, saying that Filimbi and the youth movement LUCHA are not legally registered groups so aren’t authorized to hold any activity. That runs counter to Congolese law, which does not require citizens to register their organization to hold a peaceful assembly.

Radio and television journalist Adel Uvon was released on Monday after she had been arrested with five LUCHA activists last week in Bunia. She was not charged. The LUCHA activists – Franck Bahati, Deogratias Kiza, Lombo Bahati, Celestin Tambwe, and Luc Malembe – were transferred to the central prison in Bunia on Wednesday after being charged with “incitement to disobedience,” a charge that appears politically motivated.

In Goma, military intelligence agents arrested LUCHA activist Justin Mutabesha on Thursday, soon after immigration officials confiscated a box of LUCHA T-shirts and detained the young man who had gone to Uganda to print and deliver them. According to the LUCHA activists, the T-shirts said “LUCHA – Lutte pour le Changement” (“Struggle for Change”) on the front and “#FreeLUCHA” on the back. Mutabesha remains in detention at the T2 military intelligence prison, without access to his lawyer, while the whereabouts of the young man who delivered the T-shirts are unknown.

Three other LUCHA activists arrested in Goma on October 24, after denouncing the “national dialogue” agreement remain in detention at the central prison: Jacques Muhindo, Fiston Dunia, and Glody Ntambwe.

In Bukavu, the crackdown on free assembly and the authorities’ apparent unease about all youth mobilization spread to student protests that began last Friday against a 25 percent hike in annual tuition fees at the Higher Pedagogical Institute that began last Friday. Security forces on Wednesday fired teargas to disperse scores of protesters, injuring at least two students and possibly others.

Catégories: Africa

EU/US: Sanction Senior DR Congo Officials

ven, 09/12/2016 - 13:18

(Kinshasa) – The European Union and United States should expand targeted sanctions against those most responsible for recent violent repression and other serious human rights violations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a coalition of 72 Congolese and 15 international human rights organizations said today.

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Pro-democracy youth activists at a protest against election delays in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, on September 19, 2016.

© 2016 Private

Ten days before the December 19, 2016, deadline marking the end of President Joseph Kabila’s constitutionally mandated two-term limit, he still has not made any clear commitment on when or even if he will step down. At the same time, government repression against pro-democracy activists, the political opposition, largely peaceful protesters, and the media has intensified at an alarming rate.

“Imposing targeted sanctions on senior officials, especially before December 19, could help walk Congo back from the brink and deter further violent repression,” said Me Georges Kapiamba, president of the Congolese Association for Access to Justice (ACAJ). “Such action would show that with each passing day, the consequences for the government will be greater.”

Opposition leaders and pro-democracy activists have called for Congolese to take to the streets if President Kabila stays in office beyond his mandate. Past protests suggest that they will be met by security forces quick to use excessive and lethal force. There are risks that political leaders could mobilize the dozens of armed groups active in eastern Congo for political ends, or that the country’s brittle security forces could fracture if Kabila relies on force to stay in power. This raises concerns that the country could descend into further repression or widespread violence and chaos, with potentially volatile repercussions across the region.

Earlier targeted sanctions imposed by the US on three security force officers at the forefront of violence against protesters had a notable deterrent effect and rattled those implicated, the organizations said. The US should impose targeted sanctions against more senior level officials.

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Police detain members of the youth movement Filimbi after a peaceful sit-in outside the African Union (AU) office in Kinshasa on October 29, 2016.

© Private

In October, the EU Foreign Ministers stated that the EU 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.” In November, the European Parliament passed a resolution calling on the EU to urgently implement targeted sanctions. The EU is due to discuss Congo and possibly move forward with targeted sanctions during its next Foreign Affairs Council meeting on December 12.

Such targeted sanctions could include travel bans, asset freezes, and the blocking of bank accounts and financial transactions linked to the individuals.

“President Kabila and Congolese officials need to be sent a strong message that violating the rights of the Congolese people is costly for those responsible,” said Ida Sawyer, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Acting now to help prevent the situation in Congo from spiraling out of control will be critical to stability, the rule of law, and respect for fundamental human rights in Congo and throughout the region.”

Signatories:

International organizations

  1. Agir Ensemble pour les Droits de l'Homme (AEDH)
  2. Ecumenical Network Central Africa (OENZ)
  3. The Enough Project
  4. European Network for Central Africa (EurAc)
  5. Fédération internationale de l’Action des chrétiens pour l’abolition de la torture (FIACAT)
  6. Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l’Homme (FIDH)
  7. Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
  8. Global Witness
  9. Human Rights Watch
  10. Never Again Coalition
  11. PAX
  12. Protection International 
  13. Reporters sans Frontières/Reporters Without Borders
  14. Save the Congo
  15. World Organization Against Torture (OMCT)

Congolese organizations

  1. Action Chrétienne Contre la Torture (ACAT) – RDC
  2. Action d’Aide aux Survivants de la Torture (AAST/Relève)
  3. Action de Solidarité de Femmes pour la Femme et l’Enfant (ASOFFE)
  4. Action pour la Bienveillance Humanitaire (AB/ Humanitaire)
  5. Action pour la Justice et le Développement (AJD)
  6. Action pour la Paix et la Protection de l'Enfant (APPE)
  7. Action pour la Protection des Droits Humains et de Développement Communautaire (APDHUD)
  8. Agir pour la Reconstruction de notre Espace et pour la Convivialité (AGIREC)
  9. Agir Rapidement pour la Femme (ARF)
  10. Association africaine de défense des droits de l’Homme (ASADHO)
  11. Association Congolaise pour l’Accès à la Justice (ACAJ)
  12. Association de défense des Droits de la Femme (ADDF)
  13. Association des Femmes Juristes Congolaises (AFEJUCO)
  14. Association des Femmes pour le Développement Communautaire (AFEMDECO)
  15. Association des Femmes pour le Développement Endogène Mboko/Fizi (AFDEM)
  16. Association des Jeunes pour la Protection de l’Environnement Fizi (AJPEF)
  17. Association des Jeunes pour le Développement Intégral de Kalundu/Uvira (AJEDIK)
  18. Association pour le Développement des Initiatives Paysannes (ASSODIP)
  19. Association pour le Développement Intégral du Haut Plateau de Fizi (ADIPF)
  20. Association pour les Droits Humanitaires (ADH)
  21. Bureau de Promotion Socioculturelle (BUPSOC)
  22. Centre de Promotion Socio-Sanitaire (CEPROSSAN)
  23. Centre de Rééducation pour l’Enfance Délinquance et Défavorisée (CREDD)     
  24. Centre d'Observation des Droits de l'Homme et d'Assistance Sociale (CODHAS)
  25. Centre Indépendant de Recherches et d’Études Stratégiques au Kivu (CIRESKI)
  26. Centre International de Promotion et de Développement et des Droits de l'Homme (CEIPEDHO)
  27. Cercle international pour la Défense des Droits de l’Homme, la Paix et l’Environnement (CIDDHOPE)
  28. Cercle National de Réflexion sur la Jeunesse (CNRJ RDC)
  29. Comité de Coordination des Actions de Paix (CCAP)
  30. Commission Internationale en Formation des Droits de l’Homme (CIFDH)
  31. Convention pour le Respect des Droits de l’Homme (CRDH)
  32. Congrès pour le Renouveau Syndical (CORES)
  33. Debout Fille de Fizi (DFF)
  34. Femme en Danger (FED)
  35. Femme et Enfant en Détresse (SOS FED)
  36. Femme pour le Développement des Mutuelles de Solidarités à Fizi (FDMUSOF)
  37. Femme qui en Soulève une Autre (FESA)
  38. Femmes Engagées pour la Promotion de la Santé Intégrale (FEPSI)
  39. Femmes Juristes pour la défense des Droits de la Femme (FJDF)
  40. Fraternité des Prisons (FP)
  41. Genre pour l’Appui au Développement (GAD)
  42. Great Lakes Human Rights Program (GLHRP)
  43. Groupe d’Action Non-Violente Évangélique (GANVE)
  44. Groupe d’Associations de Défense des Droits de l’Homme et de Paix (GADHOP)
  45. Groupe Lotus (GL)
  46. Institut Africain de Formation en Droits Humains (INAFDH)
  47. Juriste en Action (JURAC)
  48. JUSTICIA Asbl
  49. Ligue contre la Fraude et la Corruption (LICOF)
  50. Ligue des Activistes des Droits de l'Homme (LADHO)
  51. Ligue des électeurs (LE)
  52. Ligue pour la Défense et la Vulgarisation des Droits Humains (LDVDH)
  53. Mama Tupendane (MT)
  54. Mama Tushirikiane (MATU)
  55. Maniema Libertés (MALI)
  56. Maniema Tuende Mbele (MTM)
  57. Mobilisation, Encadrement Écologie et Défense des Droits Humains par les Amis des Familles Démunies (MEEDAF)
  58. Œuvre Chrétienne pour la Femme (OCF)
  59. Organisation Communautaire pour la Conservation de la Nature (OCCN)
  60. Organisation de Paix pour les Opportunités et le Développement (OPOD)
  61. Organisation pour la Promotion et Protection des Droits Humains (OPPDH)
  62. Pax Christ Butembo  
  63. Psychologues sans Frontières (PSF)
  64. Relance pour la Fille de Sion (RFS)
  65. Réseau des Activistes des Droits Humains de Fizi
  66. Réseau des Communicateurs Humanitaires (RCH)
  67. Réseau des Parajuristes du Maniema (REPAJUMA)   
  68. Réseaux de Femmes pour le Développement de Jeunes d’Itombwe (RFDJI)
  69. Service Par, Pour et Avec les Femmes (SEPPAF)
  70. Solidarité des Associations Féminines pour les Droits de Femmes et de l’Enfant (SAFDF)
  71. Solidarité des Hommes pour la Protection et la Promotion des Femmes (SHPF)
  72. Wamama Tusimame (WATU)
Catégories: Africa

UN Security Council Raises Alarm about Possible Violence in DR Congo

ven, 09/12/2016 - 13:18
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The UN Security Council holds consultations in New York about the escalating political crisis in Congo, on December 5, 2016.

© 2016 Timo Mueller/Human Rights Watch

Following a visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo last month, the UN Security Council held consultations on Monday in New York about the escalating political crisis in the country.

All 15 members of the Council, plus the chief of Congo’s UN peacekeeping mission  (MONUSCO) Maman Sidikou, and Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Tayé-Brook Zerihoun, shared a strong sense of foreboding. It is now less than two weeks before the end of President Joseph Kabila’s second term on December 19.

In a strongly-worded statement, the President of the Council emphasized concerns “about the risk for destabilization of the country and the region as a whole … in the absence of a swift and consensual resolution to the current political crisis.” In the words of the ambassador of New Zealand, “there has been no shortcoming of warnings to the Security Council regarding the risk of conflict in the DRC.”

Angola evoked the threat to “regional peace and security,” calling on all sides to avoid violence “at all costs.” Ukraine’s ambassador warned that “if the situation descends into violence, there will be no winners but only losers,” reminding Council members that the “deaths of protesters [during demonstrations in September] are fresh in our memory.” He called for “maximum restraint.”

Sharing the sense of urgency, France warned that “if there is a spiral of violence, nobody can say where it will stop and when it will stop.” More subdued but still concerned, the Ambassador of China cautioned that the “political process is at a critical juncture” and the security situation “still fragile.”

The ambassador of the United Kingdom cautioned that “we all know what comes next if he [President Kabila] makes the wrong decision. We saw it in the bloodied streets of Kinshasa in September. We cannot allow a repeat of such barbarity in a fortnight’s time.” He called on the Council to send an unequivocal message to Kabila to make a commitment that he will not stand for a third term as president. “The two term limit cannot be changed,” he said, “and certainly not just to suit one man’s political agenda.” The ambassador said that there must be “consequences” for Kabila if he were to decide otherwise. The ambassador also called on the Security Council to take guidance from the European Union, which threatened to impose sanctions on members of the Congolese security forces responsible for serious abuses.  

“Kabila needs to make a clear and public statement that he will not seek a third term,” the US ambassador said. She stressed that “elections could take place in 2017,” because it is not a “technical problem” but a “problem of political will.”

Nearly all ambassadors called on political stakeholders in Congo to resume dialogue and find meaningful compromise. In this regard, the US ambassador cited the Catholic Church’s efforts, which “present the best hope” in her opinion, while Japan called for “direct dialogue” between President Kabila and opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi.

Regarding MONUSCO’s role, the UK ambassador insisted that “the biggest peacekeeping mission in the world with a clear mandate to protect civilians robustly cannot stand by if civilians are threatened.” MONUSCO chief Sidikou elaborated on the measures the mission has taken to refine its contingency plans in order to diffuse potential violence and protect civilians. He stressed, however, that these efforts “may not be fully sufficient to mitigate or respond adequately to any major outbreak of politically-related violence,” and he warned that the UN’s military and police forces in Kinshasa “are stretched thin.”

Perhaps giving in to the pressure, Kabila met on Monday with the Catholic Church’s Conference of Episcopal Bishops in Congo (CENCO), and the presidency later issued a statement saying the president had urged the bishops to continue their mediation efforts – a seeming reversal from the statement released by his ruling coalition on Friday, calling the Catholic Church’s mediation efforts a failure.  

President Kabila should now take the next step and take action before December 19, including – most importantly – a public commitment that he will step down and not seek to change the constitution or run for a third term.

MONUSCO should also heed the calls from Security Council members and ensure that the mission is prepared to do all it can to protect the population during potential political violence on or around December 19. And UN member states, including police and military troop contributors to MONUSCO, should ensure the mission has the resources and will to effectively carry out its mandate.

Catégories: Africa

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