Africa

The Security Council this morning extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) through the end of the year, while reaffirming its readiness to consider withdrawing the operation and transitioning to a future UN presence there following a proposed mid-November review of situation on the ground in the country.

In 1948, an African prince, Seretse Khama, married a white middle-class clerk in the UK provoking shock in Britain and Africa.

Although political space has opened in Libya and there is progress in the fight against terrorism, the political divisions underpinning the North African country’s conflict are deepening, a United Nations envoy warned today.

A Nollywood actress has won gold a gold medal and four other Paralympic nuggets about the Nigerian team in Rio.

In our series of letters from African journalists, social commentator Joseph Warungu asks why the governing coalition has launched a new political party.

Study in Botswana seems to show lions are put off killing livestock by simple ruse of placing false eyes around an animal's tail.

South Africa's tourism industry is using technology to expand the sector beyond traditional areas and appeal to modern independent travellers.

(Geneva)

Your Excellency,

We are writing today to urge your delegation to address the worrying human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the 33rd session of the UN Human Rights Council, and to support a resolution that would increase the United Nations’ capacity to monitor and report on human rights violations in the country and help prevent an escalation of violence, abuse, and repression in the coming months.

Since January 2015, the Congolese government has imposed a brutal crackdown against those who have spoken out against or opposed attempts to extend President Joseph Kabila’s presidency beyond the constitutionally mandated two-term limit, which ends on December 19, 2016. Government officials and security forces have arbitrarily arrested scores of opposition leaders and activists, fired on peaceful protesters, banned opposition demonstrations, shut down media outlets, accused peaceful pro-democracy youth activists of plotting terrorist acts, and prevented opposition leaders from moving freely around the country. The UN Joint Human Rights Office in Congo has documented 760 human rights violations related to restrictions of democratic space, including 500 violations in 2016.

In one of the latest attempts to curtail human rights reporting during a period of increased government repression, the Congolese government in August 2016 blocked our senior researcher, who has been based in Congo with Human Rights Watch for over eight years, from continuing to work in the country.

There is still no justice or clarity on the mass grave in Maluku, on the outskirts of the capital, Kinshasa, where security forces buried 421 bodies in the middle of the night on March 18-19, 2015. Families of victims killed or forcibly disappeared by security forces, including during political demonstrations in January 2015, fear their loved ones were among those buried there, and a nurse in charge of one of the morgues in Kinshasa – and who likely knew about the mass burial and might have spoken out– died in suspicious circumstances the night of the burial.

Meanwhile, preparations for presidential elections have stalled, and senior government officials have said that elections cannot be held before the end of the year, officially citing technical, logistical, and financial constraints. A “national dialogue” called by President Kabila ostensibly to discuss the way forward, officially began on September 1. However, nearly all of the main opposition political parties have so far been unwilling to participate, fearing that the dialogue is merely a ploy for President Kabila to stay in power by dragging out the process. Kabila himself has shown no indication that he will step down at the end of his mandate, and some members of his ruling coalition have spoken publicly in support of a referendum to amend the constitution.

In what the Minister of Justice announced was an effort to ease political tensions in advance of the dialogue, nine human rights and pro-democracy youth activists were released from prison between August 27 and September 5. They had been arrested over the past year and a half after calling for respect of the constitution or participating in peaceful protests or other activities. Many were held for weeks or months by the national intelligence agency (Agence Nationale de Renseignements, ANR) without charge and without access to their lawyers or families, before eventually being transferred to Kinshasa’s central prison and put on trial on trumped-up charges.

Their release ended their wrongful detention, but in itself does not signify a shift in policy. The repression has not stopped, and much more needs to be done: charges against most of the released activists have not been dropped; at least 20 other activists and opposition party leaders and supporters remain in detention after speaking out against attempts to extend Kabila’s stay in power or after participating in peaceful political activities, including seven held incommunicado by military intelligence; protests in Lubumbashi and Kinshasa on August 29 and September 1 turned violent when police fired teargas on the demonstrators and arrested dozens of protesters; at least seven media outlets close to the opposition remain blocked; and the officials who have led the brutal repression over the past 20 months have not been held to account and remain in positions of command.

Our local network of human rights and other civil society activists tells us that growing numbers of Congolese appear to oppose an extension of Kabila’s term beyond December 19 and that the unemployed and marginalized youth in Kinshasa and other cities could become increasingly discontent in the coming months if the economic crisis deepens. Many say they are ready to mobilize and go to the streets in protest starting on September 19 – three months before the end of President Kabila’s mandate and when, according to the constitution, the electoral commission is due to convoke presidential elections. This raises the possibility of further violations against protesters.

Meanwhile, the security situation in eastern Congo, where dozens of armed groups are still active, remains deeply volatile. In the Beni area, armed forces have killed more than 600 civilians in a series of massacres since October 2014, according to the UN and local rights groups. There is a possibility that the many armed groups in eastern Congo and youth leagues in major cities might be manipulated for political ends in the coming months.

How the situation will play out should Kabila decide not to step down is unclear. But the risk of increased violence, instability, brutal repression, and a further shrinking of political space in the coming months is very real. While the window of opportunity is closing, we believe there is still time to influence the course of events and help to minimize further human rights violations.

The Human Rights Council and its member states have important means to help influence President Kabila and his top subordinates to halt the repression and human rights violations. At the 32nd session of the Council, the Netherlands delivered a joint statement under item 2 on behalf of 44 other countries regarding Congo. The statement expressed concern regarding ongoing violence, which had not abated since the previous joint statement was delivered in March 2016. After a country visit in July, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein expressed concern that the political uncertainty could lead to a serious crisis. Steps can be taken now to follow-up on these past statements to help avoid the worst-case scenarios and play a critical role in helping prevent Congo from descending into a Burundi-type scenario, with potential for large scale violence, instability, and repression.

We therefore urge you to adopt a resolution on the Democratic Republic of Congo at the Human Rights Council’s upcoming 33rd session that would address the above mentioned ongoing human rights violations, and that would:

• Establish a dedicated mechanism for monitoring and reporting on the situation in Congo, such as an independent expert or an OHCHR team of experts with capacity for rapid response;
• Mandate enhanced interactive dialogues on Congo at Council sessions in 2017, including with relevant UN bodies and stakeholders, in order to expand scrutiny of the human rights situation in Congo beyond the current discussions; and
• Request thematic reports by the OHCHR, including on violence in the context of elections or increased political repression, which would provide dedicated attention to areas of particular concern.

Furthermore, we urge your delegation to support the call for an urgent debate during the 33rd session of the Human Rights Council, or a special session should the situation further deteriorate.

We thank you for your attention and would welcome opportunities to provide any further information about the human rights situation in Congo.

 

 

Zimbabwe is being hit by a tidal wave of debt - defaulters are on the rise as the ailing economy continues to hit ordinary citizens hard, writes journalist Boldwill Hungwe.

Burundi and Kenya kick off the inaugural 2016 Cecafa Women's Championship in Uganda with wins in the industrial town of Jinja.

Forces loyal to a Libyan general attack key oil ports held by allies of the UN-backed government with conflicting reports over who now controls them.

Three women have been killed after trying to stage an attack at the main police station in the Kenyan city of Mombasa, officials say.

Acting on humanitarian grounds and at the request of the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the United Nations mission in the country has extracted hundreds of individuals, including the former Vice-President of South Sudan, Riek Machar, members of his family and aides, as well as a number civilians from a national park in the DRC.

A magnitude 5.7 earthquake kills at least 13 people and injures more than 200 in northern Tanzania.

The opposition LDS in the Seychelles wins parliamentary elections for the first time since the start of multi-party politics in the country.

The International Paralympic Committee investigates why Algeria's women's goalball team failed to arrive in Rio for its match against Israel.

Pep Guardiola is victorious in his first Premier League battle with Jose Mourinho as Manchester City win a frantic derby at Old Trafford.

Egyptian police investigated Italian student Giulio Regeni shortly before his abduction, torture and murder, Egyptian prosecutors say.

September 9, 2016 (YAMBIO) - Acting governor of Gbudue state in Western Equatoria has issued an order authorizing all security and organized forces and any citizen in the state to shoot to kill any criminal found committing a crime in their neighborhood.

Gbudue state governor Patrick Zamoi speaking to journalists at in Nzara airstrip March 4, 2016 (ST)

The harsh and deadly order came in the awake of a series of incidents during which seven civilians have been killed by unknown gunmen in less than a week in Yambio county in particular.

Addressing the security and organized forces in Yambio on Thursday, the state minister of local government and law enforcement, Jackson Ezekiel Buguwa, ordered all the security organs to “shoot to kill any criminal found committing murder or shooting gun in the residential area.”

“Anybody who has a gun and you have seen anybody who is entering the neighbor's house who is breaking into somebody's house who is shooting gun, we have given orders for all of us to shoot at that person and kill him instantly,” he said.

“Not only that, all those arrested who are in police custody must be dealt with by firing-squad in the public so that people can see that justice has prevailed and to pass message to the criminals to desist from criminal activities,” he added.

Minister Buguwa blamed the neighbors of the young man who was murdered with his family on Tuesday night for failing to come out and take the law into their own hands in defending their dear ones.

He also said nobody can deny the fact that people have weapons in their houses; because the government did not conduct disarmament in Western Equatoria due to the volatile situation of Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and presence of Ambororo who have been “terrorizing” people in the state.

“As a government we cannot stay aside watching our people being killed, neighbors cannot stay while their neighbors are being murdered we have to protect our people, we have to protect properties and protect our towns.”

He reminded that the government has also issued another order, banning boda-boda [motorbike] riders from operating beyond 9Pm until 6 am in order to protect lives of the boda-boda riders and also to give chance to security organs to do night patrols in Yambio town and in the state as a whole.

Series of security meetings have been held this week and resolutions have been passed at the state level which resulted into calling for general parade with all security organs in which the order was given to them to shoot to kill any criminal found committing a crime.

The order has raised fears and panic among the civil population with many saying it will attract even more killings because criminals and others seeking revenge will use it as a way to kill and then claim that it was an act of defence.

The minister however cautioned anyone not to take this order as a chance to revenge and kill innocent persons and warned that anyone found implementing the order to the contrary must be dealt with if found guilty after investigation.

“Peace must be promoted and create conducive environment for the citizens to do their business without fear,” he said.

Insecurity in the state has increased for the past two weeks where citizens continued to live in fear and panic as gunshots could be heard at night and people were being killed in their houses without looting any property.

The government has so far arrested at least five suspects in connection with the killings and causing insecurity in the state.

(ST)

September 9, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudan People's Liberation Movement - North (SPLM-N) Friday accused the Sudanese army of violating a cessation of hostilities in South Kordofan state, pointing it was not the first time.

A SPLA-N rebel soldier, in South Kordofan (AFP)

Last June, Sudanese government declared a four-month unilateral cessation of hostilities, in support of the efforts of an African Union mediation to persuade the opposition groups to sign a roadmap for peace in Sudan.

Also, in April 2016 the SPLM-N announced a six-month unilateral truce.

For five consecutive days, the government forces launched a long-range artillery shelling on civilians in the SPLM controlled areas in South Kordofan"s Um Dorain county, in Um Sirdiba, Alnagra, Kaen, Tblo Allbo areas, as well as Um Dorain town," said SPLM-N spokesperson Arnu Ngulutu Lodi in a statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Friday.

He further said the shelling killed Akoloma krends, 48- year old woman, and destroyed the house of another female Kaka Hassan Jelborha. Also as result of the artillery attack hundreds of civilians fled their areas and stopped their agricultural activities.

The rebel spokesperson further renewed the SPLM-N commitment to the truce and claimed that it was not the first time the Sudanese army violates the cessation of hostilities.

The warring parties are expected to meet this month for talks on a cessation of hostilities and humanitarian access agreements.

The Sudanese army spokesperson was not reachable for comment

(ST)