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Zimbabwe: No justice for the victims of forced eviction

During May-July 2005, an estimated 700,000 people lost their homes, their livelihoods, or both when the Zimbabwe government forcibly evicted them and demolished their homes and businesses as part of Operation Murambatsvina (Drive Out Rubbish). The forced evictions and demolitions were carried out without adequate notice, due process, legal protection, redress or appropriate relocation measures. In some instances court orders were disregarded. In addition, police used excessive force: property was destroyed and people were beaten. The vast majority of the victims have received no help from the government. They have been left to find their own alternative shelter in the middle of winter. Many are now living in overcrowded and often squalid conditions and thousands of the victims are still living in the open under makeshift shelters. (Amnesty International, September 2006)

http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAFR460052006

(Added: Tue Sep 12 2006   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 42)

SOUTH AFRICA: Attacks on Somalis expose xenophobia

A wave of violent attacks against Somali-run businesses around Cape Town is exposing tensions between poor South Africans and the millions of refugees who have flocked to the country in the hope of a better life. (IRIN, 31 August 2006)

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55361

(Added: Mon Sep 04 2006   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 191)

"On Our Watch" - A Documentary About Genocide in Darfur

Three years of fighting in Darfur have destroyed hundreds of villages, displaced 2.2 million and led to more than 400,000 deaths. President Bush has accused the government of Sudan of genocide, but the U.S. has taken few concrete actions to stop the fighting. Narrated by Sam Waterston, this 11-minute documentary tells the story of those who have lost their loved ones to this war, those who are fighting to survive and those who are working to bring peace to the region. (Refugee International, 2006)

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1587138622759665645&q=Refugees+International

(Added: Mon Aug 28 2006   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 237)

Unprotected Migrants: Zimbabweans in South Africa's Limpopo Province

This 54-page report, documents how state officials arrest, detain and deport undocumented foreign migrants in ways that flout South Africa's immigration law. It also documents how commercial farmers ignore basic employment law protections even when they employ documented foreign migrants. (Human Rights Watch, August 2006)

http://hrw.org/reports/2006/southafrica0806/index.htm

(Added: Tue Aug 08 2006   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 185)

Unrestrained powers: Torture by Algeria's Military Security

Based on a series of case studies collected between 2002 and 2006, this report shows how the "war on terror" is serving as an excuse to perpetuate torture and ill-treatment by Algeria's "Military Security" intelligence agency, officially known as the Department for Information and Security (DRS). Torture methods such as beatings, electric shocks and the forced ingestion of dirty water, urine and or chemicals aer used by Algeria's security forces with systematic impunity in secret detention centres without access to lawyers, independent doctors, family, or any civilian oversight. The report makes recommendations to the Algerian government on respecting human rights, and to other governments on halting the forcible return of individuals to Algeria. (Amnesty International, July 2006)

http://amnesty-news.c.topica.com/maaeYEMabrUItckuuzKb/

(Added: Mon Jul 17 2006   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 52)

SUDAN CASE STUDY: Mohammed, displaced in Darfur

When gunmen attacked Mohammed's village seven months ago, the 10-year-old boy fled on foot to Sekeli camp on the outskirts of the southern Darfur town of Nyala. He hasn't seen his father since. Three years of brutal conflict has forced 2.5 million people from their homes in this vast region of western Sudan. (Alertnet, 7 July, 2006)

http://www.alertnet.org/thefacts/reliefresources/115228709869.htm

(Added: Wed Jul 12 2006   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 85)

UGANDA CASE STUDY: Mary's sisters, 'night commuters'

Priscilla, Annette and Constance are among the thousands of children in rural northern Uganda who walk up to 20 kilometres (12 miles) every night to sleep in town. These "night commuters" hope to avoid marauding rebels who might abduct them and force them to be soldiers, porters or sex slaves. (Alertnet, 7 July, 2006)

http://www.alertnet.org/thefacts/reliefresources/115229236615.htm

(Added: Wed Jul 12 2006   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 71)

The Chagos Islanders: Britain's Historic Injustice

In the late 1960s, the British government made a decision to send the made to send the inhabitants of Diego Garcia, in the Indian Ocean, into exile in Mauritius and the Seychelles Islands, so that their island - unencumbered with people - could be handed to the United States for use as a military base. Their tragic story since shows the willingness of the British government to ignore inconvenient human rights. What will happen now, after last month's High Court ruling in the Chagossians' favour will tell us much about Britain's current government if it is prepared to stand up for the values that really matter. (Iain Orr, Toward Freedom, 14 June 2006)

http://towardfreedom.com/home/content/view/836/

(Added: Fri Jun 16 2006   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 221)

Somalia: Protection fact sheet

Protection has been defined as encompassing all activities aimed at obtaining full respect for the rights of individuals in accordance with the letter and the spirit of the relevant bodies of law i.e., human rights, humanitarian and refugee law. On the basis of reports prepared by NGOs, the UN independent Expert on human rights in Somalia, first hand observations from the field and other organizations, human rights abuses in Somalia are usually created by a combination of factors, some of which are investigated in this fact sheet. (OCHA, 19 May, 2006)

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/EVOD-6PXGNY?OpenDocument

(Added: Mon May 22 2006   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 110)

DEATH PENALTY: Five Years after Bosch, Nothing Changed in Botswana

Botswana was in the international spotlight in 2001 after it hurriedly sentenced and secretly hanged Marriette Sonjaleen Bosch, a white South African woman convicted of murder. Five years on, human rights activists say very little has changed. Fast convictions, hasty executions and inhumane treatment of the prisoner's family - all hallmarks of Bosch's case - continue. In fact, the government is unapologetic about it. (Bester Gabotlale, IPS News Agency, 17 May, 2006)

http://ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=33275

(Added: Thu May 18 2006   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 106)

Struggling to survive: children in armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (pdf)

In 2006, DRC continues to endure the world's deadliest humanitarian crisis, with more than 38,000 people dying every month as direct and indirect consequences of the armed conflict. Approximately 45 percent of these deaths occur among children under age 18. In addition, children are targets of human rights violations committed by armed forces and groups on a daily basis. Despite outward signs of progress in DRC, such as the creation of a power-sharing transitional government, the presence of the United Nations' largest peacekeeping operation and billions of dollars granted by donors for postconflict reconstruction, children are subject to killing and maiming, rape and other forms of sexual violence, abduction, denial of humanitarian assistance, attacks on schools and recruitment and use of children. In addition, various other violations, such as forced displacement and torture, also continue to be committed against children and their families. (Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict, April 2006)

http://www.watchlist.org/reports/dr_congo.php

(Added: Thu May 18 2006   Modified: Wed Feb 14 2007   Hits: 88)

Ethiopia: Prisoners of conscience on trial for treason- opposition party leaders, human rights defenders and journalists

A treason trial opened on 2 May 2006 with the presentation of the prosecution case before the Federal High Court in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. On trial, and charged with crimes punishable by the death penalty, are newly-elected opposition party members of parliament, human rights defenders and journalists, whom Amnesty International considers to be prisoners of conscience. This report outlines Amnesty's concerns about the fairness of the arrests and of the trial. (Amnesty International, 2 May 2006)

http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engafr250132006

(Added: Wed May 17 2006   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 195)

Minorities Under Siege: Pygmies today in Africa

This 36-page report looks at the status of pygmies in the Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It examines treatment of indigenous peoples globally, and the issues confronting pygmies in particular: discrimination, land rights, human rights, political representation - and survival. It includes interviews with individuals relevant to the pygmy cause, and links and references. (IRIN, April 2006)

http://www.irinnews.org/webspecials/pygmy/Pygmies-today-in-Africa-IRIN-In-Depth.pdf

(Added: Tue May 16 2006   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 200)

Nigeria accuses Pfizer of experiments on children

A panel of Nigerian medical experts has concluded that Pfizer violated international law during a 1996 epidemic by testing an unapproved drug on children with brain infections. The report concludes that Pfizer never obtained authorisation from the Nigerian Government to give the unproven drug to nearly 100 children and infants. Pfizer's experiment was "an illegal trial of an unregistered drug", the Nigerian panel concluded, and a "clear case of exploitation of the ignorant". An approval letter from a Nigerian ethics committee, which Pfizer used to justify its actions, was actually a falsified document that had been concocted by the company's lead researcher in Kano, the report said. While the report has remained unreleased for five years, The Washington Post has recently obtained a copy. (Joe Stephens, Sydney Morning Herald, 8 May 2006)

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/nigeria-accuses-pfizer-of-experiments-on-children/2006/05/07/1146940412515.html

(Added: Mon May 15 2006   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 209)

"They Do Not Own This Place": Government Discrimination Against "Non-Indigenes" in Nigeria (pdf)

This 64-page report documents the harmful impact of discriminatory policies against those citizens defined as "non-indigenes" in Nigeria. These policies have a harmful impact on the human rights of many Nigerians and are in violation of the Nigerian constitution and international human rights law. The report also shows how these policies of discrimination exacerbate interethnic and interreligious tension in ways that have sparked violence in many different parts of the country. (Human Rights Watch, 25 April 2006)

http://hrw.org/reports/2006/nigeria0406/nigeria0406web.pdf

(Added: Fri May 05 2006   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 209)

Darfur Bleeds: Recent Cross-Border Violence in Chad

The crisis in Darfur, Sudan, which has been trickling into Chad for the better part of three years, is now bleeding freely across the border. A counterinsurgency carried out by the Sudanese government and its militias against rebel groups in Darfur, characterized by war crimes and "ethnic cleansing," has forcibly displaced almost two million civilians in Darfur and another 220,000 people who have fled across the border into Chad. The same ethnic "Janjaweed" militias that have committed systematic abuses in Darfur have staged cross-border raids into Chad, attacking Darfurian refugees and Chadian villagers alike, seizing their livestock and killing those who resist. This report is based on a Human Rights Watch research mission to eastern Chad in January-February 2006. (Human Rights Watch, February 2006)

http://www.hrw.org/backgrounder/africa/chad0206/

(Added: Thu May 04 2006   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 190)

Libya: A Threat to Society? Arbitrary Detention of Women and Girls for "Social Rehabilitation"

The paradox for women in Libya is striking: legal reforms over the past several decades have put Libya ahead of many countries in the Middle East and North Africa in terms of formal gender equality. Yet the rigid social norms governing women's and girls' participation in society and their status in families undermine these legal reforms. They also put women and girls at risk of being stripped of their liberty and held captive in social rehabilitation facilities. This report is based on interviews conducted in Tripoli and Benghazi in April and May 2005 during Human Rights Watch's first visit to Libya. (Human Rights Watch, February 28, 2006)

http://hrw.org/reports/2006/libya0206/

(Added: Thu May 04 2006   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 126)

Never a Prisoner

Around the globe, the struggle between the pen and the sword continues. Marking the occasion of World Press Freedom Day (May 3), this piece explains the motivations and tribulations of one journalist, Cameroon's Pius Njawe, who has been arrested 126 times and jailed thrice in his 30 year career. He currently writes a bi-weekly column from behind bars, but considers his captors the true prisoners. (Pius Njawe, World Association of Prisoners, 3 May 2006)

http://www.wan-press.org/3may/2006/articles.php?id=206&lang=en

(Added: Thu May 04 2006   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 170)

The International Criminal Court and Sudan: Access to Justice and Victims' Rights

One year after the referral by the UN Security Council to the International Criminal Court (ICC) of the situation in Darfur, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), its partner organisation SOAT (Sudan Organisation Against Torture) and the Khartoum Center for Human Rights and Environmental Development (KCHRED) are publishing their report. It finds, among other things, that there are difficulties for victims wanting to participate in the Court and there is almost no money being provided for victims' legal aid; that it is the responsibility of the Government of Sudan to remedy violations and to provide full reparation in line with international standards; and that Sudanese laws are neither substantively nor procedurally fit to address crimes of rape and sexual violence. (31 March 2006)

http://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/SudanICC441-EN.pdf

(Added: Thu May 04 2006   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 68)

Liberia: Resurrecting the Justice System [PDF]

Liberia's justice system is in shambles. Unless the government and donors make its reform a top priority, plans for improving economic governance, transforming the military and rebuilding infrastructure will not succeed. Fourteen years of civil war pulverised an already dysfunctional system, and the courts and judiciary have collapsed altogether in many places. In the next six months, government, lawyers, judges, civil servants and donors should devise a program, in consultation with civil society, which provides justice and protection for men and women, rich and poor alike. Stronger and impartial mechanisms are required in both statutory and customary law systems, and community-based programs should be created. Liberia was the catalyst for West Africa's deadly wars. A Liberia driven by the unwavering principle of justice could become the anchor of its peace.(International Crisis Group, 6 April 2006)

http://www.crisisgroup.org/library/documents/africa/west_africa/107_liberia_resurrecting_the_justice_system.pdf

(Added: Fri Apr 07 2006   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 111)

African migration: from tensions to solutions

While industrial countries are promoting easier flows of capital, goods and services, they are at the same time restricting the movement of labour, which comes mainly from developing countries. Developing countries view this as a double standard, especially since labour is an important factor in the production of goods and services. (Africa Renewal, U.N. Department of Public Information, January 2006)

http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/afrec/vol19no4/194migration.html

(Added: Mon Apr 03 2006   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 158)

The Crosses of Juarez

Since 1993 over 400 women from Ciudad Juarez, a large city on the US-Mexico border, have been murdered and over 70 are still missing. The victims are young women, generally under 29 years old. They are mostly poor, often workers in the maquiladoras (assembly factories), and live in the marginalized areas of the city. The Mexican authorities, under much pressure from human rights groups and NGOs, have so far failed to carry out proper investigations into the killings, and those responsible for the crimes remain unpunished. In this Open-Democracy piece journalist Carlos Reyes-Manzo documents in images and words a terrible and touching situation that shows no sign of abating.

http://www.opendemocracy.net/arts-photography/crosses_3273.jsp

(Added: Tue Feb 28 2006   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 335)

Genocide in Slow Motion

In this New York Review of books article American journalist Nicholas Kristof reviews two books on the Dafur genocide - Darfur: A Short History of a Long War (by Julie Flint and Alex de Waal) and Darfur: The Ambiguous Genocide (by Gerard Prunier). In doing so Kristof provides a detailed history of the conflict as well as outlining the ongoing tragedy. Kristof ends his review with a plea for UN intervention to halt the ongoing crisis before it becomes just another name in the long list of crimes against humanity that have taken place while the rest of the World has looked away.

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/18674

(Added: Fri Jan 27 2006   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 325)

The Crushing Burden of Rape: Sexual Violence in Darfur [PDF ]

Médicins sans Frontières (MSF), March 2005. Since early 2003, the people of Darfur have endured a vicious campaign of violence, which has forced almost 2 million people to flee from their destroyed villages in search of safety. Rape against women children and men has sadly been a constant factor in this violence throughout this campaign of terror. More tragically, it continues to this day even long after people have fled from their villages. The stories of rape survivors give a horrific illustration of the daily reality of people in Darfur and especially of women and young girls, the primary victims of this form of violence. It has to stop. MSF Head of Mission Paul Foreman, a British national, was arrested in Khartoum, Sudan. MSF's Head of Mission has been charged with crimes against the state. The charges relate to this MSF report "The Crushing Burden of Rape: Sexual Violence in Darfur" which was published on March 8, 2005. Faced with hundreds of women and girls seeking medical care following rape and sexual violence in Darfur, MSF wrote and published this report in order to raise awareness about the ongoing violence against women. It is noteworthy that the report does not accuse the government of Sudan. MSF defends its right to speak about the humanitarian situation in Darfur and views these baseless charges as intimidation against the humanitarian community by the Government of Sudan.

http://www.msf.ca/press/images/070305_darfur_sexualviolence.pdf

(Added: Tue May 31 2005   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 455)

Zimbabwe: NGO Act is an outrageous attack on human rights

AI, 10 December 2004. Amnesty International is outraged at the enactment, yesterday, of a new law, which bans foreign human rights organizations from working in Zimbabwe and could be used to close down local human rights groups. "The law is a direct attack on human rights in Zimbabwe and should be immediately repealed," urged Kolawole Olaniyan, Director of Amnesty International's Africa Program.

http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engafr460392004

(Added: Wed Dec 15 2004   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 138)

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