The Karma massacre is yet another example of violence against civilians in the conflict in Burkina Faso. After the killings in Nouna on 30 December and the attack on the displaced persons’ site at La Ferme in Ouahigouya on 13 February, the army has once again been found responsible for these attacks and killings, which deliberately targeted civilians. Such attacks on civilians must be halted immediately.

Samira Daoud, Director of Amnesty International's West and Central Africa office

On 20 April, in Karma, a village 15 km from Ouahigouya in the north of the country, elements of the Burkinabe army entered the village at 7.30 in the morning, in what villagers believed to be a routine patrol. The soldiers rounded the inhabitants up, collected their identity documents, and then shot the villagers at point-blank range, killing at least 147 people. The attack lasted from 7.30 in the morning until 2 in the afternoon.

Amnesty International was able to gather testimonies from survivors and local sources based in Ouahigouya. These indicate the responsibility of the 3^rd Battalion of the Rapid Intervention Brigade (BIR) in the killings.

At a press conference of Karma residents on 29 April, the death toll from the massacre was estimated at 147 people, including 45 children. Victims were noted to have come from the neighbourhoods of Ipaala, Moygayiri, Saayiri, Seygayiri, Rikin, Kassomrikin, Maringo and Rokoudin in the village.

Under international humanitarian law, all parties to an armed conflict must systematically distinguish between civilians and combatants and are prohibited from carrying out attacks on the civilian population and extrajudicial executions. Serious violations of the Geneva Conventions amount to war crimes.

According to survivors interviewed by Amnesty International, the military accused the residents of Karma of failing to denounce elements of armed groups that had allegedly passed through the village to attack army and Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland (VDP) positions in the nearby village of Aourema.

Hassane*, a relative of a number of the Karma victims, testifies:

“We didn’t know what was going on. When the army came in the morning of Thursday 20 April, at 7.30 am, residents naturally came out to welcome them and to gather round them. These people were dressed in black uniforms, others in greenish fatigues, some had helmets, others were hooded, and they were in several pickups and on motorcycles. Some spoke in Dioula, others in Mooré. They first asked the villagers for their national identity cards and then they started shooting at them.”

“We’re going to treat you like the terrorists do.”

One survivor of the attack, who was injured and treated in Ouahigouya, gave the following detailed account:

“When they [the military] arrived, they asked to check our IDs. Then they told us to bring out the women and children so that they could check theirs too. They gathered us together to speak to us. They asked us why we were still in the village, when surrounding villages such as Youba and Aourema were deserted. We said that it was the terrorists who had ordered the inhabitants of Youba and Aourema to leave. They hadn’t given us any such ultimatum, and we didn’t want to leave our land. And they [the military] said, ‘Since you fear the terrorists more than us, we’re going to treat you like the terrorists do.’ (…) They told the men to remove everything they had on them (mobiles, IDs and money), and then they surrounded us and indicated to certain people that they should go to a given place. As we were heading to that place, I slipped into a nearby courtyard, climbed over the wall and ran away.”

Noufou*, a survivor from the Rikin neighbourhood, describes what happened to him: 

“They came to my house to check IDs. They asked me why I hadn’t gone to show my ID at the place where the other villagers were gathered. They shot my brother, a deaf-mute, in the doorway. They took our photos. I also saw the body of the imam of our local mosque in his yard. When they came to check my ID, they asked me why we were still there when the people from the village of Aourema had left.”

After this check, Noufou was taken away with several other villagers to be shot by the military: “When they thought they had killed everyone, they left. But two of them came back to finish off those who hadn’t died. I managed to survive by covering myself with the blood of the bodies that were right next to me. It was the Burkina Faso military that committed this massacre. There was a crest with a human skull on the shoulder of some of the soldiers. They are the ones who came into the village on the big motorcycles.”

The Karma massacre took place five days after an attack on a VDP base in the village of Aourema, attributed to the jihadist group Ansaroul Islam. The pattern of what appears to be a punitive expedition is similar to that of the Nouna killings of December 2022, and to the army raid on the displaced persons’ site of La Ferme in Ouahigouya on 13 February, during which seven minors were killed in the Zondoma military camp, according to an investigation by Libération and AP News.

Amnesty International was able to gather photos of those killed, taken on 25 April after the army had left the village, as well as photos of the injured being treated in Ouahigouya, showing gunshot wounds to the victims.

The military also reportedly burned down several buildings in the village after the massacre. As of 24 April, soldiers were still deployed in the area between Karma and Ouahigouya. These soldiers were blocking access to the village to people from Karma who were living in Ouahigouya, preventing them from burying the victims.

Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) implicated

Several witnesses told Amnesty International that the military unit that attacked Karma was part of the Third Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR), which had left Ouagadougou to go to Karma. People in the town of Ouahigouya said they had witnessed the movement of this battalion to the Karma area.

Some of these soldiers, in fatigues, were wearing t-shirts with the name of their unit “3^rd BIR” clearly visible.

These soldiers were seen around 5.00 am by several locals around the Place de la Nation here in Ouahigouya. People were going to pray on this Ramadan morning. They left the square at dawn on the same day and headed north to where the villages of Karma and Aourema are located.

Kader*, a citizen of Ouahigouya and member of civil society.

“This detachment of soldiers returned to Ouahigouya on Sunday 23 April. Everyone saw them in the city as they left for Ouagadougou this afternoon [24 April],” said Hassane*, a resident of Ouahigouya, originally from Karma.

According to one security observer, “They [the BIR elements] left Ouagadougou with clear and firm instructions. […] But, here, a massacre has been committed with impunity.”

On 22 April, the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Ouahigouya High Court announced the opening of an investigation to establish the facts and responsibilities behind the Karma attack.

“This investigation must be conducted impartially and independently so that those responsible for war crimes and other serious violations can be brought before the ordinary courts in accordance with fair trial standards,” said Samira Daoud

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The targeted and unjustified killings, of mainly ethnically Fulani residents of Sectors 4 and 6 of Nouna, took place on the morning of 30 December 2022, shortly after an attack by Islamist militants on a local gendarmerie station and a base used by Dozos, a government proxy force, in the town.

Amnesty International calls on the government to ensure an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation. 

Samira Daoud, Director, Regional Director of West and Central Africa, Amnesty International

“Amnesty International urges the authorities in Burkina Faso to protect civilians and to make sure that those suspected of responsibility for the horrific killings in Nouna are held accountable. These deliberate killings of civilians may amount to crimes under international law. We are calling on the government to ensure an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation takes place which will bring the perpetrators of this atrocity to justice,” said Samira Daoud, Director of the Amnesty International Office for West and Central Africa.

According to survivors the attack was carried out by local members of a Dozos hunter’s brotherhood, an auxiliary force to the military, who went house-to-house shooting people unable to escape.

The killings in Nouna, a town of 30,000 residents not far from Mali, followed an attack on a Dozo base and a gendarmerie post by Islamist fighters a few hours earlier.

On 2 January a local prosecutor opened an investigation into the killings of 28 civilians.

Survivors said the death toll is substantially higher, as on 31^st December, at least 86 corpses were retrieved from Sectors 4 and 6 and buried. In the ensuing days, other corpses riddled with bullets were still being found and buried.

The government must ensure that all of its aligned forces respect international humanitarian and human rights law and halt any attacks on civilians immediately.

Samira Daoud

Amnesty International calls on the government to condemn this atrocity and hold accountable anyone found responsible for the attacks.

“We call on the government to strongly and publicly condemn these killings and to ensure such abuses are never repeated by anyone under its authority. The government should also protect civilians from the activities of any armed groups and government forces”Samira Daoud said.

“The government must ensure that all of its aligned forces strictly respect international humanitarian and human rights law and, in particular, halt any attacks on civilians immediately.”

Survivor accounts

In the early morning of 30 December 2022, a gendarmerie post in Nouna and a camp used by Dozo hunters, a group which acts as a government auxiliary security force, were attacked by Islamist militants belonging to the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims.

Three witnesses interviewed by Amnesty International who were in Nouna described how after the initial attack, Dozo militiamen moved into two neighbourhoods of Nouna, seemingly targeting Fulani families, going door-to-door and shooting scores of unarmed civilians in their homes. Almost all men over the age of 16 were killed, mainly by Dozo hunters, according to the witnesses.

One man whose father was killed, in Sector 6, on 30 December told Amnesty International: “I had just hanged up from talking with my father when my stepmother called 30 minutes later frantically, telling me that armed men were in the compound. They were two and armed and asked in Dioula and French, for my father to follow them. He tried to resist, and my stepmother was shouting for them to let him be, but they took him with them. My stepmother managed to call the gendarmerie after a time, but they found his body not far afterwards. He was shot and already dead, and they had taken his ring and all the money in his wallet”

“Thirty-eight people were killed in Sector 6 [one of the neighbourhoods] from what I heard. Those were the ones that were buried under the authority of the traditional chieftain of Nouna, so it could be more. With 48 corpses buried in Sector 4 [the second neighbourhood], this amounts to at least 86 dead,” one survivor said.

Another survivor told Amnesty International how he had been forced from his home by armed men: “They came to my house and told me to follow them to the gendarmerie. I was apprehensive but decided to go along because I did not have much choice. But they were not driving me to the gendarmerie but into the bush and at one point, when they were not watching, I decided to run. They shot at me but I managed to get away.”

Days after the attack, following the initial burial of 86 victims, bodies were still being discovered. 

There is no safety for us, and I would like to leave the town

Survivor, Nouna

Once survivor interviewed on 2 January, said:

“Even today two bodies were picked up in Sector 4 and buried. They were found after the burials of the 86 on 31 December. I haven’t dared leave my house since 30 December. There is no safety for us, and I would like to leave the town.”

Background

Burkina Faso has grappled with an Islamist insurgency since 2016 in a conflict which has caused the deaths of thousands of civilians and forced the displacement of almost 2 million Burkinabè, about a tenth of the population.

In January 2020 the government legally constituted the Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland (VDPs), an auxiliary militia which assists the military in its counter-insurgency efforts. VDP members receive 15 days of training. Their deployment is often in response to the demands by local communities but has also led to frequent accusations of ethnic targeting and other abuses. In October 2022, the government announced the recruitment of 50,000 additional VDPs. 

The killings in Nouna follow a similar pattern to events in the northern village of Yirgou in 2019, in which more than 100 unarmed civilians, mainly ethnically Fulani, were killed as reprisals by members of the Koglweogo, another government auxiliary force, over several days. The killings followed the murder of a traditional chieftain, allegedly by members of Ansaroul Islam, an Islamist armed group. No one has been tried for any of the deaths. Fulani communities are often blamed by other groups for supporting, or being sympathetic to, Islamist insurgent groups.

The post Burkina Faso: Perpetrators of Nouna killings must face justice appeared first on Amnesty International.

The 57-page report, ‘I Have Nothing Left Except Myself’: The Worsening Impact on Children of Conflict in the Tillabéri Region of Niger, documents the devastating impact on children of the conflict in Niger, involving armed groups Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) and the al-Qaida-affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM).

Both ISGS and JNIM have committed war crimes and other abuses in the conflict, including the murder of civilians and targeting of schools. Many children are experiencing trauma after witnessing deadly attacks on their villages. In some areas, women and girls have been barred from activities outside the home, and risk abduction or forced marriage to fighters.

In Niger’s Tillabéri region, an entire generation is growing up surrounded by death and destruction

Matt Wells

“In Niger’s Tillabéri region, an entire generation is growing up surrounded by death and destruction. Armed groups have repeatedly attacked schools and food reserves, and are targeting children for recruitment,” said Matt Wells, Amnesty International’s Crisis Response Deputy Director – Thematic Issues.

“The Nigerien government and its international partners must urgently take action to monitor and prevent further abuses and protect the basic rights of all those affected by this deadly conflict – especially children.”

The Nigerien authorities have failed to protect civilians. Witnesses to attacks described how, despite their urgent calls, Niger’s Defense and Security Forces (FDS) frequently arrived long after killing and looting had ended.

Amnesty International considers the situation in Niger a non-international armed conflict, given the intensity of violence and level of organization of both ISGS and JNIM.

Targeted killing of civilians

The conflict in Tillabéri has escalated significantly since the start of this year. According to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, violence against civilians has led to 544 conflict-related deaths between 1 January and 29 July 2021 in Niger, already exceeding the 397 people killed in 2020.

Armed groups have killed more than 60 children in Niger’s tri-border area in 2021. ISGS, which operates primarily on the border with Mali, appears responsible for most of the large-scale killing.

Amnesty spoke to 16 boys who had narrowly survived ISGS attacks on their villages. They described how masked attackers on motorbikes opened fire, particularly targeting men and older boys. One boy, aged around 13 or 14, said: “We all are used to hearing gunshots and to seeing [dead] people layered on top of [dead] people.”

Sometimes I have nightmares of being chased by people on motorbikes or seeing Wahab pleading with the [attackers] again.

A boy who witnessed the murder of his 12-year-old friend

Another boy, who witnessed the murder of his 12-year-old friend Wahab in March 2021, said: “I think of Wahab and how he was killed. Sometimes I have nightmares of being chased by people on motorbikes or seeing Wahab pleading with the [attackers] again.”

Fighters have fired into homes, killing or injuring civilians attempting to hide. One woman and her baby daughter suffered gunshot wounds while hiding at home during a likely ISGS attack.

The FDS withdrew from some border areas after suffering losses to ISGS and JNIM in late 2019, leading to an absence of state authorities. Witnesses to attacks said the FDS often failed to respond, as killing and looting unfolded over several hours.

A 50-year-old man, in words echoed by many others, told Amnesty International: “We have been abandoned.”

Recruitment of children

The recruitment of children by JNIM has increased significantly this year in Torodi department, near the Burkina Faso border.

Witnesses said JNIM has targeted younger men and boys aged between 15 and 17, and possibly younger. JNIM members offer incentives such as food, money, and clothes to attract recruits.

Recruits reportedly receive weapons training for periods ranging from one week to three months. JNIM is also known to use children as spies, scouts, and lookouts, among other functions defined as participation in hostilities under international law.

Attacks on education and healthcare

As part of their opposition to education they consider ‘Western’, ISGS and JNIM have burned schools and threatened teachers, resulting in widespread school closures. As of June 2021, at least 377 schools in the Tillabéri region had closed, depriving more than 31,000 children of access to education.

Amnesty International documented armed group attacks which targeted and burned schools in at least four departments of Tillabéri region. In rural areas, most school structures are made from straw, making them easy to burn.

Teachers have also been threatened for their work. One 15-year-old boy from Mogodyougou said: “The teachers… left. They’d be killed [if they stayed].”

School closures have left many children from conflict-affected areas without access to education for extended periods. A 14-year-old boy said: “We didn’t like that the school closed… After our school closed, we stayed at home. There wasn’t anything for us.”

Under international humanitarian law, attacks against schools are prohibited unless the school building is being used for military purposes. As such, attacks against schools or other buildings dedicated to education documented by Amnesty International constitute war crimes.

The conflict has significantly undermined children’s access to healthcare, as armed groups have looted health facilities, and the Nigerien authorities have restricted civilians’ movement and impeded aid access at times. Immunization rates have plummeted, and diseases such as measles are on the rise.

Attacks on food security

During attacks, ISGS has burned grain stores and looted shops and livestock, leaving families destitute and without adequate food. Children face heightened risks of malnutrition and related illness.

A woman with seven children told Amnesty International that ISGS fighters torched her family’s granaries during an attack on Zibane village. She said: “Everything was burned… I have nothing left, except myself.”

Through satellite imagery analysis, Amnesty International corroborated the targeted burning of grain stores. Such attacks have forcibly displaced tens of thousands of people, often emptying entire villages due to lack of food. 

Both ISGS and JNIM also regularly impose ‘taxes’ on communities, often enforced through violence. Humanitarian agencies have predicted that an estimated 2.3 million people in the region are likely to suffer from food insecurity due to the attacks, as well as from drought and floods.

Psychosocial impact on children

The relentless attacks have had a profound impact on children’s mental health and wellbeing. Very few children interviewed had received psychosocial support.

Amnesty International documented symptoms of trauma and distress among children, including nightmares, disturbed sleep patterns, fear, anxiety, and loss of appetite. Many reported how the sound of motorbikes triggered memories of attacks.

The Nigerien authorities and international partners must take urgent steps to ensure children are better equipped to build a future for themselves

Matt Wells

One 15-year-old boy who had been displaced from his village told Amnesty International: “What I want is the true return of peace. And [the government] need[s] to pay attention to our lives, even here [in the IDP camp] in terms of food and water. And school. We need to go to school.”

“The Nigerien authorities must take swift action to ensure conflict-affected children across Tillabéri region have access to school and psychosocial care,” said Matt Wells.

“Niger is at a precipice. The Nigerien authorities and international partners must take urgent steps to ensure children are better equipped to build a future for themselves.”

Background

Conflict erupted in Mali in 2012, and has since spilled into neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger. Armed groups have competed for control in the border areas, and frequently clashed with the Nigerien military, and forces from countries including Chad, Mali, Burkina Faso, and France.

An estimated 13.2 million people in the three countries will need humanitarian assistance this year, and around 1.9 million people have been internally displaced.

Methodology

Amnesty International interviewed 119 people, including 22 children, three young adults between 18 and 20, and 36 parents and other individuals affected by the conflict. Other individuals interviewed included staff from NGOs and humanitarian agencies, UN officials and government officials.

The post Niger: Increasing number of children killed and recruited by armed groups in Sahel’s tri-border area – new report appeared first on Amnesty International.

Amnesty International’s analysis of commercial trade data also shows that the Czech Republic, France and Slovakia have exported large quantities of small arms and light weapons to Sahel governments since widespread conflict broke out.  

By 2020, when Serbia made its latest reported arms transfer to Burkina Faso, violence between armed groups was already well underway.

Patrick Wilcken, Head of Business, Security and Human Rights

Since 2011, Mali has been facing an insurgency led by various armed groups including Islamic State of Greater Sahara (ISGS), and the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), and the conflict has spilled over into Burkina Faso and Niger. Armed groups have carried out multiple attacks on civilians and a humanitarian crisis is fast engulfing the region. Serbia, the Czech Republic, France and Slovakia have all ratified the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), which prohibits the transfer of arms if there is a risk they will be used to commit or facilitate human rights violations.    

“The conflict in the Sahel has been characterized by serious human rights violations by all parties, including massacres of civilians by unaccountable armed groups. More than a million people have been displaced in the region, and the humanitarian crisis is fast becoming one of the worst in the world,” said Patrick Wilcken, Head of Business, Security and Human Rights at Amnesty International. 

“In this increasingly dire context, states must act with extreme caution when considering arms transfers to the Sahel. Not only is there an unacceptably high risk of diversion to armed groups, national armies and police forces in the region have appalling human rights records. Ahead of the annual Arms Trade Treaty conference next week, we urge all states to live up to their obligations and refrain from any arms transfers that could fuel human rights violations.” 

On 30 August, delegates from 110 countries will meet in Geneva for the Seventh Conference of States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty. The ATT prohibits exports of arms where there is an overriding risk they will be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international human rights or humanitarian law. This includes the risk that weapons sold to governments will be illicitly diverted to human rights violators. 

Worsening conflict

The situation across the central Sahel region is growing increasingly unstable, and armed groups have proliferated in the context of a multi-faceted and brutal conflict. More than 6,000 civilian deaths were reported between 2017 and 2021 in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, according to data from the Armed Conflict Location Event Database. More than 1,200,000 Burkinabè have been displaced since 2016, according to UNHCR.  

In June 2021, unidentified armed men killed 130 civilians in the village of Solhan in Burkina Faso, the worst attack on civilians seen so far in the conflict. ISGS has claimed responsibility for multiple attacks on civilians in 2021, including one on 21 March which left 137 people dead across several locations in Niger.

So-called ‘self-defence’ groups, established in opposition to JNIM and ISGS, have also carried out massacres of civilians, leading to a bloody cycle of reprisals. In March 2020, one such ‘self-defence’ group, the Koglweogo, launched a series of appalling attacks on villages in Burkina Faso which left at least 43 people dead. A month earlier, Dan na Ambassagou, an ethnic armed militia, killed 32 villagers in Ogossagou, Mali.  

Serbian weapons in hands of fighters

Amnesty International collected and analysed more than 400 pieces of digital content from Burkina Faso and Mali, including verified photos and videos posted on social media by members of armed groups between January 2018 and May 2021. The imagery shows weapons stockpiles and fighters from various armed groups and state auxiliaries, including ISGS, JNIM, Dozos, Volunteers for the Defense of the Fatherland (VDP), Koglweogo, and Dan na Ambassagou, in both Mali and Burkina Faso.  

While most of the weapons visible were legacy Kalashnikovs of Soviet origin, many decades old, Amnesty identified 12 cases where fighters carried newer weapons made by Serbian company Zastava. These include M02 Coyote heavy machine guns, and M92 and M05 series rifles, including the most up to date M05E3 models which were not available before fighting began in northern Mali in 2011.  

While tracing precise chain of custody was not possible, it is likely that these weapons were diverted to the armed groups either through illicit channels or battlefield capture. 

Between 2015-20, Serbia reported total transfers of 20,811 rifles and carbines; 4,000 assault rifles; 600 revolvers and self-loading pistols; and 290 machine guns to Burkina Faso, in its annual reports to the ATT. 

The ATT requires States Parties to assess the risk of diversion of the arms covered by the Treaty – particularly small arms and light weapons which are easy to conceal and transport. If there is a substantial risk that arms will be diverted to end users who will use them to commit or facilitate human rights violations,  exports should not be authorized. 

“By 2020, when Serbia made its latest reported arms transfer to Burkina Faso, violence between armed groups was already well underway. Any adequate risk assessment by Serbia would have concluded that arms sales to Burkina Faso were likely to contribute to human rights violations,” said Patrick Wilcken.  

Any arms sold to governments in the Sahel region risk falling into the hands of armed groups and fuelling the conflict.

Patrick Wilcken

Other European Arms

According to official EU annual report data, since 2013, EU states have issued 506 licences, worth 205 million euros, of military equipment to Mali and Burkina Faso. 

Slovakia has reported transfers of 1,000 assault weapons, 2,460 rifles and carbines, 550 machine guns; 680 pistols and revolvers and 750 sub-machine guns to Mali; the Czech Republic has reported transfers of 3,500 assault rifles and 10 sub-machine guns to Burkina Faso; and France has reported a further 1,164 pistols and self-loading revolvers, 4 rifles and carbines, along with 13 armoured combat vehicles to Mali. 

“The Serbian weapons we identified are the latest evidence that any arms sold to governments in the Sahel region risk falling into the hands of brutal armed groups, and fuelling the worsening conflict,” said Patrick Wilcken.  

“As the situation deteriorates across the Sahel, all exporting states must adopt strict safeguards in order to prevent weapons being diverted to armed groups, or used to commit human rights violations by armed forces. If such safeguards cannot be guaranteed, arms should not be transferred. Importing states must also clamp down on illicit arms sales, and ensure that stocks are secure.” 

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This announcement is made public as the organization remembers him with great fondness on the anniversary of his passing on 25 May 2018. Following a call for applications issued two months ago, the selection committee received a total of 274 applications. Four candidates – two women and two men – were chosen as the recipients of the first edition of Gaëtan Mootoo Human Rights Defender Fellowship.

Gaetan’s unrelenting pursuit of justice saw him achieve human rights victories where others might have given up. His deep compassion for the individuals whose freedom he sought to secure, and his unwavering dedication and humility, distinguish him as a human rights champion we can all aspire to become.

Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.

“Gaetan’s unrelenting pursuit of justice saw him achieve human rights victories where others might have given up. His deep compassion for the individuals whose freedom he sought to secure, and his unwavering dedication and humility, distinguish him as a human rights champion we can all aspire to become. Through his work as a dogged human rights investigator, he changed the lives of untold numbers of people around the world,” said Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.

“His loss both in the human rights world and as a dear friend is so keenly felt, and together with his family, we honour his memory and his enormous legacy by giving the opportunity to others to follow in his footsteps in demanding a fairer world. I’m delighted to congratulate the successful applicants.”

Through the Gaetan Mootoo Fellowship, Tathi Yende Viviane (Cameroon), Charlin Ulderel Kinouanii Ntnondele (Republic of Congo), Alphonsine Demba (Sénégal), and Faithe Kouassi Sylvain (Côte d’Ivoire) will be sponsored to attend the online René Cassin Foundation International Institute for Human Rights Summer School which will take place from 5-24 July 2021. The online course will focus on international human rights law and international criminal and humanitarian law.

The four awardees, aged between 29 and 31 years, have already embarked on their human rights paths in their respective countries. They have been inspired to follow in Gaëtan’s footsteps and are working to bring justice to their respective communities.  

“The fellowship is an opportunity for me to set up a strong network of human rights defenders. It will also allow me to learn to better practice my passion, which is the defence of human rights in my community,” said Tathi Yende Viviane from Cameroon.

Republic of Congo’s civil society activist Charlin Ulderel Kinouanii Ntnondele’s said his commitment is motivated by the deprivation of his right to education during a five year armed conflict in his country.

“That is why it is necessary for me to attend such a course, which will help me better stand up for human rights and the consolidation of democracy in my country,” he said.Senegalese citizen Alphonsine Demba whose work focuses on women’s and children’s rights found the opportunity of the fellowship helped deepen her knowledge of human rights.

“In the future, I plan to use the knowledge gained during the course to join a large human rights organization and work to better stand up for human rights and campaign for the effective implementation of conventions signed and ratified by our countries,’’ she said.

For his part, young Ivorian human rights defender Sylvain Kouassi Faithe said he will use the training to better defend the rights of minority groups and prevent human rights violations in the central region of the country where he lives.

Gaëtan’s human rights research covered many parts of West and Central Africa – Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. His meticulous findings and careful analysis led to the release of many prisoners of conscience, helped secure justice and reparations for many victims, and assisted many affected communities in their processes of recovery after human rights abuses.

“Standing up against human rights violations is more and more challenging as the world around us rapidly transforms and sources of repression mutate. We must keep up with the pace of change, address the issues of today but be astute, adaptive and engaging too so that we also defend human rights for the future,” said Agnes Callamard.

“We must foster and equip young activists and young leaders now. We must share knowledge, exchange and collaborate with them to help empower their action in their human rights realities. And we must remove old barriers and open new doors so that their strength, innovation and vision drive the global human rights movement today and tomorrow. This bursary is an important step towards that human rights reality.”

The post Amnesty International announces awardees of human rights bursary in honour of late Gaëtan Mootoo appeared first on Amnesty International.

In the second edition of The State of African Regional Human Rights Bodies and Mechanisms 2019-2020, released  on the African Human Rights Day, Amnesty International said the mechanisms established to safeguard human rights across the continent are facing enormous challenges, and at least one is facing an existential threat.

Given the magnitude of gross human rights violations across the continent, regional human rights bodies play a critical role in providing justice and accountability.

Netsanet Belay, Amnesty International’s Director for Research and Advocacy

 “Given the magnitude of gross human rights violations across the continent, regional human rights bodies play a critical role in providing justice and accountability,” said Netsanet Belay, Amnesty International’s Director for Research and Advocacy.

“These mechanisms must be protected and fully supported. They serve as vital alternative channels for people to seek justice and effective remedies when national systems are compromised or inadequate.” 

Amnesty International’s report reviews and analyses the performance of Africa’s human rights treaty bodies:  the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Commission); the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (African Children’s Committee); and the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Court).

Existential crisis for African human rights court

The report raises alarm that future of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights is in jeopardy following decisions by three governments – Benin, Côte d’Ivoire and Tanzania – to withdraw the right of individuals and NGOs to directly file cases before the court. Rwanda withdrew this right in 2016 bringing to four the number of countries that are now restricting access to this vital pathway to justice.

Amnesty International found that Benin, Côte d’Ivoire and Tanzania withdrew this right in response to decisions they perceived as unfavourable, and amid rising intolerance towards human rights defenders and a general deterioration of human rights conditions nationally.

Tanzania withdrew the right in November 2019, misleadingly claiming that the court had entertained matters that should have been handled by national courts. Benin and Côte d’Ivoire withdrew in March and April 2020, respectively. Benin disagreed with the court’s order to suspend seizure of an applicant’s property in a dispute with a bank, claiming the order undermined the country’s economic interests and political stability. Côte d’Ivoire was riled by the court’s decision to suspend an international arrest warrant against former Prime Minister, Guillaume Soro, and to release on bail 19 detained opposition politicians, claiming the court infringed on its sovereignty.

The decision by countries to hit back at the court for decisions they disagreed with is extremely worrying. African states must refrain from using political muscle against institutions whose very purpose is to ensure justice is available to everyone, regardless of their government’s politics.

Netsanet Belay, Amnesty International's Director for Research and Policy

“The decision by these countries to hit back at the court for decisions they disagreed with is extremely worrying. African states must refrain from using political muscle against institutions whose very purpose is to ensure justice is available to everyone, regardless of their government’s politics,” said Netsanet Belay. 

To date, the African human rights court has issued by far the most judgements against Tanzania. The country also has the highest number of cases pending against it, most of which relate to the right to fair trial.  

Burkina Faso is the only country that has fully complied with the judgments of the African Court. Tanzania has complied partially while Côte d’Ivoire has submitted an implementation report to the court. Benin, Kenya, Libya, and Rwanda, against which judgments have been issued, have not complied at all, some brazenly declaring they would not comply with the court’s orders and judgments.

Dismal compliance and cooperation

Amnesty International rated the overall compliance of African countries to their reporting obligations to the African Commission of Human and Peoples’ Rights as dismal. As of 30 June 2020, only six countries had submitted periodic reports, as required under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Six countries – Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Sao Tome and Principe, Somalia and South Sudan, have never submitted a single report.

Governments responded to only four out of 14 urgent appeals on allegations of human rights violations issued by the African Commission. Most of the urgent appeals issued (57%) were interventions on behalf of human rights defenders. It is however unclear whether the four responses substantively addressed the allegations, or merely acknowledged receipt of the Commission’s communications.

The disruptive effects of COVID-19 have exacerbated problems for Africa’s three human rights bodies, which were already starved of finances and resources.

Netsanet Belay, Amnesty International's Research and Policy Director

Amnesty International’s report notes that many African governments have imposed a range of measures to manage the COVID-19 pandemic, most of which were implemented with the use of excessive force, arbitrary arrests or detention, restrictions on civic space, and blanket denial of the right to seek asylum.

“The disruptive effects of COVID-19 have exacerbated problems for Africa’s three human rights bodies, which were already starved of finances and resources. Despite this, the bodies demonstrated some progress and innovation in some areas of their work, which sharply contrasted with stagnation and retrogression in other areas,” said Netsanet Belay.

People with disabilities and older persons

Shockingly, Amnesty International found that not a single member state of the African Union has yet ratified the Protocol on Persons with Disabilities in Africa, two years after the treaty was adopted. Likewise, almost five years since the Protocol on Older Persons was adopted in January 2016, only two countries – Benin and Lesotho – have ratified it.

“The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights will be 40 years old in 2021. It is disappointing that so many governments are yet to turn their rhetoric into concrete action in support of regional human rights bodies and instruments. It is high time for African Union member states to practically live out their stated commitments to human rights, including by expediting ratification, domestication and implementation of all regional human rights instruments”, said Netsanet Belay.

The post Africa: Regional human rights bodies struggle to uphold rights amid political headwinds appeared first on Amnesty International.

The one million figure is a grim reality for the African continent, and one that must spur urgent action from regional and international institutions and leaders alike

Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International's Director for East and Southern Africa

South Africa is the worst hit country, with 500,000 confirmed cases.

“The one million figure is a grim reality for the African continent, and one that must spur urgent action from regional and international institutions and leaders alike. Transparency, testing, treatment and containment measures all need to be urgently improved,” said Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s Director for East and Southern Africa.

We are concerned that in some countries, including South Africa which accounts for half of confirmed cases in Africa, test results are taking a dangerously long time to be released

Deprose Muchena

“We are concerned that in some countries, including South Africa which accounts for half of confirmed cases in Africa, test results are taking a dangerously long time to be released. Testing capacity must be significantly improved and strengthened, to ensure that people who may have COVID-19 receive adequate health care and that they are not unwittingly passing on the virus.”

According to the African Union’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases is currently at 1,007,366, while 22,066 deaths have been registered. The number of recoveries is at 690,436. However, experts have warned that these numbers could be a significant underestimate, owing to a lack of testing capacity across the continent, with some countries not having enough resources to conduct tests. Other barriers such as poor infrastructure, including roads and the lack of enough hospitals and healthcare workers have been cited as hampering the fight against COVID-19.

With cases increasing sharply, it is important for countries to work together through regional and international cooperation to ensure that human rights, including the right to health, are guaranteed for all people across Africa

Deprose Muchena

“With cases increasing sharply, it is important for countries to work together through regional and international cooperation to ensure that human rights, including the right to health, are guaranteed for all people across Africa. This collaboration should include greater transparency and accountability by governments to establish the true magnitude of the pandemic and the appropriate response, to turn the tide on this crisis,” Samira Daoud, Amnesty International’s Director for West and Central Africa.

“There is also a need for increased transparency and accountability around the use of financial resources amid reports of corruption and mismanagement of resources allocated for COVID-19. Countries must also strengthen health systems as they continue to respond to the mounting cases.”

The post Africa: Regional cooperation needed to fight COVID-19 as cases go over one million mark appeared first on Amnesty International.

Soldiers rampaging through villages in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso have unlawfully killed or forcibly disappeared at least 199 people between February and April 2020, Amnesty International said in a new briefing published today. Some of the killings amount to extrajudicial executions and among the victims, are internally displaced persons.

The briefing ‘They Executed Some and Brought the Rest with Them: Civilian Lives at risk in the Sahel’ calls on the governments of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger to put an end to the impunity around the regular violations committed by their security forces against unarmed populations, and to ensure that military operations are in conformity with human rights and international humanitarian law. In Mali and Burkina Faso where the situation amounts to a non-international armed conflict, the deliberate killings of unarmed civilians by security forces could meet the qualification of war crimes.

Insecurity is rife in the Sahel where the general population is trapped between attacks by armed groups and ongoing military operations. While arbitrary arrests by security forces sweep up dozens of people at a time, some aren’t seen again, and the true scale of the violations committed by the armies is unknown.

Samira Daoud, Amnesty International West and Central Africa Director

“Insecurity is rife in the Sahel where the general population is trapped between attacks by armed groups and ongoing military operations. While arbitrary arrests by security forces sweep up dozens of people at a time, some aren’t seen again, and the true scale of the violations committed by the armies is unknown,” said Samira Daoud, Amnesty International West and Central Africa Director.

“So far pledges by the governments of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger to address these violations have rung hollow. The authorities in these countries must urgently and rigorously investigate these incidents, many of which could amount to war crimes, and ensure the general population is protected during military operations against armed groups.”

The briefing highlights violations committed during the military response to the insecurity in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, as the three countries confront the threat posed by armed groups such as the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM) and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS). The violations occurred in the wake of the 13 January 2020 Pau summit in France reuniting the G5 Sahel of which the three countries are members and France, in which they recommitted to their partnership in addressing insecurity in the Sahel. 

Villagers arrested and unlawfully executed in Mali

In Mali, the military launched sweeping operations in the communes of Diabaly, and Dogofry in the region of Segou leading to several human rights violations following attacks against security forces by the armed groups.

Amnesty International was able to corroborate that at least 23 people were either extrajudicially executed or otherwise unlawfully killed and 27 others were arrested and then forcibly disappeared by the Malian army in the communes of Diabaly and Dogofry between 3 February and 11 March 2020.

On 16 February in Belidanedji, security forces extrajudicially executed five individuals, who were later buried by the villagers, and arrested 18 other ones who have been unaccounted since then. 

When the soldiers arrived in the village, most people fled to escape from their fury. But they arrested several villagers and executed four of my relatives. Afterwards, they seized some of the fertilizers, the supplies and many other wares in the market.

One relative of the victims told Amnesty International

One relative of the victims told Amnesty International:

“When the soldiers arrived in the village, most people fled to escape from their fury. But they arrested several villagers and executed four of my relatives. Afterwards, they seized some of the fertilizers, the supplies and many other wares in the market”.

Extrajudicial executions in Burkina Faso

Amnesty International also documented gross human rights violations committed by the security forces of Burkina Faso between March and April 2020. In at least two instances, security forces forcibly disappeared individuals, including IDPs, before killing them.On 29 March, Issouf Barry, local councillor in Sollé, Hamidou Barry, the village chief of Sollé, and Oumarou Barry, a member of the princely family of Banh were abducted in their homes in Ouahigouya.

According to a relative of one of the victims, the three individuals were arrested in their homes by gendarmes. All three of them were IDPs who had relocated to Ouahigouya, the regional capital, from their original settlements, due to the insecurity. Their dead bodies were found by villagers on 2 April, at the outskirts of the city, on the road leading to Oula.

In another incident documented by Amnesty International, 31 residents of Djibo, including 10 IDPs, were arrested and executed on 9 April by the Groupement des Forces Anti-Terroristes (GFAT).  On 20 April 2020, the government acknowledged that extrajudicial killings had taken place. In a statement, it said the Direction de la Justice Militaire had been mandated to investigate these allegations since 10 April 2019.

More than 100 villagers forcibly disappeared in Niger

In Niger, 102 people from the south-west region of Tillabéry were arrested and forcibly disappeared by the army as part of operation Almahou between 27 March and 2 April 2020. Witnesses told Amnesty International that 48 people were arrested on their way to and from a market fair in Ayorou between 27 and 29 March 2020 by Nigerien soldiers. The 54 others were arrested by security forces in several villages on 2 April.

Five witnesses interviewed by Amnesty International stressed that all these individuals have been unaccounted for and that many mass graves were found in several places in the department of Ayorou. Many of the locals feared for their fates if they were to venture near the mass graves or inquire about the forcibly disappeared. The military crackdown has forced people to flee to urban areas for safety.

“Inates has been deserted by its residents and most of them have moved south, closer to the urban centers due to the insecurity”, a witness told Amnesty International.

“The authorities in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso must ensure the cessation of the unlawful killings and enforced disappearances committed by their security forces. They must immediately ensure the release of all arrested and abducted persons unless they are brought before a court and charged with a recognizable criminal offence. They must investigate these incidents and prosecute those found responsible for the violations. Impunity has only led to further violations and abuses,” said Samira Daoud

It is important for regional actors and international partners to take a firm stand against these violations and exhort the authorities of the three countries to ensure that all measures are taken before, during and after operations to prevent civilian harm and further abuses.

Samira Daoud

“It is important for regional actors and international partners to take a firm stand against these violations and exhort the authorities of the three countries to ensure that all measures are taken before, during and after operations to prevent civilian harm and further abuses.”

The post Sahel: Soldiers rampage through villages killing people under guise of anti-terror operations appeared first on Amnesty International.

Key witnesses have told Amnesty International that the appalling attacks in Burkina Faso northern Yatenga province on 8 March were perpetrated by a ‘self-defence’ armed group that has often operated alongside the country’s military. 

The organisation spoke to seven key local witnesses and survivors in the villages of Dinguila-Peulh, Barga and Ramdolla-Peulh that were attacked, who clearly stated that it was the ‘Koglweogo’ who carried out the onslaught; firing and indiscriminately killing people, and burning homes and possessions. At least 43 people, including a 90-year old blind man, were killed during these attacks.

The attacks occurred in the context of the government’s promulgation of the ‘Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland Act’ (Loi sur les volontaires pour la défense de la patrie) in an effort to ramp up the fight against growing violence and attacks by armed groups across Burkina Faso. The law provides for the mobilization of volunteers at the local level to assist the government’s military operations.

We spoke to survivors in the three villages who told us about the terrible events they witnessed on 8 March. They saw assailants on motorcycles armed with hunting rifles, raiding their villages and firing indiscriminately before burning their homes. Many of these villagers have now fled to Ouahigouya the regional capital, in the wake of these attacks against their lives and their properties.

Ousmane Diallo, Amnesty International’s West Africa researcher.

“We spoke to survivors in the three villages who told us about the terrible events they witnessed on 8 March. They saw assailants on motorcycles armed with hunting rifles, raiding their villages and firing indiscriminately before burning their homes. Many of these villagers have now fled to Ouahigouya the regional capital, in the wake of these attacks against their lives and their properties,” said Ousmane Diallo, Amnesty International’s West Africa researcher.

“We condemn the horrendous attacks against the population in these villages, along with the previous ones and gross human rights abuses committed by the armed groups. Authorities should investigate the attacks, bring alleged perpetrators to justice, and be more diligent in the protection of civilian lives.”

‘Koglweogo’ identified as responsible for the attacks

Early in the morning of 8 March, the village of Dinguila-Peulh was attacked by a column of armed men on motorcycles and carrying rifles. The assailants then continued towards the villages of Barga and Ramdolla-Peulh.

At least 43 people were killed during the attacks in the three villages according to a government statement which claimed the assailants were “unidentified armed men”.

However, survivors Amnesty International spoke to, clearly identified the ‘Koglweogo’ as responsible for the attacks.

A witness in Dinguila-Peulh told the organisation:

” The ‘Koglweogo’ entered the village on the morning of 8 March around 5.30 AM and started shooting, killing about 24 villagers, including two elders. They stripped some of the dead of their money, took seven motorcycles and burned six other motorcycles. They continued afterwards to Barga where they killed more people, and then to Ramdolla-Peulh, where they only burned homes. Security forces arrived in the afternoon in Dinguila-Peulh. The following day, two ministers visited the village and we could bury the bodies of the people killed. “

A survivor in Barga told Amnesty International how the events unfolded and how his son was seriously injured during the attack:

“Very early in the morning of 8 March, we heard gunshots coming from the northeast… and people soon started to panic. ‘Koglweogo’ arrived on motorcycles and started shooting at all the men. I told my two sons to drive our herd and flee. When I was on my motorcycle, I suddenly saw a ‘Koglweogo’, just in front of the herd. He talked to my elder son, then aimed the gun at him and shot him. He fell on the spot and the man continued on his way.”

The bullet shattered the boy’s jaw and he has been unable to speak since then.

Other survivors told Amnesty International that the ‘Koglweogo’ burned homes, granaries, carts and motorcycles, forcing most of the villagers to flee to Ouahigouya.  

The ‘Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland Act’

The ‘Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland Act’ is a new law which was promulgated in January 2020, in a context of ethnic polarization in the Sahel, North and Center-North regions of Burkina Faso, as well as the proliferation of non-state armed groups like Ansaroul Islam, the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM), and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS).

Per the law, volunteers are recruited at village-level or at their residence area on a voluntary basis, and with the approval of the village development committee or the municipal council. After selection, they are supposed to be trained for two weeks and deployed under military authority for one-year renewable.

The volunteers are supposed to operate only within their residence area and to be under military authority. In practice, members of the ‘Koglweogo’ armed groups recruited by authorities have operated beyond their residence area, even though some are being suspected of having committed human rights abuses.

“The authorities should ensure the protection of human rights by refraining from recruiting members of self-defense groups such as the ‘Koglweogo’, with little respect for the value of human life, as volunteers. They cannot take the gamble of outsourcing the response to insecurity to armed groups that have regularly abused human rights,” said Ousmane Diallo.

Widespread violence by non-state armed groups

In Burkina Faso, the violence by non-state armed groups has caused the death of 1,295 individuals in 2019 according to the Armed Conflict Location Event Database (ACLED), an increase of 650% compared to the 173 deaths recorded in 2018.

The authorities have already opened investigations following the Yirgou massacre of 1 January 2019, which caused the death of 49 people according to official sources, and nearly 210 according to civil society organisations. On 23 December 2019, El Hadj Boureima Nadbanka, a ‘Koglweogo’ leader was arrested by the authorities in relation to the Yirgou massacre. He was provisionally released on 4 February 2020.

Civilians have paid the high price of the violence in Burkina Faso. Authorities must break the cycle of impunity by investigating thoroughly these incidents and prosecuting those responsible before national courts.

Ousmane Diallo

“Civilians have paid the high price of the violence in Burkina Faso. Authorities must break the cycle of impunity by investigating thoroughly these incidents and prosecuting those responsible before national courts,” said Ousmane Diallo.

“It is crucial that legal proceedings go ahead unhindered in relation to the 8 March attacks, but also the preceding ones such as the Yirgou massacre.” 

The post Burkina Faso: Witness testimony confirms armed group perpetrated mass killings  appeared first on Amnesty International.

January 

Legal abortion services were finally available to women in Ireland, following an historic referendum in May 2018 that marked a huge victory for women’s rights. It was the result of years of dedicated work by activists, including Amnesty International, to encourage a powerful conversation that helped catalyse the abortion debate in Ireland. This ultimately led to greater protection for those people who need an abortion there, and paved the way for the same inspiring progress in Northern Ireland later in the year.

©Amnesty International / Marianne Bertrand

As a tribute to Julián Carrillo, an environmental rights defender killed in October 2018, we launched Caught between bullets and neglect, a digest on Mexico’s failure to protect environmental human rights defenders. Just a few hours after the launch, two suspects in Julián’s murder were arrested, showing the immediate impact Amnesty’s work can have on justice.

The Angolan Parliament approved a revision of the Criminal Code to remove a provision widely interpreted as criminalizing same-sex relationships. They even took a step further, by criminalizing discrimination against people based on sexual orientation – the first country in 2019 to make this move, and a hearteningly radical move for an African nation.

February

After spending 76 days in detention in Thailand, refugee footballer Hakeem al-Araibi was able to return to his home in Melbourne on 12 February. The Bahrain-born footballer had been detained upon arrival in Bangkok on 27 November 2018, due to an erroneous Interpol red notice, and faced the threat of extradition to Bahrain. A campaign launched by Amnesty and other groups to free the footballer, who is a peaceful and outspoken critic of the Bahraini authorities, grew into the #SaveHakeem movement. The campaign spanned three continents, engaging footballers, Olympians and celebrities, and drawing the support of more than 165,000 people.

Following international attention and campaigning by Amnesty, Saudi authorities overturned a call by the Public Prosecution to execute Saudi woman activist Israa al-Ghomgham for charges related to her peaceful participation in protests. Israa al-Ghomgham still faces a prison term, and Amnesty continues to campaign for her immediate and unconditional release.  

March

©Amnesty International

In Ukraine, an International Women’s Day rally organized by human rights defender Vitalina Koval in Uzhgorod, western Ukraine, went ahead peacefully, with participants protected by police. The event marked a major change for the region, after similar rallies organised by Koval in previous years had been targeted by far-right groups, with police singularly failing to protect participants from violence.

AFRICOM admitted for the first time that its air strikes have killed or injured civilians in Somalia, after the release of Amnesty’s investigation The Hidden US War in Somalia: Civilian Casualties from Air Strikes in Lower Shabelle. Following this report, US military documents came to light confirming that the US authorities knew of further allegations of civilian casualties resulting from many of their air strikes in Somalia.

©Amnesty International

Gulzar Duishenova had been championing disability rights in her country Kyrgyzstan for years. In March 2019, her persistence paid off when Kyrgyzstan finally signed up to the Disability Rights Convention. Amnesty supporters wrote nearly a quarter of a million messages backing her.

And in Iraq, just days after Amnesty and other NGOs raised the alarm about a draft cybercrime law that would seriously undermine freedom of expression there, the Iraqi parliament chose to withdraw the bill, confirming to Amnesty that its “concerns have been heard”.

April

Getty

In April, love triumphed when a ban on all LGBTI events in Ankara, Turkey, was lifted by the administrative appeals court. “This is a momentous day for LGBTI people in Turkey, and a huge victory for the LGBTI rights activists – love has won once again,” said Fotis Filippou, Campaigns Director for Europe at Amnesty International.

The District Court of The Hague issued an interim ruling in favour of Esther Kiobel and three other women who took on one of the world’s biggest oil companies, Shell, in a fight for justice. Esther has pursued the company for more than 20 years over the role she says it played in the arbitrary execution of her husband in Nigeria. Amnesty has shared over 30,000 solidarity messages with Esther Kiobel, and is supporting her Kiobel vs Shell case in The Hague. As a result of this hearing, the court in October 2019 heard for the first time the accounts of individuals who accuse Shell of offering them bribes to give fake testimonies that led to the ‘Ogoni Nine’ – who included Esther Kiobel’s husband – being sentenced to death and executed.  

President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema, announced that his government would introduce legislation to abolish the death penalty.

May

Taiwan became the first in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage after passing an historic law on 17 May, with the first same-sex weddings taking place on 24 May. Together with LGBTI rights groups from Taiwan, Amnesty had campaigned for this outcome for many years. We are now working to end all discrimination against LGBTI people in Taiwan.

Qatar promised more reforms to its labour laws ahead of the 2022 World Cup. Human rights pressure also played a role in FIFA’s decision to abandon plans to expand the 2022 Qatar World Cup to 48 teams, which would have involved adding new host countries in the region. Amnesty worked together with a coalition of NGOs, trade unions, fans and player groups, calling attention to the human rights risks of the expansion, including the plight of migrant workers building new infrastructure.

June

© Eric de Mildt

Climate change activist Greta Thunberg and the Fridays for Future movement of schoolchildren were honoured with Amnesty International’s Ambassador of Conscience Award 2019. The Fridays for Future movement was started by Greta, a teenager from Sweden who in August 2018 decided to miss school every Friday and instead protest outside the Swedish parliament, until it took more serious action to tackle climate change.

In a long overdue move, Greece passed legislation to recognize that sex without consent is rape, and Denmark’s government committed to doing the same. This development is testament to the persistence and bravery of survivors and campaigners for many years, and creates real momentum across Europe following 2018 Amnesty’s review of outdated legislation in 31 European countries and other barriers to accessing justice for rape survivors.

From 1 June 2019, contraceptives and family planning clinic consultations became free of charge in Burkina Faso. The change was seen as a response to our 2015 My Body My Rights petition and human rights manifesto calling for these measures to be put in place. With financial barriers removed, women in Burkina Faso now have better access to birth control, and more choice over what happens to their bodies.

July

© Brendan Harkin/Love Equality

In a momentous and inspiring day for human rights campaigners, the UK parliament voted through a landmark bill on 22 July to legalize same sex marriage in Northern Ireland. The bill also forced the UK government to legislate for abortion reform in Northern Ireland, including decriminalization on the basis that a Northern Ireland Executive (government of NI) did not return in three months.

Also in July, in a US Congressional hearing, a senior Google executive gave the clearest confirmation yet that the company has “terminated” Project Dragonfly, its secretive programme to develop a search engine that would facilitate the Chinese government’s repressive surveillance and censorship of the internet. This followed Amnesty’s #DropDragonfly campaign, and hundreds of Google staff speaking out.

On 22 July, 70-year-old human rights defender and prominent Palestinian Bedouin leader Sheikh Sayyah Abu Mdeighim al-Turi was released from prison in Israel, after spending seven months in detention for his role in advocating for the protection of Bedouins’ rights and land. Sheikh Sayyah thanked Amnesty International and all those who took action on his behalf: “I thank you all very much for standing up for the right of my people and the protection of our land. While I was in prison, I felt and heard your support loud and clear, and it meant the world to me.”

August

Mauritanian blogger Mohamed Mkhaïtir, who was sentenced to death and held in arbitrary detention for more than five years after publishing a blog on caste discrimination, finally walked free.

Amnesty International

In August, Saudi Arabia announced major reforms easing some of the major restrictions imposed on women under its repressive male guardianship system, including allowing them the right to obtain a passport which should make it possible for them to travel without permission from a male guardian. The changes also grant women in Saudi Arabia the right to register marriages, divorces, births and deaths and to obtain family records. While we welcome these changes, people campaigning for women’s rights remain in prison, and we must do all we can to fight for their freedom.

September

© Ede Istvan Judt

Syrian national Ahmed H. was finally allowed to return home, after being imprisoned and then held in immigration detention in Hungary for more than four years. He had been arrested on terrorism charges after being caught up in clashes on the Hungarian border. At the time he was helping his elderly parents, who were escaping Syria and were crossing into Hungary as refugees. An amazing 24,000 people joined the #BringAhmedHome campaign, calling on Cyprus to allow Ahmed to return to his family.

A court in Tunis acquitted 18-year-old activist Maissa al-Oueslati, after she faced trumped-up charges that could have resulted in her imprisonment for up to four years. Maissa and her 16-year-old brother had been arbitrarily detained by police earlier in the month for filming a protester threatening to set himself on fire in front of a police station.

October

© PAUL FAITH/AFP/Getty Images

At midnight on Tuesday 22 October 2019, after a last-minute effort by the DUP to overturn the bill, same sex marriage became legal in Northern Ireland, while abortion was decriminalised. All criminal proceedings were dropped, including those against a mother who faced prosecution for buying her 15 year-old daughter abortion pills online.

Grainne Teggart, Amnesty International’s Northern Ireland Campaign Manager, said it was the beginning of a new era for Northern Ireland, in which the nation was freed from oppressive laws that police people’s bodies and healthcare. “Finally, our human rights are being brought into the 21st century. This will end the suffering of so many people. We can now look forward to a more equal and compassionate future with our choices respected.”

November

©LightRocket via Getty Images

Kurdish-Iranian award-winning journalist and refugee Behrouz Boochani arrived in New Zealand to attend a special WORD Christchurch event on a visitor’s visa sponsored by Amnesty International. It was the first time Boochani, known for his work reporting on human rights abuses from within the Australian government’s refugee detention centres, had set foot outside Papua New Guinea since he was detained on the country’s Manus Island in 2014.

©Amnesty International

Humanitarian volunteer Dr Scott Warren was found not guilty by a court in Arizona of charges linked to helping migrants on the US-Mexico border. In a similar case, Pierre Mumber, a French mountain guide who gave hot tea and warm clothes to four West African asylum seekers in the Alps, and was acquitted of “facilitating irregular entry”.

December

Alberto Fernández is inaugurated as President of Argentina on 10 December. As president-elect, Fernández announced he would push for the legalization of abortion as soon as he took office, saying: “It is a public health issue that we must solve.”

The Philippines’ Commission on Human Rights said that 47 major fossil fuel and carbon-polluting companies could be held accountable for violating the rights of its citizens for the damage caused by climate change. The landmark decision paves the way for further litigation, and even criminal investigations, that could see fossil fuel companies and other major polluters either forced to pay damages, or their officials sent to jail for harms linked to climate change.

The regional Economic Community of West African States’ (ECOWAS) Court of Justice rejected a 2015 ban imposed by the government of Sierra Leone preventing pregnant girls from sitting exams and attending mainstream school – and ordered the policy to be revoked with immediate effect.

The post In a dangerous world, human rights activists have been winning all year appeared first on Amnesty International.

Of the 29 countries in sub-Saharan Africa that still retain the death penalty in law, only four – Botswana, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan – carried out executions in 2018.

Of the 29 countries in sub-Saharan Africa that still retain the death penalty in law, only four – Botswana, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan – carried out executions in 2018. Although Botswana and Sudan resumed executions last year, having not carried out any in 2017, the overall number of known executions in the region went down from 28 in 2017 to 24 in 2018. This drop was mainly due to Somalia, which usually carried out the highest number of executions in sub-Saharan Africa, executing less people last year than it did in 2017.

The presence of these four countries on the list of executing countries in the region is not surprising as they are notorious adherents to the death penalty and have consistently implemented death sentences in the last decade.

Of particular concern is the surge in executions in South Sudan, last year the country executed seven people – the highest number since gaining independence in 2011 – and has already surpassed this grim record by executing eight people in the first three months of 2019 alone.

Of particular concern is the surge in executions in South Sudan, last year the country executed seven people – the highest number since gaining independence in 2011 – and has already surpassed this grim record by executing eight people in the first three months of 2019 alone.

Although 17 countries in sub-Saharan Africa imposed death sentences in 2018, eight of these are abolitionist in practice because they have not executed anyone during the last 10 years and are believed to have a policy or established practice of not carrying out executions.

At the end of last year, at least 4,241 people were known to be on death row across sub-Saharan Africa; each individual with their own story.

At the end of last year, at least 4,241 people were known to be on death row across sub-Saharan Africa; each individual with their own story, and a reminder that thousands of people are at imminent risk of their lives being taken away by the state.

One such individual is 17-year-old Magai Matiop Ngong who, in 2017, was convicted in South Sudan for murder, a crime he claims was an accident, following a trial in which he was not represented by a lawyer. During his trial Magai told the judge he was just 15 years old, but this was disregarded, and despite a strict prohibition against the use of the death penalty against minors under both South Sudanese law and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, he was sentenced to death. 

The feeling is not good at all because no one likes to die. To be informed that you are going to die, I am not happy for that. My hope is to be out and to continue with my school.

17 year old on death row

As Magai languishes in Juba Central Prison waiting for the outcome of his appeal, he reflects: ‘The feeling is not good at all because no one likes to die. To be informed that you are going to die, I am not happy for that. My hope is to be out and to continue with my school.’

While South Sudan’s growing use of the death penalty puts dozens of people like Magai at risk of execution, other countries such as Burkina Faso and Gambia have chosen to take a different path.

Burkina Faso and Gambia have chosen to take a different path

In Burkina Faso, the death penalty was deleted from a new Penal Code that became law in June; this effectively abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes only as the death penalty remains in the country’s military law for exceptional crimes. In addition, a provision expressly outlawing the death penalty has been included in a new draft constitution which may be adopted this year.

Also, President Adama Barrow of Gambia continued to entrench his commitment to rid his country of the death penalty. In February 2018, he announced the establishment of an official moratorium on executions. In September, Gambia became the 86^th State Party to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty; an international treaty which commits Gambia not to carry out executions and take necessary measures to abolish the death penalty.

Four decades ago no country in sub-Saharan Africa had abolished the ultimate cruel punishment for all crimes. Today, 20 countries in the region have done so. It is hoped that before too long Burkina Faso and Gambia will join these countries, and others will follow. Despite a minority of countries holding the region back, Sub-Saharan Africa is on course to completely abolish the death penalty, the trajectory may be slow, but, it is steady.

This piece was first published in the Daily Nation on 11 April 2019.

The post Sub-Saharan Africa continues to move against the death penalty despite regressive steps by a minority of countries appeared first on Amnesty International.

“The adoption of a new penal code effectively strikes off the death penalty from the list of possible punishments in Burkina Faso. While the country has been abolitionist in practice for many years, this parliamentary decision is a welcome move. Once the new code comes into force, Burkina Faso will join a group of nations that have consigned this cruel punishment to history.

“Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception, regardless of the nature of the crime. There is no credible evidence that the death penalty deters crime, and Amnesty International calls on other countries to follow Burkina Faso’s steps and outlaw this punishment immediately.”

Background

The last known execution in Burkina Faso was in 1988. Over the course of the last twenty years, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Senegal and Togo in West Africa, alongside the Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Gabon, Rwanda and Madagascar have all abolished the death penalty for all crimes.

The death penalty violates the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; it is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. There is no credible evidence that the death penalty has a greater deterrent effect than prison terms. This has been confirmed in many United Nations studies across different countries and regions.

The post Burkina Faso: Abolition of death penalty a hard-won victory appeared first on Amnesty International.