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Human Rights Watch on Tuesday called for an independent probe into the deadly crackdown on protests that rocked Eswatini, Africa's last absolute monarchy, in June.
In May, Burundi held a presidential election which was won by Evariste Ndayishimiye, candidate of the ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy - Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) party.
Ndayishimiye was hurriedly sworn in after the untimely death of president Pierre Nkurunziza in June.
Rights violations continue
The Council encouraged donor countries which had suspended aid to Burundi to continue dialogue towards resumption of development assistance.
A report by a UN watchdog in September said human rights violations were still being committed in Burundi, including sexual violence and murder.
The country was plunged into a crisis in April 2015 when Ndayishimiye’s predecessor Pierre Nkurunziza decided to run for a controversial third term, which he ultimately won in July 2015.
His candidature, which was opposed by the opposition and civil society groups, resulted in a wave of protests, violence and even a failed coup in May 2015.
Hundreds of people were killed and over 300,000 fled to neighboring countries.
EDITORIAL COMMENT ZIMBABWEANS have suffered a lot at the hands of the Zanu PF-led regime. Honestly, the legislation of a law that curtails freedom of expression is the least they deserve at this juncture. The proposed legislation, the brainchild of Pupurai Togarepi the Zanu PF chief whip, which Justice permanent secretary Virginia Mabiza was at pains to justify, should not be allowed to see the light of day. Mabiza reportedly said it is the prerogative of the State to engage other nations on matters to do with international relations, hence the law would criminalise acts such as communicating with foreign governments without approval, making statements which may harm the country and conniving with hostile governments to harm the nation. At face value, the proposed legislation appears to be a brainwave. But the question that begs an answer is: Is the law necessary in a constitutional democracy where freedom of expression is enshrined in the supreme law of the land? The answer is an emphatic no. No because communication which exposes human rights violations and other ills highlights the shortcomings of a sitting government for the good of the country and this should be viewed as patriotism of the highest order. Yes loyalty to the State of Zimbabwe which we all owe our allegiance to. We wish to make it clear to President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his acolytes that the nation owes allegiance and should be patriotic to the State, and not his administration, which is the author of the mess the country is mired in as we speak and that exposure of malpractices is an obligation of all patriotic Zimbabweans. It should not be viewed as bravery as is the case in the country. Bravery yes because you have put yourself at the mercy of the government and are bound to face the wrath of the entire State arsenal. It’s like one has committed treason yet government should be answerable to the electorate. Curtailment of freedoms is not a new phenomenon in the country as during the tenure of the late former President Robert Mugabe we watched in servile acquiesce a media organisation being closed by then Information minister Jonathan Moyo under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act. That Act has been repealed, but Mnangagwa’s administration wants to smuggle it back masked as patriotism law. The citizenry can’t be fooled for the umpteenth time, once bitten twice shy. Watch the space, media houses won’t be spared by the proposed draconian law. Mnangagwa should be stopped lest we continue gravitating towards a one-party State. In the 1980s, the nation was patriotic but that has since changed because a sense of belonging and ownership that used to be the hallmark of our nation has been lost as people watch in awe while the elite plunders national resources which are supposed to be shared by all and sundry. Mnangagwa should not be allowed to silence the voice of the people which he aptly referred to as the voice of God. What has befallen our listening President, we wonder.
June 2020: African nations drag US to UN human rights council
\tAfrican nations have prepared a draft resolution at the U.N.’s top human rights body that singles out the United States and would launch intense international scrutiny of systemic racism against people of African descent in the wake of recent high-profile killings of blacks by American police.
It calls for a Commission of Inquiry — the rights body’s most powerful tool to inspect human rights violations — to look into “systemic racism” and alleged violations of international human rights law and abuses against “Africans and of people of African descent in the United States of America and other parts of the world recently affected by law enforcement agencies” especially encounters that resulted in deaths.
On Monday, the council agreed unanimously to hold the urgent debate on “racially inspired human rights violations, systemic racism, police brutality and the violence against peaceful protests” in the wake of the George Floyd killing in the United States.
AP report
May 2020: US must sit up, eliminate racial discrimination: AU on George Floyd ‘murder’
\tThe Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat has waded into the death of a black American man, George Floyd at the hands of police in the United States.
Over in South Africa, the Economic Freedom Fighter, EFF, also lambasted the US in a statement calling on African countries to call the US government to exercise restraint and to “call on Trump to seize from his genocidal deployment of the military against protesters.”
[HRW] Women track and field athletes, largely from the Global South, are abused and harmed by \"sex testing\" regulations, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The regulations target women in running events between 400 meters and one mile, and compel women they target to undergo medical interventions or be forced out of competition.
Data taken from the Illinois Traffic and Pedestrian Stop Study suggests that Black drivers are actually seven times more likely to get stopped by Chicago police compared to what White people experience.
[Nation] The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a three-year financing arrangement worth nearly $700 million with Cameroon, despite calls to halt the disbursement over misuse of funds.
On the evening of October 20, 2020, Nigerian army soldiers opened fire at a crowd of protesters in Lagos who were calling for an end to police brutality.
… that the vast majority of African American respondents don’t trust the … revealed that just 14% of Black Americans said they trust the COVID … truth.”
Dr. Maulik also encourages Black Americans to get the vaccine, but …
Policing oversight authority says residents complaining about officers
Ahead of Uganda's January 14 election, President Yoweri Museveni's government continues to limit the opposition's voices by blocking campaigning, enabling an environment that cannot facilitate a fair and free vote, according to rights groups.
“I have been fighting to get cancer out of my body.\"
Police officials across the country have consistently reiterated the same claim since the Black Lives Matter protests of summer 2020:
The post Data suggests police are exaggerating the number of officers leaving service since 2020 protests appeared first on TheGrio.
A resolution has been submitted in the Punjab provincial Assembly in Pakistan, condemning attacks on journalists and rights activists in the country.
The post Pakistan: Resolution condemning rising attacks on journalists submitted in Punjab Assembly appeared first on NewsDay Zimbabwe.
Collins calls for more answers from banks as reports, studies highlight inequities Testimony from advocates, state government agencies, and banks themselves were all in agreement Thursday, October 15: Race remains the biggest predictor of whether somebody is approved for a home loan, and a major factor in how homes are evaluated in an appraisal process. The […]
Introduction
As promised last week, today’s column begins with my presentation of a simple schedule depicting the sequencing of the five projects of ExxonMobil and its partners around which the IDB has modeled Guyana’s oil and gas sector to 2025 in its recent report, ‘Traversing a Slippery Slope: Guyana’s Oil Opportunity, 2020.’
The article Guyana’s Infant Oil and Gas Sector: The IDB’s application of IMF’s fiscal analysis model for crude oil production appeared first on Stabroek News.
[The Conversation Africa] Transportation infrastructure, such as roads and railway systems, is one of the sectors most threatened by climate change. Extreme weather events - such as flooding, sea level rises and storm surges - repeatedly wreak havoc on transport networks.
[VOA] Geneva -- The U.N. refugee agency is calling for more effective measures to protect millions of civilians in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo subjected to killings, kidnappings and savage abuse by armed groups.
A recent forum held in Kigali that brought together sexual minorities from across the region, including the LGBTI community, concluded that discrimination is still rife. It is also entrenched in cultural biases and indiscriminative laws, which lead to human rights violations. Representatives from Rwanda said that although the anti-discrimination law…
Just how vulnerable much of the Caribbean remains to economies that continue to be heavily dependent on tourism is reflected in a recent report published by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) which puts the financial cost of the still rampaging Covid-19 virus at a staggering US$33.9 billion.
The article Covid-19 toll on Caribbean tourism US$33.9 billion and counting - WITTC report appeared first on Stabroek News.
The UN Security Council called Thursday for \"sustained efforts\" in preventing the illegal trade of natural resources from the DR Congo, as gold in particular fuels conflict between armed groups in the region.
UN experts who monitor implementation of the sanctions detailed multiple cases of trafficking in a recent report, stating that gold from the country was flowing into Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, the United Arab Emirates and Tanzania.
\"The group traced Congolese gold to regional refineries and other international destinations and found that some refineries acted as brokers, used cash payments, undertook refiner-to-refiner trading and used corporate networks to obscure ownership, thereby inhibiting supply chain accountability,\" the report said.
The experts added that \"in terms of natural resources, the Congolese gold sector remained vulnerable to exploitation by armed groups and criminal networks and to unregulated trading.\"
DR Congo sits on top of large reserves of cobalt, copper, gold and other valuable minerals, but is nonetheless one of the world's poorest countries, with average per capita revenue of $490, according to World Bank data.
[New Zimbabwe] The Gukurahundi massacres are not \"small a matter\", and the atrocities need to be addressed as a matter of urgency, the National Transitional Justice Working Group (NTJWG) has demanded.
Press Release - Criminal Charges Brought Against Group Alleging Corruption
