African leaders have sent their people an alarming message by siding with Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir over his victims, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in its annual report on Wednesday.
The 600-page review of human rights in the world criticized African governments for blocking justice mechanisms and warned that rights activists were increasingly threatened.
The New York-based watchdog hailed the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrant last March against Beshir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan’s strife-wracked Darfur region as “a major development.”
But in an introduction entitled “The Abusers’ Reaction: Intensifying Attacks on Human Rights Defenders, Organizations and Institutions,” it also deplored the African Union’s (AU) decision to stand by Beshir.
“One would have wanted African leaders to applaud the move. After all, the world had dithered for more than five years as the people of Darfur faced mass murder and forced displacement,” the report said.
“Unfortunately, some African leaders seemed less troubled by the slaughter of ordinary African people than by the audacious prospect that a sitting African leader might actually be brought to justice for these horrendous crimes,” it said.
“The nadir came during the African Union summit held in July 2009 in Sirte, Libya,” HRW said. “The AU, led by some of the continent’s worst autocrats, began accusing the court of unfairly targeting Africans. In reality, these leaders were cynically trying to protect one of their own.”
Human Rights Watch, which reviewed the status of human rights in about 20 sub-Saharan countries, also highlighted government obstruction or misuse of justice mechanisms at national level.
The report, dedicated to Alison Des Forges — a former HRW Africa senior adviser and leading expert on Rwanda’s 1994 genocide who died in a US plane crash last year — took a swipe at Rwanda over its local gacaca courts.
Rwanda has “employed its informal gacaca courts — a form of popular justice devoid of many fair trial guarantees — to falsely accuse government critics of complicity in the 1994 genocide,” HRW said.
“Ironically, these steps, taken in the name of national reconciliation, have undermined the formation of independent civil society groups that could bridge ethnic divides and ease ethnic tensions,” it said.
Human Rights Watch also slammed Kenya, a key Western ally in Africa which has failed to introduce reforms demanded by the international community following deadly post-election violence in 2008.
The report said “incidents of extrajudicial killings and excessive use of force by police and military continued unchecked in 2009.”
“There were also renewed reports of systematic torture and mistreatment of civilians during disarmament operations,” the report said.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
Two people died and 19 others were injured after a Mexican Navy training ship hit the Brooklyn Bridge, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said yesterday. The ship snapped all three of its masts as it collided with the New York City landmark late on Saturday, while onlookers enjoying the balmy spring evening watched in horror. “At this time, of the 277 on board, 19 sustained injuries, 2 of which remain in critical condition, and 2 more have sadly passed away from their injuries,” Adams posted on X. Footage shared online showed the Mexican Navy ship Cuauhtemoc, its sails furled