human-rights

News

Kenya: Is the Waki Team a Mini Truth Commission?
The history of commissions of inquiry in Kenya has not been a happy one. Indeed, one would not be incorrect to assert that such commissions have generally been used by the state to sweep scandals and matters of national importance under the proverbial rug.
Source : AllAfrica | 28-Aug-2008 15:35

Cameroon: Brigade Commander Accused of Human Rights Abuse
Christian Epee, Nkor Gendarmerie Brigade Commander, Noni, Northwest Province, has been accused of brutalising detainees in an attempt to extort confessional and incriminating statements from them.
Source : AllAfrica | 28-Aug-2008 15:07

Ethiopia: Addressing Gender Equality, a Persistent Challenge for Africa
The Conference of Ministers of Gender and Women's Affairs jointly organized by the African Union (AU) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) kicks off here in Addis Ababa Monday with a two-day meeting of the Committee of Experts, ECA said adding that the Ministerial segment of the Conference will take from 28 to 29 August 2008.
Source : AllAfrica | 28-Aug-2008 14:07

Nigeria: Passport - 'Husband's Consent No Longer Required'
Comptroller-General of Immigration (CG) Mr. Chukwurah Udeh, said submission of Letter of Consent from husbands would no longer be a requirement for issuance of Nigerian passport.
Source : AllAfrica | 28-Aug-2008 13:41

Newspaper Editor Freed on Bail
Reporters Without Borders has learned the good news that Amare Aregawi, the editor of the privately-owned Amharic-language weekly Reporter, was released yesterday evening.
Source : AllAfrica | 28-Aug-2008 12:30

Nigeria: Muslims Hailed On Coroner's Law
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), a religious body, has commended muslims in Lagos for their maturity, patience and conduct in handling the Lagos Coroner Law.
Source : AllAfrica | 28-Aug-2008 11:52

Uganda: ICC Arrest Warrants No Impediment to Peace
MANY people have argued that the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against the leaders of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) are an impediment to the peace process in northern Uganda.
Source : AllAfrica | 28-Aug-2008 11:42

Mental Illness, Prayer Camps And Society - A Factor of Human Rights Abuse
Mentally challenged people have been viewed diversely as a little bit lesser than human. They are always considered as a burden, a nuisance and pathetic to society.
Source : AllAfrica | 28-Aug-2008 11:22

Nigeria: CLO Asks FG to Investigate JTF's Killing of Pregnant Woman, Others
Bayelsa State chapter of the Civil Liberty Society (CLO) wants the Federal Government to set up a panel to investigate the circumstances that led to the killing of three persons among them a pregnant lady in the Southern Ijaw waterways of the state by men of the Joint Task Force (JTF).
Source : AllAfrica | 28-Aug-2008 11:00

Congo-Kinshasa: Monuc, EU Acknowledge Failure in Disarming FDLR Rebels in Country
Both Alan Doss, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in the DRC and head of MONUC and Roland Van de Geer, the EU's Special Representative for the Great Lakes Region Wednesday acknowledged that implementing the Nairobi accord is a difficult undertaking.
Source : AllAfrica | 28-Aug-2008 10:56

Nigeria: Welcome Back From Beijing
WITH the unacceptable human rights record of China, particularly the situation of Tibet, one should wonder why the United States, as the leading nation of the West, agreed to the choice of China to host the recent Olympic Games
Source : AllAfrica | 28-Aug-2008 10:49

South Africa: Uninformed Opinions Warp Our Picture of Immigrants
WHAT do immigrants do in SA? For a lot of people, there is an easy answer. They flood across our borders in huge and unmanageable numbers.
Source : AllAfrica | 28-Aug-2008 10:36

Elders Hold Peace Talks to End Post-Poll Enmity
A series of peace talks between members of various communities affected by post-election violence are being held in Kaptembwo through the support of the UN Development Programme.
Source : AllAfrica | 28-Aug-2008 10:31

Kenya: Rights Commission Report on Election Violence Not Banned
Details of how Cabinet ministers, among others, planned and promoted post-election violence can now be revealed.
Source : AllAfrica | 28-Aug-2008 10:31

South Africa: 'Ignorance, State Failure' at Root of Xenophobia Attacks
POOR management of migration by the state , along with many South Africans' ignorance about the rest of the continent, contributed to xenophobic attacks on foreigners five months ago, former University of Cape Town vice-chancellor Mamphela Ramphele said yesterday.
Source : AllAfrica | 28-Aug-2008 10:15

Tunisia: Human Rights Activist Arrested After Giving Interview to Al Jazeera
Reporters Without Borders calls for the immediate release of Tarek Soussi of the International Association for the Support of Political Prisoners, who was arrested at his home in Bizerte (60 km north of Tunis) today, after giving a phone interview to pan-Arab satellite TV station Al Jazeera yesterday in which he criticised the arrest of seven people.
Source : AllAfrica | 28-Aug-2008 09:58

'Congo Has No Means to Disarm FDLR Rebels'
The DR Congo government desperately wants to have Rwandan rebels disarmed and sent off its territory but does not seem to have the necessary means, the Presidential Great Lakes Envoy said today.
Source : AllAfrica | 28-Aug-2008 09:52

SADC Criticism Grows as Humanitarian Crisis Continues
The criticism aimed at the Southern African Development Community has continued to grow this week after the regional body failed to facilitate an end to Zimbabwe's humanitarian and political crisis at a summit of heads of state in South Africa this month.
Source : AllAfrica | 28-Aug-2008 09:49

Amnesty Exhibit Urges Immediate Stop to Human Rights Abuses
A new multi format exhibition hosted by Amnesty International is set to build pressure on the Zimbabwean government to immediately put a stop to ongoing human rights abuses in the country.
Source : AllAfrica | 28-Aug-2008 09:49

Nigeria: Anglican Church Restates Stand on Same Sex Marriage
Following the lingering debate on the possibility of same sex married priests holding Church leadership positions, erudite scholar and bishop of Kaduna Anglican Diocese, Rev.Dr Josiah Idowu-Fearon, has stated that the Anglican Church stood by its determination in rejecting same sex marriages and would not accept at any level, holding of Church leadership by men of such status.
Source : AllAfrica | 28-Aug-2008 09:45

Rwanda: UN Racism Conference Under Fire for Ignoring Genocide
The upcoming United Nations Durban Review Conference in South Africa-billed as an international effort to achieve racial reconciliation-is likely to make a mockery of any bona fide attempt to overcome racial discrimination, an influential campaign group says.
Source : AllAfrica | 28-Aug-2008 09:40

Journalist Slim Boukhdir Denied ID Papers After Release From Prison
On 26 August 2008, Reporters Without Borders wrote to the Tunisian interior minister urging him to intervene in the case of journalist Slim Boukhdir who has been deprived of his national ID card since leaving prison in July and whose passport was seized in 2004.
Source : AllAfrica | 28-Aug-2008 09:34

Egypt: Printing Press Refuses to Print Edition of Newspaper
On 20 August 2008, ANHRI expressed its objection to, and firm condemnation of Al Ahram Press's refusal to print the second edition of "Al-Badeel" daily independent newspaper. The press's decision came on the heels of the newspaper's coverage of a fire in al-Shoura Council, which included comments by experts suggesting that "the fire was deliberately set".
Source : AllAfrica | 28-Aug-2008 09:34

Uganda: Courts Martial Cannot Administer Fair Justice
The creeping normalisation of militarisation of the administration of criminal justice is taking place without any public debate or protest and very soon it will be irreversible. It is now common to see military roadblocks and military patrols on foot.
Source : AllAfrica | 28-Aug-2008 09:00

West Africa: Governments Turn Against Media, Nigerian Killed
Paul Abayomi Ogundeji, an editorial board member of the Lagos-based daily "ThisDay", was shot dead on 17 August 2008 in a Lagos suburb while driving home. Nigerian police say unidentified armed robbers who had earlier stolen another car ambushed and shot him, but his family and others suspect police involvement, says Media Rights Agenda (MRA).
Source : AllAfrica | 28-Aug-2008 08:35

South Africa: Rights Work Hampered By Closure Threat
The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) last week lifted a funding ban on its Centre for Civil Society (CCS) after national and international intellectuals protested loudly against the leftist centre's potential closure.
Source : AllAfrica | 28-Aug-2008 07:58

South Africa: UN Helps Uprooted Foreigners Return Home
The United Nations is assisting foreigners displaced by xenophobic violence which swept South Africa earlier this year to return to their home countries.
Source : AllAfrica | 28-Aug-2008 07:49

Sierra Leone: Commission Launches First Human Rights Report
A barefoot girl watches expressionless as men clad in expensive suits and women in designer clothes make their way on foot to the Community Centre in Kroo Bay, Freetown.
Source : AllAfrica | 28-Aug-2008 07:46

Cameroon: Coping With Obsolete Prisons Infrastructure
There is an endemic overcrowding of prisons found in Cameroon. The number of inmates found in different prisons in Cameroon triples the original capacity of these prisons. There is the absence of rehabilitation in these prisons and the probation facilities of most prisoners are far-fetched. These old and obsolete infrastructure and equipment, mostly inherited from the colonial era, as well as the tightness of detention cells are some of the major problems in prisons that can not be over looked by the government.
Source : AllAfrica | 27-Aug-2008 18:06

Taylor Chained Like a 'Monkey'
Lead defence counsel said the Dutch security measure to put a chain round the waist of former Liberian President Charles Taylor, standing trial for war crimes in The Hague was particularly objectionable and obnoxious.
Source : AllAfrica | 27-Aug-2008 17:03

Gambia: Eyebrows Raised at 'Exploitative Tourists'
The director general of the Gambia Tourism Authority (GTA) has admitted that some visiting tourists to The Gambia claim to be generous to Gambian communities, when in fact they have underlining exploitative motives, which the Authority vehemently condemns.
Source : AllAfrica | 27-Aug-2008 16:32

Zimbabwe: Trial of Chikurubi 14 Postponed to 15 October 2008
FOURTEEN members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) appeared yesterday morning, 26th August, before Magistrate Doris Shomwe in Harare Magistrate?s Court. They had been arrested near the Zambian Embassy in Harare on 28 May 2008, where they were to hand over a petition to the SADC chair calling for an end to post-election violence.
Source : AllAfrica | 27-Aug-2008 16:07

Somalia: Somalis Flocking to Displaced Persons Camps
Conditions for thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) camping on the outskirts of the Somali capital Mogadishu are getting worse, with malnutrition cases increasing as more arrive daily, sources told IRIN.
Source : AllAfrica | 27-Aug-2008 14:31

Nigeria: African Meeting in Country Threatens to Derail World Conference
UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer, has issued the following statement on the draft African Regional Declaration and Programme of Action preparatory to the Durban Review Conference.
Source : AllAfrica | 27-Aug-2008 13:48

Namibia: Minister Warns Germans on Reparations for Atrocities
The Deputy Minister of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development, Kazenambo Kazenambo, says while Government acknowledges and respects the plea of the Ovaherero people for German reparations, it also has a moral obligation to protect the descendants of those that had committed atrocities against the Ovaherero people, in the interest of the rule of law.
Source : AllAfrica | 27-Aug-2008 12:12

Tanzania: Court Asks for Kubenea Text Messages
Kisutu Court principal resident magistrate Addy Lyamuya yesterday ordered Zain (formerly Celtel) country director to produce before the court a printout of alleged threat messages sent to the editor of MwanaHalisi Mwanahalisi tabloid, Mr Said Kubenea.
Source : AllAfrica | 27-Aug-2008 10:12

Nigeria: Turai Seeks Early Passage of Cedaw Bill
First Lady, Hajia Turai Yar'Adua, yesterday in Abuja pledged to facilitate the early passage of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Bill by the National Assembly.
Source : AllAfrica | 27-Aug-2008 10:05

Rwanda: Genocide Trial of Former Top Army Officer Begins At UN Tribunal
Prosecutors at the United Nations war crimes tribunal set up in the wake of the 1994 Rwandan genocide have opened the trial of a former senior military officer alleged to have been one of the key architects of the mass killings.
Source : AllAfrica | 27-Aug-2008 09:32

Somalia: "Govt Troop's Acts Against Schools Are Undesirable" - Rights Group
Elam human rights groups have expressed concern over the entering of school buildings by the government troops where they injured five people including students and teachers on Tuesday.
Source : AllAfrica | 27-Aug-2008 09:23

Liberia: UN Body Condemns Dealth Penalty
The United Nations Human Rights Committee expressed deep concern today at new death penalty legislation authorized by Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, contravening an international treaty on civil and political rights.
Source : AllAfrica | 27-Aug-2008 07:44

Somalia: Plight of Displaced Worsens
Conditions for thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) camping on the outskirts of the Somali capital Mogadishu are getting worse, with malnutrition cases increasing as more arrive daily, sources told IRIN.
Source : AllAfrica | 27-Aug-2008 07:42

Rwanda: Country Promotes Unity With Home-Grown Models
Almost a decade and a half since Rwanda's genocide, reconciliation efforts are using traditional cultural models to build trust between communities, despite reports of continued targeting of survivors and judges of the "Gacaca" justice system.
Source : AllAfrica | 27-Aug-2008 07:41

Ethiopia - Well-known newspaper editor arrested for article questioning big brewery's labour practices - 26.08.2008

Source : Reporters Without Borders | 26-Aug-2008 19:13

Congo-Brazzaville: 'We Remain Marginalised,' Indigenous People Say
Despite government efforts to provide public services to all citizens of the Republic of Congo, indigenous communities (also known as Pygmies) continue to be discriminated against, the community's representatives have said.
Source : AllAfrica | 26-Aug-2008 16:46

Ethiopia: Well-Known Newspaper Editor Arrested for Article Questioning Big Brewery?s Labour Practices
Reporters Without Borders is dismayed to learn that Amare Aregawi, the editor of the big-circulation weekly Reporter, was arrested on 22 August in Addis Ababa and was then illegally transferred to a prison in Gondar, 750 km north of the capital, in connection with a libel case brought by the Gondar-based Dashen brewery.
Source : AllAfrica | 26-Aug-2008 16:33

Liberia: Court Addresses Security Measures and Next Goes into Private Session
The monitors of former President Charles Taylor's trial report for www.charlestaylortrial.org
Source : AllAfrica | 26-Aug-2008 16:26