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Central African Republic: Conditions in Central African Republic Continue…

The United Nations reports conditions in Central African Republic have continued to deteriorate since a serious outbreak of inter-communal violence in mid-May between the Muslim Seleka and largely Christian anti-Balaka armed groups.

Fighting in some parts of Central African Republic has become so intense that United Nations and private aid agencies have had to suspend their activities. The U.N. humanitarian coordinator in the C.A.R., Najat Rochdi, says security has become so bad in the East, agencies have had to change their mode of operations.

“We cannot do it anymore business as usual having bases, you know, here and there, but rather strengthening some hubs actually, around a number of cities where the security is much more important and from there fly in special emergency teams, a kind of surge teams,” she said.

Since January, the United Nations reports a 50 percent increase in the number of internally displaced people to 600,000. Refugee numbers also have increased to nearly one-half million.

Rochdi says humanitarian operations in the country are suffering from severe under-funding. She says only 39 percent of the nearly $500 million appeal for this year has been received. Because of the lack of funding, she says food rations have been cut in half.

“And that there are places where actually we have stopped the food distribution. We already had very serious worsening of the malnutrition situation. For example, unfortunately, in the southeast, we started already seeing children dying from severe malnutrition,” said Rochdi.

Humanitarian coordinator Rochdi says there are unconfirmed reports that 10 children have died from malnutrition-related causes in the town of Zemio in southeastern C.A.R. She says shelter and protection concerns also are growing.

Another cause for alarm is education. She says 400,000 children are not going to school. She warns nearly a whole generation of children who have lost out on education may not have a viable future. And this, she says, will spell disaster for the whole country.

Source: All African News

http://allafrica.com/stories/201710190300.html

NCICC Blog

Gambia: Campaign to Bring Yahya Jammeh and Accomplices to…

Survivors of human rights violations under the Jammeh regime and international human rights lawyers and advocates, have created the ‘Campaign to Bring Yahya Jammeh and accomplices to Justice.

The Gambia Center for Victims of Human Rights Violations, the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa, Article 19 West Africa, Coalition for Change, The Gambia, TANGO, EG (Equatorial Guinea) Justice, Trial International (Switzerland), Human Rights Watch, Guernica 37 International Justice Chambers, Aid-Free World and La Fondation pour l’egalite chances en Afrique, were present at the launching ceremony held at a hotel in Kololi on Saturday, 21st October 2017.

The joint communiqué was read by Fatoumatta Sandeng, daughter of the late Ebrima Solo Sandeng who said the victims of human rights violations during the Jammeh regime and human rights lawyers and advocates, met on October 19th and 20th 2017, in Banjul, to deliberate on strategies to hold ex-president Yahya Jammeh and his accomplices accountable for alleged crimes including disappearances, torture, kidnapping, sexual violence and murder, during his regime. She added that they have decided to create the “Campaign to Bring Yahya Jammeh and his Accomplices to Justice”; that they are all committed to attain their ultimate goal, which is to ensure that Yahya Jammeh, as well as those who bear the greatest responsibility in the crimes of his twenty two year old regime, are brought to trial with all due process guaranteed; that they are aware that before Yahya Jammeh could get a fair trial in the Gambia, the rule of law, political, security and institutional concerns must first be addressed.

She called upon Government to exert diplomatic and political leverage to ensure that Yahya Jammeh faces justice with all due process guaranteed. She further called on the Government of Equatorial Guinea to allow Yahya Jammeh to face justice with all due process guaranteed. In addition, she called on ECOWAS, the African Union, the United Nations and all friends of the Gambia, to support the aspirations of the survivors of abuses by the former Jammeh Government.

NCICC Blog

Rights of 12 Million Displaced people in Africa Ignored:…

The rights of Africa’s 12 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are often ignored and their demands are left unmet, International Committee of the Red Cross President Peter Maurer said in a new report released Wednesday.

Maurer presented the report to the African Union Peace and Security Council, which focused on the implementation of the Kampala treaty – an African Union treaty signed in 2009 to protect the IDPs and provide them access to humanitarian services.
He noted that armed conflict had been one of the major causes of internal displacement in Africa.
“These challenges arise with respect to IDPs’ movements both en route to the place of displacement and at the place of displacement – [particularly during movements in and out of IDP camps] – as well as in the screening of IDPs,” the report said, without listing any specific countries.
“The rights of the IDPs are not always fully understood or respected in practice, with the result that consideration of these rights, when faced with security concerns, may be less rigorous than is required.
“One very real and practical challenge during armed conflict is that of maintaining the strictly civilian and humanitarian character of IDP camps and other settings,” it said, noting the permanent presence of armed forces inside such camps.
Speaking at a news conference after meeting the AU Security Council, Maurer said: “Often states lack legal and policy frameworks to respond to the needs of IDPs.”
The ICRC chief, who visited Nigeria and Niger, added: “Authorities should consult and actively engage with IDPs and host communities to ensure their participation in decision-making. All ages, genders, religious and ethnic groups should be included.”
He gave the example of Mali where, he said, authorities had organised mobile schools to allow internally displaced youth to continue their education; Ethiopian authorities too “have allowed IDP children without identity documents to attend school, avoiding a disruption to their education.”

Source News Express

NCICC Blog

Boko Haram: Nigeria, Turkey in partnership to deal with…

President Muhammadu Buhari and his counterpart from Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan have agreed partnership in the area of defence and security.

Speaking at a joint press conference after the meeting the meeting, Buhari said he was ‘‘very pleased’’ that the defence ministers of both countries held extensive discussions on developing new strategies for counter-terrorism.

President Muhammadu Buhari and his counterpart from Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan have agreed partnership in the area of defence and security.

Speaking at a joint press conference after the meeting the meeting, Buhari said he was ‘‘very pleased’’ that the defence ministers of both countries held extensive discussions on developing new strategies for counter-terrorism.

A statement sent to DAILY POST by Buhari’s Senior Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu quoted the president as saying the two leaders also discussed the prospects of increasing their bilateral trade, which has exceeded 779 million USD in the first eight months of 2017.

According to Buhari, ‘‘We are very pleased with the progress of the meeting so far and we are going to wait for the details of meetings between the two countries.

‘‘We will as a result of the meeting between the ministers and officials of both countries strengthen rapidly whatever their recommendations are.’’

Commenting on the degradation of Boko Haram in Nigeria, Buhari said the improved security situation in the North East was an eloquent testimony to the efforts of his administration in combating terrorism since he came into office in May 2015

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Kenya: ICC Has Raila-Kalonzo Probe Petition, Will Issue Verdict

Nairobi — The International Criminal Court (ICC) has acknowledged receipt of a petition seeking to have it investigate National Super Alliance (NASA) presidential candidate Raila Odinga and his running mate Kalonzo Musyoka for incitement.

In a response to the petition filed by a Canadian lawyer David Jacobs, the ICC’s Head of Information and Evidence Unit, Mark Dillon, said ICC will consider the application in accordance with provisions of the Rome Statute.

“This communication has been duly entered in the Communications Register of the Office. We will give consideration to this communication, as appropriate, in accordance with provisions of the Rome Statute of the ICC,” Dillon wrote in a letter dated October 17.

“Please note this acknowledgement letter does not mean an investigation has been opened, nor that an investigation will be opened by the Office of the Prosecutor,” Dillon added while noting that the petitioner will be informed in writing, with reasons provided on why a decision to commence investigations against the two NASA leaders would have been reached, or otherwise.

In the petition, lawyer Jacobs acting for International Policy Group (IPG) argued that Odinga and Kalonzo intended to commit crimes against humanity while citing incidences in which they are said to have made utterances meant to radicalize NASA supporters.

“We have strong grounds to assert that Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka and their cohorts in NASA are planning to plunge Kenya into violence in pursuit of political power,” the petition backed by the IPG’s Chairperson Kenneth Orengo and the Secretary Martin Nkari reads.

According to IPG, the global networks the two NASA leaders have coupled with their clout as former senior government officials could make it difficult for any cases to be instituted, with their supporters likely to turn violent.

The petitioner cited a particular incident in which Odinga and Kalonzo are accused of having incited indigenous Kajiado residents against non-Maasai’s living in their midst on claims that they had invaded ancestral land belonging to the Maasai community.

“There is reasonable basis to believe that Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka, as principal conspirators and part of a criminal organization and enterprise referred to as NASA, have intended to incite and instigate the crimes of murder, torture, persecution, forceful evictions, rape and damage to public and private property of innocent Kenyan citizens and residents who do not belong to the Maasai tribe in Kajiado County,” the petitioner states.

NASA lawyers led by Siaya Senator James Orengo have however stated since the filing of the application became known to the public that they were ready to face any court of law to defend Odinga.

This even as Odinga’s Spokesperson Dennis Onyango announced a suspension of daily demonstrations against the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission while blaming security agencies for perpetrating injustices against its supporters.

“This is a temporary step to enable the coalition to attend to the supporters who were brutalized and hurt and families that lost loved ones today after police and State-protected goons descended on protesters and NASA leaders,” Onyango said in a statement.

“NASA condemns the unfolding policy of ethnic profiling and use of brutal and lethal force being meted out on protesters,” he added while appealing to human rights groups to “take a keen interest in the atrocities” being committed against its supporters across the country.

NCICC Blog

Nigeria to De-radicalize Convicted Boko Haram Terrorists Through Expert…

Nigeria is taking steps to de-radicalize convicted Boko Haram terrorists through the development of a range of expert psychologists and counselors to pioneer rehabilitation efforts.

Deputy Ambassador to the UN Samson Itegboje, disclosed this while presenting Nigeria’s statement to the UN Security Council on the recent visit of the Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed and other top women officials of the UN to Nigeria.

Itegboje said Nigeria is also utilizing Islamic scholars to counter extremist narratives by training them on aspects of dialogues and religious counseling.

He also said government is working with the affected communities to design economic revitalization programnmes targeted at people most affected by terrorism and violent extremism.

The Nigerian envoy seized the opportunity to assure the Security Council that following the recent release of 82 of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls, the Federal Government has intensified efforts at securing the release of the remaining girls.

He added that government was also not leaving any stone unturned in securing the release of any other abducted girls and women, including freeing them from the ideological grips of Boko Haram terrorists.

Source: Dankura News

http://www.dandalkura.com/news/nigeria-de-radicalize-convicted-boko-haram-terrorists-expert-psychologists-counselors/

NCICC Blog

Chad withdraws troops from fight against Boko Haram in…

Chad has withdrawn hundreds of troops from neighbouring Niger, where they were helping local forces fight Boko Haram Islamist militants, humanitarian sources and officials said.

The pull-out over the past two weeks could weaken a region-wide struggle against the militants who have killed tens of thousands of people, forced many more to flee and triggered a humanitarian crisis.

There was no immediate explanation or comment from defence officials in Chad.

The move came a month after the vast central African country complained about an unexpected U.S. travel ban imposed on its nationals.

Chad warned at the time the order could affect its security commitments, which include its involvement in the U.S.-backed fight against Boko Haram.

 

Boko Haram [Photo Credit: Pearl News]

Residents said the withdrawal had already had an impact on Niger’s Diffa region, which has seen a string of attacks by Boko Haram militants crossing over from their base in neighbouring Nigeria.

Ibrahim Arimi from the border village of Bosso said banditry had increased since the Chadian troops started leaving and he had been temporarily moved to another village for safety.

Diffa parliamentarian Lamido Moumouni said residents had started complaining.

“They have come to rely on the forces so there is a perception that security will be lacking,” he said by telephone.

At its peak in 2016 after an attack in Bosso, Chad had 2,000 troops in Niger to help counter Boko Haram although security sources said this has fallen since.

Boko Haram has attacked Chad, Niger and Cameroon from its base in northeast Nigeria.

Its eight-year bid to carve out an Islamist caliphate has driven millions from their homes, no fewer than 200,000 of them are now based in Diffa, with little prospect of returning home.

Thousands of them are camped alongside an unfinished highway in the middle of a barren savannah with few resources.

Chad’s soldiers also occupy front-line positions in a peacekeeping force in northern Mali.

Analysts say falling oil revenues after the price crash in 2014 has also sapped Chad’s appetite for expensive regional security commitments.

Source: PremiumTimes

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/foreign/west-africa-foreign/245984-chad-withdraws-troops-fight-boko-haram-niger.html

NCICC Blog

I will cooperate, Ocampo tells Bensouda as ICC starts…

Former ICC prosecutor Luis Ocampo has said he is not under investigation over an alleged leakage of confidential information to a war criminal in Libya.

Ocampo has however offered to help with the probe following the allegations.

In a letter to chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, he notes he is willing to help the Internal Oversight Mechanism (IOM) at the court unravel the case.

“I noted that you requested full cooperation to establish the facts. I want to support the inquiry,” Ocampo said on Thursday.

“By the IOM’s own standards, it cannot take into consideration information obtained by criminal means, but I can provide some documents and explanations to clarify the allegations.”

Last Friday, documents at the ICC indicated Ocampo allegedly leaked confidential information to a Libyan warlord.

The documents showed he secretly advised the suspect, a close ally to former Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi, for purposes of helping him escape justice at The Hague-based court.

He was allegedly paid Sh309 million ($3 million) over three years.

Read: Storm at ICC as Bensouda’s staff probed over Ocampo, Gaddafi bribery claim

Ocampo has refuted the claims saying none of the advice he has rendered since leaving office in June 2012 was in conflict of interest with the court’s operations.

He said the advice did not interfere with the court’s work or any of its officials and that it was not based on any internal or confidential information.

“Specifically, my advice, on the possibility that alleged crimes committed by different parties of  Libya’s conflict that started in 2014 were going to be investigated by the ICC, was exclusively based on your public statement before the UN Security Council presented on May 12, 2015,’ Ocampo told Bensouda.

He said he is willing to provide information to the IOM to prove information he used to offer his advice was public.

“Similarly, if my client authorizes me, I will provide documents from 2015 showing the scope of my advice in this conflict focused on how citizens could assist to investigate the crimes committed by the different parties to prevent violence.”

During his nine year tenure as ICC Chief Prosecutor, Ocampo was tasked with hunting down the world’s worst war criminals and bringing them to trial.

He had 300 employees at his disposal to help him conduct investigations in war zones and issue arrest warrants against heads of government.

Among his tasks was to investigate the Libyan civil war that broke out in February 2011 and led to the downfall and the consequent murder of Gaddafi by rebel forces on October 20 the same year.

The documents at the ICC indicated Ocampo advised Hassan Tatanaki, a dubious Libyan oil billionaire and former supporter of the Gaddafi regime, who was deeply involved in the Libyan civil war.

In his letter, Ocampo called for the expansion of the scope of an internal probe that has been launched into a hacking allegation at the court.

Luis Ocampo with his successor Fatou Bensouda at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, June 2012. /REUTERS

He says the document on the alleged bribery claims against him relied on information obtained from professional emails and confidential communication sent through the official ICC IT system during his tenure.

“I learned through the presidency’s statement that in the court’s assessment, the electronic system was not tampered with by the hack. As a consequence, the internal inquiry should also analyse whether someone with access to the official ICC IT system provided such emails to those who are presenting the allegations,” Ocampo said.

“If this was the case, it could represent a breach of confidential duties that should be investigated. I can provide further information on this aspect or any other aspect if required.”

Some of the high profile cases Ocampo handled were on Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony and crimes in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic.

He has however been criticized many times for having trouble concluding his cases in legally watertight ways.

 

 

 

NCICC Blog

Amnesty International Seeks Justice for Boko Haram Suspects

As the mass trial of Boko Haram suspects on terrorism-related charges continues in Nigeria, Amnesty International has argued that it will be impossible for the suspects to get justice without fair trials.

According to a statement issued yesterday by Amnesty International Nigeria’s Media Manager, Isa Sanusi, the rights group said it had repeatedly documented how thousands of people were rounded up in arbitrary arrests with no evidence and held for years in detention.

Speaking on the trials of the Boko Haram suspects, Amnesty International Nigeria’s Director Osai Ojigho, said: “These trials should provide a much-needed opportunity to deliver justice for the many victims of human rights abuses and crimes allegedly committed by Boko Haram members.”

 

“However, the fact the trials are taking place behind closed doors, with no access for the media or the public, raises huge concerns. Public hearings are crucial for protecting an individual’s right to a fair trial and due process,” Ojigho added.

“The Nigerian authorities must ensure that all fair trial rights are respected. Defendants must have access to lawyers and interpreters if required, and that witnesses and victims are protected from potential reprisals,” Ojigho said.

Amnesty International said it had repeatedly documented how thousands of people have been rounded up in mass arbitrary arrests with little or no evidence and held in detention for years.

“In instances where no prima facie case has been established, as is reportedly the situation in some of the cases, detainees should be immediately released,” the statement said.

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), had announced that the prosecution of 2,321 suspected members of Boko Haram would begin on October 9.
A statement issued by Mr. Salihu Isah, Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the minister said the suspects were being detained in various detention facilities across the country.

While there are 1,670 detainees held at a detention facility in Kainji another 651 detainees are in detention in Maiduguri.

Isah also said that 220 detainees have been recommended for release and will participate in the deradicalisation programme for want of evidence.

In order to fast-track the prosecution of the cases, he said the justice minister had approved a list of prosecutors to handle the cases, adding that the Legal Aid Council had equally agreed to provide counsel to represent accused persons that cannot afford lawyers.

He said four judges had been designated by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to hear the cases at Kainji and dispose of them expeditiously.

According to him, 13 cases had been concluded, with nine convictions secured while 33 cases were on trial at various Federal High Court divisions.

Another 116 cases have been filed but the suspects were yet to be arraigned.

He said the trial of those detained in Kainji would start first to be followed by those detained in Maiduguri.

Source: ThisDay live :

https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2017/10/12/amnesty-international-seeks-justice-for-boko-haram-suspects/

NCICC Blog

Ensure Ghana Abides By Its International Law Obligations –…

Mr. William Nyarko (right) speaks to the diplomats at the session chaired by Mr. Roland Chauville (left), executive director of UPRInfo, Geneva

Mr. William Nyarko (right) speaks to the diplomats at the session chaired by Mr. Roland Chauville (left), executive director of UPR Info, Geneva

Research and education think tank Africa Center for International Law and Accountability (ACILA) has urged diplomats at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, to make recommendations to Ghana to ratify and domesticate international instruments to which it is a signatory when Ghana appears before the United Nations Human Rights Council next month for a review of its human rights record.

ACILA executive director, Mr. William Nyarko, who made the call to the diplomats during a presentation to the UN Permanent Missions on Tuesday, noted that even though Ghana had made commendable progress in implementing some of the recommendations that the diplomats had made in 2012, a lot remains to be done by Ghana to ensure compliance with its obligations under international law.

Mr. Nyarko’s call to the diplomats comes barely one month before diplomats on the United Nations Human Rights Council will review Ghana’s human rights record in Geneva on November 7, 2017 under the UN Universal Periodic Review mechanism. Under the UPR, the human rights record of all the 193 Member States of the UN is reviewed every five years.

The Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system made up of 47 States responsible for the promotion and protection of all human rights around the globe, according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights.

Prior to Ghana’s impending appearance at the Human Rights Council on November 2017, UPR Info, a Geneva-based NGO that aims to promote and strengthen the Universal Periodic Review process organized a pre-session for NGOs working in human rights in Ghana to make presentations to the diplomats and share the human rights situation on the ground with them. Ghana’s human rights record was reviewed by the Human Rights Council in 2012.

Continuing, Mr. Nyarko explained that at the 2012 UPR cycle, Hungary and Tunisia made a recommendation to Ghana, which Ghana accepted, to domesticate the Rome Statute, which Ghana had ratified as far back as 1999.

In April 2016, Ghana drafted the International Criminal Court Bill but the bill has since not been laid before Parliament for deliberation, passage, and signing into law. This state of affairs is attributable to lack of political will and lack of public demand for responsiveness and accountability from the state, he noted.

He urged the diplomats to recommend to Ghana to pass and sign the International Criminal Court Bill into law before the end of 2018 in order to establish a legal framework to enable Ghanaian courts to try offenses committed under the Rome Statute as well as enable the ICC to prosecute cases in Ghana where Ghanaian courts are unable to do so.

Touching on the signing and ratification of instruments, Mr. Nyarko recalled that at the 2012 UPR, about 20 recommendations were made to Ghana to, among other things, “ratify before the end of the third UPR cycle those conventions to which Ghana is a signatory (Hungary)”; ratify OP-CAT (Luxembourg, Australia, Tunisia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Spain);“ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty (Australia, Spain, Rwanda, Switzerland, France, Uruguay, Norway).

He said while Ghana had made some progress by ratifying one of the core human rights instruments, that is, the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OP-CAT) on September 23, 2016, majority of the instruments have still not been ratified or remain unsigned.

In the case of signing and ratifying the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition

of the death penalty (ICCPR-OP2), he observed that, Ghana, an abolitionist in practice, constituted a Constitutional Review Commission, which recommended in 2012 for the replacement of the death penalty with life imprisonment without parole.

According to Mr. Nyarko, this recommendation was to be put to a national referendum because the death penalty is an entrenched provision in the Constitution; however, the referendum has not been held.

He encouraged the diplomats to recommend to Ghana to ratify the international instruments to which Ghana is a signatory by December 2018 and put the recommendations of the CRC to a referendum by January 2020 to inform Ghana’s decision whether to sign and ratify ICCPR-OP2.

“In the meantime, Ghana should continue to commute death sentences to life imprisonment”, he added.

Source: Modern Ghana News https://www.modernghana.com/news/808992/ensure-ghana-abides-by-its-international-law-obligations-a.html

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