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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.
By Friday last week, the gates had been thrown open wide for anyone who wanted to be vaccinated. Appointments were abolished in favour of walk-ins at the mass vaccination sites established to distribute the Sinopharm vaccine.
The response wasn't encouraging. At NAPA, 100 volunteers stood ready to guide and jab expected crowds, but rows of empty chairs stood testimony to the flagging response of the public.
By midday, the Paddock site at the nearby Queen's Park Savannah was a ghost town.
This was in the same week that saw the first case of the Brazil variant identified in Tobago and after the border reopening brought an influx of citizens into the country.
It's worth pausing here to note that the required tests and vaccinations for incoming passengers are a shield against importing covid19 cases, but they are not infallible.
The raging spread of the delta variant is now being referred to by the government's covid19 response team as inevitable, and the only real defence for the public is widespread vaccination.
Slowly, businesses are beginning to acknowledge the public health responsibilities that they face if they want to continue operating safely. Nigel R Khan bookstores and Peter George, who runs the Trotters Group, have joined Mario's Pizzeria in redefining terms of work for staff who are not vaccinated.
That's prompted trade unions, who have steadfastly refused to take a position on vaccination for workers, to call for meetings with local chambers of commerce.
But the country is fast approaching a time when talk will be moot.
The careful, tentative presence of the public at newly opened food establishments suggests an awareness of the country in the eye of the covid19 storm as the threat of variant infection looms.
Without more vaccination and greater attention to established hygiene protocols, the country faces significant challenges when variants of concern begin to spread.
Establishing control when more infectious covid19 variants begin to circulate will demand an increasingly hard line without higher vaccination rates.
There will be more stories like the unfortunate case of Alan Predy, who came to TT for his mother's interment, but who had a mix of vaccinations that were not approved locally. As a non-national, he was denied entry.
The government must become more proactive and persuasive in its efforts to address anti-vaccination misinformation.
A recent report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate suggests that 65 per cent of vaccine misinformation is generated by just 12 people. The so-called Disinformation Dozen thrive in an environment in which social-media algorithms cannot control the spread of false information.
The only possible response is an equally vigorous, appealing and effective local campaign to promote verifiable facts. Tedious and technical pronouncements at press-conference podiums aren't enough.
The post Worrisome decline in vaccinations appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.
[HRW] The trial of three security force members accused of being involved in the massacre of 21 civilians in Ngarbuh, in Cameroon's North-West region, is due to begin on December 17, 2020. It is expected to be an important step in tackling impunity.
Image: GCIS
Zimbabwe on Friday suspended trade on the stock exchange and mobile phone-based payments to address what President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government called “criminality and economic sabotage”.
The decision to suspend mobile payments will hit the economy hard as more than 80% of all transactions are conducted on phones due to a shortage of banknotes, according to central bank data.
“Government is in possession of impeccable intelligence which constitutes a prima facie case whereby the phone-based mobile money systems of Zimbabwe are conspiring, with the help of the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, either deliberately or inadvertently, in illicit activities that are sabotaging the economy,” the statement said.
‘Intrusive investigations’
The suspension of all mobile payments and the stock market was meant to allow “intrusive investigations”.
The government says mobile payment platforms were major drivers of a roaring foreign currency trade outside formal banking channels, with multiple listed stocks such as Old Mutual providing proxy exchange rates implied by their prices on foreign bourses such as the London Stock Exchange.
June 19: UN rights body to report on racism after Floyd killing
\tThe U.N.’s top human rights body agreed unanimously Friday to commission a U.N. report on systemic racism and discrimination against black people while stopping short of ordering a more intensive investigation singling out the United States after the death of George Floyd sparked worldwide demonstrations.
Advocacy group Human Rights Watch said the measure fell far short of the level of scrutiny sought by hundreds of civil society organizations, but nonetheless set the stage for an unprecedented look at racism and police violence in the United States — over the efforts of U.S. officials to avoid the council’s attention — and showed even the most powerful countries could be held to account.
June 18: African nations backtrack on US UN probe
\tAfrican countries on Thursday backed off their call for the U.N.’s top human rights body to launch its most intense scrutiny on the hot-button issue of police brutality and systemic racism in the United States, after American officials led back-channel talks to air opposition to the idea, diplomats said.
The Africa Group was reworking a draft resolution but had already cut out language calling on the Human Rights Council to set up a commission of inquiry — its most potent tool of scrutiny — to examine issues like systemic racism and abuse against “Africans and of people of African descent” in the U.S. and beyond, said the diplomats, who were part of the talks.
June 16: 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.
… 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 …
BY VANESSA GONYE ZIMBABWE has reportedly lost between 30 and 34 tonnes of gold which was smuggled to South Africa last year in a new wave of illicit financial flows (IFFs) that are affecting the country, the Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (Zimcodd) has said. In a recent report on IFFs, Zimcodd said the bulk of capital flight currently affecting Zimbabwe was happening in the gold mining sector. The revelations also come at a time suspended Zimbabwe Miners Federation president Henrietta Rushwaya is in custody following her arrest last week at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport on charges of attempting to smuggle 6kg of gold to Dubai. Zimcodd said a recent study by the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development estimated that between the period of 2009 and 2013, Zimbabwe also lost US$2,83 billion through IFFs, which translates to an annual average of US$570,75 million. It said this was the number one cause for the country’s loss of money, which has led to underdevelopment. “Of the cumulative outflows, 97,88% of US$6 billion IFFs were in the mining sector. In 2019, the Minister of Finance and Economic Development (Mthuli Ncube) is quoted to have said that Zimbabwe may have lost between 30 tonnes and 34 tonnes of gold to smuggling in the neighbouring South Africa,” Zimcodd said. “During this week, both mainstream and social media platforms were awash with stories of the arrest of Rushwaya at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport while trying to smuggle 6kg of gold to Dubai in contravention of section 182 of the Customs and Excise Act, which sets out penalties for any person found smuggling goods into or outside the country. “The attempt by Rushwaya to smuggle gold with an estimated worth of US$333 000 is only a microcosm of the macrocosm of the huge sums of gold and other precious minerals smuggled out of the country. If the figure is anything to go by, if sold officially, the amount from the gold would go a long way in covering the financial gap existing in the public service delivery sector.” The debt watchdog said government must now consider an upward review of the foreign currency retention threshold in the gold sector to motivate gold producers to sell their gold through the formal market in order to curb gold leakages. “Lack of political will and political interference in the operations of the anti-corruption institutions undermines the effectiveness of institutions and legislation responsible for combating illicit financial flows. There is need for the government to demonstrate political will to arrest and prosecute perpetrators and guarantee the independence of the responsible institutions,” Zimcodd said, adding that government should invest in information communication technologies to curb under declarations of minerals.
Burrell has been fighting for his release, saying he is innocent and was wrongfully convicted. By Ricardo Lopez, Minnesota Reformer The Minnesota Board of Pardons, a three-person panel comprising Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison and Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, voted to commute the sentence of Myon Burrell, a 34-year-old man […]
The junta that seized power in Guinea has unveiled a \"transitional charter\" that it says will steer the country back to civilian rule. It however did not say how long the transition will last.
State-run grain trader, the Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (Admarc), has set aside over K62 billion for use in purchasing maize from farmers this season as it has now entered the market full-throttle. Out of the amount, K12 billion comes from the Treasury in line with the budgetary allocation for the cause while the other …
The post Admarc secures K62 billion for maize purchase appeared first on The Times Group Malawi.
He was a fierce proponent of free and fair elections (FFE) in Guyana.
Depoo, a Miss Phoebe native, migrated with his family to the US in the mid 1970s, qualified as a lawyer, worked with the US State Department, and later made Trinidad his home.
He made Trinidad his home for a further 20 years before deciding to settle in Guyana earlier this year.
After the Mingo fraud, Depoo spearheaded a signature campaign calling on the US State Department to take actions against those who were involved in the electoral fraud.
He was very active among the Guyanese diaspora in Trinidad where I met him at public events related to Guyana.
[Nation] Exiled former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh's dream of a peaceful return home edged closer last week with the announcement of an unlikely coalition between his party and that of President Adama Barrow.
BY EBEN MABUNDA The past 12 weeks have been eventful and very much of a roller coaster ride on the global cryptocurrencies front, which has been characterised by record surges in the prices of Bitcoin, Ethereum and the Elon Musk-hyped Dogecoin, among others, to have the tide turned by Tesla’s halt on Bitcoin purchases of […]
The post Africa wake up and smell cryptocurrency appeared first on The Zimbabwe Independent.
Paradigm Initiative, PIN, avers that human rights and the ordinary citizen stood as the main victims if the Written Laws (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act, No. 3 of 2020 is assented to.
PIN concerned about ongoing plans to abolishes public interest litigation in Tanzania
\tParadigm Initiative, a pan-African social enterprise working to advance digital rights and inclusion in Africa, is deeply concerned about the Tanzanian authorities’ attempts to abolish Public Interest litigation.
In effect, and as evident in its various provisions, the Bill seeks to abolish public interest litigation, meaning that Tanzanian nationals, other persons and civil society organisations (CSOs) like ours in Tanzania shall be required, as a matter of law, to prove how an action complained of “has affected that person personally.”
As most actions brought against government or private entities in the pursuit of public interest litigation are often as a result of human rights violations against the general public or vulnerable persons, public interest litigation will be a thing of the past if this retrogressive law is assented into law by H.E President J.P Magufuli.
For the common “mwananchi” (citizen) in Tanzania whose access to courts of law is already handicapped by an avalanche of social and economic constraints, the enactment of the Written Laws (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act, No. 3 of 2020 outlawing public interest litigation provides a fertile ground for human rights abuses in a country that already has a not-so-good human rights record and violates the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania.
Press Release - Criminal Charges Brought Against Group Alleging Corruption
Human Rights Watch says it has called on the Government of National Unity (GNA) in Libya to investigate the disappearance of hundreds of residents of the city of Tarhouna, where several mass graves were discovered in June.
[Independent (Kampala)] President threatens to pull out of Somalia, blames Rwanda for their actions
[East African] There have been calls in Kenya from some quarters that past perpetrators of corruption be forgiven. These calls are totally misguided for three reasons.
By Miriam Mangwaya THE Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum has called on local police officers to adopt the Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Co-operation Organisation (SARPCCO) guidelines to instil discipline in the force. The call came at a time the police are being accused of heavy-handedness, especially when deployed to enforce the COVID-19 lockdown measures. In its latest COVID-19 lockdown weekly monitoring report, the human rights body said police should stop unlawful attacks on citizens. Since the beginning of the lockdown on March 30, the police throughout the country have subjected more than 800 people, including journalists, to beatings, torture, abductions and harassments, according to statistics released by the forum. “Government should ensure ZRP (Zimbabwe Republic Police) develops a code of conduct in line with SARPCCO guidelines to help strengthen police discipline,” the human rights group said. “The forum remains concerned by the conduct of police and other law enforcement officers, who continue to use excessive force during law enforcement.” The rights group added: “The forum urgently calls upon the Home Affairs minister Kazembe Kazembe, ZRP Commissioner-General Godwin Matanga to ensure that members of ZRP stop perpetrating human rights violations, including, but not limited to beatings, excessive use of force, torture, abductions and intimidation of civilians.” The report also reveals that cases of police brutality are on the rise following the return of commuter omnibuses in major cities and towns after relaxation of lockdown restrictions by the government. The forum commended the Judiciary for upholding human rights through recent court orders which include instructing Harare City Council to ensure that pregnant women receive emergency medical services.
Did Donald Trump really demand Hijazi's loyalty?
While the police reform proposals are reasonable and fair, there will likely be some folks who don’t think so. The ultimate resolution will require sustained support from the electorate.
The post Police reform will require sustained effort appeared first on The Bay State Banner.
Would George Floyd be alive today had he and Derek Chauvin grown up together and attended the same schools?
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the public middle and high schools that Chauvin attended were 94 percent white and less than 2 percent Black at the time.
Today, nearly one-fifth of public schools have almost no children of color, while another one-fifth have almost no white children.
This segregation persists despite mountains of evidence demonstrating that students who attend school in integrated settings harbor fewer prejudices and have less discriminatory attitudes.
Students in diverse classrooms are less likely to drop out and more likely to enroll in college than students in high-poverty, racially segregated schools — and these benefits accrue to all students, regardless of race or ethnicity.
