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On Sunday, demonstrators in Lagos expressed their thoughts on an early request made by Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to halt the weeks-long protests in the country against economic challenges.
He replaces Debretsion Gebremichael, whose immunity from prosecution was removed Thursday.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International said Thursday that scores of civilians were killed in a \"massacre\" in the Tigray region, that witnesses blamed on forces backing the local ruling party.
The \"massacre\" is the first reported incident of large-scale civilian fatalities in a week-old conflict between the regional ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), and the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, winner of last year's Nobel Peace Prize.
\"Amnesty International can today confirm... that scores, and likely hundreds, of people were stabbed or hacked to death in Mai-Kadra (May Cadera) town in the southwest of Ethiopia's Tigray Region on the night of 9 November,\" the rights group said in a report.
Amnesty said it had \"digitally verified gruesome photographs and videos of bodies strewn across the town or being carried away on stretchers.\"
The dead \"had gaping wounds that appear to have been inflicted by sharp weapons such as knives and machetes,\" Amnesty said, citing witness accounts.
Witnesses said the attack was carried out by TPLF-aligned forces after a defeat at the hands of the Ethiopian military, though Amnesty said it \"has not been able to confirm who was responsible for the killings\".
It nonetheless called on TPLF commanders and officials to \"make clear to their forces and their supporters that deliberate attacks on civilians are absolutely prohibited and constitute war crimes\".
Abiy ordered military operations in Tigray on November 4, saying they were prompted by a TPLF attack on federal military camps -- a claim the party denies.
The region has been under a communications blackout ever since, making it difficult to verify competing claims on the ground.
Abiy said Thursday his army had made major gains in western Tigray.
Thousands of Ethiopians have fled across the border into neighboring Sudan, and the UN is sounding the alarm about a humanitarian crisis in Tigray.
Announcement - CPJ is Honored to Present its 2020 International Press Freedom Award to Nigerian Journalist Dapo Olorunyomi
INGLEWOOD — Students at Morningside High School are leading a community dialogue about creating equal opportunities for success for Black and Latino students in the Inglewood Unified School District.
“Our schools are not as good as if we were to go to La Tijera or Beverly Hills,” said senior Tristan Castillo, who serves as student body vice president at Morningside High School.
“I feel like this protest is more than just a Black Lives Matter thing, it’s for the community and all the people who are in the low-income communities who just want to be treated fairly,” Castillo added.
Castillo and Pilgrim also suggested that the district provide additional academic and community resources for all of its students.
He asked district officials to find more community partners who would be willing to donate their time and money to Inglewood schools.
… investigation into police violence against Black Americans.
Family members of 165 victims … officers to kill and torture African Americans with little to no repercussions …
Before the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country, Ms Atieno, who lives in Nyalenda slums in Kisumu County, could easily access her antiretroviral therapy drugs (ARVs).
She is among hundreds of people living with HIV who are avoiding visiting local health facilities to collect their drugs for fear of contracting Covid-19.
Ms Jane Oriedo, a resident of Nyalenda, confirms that there are HIV patients in the slum who fear visiting health facilities.
At the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, however, 33,000 HIV patients in 61 facilities in Kisumu were supplied with ARVs to last them months.
To mitigate the decline in patients visiting facilities, the National Network of People Living with HIV has started an initiative to distribute the ARVs to those who cannot access them in public facilities.
In 1997, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda – an international court established by the UN in 1994 to judge people responsible for the genocide – indicted Kabuga for his role.
It was set up to perform the remaining functions of both the Rwanda tribunal and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
The International Criminal Court was set up to hear cases of crimes against humanity, genocide, and aggression crimes.
From my experience working in Rwanda, Rwandans perceive international-based justice as aiding the conscience of the international community, which failed to intervene before or during the genocide.
The original warrant for his arrest was issued by the now-dissolved International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
Nearly ten years after the UN called for a major clean-up of areas of the Niger Delta polluted by the oil giant Shell and other oil companies, decontamination work has begun on only 11% of planned sites while vast areas remain heavily contaminated, according to a new investigation by four NGOs published today.
Main findings
Amongst other things, the four NGO's 30-page report, 'No Clean-Up, No Justice', finds that:
*There are still communities in Ogoniland without access to clean water supplies;
*Health and environmental monitoring has not been carried out;
*There has been no public accounting for how $31m funding provided since 2018 has been spent;
*Eleven of 16 companies contracted for the clean-up are reported to have no registered expertise in oil pollution remediation or related areas;
*Highlights that \"emergency measures\" proposed by UNEP have not been properly implemented and that the billion-dollar clean-up project launched by the Nigerian government in 2016 has been ineffective.
Recommendations to Shell
Amnesty and the other NGOs are demanding a rapid clean-up, and in particular that Shell:
*Provides proper compensation to all communities affected by failed or delayed clean-ups of oil spills;
*Decommissions all aging and damaged pipelines commits to funding the clean-up of Ogoniland and the rest of the Niger Delta until completed.
*Ensure that Ogoni people can access their basic rights, including the right to safe drinking water;
*Develop and implements a strategy to address the root causes of oil pollution, while fully involving local communities;
*Strengthen HYPREP and ensures it is an independent, transparent agency without the involvement of Shell in oversight and management structures;
*And publish all information on the clean-up project and its progress.
Recommendations to European governments
And finally, the NGOs are also calling on European governments which are home to oil companies operating in the Niger Delta to:
*Make a fundamental shift to prioritise the clean-up of Ogoniland and the rest of the Niger Delta over the interests of companies;
*Increase engagement with and support for the Nigerian government to ensure effective implementation of the UN's recommendations, independent oversight of the oil industry and effective remedy for affected communities;
*And to establish strong international regulations for corporate liability abroad - such as an EU law for mandatory Human Rights due diligence and a binding UN Treaty on Business and Human Rights.
About two months ago we launched the Mastercard Foundation COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience Program to focus on supporting African communities and young people, as well as young people and the indigenous communities in Canada, to support them and their needs as they evolve during this COVID-19 reality.
So under the Mastercard Foundation COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience Program we've moved quickly to partner with a range of actors that have experience, influence and reach for building robust public responses to the COVID-19 situation.
READ: Mastercard Foundation Commits $5M to Protect Kenya Health Workers
And if you allow me, we are not just focusing on outreach or just providing equipment; we also see an opportunity here to support businesses in the countries we are working in, that can actually play a role and participate in solutions.
READ: Mastercard Foundation Supports Ethiopia MSEs Affected by COVID-19
An unprecedented demand for flexibility
AllAfrica: And Daniel, on that specifically—the gender-based violence —have you been seeing it across the region, or is it more localized in some countries, and is it more an urban scourge, or is it also prevalent in the countryside?
Can you give us an example of what the foundation is doing to respond to the current economic crisis in your region, and also if there are more long-term activities the foundation is doing to help the continent be resilient and come back in full force if I may give a disclaimer, I'm sharing with you the work we are doing that I am responsible for in East and Southern Africa.
If completed, the sale would be the first American transfer of lethal drones and stealth aircraft to any Arab country.
[Premium Times] \"Because of the current security and economic challenges, our country Nigeria needs the prayers of every patriot.\"
[Shabelle] The U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) says an airstrike that was intended to target al-Shabab fighters in Somalia earlier this year killed one civilian and wounded three others, in a rare admission by the Command.
Press Release - Egyptian human rights activist Sanaa Seif was detained today outside the Public Prosecutor's office in New Cairo, where she was waiting to file a complaint after suffering a violent assault. Amnesty International is calling for her immediate release and an end to the \"relentless harassment\" of her and her family.
[VOA] Omar Radi wasn't surprised to find he was the target of apparent surveillance by Moroccan authorities. The freelance investigative journalist has been threatened and arrested for his coverage of the government, and was most recently summoned by police on June 24.
In the last few decades, millions of unskilled workers from South Asia have migrated to Gulf countries due to limited opportunities at home.
In 2019, migrant workers from South Asian countries sent back $122 billion to their home countries, according to the World Bank.
The steep fall in oil prices slashes major source of revenues for the energy-rich Gulf states, a favorite destination of South Asia’s migrant workers.
Amnesty International reports that about 23 million migrant workers living in the Middle East have had their work hours cut short and lost their jobs, reducing their ability to send home money to families dependent on remittances.
This recent fall in remittances is the sharpest in recent history, World Bank projections show, adversely affecting millions of vulnerable unskilled workers.
On Tuesday ( Oct 20) Beyoncé took to Instagram to share her support of protestors and activists fighting on the frontlines of the #EndSARS movement and speak out against the violent attacks that they are facing at the hands of police. According to published reports, Amnesty International has confirmed that the Nigerian army and police killed at least 12 peaceful protesters Tuesday at two locations in Lagos.
After more than forty-eight hours of arrest and several hours of interrogation, opposition leaders Brigitte Kafui Adjamagbo-Johnson and Gérard Dodji Djossou are still in police custody at the Central Intelligence and Criminal Investigation Unit.
They are charged with criminal conspiracy and breach of internal state security. Africanews, correspondent took a look to the story.
A day after the arrest of the two leaders of the Dynamique Monseigneur Kpodzro, the only official statement we were able to obtain was from the public prosecutor, who spoke of an investigation that was opened, concerning an allegged plan to destabilise the institutions of the Republic. Brigitte Kafui Adjamagbo-Johnson is accused of being in possession of some documents relating to the alleged plan to destabilize the country. According to the prosecutor's statement, she was previously the subject of \"legal proceedings relating to similar facts and placed under judicial supervision\".
A move deemed unjustified, disguised as criminal proceeding, according to Their lawyer, Darius Atsoo deemed the move unjustified, disguised as criminal proceedings
\"The Togolese judiciary has very often prosecuted politically committed Togolese citizens for alleged criminal plans aimed at destabilizing the country.
In 2013, for example, leaders, activists and followers of the ''Sauvons le Togo'' group were arrested and imprisoned in connection with the burning of the markets of Kara in the north of the country and Lomé.\" Serge Koffi futher stressed.
After more than five (5) years of detention, some were released in 2018 without any light having been shed on the circumstances of this case.
This arrest of the two opponents seems, according to Amnesty International, to be strictly linked to the call for demonstration and appears to be a further illustration of the authorities' desire to silence the opposition and dissident voices.
Amnesty International, says the arrest of the two opposition leaders, appears to to be attempt by the authorities to silence the opposition and dissident voices.
United Way of the Coastal Empire received a $10,000 contribution from The Byck Foundation to honor the outstanding job Mayor Van Johnson and his team did to protect Savannah during Sunday’s peaceful protest.
“We’re deeply moved by this act of kindness and gesture of respect by the Byck Foundation on behalf of Mrs. Judy A. Byck, Anthony S. and Donna Eichholz, and Caroline Eichholz,” said Larry Silbermann, Vice President and General Manager of WTOCTV and United Way of the Coastal Empire’s Board Chair.
United Way of the Coastal Empire President and CEO, Brynn Grant, added “We are so fortunate to have such leadership in our community – Mayor Johnson uniting people and the Byck-Eichholz family honoring his efforts by helping others.
We are Savannah Strong because of Savannah love and the Byck Foundation’s expression of love to the United Way will go a long way in helping people through this very difficult time.”
Any funds remaining after the pandemic will be allocated to the United Way of the Coastal Empire’s general emergency relief fund.
Senegal's government on Thursday said an \"independent and impartial\" commission would investigate deadly violence in March that stained the country's reputation as a haven of stability in West Africa.
Press Release - Greenpeace Africa welcomes the decision by the DRC's National Assembly to adopt a law that recognizes and protects the specific rights of Indigenous People.
The trend is happening despite the economic downturn.
\"Three of my friends were killed here last year and we are not hearing anything about it, this is not a crime,\" one protester said during arrest in Lagos.
Gambia’s renowned justice minister Abubacarr Tambadou, who established a probe to investigate abuses under the country’s ex-dictator and spearheaded the international defence of Myanmar’s Rohingya, has resigned, the government said Thursday.
Appointed justice minister in 2017, Tambadou was instrumental in setting up The Gambia’s Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission, designed to investigate abuses committed under the country’s former dictator, Yahya Jammeh.
We didn't always agree with Tambadou, but he always listened to human rights advocates and especially to Yahya Jammeh's victims.
On Thursday, President Barrow’s office released a statement praising Tambadou’s “patriotic and selfless service” as justice minister, and for helping restore The Gambia’s international image.
“We didn’t always agree with Tambadou, but he always listened to human rights advocates and especially to Yahya Jammeh’s victims,” Brody said.
[New Zimbabwe] Global human rights watcher, Amnesty International has called on the Zimbabwean government to allow children without identification documents to sit for public examinations.
BY LORRAINE MUROMO/SILAS NKALA At the weekend, Vice-President and Health minister Constantino Chiwenga announced tightened lockdown measures that started yesterday aimed at controlling the spiralling cases of COVID-19. As of January 3, the country had recorded TRADE unions have blasted government’s decision to impose a 30-day stringent COVID-19 lockdown without consulting key stakeholders such as informal traders. 15 265 total confirmed cases, with 11 574 recoveries, 3 311 active cases and 380 deaths. The measures include immediate closure of some formal and informal businesses across the country except those providing essential services, a dust-to-dawn curfew, and suspension of intercity travel, cross-border trading, among others. In an interview with NewsDay, workers and cross-border traders’ representatives said government should have consulted key economic stakeholders before imposing the travel and trading ban. Cross Border Traders Association president Killer Zivhu said informal traders were the worst affected as they had not yet recovered from the previous lockdown regimes. “Considering the economic challenges at this juncture where it is January and we are looking at the opening of schools soon where there is need for fees and rentals, the move was a total disaster,” Zivhu said. “At some point, it’s a win-win situation. The pandemic is very dangerous, it would be a bad situation to gain business and lose lives and at the same time losing business can lead to death and poverty,” said Zivhu. He added: “What we are pleading with authorities that those with authentic COVID-19 certificates should be allowed to pass and on their way back, provide the same proof.” Zivhu said it was necessary to allow cross border traders to carry on with their operations instead of confining them to their homes without providing alternative sources of income. Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions secretary-general Japhet Moyo said as a union, they did not agree with the way government was dealing with the situation. “What the authorities are doing is wrong, we understand that the pandemic is surging but what they are prescribing is not the solution. The people caged in their homes will die of hunger,” Moyo said. “We don’t agree with that at all, people are dying because at the moment they are not able to do basic economic activities, therefore, do not have money to even purchase medication. For example, cross-border traders are going to starve.” The International Coalition Against Coronavirus for Africa Development (ICAC-AD) also warned government that level four lockdown would cripple the country’s economy. In an interview yesterday, South Africa-based ICAC-AD vice-president Chandangwinyira Chose said: “We are against any lockdowns now, but the government should enforce the wearing of masks. The people are struggling with this lockdown which is making them poorer as they fail to do their vending where they get income from.” ICAC said it was also lobbying all African government to develop home-grown remedies to COVID-19 to avoid instanc
Amnesty International, a London-based human rights organization, has criticized governments throughout the world, including the U.S., for neglecting health care workers who have died from the coronavirus.
The fight against police brutality against people of color has never been just a United States problem. Currently, protests are occurring worldwide against the ongoing police violence in Nigeria, which […]
The post appeared first on Essence.
