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Dozens of Sudanese rallied in Khartoum on Thursday to demand the closure of illegal detention centres. The protests came after the alleged torturing and killing of a man by a paramilitary force whose members once formed the backbone of a militia.
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.
In its investigation, TNH obtained information drawn from leaked WHO documents that suggests how some health workers and civil servants profited from response funds; and how, in the rush to scale up a response in an active conflict zone, the WHO paid millions of dollars in inflated per diems to Congolese security forces.
The authors of the draft review commissioned by the UN and NGOs - obtained exclusively by TNH - warn that \"practices implemented during the Ebola response will inevitably have a direct impact on the ability of aid organisations to control corruption within their programmes\".
The UN's emergency aid coordination body, OCHA, acknowledged there had been challenges in the Ebola response - Ituri and North Kivu provinces are relatively remote and located inside an active conflict zone.
In January, David Gressly, the UN's former emergency Ebola response coordinator, told TNH that the attack on the WHO doctor may have been motivated by a desire to divert resources to local health workers.
The outbreak that erupted in North Kivu and Ituri was the first in an active conflict zone, and response operations had to be shut down on numerous occasions because of attacks against clinics and health workers, leading to fresh spikes in Ebola cases and deaths.
Lester Walton was a journalist, entertainment professional, and diplomat who promoted civil rights at home and abroad. Born Lester Aglar Walton on April 20, 1882 in St. Louis, Missouri, his early life was spent as a journalist. At the age of 20 in 1902, when he was hired by the St. Louis Star to be its golf writer and later its court reporter, he became the first black reporter to write for a white daily paper in St. Louis.
In 1906 Walton moved to New York City, New York and in 1908 he became theatrical editor for the New York Age, which was the largest black newspaper in the nation at the time. He remained at the Age until 1914. In 1912 he married Gladys Moore, the daughter of Fred Moore, publisher of the newspaper. The couple had two daughters.
During this period he also wrote for the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, the largest newspaper in the city, and from 1922 to 1931 he was a reporter with the New York World. He then worked briefly with the New York Herald Tribune, quitting in 1933 when the paper refused to give him a byline. Walton then returned to the New York Age. During his years with these newspapers, Walton started the movement which was eventually supported by the New York Times and the Associated Press, to have the spelling of the word “Negro” written with a capital “N.”
Walton was also actively involved in entertainment throughout his adult life. Between 1917 and 1919 he managed New York City’s Lafayette Theater. He later served as vice president of the Negro Actors Guild of America, and in the 1950s became chair of the Coordinating Council of Negro Performers, lobbying corporate and broadcast leaders to include more black actors in theatrical and broadcast performances. Walton was a songwriter, director, and founder of Walton Publishing Company, which published instrumental music.
Walton’s journalistic endeavors encouraged his interest in world affairs. He traveled as a correspondent to the Versailles Peace Conference outside Paris, France in 1919 and visited Liberia in 1933 to write articles
HUMAN rights lobby group, the Zimbabwe Human Rights Forum says it recorded at least 920 human rights violations involving State security agents under the guise of enforcing the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. BY Nhau Mangirazi In a report launched yesterday, the rights group said the violations included abductions and torture, extra-judicial killings, assaults on citizens by law enforcement officers, attacks on journalists, unlawful arrests and gunshots. Most of the violations were recorded ahead of the foiled July 30 protests where citizens intended to demonstrate against the deteriorating human rights situation and corruption in the country. “Other violations that could not be adequately quantified due to their high frequency include harassment, threats and intimidation,” read part of the report titled 180 Days of What?. “The lockdown was also marred by reports of violations on fundamental rights to dignity and rights not to be tortured, rights to water, food, medical services, access to information, and restrictions to freedom of expression, non-compliance with court orders and corruption.” According to the report, about 280 reports of assaults and torture, including dog bites, were recorded, while 20 cases of assault on journalists and 538 unlawful arrests and detention were recorded. The rights defenders also recorded 12 abductions, two gun shots, four extra-judicial killings, eights raids, 57 displacements and two cases of harassment, threat and intimidation across the country. In a country with a fragile economy, the pandemic further exacerbated the plight of citizens in relation to social and economic rights. Access to water, food and health was also a major challenge for communities, forcing the majority to venture out in search of the services and inadvertently violating lockdown regulations. The report also noted the failure by government to provide personal protective equipment in hospitals as the biggest cause of the spread of the COVID-19. “This report was compiled from stories recorded across the length and breadth of our country. It captures personal accounts of victims of all sorts of violations, through 180 stories. The report is also a scorecard of the performance of duty bearers in this time of crisis,” Musa Kika, the rights group executive director said. “The 180 days national lockdown period was marred by violations of civil and political rights as well as economic, social and cultural rights.” Police were urged to conduct a thorough investigation into all outstanding reported cases concerning excessive use of force and live ammunition by security forces on citizens and bring the perpetrators to book. The human rights lobby group also urged government to stop persecuting whistleblowers and establish an independent and credible department that monitors and oversees compliance to prevent human rights violations, corruption and malpractices by police officers.
Founder of Black Roses, a brand experience firm in Downtown Riverside, Dex Alexander began figuring out what to do with all of the art next, and is working with artists directly to see what they can do.
His goal is to preserve the artists’ artwork, have the artists obtain ownership of the pieces, and to have them displayed in a museum or somewhere downtown as a memorial.
Riverside artist Cynthia Huerta partnered with Back To The Grind, a Black-owned coffee shop, and Division 9 Gallery, a space for artists– both located in Downtown, to paint pieces that express the fight for liberation.
“In this movement I have to support my Black community, I am a person of color, a Mexicana,” said Huerta, “But what I know and what I can do is teach through art because I’m also an artist.
The second piece located at Back to the Grind was influenced by her close friend Shanna Dolores, who wrote her own quote, “The Hatian Revolution is forever a blueprint for global Black Liberation.”
BY PRAISEMORE SITHOLE THE Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHCR) has pleaded with government to provide a safe and secure operating environment for human rights defenders. The appeal, which came at a time President Emmerson Mnangagwa is under global spotlight over gross human rights violations, was made yesterday during commemorations of the International Day of Peace in Bulawayo. ZHRC officer-in-charge of southern region Office Sindiso Nkomo said human rights violations, lack of accountability and prosecution of rights defenders were major drivers of conflict. “The ZHRC continues to appeal for safe and secure operating spaces for human rights activists, journalists and others. We encourage State and non-State actors in discharging their mandate to desist from promoting discrimination,” Nkomo said. “They should desist from promoting inequality whether in the form of differential access to public services, limitations on freedom of expression or denial of economic participation as there can be powerful drivers of human rights violations which pose a threat to peace.” “The government of Zimbabwe enacted regulations to regulate the way of living during this (COVID-19) pandemic, but it was noted that these regulations limited the enjoyment of human rights such as freedom of movement and residence, freedom of assembly and association among others,” Nkomo said. Zimbabwe Christian Alliance executive director Useni Sibanda said communities would not enjoy peace when individuals’ peace was curtailed. “Where there is no peace and harmony there can never be development and as a commission we understand that when all stakeholders work together we can achieve more. We cannot achieve much when we are alone,” he said. “In the era that we are in, the first component we understand is dialogue, where there is no dialogue, there is no progress and there will always be anarchy. Where we can facilitate dialogue let’s sit down together and focus on the conflicts which are at stake and move forward together.”
HUMAN rights lobby group, Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) has accused government of fostering tyranny masked as enforcement of lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19 as human rights violation cases continue to increase. BY PRECIOUS CHIDA The lobby group said State security agents topped the list of perpetrators of human rights violations. “For the second time in the year, the police and army topped the list of perpetrators of human rights violations. Overall, the police contributed 41,21% of the human rights violations, while the army contributed 22,26% of the violations,” ZPP said in a statement yesterday. The group said the law enforcement agents were often in violation of the arrest procedure. “ZPP recorded cases of arrested citizens not being taken through the formal arrest procedure, but enduring harassment, intimidation and assault at the hands of law enforcement agents. Victims told horror stories of their experiences at the hands of law enforcement agents,” the statement read. “This makes arrests in Zimbabwe a human rights issue. ZPP recorded 110 cases of harassment and intimidation, the majority of which are attributed to the State security agents, 13 cases of unlawful detention, 40 cases of assault and sadly, two extra-judicial killings with one of the major cases being of an illegal miner who was shot in the head by a security guard in Shamva on May 15.” Videos and images of police officers beating up citizens have been circulating on social media platforms, confirming the fears expressed by ZPP, and reaffirming the organisation’s position that police and other enforcement agents should conduct themselves in a professional and ethical way. ZPP said last month, Harare recorded 100 violations, the highest in the country, followed by Mashonaland East with 41 cases. ZPP added: “The COVID-19-induced national lockdown has also exacerbated the pre-existing food insecurity. Although the Zimbabwean economy is highly informal, the sector has been excluded from essential services, thereby increasing vulnerability of citizens. “The end of May 2020 marked eight weeks of limited activity for those in the informal sector. Those that operated did so unlawfully and the consequences were either confiscation of their goods, a hefty fine, or harassment, intimidation and assault by State security agents.” ZPP urged the government to desist from violating the rights of citizens, and respect the arrest and detention procedures as set out in the law. The lobby group said the government should also reform the security sector as recommended by the Motlanthe Commission and investigations should be carried out on all cases of human rights abuses.
The post Police, army top list of human rights violators appeared first on NewsDay Zimbabwe.
More students, teachers and auxiliary staff have tested positive for the coronavirus upon their return to public schools around the country, the Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony disclosed yesterday.
The article More returning public school students, staff test positive for COVID-19 -Anthony appeared first on Stabroek News.
Evariste Ndayishimiye, a retired general, will take over from President Pierre Nkurunziza, after he beat the main opposition candidate Agathon Rwasa, and five others, avoiding a runoff by securing more than 50% of the vote.
The main opposition candidate, Agathon Rwasa, president of the National Council for Liberty (CNL), has already described these results as “fanciful” and accused the government of “cheating” and “pure manipulation”.
Election held in the midst of COVID-19
\tAccording to partial results compiled by AFP covering 105 communes, Mr. Ndayishimiye obtained an absolute majority of the votes in 101 communes.
The CNL is also outraged at the case of the Musigati commune (west), where Mr. Ndayishimiye received 99.9% of the vote.
Burundi is ranked among the three poorest countries in the world according to the World Bank, which estimates that 75% of the population lives below the poverty line, compared to 65% when Mr. Nkurunziza came to power in 2005.
BY MOSES MATENGA THE South African ruling African National Congress (ANC) party yesterday defiantly told Zanu PF that its delegation would soon head back to Harare to meet other stakeholders as part of efforts to initiate dialogue to resolve Zimbabwe’s political and economic crises. Zimbabwe is in the throes of its worst political and economic crises in a decade, and critics accuse President Emmerson Mnangagwa of persecuting opposition members and perceived political opponents under the guise of COVID-19 lockdown regulations. Lately, activists have used a Twitter hashtag #ZimbabweanLivesMatter to draw international attention to gross human rights violations and the deterioration of the rule of law since Mnangagwa was adjudged the winner of a highly-contested election in July 2018, and to pile global pressure on his government. Mnangagwa replaced long-time ruler Robert Mugabe in a November 2017 military coup, but critics say he has failed to keep his promise to break with Mugabe’s authoritarian style. The ruling Zanu PF party vehemently denies that there is a crisis in Zimbabwe, a claim it repeated during the two meetings with the ANC delegations. But ANC, a fellow liberation party, has insisted that its northern neighbour is in a “mess” which required urgent intervention. Zanu PF has refused the ANC delegations permission to meet other stakeholders on their two visits, but appears to have relented. In a statement yesterday, the ANC said it was “excited” about Zanu PF secretary for administration Obert Mpofu’s position on the possibility of the ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule-led delegation to meet other stakeholders, including the MDC Alliance, Transform Zimbabwe and United States ambassador to Zimbabwe Brian Nichols, among others. The named organisations requested to meet the ANC delegation last week, but Zanu PF remained adamant that such would not take place, accusing the ANC of playing “big brother”. “The ANC welcomes and concurs with the comments made by the Zanu PF secretary for administration Cde Obert Mpofu that the recent engagement between ANC and Zanu PF was both frank and constructive,” Magashule said in a statement. He reiterated the need for Zanu PF to respect human rights and end the challenges faced by the citizens. “The ANC, therefore, warmly welcomes the constructive approach of Zanu PF with regards to the ANC meeting with other stakeholders, opposition parties and civil society organisations in Zimbabwe,” Magashule said. “In this regard, it was agreed that the ANC will in the foreseeable future return to Zimbabwe in order to proceed with these envisaged meetings.” Zanu PF also denied there was a crisis in Zimbabwe and accused the opposition of working in cahoots with the US and more than 4 000 non-governmental organisations in the country to porttray a “non-existent crisis”. Magashule described his delegation’s mission as successful. However, the delegation was under fire back in South Africa for using an Air Force jet during its visit to Zimbabwe.Magashule conceded that the delegation erred an
Colombia ranks among the top five nations with the greatest diversity of plant and animal species in the world; more different kinds of birds and amphibians make their home here than in any other place on the planet.
In the early 1990s, together with other movement leaders, she led a campaign that secured more than 5.9 million acres in territorial rights for Colombia’s black rural communities.
Multinational corporations moved in to exploit its natural riches such as gold and oil and to introduce foreign mono-crops like the African palm.
They also secured increased government restrictions to mitigate environmental and cultural damage along the coast.
She has spoken out against U.S. and European aid and investment in Colombian operations linked to violence and human rights violations in meetings with U.S. Congress people and advocacy groups, at talks at colleges through the U.S. and Canada, and in meetings held by global trade institutions such as the World Trade Organization.
By Melissa Repko Lorenzo Boyd was in the market for a new car and wanted to buy a luxury SUV. He went to a Lexus dealership and walked through the lot, expecting the unoccupied [...]
After having better luck than most NFL teams with the coronavirus – as well as injuries – for most of 2020, the Rams saw the microscopic ball take some bad bounces in the final week. Michael Brockers became the second Rams starter and captain to be sidelined by the league’s pandemic protocols this week when […]
In September last year, Doudou Diene, chairman of the commission of inquiry set up by the UN on Burundi, said the country was primed for a genocide.
As we moved in 2021, Sunny Hostin, co-host of ABC's The View, did so without her in-laws. Hostin announced on... View Article
The post 'The View's' Sunny Hostin reveals in-laws died of coronavirus days apart appeared first on TheGrio.
The researchers behind the study warned that the findings should be viewed with caution, not only because the paper is yet to be peer-reviewed, but also because the engineered virus they relied upon did not include a full set of the spike mutations found in either the UK or South African viral strains.
By LISA MASCARO AP Congressional Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell all but shut the door on President Donald Trump's push for $2,000 COVID-19 relief checks, declaring Congress has provided enough pandemic aid as he blocked another attempt by Democrats to force a vote. The GOP leader made clear Wednesday he is unwilling to budge, despite political pressure from Trump and even some fellow Republican senators demanding action. Trump wants the recent $600 in aid increased threefold. But McConnell dismissed the idea of bigger 'survival checks' approved by the House, saying the money would go to plenty […]
The post Trump push on $2K checks flops as GOP-led Senate won't vote appeared first on Black News Channel.
LONDON, United Kingdom (AP) - Like a separated couple still living together, Britain and the European Union (EU)spent 2020 wrangling and wondering whether they can remain friends.On Thursday, the UK finally moved out. At 11:00 pm London time - midnight at EU headquarters in Brussels - Britain economically and practically left the 27-nation bloc, 11 months after its formal political departure.
Police officers have intercepted a truck driver. They found the truck was transporting beer valued at an estimated R1.9 million.
What better time than now to support your local Black-owned coffee shop?
Source
[HRW] Human Rights Watch thanks the Commission of Inquiry for a much-needed update on the grave human rights violations that Burundian state agents, most notably the National Intelligence Service and administrative authorities, and members of the Imbonerakure, have committed against the population since May 2019.
Speakers Urge the Council to Establish an International Commission of Inquiry to Investigate Systemic Racism in Law Enforcement in the United States
The Human Right Council this afternoon began an urgent debate on current racially inspired human rights violations, systemic racism, police brutality and violence against peaceful protests.
It heard calls from speakers for the Council to establish an international commission of inquiry to investigate systemic racism in law enforcement in the United States.
E. Tendayi Achiume, Special Rapporteur on racism, via video message, on behalf of other mandate holders, urged the Council to create an international commission of inquiry with the necessary authority to investigate systemic racism in law enforcement in the United States.
The Council will next meet on Thursday, 18 June at 10 a.m. to conclude the urgent debate on current racially inspired human rights violations, systemic racism, police brutality and violence against peaceful protests.
Statement by the President of the Human Rights Council
ELISABETH TICHY-FISSLBERGER, President of the Human Rights Council, recalled that on Friday, 12 June 2020, she had received a letter from Burkina Faso on behalf of the African Group containing the formal request to hold this urgent debate on \"the current racially inspired human rights violations, systemic racism, police brutality against people of African descent and violence against peaceful protests\".
The number of people forced to flee their homes passed 80 million in 2020, the UN refugee agency said in a report released Wednesday in Geneva.
According to UNHCR’s Mid-Year Trends report on forced displacement, the figure includes 45.7 million internally displaced people (IDPs), 29.6 million refugees and others forcibly displaced outside their country, and 4.2 million asylum seekers.
The report said persecution, conflict, and human rights violations were the main factors forcing people to flee.
Violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, Somalia and Yemen all contributed to driving new displacements in the first half of 2020.
“We are now surpassing another bleak milestone that will continue to grow unless world leaders stop wars”, said Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
The Sahel region, which is battling a brutal militant insurgency has also seen fresh displacement according to the report.
The UNHCR said plans to resettle refugees were affected by the outbreak of the coronavirus.
The report adds that at the peak of the first wave of the pandemic in April, 168 countries and regions fully or partially closed their borders, with 90 countries and regions making no exception for people seeking asylum.
As a result, only 17,400 refugees were resettled in the first six months of 2020, half the figure of 2019.
By The Associated Press One of the famed Tuskegee Airmen — the first Black pilots in the segregated U.S. military and among the most respected fighter pilots of World War II — has died from complications of the coronavirus, it was announced Jan. 8. Theodore Lumpkin Jr. was just days short of his 101st birthday. […]
The post Member of famed Tuskegee Airmen dies from coronavirus appeared first on Afro.
A Guyanese man convicted of insurance killings in the US thirteen years ago died on December 27 from COVID-19 complications.
The article Guyanese man convicted in US of insurance killings dies of COVID appeared first on Stabroek News.
The United Nations and African Union on Thursday ended a 13-year mission to keep the peace in the vast Sudanese region of Darfur, even as recent violent clashes leave residents fearful of renewed fighting.
ZIMBABWE’S PRESIDENT has pledged to “flush out” those seeking to “divide” the country as anger...
The post Zimbabwe: President Mnangagwa issues warning to critics appeared first on Voice Online.
Co-owners Amanda-Jane Thomas and Shanita Nicholas have created a hub for the community to get a cup of coffee and more.
The post Sip & Sonder—Not Your Average Coffee Shop appeared first on Los Angeles Sentinel.
