Africa
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For Western Sahara, freedom has been an empty promise
Tags Share Last week, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted recommendations of its Universal Periodic Review on Morocco. A major highlight of the process was Morocco’s abuse of human rights in Western Sahara — a country on the northwest coast of Africa that it has illegally occupied since 1975. The international community has consistently…
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Ikechukwu Uzoma on the Rwandan government’s decision to free Mr. Rusasebagina
Tags Share The Rwandan government has announced that it will release the human rights activist, Paul Rusesabagina. He was serving a 25-year prison sentence for terrorism in what his family called “a sham trial.” Mr. Rusasebagina was portrayed as a hero who saved thousands of Tutsis during the 1994 genocide, in the award-winning film, Hotel…
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Rwanda: Questionable trial after journalist’s death
Tags Share Rwandan authorities must allow an independent, impartial and effective investigation into the death of the Rwandan journalist John Williams Ntwali, 86 civil society organizations and media associations said today, reiterating a 31 January appeal. A credible process should be carried out given the hasty conviction of the driver of the car allegedly involved…
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INEC lacks metrics to calculate voter turnout
Tags Share Written by Ikechukwu Uzoma After the abysmal management of the 2023 presidential and National Assembly elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released data for the polls. Among the data points, the low voter turnout figure is generating a lot of conversation. With just 27 per cent, it is the lowest voter…
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Rwandan Authorities Should Ensure an Independent Investigation into John Williams Ntwali’s Death
Tags Share January 31, 2023 – Rwandan authorities should allow an independent, impartial, and effective investigation, drawing on international expertise, into the death of John Williams Ntwali, a leading investigative journalist, 90 civil society organizations and media associations said today. Rwanda’s international partners should press the authorities to allow and cooperate fully with such an…
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Western Sahara Deserves a Place in Sports Activism
Tags Share The past few months of African soccer have shown the world that Morocco has no qualms with blurring the lines between politics and soccer—particularly as it pertains to disputes over the self-determination of Western Sahara, a territory Morocco has illegally occupied since 1975, after Spain ended its colonial rule over the Sahrawi-owned area.…
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Apartheid and racial discrimination
Tags Share Excerpts from Nelson Mandela’s Presidential Inaugural Address, 1994 Your Majesties, Your Highnesses, Distinguished Guests, Comrades and Friends: Today, all of us do, by our presence here, and by our celebrations in other parts of our country and the world, confer glory and hope to newborn liberty. Out of the experience of an extraordinary…
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African Commission Found that Zimbabwe Violated Fundamental Freedoms: Zimbabwe Must Immediately Implement the Commission’s Decision and Guarantee Better Human Rights Protection
Tags Share January 5, 2023 The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights recently issued a positive and precedent-setting decision in Communication 446/13 between Jennifer Williams, Magodonga Mahlangu, and Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) and the Republic of Zimbabwe (“the WOZA case”). Finding that the government of Zimbabwe violated the applicants’ rights to freedom of…
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RFK Human Rights and other leading international organizations call on Somali government officials to drop charges against Abdalle Ahmed Mumin
Tags Share Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights joins six other international organizations in a letter to Somali government officials calling for all charges against journalist, press freedom advocate, and Secretary General of Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS), Abdalle Ahmed Mumin, to be dropped. The letter details the arbitrary arrests, detention, and persecution that Mr. Mumin has…
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Zimbabwe: President Mnangagwa-led Government Must Stop Targeting and Stigmatizing Civil Society Organizations
Tags Share As leading human rights and legal aid organizations, we urge the government of Zimbabwe to desist from targeting and negatively profiling civil society organizations, which provide invaluable services to the people of Zimbabwe and play a vital role in ensuring good governance in the country. All persons have a right to freedom of…
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RFK Human Rights Submits Communication to UN Human Rights Committee for Ugandan Novelist Kakwenza Rukirabashaija
Tags Share Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights has submitted a complaint to the UN Human Rights Committee for the case of exiled Ugandan award-winning novelist, Kakwenza Rukirabashaija. Rukirabashaija is a renowned novelist who was thrice arbitrarily arrested, detained, and tortured by Ugandan state security forces for his writings criticizing President Yoweri Museveni, his son, and…
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Chadian Authorities must desist from attacking human rights defenders and critical voices
Tags Share Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights and the International Service for Human Rights strongly condemn the attacks on pro-democracy protesters by Chadian security forces resulting in the death of over 50 people and injuring hundreds. We urge the transitional authorities to take all necessary measures to ensure the respect for human rights in Chad…
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