At his inauguration ceremony yesterday, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, whilst sharing the stage with Sudan’s President Omar-al Bashir, against whom there is an outstanding International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant, stated the ICC was “a bunch of useless people.” “When they started, we used to take the ICC serious but not anymore. They are a…
On 15 April 2016, a cross-border raid from South Sudan into Ethiopia’s Gambella region left more than 200 dead. According to the Ethiopian government, more than 108 women and children were abducted and some 2,000 head of cattle stolen during the attack that targeted Nuer villages in the districts of Jikawo and Lare. Following the…
To: Hon. Chairperson, Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) of the Agreement for Resolution of Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan. Cc: The Secretariat of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) 17 June 2016 Your Excellency, We, the undersigned non-governmental organisations working in and outside of South Sudan, urge you to be undeterred by an…
The International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI) today launched a briefing paper entitled, “Burundi: A country on the edge.” Drawing on a mission to the country in February, in-depth interviews with refugees who have fled to Uganda, and IRRI’s previous experience in the country, the briefing offers insights on some crucial aspects of the current…
Imagine being denied citizenship and treated like a foreigner in the only country you have ever known, the country where you were born and spent your whole life, the place where everyone you know (friends, family, even perhaps your grandparents) live. Citizenship provides both practical rights and protections (such as the right to vote) and…
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is still without an electoral calendar, despite the fact that presidential elections are supposed to be held this year. As a result, the political climate is tense, compounded by the uncertainty of who will stand given that the Congolese constitution forbids President Kabila, in power since 2001, from competing….
Since the outbreak of civil war in December 2013, more than 600,000 South Sudanese have fled to neighbouring countries. More than 226,000 of them have made their way to Ethiopia, contributing to the country overtaking Kenya as the country hosting the most refugees in Africa. The western region of Gambella hosts more than 270,000 of…
Despite all the time, energy, and rhetoric invested in trying to figure out how to protect civilians from atrocities, the vast majority of civilians in armed conflict are exposed and unprotected. This is very much the case in South Sudan, where, despite the presence of a peacekeeping mission, thousands of civilians have been targeted over…
The African Union and UN appear to have found a new sense of urgency, but Burundi’s current crisis will only be resolved if it is seen as part of a longer legacy. Olivier* was studying at the University of Burundi in April 2015 when unrest began to escalate in the country following President Pierre Nkurunziza’s…
This submission provides an overview of the progress made by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Kenya and Uganda in implementing the ICGLR’s Protocol on the Prevention and Suppression of Sexual Violence against Women and Children (ICGLR Protocol on SV) and the Declaration of the Heads of States and Government of the Member States of the International Conference…
We, the undersigned, ICGLR National Civil Society Committee, Uganda Chapter, Women’s rights groups and the wider civil society under the auspices of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, decry the deteriorating situation in Burundi where a number of lives have been lost while over 200,000 refugees have fled the country. Bearing in mind…
We, the undersigned, ICGLR National Civil Society Committee, Uganda Chapter, Women’s rights groups and the wider civil society under the auspices of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, decry the deteriorating situation in Burundi where a number of lives have been lost while over 200,000 refugees have fled the country. Bearing in mind of the violent past…
Last week the Be’er-Sheva District Court rejected a petition filed by two Eritrean asylum seekers and six Israeli NGOs against the government’s new policy of imprisoning irregular migrants who are unwilling to leave Israel to Uganda or Rwanda. By doing so, the court gave a green light to the indefinite imprisonment of Eritreans and Sudanese…
Published in the EACSOF Newsletter The Secretary General of the East African Community (EAC), Dr. Richard Sezibera, is reported to have said recently that the issuance of East African passports will kick off in November 2015. This is aimed at facilitating trade and movement of persons in the region. “Physical borders are being removed for…
A new report launched today by the International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI) exposes how Israeli transfers of Eritrean and Sudanese asylum seekers to Uganda and Rwanda leaves them without status and vulnerable to exploitation. “Our research shows that Israel is not only failing to respect its own obligations under international law, but is directly increasing…
The following blog was originally posted on the International Justice Monitor website. (2 September 2015) Today, September 2, the trial of Bosco Ntaganda began at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. This will be an important trial for the court in many ways and will be followed with particular interest both in the…
The following blog was originally posted on the International Justice Monitor website. (2 September 2015) Today, September 2, the trial of Bosco Ntaganda began at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. This will be an important trial for the court in many ways and will be followed with particular interest both in the…
Freedom of movement is not only an internationally recognised right of refugees, it is also critical to their day-to-day lives and to their ability to enjoy other human rights. In October 2014, IRRI launched a campaign to promote the enjoyment by refugees of this fundamental human right. As part of that effort, IRRI is beginning…
