Following recent cases of abductions and extraditions in East Africa, a new policy paper by the International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI) seeks to clarify the key legal obligations of countries hosting foreign political opponents and opposition figures, and to urge governments to respect these obligations. Across East Africa the protection of politically active or politically…
ISSUE 87 ISSN 2049-2650 Editorial Team: Fiona McKinnon, Mandy Jam, Susan Fratzke, Catherine Tyson, Natsumi Paxton, Nejla Sammakia, Iana Messetchkova, Mohamed ElSayeh, Kavita Kapur, Joshua Lowe, and Christian Jorgensen. Chief Editor: Themba Lewis Web links are in blue. ——————————————————————————————————————————————– In this issue: Articles Why some E.U. States want hotspots in the Sahel News News on Countries…
On 28 August Israel’s High Court of Justice issued its ruling in an appeal on a district court decision concerning Israel’s “voluntary departures” scheme. Under this scheme, Eritreans and Sudanese irregular migrants are transferred from Israel to unnamed “third countries” in Africa. Israel has never disclosed the names of the countries involved in this…
Read the press coverage of the report: Lucy Hovil, “Israel: Refugees not Welcome,” 21 September 2015 The Guardian article Al Jazeera, “Rejected by Israel, Eritreans find shelter in Germany,” 3 March 2017 Rebélion article Radio France International Interview Al Jazeera, “A refugee’s gruelling odyssey – from Eritrea to Germany,” 5 October 2015 Al Jazeera, “Do…
Authorities should release all in arbitrary detention, drop charges Sudanese authorities have been unjustly holding Dr. Mudawi Ibrahim Adam, Hafiz Idris, and Mobarak Adam Abdalla, three human rights defenders, and have charged them with ‘crimes against the state which carry the death penalty, 26 human rights groups said today. Dr. Mudawi Ibahim Adam and Hafiz…
(14 February 2017) Dr. Mudawi Ibrahim Adam, a prominent Sudanese human rights defender, has been unlawfully detained for over two months, held by the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) at Khartoum’s Kober Prison without charge or access to legal representation, 39 human rights groups and activists said. Dr. Mudawi, who was arrested with his…
(20 December 2016) A prominent Sudanese human rights defender (HRD), Dr. Mudawi Ibrahim Adam, is currently detained incommunicado by the country’s National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS). Dr. Mudawi was arrested at the University of Khartoum, where he is a professor, on 7 December 2016 alongside his longtime driver, Adam El Sheikh Mukhtar. Both men…
To: United Nations: Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Ms Agnes Callamard; Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Mr David Kaye; Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Mr Maina Kiai; Special…
August 9, 2016 The Honourable Frank-Walter Steinmeier Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs c/o German Embassy 4645 Reservoir Road NW Washington, DC 20007 Dear Minister Steinmeier, We, the undersigned 77 human rights groups, civic leaders, scholars and activists, write to request your assistance in securing the immediate release of internally displaced Darfuris who were arrested by…
Mr. Aristide Nononsi UN Independent Expert on the situation of Human Rights in Sudan Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights United Nations Office in Geneva 8-14 Avenue de la Paix CH-1211 Geneva 10 Switzerland By email: iesudan@ohchr.org 26 April 2016 Dear Mr Nononsi, We, Sudanese and international human rights organisations concerned with issues…
(31 March 2016) The efforts of the Government of Sudan to obstruct the engagement of civil society activists in a United Nations (UN)-led human rights review of the country is unacceptable and shows blatant contempt not just for human rights defenders in Sudan, but to human rights standards and the UN Human Rights Council, 36 Sudanese and international…
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…
For decades, Europe has managed to ignore the majority of refugees housed in countries along the borders of those in crisis – including Turkey, Lebanon and Africa’s Great Lakes region – and has had its collective head in the sand over the critical failures to offer them adequate protection and assistance. It has wrongly assumed that aid budgets are a…
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…
(19 December 2014) Open Letter concerning the arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detentions of Dr Amin Mekki Medani, Mr Farouq Abu Eissa, and Dr Farah Ibrahim Mohamed Alagar by the Government of Sudan.
(Kampala, November 1, 2013) — The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) should order a fact-finding mission to investigate the deaths and detention of hundreds of demonstrators, a group of 11 international and African organizations said in a letter made public today. The organizations called on the African Commission to send a fact-finding…
Transitional justice mechanisms, including trials, truth commissions and reparations are often employed in the same countries which have also experienced mass displacement. The connection is clear: transitional justice mechanisms are designed to address the consequences of the same large scale violations of human rights and violent conflict that are the cause of mass displacement. Yet,…
On March 14, 2012, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued the first verdict since it began operations 10 years ago in the case of Thomas Lubanga, a former militia leader from the region of Ituri in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Lubanga, whose forces had sought regional autonomy for Ituri, was convicted of conscripting…
The run up to the International Criminal Court (ICC) verdict in Ituri was marked by fear and anticipation, highlighted by rumors that the judgment would be favorable to Thomas Lubanga. Since the announcement of the verdict last week, there have been no major security incidents, but the mood remains tense and a serious national debate…
Last week, Congolese President Joseph Kabila arrived in Ituri as part of a tour of the eastern part of the country, which has also touched the Kivus and Katanga. His visit promised a number of development projects for Ituri, but not everyone was impressed. To some, the visit was dismissed as so much campaigning ahead…
