ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – Just two months after a United Nation report predicted an acute food shortage, Ethiopia’s Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Agency reports that over 20 % of children in the Ogaden region are malnourished.   

The Ethiopian government has promised to ensure that humanitarian aid and food reach the people of the region. However, the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONFL) has accused the government army of blocking access to the region thereby causing a man-made famine. Although the Ethiopian government has denied allegations of discrimination, neglect, and abuse, in early September the humanitarian group Medecins sans Frontieres complained that the government denied them access to the region. The ONFL has been fighting for the region’s sovereignty since 1984.  Read more...

By Elizabeth Costner
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Africa

OTASH CAMP, Sudan – Recent reports state that Sudanese officials have been pressuring people to leave refugee camps in the Darfur province over the past weeks.  United Nations officials have said that the regime has resorted to forcibly loading some civilians onto trucks to clear them out. 

This week, UN officials announced that they have evidence Sudanese government forces were chasing refugees out of at least one camp, Otash, which houses 60,000 people on the outskirts of Nyala, south Darfur’s capital.  John Holmes, the UN humanitarian chief said in a statement: “Given that security forces were threatening the displaced with sticks and rubber hoses at Otash camp, the involuntary nature of this relocation is clear.”  UN officials say this “dangerous precedent” could jeopardize ongoing Darfur peace talks, currently taking place in Libya.   Read more...

The International Criminal Court’s third annual report to the United Nations, covering the period of 1 August 2006 to 1 August 2007 is now available.   The Prosecutor continued to investigate and prosecute the situations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Sudan, and the Central African Republic.   At the end of the reporting period, six warrants of arrest were still outstanding – two regarding the situation in Darfur, and four regarding Uganda.  The warrants for persons related to the conflict in Uganda have been outstanding since July 2005.   

Download icc_20062007_report.pdf

BAGHDAD, Iraq-  Local NGOs have raised concerns regarding reports that children have been tortured and abused while being interrogated in Iraqi prisons.

“‘Children are being treated as adults in Iraqi prisons and our investigations have shown that they are being abused and tortured,’ said Khalid Rabia’a, a spokesman for the Prisoners’ Association for Justice (PAJ).”  (IRIN)

Mr. Rabia’a cited an example of five child prisoners who were between 13 and 17.  The children were interrogated because the Iraqi military operators had suspected that the children were supporting insurgents.  “‘The five children showed signs of torture all over their bodies.  Three had marks of cigarettes burns over their legs and one couldn’t speak as the shock sessions affected his conversation,’ Rabia’a said.” (IRIN)  Read more...

By Meryl A. White
Impunity Watch Reporter, Western and Central Africa

ABUJA, Nigeria – Patricia Etteh, Nigeria’s House of Representatives Parliamentary Speaker, has resigned after being found guilty of awarding contracts worth five million to refurbish houses and buy vehicles. Records show that Mrs. Etteh bought twelve cars and renovated her and her deputy’s residence.

President Umaru Yar’Adua, who promised zero tolerance on corruption, did not want to intervene in this situation. This affair has gripped the attention of the nation and has become a huge embarrassment for the President. Yesterday, President Umaru Yar’Adua stated that he would not make Speaker Etteh resign from the office.  Read more...

JERUSALEM, Israel – On October 28, Israel confirmed that it began to restrict delivery of fuel to Gaza, pursuant to sanctions recently approved by Barak.  However, ten human rights groups have petitioned Israel’s High Court of Justice to order Israel to freeze implementation of the sanctions.  The court rejected the petitioners’ demand for a freeze, but instead required the government to justify its decision by November 2.  According to the petitioners, the sanctions are a collective punishment that would cause “irreversible damage to the health and welfare of the residents of Gaza.”  While the court ordered Israel to justify the sanctions, they refrained from banning the sanctions completely.  In response to the court order, Israel’s Attorney General, Menachem Mazouz, suspended plans to restrict delivery of fuel and electricity to Gaza.  He stated that more research is required to implement the plan without causing a humanitarian crisis.  Read more...

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – On Saturday, Eritrea made allegations that Ethiopia planned to invade the nation in November. According to intelligence agencies in Asmara, the plot was expected to take place in the first week of November. Ethiopia however has denied the allegation, referring to the plot as “absurd fabrication.”

After nearly nine years, Eritrea and Ethiopia continue to feud over the small village of Badme. From 1998 to 2000, the two neighboring nations were involved in a border war that left nearly 70,000 dead. The war concluded with a 2002 ruling awarding the village to Eritrea. However, Ethiopia has not accepted the terms of the agreement. Instead Ethiopia has made several requests to the border commission concerning their decision.  Read more...

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Thousands of foreign construction workers protested over low wages and poor working and living conditions.  Early October 27, workers, mostly of south Asian origin, took to the street to demand a pay rise, better living conditions, and better transportation to work.  The demonstration turned violent when Dubai police tried to remove a road block.  Some protesters threw stones at the police and passing motorist; one motorist sustained minor injuries.  Read more...

By Elizabeth Costner
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Africa

MOGADISHU, Somalia – The streets of Mogadishu are experiencing the worst violence in months, in the second day of protests against government-allied Ethiopian troops.  Several hundred Somalis have taken to the streets, many of them women and children, shouting anti-Ethiopian slogans, erecting burning barricades, and tossing rocks. Several people have been killed in gun battles.  Read more...

By Kevin Kim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TUNIS, Tunisia – A Tunisian court convicted a former Guantanamo Bay prisoner for three years on terrorism charges Wednesday. Lotfi Lagha, a Tunisian national, had been charged with criminal association with the aim of harming or causing damage in Tunisia. Lagha plans to appeal the guilty verdict, but his lawyers allege that the Tunisian authorities had beaten him during detention.  Read more...