Women and Children Slayed in Nigeria

Women and Children Slayed in Nigeria

By Jennifer M. Haralambides
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

JOS, Nigeria – Renewed violence between Christians and Muslims leaves hundreds of women and children dead in the streets.

The attack occurred around  3 a.m. in the Village of Dogo Nahawa, just south of Jos.  Villagers reported that men from the surrounding hills raided their village and started shooting into the air, then slashed those who came out of their homes with machetes.

“A senior police chief said the perpetrators of this attack came in from Bauchi state.  [He said] the fighting exploded between herdsmen from Bauchi and villagers,” said Yvonne Nedge, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Abuja.

There is conflicting information about how many have been killed.  Some are reporting only eight casualties, and others report hundreds.

At this time, it is not absolutely clear exactly what triggered the violence.  Some reports describe the incident as an act of religious violence.  Jos lies at the crossroads of Nigeria’s Muslim north and predominantly Christian south.

In the years prior to this attack, Jos has had four major violent incidents between Muslims and Christians.  January marks the most recent incident that lead to the death of over 325 people.

This unrest comes at a bad time for Nigeria.  The acting president Goodluck Jonathan has been struggling to rule while Umaru Yar’Adua, the countries leader, recovers from a heart condition.   On going conflicts surrounding the oil rich region have also sparked repeated violence over the past decade.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Scores Killed in Nigeria Clashes – 7 March 2010

AP – Reporter:  More than 200 Dead in Nigeria Violence – 7 March 2010

AP – Scores Killed in Nigeria Violence – 7 March 2010

Reuters – Clashes Kill More than 100 in Central Nigeria – 7 March 2010

VOA – At Least 109 Dead in Central Nigeria Violence – 7 March 2010

EU Demands Human Rights Progess from Morocco

By Nykoel Dinardo
Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

GRENADA, Spain – On March 6, Morocco became the first Arab country to join the Summit of the European Union (EU).  Twenty-seven states attended the summit, and concerns about the state of human rights in Morocco joined the agenda. 

EU President Herman Van Rompuy called on Morocco to make progress in their human rights department – addressing specifically the challenge of Western Sahara, an area that has been demanding independence from Morocco since the region was annexed in 1975.   Van Rompuy stated that a “just and lasting” solution for the region needed to be created. 

Moroccan Prime Minister Abbas al-Fassi acknowledged that there had been rights violations.  However, he said that they had been handled in much the same manner as a violation would be handled by an EU state.  Al-Fassi stated that Morocco would like to see Western Sahara as an autonomous region, but an area that is still part of the Moroccan territory.  He also accused Algeria of interfering in the process of creating a viable solution, claiming that the neighbor state was preventing any solution from coming forth.

The Summit meeting also addressed the problems of lack of development and illiteracy in the Maghreb state.  Morocco signed an association agreement with the EU in 1996, and the two regions are working together to improve development opportunities. 

On Saturday, before the Summit, the Moroccan Ministers of Agriculture, Economy, Education, Trade and Foreign Affairs met in Spain with Spanish Employer and Industry Association representations.  The meeting was set to address future opportunities in the transport, logistics, infrastructure, energy, and renewable energy sectors.   This meeting, together with the Summit, is hoped to bring about new plans for development and common economic programs between Morocco and the EU.

For more information, please see:

AFP – EU Demands More Rights Progress From Morocco – 7 March 2010

Earth News – EU Presses Morocco on Human Rights – 7 March 2010

AFP – Morocco to be First Arab Nation in EU Summit – 6 March 2010

iStockAnalyst – EU Enhances Cooperation with Morocco – 6 March 2010

Donor Fatigue Hits North Korea

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States – The World Food Programme (WFP) announced Thursday that efforts to deliver aid to starving North Korea will stop by July if donations do not increase.

According to a senior UN official, WFP’s Pyongyang office is on the brink of closure as aid to North Korea has decreased due to growing donor fatigue.

He said, “WFP can continue to support around 1.4m children and pregnant women with fortified foods until the end of June.  However, new contributions are required now or the operation will come to a standstill in July.”

In 2008, WFP saw a similar aid crunch where the programme had difficulty attracting donors, and UN officials opine that donors have once again become exasperated with North Korea.

For example, the U.S. was once a leading food donor, but the U.S. has announced that it will no longer supply cereals to the North until North Korea “resumes proper monitoring.” 

Relationship between North Korea and the U.S. deteriorated last year when the North refused to issue visas to monitors who wanted to ensure that the food aid was going to the hungry citizens and not being funneled to the military and the government elite.

Although the exact condition of malnutrition in North Korea is hard to gauge, the country’s leader Kim Jong-il has made a very rare apology this year for “failing to deliver rice and meat stew to the people.”

A non-governmental relief agency also called on South Korea to resume food aid to North Korea so as to ease the North’s worst food shortage since the 1990’s.

Current conservative South Korea administration has stopped shipments of food to North Korea with resuming aid conditional on the North making progress in the Six-Party Talks.

Aid organizations have said that North Korea will need at least 1 million tons of food from donors to feed its 24 million citizens.  Reports have also indicated that thousands have already starved to death this winter due to soaring food prices resulting from the recent currency reevaluation.

A graveyard in North Korea’s northeastern port city of Chongjin sees an average of two to three funerals a day now, compared to one funeral every three days before the country was hit with inflation caused by the currency reevaluation.

For more information, please see:

Bangkok Post – Lack of honors hits N.Korea food relief efforts – 4 March 2010

The Financial Times – Donor fatigue threatens to choke aid for North Korea – 4 March 2010

Yonhap News – NGO warns of extreme famine in N. Korea, urges aid – 5 March 2010

Darfur Peacekeepers Abducted; Two Missing

By Kylie M Tsudama

Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KHARTOUM, Sudan – A joint African Union-United Nations patrol was ambushed on Friday while on patrol in Darfur.  A total of 60 men were abducted.  The patrol included police and military from UNAMID, the UN Mission in Darfur, and was headed to the Jebel Marra region where there have been recent clashes.

“Although the mission had received assurances by belligerents that the UNAMID patrol could carry out its task,” armed men ambushed the patrol and held them overnight, said officials.  They were taken to a nearby settlement before being released on Saturday morning.

The attackers released the peacekeepers with their three armored personnel carriers but kept all other vehicles and equipment.

“It was then they found [out] two peacekeepers were unaccounted for,” said UNAMID Communications Chief Kemal Saiki.  “We don’t know their whereabouts or how they came to be missing … Did they flee during the ambush trying to make their way back to base? We don’t know.”

The identity of the attackers is still unknown.

“The only thing we know for sure is that it happened in an area that the [Sudan Liberation Army] was claiming under its control.  But that does not signify anything,” Saiki said.  “We are putting all our efforts into trying to determine (the two peacekeepers’) whereabouts.”

The United Nations continues to call for peace in Darfur, calling on all parties not to disrupt ongoing peace efforts.  The government and JEM (the Justice and Equality Movement) have already reached a “cessation of hostilities” agreement in an effort to help end the conflict.

“UNAMID strongly condemns this unprovoked attack on its peacekeepers who were carrying out an important security and humanitarian mission for the benefit of the people of Jebel Marra,” a UNAMID statement said.

At least 300,000 people have been killed and another 2.7 million have been driven from their homes in the past seven years of fighting.

For more information, please see:

The Nation – Darfur Mission for Respected Thai Peacekeepers – 07 March 2010

AFP – Two Darfur Peacekeepers Missing After Abduction: UN – 06 March 2010

Reuters – Two Peacekeepers Missing After Darfur Ambush – 06 March 2010

UN News Centre – Darfur: Two Peacekeepers Missing After Ambush on UN-African Union Patrol – 06 March 2010

“Dress Code” Laws Challenged in Guyana

By Sovereign Hager
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

Photo Courtesy of International Research Group
Photo Courtesy of International Research Group

GEORGETOWN, Guyana-Guyana’s Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination is challenging the country’s ban on cross-dressing in the Supreme Court, stating that the law is  “irrational, discriminatory, and undemocratic” and therefore unconstitutional. The six individuals behind the suit were born male but now identify as women. They were arrested and fined for crossdressing.

In a statement, one individual called the experience “one of the must humiliating experiences of my life. I felt like I was less than human.”  Those bringing the suit are also challenging the sexual orientation laws that make homosexual sex a crime. An international team of lawyers is working on the case.

International rights groups have increased their criticism of the laws as the government began a recent crackdown. Last year Guyanese police arrested and convicted several individuals under the law and fined them up to 7,500 Guyanese dollars each. The judge told the individuals to go to church and give their lives to Christ. Efforts to overturn the laws are strongly opposed by Christian, Hindu, and Muslim clergy.

There are laws banning homosexual activity and cross-dressing in many of the former British colonies in the Caribbean. The movement to overturn in the laws is gaining steam accross the region, with various allied groups working together. The first transgender human rights and health conference took place last September. One participant remarked that the case “goes to the heart of freedom of expression, our freedom to express our gender identity.”

A landmark case in Trinidad and Tobago created wider awareness about transgender issues in the Caribbean. In that case a police officer arrested and tried to strip search a transgender woman. Since that time dialogue has led to intergovernmental planning on strategies for sexual orientation and gender identity legal reforms.  However, in Guyana the calls for reform have not resulted in any changes and that is why rights groups are now using the courts.

For more information, please see:

PrideSource–Transgenders File Suit Against Guyana Crossdressing Ban-6 March 2010

Trinidad News-T&T Activists Say of Guyana Crossdressing Lawsuit: Just the First of Step to Bring Changes-28 February 2010

Rueters-Transgender Group Seeks End to Dress Code Laws-24 February 2010