By Zach Waksman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

RABAT, Morocco – After sixteen-year-old Amina al-Filali killed herself on March 10, following a six-month forced marriage to the man who raped her, Morocco announced plans to revise its laws regarding the relationship between rape and marriage last Thursday.  Protesters and feminists have long called for a controversial statute to be repealed, and the government has pledged to change its handling of rape.

Rape victims in Morocco are often subject to deep shame upon both themselves and their families, especially in rural areas such as where her hometown of Larache is located.  Though the West African country’s laws provide for a prison sentence of 10 to 20 years for a person who rapes a minor, the rapist has a loophole that enables him to avoid incarceration.  Under Article 475, an adult who has “corrupted a minor” may evade the charges by marrying the victim.  A similar concept exists in the Christian Bible.  This provision has often been used by families of rape victims to protect their honor.  These “special circumstances” create an exemption to the requirement that both parties to a marriage be at least 18 years old.

“Another, more terrible failure is that the family agreed to the “amicable solution” offered by their friends.  Rape is a crime in Morocco, but it is also a taboo.  The woman who has been raped is often seen as having been shamed—her marriage prospects change radically, and her morals are called into question,” wrote Laila Lalami in a piece for The Daily Beast.  “In other words, the victim is blamed and the perpetrator is forgotten. ‘If we married her off,’ Amina’s sister Hamida told a Spanish network, ‘it was to protect her, so that people would not speak ill of her.’  The Filali family apparently preferred to sacrifice their daughter’s physical and emotional well-being rather than live with the reminder that she had been raped.”

In Amina’s case, the family filed charges against the rapist last year.  Her father, Lahsan al-Filali, said that the prosecutor advised him of the option to have her marry him.  The judge ordered it.  He told Morocco’s 2M Television that he had no choice but to allow the marriage.

“When the judge said they will marry, I did not agree, but I could not challenge the law.  I wanted that man [the rapist] to go to prison,” he said.  “At first I did not agree to this marriage, but when the court of family affairs called me and pressured me, I agreed.”

After the marriage, the husband’s treatment of Amina did not improve.  She was beaten and deprived of food.  When she told her family about the life she was living, she was reportedly disowned.  By March, she could no longer take the punishment, so she swallowed rat poison to end her life.  As Amina died, her enraged husband dragged her down the street by her hair.  The Ministry of Justice’s preliminary investigation concluded that the relationship was consensual, meaning that it was not rape.

The stunning suicide prompted immediate calls for reform.  A Facebook page called “We are all Amina Filali” has been created, and other protesters seek the incarceration of both the rapist and the judge who ordered the marriage.

“Amina was triply violated, by her rapist, by tradition and by Article 475 of the Moroccan law,” tweeted activist Abadila Maaelaynine.

Morocco is one of the more liberal Arab states with regard to women’s rights.  In 2004, the country all but eliminated polygamy, abolished a duty of obedience to the husband, and permitted women to keep assets after a divorce.  These reforms were hailed by the West as a step forward for women’s rights.  But there is still more work to be done.  Since 2006, the country has planned to adopt legislation banning all forms of violence against women, but it has yet to be seen.  This incident might be the catalyst that drives the issue forward.

“It is unfortunately a recurring phenomenon,” Fouzia Assouli, the president of the Democratic League for Women’s Rights, told the Associated Press. “We have been asking for years for the cancellation of Article 475 of the penal code, which allows the rapist to escape justice.”

Moroccan communications minister Mustapha el-Khalfi confirmed the need for further reform.

“We can’t ignore what happened, one of the things we are looking for is to toughen the sentence for rape,” he told Al Jazeera.  “We are also looking to creating a debate on the cultural and social aspects to create a comprehensive reform.”

Whatever the ultimate appearance of that reform may be, it is unlikely to constitute the end of the issue in Morocco.  Last year, a government study found that about 25% of Moroccan women have been subjected to sexual assault at least once in their lives.

“Legal reforms are not enough so long as Moroccan society views the victim of a rape as something that needs to be solved,” wrote Lalami.  “Rape is not puzzle. Rape is a crime. Amina Filali’s death is a stain on our collective conscience.”

For more information, please see:

Morocco Board — Morocco: Outrage Grows over Minor Rape & Suicide — 19 March 2012

The Week (UK) — Ordeal of Rape Victim Amina Filali Shocks Morocco — 19 March 2012

Morocco Board — Morocco: Antiquated Law Led to Suicide of Minor — 18 March 2012

Al Jazeera — Morocco Mulls Tougher Line on Rape-Marriages — 17 March 2012

BBC — Morocco Protest against Rape-Marriage Law — 17 March 2012

Montreal Gazette — Morocco to Revise Law after Rape Victim’s Suicide — 16 March 2012

By Tamara Alfred
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

 The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Sudan’s defense minister, Abdul -Rahim Mohamed Hussein, for 41 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed in Darfur.

Hussein is wanted for actions taken during the time of August 2003 to March 2004 in Darfur, where rebels have fought government forces and allied militiamen since 2003.  Hussein was Sudan’s interior minister at the time when attacks were made upon the towns and villages of Kodoom, Bindisi, Mukjar and Arawala in West Darfur.

The ICC said “there are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Hussein is criminally responsible for 20 counts of crimes against humanity (persecution, murder, forcible transfer, rape, inhuman acts, imprisonment or severe deprivation of liberty and torture) and 21 counts of war crimes (murder, attacks against civilian population, destruction of property, rape, pillaging and outrage upon personal dignity.)”

The court continued, explaining that “Mr. Hussein made essential contributions to the formulation and implementation of the common plan…through his overall coordination of national, state and local security entities and through the recruitment, arming and funding of the police forces and the Militia/Janjaweed in Darfur.”

The court has at least six other cases involving Darfur.  Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is wanted for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, while Sudanese government official Ahmad Harun, Janjaweed leader Ali Kushayb, and rebel leaders Abdallah Banda, Saleh Jerbo and Abu Garda also face war crimes charges.  However, Sudan does not recognize the ICC and refuses to hand over suspects.

The government in Khartoum was quick to dismiss the ruling, reiterating that Sudan is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, the ICC’s founding treaty.

“We are not concerned with the court and the decisions that come out of it,” foreign ministry spokesman Al-Obeid Marwih said.  “We, like the United States and Russia, are not signatories to the Rome Statute governing the court.”

Sudan’s Minister of Information Sana al-Awad said Sudan was equally unconcerned with this latest arrest warrant.  “The court has become a political tool and not one that seeks justice,” she said.  “Sudan considers the arrest warrant an outcome of lobbying by anti-Sudan groups in the U.S.  It is an unjustifiable allegation.”

Marwih suggested that the timing of the warrant was meant to coincide with the “recent victories” of Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) against the rebels in Blue Nile, South Kordofan and Darfur.  “The court’s decision is more of a message to the rebellion than it is to frustrate the armed forces,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Prosecutor of the ICC, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, urged the international community to find “the final solution” for the problem of impunity in Darfur, where he says war crimes have continued despite the various arrest warrants.

“I think we did something complicated – we investigated the crime, we collected the evidence, we clarified the responsibilities,” Moreno-Ocampo told reporters at UN Headquarters.  “But our effort is not enough if the crime is not stopped.”

The case against Hussein will be Moreno-Ocampo’s last involving Darfur before his tenure as ICC Prosecutor ends in June.

The United Nations (UN) estimates as many as 300,000 people have been killed and almost 3 million people have been displaced from their homes as a result of the conflict.

For more information, please see:

UN News Centre – Sudan: ICC prosecutor urges world to do more to end impunity in Darfur – 5 March 2012

CNN – Sudan’s defense minister wanted for war crimes – 2 March 2012

Sudan Tribune – Sudan downplays ICC arrest warrant issued for defence minister – 1 March 2012

By Zach Waksman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – The Special Court for Sierra Leone has scheduled the rendering of judgment for former Liberian President Charles Taylor’s trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity for April 26 at 11 A.M.  Thursday’s statement came more than a year after his trial, which focused heavily on trading of “blood diamonds,” ended.  It will be the last major trial to be held by the United Nations-backed Court.

Taylor, who served as President of Liberia from 1997 to 2003, is the first former African head of state to go before an international tribunal.  Faces 11 charges, which include acts of slavery and the recruitment and use of child soldiers.  He has denied all charges, calling them the product of a conspiracy by “some powerful countries [that] were out to get him” as early as 2002.  If convicted, he could serve a life sentence.  The trial began in 2007.  To reach a decision, judges had to peruse more than 50,000 pages of testimony by witnesses and 1,520 exhibits in evidence.

Prosecutors attempted to say that his actions were part of a plan to take control of Sierra Leone from Liberia in order to exploit its vast resources of diamonds.  To do so, Taylor allegedly provided arms to the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), one of two revolutionary groups mentioned during the trial, in exchange for illegally mined diamonds, also known as “blood diamonds.”  In 1991, the RUF launched a civil war in Sierra Leone, which claimed more than 120,000 lives during its ten-years of violence.  The group was painted as a “surrogate army” for Taylor, who led an ultimately successful revolution in his home country in 1990.

The trial will mark more than the conclusion of business for the Special Court, which was founded by the government of Sierra Leone and the United Nations in 2002.  It will also signify that dictators acting with impunity will no longer considered acceptable.  This proceeding was “of importance to Africa and to this evolving concept of international justice,” according to Courtenay Griffiths, Taylor’s defense attorney.

But just because Griffiths agrees with the trial’s importance does not mean he supports the case itself.  He characterized Taylor as a target, at one point asking why former Libyan dictator Colonel Muammar Al-Gaddafi was not “on the dock.”  Gaddafi is dead, but the International Criminal Court has decided to investigate the late despot’s regime.  This means that the Taylor trial is almost a test run for the Gaddafi investigation.  The defense has also made claims that several prosecution witnesses were paid for their troubles, including one who received about $3,000 from prosecution funds.

Taylor himself remains imprisoned in The Hague, where his trial took place for security reasons.  The Special Court is based in Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital.  According to an aide who spoke to The New Dawn, a Liberian newspaper, on the condition of anonymity, the former warlord and statesman was mourning the death of his cousin, Vivien Cooke, whom he referred to as a brother.  He has converted to Judaism, and the aide characterized him as “more religious than ever.”

“Taylor told me that there is no sin bigger than the other-all sins are equal,” the aide said.

Whether that is true or not remains to be seen, but Taylor will learn his fate in approximately seven weeks.  Regardless of the verdict, both sides will have an opportunity to appeal.

For more information, please see:

BBC — Charles Taylor  Liberia War Crimes Verdict Set — 01 March 2012

Pretoria News — Taylor to Hear His Fate Soon — 01 March 2012

United Nations — UN-backed Court to Deliver Judgment in Charles Taylor Trial Next Month — 01 March 2012

New Dawn — Taylor Mourns in Prison — 29 February 2012

BBC — Charles Taylor: Godfather or Peacemaker — 11 March 2011

By Zach Waksman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

DAKAR, Senegal – Two days before the election to determine the next president, there is no sign of an end to the acrimony that has dominated Senegal since January.  Despite appeals from the international community, President Abdoulaye Wade remains in the race.

The situation is unusual for this West African country, which has had free elections since the late 19th Century and has never been upended by a military coup.  Protests have occurred in downtown Dakar, the seaside capital, on a daily basis, leading local businesses to cut their hours of operation in half and send employees home to avoid the chaos.  At least six people have died in rallies against the 85-year-old (officially; he is rumored to be even older) Wade’s candidacy.  After his election to a seven-year term in 2000, the constitution was amended to limit the president to two five-year terms.  It was re-amended to two seven-year terms after his re-election in 2007, which he believes allows him to run again.

Opponents have another story.  Earlier this week, dissenters rallied along Avenue William Ponty, close to Independence Square, singing and chanting: “He should go! He must go! He has to go!” in reference to Wade.  The interior ministry banned events held in Independence Square itself.  Even his former ministers had become disenchanted.

“The Constitution has been violated!” declared Idrissa Seck, one of six former prime ministers to have served under Wade and one of three to be running against him.  “We must prevent the coup d’état that is unfolding.”

Wade’s election campaign continues in spite of the vitriol.  Amadou Sall said that the president was willing to talk to opposition leaders about their concerns.  As far as he was concerned, Wade’s candidacy was legal.

“President Wade is a candidate of a group of parties who support him and we have the majority of the Senegalese people with us, and the constitutional court said the candidacy of Wade is good.  So, he is a legal candidate,” said Sall. “Now, you have the minority in the opposition who contest and who protest and the make demonstrations in just two areas in Dakar and fighting with policemen.  These guys are losers.”

Since Tuesday, former Nigerian leader Olusegun Obasanjo has been in Dakar as head of a joint African Union-Economic Community of West African States observer mission.  He has met with both Wade and opposition leaders about the situation, vowing to do more than observe if things do not improve.  After his meeting with Wade, the ruling party said that it would not postpone the election or withdraw its leader from the poll.

Hopes for success within the mission were running high when Obasanjo arrived in Dakar Tuesday.  But the reality may be much more harsh.  To Arame Tall, a researcher at John Hopkins University-Sais, breaking through the gridlock may not be possible.

“It is a stalemate. On one hand, Wade is obstinate and is at least 90-years-old, meaning that if he wins we would have a president that would finish his term at 97-years-old,” Tall told Al Jazeera.  “On the other hand, we have a highly divided opposition, animated by personal ambition – and they are also guilty of trapping the public because they simply refuse to unite and create a strong front to confront the old man.  The public has no choice, because they are faced with an old man they do not want and a fragmented opposition with no leadership.”

For more information, please see:

AllAfrica — Nigeria: Obasanjo Meets with Senegal Government — 24 February 2012

AllAfrica — Senegal: Wade Ignores Obasanjo Call to Pull Out of Poll –23 February 2012

Al Jazeera — Tensions Build in Run-Up to Senegal Vote — 23 February 2012

New York Times — An Atypical Unrest Troubles Senegal’s Election Season — 23 February 2012

Voice of America — Senegal Ends Campaigning Ahead of Sunday’s Vote — 23 February 2012

BBC — Senegal: Former Nigerian Leader Obasanjo in Peace Bid — 22 February 2012

By Tamara Alfred
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

British Prime Minister David Cameron urged the international community Thursday to help Somalia’s government tackle piracy, militants and hunger, or face terror threats from the troubled African nation.

World leaders from 40 countries, including Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, attended the conference on Thursday in London focusing on stabilizing and rebuilding Somalia after decades of war.  The conference sought to address terror and conflict in Somalia and find ways to resolve other critical problems, including famine and weak leadership.

“These problems in Somalia don’t just affect Somalia,” Prime Minister Cameron said.  “They affect us all.”

In a country where there is no hope,” Cameron continued, “chaos, violence and terrorism thrive.  Pirates are disrupting vital trade routes and kidnapping tourists.  Young minds are being poisoned by radicalism, breeding terrorism that is threatening the security of the whole world.”

The militant Islamist Somali rebel group Al-Shabaab emerged in about 2004 and has been fighting the government since.  Children as young as 10 years old are increasingly facing horrific abuse as the group forcibly recruits them to replenish its diminishing ranks of fighters.  According to Human Rights Watch, patterns have also emerged of children serving as human shields on the battlefields.

Al-Shabaab is also implementing strict Sharia law in the nation.  Women have been stoned to death for adultery; amputations and beheadings are common.  In some areas, listening to the radio has been banned, as have non-Arabic signs.  Al-Shabaab is also responsible for the assassination of several journalists.

In addition to the violence, the Somali people have endured bouts of natural disasters, including famine, drought and floods.  The U.S. government said 30,000 children had died in Somalia due to famine alone in the summer of 2011.

The prime minister stressed that the world cannot afford to look the other way anymore:  “If the rest of us just sit back and look on, we will pay a price for doing so.  For two decades, politicians in the West have too often dismissed the problems in Somalia as simply too difficult and too remote to deal with.”

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki said Al-Shabaab’s recent announcement that it had joined al Qaeda should serve as a wake-up call.  “Clearly, a new and more dangerous theater for terrorist action has emerged in Somalia,” he said, “and this calls for focused and concerted international effort.”

Kenya is host to the world’s largest refugee camp, Dadaab.  The camp is currently over capacity with desperate Somalis who have fled their homeland.  The UN estimates that over 360,000 refugees reside in Dadaab.

Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali said that he even welcomed airstrikes to rid his of country of Al-Shabaab terrorists, though this was not on the conference agenda.  “We have to face this menace, and al-Qaeda in Somalia is not a Somali problem – it is a global problem that must be addressed globally,” he said.

However, Secretary of State Clinton said that the U.S. sees no reason for military strikes.  She announced $64 million in humanitarian aid to the Horn of Africa countries and said the focus should be on political progress.  Clinton said the U.S. will continue to work with Somali officials to create jobs, provide health and education services, and conflict resolution.

Cameron announced agreements on key areas including a new task force on piracy ransoms and the willingness of Tanzania, Mauritius, and the Seychelles to take on judicial responsibilities to convict pirates.  There was recognition, however, that it would take time to bring change to a country that has come to epitomize a failed state.

“We are realistic – Somalia’s problems cannot be solved in a day, said British Foreign Minister William Hague, “but its people deserve a better future, and our own security requires their country to become more stable.”

Hague also applauded the UN Security Council’s decision on Wednesday to increase the African Union force in Somalia to 17,700 troops, almost 6,000 more than the current number.  Neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia have both sent troops directly, while Uganda, Djibouti, and Burundi are contributing peacekeepers.  The United States has used drones to target militants in Somalia.

Cameron commended the conference on their movement.  “Today’s conference has put new momentum into the political process,” he said.  “We’ve backed the Somalis’ decision to end the mandate of the transitional federal institutions in August.  This timetable will be stuck to.  There will be no further extensions.  We will hold the Somalis to this.  We’ll act against those who stand in the way of the peace process and we’ve also agreed the formation of a new government must be as inclusive as possible.”

Meanwhile, Hague dismissed criticism of the conference by some critics who said it lacked enough Somalia input.

“It’s not Western, it’s global,” Hague told CNN.  “Part of our objective here is to build up the local governments, the regional governments, the institutions that have been able to take root…which is why they are all here.  It’s not top down at all.”

And yet, at least three demonstrations protested outside the conference.  “The conference is about 40 countries coming together discussing the Somali issue, [but] what we feel is that Somalia not part of it,” said Cabdi Aakhiro of Voice 4 Somalia.  “They are discussing their interests, not the Somali interests.”

BBC Somalia analyst Mary Harper also seemed to think that while Cameron was saying that the conference was “not about telling Somalis what to do,” the policies do not seem to be leaving Somalia to the Somalis.

Amnesty International also said the conference failed to adequately address the “dire human rights situation” in Somalia.

“The recent surge in military operations increases civilians’ vulnerability to attacks and displacement, and brings more arms into a country already awash with weapons,” said Benedicte Goderiaux, Amnesty International’s Somalia researcher.  “Direct attacks against civilians, indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks, these are crimes under international law, these are war crimes.  This is a lethal mix that could fuel further human rights abuses.  At this conference, we hoped to see more efforts to improve the safety of the Somali population.”

One Somali man expressed unease that the conference gave a lot of attention to ending impunity for pirates.  “What about ending impunity for the war-lords who have killed so many of our children?” said the man.  “What about the African Union peacekeepers who shelled residential areas in Mogadishu?  What about Al-Shabaab and even our transitional government soldiers?”

The next international meeting on Somalia is scheduled for June in Istanbul, Turkey.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Will the world help or hinder Somalia? – 23 February 2012

CNN – Cameron warns world security rests on Somalia’s future – 23 February 2012

CNN – Years of chaos take toll in Somalia – 23 February 2012

Voice of America – Somalia Conference Stirs Range of Sentiments – 23 February 2012