Africa

BRIEF: Blocked Aid for Ogaden Region

BRUSSELS, Belgium- After reports of abuse and human rights violations as well as claims of genocide, the Ethiopian government has pledged to take action. Although the government has denied all allegations, mainly produced by the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONFL), it did however address the United Nations (UN) report released last month. The UN report did not address the claims by the ONFL, instead it focused on the deteriorating humanitarian conditions. Ethiopia’s constructive response to adhere to UN recommendation was commended by the European Union (EU).

However, humanitarian aid groups like Medecins Sans Frontiers and the International Committee of the Red Cross have accused Ethiopian authorities of denying them access to the region. On Tuesday, the EU urged the Ethiopian government to ensure that civilians in the area received the much needed aid.

For more information please see:

Reuters: Africa- EU Urges Ethiopia to Allow Aid to Ogaden Region – 9 October 2007

BRIEF: Wars in Africa Costing Billions

A new report released by Oxfam International suggests that conflict in Africa has cost the continent about $284 billion between 1990 and 2005.  During this same period, Africa received $279 billion in foreign aid from major donors.  The report states that the continent is losing $18 billion a year to conflict and that the average war shrinks a country’s economy by 15 percent.  Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf wrote in an introduction to the report: “The sums are appalling: the price that Africa is paying could cover he cost of the HIV and AIDS crisis in Africa, or provide education, water and prevention and treatment for tuberculosis and malaria…Literally thousands of hospitals, schools, and roads could have been built.”

For more information, please see:

CNN – African wars cost billions – 11 October 2007

USA Today – Wars cost Africa nearly $300B – 11 October 2007

Bloomberg – Wars Cost Africa Economies $284 Billion in 15 Years, Oxfam says – 11 October 2007

Ceasefire Ends in Sudan

By Elizabeth Costner
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Africa

KHARTOUM, Sudan – The only rebel group to sign the 2006 peace accord has recently broken the ceasefire and resumed fighting with Sudanese troops.  The United Nations Mission in Sudan said a firefight took place on Tuesday between the Sudan Liberation Army faction of Minni Minawi and the Sudanese army near the north Darfur town of Tawila.

The Minawi faction threatened to take up arms again following an alleged government-backed attack in a south Darfur town in which more than 50 people were killed.  They further allege that the recent attack mainly targeted women, children, and the elderly.  The Sudanese army denied any involvement in the attack, and says the violence was the result of “tribal fighting between the citizens of the area.”

Minni Arcua Minnawi, the head of the SLA who became presidential advisor in Khartoum after he signed the 2006 peace agreement, has called for an international investigation into the attack. “We are committed to the peace and the ceasefire but we want the government to not repeat any action like this.”

Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon released a highly critical report accusing Khartoum of failing to approve a list of troop-contributing countries for the hybrid UN-AU peacekeeping force approved in July.  Ban’s report also states that the UN was being prevented from obtaining land for offices and accommodation in Darfur and that there was an “unacceptable upsurge in violence.”

Violence has been increasing in Darfur in recent weeks, threatening the new peace negotiations scheduled to take place in Tripoli on October 27.  Ban stated in the recent report: “The ongoing loss of life and displacement of civilians is unacceptable and is not contributing to an atmosphere conducive for the peace talks in Libya.”

Minnawi is in Darfur ahead of the scheduled talks and is to meet with rebel factions who rejected last year’s deal.  Since the 2006 agreement, the rebels have split into more than a dozen factions and formerly pro-government militias have turned on each other.

Since the conflict began in 2003, more than 2 million have been displaced and at least 200,000 have died.

For more information, please see:

Reuters Africa – Dafur peace faction call for probe into attack – 11 October 2007

BBC – Sudan red tape delaying UN force – 11 October 2007

AFP – Darfur rebel group scraps ceasefire – 10 October 2007

Economist – The worsening violence in Darfur – 10 October 2007

AllAfrica.com – Darfur Attack ‘Targeted Women and Children’ – 10 October 2007

For more information on the Darfur conflict, please see the following Impunity Watch reports: African Union Peacekeepers Attacked in Darfur; Ongoing Conflict in Sudan; ICC Prosecutor Demands Arrests in Sudan; Secretary General Urges Sudan President to Commit to Ceasefire; Peace Talks on Darfur Scheduled for October; UN Secretary General Visits Sudan

Nigeria Marked by Corruption and Violence

By Meryl White
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

ABUJA, Nigeria – Human Rights Watch (HRW) has released a report citing that the behavior of Nigerian government officials is marked by “corruption and violence.” HRW claims that politicians recruit violent gangs to offer assistance in their political campaigns by rigging elections, and terrorizing political opponents.

In parts of Nigeria, power players in the election campaign are referred to as “godfathers,” because they carry out illegal operations in order to get their friends and protégés into positions of power.  In return, the “godfathers” embezzle politicians by seeking monetary payments, control of resources, and jobs.

In the 2007 gubernatorial race in Anambra State, the power hungry candidate Andy Uba hired armed “cult” gangs to oversee the electoral process. The militant members ended up taking up a bloody battle in the streets of the state capital. Critics have compared Uba’s campaign organization to an “oil well” that was “tapped” by acts of violence.

HRW published a 123-page report, “Criminal Politics: Violence, ‘Godfathers’ and Corruption in Nigeria,” which documents Nigeria’s human rights violations and ramped corruption.  Moreover, it accuses leaders of benefiting financially and socially, at the expense of the general population. The report holds that “the impunity enjoyed by those responsible for these abuses that denies justice to its victims and is a roadblock to reform.”

An elder member of the Gombe tribe told Human Rights Watch that, “We are ruled by gangsters. The major source of criminal activity in Gombe is the politicians and their militias.”

While Nigeria is said to have “become mired in a state of crisis,” HRW believes that Nigeria’s newly elected president, Umaru Yar’Adua’s, may bring a brighter future for the country, as he has agreed to uphold the rule of domestic and international law.

For more information, please see:

VOA – Human Rights Watch Says Corruption Pervasive in Nigeria – October 2007

AllAfrica.com – Nigeria: Violence, Corruption Institutionalised – 9 October 2007

Human Rights Watch – “Criminal Politics: Violence, ‘Godfathers’ and Corruption in Nigeria” – 9 October 2007

Former CDF Leaders Sentenced in Sierra Leone

By Elizabeth Costner
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Africa

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone – In a press release issued today, the Special Court for Sierra Leone announced the sentences for two former leaders of Sierra Leone’s Civil Defense Forces (CDF) militia following their convictions in August for war crimes committed during the country’s civil war.

Moinina Fofana, who was convicted on 4 counts of an 8-count indictment, received sentences of 6 years for murder, 6 years for cruel treatment, 3 years for pillage, and 4 years for collective punishments.

Allieu Kondewa, who was convicted on 5 counts received 8 years for murder, 8 years for cruel treatment, 5 years for pillage, 6 years for collective punishments, and 7 years for conscripting or enlisting child soldiers.

Prosecutors had requested longer sentences, but Presiding Judge Justice Benjamin Itoe pointed to a number of mitigating factors which led to the reduced sentences.  These factors included the CDF’s efforts to restore Sierra Leone’s democratically-elected government which “contributed immensely to re-establishing the rule of law in this Country where criminality, anarchy, and lawlessness … had become the order of the day.”

The case has been controversial, as correspondents have said that many in Sierra Leone see the CDF as a force that fought a noble cause and defended the population against brutal rebel groups such as the Revolutionary United Front (RUF).

The sentences for both men are to be served consecutively, meaning Fofana will serve a total of 6 years and Kondewa will serve a total of 8 years.  The sentences will run from 29 May 2003, the day from which they were both taken into custody by the Special Court.

A total of 13 people have been indicted in connection with the war, including the former Liberian president Charles Taylor.  Taylor is currently on trial in The Hague due to fears that a trial in West Africa would jeopardize the peace.  In July, the Court handed down its first sentences against three senior members of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council.  Three of those indicted have since died before any verdicts were delivered.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Jail for Sierra Leone self-defence duo – 9 October 2007

Reuters Africa – Sierra Leone jails pro-govt militia chiefs – 9 October 2007

Awareness Times – Sierra Leone’s Special Court sentences CDF indictees to Six Years and Eight Years in Prison – 9 October 2007

For more information on the Sierra Leone Special Court, please see the following Impunity Watch reports: Sierra Leone Court’s Recent Verdicts Against Former CDF Leaders; Sentencing of Three Former Leaders of Sierra Leone’s Armed Forces Revolutionary Council; Forced Marriage a War Crime?.  For more information on Charles Taylor, please see: Charles Taylor Trial Delayed Until 2008; Charles Taylor Appointed New Lawyer; Charles Taylor Trial Update; Charles Taylor Ends Boycott