By Impunity Watch Africa

Refugees International issued a report on Friday concluding that Sudan must overhaul its rape laws in order to protect its citizens.  Rape victims currently have almost no access to medical care or justice and may even risk being prosecuted for having sex outside of marriage.   The report also stated that government soldiers and related militia are often responsible for the attacks.  Khartoum however continues to deny that rape has been used as a weapon of war in Darfur and says that Sudan already punishes rape harshly enough.

Since the conflict in Darfur began four years ago, more than 2 million people have been displaced and it is estimate that at least 200,000 have died.  According to the report, the rape of women in Darfur has been occurring on a massive scale.  The government military, security services, police and border guards, and Janjaweed militias are all granted immunity.  The report also stated that the government continues to harass non-governmental organizations who work with rape victims and doctors who provide treatment.

Refugees International states that the government is more likely to punish and take action against those who report the rape, rather than those actually guilty of the crime.  The report states that although the high incidence of sexual violence against women and girls has been highly documented, existing regulations make it “all but impossible” to prosecute the rapists.  Women who report a rape are often prosecuted for having sex outside the marriage, punishable by 100 lashes or death by stoning.

The report includes 24 recommendations for changes, including the need for more judges and police officers, and expanding its definition of rape to include sexual assault with objects, such as rifle barrels.
Download the full report

For more information, please also see:

AllAfrica – Urgent Need to Reform Rape Laws, Says NGO – 29 June 2007

BBC – Sudan Rape Laws ‘Need Overhaul’ – 29 June 2007

Sudan Tribune – Sudan Must Reform Law to End Rape in Darfur – Aid Group – 29 June 2007

Reuters – Sudan Must Rewrite Rape Laws to Protect Victims – 28 June 2007

By Impunity Watch Africa

Rebels in Niger released 30 wounded soldiers to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) today in the Sahara desert.  The rebel group Niger Movement for Justice (NMJ) has carried out a number of raids on military targets in the northern region.  Last week they killed 15 soldiers and took dozens hostage during a raid on a remote army outpost.   The 30 most seriously wounded were released, however several hostages still remain.

Niger is a former French colony whose vast desert has long been a location and hotbed of dissent, which has largely been beyond the government’s control. Niger’s government, more than 1,000 km away in the capital, is hoping to cash in on the vast reserves of uranium by granting dozens of new exploration permits, particularly to the Chinese.

The NMJ has come out strongly against this proposed plan.  A spokesman told Reuters that they “condemn what’s being done: giving extraction, exploitation and exploration permits to China. … They’re not welcome because they don’t work with locals, they don’t employ locals, and they respect the environment even less.”

The MNJ claims their campaign against the government is also in retaliation for the arbitrary arrests and killing of civilians in the north during security clampdowns. At least 33 soldiers have been killed since the rebels launched their campaign in February.

For more information please see:

BBC – Niger Rebels Free Wounded Troops – 29 June 2007

Independence – Niger rebels hand prisoners to Red Cross – 28 June 2007

Reuters – Niger rebels hand wounded prisoners to Red Cross – 28 June 2007

Reuters – Sahara Uranium – 27 June 2007

By Myriam Clerge

Impunity Watch, Africa

Zimbabwe is battling a down spiraling inflation rate. The official rate is 4,500 %, the highest in the world for a country not in war.

In an effort to curb inflation rates, which increased by 300 % in the last week alone, the government ordered a price cut on basic commodities such as bread, milk and oil. The price cut took effect on Tuesday. However, several struggling companies have ignored the governments order and continued raising prices.

In essence, the government is ordering factories to sell goods at prices lower than production costs. Reluctant to violate new laws prohibiting criticism of the government, one storeowner explained that it could not simply slash prices in the middle of production.

President Mugabe is blaming the West, specifically Britain, for persuading factories to defy price reduction in an effort to overthrow him. During the funeral of a top military official, Mugabe warned that if factories continued their “dirty tricks” he would seize and nationalize all companies.

In 2000, Mugabe forcibly seized white owned farms and gave them to the landless blacks. Critics blame this seizure for the present state of the economy. Furthermore, economists warn that price cut strategies will likely lead to shortages and factory closures. Economic analyst Tony Hawkins, suggests that Mugabe’s threat to seize companies is another ploy to win the 2008 election.

In the meantime, the United States and the European Union has imposed a travel ban and an asset freeze on President Mugabe and other leading officials.

For more information please see:

Yahoo – Mugabe Threatens to Seize Firms Over ‘Dirty Tricks’ – 27 June 2007

BBC – Zimbabwe to Cut Prices ‘By Half’ – 26 June 2007

Yahoo – Zimbabwe Government Orders Price Cuts – 26 June 2007

By Impunity Watch Africa

The trial against former Liberian President Charles Taylor was set to resume Monday in The Hague, however Taylor once again refused to attend.  When opening statements began on June 4, Taylor refused to appear in court, instead sending a letter to the judge calling the court “a charade that does injustice to the people of Sierra Leone.”  Taylor claimed he could not receive a fair trial and fired his attorney, Karim Khan, stating he wished to represent himself.  Following opening statements the trial was in recess until Monday, when witness testimony was scheduled to begin.

Monday brought neither new defense attorneys for Taylor, nor an appearance by the accused, and the trial was once again put on hold.  Justice Julie Sebutinde issued a terse warning against “undue delay” but was nevertheless forced to continue the trial until July 3.  The purpose of the delay is to appoint a new defense team to Taylor, who has claimed he will not appear in court until he is provided with enough resources to match those of the prosecution. He continues to assert that he will act as his own attorney unless he can be represented by a Queen’s Counsel (a high-level British lawyer).

The prosecution objected to the delay, stating that Taylor had intentionally tried to delay proceedings by waiting until the start of trial to fire his lawyer.  However, Justice Sebutinde ruled that adequate resources had to be provided to the defense and that the court’s registry has not moved quickly enough to ensure they were in place.

Taylor faces 11 charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and violations of international humanitarian law for acts which allegedly occurred during his involvement with the Sierra Leone civil war.

Last week the Sierra Leone Court issued its first verdicts, convicting three former Sierra Leonean military leaders on multiple counts of war crimes, including the first ever conviction by an international court for the use of child soldiers. The three men convicted were former leaders of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council, a group of former military officers who overthrew Sierra Leone’s government in 1997 and then teamed up with rebels to control the country.  Prosecutors allege the rebels were among those supported by Taylor.

For more information, please see:

AllAfrica – Liberia: Sebutinde Warns Taylor On Boycott – 26 June 2007

AllAfrica – Liberia: Defiant Taylor’s Request Granted – 26 June 2007

BBC – Liberia’s Taylor trial adjourned – 25 June 2007

CNN – Taylor Boycott Forces Delay – 25 June 2007

By Myriam Clerge

Impunity Watch, Africa

The violence in Somalia continues despite the curfew invoked by the government, effective this past Friday, after weeks of bloodshed. Anyone outside his or her home between 7 pm and 5 am will be arrested. Somalia’s intelligence chief Mohamed Warsame Darwish says the curfew is a necessary means to tackle the violence in the evening and secure the city.

The curfew comes after a bombing in the main Bakara market in Mogadishu on Thursday. At least five people were killed, four police officers and one civilian, when a masked man threw a grenade at several policemen patrolling the crowded marketplace in the capital of Somalia.

Somali policemen continue to be the targets of violence. Early last week two people were killed when insurgents attacked two police stations.

The government and its allied Ethiopian troops have been battling insurgents for nearly six months. The government has accused the Islamists and Mogadishu’s dominant Hawiye clan for Thursday’s bombing.

A national reconciliation conference is scheduled for next month and both the Hawiya clan and Islamists have been invited to create a peaceful resolution. However, neither group has elected to attend or discuss peace until Ethiopian troops are removed from the country.

The Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) controlled the government for six months last year until Ethiopian and government troops ousted the Islamic group.

In the meantime, as malnutrition increases in Somalia, about 140 UN trucks carrying food aid to Somalia were forced to remain in the Kenyan border for more than a month. Kenya closed its border to Somalia in January after hundreds of thousands migrated to the neighboring country following the increased violence. The Kenyan land route was chosen after pirate attacks threatened the safety of seamen and cargo.

Today, with the arrival of food and aid, at least three people were killed when hundreds of people stormed a police station where food was being handed out. One witness, whose brother was among the victims, reports that the police opened fire and killed five people. Another witness describes the killing as cold-blooded murder.

For more information please see:

BBC – Shooting at Somali Food Aid Crush – 25 June 2007

BBC – Somalia Food Aid Trucks Stranded – 22 June 2007

BBC – Curfew After Somali Grenade Blast – 21 June 2007

Yahoo – Somalia Violence Kills 6; Curfew Imposed – 21 June 2007