By: Danielle L. Gwozdz
Impunity Watch News Reporter, Africa

MONROVIA, Liberia – Police corruption in Liberia denies Liberians equal and impartial justice and impedes upon the country’s post-civil war decade long development, Human Rights Watch said in a report.  The United Nations (“UN”) plans on down-scaling its presence in Liberia, but should do so after these abuses are stopped.

In a 64 page report about this abuse it describes the police’s many criminal activities, such as charging crime victims at every stage of an investigation, extorting goods from street vendors, and bribing criminal suspects to pay for their release.  These actions violate Liberians’ rights under international and national law, as well as remove any trust the public has in officers.

“Police should protect the population, not prey on vulnerable people,” said Corinne Dufka, senior West Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch.  “Liberians have had all too many years of chaos and violence. A professional police force is critical to uphold people’s rights and create a rights-respecting society.”

In February the UN recommended more resources going to law enforcement to ensure Liberia’s security sector gains the trust of its citizens and can operate independently once the UN withdraws.

“Improving the criminal justice system, addressing impunity for crimes and increasing access to justice and security services for all Liberians remain particularly important for the consolidation of peace,” the UN Mission in Liberia said in its report to the Security Council.

The UN has been in Liberia for 10 years to stabilize the country after years of civil war.  It now plans to cut its troops in Liberia in half between 2013 and 2015.  However, a recent UN assessment of the national police found “abusive behavior, a lack of professionalism, and serious resource challenges that leave the force unprepared to become Liberia’s security.

“Liberians have had all too many years of chaos and violence. A professional police force is critical to uphold people’s rights and create a rights-respecting society,” said Corinne Dufka.

Human Rights Watch spoke with 120 people who were victims to the police abuse and corruption.  They told Human Rights Watch that the police officers typically ask crime victims to pay to register their cases, for transport to the crime scenes, and for pens and other items used in the investigation.

“I don’t go to the police for anything,” one Monrovia resident told Human Rights Watch. “They always want from me and I don’t have.”

Human Rights Watch also spoke to 35 police officers who expressed their own frustration with a lack of adequate support for their work.  These officers described their inadequate supplies, low salaries, and pressure to pay their superiors to obtain desirable posts and promotions.

“They come crying to you and you don’t even have a drop of gas,” one officer said, describing the difficulty of traveling to a crime scene to investigate a crime report. “We are not supposed to ask someone for money, but because you don’t have, we ask the person for money to go.”

“The Liberian government has made noteworthy efforts in recent years to promote human rights,” Dufka said. “Persistent police corruption and abuse, however, undermine the nation’s goals of national security and economic development.”

For more information, please visit:

Human Rights Watch – Liberia: Police Corruption Harms Rights, Progress – 22 August 2013
Reuters – Rampant police corruption harms Liberia’s progress: report – 22 August 2013
Thomas Reuters Foundation – Liberia: Police Corruption Harms Rights, Progress – 22 August 2013
AfriqueJet – Liberia: Police corruption harms human rights, progress – 23 August 2013
News24 – Police corruption harms Liberia’s progress – 22 August 2013
Tolerance.ca – Liberia: Police Corruption Harms Rights, Progress – 22 August 2013

 

By Dan Krupinsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

JUBA, South Sudan – The commander in charge of troops in the Jonglei state in South Sudan was detained by the nation’s army officials in the wake of allegations that soldiers under his command committed human rights abuses, including the killing of civilians.

General James Otong has not been formally charged, and army spokesman Philip Aguer said he will not be until the investigation into the alleged killings and human rights violations by the troops is complete. The general has been relieved of his command, however.

“Because of some allegations that some civilians have been killed, some properties were destroyed and looting took place…the commander of the area has to answer,” Aguer said.

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir ordered army officials to arrest, charge and bring to trial any soldiers accused of committing human rights abuses in Jonglei State, in a speech last month.

According to Aguer, to this point he has received information on only one event, which occurred in late July. According to reports, two soldiers opened fire on four civilians that were walking to Pibor town. Two women were killed in the shooting, and the soldier accused of perpetrating the attack were immediately detained.

Despite only having specific reports of one incident at this time, Aguer added that the army is prepared to investigate any additional reports of human rights violations, such as civilians being shot by soldiers or property being looted.

The Jongle state has been a site of constant conflict over the past year, with ongoing clashes between the army and rebels led by their leader David Yau Yau, as well as interethnic clashes. More than 300 people died in clashes last month in Jonglei when thousands of fighters from the Lou Nuer ethnic group raided towns and villages belonging to members of the Murle group. Aguer would not say how many soldiers are deployed in the area.

Soldiers and other gunmen looted UN and aid agency stores in Pibor, including a key hospital, in May.

The fighting is having an indirect effect on the Sudanese people, as well.

According to Doctors Without Borders, many of those who fled in July due to the fighting are “still hiding in fear in the bush” around Pibor.

The recent heavy rains in the remote, impoverished area have only added to the hardships of the tens of thousands already displaced by the regional conflict.

“As the rains intensify and the living conditions become ever more precarious, the situation in Pibor county remains critical,” according to a statement by Doctors Without Borders.

 

For further information, please see:

Blouin News – South Sudan arrests general following U.S. pressure – 21 August 2013

FOX News – South Sudan arrests general for rights violations – 20 August 2013

New York Times – South Sudan: Commander Arrested – 20 August 2013

Voice of America – S. Sudan General Detained, Soldiers Probed over Alleged Pibor Abuses – 21 August 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Dan Krupinsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

MOGADISHU, Somalia – Frequent attacks on its staff have caused Doctors Without Borders to withdraw from Somalia, after more than two decades of humanitarian service in the country.

Since the group, known internationally by its French acronym MSF, began providing basic and emergency healthcare to millions across the nation in 1991, 16 people working for the group have been killed and dozens more attacked.

Two workers were shot and killed in December 2011 by a Somali employee who learned that his contract was not going to be renewed. The shooter was convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison, but after serving only three months, was released.

In a statement, the group accused the civilian leaders of the nation of supporting the violent actions, denouncing “extreme attacks on its staff in an environment where armed groups and civilian leaders increasingly support, tolerate, or condone the killing, assaulting, and abducting of humanitarian aid workers.”

Dr. Unni Karunakara, the group’s international president, cited the realization of active support and approval for the attacks as the “final straw.”

“In choosing to kill, attack, and abduct humanitarian aid workers, these armed groups, and the civilian authorities who tolerate their actions, have sealed the fate of countless lives in Somalia,” said Dr. Karunakara.

“Respect for humanitarian principles, always fragile in conflict zones, no longer exists in Somalia today.”

Somalia, without effective government for most of MSF’s tenure in the country, was thought to be headed towards more stability when the first parliament in over two decades took office in 2012. But working conditions for MSF have not improved, prompting the group to pull out of a country for only the second time in its history, after the death of five workers at the hands of the Taliban caused the group to pull out of Afghanistan in 2004.

The decision to pull out leaves hundreds of thousands of Somalis with no healthcare services at all.

Just last year, MSF delivered more than 7,000 babies, treated more than 30,000 malnourished children and vaccinated 60,000. Additionally, they operated the only pediatric clinic in Mogadishu and in some cities were the only establishments for women to get C-sections.

According to the New York Times, a Mogadishu hospital employee called the group’s pullout “disastrous,” although also added that they pledged to continue supporting the hospital for an additional three months.

The Somali government offered no comment on the move, other than to say that it will be discussed in a cabinet meeting on Thursday.

 

For further information, please see:

ABC News – Doctors Without Borders Pulls out of Somalia – 14 August 2013

All Africa – Somalia: Doctors Without Borders to End Mission in Somalia After 22 Years – 14 August 2013

CNN – Doctors Without Borders to pull out of Somalia over attacks on staff – 14 August 2013

New York Times – Doctors Without Borders to Pull Out of Somalia – 14 August 2013

NPR – Violence Causes Doctors Without Borders To Exit Somalia – 14 August 2013