By Polly Johnson
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

MAPUTO, Mozambique – In the worst violence in the country since 2008, police officers opened fire on protestors in Mozambique’s capital city of Maputo on Wednesday. At least ten demonstrators were killed and more than four hundred others have been injured.

Riots erupted earlier this week as the price of bread, water, energy, and other staples increased. Young men rampaged through Maputo throwing stones and looting shops.

The situation seemed mostly under control by Saturday.

Red Cross Spokesman Americo Ubisse said on Saturday, “We have no incidents reported since yesterday. Everything is fine, the situation is still under control.”

Earlier in the week, Amnesty International urged Mozambique’s police not to use live ammunition to disperse violent demonstrations unless lives were at risk.

“While we recognize that the police are trying to contain a violent protest, live ammunition – which amounts to lethal force – should not be used except when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life,” said Muluka-Anne Miti, Amnesty International’s Mozambique researcher.

The riots broke out after the government’s decision to raise the price of bread by thirty percent, and quickly descended into chaos.

One witness described a scene of a woman running down a street, rubbing her stomach, and saying, “We are hungry, all Mozambicans are hungry.” State television reported that police shot and killed seven people, including a six-year old girl walking home from school.

According to police spokesman Pedro Cossa, police made one hundred and forty-two arrests. Three buses were burned, thirty-two shops were vandalized, and more than five cars were burned, he added. Bank, electricity company offices, and food warehouses belonging to the Sasseka and Delta Trading distribution companies were vandalized and looted, according to the Mozambique News Agency.

Last week, the United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) called an emergency meeting for September 24 to address the food crisis, which is not just affecting Mozambique. Severe droughts in Russia and eastern Europe have caused wheat prices around the world to rise. Egypt has seen protests resulting from rising food prices in recent months. The United Nations said that international food prices have reached their highest point in two years.

The United States State Department urged Americans in Mozambique to avoid unnecessary travel and remain at their homes and hotels.

For more information, please see:

Guardian – UN calls special meeting to address food shortages amid predictions of riots – 5 September 2010

Al Jazeera – Deaths in Mozambique price riots – 4 September 2010

BBC – Mozambique police fire rubber bullets at Maputo rioters – 3 September 2010

CNN – 7 killed, nearly 300 wounded in Mozambique violence – 3 September 2010

Independent – Seven killed as rising food prices spark riots in Mozambique – 2 September 2010

Amnesty International – Mozambique Police Must Only Use Live Ammunition to Protect Life During Demonstrations – 1 September 2010

by Elly On

Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Africa

North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo–

Numerous children and women are being raped in Democratic Republic of Congo by armed rebels in the warn-torn eastern parts of the country, according to the United Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. More than 240 children and women were raped by Rwandan and Congolese rebels.

These rebels came to North Kivu province between July 30 and August 3, 2010 to rail the villages. They blocked roads, prevented villagers from going outside and cut off outside communications.
The attacks by the rebels occurred over four days within miles of a United Nations’ base, a US aid worker and a Congolese doctor said. A UN joint human rights team confirmed allegations of the rape of at least 154 women by fighters from the Rwandan FDLR militia and Congolese Mai-Mai rebels in the village of Bunangiri. The victims are currently receiving medical and psychological treatments.

According to a UN reporter, a day after the attack occurred on July 30, an internal UN email was relayed to relief agencies working in the area warning them that the rebels had taken over the villages, the International Medical Corps (IMC) said. Sexual violence took place as early as July 30. For instance, the town of Mpofi, located approximately 32 miles from Walikale was taken by the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, a rebel group. No one could get into the town until the rebels left. In other instances, the rebels raped nearly 200 women and some baby boys during the four-day period. This region is located approximately 10 miles from a UN peacekeepers’ base. Mr. Ban, the Secretary-General of  UN, is sending Atul Khare, assistant secretary-general for peacekeeping, immediately to Democratic Republic of Congo to help investigate, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said. Also, Mr. Ban has asked the government of Democratic Republic of Congo for cooperation.

For more information, please see:

BBC–UN Investigates Claims of Mass Rape by DR Congo Rebels –24 August 2010

CNN–Children Among Hundreds Rapes in Congo, U.N. Says–4 September, 2010

New York Times Rwandan Rebels Raped at least 179 Women in Congo, Humanitarian Officials say–23 August 2010

By Laura Hirahara
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya- On Thursday, Kenya’s government defended their decision to invite Sudan’s president Omar al-Bashir to the country for a ceremony in which Kenya adopted its new constitution.  Following al-Bashir’s trip last week, many have criticized Kenya for not arresting al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and genocide in the Darfur region.  Kenya’s government, which is a signatory of the ICC and has recognized its jurisdiction, said that arresting al-Bashir now would destabilize Sudan creating negative ripple effects for its neighbors.  Alfred Mutua, a government spokesman for Kenya, stated Thursday, “In the context of Omar al-Bashir’s case, Kenya’s obligation was first to the [African Union] and then to ICC. If Sudan [is] destabilized it is us who would suffer, not the West.”

The U.N. estimates 300,000 people have been killed and another 2.7 displaced in Darfur since al-Bashir seized power in 1989 through a coup.  The ICC has charged him with organizing a militarized force that has committed acts of rape, murder and other crimes against humanity since al-Bashir began fighting rebels there in 2003.  Sudan denies these charges and the African Union has stated they also oppose the arrest warrants.  In response to their refusal to arrest al-Bashir, the ICC has reported Kenya to the U.N. Security Council and the prime ministers of several European nations have directly questioned Kenya’s government officials.  On Wednesday, the United Kingdom spoke with Kenya’s ambassador about al-Bashir’s visit.  After the visit, Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt said, “We made clear that the British government expects the government of Kenya to stand by its obligations under the Rome Statute (that established the ICC), and as a U.N. member state.”

Some within Kenya’s government, while not addressing the warrant against al-Bashir directly, believe inviting him was the wrong move.  A representative from the prime minister’s office stated Tuesday that Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga thinks the visit “sen[t] wrong signals in regard to Kenya’s commitment to the ICC and also Kenya’s respect for human rights.”  In a statement to Voice of America, Elizabeth Evenson, a researcher for Human Rights Watch, said al-Bashir’s visit went against Kenya’s new government after the violence that erupted over their last presidential elections, insulting both the victims in Darfur and Kenya.  Al-Bashir has travelled extensively since the arrest warrants were issued, including to ICC signatory country Chad earlier in the year.

For more information, please see;

Voice of America- Kenya Defends Bashir Invitation– 27 August, 2010

CNN- Kenya Pushes Back Over War Crime Suspect’s Visit– 2 September, 2010

BBC- Kenya Ambassadors Summoned Over Omar al-Bashir’s Visit– 1 September, 2010

By Laura Hirahara
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KIGALI, Rwanda- According to a statement made by Rwandan military spokesman, Jill Rutaremara, Rwanda has made preparations to withdraw thousands of peace-keeping troops from Sudan if the United Nations publishes its latest report on possible human rights violations in the region.  The report, from the U.N.’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, details the killings of thousands of ethnic Hutus in the Congo by Rwanda and its allies during a ten year period starting in 1993.  Copies of this report, which leaked last week to several press agencies, identify Rwanda troops as taking part in crimes against humanity and genocide.  Rwanda’s government, led by President Paul Kagame, is hoping it has enough leverage to stop the report from being officially published, which it believes to be false.

The U.N. report claims that Tutsi-led Rwandan armies followed Hutu-refugees into Zaire (what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo) and killed them, including women, children and the elderly.  The report cites instances where Rwandan troops, along with the armed forces of their allies, promised repatriation to Hutu refugees only to kill them later.  The U.N. was prompted to start an investigation after a number of mass graves were discovered in 2005 in North Kivu, an eastern province in the Congo.  The authors of the report, who interviewed approximately 1,250 individuals and reviewed 1,500 documents, insist they are not trying to prove “individual criminal responsibility, but to expose the seriousness of the violations committed.”

The Rwandan government is calling the report outrageous and unfounded.  Rwanda’s Justice Minister Tharcisse Karugarama said the report is “a stab in the back.”  An official statement from the capital in Kigali stated, “The report is a dangerous and irresponsible document that under the guise of human rights can only achieve instability in the Great Lakes [of Africa] region and undermine ongoing efforts to stabilize the region.”  Without addressing any of the specifics of the report, Rwanda is relying on the considerable contributions it’s made to the U.N. and Africa Union’s peacekeeping mission in Darfur to prevent the U.N. from releasing its report.  Currently, Rwanda has over 3,000 peacekeepers in Darfur and a Rwandan general leads the mission, which is made up of 21,800 peacekeepers total.

For more information, please see;

BBC- Rwanda Threatens UN Over DR Congo ‘Genocide’ Report– 28 August, 2010

AP- Rwanda: Plan Ready to Withdraw Peacekeeping Troops– 31 August, 2010

The NY Times- Rwanda Threatens to Pull Peacekeepers from Darfur– 31 August, 2010

The Washington Post- U.N. Says Rwandan Troops Carried Out Mass Killings in ’90’s– 29 August, 2010

By Laura Hirahara

Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

AKWA IBOM, Nigeria- In several states of Nigeria, children accused by church leaders of being witches are tortured and abandoned by their communities, to either die or be trafficked out of the country.  While the belief in witchcraft has been a centuries old tradition in Nigeria, a majority of the abuse of ‘child witches’ has been occurring for the last 10 years.  In most cases, the leader of a make-shift church will identify a child as a witch and promise the parents that he will ‘deliver’ the child.  Deliverance includes torturing a child until they confess and can cost anywhere from $300- $2,000.  The torture itself ranges from acid baths to burnings to beatings and can result in death.

Often, the pastor will claim the child cannot be delivered and needs to be cast out.   If they are not killed they are abandoned and many found by children’s rights groups bear serious wounds and scars from their ordeals.  One such group, led by Sam Ikpe-Itauma, works to educate Nigerians about the realities of both their beliefs and the exploitive scams many of the pastors are operating.  Mr. Ikpe-Itauma’s Child’s Rights & Rehabilitation Network includes a shelter for 200 abandoned children who were branded witches in their communities.

One child currently living at the shelter, Godwin, says after his mother died his church pastor told the family it was Godwin’s fault.  Godwin was beaten until he confessed to killing his mother through witchcraft.  Afterwards, he was forced to sleep with his mother’s corpse every night for three weeks until Mr. Ikpe-Itauma found him and brought him to the shelter.

Several organizations have charged the Nigerian government to stop the abuse of child witches.  This particular type of child abuse has been made illegal by the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child (of which Nigeria is a member) and Nigeria’s Child Rights Act passed by most states.  Despite identifying the abuse, those in local government believe programs like Mr. Ikpe-Itauma are frauds, meant to make money and smear the reputation of the country.  The Information Commissioner of Nigeria’s Akwa Ibom state, Aniekan Umanah, stated “There may be problems yes but it’s been blown out of proportion and people are capitalizing, on what ordinarily may be a social problem[… w]e will not allow the image of our state to be smeared.”  Several arrests have been made and the government has promised to provide more regulation on church organizations but so far, there have been no prosecutions.

For more information, please see;

CNN- Children Abused, Killed as Witches in Nigeria– 27 August, 2010

The Zimdiaspora- Nigeria’s Child Witch Hunt; Children Accused and Abused– 15 August, 2010

Gather- Nigerian Children Accused of Witchcraft are Cast Out of Society– 25 August, 2010