News

Nigeria World Cup Viewers hit by Deadly Suicide Bomber

June 18, 2014

By: Danielle L. Cowan (Gwozdz)
Senior Desk Operator, Africa

ABUJA, Nigeria – At least 21 people have been killed in a bomb blast in northern Nigeria as they were watching a World Cup match, a hospital source told BBC News.

Police at scene of suicide bomber (photo courtesy of Associated Press)

Witnesses in Yobe state say a suicide bomber in a tricycle taxi detonated explosives as people watched Brazil’s match against Mexico on TV.

At least 27 people are seriously injured.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility by Boko Haram, an armed Islamic group that wants to turn Nigeria into an Islamic state, was suspected.

Nathan Cheghan, a Police Assistant Superintendent, said that rescue workers had been careful about rushing to the scene for fear of secondary explosions. The Boko Haram group frequently detonates secondary explosions to kill those who help victims from the first bomb.

Young children were among the victims.

The Nigerian government has advised World Cup fans to avoid crowded public screenings of the tournament in Brazil, fearing possible attacks.

Boko Haram, which means “Western education is forbidden” in the Hausa language, has listed football, or soccer, as one of the sinful and corrupting signs of western influence they want to eradicate.

Nigeria’s military has promised increased security but appears incapable of halting a stream of attacks by extremists holding more than 250 schoolgirls hostage.

A hospital worker told the media that truckloads of injured people are being treated in overcrowded wards.

“The injured people are so numerous I cannot count them,” the worker said after the blast.

An emergency has been declared in three states, including Yobe, amid attakcs by suspected Boko Haram militants.

There have also been warnings of potential attacks at venues showing the World Cup in East Africa – Somali Islamist group al-Shabab killed 76 people watching the 2010 World Cup final at two restaurants in the Ugandan capital, Kampala.

The kidnapping of the girls two months ago and failure of Nigeria’s military and government to rescue them has roused international concern. The US is searching for the girls with drones and has sent experts along with Britain and France to help in counter-terrorism tactics and hostage negotiation.

Boko Haram’s leader Abubakar Shekau has threatened to sell the girls into slavery unless the government agrees to exchange them for detained extremists, but President Goodluck Jonathan has said he will not exchange prisoners.

Nigeria’s military has said it knows where the girls are but that any military campaign could get them killed.

For more information, please visit:
BBC News – Nigeria World Cup viewers hit by deadly bomb blast – 18 June 2014
CBC News – Nigeria suicide bombing of World Cup viewing site kills 14 – 18 June 2014
The Globe and Mail – Blast at Nigerian World Cup viewing site kills 14 – 18 June 2014
International Business Times – Nigeria: Boko Haram Kills Children in ‘Un-Islamic’ World Cup Bombing – 18 June 2014
The Independent – ’14 killed’ in Nigeria suicide bomb attack on World Cup viewing venue – 18 June 2014
Daily Monitor – Bomb attack kills Nigerian World Cup fans – 18 June 2014

UN Urges Papua New Guinea to Take Action to Stop Vigilante Witchcraft Killings

June 15, 2014

by Max Bartels

Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is under heavy criticism by the UN for doing little to combat the killing of women and sometimes men for suspected sorcery. Across the country deaths and illnesses are often blamed on sorcerers, those suspected of sorcery are often subject to vigilante killings. UN investigations have concluded that sorcery is often used in PNG to mask violence against women. Even though the PNG government has taken steps to combat the violence they have not been effective, impunity is often still given at the local level to those who kill alleged sorcerers.

papua-new-guinea_2481073b — Woman is burned at the stake for suspected sorcery in a PNG village
(Photo Curtesy of The Telegraph)

These problems in PNG were brought to the forefront of the international community a year ago when a 20-year-old woman was killed for alleged witchcraft when a young boy died of illness. The town’s people blamed the young woman for the death, she was striped naked, tortured and burned alive at the stake. Even though the attack was over a year ago no one has been brought to justice for the killing. Since this disturbing murder the number of vigilante attacks on suspected witches has increased sharply, causing an increase of violence and unrest.

The PNG government has responded to the UN demands to deter these attacks by repealing the Sorcery Act of 1971, which created the defense of sorcery for defendants on murder charges. The country has also responded by reinstating the death penalty for murder and rape in hopes that it will deter these violent attacks on women. The UN has criticized the reinstatement of the death penalty, saying that the death penalty does not help deter the violence in anyway. Instead the UN advises that prompt investigation and trials would be effective in halting the attacks.

Even with these heavy-handed measures to combat the violence, bringing those responsible for the killings to justice proves difficult. At the local level, those who kill witches or sorcerers are not deemed to be criminals by the population. Arresting them and convicting them is difficult when their local communities do not think of them as criminals. Since the death penalty reinstatement not one person has been given the capital punishment, the deterrence is not effective if the punishment is never given out for the crime.

The UN has recently held a conference in Port Moresby, the capital of PNG to discuss these issues with the PNG government. The PNG Deputy Secretary for Legal and Justice Affairs has stated that the UN conference should form the basis for legislative reform in the country. Other government agencies have also voiced their support for the UN conference and possible policy and legislative reforms to combat the issue of witchcraft killings.

For more information, please see:

BBC News — UN Urges Action on Papua New Guinea Sorcery Attacks — 13 June 2014

Yahoo News — UN Urges End to Impunity for PNG Sorcery Attacks — 13 June 2014

News.com.au — Papua New Guinea Slammed by Amnesty International for Lack of Actions in Socery Killing — 6 February 2014

MSN News NZ — UN Urges Action on PNG Sorcery Attacks — 13 June 2014

UK Boosts Nigeria’s Military Aid to Fight Against Boko Haram

June 12, 2014

By: Danielle L. Cowan (Gwozdz)
Senior Desk Operator, Africa

ABUJA, Nigeria – The UK will increase its military and educational aid to help Nigeria tackle Boko Haram, Foreign Secretary William Hague has announced.

He said Nigeria’s army would receive extra training, especially in counter-insurgency, and a million more children would be given schooling.

This is the latest promise of western help since Boko Haram abducted 200 schoolgirls in April.

Since the incident in April with Boko Haram, foreign help has been offered to help end the insurgency.

Correspondents say that attacks have increased since the April kidnappings.

The UK is hosting a meeting about the security situation and how to tackle the Boko Haram insurgents.

Nigeria’s Foreign Minister Aminu Wali will be attending the high-level gathering organized by his British counterpart Hague.

This meeting follows a summit Hague spoke at last month in London, where regional powers pledged to share intelligence and co-ordinate action against the group and its five-year insurgency.

Boko Haram has waged an increasingly bloody insurgency since 2009 in an attempt to create an Islamic state in Nigeria.

Thousands of people have died in the attacks done by Boko Haram and the subsequent security crackdown.

Hague has stressed that human rights must be respected in the operation against the militant group.

Human rights groups have accused Nigeria’s army of killing hundreds of civilians in crackdowns following Boko Haram attacks.

Hague also insisted that the extra aid must be spent effectively. There have been reports of corruption in the military.

There will be no immediate effect, however, in the villages of north-east Nigeria where people are being killed every day. There are no quick fixes to this insurgency.

The Nigerian government says the military cannot be everywhere in order to defend people.

Hague has insisted that the extra aid must be spent effectively. There have been reports of corruption in the military.

Hague further stated that the extra assistance would be provided in conjunction with France and the United States.

In a statement made last week, Hague said that “since the appalling abductions of over 200 schoolgirls in Chibok by Boko Haram, the international community has worked together closely to support Nigeria in the fight against terrorism.”

The UK, US, China, and France are among those countries that have sent teams of experts and equipment to help locate the girls.

For more information, please visit:
BBC News – Boko Haram crisis: UK boosts Nigeria military aid – 12 June 2014
The Guardian – Boko Haram crisis: UK meets on insecurity – 12 June 2014
News Break Nigeria – Boko Haram crisis: UK boosts Nigeria military aid – BBC News – 12 June 2014
Live 91.9 – Boko Haram crisis: UK boosts Nigeria military aid – 11 June 2014
World News – Boko Haram crisis: UK boosts Nigeria military aid – 12 June 2014

Pope Francis Leads Israeli and Palestinian Leaders In a Peace Prayer At the Vatican

June 9, 2014

VATICAN CITY- In an effort to re-launch Middle East peace talks, Pope Francis invited Palestine president, Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli president, Shimon Peres to the Vatican for a prayer of peace.

The invitation took place just weeks after the U.S. sponsored peace negotiations collapsed.

The invitation comes at a time where animosity is mounting over a rising Palestinian unity government that Israel will not accept because the government has the support of Hamas, the Islamic group running Gaza that Israel accuses of being terrorists.

Abbas, Peres, and Pope Francis pray at the Vatican.

To add to the animosity, Israel is building more homes in the occupied West Bank, angering the Palestinians and deterring the peace process.

Last month, on a trip to the Holy Land, Pope Francis invited the leaders to Vatican City for prayer, a move that energized many Palestinians, but caused anger among Israelis. During his visit, Francis made an unplanned stop to pray at the wall Israel built to block out Palestine’s West Bank, a move that many thought showed sympathy to Palestinians and further angered Israelis.

Vatican officials have insisted that Pope Francis has no political agenda in inviting the Middle East leaders to pray at his home. His only hope is to re-kindle a desire for peace.

“This pray meeting will not be for mediation to find solutions,” Pope Francis said. “We are just meeting up to pray, and then everyone goes home.” Francis said it would be “crazy” to expect any mediation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

However, many officials think the meeting has potential significance beyond just symbolism, as it shows Pope Francis as a leader who is willing to forgo normal diplomatic and theological protocol and go out on a limb for the sake of peace.

“In the Middle East, symbolic gestures and incremental steps are important,” said Rev. Thomas Reese, a veteran Vatican analyst for the National Catholic Reporter. “Who knows what conversations can occur behind closed doors in the Vatican.”

Abbas and Peres embraced in the foyer of the Vatican hotel and joked together before sitting on either side of Pope Francis in the Vatican prayer garden for an hour-long invocation of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim prayers delivered in English, Hebrew, Arabic, and Italian. The men also planted an olive tree in the garden as a sign of peace.

The prayers focused on three themes common to each of the religions: thanking God for creation, seeking forgiveness for past wrongdoing, and praying to God to bring peace to the region

Francis told the two men, who first signed the Oslo peace accords in 1993, that he hoped this meeting would ignite a “new journey” towards peace. Francis further said that too many children have died from war and violence and that their memory should now instill thoughts of patience, strength, and coexistence.

“Peacemaking calls for courage much more than warfare,” Francis said. “It calls for the courage to say yes to encounter and no to conflict.”

For more information see:

Al-Jazeera- Pope Leads Israeli-Palestinian Peace Prayer– 8 June 2014

CBC News- Pope Francis holds symbolic peace prayers with Middle East leaders– 8 June 2014

Daily Mail- Pope Francis embraces divided Middle East leaders and presides over Christian, Jewish and Muslim prayers at Vatican in bid to revive collapsed peace talks– 8 June 2014

CBC News- The Pope’s modest “prayer meeting” for the Middle East– 7 June 2014

World’s First Climate Change Refugee Denied Asylum in New Zealand

June 8, 2014

by Max Bartels

Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

Wellington, New Zealand

A Man from the small Pacific islands of Kiribati applied as a “climate refugee” in New Zealand. Mr. Teitiota is the first to apply for such a refugee status. A New Zealand Judge dismissed Mr. Teitiota case and denied him and his family refugee status. This ruling was appealed the New Zealand Court of Appeals upheld the decision of the lower court. Mr. Teitiota and his family have been living illegally in New Zealand for the past seven years, after his initial visa exprired he applied for refugee status. Since Mr. Teitiota’s case and appeal have failed in the New Zealand courts, he and his family are to be deported back to Kiribati. Mr. Teitiota is married with three children, all three children were born in New Zealand; however, New Zealand does not recognize the offspring of illegal immigrants born in the country as citizens.

The New Zealand court held that under international law Mr. Teitiota does not qualify as a refugee. The UN Refugee Convention of 1951 states that a refugee must fear persecution if they returned home, the courts determined that this is a criterion that Mr. Teitiota does not meet. The court went on to say that if refugee status were granted, the floodgates would open for all medium-term environmental deprivation or damage refugees, which would create an influx of refugees. The court further said that Mr. Teitiota and his family would be able to resume their prior subsistence life with dignity in Kiribati.

The islands of Kiribati are quickly being swallowed by the Pacific Ocean. Projections show that the Island will cease to exist by the end of this century. However, the island will become uninhabitable even earlier due to the rise in the rise in the sea-level combined with a more severe storm cycle that will contaminate the water table and with it all the agricultural land. The main atoll, Tarawa is six square miles in total, crammed into this space are 50,000 islanders and that space is quickly shrinking.

The President of Kiribati is exploring options for a mass migration and the Kiribati government hoped that the case in New Zealand would give them that option. Other options the government is pursuing include the purchase of land in Fiji as a possible resettlement option. The government has also explored the option of building a man made island to resettle the population. In total there are over 100,000 people in Kiribati that will eventually be displaced by the rising sea level. With any option the government pursues it will be difficult to relocate such as large group of people.

For more Information, please see:

The Guardian — New Zealand Refuses Climate Change Refugees- Mass Action is Now Needed — 12 May 2014

The Independent — World’s First Climate Change Refugee’ has Appeal rejected as New Zealand Rules Loane Teitiota Must Return to South Pacific Island Nation of Kiribati — 12 May 2014

Australian International Business Times — New Zealand Denies Asylum to World’s First Climate Change Refugee; Court Orders Deportation of Kiribatian — 13 May 2014

The New Zealand Herald — World’s First Climate Change Refugee has Appeal Rejected — 13 May 2014