By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

BUJUMBURA, Burundi – Despite its recent adoption by the Burundian National Assembly on April 3, Burundi’s new media law is already receiving fire from various human rights organizations.

According to the groups, the newly passed bill is an unconstitutional restriction on freedom of expression and independent journalism. Among other things, it increases penalties, reduces safeguards for sources, and bars journalists from reporting a list of topics that could be detrimental to the government.

Under one provision, journalists are prohibited from publishing news that could affect “national unity; public order and security; morality and good conduct; honor and human dignity; national sovereignty; the privacy of individuals; the presumption of innocence.” They are also not allowed to tackle issues that involve “propaganda of the enemy of the Burundian nation in times of peace as of war” and “information that could affect the credit of the state and the national economy.” Doing so would be considered illegal, especially if it were interpreted as affecting national unity or order, and could lead to exorbitant penalties.

Although the bill eliminated imprisonment as punishment, it replaced prison terms with “extortionate fines” which were substantially increased to up to 8 million Burundian francs (roughly US$5,000) – a substantial amount in the struggling Eastern African country.

Another provision of the bill requires news agencies to “rigorously check” their sources without elaborating on how to carry it out.

“This sweeping language means that topics journalists could legally cover would be severely restricted,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “They might not even be allowed to write about inflation, much less security issues or political killings,” he continued.

The Union of Burundian Journalists (UBJ) said the bill is unconstitutional. If nothing else, its main aim is to “close independent media” according to UBJ’s president, Alexandre Niyungeko. “This bill denies the freedom of expression and media, it is against the country’s constitution and other international laws such as the universal declaration of human rights,” Niyungeko added.

For the new media bill to be passed into law, the Senate has to approve it and turn it over to the President for his signature.

Reporters Without Borders released a statement last week urging the Senate not to pass the bill because it “would considerably reduce the freedom of Burundi’s journalists and media.” “What with this law and the impact of the recent Ruvakuki case, the Burundian media could be prevented from playing its role in the democratic debate,” the statement pointed out.

Reporters Without Borders discussed the same bill with government authorities last year where they agreed on several positive amendments to the law, removing a number of restrictions. However, for reasons that remain unclear, the version that was approved by the national assembly was the original draft.

 

For further information, please see:

Human Rights Watch – Burundi: New Law Would Muzzle Journalists – 12 April 2013

WAN-IFRA – Journalists in Burundi and Kuwait suffer setbacks – 12 April 2013

IFEX – New law would limit protection of sources, increase fines for journalists in Burundi – 5 April

Afrique Jet – Burundi: Media bill triggers protest in Burundi – 4 April 2013

Reuters – Burundi parliament passes tough media law – 4 April 2013

By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

YAMOUSSOUKRO, Cote d’Ivoire – The military trial against the Republican Forces of Côte d’Ivoire (FRCI) began last Thursday. 33 soldiers have been charged with committing crimes against the population, including premeditated murder, voluntary and involuntary homicide, and theft.

All 33 soldiers are accused of abusing civilians during the post-election crisis from November 2010 to May 2011. In the span of six months, at least 3,000 people were reportedly killed. Some of the deaths were allegedly linked to former President Laurent Gbagbo’s refusal to concede despite international recognition of the results that proclaimed his opponent, Alassane Ouattara, the victor.

After the crisis, a national commission of inquiry created by President Ouattara, in cooperation with international and local human rights groups and a United Nations-mandated international commission of inquiry, have documented war crimes and crimes against humanity by both pro-Gbagbo forces and the FRCI during the crisis.

According to the military prosecutor’s office, the first trial on Thursday involved cases related to events that happened December last year in the central town of Vavoua. Reports say that a number of FRCI soldiers who are currently under trial opened fire on protesters, killing at least five people.

However, both international and local human rights groups are not too impressed with the trial.

“The opening of trials against soldiers from the Republican Forces is an important step forward in Côte d’Ivoire’s fight against impunity,” said Matt Wells, West Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch (HRW). “But Ivorian authorities need to also pursue the more sensitive cases involving the Republican Forces for which victims have seen no justice, particularly the grave crimes committed during the post-election crisis.”

Civil society organizations interviewed by HRW are worried that “ongoing impunity for one side of the conflict – the government forces – risks sowing the seeds for future violence.” According to them, this is because of the sensitive nature of the cases of abuse during the post-election period — cases that not only involve large scale atrocities, but also deal with serious political, ethnic, and religious issues.

“Prosecuting people for serious international crimes can be difficult, but the lack of justice can carry high costs,” Wells added. “Chronic impunity has appeared to feed the repeated episodes of violence in Côte d’Ivoire over the last decade, with civilians paying the greatest price.”

HRW urged Ivorian authorities to strengthen support for prosecuting those implicated in the war crimes and crimes against humanity during the post-election crisis. The human rights group also demanded the government to “investigate and prosecute any soldiers involved in the July 2012 attack on the Nahibly displaced persons camp, and in the cruel and inhuman treatment of detainees in August and September.”

 

For further information, please see:

Amnesty International – Annual Report 2012 –  11 April 2013

Human Rights Watch – Côte d’Ivoire: Soldiers on Trial for Abuses – 11 April 2013

istockAnalyst – HRW: Ivorian justice lacks balance – 11 April 2013

Tamil Guardian – Trial of soldiers accused of abuse begins in Côte d’Ivoire – 11 April 2013

Yahoo News – Report: Uneven justice could hurt stability in Ivory Coast – 5 April 2013

By Hannah Stewart
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania — Conflict in Mali has driven nearly 70,000 refugees to Mbera camp in the Mauritanian desert.  There the appalling living conditions and inadequate assistance are leading to severe malnutrition and deaths from preventable diseases, reports the international humanitarian organization, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (“MSF”).

Since the start of the conflict in Mali in January 2012, hundreds of thousands of people have been internally displaced or have fled to neighboring countries.  The United Nations reported that more than 270,000 people have been displaced within Mali, and more than 170,000 refugees have fled to Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Niger.

Mauritania hosts the highest number of refugees, with some 68,000 people registered by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (“UNHCR”) in camps in Mauritania.  In January conditions in the camp worsened following an influx of 15,000 refugees, an event following the joint military intervention by French and Malian forces in Mali.

The number of consultations in MSF’s clinics in the Mbera camp increased from 1,500 to 2,500 per week.  Moreover, the number of children admitted per week for severe malnutrition more than doubled, from 42 to 106, despite the fact very few children were malnourished when they arrived at the camp.

MSF recently published a report entitled “Stranded in the Desert,” which was based on testimony from more than 100 residents of the Mbera camp.  The report calls for urgent action by aid organizations to meet the refugees’ basic needs and rectify the deplorable living conditions.

For example, the report notes that in January 2013 there was only one latrine for every 3,000 refugees, and people were receiving just 11 liters of water per day, instead of a required 20 liters. Many people have been living under makeshift shelters made of scraps of cloth and sticks.

The UN considers the allegations to be serious, but questioned some of the report’s findings.  The UNHCR stated that some of the facts “seem to be out of date and do not reflect current realities.”  For example, the UNHCR clarified that 2,500 latrines exist in the camp, approximately one for every 30 refugees.

The refugee crisis seems unlikely to subside in the near future, given the nature of the conflict in Mali.  Henry Gray, emergency coordinator for MSF said, “Most of the refugees are from the Tuareg and Arab communities.  They fled preemptively, often for fear of violence due to their presumed links with Islamist or separatist groups.  Their home in northern Mali is still in the grip of fear and mistrust.”

For more information, please see:

BBC – Mali Refugees Endure ‘Appalling’ Mauritania Camp – 12 April 2013

CNN – Report: Mali Refugees Endure ‘Appalling’ Conditions at Mauritania Camp– 12 April 2013

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières – Hunger Strikes Malian Refugees Stranded in Mauritanian Desert – 12 April 2013

Voices of America – Conditions Getting Worse for Mali Refugees – 12 April 2013