Kenya: Haki Africa – Press Statement – World Day for Social Justice: Social Justice Centres Operating in Fear (20.02.2019)

Russian Probe: Micheal Cohen – Prison Request (20.02.2019)

RDC: FCC – Acte d’Engagement (20.02.2019)

Sudan: 30 women detained in inhumane conditions following involvement in protests (20.02.2019)

The detainees include members of opposition political parties, human rights defenders, journalists, teachers and doctors.

PARIS, France, February 20, 2019 – The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) and FIDH are deeply concerned about the safety of 30 women detained without access to lawyers or family members by the Sudanese National Security Intelligence Services (NISS) in Omdurman women’s prison. The detainees were targeted for their participation or suspected involvement in the ongoing protests calling for the resignation of president Omar al-Bashir. ACJPS and FIDH have gathered disturbing information about the detention conditions of these women, all of whom have been subjected to invasive strip searches, amounting to acts of sexual violence.

The detainees include members of opposition political parties, human rights defenders, journalists, teachers and doctors. Of the 30 women currently held at Omdurman, 18 were arrested during protests held between December 20, 2018 and February 2, 2019. They were forced to climb into NISS pickup trucks and to face downward so that they could not recognize where they were being taken. The other detainees were arrested over the same time period during NISS raids of their private residences and political party offices. The oldest detainee is in her late 70’s whilst the youngest is 24 years old. At least one is suffering from asthma.

Sudanese authorities must preserve the safety of the 30 women detained in Omdurman prison and ensure they have immediate and unequivocal access to their family members, medical services and to lawyers of their own choosing. Those arbitrarily detained must be released and for those charged, authorities must ensure due process of law and a fair trial including the right to promptly access courts and to review the legality of their detention”, declared Mossaad Mohamed Ali, ACJPS Executive Director.

ACJPS and FIDH have received reliable information indicating that the 30 women were made to sit for hours while facing the wall as they waited for admission into the prison. After having their phones confiscated and inspected, all of the women were subjected to body searches by NISS agents including in their private parts, amounting to acts of sexual violence. While in detention, they have not had access to sanitary towels, thus exposing them to risks of infection. Many have been subjected to verbal abuse including calling them prostitutes. At least eight women are obliged to share a single cell measuring approximately 5×5 meters.

NISS authorities have used detainees’ family members to pressure them to reveal information. The husband of at least one detainee was brought to the prison by NISS agents to force her reveal the identity of members of the Sudanese Professionals Association. Before the arrest of another detainee, her nephew was arrested by NISS to force her to report to their offices. Her nephew was eventually released.

“The information we have received suggests that the 30 women detainees may have been subjected to various forms of acts of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment, including acts of sexual violence. Authorities must take immediate action to end these violations, to carry a prompt investigation into these acts and to hold those responsible to account”, declared Sheila Nabachwa, FIDH Vice President.

At least 816 people have been arrested and detained and 40 others killed since protests broke out across Sudan on 19 December 2018. While protests initially focused on denouncing increases in prices of basic commodities, they quickly developed into calling for the resignation of Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, leading to a violent response from security agencies. On 29 January 2019, the Director of NISS ordered the release of all detainees  but only a few of those detained were released. Security agencies have continued to arrest protesters and disperse rallies. Most recently, on 10 February 2019, police used teargas to disperse hundreds of protesters participating in a march organized by the Sudanese Professionals Association calling for the release of all women detained since the December 2018 protests. Police intercepted the protesters as they marched towards Omdurman women’s prison and arrested several people.

ACJPS and FIDH are deeply concerned about the detention conditions of all those who have been arrested and detained in relation to the protests, considering NISS’s well-documented record of acts of torture against detainees. Our organisations urge authorities to guarantee the safety of all detainees, in compliance with provisions of the Sudanese 2005 Interim Constitution and with regional and international treaties to which Sudan is party.

ACJPS and FIDH further reiterate their call upon Sudanese authorities to end all acts of harassment and intimidation of citizens who seek to exercise their rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly.

DP Reunion in Jinja: Cancelled out by the Calvary!

The Partisan Police Force was again at it, as the Democratic Party and Uganda Young Democrats had scheduled a Reunion on the Jinja Rugby Grounds. The Party Officials and the Organizers had notified as by law to hold the meeting in Jinja, however, the Police blocked the venue and did arrest several of DP officials.

What was striking as the authorities, the DP Reunion, took the DP President Norbert Mao was blocked, there was thrown tear-gas in Jinja. But, the Police quickly reported to the Daily Monitor, that the President of DP was negotiation and holding a consulting meeting with the officers at the Central Police Station of Jinja. Not, that he was directly arrested as previously reported by other sources. Clearly, there are something missing. As the State was notified, the paper trail has leaked online, by Mao himself. Therefore, it was known by the state since early February.

The Police does this simple cat- and mouse game with opposition. AS they have to comply with the restrictions of the Public Order Management Act and even if they do so. They still can be blocked for whatever reason the Regional Police Commander and others to clarify their intent. As, if the meeting and the rally itself was saying enough. We are getting close enough to the National Campaign Road Maps for 2020/21, that if a Party doesn’t comply them in combination with the POMA. They will be in deep trouble with the state. As we have seen previously in the Republic.

What the DP and UYD seen today isn’t groundbreaking, not a watershed moment or sign of the decades of control of Museveni. No, this is just the ordinary manifestation of the power and force, the state use against dissidents. Even the ones that usually complies and are very friendly to the powers, that be. But because, they still tries to operate as an independent opposition party, they still get into legal jeopardy. Because, that is how the state operates and continues to do so. Until the swearing-in of Museveni for the 6th time and pursuit of his 8 rings of service. There will surely be plenty more of this in the two years coming, 2020 and 2021, will be filled with stories like these. Just different names and parties, but the same mumbo jumbo.

What has been done in Jinja today to the leadership of the DP is nothing new. These arrests comes with a steady phase. Especially in a run-up to elections and within the narrow window of the campaigns. As well as during campaigns and the post-elections. If you’re lucky, you get extra bonus rounds of house-arrests and treason charges. That is for the unique, popular and resilient sort of politicians. Not mere mortals get that. They are behind bars and released on mockery of charges. Before, they try again to hold a rally or campaign. Peace.

Outraged by renewed fighting and continuing human rights violations in South Sudan, UN Human Rights Experts urge all parties to stop conflict, end impunity and respect provisions of the revitalized peace agreement (20.02.2019)

NAIROBI/GENEVA (20 February 2019) – With thousands of people once again forced to flee their homes because of ongoing violence in South Sudan, the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan urges the Government of South Sudan and all parties to the conflict to respect the cessation of hostilities and implement the revitalized peace agreement signed five months ago.

In its third report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva, the Commission finds that continuing violence and human rights violations, including rape and sexual violence, may amount to war crimes.

Since its December 2017 update to the Human Rights Council on the magnitude of the crimes of rape and sexual violence perpetrated in South Sudan, the Commission notes the situation has markedly worsened, with documented cases showing a surge in rapes between November and December 2018, particularly in Northern Liech state.

“There is a confirmed pattern of how combatants attack villages, plunder homes, take women as sexual slaves and then set homes alight often with people in them,” commented Commission Chairperson Yasmin Sooka.

“Rapes, gang rapes, sexual mutilation, abductions and sexual slavery, as well as killings, have become commonplace in South Sudan. There is no doubt that these crimes are persistent because impunity is so entrenched that every kind of norm is broken,” she added.

UNICEF reports that 25 per cent of those targeted by sexual violence are children, including the rapes of girls as young as 7. Elderly and pregnant women have also been raped. The Commission also received reports of male victims of sexual violence. Sexual and gender-based violence against men and boys is even more underreported than that against women and girls as there is a greater level of stigma. even raping and killing the young and the elderly.

The Commission documented a case study on Leer, in Southern Unity state, where more than 8,000 young men were recruited to fight with the words: “you go and get cattle from Mayendit, also abduct and rape beautiful women you find here, loot their properties”. The men were also told that this was the perfect time to seek revenge for relatives they had lost in the conflict and that they would never have another such opportunity.

Noting that a lack of accountability for decades of violence during the struggle for independence helped to fuel the current conflict in South Sudan, the report stresses that sustainable peace requires a tangible and credible pursuit of accountability and justice that meets the needs of the many thousands of victims.

“We do acknowledge the efforts of the Government to hold some perpetrators accountable for gross violations of human rights and serious violations of international humanitarian law, such as the trial and conviction of SPLA soldiers in the Terrain Hotel case,” stated Commissioner Andrew Clapham. “However, we also have to note that pervasive impunity remains the norm,” he added.

The Commission has long been concerned about the lack of progress in establishing the Transitional Justice mechanisms, particularly the Hybrid Court for South Sudan, the Commission for Truth Reconciliation and Healing, and the Compensation and Reparation Authority, which were adopted in the 2015 Peace Agreement. It notes that the Revitalized Agreement has reaffirmed the importance of these institutions to build sustainable peace. It fully expects that concerted efforts will be made by the Revitalized Government, the African Union and Regional Governments to ensure these bodies are set up and contribute to the consolidation of peace in South Sudan.

The Commission has also looked at the allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeepers of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). From January 2018 to 2019, seven such cases involving 18 alleged UNMISS perpetrators were registered in the UN Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Database. These cases were swiftly investigated by the UN mission, resulting in the repatriation of peacekeepers implicated in sexual activity with women in one of the Protection of Civilians sites. The Commission has further recommended that the current database, which only reflects incidents involving UN Peacekeepers, should be expanded to include personnel of implementing partners.

The Commission also notes a link between the conflict and the political economy of South Sudan, where even before independence, there were concerns about the misappropriation of natural resources, particularly oil. The oil producing areas of the country have become increasingly militarized by Government forces, including by the National Security Services, which have expanded their involvement in the oil sector. The state-owned Nilepet oil company’s operations have been characterized by a total lack of transparency and independent oversight, allegedly diverting oil revenues into the coffers of elites in the government. Furthermore, oil revenues, and income from other natural resources such as illegal teak logging, have continued to fund the war, enabling its continuation and the resulting human rights violations.  The Commission notes South Sudanese activists have urged the Commission and the AU to ensure that the mandate of the Hybrid Court for South Sudan incorporates such crimes.

The Commission underlines that in implementing the Transitional Justice agenda in South Sudan, victims and vulnerable communities, especially women and those internally displaced and refugees, are core stakeholders who must be included in the design and implementation of such mechanisms. The Commissions welcomes the provision in the Revitalized Peace Agreement that women must make up 35 per cent of participants at all levels in the Transitional Government institutions, including the Transitional Justice mechanisms, and urges all parties to respect and implement this important provision.

The Commission also calls on the region and wider international community to invest, politically and materially, in these Transitional Justice mechanisms, essential for building sustainable peace, as well as supporting the people of South Sudan in rebuilding all aspects of national life, especially the rule of law.

The Mandate of the Commission includes the collection and preservation of evidence. The Commission has continued to document violations, build dossiers on perpetrators, collect evidence and preserve it for future accountability processes. In this report, the Commission details three cases studies in which the incidents and events have been extensively documented taking account of those who allegedly have command responsibility for the crimes. The names of these alleged perpetrators are contained in a confidential dossier which will be handed over to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva. The acts described as war crimes in our report are also human rights crimes under the Torture Convention and the Convention on Enforced Disappearances – both monitored in Geneva. All states parties to those instruments are obliged to prosecute or extradite persons found on their territory suspected of such crimes.

“The evidence we have collected and preserved will be available to the prosecutor of the future Hybrid Court and other transitional justice mechanisms,” noted third Commission member stated Barney Afako, “This evidence may be used beyond South Sudanese bodies – it may be available on request to regional and state parties for future prosecutions.”

South Sudan’s challenges are immense, says the Commission, given the protracted conflict, its ethnic dimensions and deep divisions; the inability of the population to access the economy; the lack of financial capacity and capable organisational and human resources; and what is perceived to be a dysfunctional and predatory elite system of government.

“With sustained political will and effective leadership,” concludes Commission Chair Yasmin Sooka, “The transitional justice framework and mechanisms can help to bring accountability, reconciliation and healing as South Sudanese deal with the past and secure their future stability and prosperity.”

Uganda Police Force: Press Release – Police Refutes Attack Claims Against Senior Officer (20.02.2019)

RDC: FCC – Communique de presse du Front Commun pour le Congo (20.02.2019)

Zimbabwe: ZNA Starts Searching for Uniforms (20.02.2019)

Uganda Police – Release on Bond – Hon. Allan Ssewanyana – Offence: “Unlawful Society” (20.02.2019)