RDC: Message de Condolenance a la Population du Nord Kivu (14.08.2016)

Kabila Kivu 14.08.2016

Press Release: Use of chemical weapons in Aleppo city marks ‘new normal’ for Syria (11.08.2016)

Aleppo Syria

Washington, DCYesterday, the Aleppo Health Directorate confirmed a chemical attack on the Zabadiya neighborhood in eastern Aleppo City. Two children and their mother were killed in the attack. Initial reports recorded roughly 50 cases of victims exhibiting symptoms that have led physicians to believe a choking agent, such as chlorine, was used. The chemical agent was reportedly delivered by helicopter in a barrel bomb. This attack follows at least 58 other chlorine attacks after the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 2209 in March 2015, which condemned the use of chlorine gas as a weapon in Syria.

Sama, Mohammad, and their mother were the three victims killed in the attack. The three died of suffocation from chemical agents. A video online from shows the death of Mohammad after failed resuscitation.

SAMS previously documented 161 chemical attacks in Syria from the beginning of the conflict through the end of 2015, which lead to the deaths of at least 1,491 people. 77% of these attacks occurred after the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 2118, which created a framework for the destruction of Syria’s declared chemical weapons stockpiles. 2015 had the most chemical weapons attacks of any year to date in Syria, with 69 attacks, showing an escalation in the use of chemical weapons as a tactic of war in Syria.

The use of chemical weapons in Syria with impunity for perpetrators continues to erode the international norm against the use of chemical weapons, spurring the ongoing use of chemical weapons and creating a “new normal.” Medical personnel and facilities no longer wonder if, but when, a chemical attack will occur. This attack and all others are violations of humanitarian and human rights law. The international community must take a more active role in civilian protection and take substantive action to enforce its own resolutions, most notably Resolutions 2118, 2209, and 2235.

For media requests, please contact SAMS’s Communications & Program Information Coordinator, Caroline Philhower at caroline.philhower@sams-usa.net.

Burundi has rejected the deployment of 228 UN police officers (Youtube-Clip)

“Burundi has rejected the deployment of 228 UN police officers. The government says the resolution authorizing the force was done without its consultation. The UN Security Council’s decision was part of international efforts to end the year-long unrest in the East African nation that has claimed more than 400 lives” (CCTV Africa, 2016)

The French circulated draft of a new UNSC Resolution on Burundi – “In Blue” (28.07.2016)

UNSC Burundi Draft P1UNSC Burundi Draft P2UNSC Burundi Draft P3UNSC Burundi Draft P4

UNSC Burundi Draft P5UNSC Burundi Draft P6

Press Statement on Violence against Female Dancer by Koffi Olomide at the JKIA (22.07.2016)

Kenya PR Statement 22.07.2016 Koffi

Burundi Communiqye de Presse-Enquete sur l’assassainat de l’Honorable Hafsa Mossi (22.07.2016)

Burundi Communique 22.07.2016

Statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on Burundi (14.07.2016)

UN Burundi

NEW YORK, United States of America, July 14, 2016 -The Secretary-General condemns the assassination of Hafsa Mossi, former Burundian Minister for East African Community Affairs and Member of the East African Legislative Assembly, in Bujumbura this morning. He extends his deepest condolences to Ms. Mossi’s family. This despicable act of violence only serves to promote divisions, entrench mistrust, and destabilize the country.

The Secretary-General reiterates the need to intensify efforts to find a negotiated settlement to the crisis in Burundi and calls on all parties concerned to engage fully and in good faith in the peace process led by the East African Community (EAC). The United Nations will continue to provide assistance to the EAC-led dialogue process and its Facilitator, former President of the United Republic of Tanzania H.E. Mr. Benjamin Mkapa.

MSD Communique “MSD – main opposition party to Nkurunziza, was excluded from peace talks. It denounces mediation team” (11.07.2016)

Burundi 11.07.2016 Letter Dialogue

Wasn’t it supposed to be Civilian Authority is and always above Police Authority; What happen to justice for all?

Clark Kent, Superman Comic

It’s not my way to utter these words, but I feel I need it, not because I am right man; I am far from being the right man to address it. As I was raised in peace, lived in peace and endured peace. Still, feeling the sorrow of the lost in Juba, the extra judicial killings in Kenya, and the unarmed African American citizens killed across the United States, while an armed former Afghan Veteran kills 5 Police officers. The scores are so uneven, the justice is not prevailing and the cases are staggering. The Police brutalities in dozen countries like Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Zambia; the Police are detaining without charges, torturing and battling the citizens as they are vicious armed criminals.

All of these killings, all of these Police Officers acting on behalf of oppressive states, the others are systemic inaccuracies blended with the ignorance and racial bias. The state of affairs is different in the United States, compared to the other Nations, but the systems are still brutally attack the civilians like they are cows ready for slaughter. Instead of fearing the public they are harassing it silence. The tormented and the families who lose their loved ones, the ones that are bystanders and just happen to be by a Political Rally or pass by a Demonstrations in a town; gets shot, get killed and even detained as they are vile creatures instead of a human being.

Nairobi 16.05.2016 Police P1
Nairobi, Kenya, 2016

The color of skin, the creed, political affiliation or faith should not be the factor if you’re waking safe down street or taking a public transport… Instead they are law-abiding citizens who even comply and do their duties to demonstrate, to act upon the fate of affairs, conduct meetings and rallies, the cost is detained at police post, taken away from their homes on conspiracy and even killed. These matters are happening to often in 2016.

The leaders of these reactions to the Government, the leaders who are addressing the civil concerns of the state, are prosecuted, detained and even monitored by the Security forces of the states, as they are worse criminals then rebels or terrorists. They are addressed in speeches by the leading fractions and the MPs connected to the ruling regime as personal vermin, people who fronts sectarian violence and creates the problem. Even if the state security forces are the ones that makes issues in peaceful affairs and puts gasoline on the fire. Not that all demonstrators are peaceful or correct, but that does not give the Police rights to shot live bullet, water-canons and tear-gas at any given movement of crowds against uneven and unrighteous cause.

The killings, the brutality, the sincere atrocities, the blatant ignorance, the little fear of the ruling regime, the masters of violence, the killers and Police Officers are guarded by the ruling regimes. As they are co-conspirators with the ones that systemically control the state ordered violence and want to shut down the spirit of any organized demonstrations, movements that are positive for democratic change or even just question the legitimacy of the ruling regime. This does not comes to mind in the United States, there it is more racial biased approached as the human and gun-laws are yet again proof of misguided regulations as the loss of life in small-fire arms shootings are staggering. Still, the Senate and Congress are not able to sustain and make amendments that can stop the guns from coming to hands of people who have a unsteady mind and unsound health condition to pull the trigger at innocent citizens. While the Police Officers are nearly hunting on the innocent and creating an atmosphere, where your guilty until proven innocent, which is not any ideal approach.  

Jinja Police 10915 P1
Uganda, 2016

We can all wonder when this power-struggles, when the bullets, when the tear-gas, when the water-canons and when the ignorant violence, when the killings will stop and to what extent does it has to happen, before the hash-tags, before the blazing guns and blistering barnacles!

There are just to many lives, to many hurt and to many questions, to many unsolved mysterious, too much blood and to many tears. There are something sinister and something uncertain as the attempt to sustain power by any means, the profits, the structure of society, the fabric of our existence, the approach the viciousness and vile attempt of resigning to the fact the only way we can solve the fear of each is with guns and ammunition. There must be other ways of dialogue than with John Wayne, Al Capone and Giles de Rais. There are too many men and woman who have lost their life, too many who have been taken away from their loved ones and too many to mention.

While the laymen are prosecuted and the civilians are too, the men in charge are walking away, the men and woman who protect the manufactures, the military, the Police Commanders and the Executives are just free-men and can do as they please, as the violence, the killings are reappearing as the sun is setting and making sure it has the energy for another day.

The men and woman who are in charge, the men and woman are taken away; we’re supposed to be living in the same society, under the same laws and under the same regulations; where justice and freedom should prevail, where men and woman are equal, where there isn’t fear and isn’t unbalanced treatment between State Security Organizations and the Civilians. As long as there are unbalance, as long as there are inaccurate procedure and executives are not handling it peacefully, if they are giving way to impunity and injustice, their rule will be remembered for the justifications of these vile attempts of self-justice, these atrocities under their leadership and reason for the loss of these lives.

Burundi Report Police
Burundi, 2015

The deaths, the murders and senseless killings proves the arrogance of leadership, the certainty that guns can create power, that the guns can solve matters and prove justified to settle either political framework or even power-struggle, the fear and amassed causes the personal bias, the blatant accurate shootings and killings are vicious. The men and woman deserves more than becoming a hash-tag. The terrorist killings in Turkey, Paris, Brussels, Beni, San Bernadino and all the others, deserves more than the hot-minute of fame, change of status on Facebook and blended Profile Picture, they deserve more credit and remembrances, as all the souls of the lost got vanished by brutal force in matters of hours.

The continued civil, political and armed unrest in Libya, Syria and Yemen, the skirmished between Eritrea and Ethiopia; proves the hostile environment other places, the Somalian forces are both fighting in their own territory, but also going against their oppressors on their domain  to retaliate. While the Burundian are detaining school-kids for painting slurs on the President Nkurunziza’s pictures and killing opposition, being violent and answering the men and woman who demonstrated against the 3rd Term President of the Burundian Government. President Magufuli have detained a man for writing hostile words on WhatsApp and charged and detained MP for calling him a ‘dictator’, as the President proves that he is similar to his counterparts in the rest of the East Africa. This is not vile crimes, but proves how far the government uses their security forces to control their citizens and their will to speak. I am sure in one of these countries, they would detain me in second, to silence my train of thoughts.

The 2016, have been and is bloody, as the boats of immigrants from the civil wars are drowning in the Mediterranean sea as they cross in tiny boats by smugglers to safety in Greece or Italy; as the safe heaven are supposed to get them safe from the spoils of war and power struggle between government forces, militias and armed opposition forces, as the death-toll and weak government structure that we’re centralized under one big-man is fractioned and dwindling away as the Civil Society Organizations, International Organizations and Multi-National Dialogue and stakeholders doesn’t have the capacity or the will to take charge of the unrest and uncertainty.

We have to question; will our government deal with the matter at hand? Will the government who are in charge take approaches for dialogue, for talks and creating a space where the safety and the justice have a place in the society, where the force of the state is not killing and not abundantly forcing themselves with violence on the civilians. The system of oppressive behavior and the crisis of leadership as the problems in the states, the dissolved the assertiveness of people, as the men and woman are torn, the parties are polarized and the peace has crashed; the tensions between the sovereign power and the self-righteous state officials that aggravate the public, it is not right for the leaders to use their internal squabble for power create havoc that birth more violence between two parties. That is not in the parties that one part is the state, the other is peaceful protesters, which is a different scenario, than when both are armed and kill each other to secure power and rule indefinably.

Section80 Lamar

Is this what we want to remember 2016 for the civil unrest, the civil wars, the civil casualties after the violence and state organized shut-down of the public disobedience…? The disobedience and the demonstrations should be able to happen without any reactions that create a problem for the state or the state goes in a turn it into a battleground. There are so many questions, so much we miss and so many political and structures that needs to be reformed, so many leaders who need a bit of humility, the humility of Police Officers, the humility of the Executives and the leadership of the States. It’s complicated, it’s all very HiiiPower. We have to ask and we cannot let this go, we cannot let these men and woman just die for so little, as a hashtag and a little social media drops. There are just too, we have to question the powers to be and what they are doing to stop this. We cannot be silent, accept it and let it go. This is just too much. I know I am not the right man, I am the wrong man, but I had to say my peace, I just couldn’t let this one be. Hope you start to think, question and wonder why we let them get away with it. Peace.  

Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea welcomes strong resolution on HR in Eritrea (04.07.2016)

IsaiasAfwerki

NEW YORK, United States of America, July 4, 2016 The Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea welcomes resolution 32/24, which passed without a vote on Friday, 1 July during the thirty-second session of the Human Rights Council.

Resolution 32/24 commends the Commission for completing its work in a transparent, impartial and consultative manner, while regretting the lack of cooperation by the Government of Eritrea, including the denial of access to the country by the Commission.
Mike Smith, Chairperson of the Commission, said: “The Commission welcomes this Resolution which fully endorses the work we have done over the past two years. We hope that justice for the people of Eritrea who have suffered gross human rights violations over the past 25 years has now taken a step closer to being realised.”

Amongst the 19 recommendations, Resolution 32/24 reiterates the Human Rights Council’s numerous calls upon the Government of Eritrea to end the use of arbitrary detention, to put an end to the system of indefinite national service and to allow unhindered access to the country to further missions of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, including the consideration for the Office to be based inside the country.

The Commission hopes that Resolution 32/24 will provide a solid platform for the next steps to be taken by the Government of Eritrea, in partnership with the international community, and will bring justice for the Eritrean people.

The Commission also welcomes the transmission of all reports to all relevant organs of the United Nations for consideration and appropriate action.

The strong encouragement for the African Union to follow up on the report and recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry by establishing an investigation, supported by the international community, with a view to examining and bringing to justice those responsible for violations and abuses of human rights identified by the commission of inquiry, including any that may amount to a crime against humanity is also welcomed.

The Commission of Inquiry strongly endorses the decision to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea for a further year.

The Commission of Inquiry is scheduled to present an oral update to the General Assembly in October 2016.