The Observatory: 48th session of the ACHPR: Written intervention
AFRICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
48th ordinary session
Banjul, The Gambia
November 2010
Contribution of
The World Organisation against Torture (OMCT)
and the International Federation for Human Rights
(FIDH)
Within the framework of their joint programme
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights
Defenders
Under the agenda item:
“Situation of Human Rights Defenders”
The World Organisation against
Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) within
their framework of their joint programme, the Observatory for the Protection of
Human Rights Defenders express their extreme concern about the situation of
human rights defenders who continue to carry out their work in a hostile and
risky environment.
In
Africa, the men and women who are in the front line of the defence of rights
for all are, in some cases, better protected today than following the United
Nations Declaration on Defenders, they are also more threatened given the
advances they have made: with the help
of specific programmes, such as the Observatory which has accompanied them for
more than 13 years, defenders have been able to make their voices heard at the
heart of fora, international and regional organisations and, of course, in
their own countries. They have also invested
in new areas, including social, economic and cultural rights, LGBT rights and
the fight against corruption. On the African continent, their victories have
enabled considerable advances to be made in recognising the primary importance
of human rights in the exercise of power and in conflict resolution.
The African
Human and Peoples’ Rights Commission (CADHP) has significantly contributed to
this progress, particularly in the adoption of several resolutions in favour of
the promotion and protection of human rights defenders in Africa and in making
this subject a constant concern in their work and on their agenda. However,
the Observatory expresses its
deepest concern in relation to the decision of the Commission to deny the
observer status to the Coalition of African Lesbian (CAL). This decision, which
constitutes a serious impediment to the promotion and protection of human
rights for all on the continent, is questioning the capacity of the Commission
to fulfill its mandate of protection and promotion of human rights in
accordance with Article 45 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
The Observatory therefore calls on the Commission to reconsider its decision as
soon as possible.
There
are still enormous challenges in terms of promoting and protecting defenders and
it is important to note that they are still the object of serious persecution
in numerous countries.
Alarming deterioration in the
situation of human rights defenders in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
Kidnappings, disappearances and assassinations of human rights defenders
On June 2, 2010,
the lifeless body of Mr. Floribert Chebeya Bahizire, Executive Director
of Voice for the Voiceless (Voix-de
Sans-Voix - VSV), was found in his car on a road on the outskirts of Kinshasa. Mr. Fidèle
Bazana Edadi, member of and driver for VSV, who was accompanying Mr.
Chebeya Bahizire, is missing since that day. The Deputy Executive Director of VSV was only given authorisation to see
the body of Mr. Chebeya Bahizire on June 3, 2010 in the
company of the United Nations Organisation Mission in the Democratic Republic
of Congo (MONUC).
In the afternoon of June 1, 2010, Mr. Floribert Chebeya Bahizire
had received notice to meet with the General Inspector of the Congolese
National Police (IG/PNC), General John Numbi Banza Tambo, for a reason which
was to be explained to him at the time.
Accompanied by Mr. Bazana Edadi, Mr. Floribert Chebeya Bahizire therefore
went to the IG/PNC offices in the Lingwala district of Kinshasa around
17.00. Those close to them never saw
them again after that.
Today, in
spite of the announcement of the arrest of an unspecified number of police
officers and the suspension of General John Numbi Banza Tambo after June 6, 2010,
no information about advances in the investigation has been made public and Mr.
Fidèle Bazana Edadi continues to be missing. The irregularities noted since the
discovery of Mr. Floribert Chebeya Bahizire’s body – very limited access to the
body for his family, contradictory statements concerning the cause of death –
indicate furthermore, an attempt to hide the truth and raise serious
concerns. The investigation has been
closed and the opening of a trial against five defendants has been
announced.
Furthermore, Mr. Sylvestre Bwira Kyahi, civil society president in
Masisi territory (Northern Kivu) was kidnapped on August 24, 2010 before being found on Tuesday August 30 close to Sake,
some 30 kilometres west of Goma. He was
taken by armed men, dressed in uniforms of the Armed Forces of the Democratic
Republic of Congo (FARDC) in the Nhosho neighbourhood of Goma, in Northern Kivu province. Presented by the Goma
provincial authorities to the press and his colleagues the day after his
reappearance, Mr. Bwira was visibly weak, his face was swollen and his arms bore
marks from the ropes with which he said he had been tied during his detention.
In the
months previous to this, Mr. Bwira had been the object of acts of intimidation
and threats linked to his activities as a human rights defender. He had been living in hiding since the end of
July, after writing and signing an open letter addressed to the Congolese
President, Joseph Kabila on July 30, requesting the withdrawal of all army and
police units from Masisi territory, comprised of former members of armed groups
who had recently joined the Congolese army and police. This open letter also denounced the abuses
recently committed by the troops of General Bosco Ntaganda, an ex-commander of
the rebel group the National Congress for the defence of the people (CNDP),
currently a general in the Congolese army, wanted by the International Criminal
Court (ICC) under an international arrest warrant.
Acts of intimidation against
defenders who support the rights of victims of sexual violence in North Kivu
On the evening of September 19, 2010, Mrs. Zawadi Leviane Musike, programme manager for the NGO
“Female solidarity for peace and comprehensive development (Solidarité féminine pour la paix et le développement
intégral - SOFEPADI), has been the victim of threats and harassment in Beni. In a food shop, she came across men in
military attire, who would have been members of the Armed Forces of the
Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) and who were drinking beer in the company
of three young girls. One of the men
recognised Mrs. Zawadi Leviane Musike and warned his colleagues that she was a
member of SOFEPADI; organisation that they claim is responsible for the
condemnation of members of the military for sexual crimes. The men then called other colleagues who had
stayed in their Jeep. The group started
to provoke and threaten Mrs. Zawadi Leviane Musike by walking round her. Mrs. Zawadi Leviane Musike was able to escape
thanks to the help of two civilians in the shop. The soldiers then found out where she lived
and went there to find her. During the
time this took, Mrs. Zawadi Leviane Musike was driven to a secure place and was
able to warn SOFEPADI. The group that
intimidated Mrs. Zawadi Leviane Musike has still not been identified. The SOFEPADI facilitators remain particularly
vulnerable in the climate of impunity that prevails in Northern Kivu. The Observatory recalls that the members of
SOFEPADI had previously been the object of threats and harassment in February
and May 2010.
Finally, on October 4, 2010, Mrs.
Clémence Bakatuseka, coordinator of the
NGO Great Lakes Human Rights Program (GLHRP), was victim of an assassination attempt
in Beni, Northern
Kivu province, DRC. Six armed men, dressed in military uniform, broke into her home and
fired two rounds of bullets at the lock on her bedroom door, ordering her to
open it and to give them the money received from an international NGO to fund
her legal advice work. When the victim
refused to comply with this demand, the aggressors threatened Mrs. Bakatuseka fired
a third round and fled. The attack took
place in the presence of Mrs. Bakatuseka’s children.
Arbitrary detentions
On September 29, 2010, Miss Nicole Bondo Muaka, member of the NGO Black Gowns
(Toges Noires) was arrested by
the Congolese police special service (DGRSS) in Kinshasa, when she was working
on her broken down car. Her arrest would
be linked to the fact that she had filmed the brutal arrest of an individual by
the President’s bodyguards accused of having thrown a stone at the President’s
cortege. Miss Nicole Bondo Muaka was taken to the offices of the DGRSS along
with a friend who was with her, where they were detained without the right to
see their families or their lawyers. Following the publication of a press release on the evening of September
29 by the Black Gowns, Mr. André Marie Mwila
Kayembe, also a member of the Black Gowns went to where Miss Nicole Bondo was
detained at around 15.30 on September 30. He was also arrested by the same
special services. His computer, USB and
mobile phone were violently taken from him. His lawyer who arrived to assist him was not given authorisation to meet
with him. He was released without
charge at 17.40 and his personal effects were returned to him. On October 6, 2010, Miss Nicole Bondo Muaka was released by the
Congolese authorities after eight days of detention. No charges against her have been made. Although tired, Miss Nicole Bondo Muaka is in
good health and says that she was not mistreated. The friend who was with Miss Nicole Bondo
Muaka on the day of her arrest was released on October 5, 2010.
Legislation aimed at criminalising
human rights defence in Tunisia and the continuation
of acts of intimidation and defamation against Tunisian defenders.
On June 15, 2010, the Tunisian parliament passed legislation aimed at
directly criminalising awareness raising activities carried out by Tunisian
human rights defenders. This law aims complement
the provisions of article 61bis of the Criminal Code by incriminating "any persons who
shall, directly or indirectly, have contacts with agents of a foreign country,
foreign institution or organisation in order to encourage them to affect the
vital interests of Tunisia and its economic security”. This incrimination foresees
a five to twenty year custodial prison sentence (article 62 of the Criminal
Code related to internal security). This
amendment allows the authorities to prosecute and imprison human rights defenders
supported by foreign or multilateral organisations.
In recent
months, Tunisian defenders have been victims of acts of intimidation. In May 2010, the offices of lawyers, Mr. Abderraouf Ayadi,
Mr. Ayachi
Hammami and Mr. Mohamed
Abbou, as well as that of Ms. Radhia Nasraoui were the object of police cordon for
several weeks in order to discourage their clients from visiting them. Whilst the cars and motorbikes of plain
clothes policemen were conspicuously permanently stationed in front of Mr. Ayadi,
Mr. Hammami and Mr. Abbou’s offices in Tunis,
the police also took several people in for interview when they visited the
offices of the abovementioned lawyers. These practices, which aim to prevent these
lawyers from exercising their profession by intimidating their clients, deprive
them of their source of income and add to the pressure on the owners of the
offices to push them towards unilaterally terminating their lease
contract. In addition,
on the night of April 30 to May
1, 2010, the office of Ms. Radhia Nasraoui was the
object of a burglary when her computer hard drive was stolen. This breaking and entering took place
following a telephone conversation between Ms. Radhia Nasraoui and one of her
clients about a dispute involving a figure close to the Tunisian government.
On May 18, 2010, the Al-Hadath and Ach-Chourouk newspapers
published virulent unsigned articles against Mrs. Sihem Bensedrine, spokeswoman for the National
Freedom Council in Tunisia (Conseil national
pour les libertés en Tunisie), Mr. Khémaïs Chammari,
honorary member of the Euro-mediterranean Human Rights Network (Réseau euro-méditerranéen des droits de l’Homme - REMDH) and
former vice-President of the FIDH, and Mr. Kamel Jendoubi, President of
REMDH and member of the OMCT Executive Council, calling them “traitors”,
“agents” and “mercenaries” “who should be tried” (sic) for having “been in
contact with the European Union to sabotage the country” on the grounds that
the latter had demanded that the government respect its international human
rights obligations.
Restrictions to the right to
peaceful assembly in Algeria
In Algeria,
the – already reduced – space for freedom of human rights defenders is even
more reduced. A large number of human
rights NGOs have effectively still not been successful in obtaining legal
registration and are unable to carry out their work in good conditions even
though they have been given a receipt by the local authorities.
At 11.00 on May
3, 2010, on the World Press Freedom Day, a peaceful
assembly was organised in front of the national television offices in order to
demand the right to freedom of expression in Algeria
and to denounce censorship. Before the
assembly started, a considerable police presence had been put in place to block
all access to the buildings and preventing the assembly from taking place
there. Four of the organisers, Messrs. Mustapha Benfodil,
Adlane Meddi
and Saïd
Khatibi, facilitators for the “Bezzzef” (“Assez!“) group, which
reports attacks on freedoms in Algeria though peaceful public actions, as well
as Mr. Hakim Addad,
secretary general of Action and Youth Assembly (Rassemblement action et jeunesse - RAJ) were
arrested by the police forces for “non-authorised gathering” and taken to the
boulevard des Martyrs police station in Algiers. During their detention,
they were subjected to an interrogation about the assembly, before being freed
at 14.30.
On May 12,
2010, the Algerian administrative authorities notified the owner of the Algiers
Trade Union offices (Maison
des syndicats), legally occupied by the Autonomous national
public administration trade union (Syndicat
national autonome des personnels de l’administration publique
- SNAPAP), of the closure of their offices, primarily because of “public order
problems caused by the occupants of the offices” and “transformation of the
offices into a meeting place for young women and men from different regions of
the country”.
This ban
took place on the day before the Maghreb
trade union forum, organised by SNAPAP, was due to take place on May 14 and 15
at the Trade Union offices. Consequently, the autonomous trade unions and
independent civil society organisations were deprived of this private office
which had been used as a place to meet and debate, in a context where requests for
authorisation to hold meetings in public places are systematically
refused. Furthermore, the notification
of the ban, addressed to the owner and not to the organisation
renting the Trade union offices, followed by the sealing of the room, deprives
the trade unionists of their right to jurisdictional recourse, thereby
contravening Article 14 (5) of the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights.
Every
Wednesday since 1998, families of the disappeared have met in front of the
National Consultative Commission on the promotion and protection of human
rights (Commission
nationale consultative pour la promotion et la protection des droits de l’Homme
- CNCPPDH) in Algiers, the usual meeting place for the families to demand truth
and justice for the fate of their loved ones who disappeared during the
1990s. This weekly meeting was suddenly
banned on August 4,
2010, the massive deployment of police officers
having cordoned off all access routes. Since then, the families have tried to continue to meet each week. However, the meeting has been systematically
repressed by the police. On August 11,
several activists joined the families on a march to express their solidarity. Among them were at least four human rights
defenders who belong to the Algerian League for Human Rights Defence (Ligue algérienne pour la défense des
droits de l’Homme - LADDH), including the President, Moustafa Bouchachi,
and the human rights lawyer, Amine
Sidhoum.
Law
enforcement officers prevented some 40 family members of disappeared persons
and the defenders from holding a peaceful protest in front of the offices of
the CNCPPDH in Algiers. No official reason regarding why they were
prevented from holding their peaceful protest has been communicated to the families;
the police officers limited themselves to stating that “the order came from on
high”.
The police
used violence to break up the protestors by pushing them and randomly hitting
them, according to witnesses of the incident. State agents did not spare the mothers or grandmothers of the
disappeared. The police officers also
beat several human rights defenders and lawyers who were trying to intervene to
prevent the family members of the disappeared from being injured. Fatma Lakhal,
wife of a victim of forced disappearance and Hassan
Farhati, member of the Association SOS-Disappeared (SOS-Disparus)
were hospitalised. After having put an
end to the protest, the police forced the other protestors to get into a bus
which took them away from the assembly site. Four protestors, two of whom were members of the LADHH, were arrested
and detained, apparently with the aim of intimidating them and dissuading them
from taking part in other, similar, protests. The four people arrested were released without charge several hours later. To this day, assemblies continue to be
repressed.
Arbitrary detentions and legal
harassment against defenders in Zimbabwe, Tunisia, Gambia and Uganda.
In
Zimbabwe,
on June 3, 2010 Mr.
Farai Maguwu,
director of the Centre for Research and Development (CRD) was arrested and
accused of “communication and publishing false information against the State
with the intention of harming security or the economic interests of the
country” contravening Section 31 of the Criminal Code. He was held under preventive detention until July 12, 2010, before being released on bail. Mr. Maguwu has been accused, which he denies, of having transmitted a CRD
report on human rights violations in the mining area of Chiadzwa on the
Kimberley Process Monitor during their visit to Zimbabwe
in May 2010.
[1] This
report includes cases of arrests and arbitrary detentions, torture and
extrajudicial executions carried out by members of the police, army and private
security companies, in collusion with legal or illegal diamond mining companies. On October 21, Mr. Maguwu was finally
acquitted, as the charges against him were dropped.
In Tunisia, on July 6, 2010, the
Gafsa court of appeal confirmed the four-year prison sentence handed down at
the trial court against Mr. Fahem Boukaddous, a journalist and
correspondent for Al Hiwar Al
Tounisi satellite television and for the Al Badil website for
“participation in an agreement aimed at preparing and committing attacks
against persons and property”. Mr.
Boukaddous, hospitalised in the town of Sousse for respiratory
problems was unable to attend the hearing. His lawyers, therefore, requested the hearing be adjourned. This decision was made at the end of
proceedings initiated in 2008, following which Mr. Boukaddous was sentenced in
absentia in December 2008 to six years in prison following publication by the
journalist of a series of articles and reports shedding light on the repression
of the pacific social movement that had risen up in the region of Gafsa-Redeyef
in 2008. The trade unionist, Hassan Ben Abdallah, is
also serving a four-year sentence for having participated in the peaceful
protest social movement in the Gafsa mining basin.
In Uganda,
on September
15, 2010, Mr. Mbugua Mureithi, a Kenyan lawyer representing the family members of defendants
suspected of having been involved in the terrorist attack in Kampala
on July 11,
2010 and Mr. Al-Amin
Kimathi, executive coordinator of the Kenyan Muslim Human Rights Forum
(MHRF) were arrested by Ugandan government agents on arriving at Entebbe
international airport. Mr. Murethi and Mr.
Kimanthi were transferred to the headquarters of the Ugandan police Rapid
reaction unit and detained. They were
interrogated by plain clothes individuals about their alleged contact with the
activities of Al-Shabaab, an Islamic group which claims responsibility for the
terrorist attack in Kampala. On September 20, 2010, Mr.
Al-Amin Kimathi was specifically accused of terrorism and attempted assassination
linked to the attack on July 11. He was put in preventive detention in a high
security prison in Luzita. A hearing
took place on October 22 and his detention was extended whilst he awaits trial.
Mr. Mureithi and Mr. Kimathi had just attended a hearing linked to the
July 11 attack. The sentencing was planned
for September 16 and Mr. Mureithi was to represent the civilians transferred
from their country to Uganda
for their alleged participation in the attack. Mr. Kimathi and the MHRF are
known for their denouncement of human rights violations committed within the
framework of the fight against terrorism in East Africa
and the Horn of Africa.
In Gambia, on October 11, 2010, Mrs. Touray, executive director of the
Committee on traditional practices affecting the health of women and children (GAMCOTRAP)
and Mrs. Bojang-Sissoho, programme
manager for the same organisation, were arrested and detained before being
transferred to the main prison “Mile Two” the following day. They were detained until October
20, 2010 when they were released on
bail. In May 2010, an inquiry commission
created by the Gambian president with the aim of carrying out an investigation
into the amount in question had already concluded that the accusations against
GAMCOTRAP were unfounded.
Expulsion and refoulement of defenders
In Burundi, in a letter addressed to the Human Rights Watch
researcher, Neela Ghoshal, on May 18,
2010, the Minister for Foreign
Affairs and International Cooperation informed her of the retraction of her
approval to work as a representative for Human Rights Watch in Burundi. He requested
that she immediately ceases her activities and to leave the country by June 5,
2010. This ban occurred only a few days prior to
the start of a series of elections, including presidential elections, in a
context where the ruling power was trying to silence any criticism of their
period of government and the conditions under which the elections were taking
place.
Recommendations:
1)
Related to the persistent human
rights violations against defenders
in the States parties to the African
Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, the Observatory calls on the States to:
·
Put an end to all forms of repression against human rights defenders
and their organisations;
·
Guarantee
for human rights defenders the rights and freedoms recognised in the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights and the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights
Defenders;
·
Recognise
the essential role of human rights defenders in the implementation of the
United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other human rights
instruments, including the African
Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, as well as in the prevention of
conflicts and achieving the
implementation of the
Rule of Law and democracy;
·
To conform to the provisions of the
United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, specifically
Article 1 which provides that “Everyone has the right,
individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the
protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the
national and international levels” and Article 12.2 which provides that “The
State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the
competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others,
against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de
jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other
arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the
rights referred to in the present Declaration”, to the protocol of the African
Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights related to women’s’
rights, the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, as well as the provisions set out in international
human rights instruments to which they are party;
·
To facilitate the mandate of the ACHPR
Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders in
Africa, by openly inviting him to visit their countries and putting sufficient
financial and human resources at his
disposal in order that he may comply
with his mandate;
·
To facilitate
the mandate of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders,
particularly by openly inviting her to visit their countries.
2) The Observatory
also appeals to the ACHPR Special
Rapporteur on the situation of defenders in Africa to:
·
Fully implement his mandate,
particularly, through the publication of press releases, showing concern for
the protection of human rights defenders and independent civil society and the
promotion of their activities.
·
Make public and publish on the
ACHPR website reports on his activities.
·
take the contribution of the Observatory fully into
account in the study of the law and practices related to freedom of
association, provided for in resolution CADHP/Res.151(XLVI)09
·
Denounce the situation of defenders in Tunisia and Algeria, related to the
systematic character of the repression against them in these two countries.
3)
The Observatory also appeals
to the African Commission on Human and
People´s Rights to:
·
Reconsider its decision denying the
observer status to CAL;
·
Reinforce the means of the ACHPR
Special Rapporteur on the situation of defenders in order to assist him in
continuing with his actions related to the promotion and protection of human
rights defenders in Africa;
·
Continue with
and deepen the collaboration with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on
Human Rights Defenders, as well as other regional mechanisms for the protection
of human rights defenders.
·
Adopt a resolution on the situation of human rights
defenders in DRC, specifically focussing on the need to elucidate the case of
Floribert Chebeya and Fidèle Bazana.
[1] The CRD is a member of the Civil Society Coalition of
the Kimberley Process Monitor, an official observer of this international
mechanism. The Kimberley Process Monitor
is a certification mechanism for rough diamonds which aims to eradicate
conflict diamond trade, which is responsible for feeding conflicts.