Twenty-one years after his overthrow and flight to Senegal, the former Chadian dictator Hissène Habré may finally face trial for brutality against his own people. On Tuesday, July 24, four days after the world court in The Hague ruled that Senegal must bring Habré to justice, Senegal and the African Union agreed on a plan for a special court to try Habré. Senegal's new president, Macky Sall, says he wants proceedings to begin later this year.
Souleymane Guengueng was a prisoner in one of Chad's infamous prisons in the 1980s – continuing his fight for justice, he calls on Europe and the international community to step in.
Souleymane Guengueng, the founder of the victims' association, comments on President Wade's announcement that he does not want Hissène Habré to be tried in Senegal anymore.
Until recently, the United States might have been considered a world leader in combating the use of child soldiers. But after events last month, children victimized in war may need to look elsewhere for help.
Eight years ago, Reed Brody stumbled upon the records of one of Africa's most brutal leaders, Chad's Hissène Habré. Now, two decades after he fell from power, Habré finally faces charges for his crimes -- if, that is, the trial actually happens.
Souleymane Gueng Gueng, a former Chadian political prisoner, describes what it was like to hear the news of Nelson Mandela's liberation while he was still in jail himself.
What is surprising is the recent assault on the ICC from within the African Union, despite, as outlined in a recent communiqué of its Peace and Security Council, its "unflinching commitment to combating impunity." Several of the AU's North African members - who are not, incidentally, parties to the ICC - are trying to undercut its support on the continent.
Nearly two hundred thousand local people fled their homes when armed militias began to devastate eastern Chad in late 2005. Now, as conditions improve, some are trying to return home. Many find their land has been seized. Others are forced to join one of the paramilitary groups that still roam the countryside. Some face death.
John Laughland suggests that human rights organisations, including Human Rights Watch, are more concerned about the conviction of former heads of state than about them getting fair trials. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Twenty-one years after his overthrow and flight to Senegal, the former Chadian dictator Hissène Habré may finally face trial for brutality against his own people. On Tuesday, July 24, four days after the world court in The Hague ruled that Senegal must bring Habré to justice, Senegal and the African Union agreed on a plan for a special court to try Habré. Senegal's new president, Macky Sall, says he wants proceedings to begin later this year.
Souleymane Guengueng was a prisoner in one of Chad's infamous prisons in the 1980s – continuing his fight for justice, he calls on Europe and the international community to step in.