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  • The Case Against Hissène Habré, an "African Pinochet"

    OVERVIEW

    Human Rights Watch has been working since 1999 with the victims of Chad's exiled former president, Hissène Habré, to bring him to trial.

    Mr. Habré was first indicted in Senegal in 2000 before courts ruled that he could not be tried there. His victims then turned to Belgium and, after a four-year investigation, a Belgian judge in September 2005 issued an international arrest warrant charging Mr. Habré with crimes against humanity, war crimes and torture committed during his 1982-90 rule and requested his extradition.

    Senegal then asked the African Union to recommend a course of action. On July 2, 2006, the African Union called on Senegal to prosecute Hissène Habré "on behalf of Africa," and President Abdoulaye Wade declared that Senegal would do so.

    In 2007-2008, Senegal amended its constitution and laws to permit the prosecution of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and torture no matter when and where the acts occurred.

    On September 16, 2008, fourteen victims filed complaints with a Senegalese prosecutor accusing Habré of crimes against humanity and torture. Senegal said, however, that it would not process the complaints until it receives €27 million from the international community for all the costs of the trial.

    Faced with Senegal's inaction, Belgium on February 19, 2009 asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to order Senegal to prosecute or extradite Mr. Habré. . On May 28, the court accepted Senegal's formal pledge not to allow Habré to leave Senegal pending its final judgment.

    A ruling from the ECOWAS Court of Justice on November 18, 2010 requested that Senegal create a special jurisdiction to prosecute Habré.

    In the meantime, the AU and the European Union intensified negotiations over a budget, and agreement was reached on a US$11.7 million (€8.59 million) budget for a 20-month investigation and a five month trial. A donors' meeting in Dakar on  November 24, 2010 saw pledges which slightly exceeded that amount, and called for "the immediate launching of the prosecution phase of the case once the necessary resources for the launch have been mobilised"

     

    LEGAL DOCUMENTS

    ECOWAS: Arrêt Affaire Hissein Habré c. République du Sénégal

    ICJ : Belgium v. Senegal, Questions relating to the Obligation to Prosecute or Extradite

    Decision On The Hissene Habre Case And The African Union Doc. Assembly/Au/3 (Vii) (8/2/06)

    Report Of The Committee Of Eminent African Jurists On The Case Of Hissene Habre (May 2006)

    Decision of the U.N. Committee against Torture (05/18/06)

    Read more >>

     

    HABRE IN THE NEWS

    A trial for Habré?
    Radio Netherlands Worldwide, December 14, 2010

    Senegal Politics: A Trying Trial
    The Economist Intelligence Unit, August 11, 2010

    Tutu Demands Senegal Try Ex-Chad Dictator
    Associated Free Press, July 21, 2010

    Read More >>

Reports

Chad

  • Letter to Foreign Ministers of African Union Member States Concerning the Case of Hissène Habré
    Jan 17, 2012

    In July 2006, the heads of state and governments of the African Union gave hope to the victims when they mandated Senegal “to prosecute and ensure that Hissène Habré is tried, on behalf of Africa, by a competent Senegalese court with guarantees for fair trial.” More than five years later, Senegal has yet to execute this mandate and has now informed the African Union that Habré will not be tried in Senegal. Today the most realistic option to avoid impunity for the mass crimes allegedly committed by Hissène Habré, and the option supported by Chad, is to extradite him for trial to Belgium. We call on the African Union to support this option so that the victims can finally obtain justice.

  • Senegal: Stop stalling with Habré extradition
    Jan 12, 2012
    The Senegalese government should stop delaying the extradition of former Chadian dictator Hissène Habré to Belgium.
  • “Impunity is a cancer that prevents us from realizing our true potential”
    Dec 6, 2011
    Jacqueline Moudeina is president of the Chadian Association for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (ATPDH) and has been the lawyer for the victims of the former dictator Hissène Habré since 2000. In 2001, Ms. Moudeina was seriously injured by a grenade thrown by security forces commanded by a former officer in Hissène Habré’s political police. On December 5, 2011, Ms. Moudeina received the Right Livelihood Award 2011, which is considered to be the “Alternative Nobel Prize,” “for her tireless efforts at great personal risk to win justice for the victims of the former dictatorship in Chad and to increase awareness and observance of human rights in Africa.”
  • United Nations: A Move Toward Prosecuting Chad’s Ex-Dictator
    Nov 29, 2011

    The United Nations Committee against Torture has called on Senegal to comply with its obligation to prosecute or extradite Chad's exiled former dictator, Hissène Habré.

  • The Netherlands: A Race to Bring Chad’s Ex-Dictator to Justice
    Nov 23, 2011
    Thirty-eight students from the Netherlands ran in the New York City Marathon on November 6, 2011, to raise money to extradite the exiled former dictator of Chad, Hissène Habré.
  • Statement of the Steering Committee of the International Committee for the Fair Trial of Hissène Habré
    Oct 27, 2011
  • Right Livelihood Award: Standing up for Victims of Chad’s Ex-Dictator
    Sep 30, 2011

    The decision to give the Right Livelihood Award to Jacqueline Moudeïna, the lawyer for the victims of the exiled former dictator of Chad, Hissène Habré, highlights the victims’ 20-year quest to bring Habré to justice.

     

  • Senegal: Chad asks for the extradition of Hissène Habré to Belgium
    Jul 22, 2011
    The Senegalese government should honor Chad’s request to send former Chadian dictator Hissène Habré to Belgium for prosecution for crimes against humanity during his rule from 1982 to 1990.
  • African Union: Press Senegal to Extradite Habré
    Jun 27, 2011
    The African Union (AU) should press Senegal to extradite the former Chadian dictator Hissène Habré to Belgium.
  • Senegal: Habré Trial an ‘Illusion’
    Jun 9, 2011
    Senegal’s withdrawal from talks to establish a court to try the former Chadian dictator Hissène Habré was the “last straw,” a coalition of his victims and human rights groups said today. The groups said that they were fast losing all hope for a trial in Senegal, where Habré has remained in exile for two decades, and would now press to have Habré sent to Belgium. Belgium had requested his extradition in 2005 and again in 2011.
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