(New York) - Souleymane Guengueng, a torture victim and award-winning human rights activist from Chad, has been fired from his position with the World Bank-backed Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC), Human Rights Watch said today. The Commission apparently took the measure in reprisal for his campaign to bring to justice the former dictator of Chad, Hissène Habré.
With negotiations to re-instate Mr. Guengueng having just broken down, human rights groups called on the World Bank, the United Nations Development Program and the governments of the Chad Basin region to press for Mr. Guengueng's immediate, unconditional reinstatement.
"Souleymane Guengueng should be honored - not punished - for fighting for justice," said Reed Brody of Human Rights Watch, which last November bestowed Souleymane Guengueng with its highest award. "We will use all the legal and political means at our disposal to help this brave man get his job back."
Chadian organizations lauded Mr. Guengueng's struggle and called on the Chadian government to stand up for him. "Souleymane Guengueng is a national treasure," said Dobian Assingar, president of the Chadian human rights league (LTDH) and vice-president of the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (FIDH). "The government of Chad needs to stand up for him."
Souleymane Guengueng, who almost died of dengue fever during two and a half years of mistreatment in Habré's prisons, founded the Chadian Association of Victims of Political Repression and Crime (AVCRP), to record and publicize the atrocities of Habré's regime (1982-1990) and to bring Habré and his accomplices to justice. Habré now lives in exile in Senegal, where he was indicted three years ago on charges of torture and crimes against humanity. Habré's victims are now seeking his extradition from Senegal to stand trial in Belgium. Guengueng and his colleagues have also brought criminal proceedings against Habré's henchmen who remain in powerful positions in Chad. (Background on Mr. Guengueng can be found at https://www.hrw.org/press/2002/11/hrdefender-chad1107.htm)
Ever since a Belgian judge visited Chad last year to investigate the charges against Habré, the LCBC has sought to curtail Souleymane Guengueng's struggle for justice. In March 2002, just after the judge's visit, the LCBC suspended Mr. Guengueng for 30 days without pay and threatened him with further sanctions unless he renounced his activities with the AVCRP. On November 14, 2002, the LCBC's director signed a letter dismissing Mr. Guengueng from his position as an archivist. However, the LCBC withheld the letter from Mr. Guengueng until two months later, only days after it secured a $ 2.9 million World Bank contribution on January 22, 2003. When the World Bank made inquiries into the case, it was told by the Commission that Mr. Guengueng had been fired because of a labor dispute. Negotiations to re-instate Mr. Guengueng have just broken down, Brody said.
"The World Bank should not let itself be hoodwinked by the LCBC," said Brody. "It has the leverage to reverse Souleymane's firing and to stop human rights activists being silenced and bullied on its watch."
The Lake Chad Basin Commission, which comprises five neighboring states (Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Central African Republic), was established in 1964 to encourage cooperation in developing the Lake Chad region and to attract financial and technical assistance for research. In addition to the World Bank, it is financed by the United Nations Development Program, the African Development Bank, the World Wildlife Fund and the Ramsar Convention Bureau.
Mr. Guengueng said that he would not be deterred by the firing. "I have been tortured, my friends have died in my arms," said Mr. Guengueng. "Firing me is not going to make me give up the quest for justice."
Human Rights Watch asked the World Bank to intervene in this case, and the Bank made both formal and informal inquiries with the LCBC before concluding that "Mr. Guengueng was officially warned in writing several times for extra-curricular activities (which include public statements) deemed incompatible with his status as an international civil servant." However, Human Rights Watch noted that international law, the rules governing international civil servants and the LCBC's own Personnel Rules permit and protect the non-political exercise of freedom of expression and association, including Mr. Guengueng's quest for justice for himself and other victims.
Background on the Hissène Habré case:
Hissène Habré ruled the former French colony of Chad from 1982 until he was deposed in 1990 by current President Idriss Deby and fled to Senegal. His one-party regime, marked by widespread atrocities, was backed by the United States and France. A 1992 truth commission accused Habré's regime of some 40,000 political murders and systematic torture.
Habré was indicted in Senegal three years ago on charges of torture and crimes against humanity before the Senegalese courts ruled that he could not be tried there. Habré's victims are now seeking his extradition to stand trial in Belgium, and Senegal has agreed to hold him pending an extradition request. A Belgian judge visited Chad in February and March 2002 to investigate the charges against Habré. In October 2002, the Chadian government formally waived any immunity that Habré might seek to assert. The case against Habré was brought under Belgium's "universal jurisdiction" law that allowed prosecution of the worst atrocities no matter where they were committed. In July, under pressure from the United States, Belgium repealed that law, but the ongoing Habré case was not affected. The Belgian judge is expected to move forward soon with an extradition request for Habré.
Guengueng and his colleagues have also brought criminal proceedings against dozens of Habré's henchmen, many of whom are still in positions of power in Chad. The victims face dangers in their quest. The victims' Chadian lawyer, Jacqueline Moudeina, was severely injured in a grenade attack apparently ordered by a Habré-era security official now a police chief, and several victims have been threatened. More information on the case against Hissène Habré can be found at https://www.hrw.org/justice/habre/
