• Street vendor watches live broadcast of verdict being delivered by United Nations-backed court in the Hague convicting former Liberian president Charles Taylor in Freetown.
    © 2012 Reuters
    Sierra Leone: Landmark Conviction of Liberian Ex-President

    The conviction on April 26, 2012, of Charles Taylor, the former president of Liberia, for serious international crimes during Sierra Leone’s brutal armed conflict provides justice for victims and shows that no one is above the law. Taylor was convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity before the United Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone on charges that stemmed from his support for rebel groups there.

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Reports

Africa

  • Uganda: Investigate April 2011 Killings During Protest
    Apr 29, 2012
    The government of Uganda has failed to investigate adequately the use of lethal force by security forces that resulted in the deaths of at least nine people during protests over corruption and rising commodity prices in April 2011. A year after the nine were killed, no member of the security forces has been held accountable and only one has been arrested.
  • Kenya: Local Judicial Mechanism Should Complement ICC Cases
    Apr 27, 2012
    The Kenyan government should reaffirm its commitment to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in cases stemming from the 2007-2008 post-election violence, while establishing a local judicial mechanism to investigate and prosecute other suspects.
  • Rwanda: Opposition Leader’s Sentence Upheld
    Apr 27, 2012

    The confirmation by the Rwandan Supreme Court of a four-year prison sentence for Bernard Ntaganda, an opposition leader, is a blow for those who had hoped the Court might protect free speech. Ntaganda, founding president of the PS-Imberakuri opposition party, is one of several government critics, including two journalists, who remain in prison solely for the legitimate expression of their views.

  • A victory for The Hague
    Apr 26, 2012

    The verdict against former Liberian President Charles Taylor at the Sierra Leone Special Court has been eagerly anticipated by many in Sierra Leone. But, as is often the case with abusive leaders wielding power, bringing Taylor to justice was once considered a less than welcome development in diplomatic circles. More than a few feared at that time that bringing charges against a sitting president in the midst of a conflict would do more harm than good.

  • Sierra Leone: Landmark Conviction of Liberian Ex-President
    Apr 26, 2012

    The conviction on April 26, 2012, of Charles Taylor, the former president of Liberia, for serious international crimes during Sierra Leone’s brutal armed conflict provides justice for victims and shows that no one is above the law. Taylor was convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity before the United Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone on charges that stemmed from his support for rebel groups there.

  • Sudan: Blue Nile Civilians Describe Attacks, Abuses
    Apr 23, 2012
    Civilians are bearing the brunt of abuses in Sudan’s simmering border conflict in Blue Nile state, Human Rights Watch said today, based on a research trip in April 2012 into Blue Nile. As in neighboring Southern Kordofan, which Human Rights Watch visited in August 2011, civilians in Blue Nile continue to endure Sudan’s indiscriminate bombing and other abuses, even as new conflict between Sudan and South Sudan threatens to engulf the wider border area.
  • China: CNMC Public Listing Needs Investor Vigilance
    Apr 22, 2012
    Prospective investors in China Non-Ferrous Metals Mining Corporation’s (CNMC) upcoming initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong should be aware of the company’s disturbing labor rights practices in Zambia. CNMC’s inability or unwillingness to respect worker’s rights in their Zambia operations raises critical questions about corporate behavior that potential investors should direct to the company.
  • Insecurity in Mbomou and Haut-Mbomou Prefectures, CAR
    Apr 20, 2012
    8 civil society organizations of the Central African Republic, write to USAID on the situation in the eastern Mbomou and Haut-Mbomou prefectures of the country affected by the LRA. In the letter they ask USAID to support projects to improve communications and road infrastructure in the LRA-affected region. This is not a statement from Human Rights Watch, but we believe it is particularly powerful, especially taking into account the insecurity this region has faced due to the LRA’s significant and continuing abuses over the past few years.
  • Central African Republic: LRA Attacks Escalate
    Apr 20, 2012
    The Ugandan Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel group has increased its attacks in the Central African Republic (CAR) since the beginning of 2012, putting civilians in affected areas in need of urgent protection. Attacks also continue in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
  • Call for Solidarity with the Populations of Central Africa
    Apr 20, 2012
    16 civil society, human rights, and religious groups in northern Congo and Central African Republic call for solidarity with the populations of central Africa affected by the Lord’s Resistance Army. In their call, they describe the situation and outline steps that should be taken as part of a multidimensional approach to ending the LRA problem. This is not a statement from Human Rights Watch, but we believe it is particularly powerful, especially taking into account the LRA’s significant and continuing abuses over the past few years extending into northern Congo, eastern Central African Republic, and South Sudan.
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