• Men and children work in the mines outside of Bagega. They dig deep to find the rock and then crush these rocks to extract the gold ore. Inside the rocks are deposits of other metals, including lead, which has poisoned many of the children in the village.
    © 2011 Marcus Bleasdale/VII for Human Rights Watch
    Nigeria: Child Lead Poisoning Crisis
    Thousands of children in northern Nigeria need immediate medical treatment and dozens of villages remain contaminated two years into the worst lead poisoning epidemic in modern history, Human Rights Watch said today while releasing a video on the issue. Four hundred children have died, according to official estimates, yet environmental cleanup efforts have not even begun in numerous affected villages.
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Extractive Industries

  • Nigeria: UK Conviction a Blow Against Corruption
    Apr 17, 2012

    The money laundering conviction and 13-year prison term for the Nigerian politician James Ibori on April 17, 2012, is a landmark in the global fight against corruption. Ibori, one of Nigeria’s enduring symbols of criminality and impunity, pleaded guilty in a London court to charges involving more than $79 million. 

  • France: Move Quickly on Equatorial Guinea Warrant
    Apr 12, 2012
    The French Ministry of Justice should move swiftly to issue an international arrest warrant for the son of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea. On April 11, 2012, judicial sources confirmed that a French public prosecutor has endorsed the request of investigating magistrates to issue a warrant for Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue (“Teodorín”) over allegations of money laundering in connection with his lavish purchases in France.
  • IMF: Withhold Funds to Angola
    Mar 27, 2012
    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) should withhold a scheduled $130 million loan disbursement to the government of Angola until Angolan authorities fully and publicly justify a US$32 billion discrepancy in Angola’s public accounts.
  • Kazakhstan: Ensure Fair Trial for Oil Workers, Others
    Mar 26, 2012
    The Kazakhstan judiciary should ensure a fair and public trial for the 37 people scheduled for trial on March 27, 2012, on charges of organizing and participating in mass unrest in December 2011.
  • Letter to IMF Managing Director Lagarde on Angola
    Mar 26, 2012

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) should withhold a scheduled $130 million loan disbursement to the government of Angola until Angolan authorities fully and publicly justify a US$32 billion discrepancy in Angola’s public accounts, Human Rights Watch and the Revenue Watch Institute said in a letter to the IMF released on March 27, 2012. 

  • UNESCO: Disappointing Vote on Obiang Prize
    Mar 9, 2012
    A split vote by UNESCO’s Executive Board to approve a prize sponsored by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea puts the president’s interests above UNESCO’s basic principles of human rights and good governance. The March 8, 2012 decision by a commission of the board to change the controversial award’s name and press UNESCO’s Director General Irina Bokova to implement it is due to be formally adopted in a plenary session.
  • Corporate Crime and Punishment
    Feb 28, 2012

    On February 28, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case that will decide whether corporations will be exempted from a crucial law that allows foreign victims of serious human rights abuses to sue them in US courts for civil damages. Any decision that lets corporations off the hook would be a major blow to justice and contrary to the global move toward more corporate accountability. 

  • EU: Keep Sanctions on Mugabe’s Inner Circle
    Feb 17, 2012

    The European Union should maintain its travel restrictions and asset freezes on President Robert Mugabe and his inner circle until Zimbabwe carries out concrete human rights and institutional reforms, ahead of this year’s national elections. The EU is conducting its annual review of its sanctions policy toward Zimbabwe and is scheduled to announce a decision on February 17, 2012. 

  • Equatorial Guinea: Opposition Figure Held
    Feb 15, 2012

    The detention without charge of Dr. Wenceslao Mansogo Alo, a medical doctor who is also a prominent human rights defender and opposition member in Equatorial Guinea, for more than five days following the death of a patient during surgery is a source of serious concern. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International are calling for his immediate release. 

  • Nigeria: Child Lead Poisoning Crisis
    Feb 7, 2012
    Thousands of children in northern Nigeria need immediate medical treatment and dozens of villages remain contaminated two years into the worst lead poisoning epidemic in modern history, Human Rights Watch said today while releasing a video on the issue. Four hundred children have died, according to official estimates, yet environmental cleanup efforts have not even begun in numerous affected villages.
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