Dear Secretary Kansteiner:
Human Rights Watch welcomes your upcoming visit to Nigeria and Angola. We are writing to raise your attention to human rights concerns in both countries, and to urge your delegation to raise these concerns in your meetings with the Nigerian and Angolan government authorities.
Nigeria
Pre-Election Violence
One of the main concerns for the rest of 2002 and 2003 is the likely increase in political violence in the period leading up to elections. Local elections scheduled for August 2002 and state and presidential elections scheduled for 2003 have already created a sharp increase in political tension and political party infighting, as well as actual violence. In recent weeks, in the context of primaries for the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) at the local level, there have been a series of attacks, primarily carried out by thugs hired by rival candidates. These have resulted in several deaths and serious injuries, in different parts of the country, particularly in some of the southern states. This is just the first stage, so unless effective measures are taken promptly to bring those responsible to account, it is likely the violence will increase as the political stakes rise.
President Olusegun Obasanjo has put forward a bill outlawing political violence. However, this initiative, as well as general statements by federal government officials condemning acts of violence, appear to be ignored at the local level and are seen by many Nigerians simply as measures to pacify international opinion.
There has also been much controversy over the electoral bill and the restrictions on the number of political parties allowed to register for elections. After much heated discussion, three additional parties were allowed to register, bringing the total to six, but many parties that were not allowed to register are complaining bitterly about the arbitrariness and lack of transparency in the Independent National Electoral Commission's (INEC) decision-making process.
Human Rights Watch urges you to publicly call for free and fair elections and for the government to take steps to prevent further human rights abuses, before the situation escalates out of control. The Nigerian government and judiciary should be urged to ensure that individuals responsible for ordering or carrying out acts of political violence and intimidation are brought to justice promptly.
Vigilante Violence and the Need for Police Reform
Vigilante violence, and political use of vigilante groups, is likely to increase in the run-up to elections. Research by Human Rights Watch in the southeast of Nigeria uncovered serious human rights abuses by the vigilante group known as the Bakassi Boys, active in Anambra, Abia and Imo states. The Bakassi Boys have been responsible for public and very brutal executions, systematic torture and unlawful arrests and detentions, often with the active support of state government authorities. Those targeted have included opponents of state governments. Likewise in the southwest, the O'odua People's Congress (OPC), a Yoruba ethnic militia group that has also taken on vigilante functions, has been responsible for repeated acts of violence, including killings of unarmed civilians. In the north, vigilante groups are sometimes used to enforce the application of Sharia law.
Clashes between vigilante groups and the police are already occurring. The emergence of these groups is clearly linked to the dramatic inadequacy of the national law enforcement agencies, especially the police force. Long-awaited reforms of the police force should be a priority of the government, but these reforms, like any training provided by foreign governments, should ensure practical application of human rights standards as a central component. The Nigerian police force continues to be responsible for systematic and widespread human rights violations. Measures taken so far, such as the recent introduction of "Operation Fire for Fire", appear designed to increase rather than reduce the likelihood of further human rights violations by the police, and have already resulted in further extrajudicial executions and excessive uses of force.
Human Rights Watch urges your delegation to call on the Nigerian government authorities to take measures to curb and prevent further abuses by all these groups without delay, as in some cases, they already appear to escape the control of government and security agencies.
Inter-Communal Violence
Since President Obasanjo came to power in May 1999, there appears to have been an increase in inter-communal violence across Nigeria. Several thousand people have been killed in fighting between different ethnic groups, particularly in the central Middle Belt states (Nasarawa, Plateau, Taraba). There have also been repeated clashes in the southwest, in the Delta, and in the north (Kano, Kaduna).
There are a number of longstanding conflicts that could explode again at any time. Among the most serious in the last year was the crisis in Jos (Plateau state) in September 2001, which claimed more than 1,000 lives. In recent weeks, there have been repeated outbreaks of inter-communal fighting in several other locations in Plateau state. The other particularly worrying situation is the ongoing conflict between the Jukuns and the Tivs, and related tensions between other groups, in the central states of Benue, Taraba and Nasarawa. This conflict culminated in the killing of more than 200 civilians by the military in Benue in October 2001.
There is also likely to be a recurrence of what could loosely be called "religious tensions" in some of the northern states, some of which may be linked, at least superficially, to moves to extend Sharia law. However, it should be noted that the religious factor is not the only explanation for these conflicts, and is often manipulated by different groups in their fight for political and economic control.
The government has embarked on a number of initiatives to study these problems, but it remains to be seen whether these will be effective remedies, or just token exercises. To date the government has preferred to shy away from implementing concrete measures to prevent further violence. The Nigerian government, at federal and state levels, should actively seek measures to resolve these conflicts and to reconcile the different communities affected.
Massacres by the Military
Between 22 and 24 October 2001, in a well-organized reprisal operation following the abduction and killing of nineteen soldiers by a Tiv armed group, Nigerian soldiers killed more than 200 unarmed civilians and destroyed homes, public buildings and other property in more than seven towns and villages in Benue State. In the weeks following the massacres and destruction, soldiers still stationed in the area committed other human rights violations, including rape of women, ill treatment, harassment and extortion.
The Nigerian government has failed to take any action against the soldiers or their commanders responsible for the killings in Benue, or even to issue a strong condemnation. On the contrary, President Obasanjo appeared to defend these actions, or to seek to legitimize them. He even indicated that this was the kind of response which could be expected from soldiers, and that they may have been acting in self-defense, despite the absence of any evidence to support this view. Eventually, the government set up a commission of inquiry, which began holding hearings in May 2002. It is too early to say what its outcome will be, but its remit is vague and contains no specific reference to the killings by the military.
Human Rights Watch also regrets that foreign governments remained conspicuously silent about these events. Although some, including the U.S., have indicated that they raised the issue privately with Nigerian government officials, the lack of any significant public response to one of the most serious cases of human rights violations by the Nigerian security forces in recent years has been striking.
Human Rights Watch urges you to use this opportunity to issue a strong, public condemnation of these killings and call on the government to ensure that such incidents are not repeated, and that the Nigerian authorities carry out a prompt and independent investigation into the killings and destruction by the military, leading to the swift prosecution of those responsible for ordering the operation and perpetrating these abuses.
Extension of Sharia Law
In the last few months, several of the northern states of Nigeria have increasingly applied Sharia law. This includes the handing down, and in some cases the implementation, of cruel punishments, after trials which are almost certainly unfair, with limited rights of appeal and sometimes no legal representation. On 3 January 2002, there was the first execution under Sharia in Nigeria: a man was hanged after being found guilty of murdering a woman and her two children in Katsina State. Two women have faced death sentences for adultery. One, in Sokoto state, won her appeal. The appeal of the other, in Katsina, is still pending. There have also been several cases of floggings and amputations.
Human Rights Watch is appealing to the U.S. government to raise not only the cruel, inhuman and degrading nature of these punishments, but also the broader, fundamental issues of due process and training of judges and other members of the judiciary.
Niger Delta
In the Niger Delta, there have been numerous protests directed at oil companies, as well as violence between different communities, often directly or indirectly linked to the division of oil money. It is likely that active conflict will heat up as the 2003 elections become closer, since the basic issues have remained the same. The federal government has put in place yet another special task force for security in the delta, and troops are still extensively deployed in protection of oil facilities, raising concerns. There was a major oil spill in Ogoniland in April 2001, of which the causes are still a matter of dispute, and which is still to be properly cleaned up. Many people from the delta believe that the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) will be little more than a vehicle for corrupt siphoning off of funds, in the manner of previous similar bodies. The NDDC held a major conference late last year with UNDP to develop strategies for spending its money, but has yet to engage in any substantial projects on the ground.
Angola
Internally Displaced Persons
Based on two fact-finding missions to Angola in 2001, Human Rights Watch wishes to draw your attention to continuing protection concerns for internally displaced persons in Angola.
As efforts to implement peace in Angola get underway, including the demobilization of tens of thousands of UNITA combatants, there has been a sharp new rise in the number of Angolans requiring immediate assistance as a consequence of the war. This has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis, and raised the specter of new human rights abuses.
A renewed commitment from the international community - as well as the Angolan government - is urgently needed to ensure the protection of Angola's internally displaced. Following thirty years of conflict, as many as one-third of Angola's thirteen million people are internally displaced; another 435,000 Angolans fled the country altogether and became refugees abroad.
Although the ceasefire has ended the forced displacement that accompanied the war, the need for attention to the displaced has become, if anything, more urgent. Some 500,000 civilians who were isolated from all assistance behind UNITA lines or kept in areas controlled by government armed forces during the last four years have become accessible to humanitarian agencies for the first time, placing new pressure on existing provisions for displaced people. A further 256,900 people from families affiliated to UNITA fighters also need assistance. During the first two months of 2002, about 98,000 displaced persons were newly registered by United Nations (U.N.) and nongovernmental humanitarian agencies in Angola. Since February, new arrivals have averaged some 30,000 people a month. These people are no longer fleeing the war, but are trying to escape starvation and find assistance where it is provided. At least half of these people require immediate medical care and food provision. Of the 1.4 million displaced people that were already receiving humanitarian assistance, more than 400,000 are living in more than one hundred camps and transit centers. Many of these facilities have very poor conditions.
The displaced also continue to face serious security threats, including harassment by government forces, restrictions on free movement, and possible forced return to areas where they would be at risk of political persecution and human rights abuses.
The government and U.N. agencies are currently developing plans to resettle the internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their areas of origin. The operation, due to start in July, is expected to move 500,000 people by the end of this year.
Human Rights Watch is deeply concerned, however, that human rights considerations are being marginalized within these plans, and that neither the government nor any U.N. agency is taking responsibility for implementing an effective protection system for the displaced as the resettlement plans go forward-including ensuring that nobody is forced to move against their will. Given the past protection problems faced by IDPs in Angola, among them those housed in government-approved camps, this is a serious omission.
Plans and Committees, but Not Enough Action
Plans do exist on paper to ensure that the protection needs of the displaced are met. Over the last two years, following a series of high-level international visits to Angola that brought greater attention to the needs of the displaced, the U.N. has worked closely with the Angolan government to put in place policies and structures that should respond to protection issues, in particular. Most significantly, the government has adopted a new law, the Norms for the Resettlement of Displaced Populations, that sets out clear guidelines for resettlement and assistance, based on the U.N.'s own Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement.
A whole range of groups and sub-groups bringing together relevant U.N. and government agencies has also been formed, with responsibilities for different aspects of assistance to displaced persons. A U.N. inter-agency protection strategy for IDPs was developed in 2000 and 2001, and is currently under revision once again. But effective implementation of these plans has been lacking. There is confusion and dispute within the U.N. itself as to the roles of the different U.N. agencies, government structures, and other partners, including nongovernmental organizations. The government has failed to fulfill its own responsibilities.
Making matters worse is the fact that, as of June 2002, only 24 percent of a U.N. appeal for U.S. $233 million to address the humanitarian crisis in Angola in 2002 had been met. An additional U.N. bridging request of U.S. $141 million has been launched to the international donor community, which includes specific provisions for protection, mainly for UNITA underage soldiers and family members. Together with the mine action program, however, the funds requested for protection represent only 4.6 percent of the total being sought.
U.N. Protection Efforts: No Clear Ownership
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has been responsible since mid-2001 for coordinating U.N. initiatives in relation to the protection of the internally displaced. The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), though it has only a limited mandate in relation to IDPs and a very small presence in Angola, has also played an important role in focusing attention on protection issues.
However, following the failure of major donors, including the U.S., to renew funding for UNHCR's program with IDPs in Angola, UNHCR's activities for IDPs in Angola are currently scheduled to close in 2002. OCHA is also reviewing its work with the internally displaced; Human Rights Watch has learned that there is even a possibility that it too may withdraw from protection work. Even as it is, the latest draft of the U.N. inter-agency "protection strategy for IDPs and returnees" only provides for human rights issues to be taken up with the government authorities in the case of harassment of humanitarian personnel and looting of humanitarian assets. In case of forced resettlement or harassment of returnees and others, the strategy focuses on monitoring and sensitization, the promotion of community-based protection initiatives, and the development of referral systems for victims rather than direct intervention with government authorities regarding the protection of IDPs. This is seriously inadequate and should be changed. Human Rights Watch has been critical of OCHA's protection role with IDPs in Angola. The agency is overstretched with other responsibilities and lacks experience in protection work.
We also believe that as the international agency mandated to protect refugees, UNHCR has greater expertise and experience in providing protection to forcibly displaced people. As such, UNHCR would appear in principle to be the most appropriate agency to lead protection work among the internally displaced in Angola.
However, at this stage the most urgent need is for the plans for the protection of the displaced that have been adopted in recent years to be implemented, and for clear lines of responsibility to be established for that work. In light of this, any suggestion that OCHA's protection work in Angola be discontinued gives cause for dismay. As OCHA already has a presence on the ground that would enable it to take up relatively quickly the new challenges of protection created by the changed circumstances in Angola since the death of Savimbi, it should retain that role. But UNHCR's involvement is also critical. In particular, UNHCR should be given sufficient funding to place a mobile team of roving protection officers in Angola-with responsibility for protection monitoring, training and capacity building, technical advice, and supervision. The planned return of refugees and IDPs following the ceasefire could provide an opportunity for the expansion of UNHCR's protection role in Angola.
The current mandate of the U.N. Office in Angola (UNOA), established by the Security Council in 1999, expires in July 2002. The terms of its renewal are currently being renegotiated by the U.N.'s Department of Political Affairs with the Angolan government, taking into account the changed circumstances brought about by the ceasefire. UNOA's Human Rights Division, in particular, should be more active in bringing attention to human rights abuses against the internally displaced. At present, however, the draft new mandate for UNOA does not include any provisions that cover protection for internally displaced persons. This omission should be rectified.
We urge your delegation to focus attention on the plight of Angola's internally displaced persons, and to pledge greater financial support for programs to protect the internally displaced, particularly for UNHCR's protection activities in Angola. We also urge you to provide financial and other support for the creation of a national network among local nongovernmental organizations and church groups active on human rights issues and with dealing with the displaced.
Thank you for your attention to these issues.
Sincerely,
Peter Takirambudde
Executive Director
Africa Division
