A Wake Up Call for African Governments: Daily Brief

New Human Rights Watch research shows that the Covid-19 pandemic caused poverty and hunger to rise in many African countries. The lack of unemployment support, child benefits, and other forms of assistance by governments on the continent, as well as inadequate oversight of relief funds and corruption have left many without the necessary support during the health crisis. Revealing stark global inequalities in access to and spending on social protection, the report highlights the need for permanent and comprehensive social protection systems in Africa.

Today, G20 leaders meet to discuss how aid can be dispatched in Afghanistan without providing support to the Taliban. Considering the steady rollback on women's rights since the Taliban took power and the crackdown on activists, journalists, and former government workers, donors are somewhat reluctant to stop withholding international support. But Afghanistan’s deepening humanitarian and economic crisis, which disproportionately affects women and girls, cannot simply be ignored. Donor governments should coordinate their efforts to restore essential services and protect the long-suffering Afghan people without enriching the Taliban or facilitating their abuses.

In an important step towards advancing justice for atrocities committed in the Central African Republic, the pretrial hearing of a Seleka commander, accused of having carried out brutal attacks on civilians, starts today at the International Criminal Court (ICC). It is the first case brought against a Seleka member. However, multiple other higher-level leaders implicated in these crimes remain free of criminal charges, including some who are ruling large parts of the country and are allegedly still committing serious abuses. To deliver meaningful justice, the ICC should also pursue these higher-level suspects.

A UN panel of 18 independent experts has announced that it cannot immediately rule on a complaint by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and other children that inaction on climate change constitutes a violation of children’s rights. The panel argued that the children should have brought their case to national courts first. However, there was good news last Friday on the climate crisis front, when the UN Human Rights Council voted to recognize the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment as a human right, and to appoint an expert to monitor human rights in the context of the climate emergency. Now governments should work to protect this right!

And lastly: Now, that the Olympics and Paralympics Tokyo Games are over, it's time for the Japanese government to ensure that the abuses Japanese athletes, parents, and human rights groups documented become a thing of the past. By establishing a safe sport center, the country could lead the global movement for reforms to protect children and athletes in sport. Six Japanese and international nongovernmental organizations wrote to the Japan Sports Agency commissioner and the Tokyo Organizing Committee president, urging them to institute serious reforms now for the sake of future generations.