South Africa’s Toxic Legacy: Daily Brief

Thousands of abandoned mines litter South Africa, posing ongoing risks to communities and water sources, a new Human Rights Watch report finds. The South African government has done almost nothing to address this toxic legacy. Of the 2,322 abandoned mines that have been classified as “high-risk” across the country, only 27 have been cleaned up since 2009. These unrehabilitated mines risk polluting water sources of millions of South Africans, as mine waste left exposed to the elements can dramatically increase the acidity of water and soil, leaving water unusable and the soil unproductive. Open mine pits, meanwhile, put people at risk of injury or death from accidents. The report, which documents the threats to communities from abandoned coal mines in Mpumalanga province, found that the government failed to make progress in mitigating these dangers despite a 2012 High Court decision which directed various levels of government to address the acid mine drainage crisis in the town of Carolina, Mpumalanga. The report also documented how mining companies that profited from years of mining coal have failed to meet their responsibilities to clean up the toxic mess they have left behind. Costs of proper mine rehabilitation are usually significant, sometimes tens of millions of US dollars. South Africa’s government, which has a responsibility to make sure that communities don’t suffer from these ‘forever mines,’ should take urgent steps to ensure that mining companies adequately rehabilitate the land where mining took place, and that companies that fail to do so are held to account. 

At least 18 people died and over 240 were injured during recent unrest in Uzbekistan’s autonomous region of Karakalpakstan. It was the worst such violence in the Central Asian country for many years. The protests, which started on 1 July in Nukus, the regional capital, were triggered by government plans to change the country’s constitution and remove the right of the region to seek independence, should its citizens choose to do so in a referendum. The circumstances surrounding the violent clashes remain unclear, in part because Uzbek authorities have suspended internet connections in the region. In addition, there are reports that journalists covering the events have been detained and harassed. A state of emergency, including a curfew, has been imposed across Karakalpakstan region, which covers one-third of Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan has for decades been a highly authoritarian country with scant respect for human rights. Uzbek authorities’ handling of the aftermath of the unrest will be a crucial test of whether the government of president Shavkat Mirziyoyev has turned a page and truly intends to respect human rights and the rule of law. 

There are growing concerns in France about economic and social uncertainty and inequalities and mistrust of political leaders’ ability to provide adequate responses. It is therefore more important than ever for French President Emmanuel Macron and his government to adopt a rights-based strategy to tackle exclusion and socioeconomic injustices more vigorously during his second term, to insure that everyone’s rights are protected, and to eliminate discrimination. Given major global challenges such as overt contempt for human rights from governments in many regions of the world, the war in Ukraine and other conflicts marred by grave violations against civilians, climate change, and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the most vulnerable people, Macron should also place human rights at the heart of French diplomacy. During Macron's first term, the credibility of France's human rights diplomacy was weakened by its selectivity. His second term is an opportunity to make human rights a genuine priority in his national and international policy, said Human Rights Watch today in a letter to the president, which included an agenda detailing recommendations on human rights priorities for the next five years. 

It’s unclear what efforts the Burundi government is making to tackle human rights violations, but once again its representative at the UN Human Rights Council has shut down hope that the country would cooperate with the newly appointed UN Special Rapporteur. Burundi also accused the Council of politicized interference in its internal affairs. Since President Évariste Ndayishimiye came to power two years ago, Human Rights Watch has documented the same patterns of abuses that took place under the 15-year rule of Pierre Nkurunziza, his predecessor. The government’s repression remains entrenched. The judiciary lacks independence. So does the country’s human rights commission. While there have been a few positive developments under Ndayishimiye, such as the lifting of some suspensions of media and civil society and the release of several jailed human rights defenders and journalists, Human Rights Watch’s latest report documented yet more killings, disappearances, arbitrary detention, and torture of suspected government opponents. It’s time for Burundian authorities to turn promises into action, give access to the Special Rapporteur, release all those unjustly jailed, and prosecute perpetrators of human rights violations. 

In a long overdue move France has repatriated 35 French children and 16 mothers from refugee camps in the northeast of Syria. Rights groups have long urged the French government to bring home some 200 children in detention who were either brought to Islamic State (IS) territory by their parents or born there during the years of fighting. Nearly 45,000 men, women, and children from nearly 60 countries are being held in deeply degrading and often inhuman conditions in northeast Syria as ISIS suspects and family members. The vast majority of these foreigners are young children held with their mothers in locked camps. The Syrian Democratic Forces and other regional authorities have repeatedly called on countries to bring them home, saying they lack the resources to care for them and to prosecute those suspected of serious crimes. But few countries outside of Central Asia have repatriated their nationals or taken other significant steps to end their abuse. France has argued that its security concerns are paramount, having suffered a series of attacks from IS jihadists. However, under international law, all children associated with armed groups should be treated first and foremost as victims.