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NEWS ARTICLES
CATCHING A WAR CRIMINAL IN THE ACT By RICHARD GOLDSTONE Originally published in The New York Times July 15, 2008
Servian, France
THE prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has made the tough decision to seek an arrest warrant for a leader of a country at war — Sudan’s president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir. He is to be charged with genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes during the last five years of war in Darfur.
One has to go back to the cases against Slobodan Milosevic of Yugoslavia in 1999 and Charles Taylor of Liberia in 2003 to find the last time that international prosecutors charged a sitting head of state. Then, as now, they were criticized for failing to take “politics” into account.
These criticisms are misdirected. The 1998 Rome treaty establishing the International Criminal Court removed head-of-state immunity for atrocity crimes. Since 2005, when the United Nations Security Council referred the Darfur situation to the court, the prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, has simply been doing his job — which is to present charges against those who bear the greatest responsibility for the crimes.
Critics predict that an arrest warrant will harm efforts to deliver aid and to deploy the United Nations peacekeeping force in Darfur. But both of these efforts are already hobbled. Mr. Bashir’s government has a long history of obstructing aid — notably during the famine in 1998, before the International Criminal Court even existed. And an obstructionist Sudanese government and the countries that are supposed to contribute troops to the peacekeeping force have long dragged their feet. It has taken five years to deploy just 9,000 soldiers. If Khartoum retaliates against the arrest warrant by attacking refugees, aid workers or peacekeepers, the responsibility will lie solely with the leaders who issue the orders.
Some critics also worry that the indictments may harm the Darfur peace process by removing a key negotiating point — an offer of amnesty to President Bashir along with the possibility of quiet retirement in a third country. But sometimes ambiguity over accountability can help peace negotiations along, as it did in South Africa in 1991, when amnesty was also a bargaining chip. Arrest warrants from The Hague also assisted the Bosnian peace process by removing hard-liners from the negotiating table.
It is too early to tell what effects the indictment will have on peace efforts. So far, there has been no Darfur peace process to speak of. Part-time United Nations and African Union mediators recently resigned in frustration, calling for a new approach.
In the meantime, the indictments may delegitimize the government in the eyes of the Sudanese people, especially the elites in Khartoum. In 1999, after the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslovia issued its arrest warrant for President Milosevic, an opposition group called Otpor turned it into a political weapon with the slogan, “He is finished.” Mr. Milosevic lost the elections in 2000. Although other factors contributed to his fall, including lost wars and corruption, the indictments played their part by demonstrating his isolation.
In Sudan’s 2009 elections, some citizens may rally behind their president. Others may not.
In the story of the emperor’s new clothes, a little boy is the only one who has the innocence to point out that the emperor is naked. The arrest warrants for President Bashir reveal to the world what type of regime holds power in Khartoum. They should also push the Security Council to apply real pressure on the Sudanese government. The council and its member states should make President Bashir’s government an international pariah, imposing sanctions against its leaders and, most important, Sudan’s oil exports, which have so effectively insulated the regime.
The prosecutor’s message might make some people uncomfortable, but that does not mean we should shoot the messenger. This crisis should galvanize the Security Council to take serious action.
Richard Goldstone is the former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. He is also a Member of the Board of Directors of HURISA.
DARFUR CONSORTIUM RESPONDS TO APPLICATION FOR A WARRANT FOR ARREST OF SUDANESE PRESIDENT OMAR EL-BASHIR The Darfur Consortium (July 15, 2008)
The application of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court yesterday for a warrant of arrest against President Omar El-Bashir of Sudan, is a significant development.
Following a consultation of members drawn from throughout Africa and beyond, the Darfur Consortium reaffirms its commitment to the safety, security, effective protection and justice for the people of Darfur and Sudan.
The Government of Sudan has the primary obligation to protect the people of Darfur and Sudan and to guarantee and ensure the safety and security of international forces as well as humanitarian workers in Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan. The Government of Sudan is also obliged to comply with Security Council resolutions. Failure to respect these obligations gives rise to legally enforceable international responsibility.
The Darfur Consortium calls on all concerned to respect the independence of the International Criminal Court and the integrity of its organs and procedures.
The Prosecutor's application should not be allowed to become a pretext for curtailment of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Sudan, obstruction of humanitarian deliveries and operations or to undermine on-going political processes for peace, political reform and transformation in Sudan.
At this time more than ever before, the continuing presence and engagement of the African Union and the wider international community is needed to reassure the people of Darfur and Sudan of the unrelenting commitment of the region and the world to their wellbeing.
AU SUMMIT RESOLUTION ON ZIMBABWE
The African Union Assembly, meeting in its 11th Ordinary Session held on June 30 to July 1, 2008 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt,
DEEPLY CONCERNED with the prevailing situation in Zimbabwe;
DEEPLY CONCERNED with the negative reports of SADC, the African Union and the Pan-African Parliament observers on the Zimbabwean Presidential run-off election held on June 27, 2008;
DEEPLY CONCERNED about the violence and the loss of life that has occurred in Zimbabwe.
CONSIDERING the urgent need to prevent further worsening of the situation and with a view to avoid spread of conflict with the consequential negative impact on the country and the sub-region;
FURTHER CONSIDERING the need to create an environment conducive for democracy, as well as the development of the people of Zimbabwe;
EXPRESSING its appreciation to SADC, and its Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Co-operation, as well as the Facilitator of the intra-Zimbabwe dialogue, His Excellency Thabo Mbeki, President of the Republic of South Africa, and His Excellency Jean Ping, Chairperson of the African Union Commission for the ongoing work aimed at reconciling the political parties;
RECOGNISING the complexity of the situation in Zimbabwe;
NOTING the willingness of the political leaders of Zimbabwe to enter into negotiations to establish a Government of National Unity;
NOTING FURTHER the preparatory discussions on this matter had already started, under SADC facilitation;
Hereby decide:
NEW JUDGES OF THE AFRICAN COURT ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES' RIGHTS by African Court Coalition 29 June 2008
The Executive Council of the AU elected two new judges and re-elected the same number to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights on 29 June 2008 in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt.
Prof Githu Muigai (Kenya), a practising lawyer and academic and Justice Joseph Nyamihana Mulenga (Uganda), judge at the East Africa Court of Justice and at the Supreme Court of Uganda are the new justices that will serve their first six-year term. Justices Bernard Ngoepe and Sophia Akuffo were re-elected for a six-year term.
The Assembly of Heads of State and Government will appoint the new members when they meet on Monday 30 June and Tuesday 1 July 2008 in Egypt.
The new composition of the court is as follows: President: Gérard Niyungeko (Burundi) Deputy President: Modibo Tounty (Mali) Sophia Akuffo (Ghana) El Hadji Guisse (Sénégal) Justina Kelello Mafuso Guni (Lesotho) Bernard Ngoepe (South Africa) Fatsah Ouguergouz (Algeria) Hamdi Faraj Fanoush (Libya) Jean Mutsunzi (Rwanda) Githu Muigai (Kenya) Joseph Nyamihana Mulenga (Uganda)
Also, the Executive Council adopted the single legal instrument establishing the African Court of Justice and Human Rights. This will create one African judicial mechanism. There is a major concern by the African Court Coalition that individuals will still be prevented from petitioning the new court directly.
Darfur Consortium Welcomes Presidential Statement on Justice in Darfur (NEW YORK, June 17, 2008)
The Darfur Consortium today welcomed the adoption by the Security Council yesterday of a Presidential Statement in support of the International Criminal Court's (ICC) investigation in Darfur.
The Statement was adopted in response to the presentation made by the Prosecutor of the ICC, Luis Moreno Ocampo on June 5 on the progress of his investigation. The Prosecutor's message was clear, that the government of Sudan had failed to cooperate with the Court and was in violation of Security Council Resolution 1593.
The Presidential Statement noted the efforts undertaken by the International Criminal Court, in particular the transmission on June 16, 2007 of arrest warrants for Ahmed Harun and Ali Kushyab to the government of Sudan. It called on the government of Sudan and all other parties to the conflict in Darfur to "cooperate fully" with the International Criminal Court as required by that Resolution 1593.
"The Presidential Statement is a victory for the people of Darfur, who have for two long looked on with frustration as the government of Sudan has brazenly flouted the will of the Council," said Dismas Nkunda, Co-Chair of the Darfur Consortium. "As a statement of the unanimous sentiment of the Council, the Presidential Statement sends a powerful message to Khartoum indicating that its defiance will no longer pass unchallenged."
The Darfur Consortium also expressed its appreciation of the leadership displayed by the government of Costa Rica in pressing for the statement and, in particular, for the passionate call to action which Foreign Minister Bruno Stagno Ugarte delivered to the Security Council on June 5. In the words of the Foreign Minister, this declaration "breaks the silence maintained by the Security Council with respect to the situation in Darfur."
At the same time as the Security Council was breaking its silence, the Council of the European Union was also speaking out in support of the ICC. The Council "deeply deplore[d] the continued failure of the GoS to cooperate with the ICC and underline[d] that the GoS has an obligation, and the capacity, to cooperate," noting that "[a]ny arrest warrant issued by the ICC should be respected." The Council went on to express its willingness to consider additional measures against those preventing cooperation with the Court.
"The Sudanese government has been put on warning," Nkunda reflected, "but states must be willing to back this strong rhetoric with strong action in the event that Sudan continues to defy the Court."
ELECTION OF JUDGES TO THE AFRICAN COURT ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES' RIGHTS
by African Court Coalition 5 June 2008
The tenure of four of the judges of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights expires in July 2008. They are Justices Ngoepe, Akuffo, Kanyiehamba, and Somda. These judges may be re-elected.
The Assembly of Heads of State and Government will be meeting at the AU Summit in Egypt in June 2008 to elect new members to the Court.
The nominees are: Justice Bernard M. Ngoepe (South Africa); Justice Joseph Nyamihana Mulenga (Uganda); M. Jean Emile Somda (Burkina Faso); Prof. Githu Muigai (Kenya); Maitre Ore Sylvan (Cote d'Ivoire); Justice Sophia A. B. Akuffo (Ghana); and Dr Jose Ibrahim Abudo (Mozambique).
EU-AFRICA SUMMIT IN LISBON:
MEDIA RELEASE: AFRICAN AND EU PARLIAMENTARIANS ACCUSE AFRICA/EU SUMMIT OF "TURNING THEIR BACKS" ON DARFUR
by Darfur Consortium 6 December 2007
African and EU parliamentarians accuse Africa/EU Summit of “turning their backs” on Darfur
Over forty members of African and European Parliaments have today (Friday) expressed ‘surprise and disappointment’ that the crisis in Darfur is not on the agenda for the EU-Africa Summit that begins in Lisbon this weekend.
As European and African leaders – including President Bashir of Sudan - arrive in Lisbon, the legislators released a copy of a letter they sent to the Heads of State attending.
The strongly worded letter said that they were, ‘surprised and disappointed to note that at a two-day summit of the leaders of our two continents, there will be no time allotted to discuss the continuing crisis in Darfur that has claimed over 200,000 lives.’
In a parallel move, a coalition of over 50 African and European human rights groups including Amnesty International, the International Federation of Human Rights and the Darfur Consortium have written to Heads of State warning that; ‘to ignore it [Darfur] now would be to turn our backs on the people of Darfur.’
Glenys Kinnock, MEP and Co-President of the African, Caribbean and Pacific / EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly said, "MP’s, campaigners and human rights activists are all asking the same question: how can our leaders ignore one of the world’s worst crises? Especially when President Bashir, the man primarily responsible for so much of the suffering is in their midst. Rather than answer that question our leaders would apparently prefer to sweep difficult issues under the carpet. Today,` we are saying we won’t let you ignore this suffering."
The calls for the Summit to discuss Darfur come following the news last month from UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Marie Guehenno that the Government of Sudan is blocking the deployment of the hybrid peacekeeping force. It also follows a similar demand for a focus on Darfur from European and Africa writers last Tuesday.
The letters from legislators and campaigners argue that the EU and Africa have a shared responsibility to solve the Darfur conflict, which has already claimed over 200,000 lives and displaced millions. "The welfare of our citizens must be the first order of business whenever our leaders meet, and the devastating impact this ongoing conflict has on the lives of so many people should clearly place it near the top of the agenda for the EU-Africa Summit." says the letter.
"Despite the ever growing levels of violence on the ground and the fact that peace and justice continues to be elusive, no room has been give to the summit to discuss this crisis", said Dismas Nkunda, spokesperson for the Darfur Consortium. "It is indeed a shame for the Lisbon summit," he added.
"World leaders have to ask themselves what they are in politics for if they ignore the suffering of hundreds of thousands of people. If world leaders are willing to meet and shake hands with those accused of sponsoring mass violence they have a duty to look them in the eye and bring them to task," said Onyango Kakoba, Member of the Ugandan Parliament.
Editors notes:
Full text of the MPs’ letter:
To: Heads of State and Government of the European Union and Africa Your Excellencies,
On 7th and 8th December you will meet in Lisbon for the first EU-Africa Summit since 2000. Closer cooperation between our two continents is a highly desirable goal, which we as elected representatives strive to support.
However, we firmly believe that any discussion on such cooperation cannot move forward without also addressing the largest and one of the most pressing humanitarian disasters in the region: the ongoing conflict in Darfur and its destabilizing effect on Sudan and its neighbours.
We are therefore surprised and disappointed to note that at a two-day summit of the leaders of our two continents, there will be no time allotted to discuss the continuing crisis in Darfur that has claimed over 200,000 lives and displaced more than two and a half million people, many of whom continue to rely on an enormous humanitarian aid effort. The welfare of our citizens must be the first order of business whenever our leaders meet, and the devastating impact this ongoing conflict has on the lives of so many people should clearly place it near the top of the agenda for the EU-Africa Summit.
The international community has a collective responsibility to protect civilians from armed conflict. In turn, when parliamentarians from across Africa met in May of this year to consider the role of national parliaments in responding to the Darfur crisis, they determined that "Parliaments have a direct responsibility to engage the executive [..] in the field of foreign policy, to protect the lives of the most vulnerable”.
We therefore urge you to ensure that in Lisbon there is a specific agenda item on the urgent need to bring a sustainable end to the violence currently threatening the lives of civilians in Darfur. We also urge you to confirm that protecting civilians from conflict, including in Darfur, will be a clear priority of African-EU cooperation.
List of signatories to the letter: Anna Abdallah (Tanzania) Marie-Hélène Aubert (France) Margrete Auken (Denmark) Thijs Berman (Netherlands) John Bowis (UK) Albertino Bragança (Sao Tome and Pincipe) Marie-Arlette Carlotti (France) Thierry Cornillet (France) Nye Cuffie (Sierra Leone) Ryszard Czarnecki (Poland) Nirj Deva (UK) Koenraad Dillen (Belgium) Alexandra Dobolyi (Hungary) Abughassim Seif Eldin (Sudan) Leopoldo Ernesto (Mozambique) Ibrahim Sorie Fofanah (Sierra Leone) Kwame Frimpong (Ghana) Ana Gomes (Portugal) Fiona Hall (UK) Suliman Hamid (Sudan) Alain Hutchinson (Belgium) Farouq Abu-Issa (Sudan) Onyango Kakoba (Uganda) El Haj Diao Kante (Guinea/Pan African Parliament) Teddy Ksella-bantu (Tanzania) A. Luthuli (South Africa) Elizabeth Lynne (UK) Miguel Angel Martínez (Spain) Gay Mitchell (Ireland) Salih Mahmoud Osman (Sudan) Horst Posdorf (Germany) Eoin Ryan (Ireland) José Ribeiro e Castro (Portugal) Pierre Schapira (France) Karin Scheele (Austria) Frithjof Schmidt (Germany) Juergen Schroeder (Germany) David Kuku Toto (Sudan) Feleknas Uca (Germany) Anne Van Lancker (Belgium) Ralf Walter (Germany) Anders Wikjman (Sweden) Gabriele Zimmer (Germany)
MPs available for interview: Ana Gomes: +32 2 284 5824 Glenys Kinnock: +44 292 022 7654 (Lisa)
Campaigners: Darfur Consortium, Dismas Nkunda; +256 78 2310404
For further details or interviews please contact: Brussels: Sara - + 324 73 555 818 Egypt: Engi - + 201 22 199 010 Germany: Jenny - + 49 17629 118 503 Sebastian- + 49 30 20351 13 Ghana: Arji - + 233 212 42470 London: Brendan– + 44 20 7324 4747 Nigeria: Tola - + 234 803 320 3725 Paris: Karine - + 33 143 55 1412 Portugal: Luis - + 351 912 12 658 683 South Africa: Corlett - + 27 11 403 0850
ENDS
EU-AFRICA SUMMIT IN LISBON:
MEDIA RELEASE: AFRICAN AND EUROPEAN WRITERS ATTACK "COWARDICE" OF THEIR LEADERS. (Embargoed until 00:01 GMT Tuesday 04 December 2007) Crisis Action
African and European writers will today (Tuesday) criticise the political cowardice of their leaders in failing to put Darfur and Zimbabwe at the top of the EU-Africa Summit’s agenda.
The letter, signed by writers including Vaclav Havel, Prof. Wole Soyinka, Nadine Gordimer, Günter Grass, Roddy Doyle and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, criticises leaders for shying away from tackling two of the world’s worst crises. The EU-Africa Summit taking place in Lisbon on the 8th and 9th December is the first of its kind since 2000.
"We expect our leaders to lead, and lead with moral courage. When they fail to do so they leave all of us morally impoverished" says the letter.
The letter has been sent to all of the Heads of State attending the summit and is published today in newspapers across Africa and Europe.
Despite over 200,000 deaths in Darfur and brutal repression in Zimbabwe, no time has been set aside for discussion of the issues. The letter argues that it is impossible to inaugurate a new era of friendship between Europe and Africa while Darfur and Zimbabwe are ignored. "Why should we listen to the mighty when the mighty are deaf to the cries of the afflicted? Millions of Africans and Europeans would expect Zimbabwe and Darfur to be at the very top of the agenda. It is not too late," says the letter.
Wole Soyinka, the Nobel Prize winning Nigerian author said: "The EU-Africa summit presents an opportunity to address the biggest issues affecting our people. However our leaders - by putting their own desire to avoid a confrontation ahead of the suffering of millions - are squandering this opportunity and doing us all a disservice."
Editors note:
Full text of the letter: In a few days Heads of State from Africa and Europe will meet in Portugal to discuss issues common to two continents whose histories, for good and bad, have intertwined for centuries. This is a historic opportunity to inaugurate a new era founded on shared values and a genuine friendship where we can support each other and learn from each other.
But that will not be possible while the summit meeting shies away from discussing two of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, those in Zimbabwe and Darfur. Despite Europe’s and Africa’s shared responsibility to address such crises, neither one is on the agenda. No time has been set aside for formal or informal discussion What can one say of this political cowardice? We expect our leaders to lead, and lead with moral courage. When they fail to do so they leave all of us morally impoverished. Where they funk the difficult issues they make themselves irrelevant. Why should we listen to the mighty when the mighty are deaf to the cries of the afflicted? Millions of Africans and Europeans would expect Zimbabwe and Darfur to be at the very top of the agenda. It is not too late.
List of signatories to the letter (so far): European: Vaclav Havel, Günter Grass, Roddy Doyle, Tom Stoppard, Jose Gil, Colm Toibin. African: Prof. Wole Soyinka, Mia Couto, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Gillian Slovo, Ben Okri, Nadine Gordimer, John M Coetzee.
For further details or interviews please contact: Brendan Cox – Brendan.Cox@crisisaction.org - + 44 207 324 4747
FUNCTIONING OF THE AFRICAN COURT ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES' RIGHTS (October 2007): The members of the Court met in Arusha from 17 - 28 September. They discussed their Rules of Procedure which are yet to be finalised.
The Court is presently operating from the 3rd Floor of Ngorongoro Wing, Arusha International Conference Centre. The government of Tanzania is has identified property which will become the permanent location of the Court elsewhere in Arusha.
Positions for registrar, legal officers, translators and interpertors have been advertised on the African Union website (www.africa-union.org).
The members of the Court are: Fatsah Ouguergouz (Algeria); Gerard Niyungeko, president (Burundi); Modibo Tounty Gouindo, deputy president (Mali); El Hadji Guisse (Senegal); George Kanyiehamba (Uganda); Bernard Ngoepe (South Africa); Jean Emile Somda (Burkina Faso); Hamdi Faraj Fanoush (Libya); Kelle Justina Mafoso-Guni (Lesotho); Sophia Akuffo (Ghana).
PROGRESS ON THE DRAFT SINGLE LEGAL INSTRUMENT FOR THE AFRICAN COURT (October 2007): The African Union is yet to finalise the draft single legal instrument establishing the African Court on Human Rights and Justice, which integrates the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights and the African Court of Justice (the protocol establishing this court is not in force). A decision was taken in 2004 to integrate the courts following a concern raised on the lack of sufficient resources to fund Africa's institutions. Two meetings were held since that decision resulting in the draft single legal instrument.
Ministers of Justice, Attorney's General and members of the Permanent Representatives Committee of the African Union are to meet in Arusha in early November 2007 to finalise the document.
The 42ND SESSION OF THE AFRICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES' RIGHTS (October 2007): The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights will be meeting for its 42nd session in Brazzaville, the Congo from 14 - 28 November. This year marks the 20th year of the Commission's existence and the 25th year of the adoption of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.
Algeria, Tunisia and Rwanda are to present their state reports to the Commission at its 42nd session.
The commissioners are: Pansy Tlakula (South Africa); Bahame Nyanduga (Tanzania); Mumba Malila (Zambia); Sanji Monageng (Botswana); Angela Melo (Mozambique); Musa Bitaye (The Gambia); Reine Alapini Gansou (Benin); Yeung Kam John Yeung Sik Yuen (Mauritius); Catherine Dupe Atoki (Nigeria); Soyata Maiga (Mali); Zainabu Sylvie Kayatesi (Rwanda).
COALITION REGISTERED IN TANZANIA (October 2007): The Coalition, which was formed as a loose network to advocate for an effective African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, is now registered as a NGO in Tanzania. It will be setting up a secretariat in Arusha from where it will be functioning.
GOLDSTONE COMMISSION REPORTS ONLINE (Johannesburg, 15 December 2006): In recognition of a critical event leading to the creation of a legal framework to regulate public protests within a human rights context, the Human Rights Institute of South Africa (HURISA), formerly the Institute for the Study of Public Violence and Intimidation – a research and documentation institute of the Goldstone Commission, has re-packaged the Commission’s reports for wider distribution from 15 December. These reports consist of submissions to the Commission and verbatim evidence.
"It is thirteen years since the promulgation of the Regulation of Gatherings Act No. 205 of 1993, and yet ordinary South Africans continue to face obstacles in exercising their right to assemble in public spaces," said the former chair of the Goldstone Commission, former judge of the Constitutional Court and current board member of HURISA, Richard Goldstone. The Regulation of Gatherings Act No. 205 of 1993 was a product of the Goldstone Commission. The right to assemble and the freedom of expression are fundamental civil rights in a democracy.
Violent confrontations between police and local communities in the last three years, reminiscent of the dark days in apartheid South Africa, are a scar in South Africa’s nascent democracy. We are reminded of a seventeen-year-old boy that was allegedly killed by the police during a march in Ntabazwe – a township on the outskirts of Harrismith in the Free State province on 30 August 2004. The community members were expressing their frustrations at government for poor delivery of basic services, yet they were met with a barrage of rubber bullets. The eruption of violence between residents and the police at Khutsong in February 2006 following protests against the rezoning of their town from falling under Gauteng Province to the North West Province is further cause for concern. The Independent Complaints Directorate has expressed concern at the excessive use of force employed by police against peaceful protestors.
The Goldstone Commission played a pivotal role in South Africa’s transition into a democratic dispensation. It also laid the foundation for the eventual establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Richard Goldstone added that “the culture of impunity and infringement of fundamental rights that South Africa witnessed in the past should not be repeated in our new democracy.” During the period before the first democratic elections, protest marches were generally regarded as a privilege which was regulated by means of a permit. The challenge that faced the Goldstone Commission at the time was to recommend persuasively that protest marches ought to be regarded as a right rather than a privilege.
The records include investigations, among other things, into taxi violence in the country, the Boipatong Massacre, the Shell House shooting, violence on trains, taxi violence, hostel violence and the public violence following the Chris Hani assassination.
EXPERTS TO SERVE ON WORKING GROUP ON THE DEATH PENALTY OF THE AFRICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES' RIGHTS (Final communiqué of the 40th ordinary session of the African commission on Human and Peoples' Rights - 29 November 2006) The African Commission appointed six expert members to serve on its Working Group on the Death Penalty. They are: Ms Alya Cherif Chammari (Tunisia); Ms Alice Alice Mogwe (Botswana); Mr Mactar Diallo (Senegal); Prof. Phillip Francis Iya (Uganda); Prof. Carlson E Anyangwe (Cameroon); and Prof. Mohamed S El-Awa (Egypt)
AFRICAN COURT JUDGES SWORN IN Coalition for an Effective African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights
The eleven judges of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights were sworn in on Saturday 1 July 2006 in Banjul, the Gambia. The judges met over three days. The first part of the meeting was open to interest groups. Members of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, ECOWAS Court of Justice as well as NGOs were present at the meeting. The judges then met in closed session to consider among other matters their Rules of Procedure.
The seat of the Court was confirmed as being Tanzania. It will most likely be located at the premises of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania. The ICTR is scheduled to complete its work by 2009.
LAUNCH: RIGHT TO BASIC EDUCATION Published by South African Human Rights Commission 13 June 2006
On June 13, 2006, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) will launch the report on the ‘Right to Basic Education’. This report is a culmination of the public hearings on the right to basic education convened from 12–14 October 2006 by the SAHRC. The public hearings brought together members of the public and other stakeholders to dialogue and explore, among others, the meaning of the right to basic education and to assess the realisation of this right in South Africa. The hearings provided an opportunity to examine the right to basic education from the perspectives of the vulnerable groups in society, such as those living with disabilities, farming communities and those affected by HIV/AIDS. The report will be launched from 09h00–11h00 and will present the findings and recommendations of the public hearings. The SAHRC Chairperson, Commissioner Jody Kollapen, will launch the report and hand it over to the Department of Education for consideration.
After the launch of the report, the SAHRC will host an Open Dialogue on ‘Youth and Human Rights’. The dialogue, to take place between 11h30 and 13h00, is part of the SAHRC’s activities to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the 1976 Soweto Uprisings. Young people from different youth structures such as students movements, civil society organisations and government will attend the event. The open dialogue will provide a platform to explore, from young people’s perspectives, progress and challenges regarding youth and human rights in South Africa.
© HURISA 2008 |
