Day: September 23, 2021

DAKAR —

Former Chadian president Hissene Habre was ordered to pay tens of millions of dollars to victims of human rights abuses after his conviction by a special court in 2017. But by the time he died in August, Habre’s victims had still not received a dime.

The African Union-backed court tried Chad’s ex-ruler Hissene Habre in Senegal and found him guilty of crimes he committed in the 1980s — a first for the continent.

On September 15, a team of AU lawyers arrived in Chad to meet with victims’ advocates, lawyers and government officials, to begin the process of establishing a trust fund for Habre’s victims.

Habre oversaw the killing and torture of tens of thousands of people during his rule as Chad’s president from 1982 to 1990. When he was convicted, the African Union was ordered to raise about $150 million that would be allocated to more than 7,000 of Habre’s victims.

The money was supposed to come from Habre’s assets, as well as from outside contributions. But the victims still haven’t been paid.

Their plight gained renewed attention in August when Habre died just five years into his life sentence.

Jacqueline Moudeina is the lead counsel for Habre’s victims. She says the African Union has not made much progress. They have yet to furnish their headquarters and hire an executive secretary, among many other tasks.

“There’s still a lot left to do,” she says. “They waited four years; and they don’t know how many more years they’ll have to wait.” If it were up to her, they would have done it all in one week.

One important task is raising money. Maadjitonke Trahohgra, the director general of Chad’s Ministry of Justice, says the Chadian government will contribute money toward the trust fund, but he doesn’t know how much.

He says many of the victims have already passed away, but the fund will provide relief for those who survived.

Clement Abaifouta is one of the surviving victims tortured for four years during Habre’s rule. He witnessed the deaths of many fellow prisoners and in some cases, was forced to dig their graves.

Now 63, he serves as president of the Association of Victims of the Crimes of the Hissene Habre regime, an organization advocating for victims and their families.

He says now that the African Union has come to expedite the process, victims are satisfied and they hope the process will go faster than expected.

Experts from the African Union plan to return to Chad in the coming weeks to continue setting up the trust fund

Source: Voice of America

GENEVA —

The U.N. Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan warned that the country is suffering a human rights crisis of epic proportions, enmeshing its population in a cycle of violence, abuse and poverty. The report was submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Council on Thursday.

According to the report, nine of the 10 states in South Sudan are engulfed in what the U.N. Commission calls alarming levels of conflict 10 years after independence was declared and despite multiple peace treaties signed to end the civil war that erupted in 2013.

Commission Chair Yasmin Sooka said violence in Warran and Lakes states is of particular concern.

“In March and July, the governors of Warran state and Lakes state ordered the summary execution of more than 56 individuals including minors,” Sooka said. “These extrajudicial killings orchestrated by governors from the ruling party are sufficiently similar, widespread and systematic and may constitute crimes against humanity.”

The report documents the prevalence of enforced disappearances, torture, rape, and conflict-related sexual violence and the forced recruitment of child soldiers throughout the country.

It finds widespread lawlessness and violence have intensified, resulting in many deaths and the forcible displacement of millions of people.

A separate commission report dealing with economic crimes accuses South Sudanese political elites of illicitly diverting millions of dollars from public coffers into private bank accounts.

Commission member Andrew Clapham said these practices are undermining human rights, endangering security, and keeping 80% of the population living in extreme poverty.

“We have sought to clarify that the government of South Sudan has responsibility for violations of the right to health and the right to education, and the failure to provide adequate resources to fulfill these rights is related to the misappropriation of the revenue, which ought to be deposited in bank accounts of the state and then used to provide for education and health,” Clapham said.

The South Sudanese minister of justice and constitutional affairs, R.M.A. Kachuoli, rebutted the report, saying he does not agree with the commission’s view of his country.

Kachuoli said the security situation across South Sudan is relatively calm and peaceful. He said the government is dealing with ethnic conflict through dialogue and the use of traditional courts. He calls a peace agreement reached in 2018 a significant milestone toward achieving peace in his country.

He said his government deems the report on economic crimes and corruption exaggerated, and questions whether the three-member panel even has a mandate to look at this issue.

Source: Voice of America