Articles

An independent UN human rights expert on Monday hailed a decision by the African Court on Human and People’s Rights, to award reparations to the Ogiek indigenous peoples, for harm that they suffered due to “injustices and discrimination.” The historic ruling follows a landmark judgment delivered by the Court on 26 May 2017, finding that the Government of Kenya had violated the right to life, property, natural resources, development, religion and culture of the Ogiek, under the African...

A group of independent UN human rights experts have condemned reports of escalating violence targeting foreign nationals in South Africa, and called for accountability against rising xenophobia, racism and hate speech aimed at migrants, refugees, asylum seekers – and even citizens perceived as outsiders – throughout the country. In a statement released on Friday, the rights experts cited “Operation Dudula” as an example of hate speech. Originally a social media campaign, Operation Dudula...

Diseases transmitted from animals to people in Africa have jumped 63 per cent in last decade, compared with the previous ten year period, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) analysis released on Thursday. “And more than 75 per cent of emerging infectious diseases, are caused by pathogens shared with wild or domestic animals,” WHO Regional Director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti told journalists at a media briefing. “They account for a substantial burden of disease, resulting in...

Preliminary findings of two Marburg virus cases have prompted Ghana to prepare for a potential outbreak of the disease. If confirmed, these would the first such infections recorded in the country, and only the second in West Africa. Marburg is a highly infectious viral haemorrhagic fever in the same family as the more well-known Ebola virus disease. Preliminary analysis of samples taken from two patients by the country’s Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research indicated the cases...

Khatir Mahamat Saleh Annadif was presenting the latest report of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), which he heads, covering developments over the past six months in areas such as politics, security and human rights. Mr. Annadif highlighted some of the dichotomies across a vast region that continues to “develop at different rhythms”. While citizens in some countries are freely exercising their right to vote, elsewhere “military stakeholders” are trying to dominate the...

“We have repeatedly raised our concerns about the excessive and lethal use of force used by Brazilian law enforcement officials and the disproportionate impact on Brazilians of African descent,” the three experts said in a statement. “However, the latest reports of police brutality appear to show that such human rights violations continue with impunity”. Disregard for life The development follows a raid on Favela Cruzeiro in Rio de Janeiro in late May, where nearly two dozen people...

A sharp increase in essential goods in the Central African Republic (CAR) linked to war in Ukraine will likely have a devastating impact on the already dire humanitarian situation there in coming weeks, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday. Some 2.2 million people are already acutely food insecure in the Central African Republic, meaning that the global food, fuel and fertilizer crisis sparked by the Russian invasion of its neighbour on 24 February, will put basic food...

New suspected mass graves have been uncovered in Tarhuna, Libya, a Human Rights Council probe reported on Monday, highlighting continuing extreme rights abuses in the country that have affected children and adults alike. Speaking in Geneva, Mohamed Auajjar, chair of the Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Libya, told journalists that a culture of impunity still prevailed across the war-torn country, representing “a great obstacle” to national reconciliation, truth and justice for the...

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has declared the end of its 14th Ebola outbreak after less than three months, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday. There were four confirmed cases of Ebola and one probable case, all of whom died, the WHO said in a statement. The outbreak was the third in Congo’s north-west Equateur province. In the previous outbreak in Equateur Province that lasted from June to November 2020, there were 130 confirmed cases and 55 deaths. “Thanks...

The island nation of Cabo Verde is facing record levels of food insecurity due to drought, the COVID-19 pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine, affecting some 181,000 people, or 32 per cent of the country, the World Food Programme (WFP) reported on Thursday. Recent hard-won gains in food security and nutrition are at risk, the UN agency said, forcing the government this week to declare a social and economic emergency. Unless urgent action is taken, the crisis will severely disrupt food...