Intervention to the 59th session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights

AFRICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES'RIGHTS

59th ordinary session

Banjul, The Gambia

October 21 -November 4, 2016

Contribution of the World OrganisationAgainst Torture (OMCT)

and the International Federation for HumanRights (FIDH)

In the framework of their joint programme,

The Observatory for the Protection ofHuman Rights Defenders

Madam Chairperson, DistinguishedCommissioners and State Delegates,

FIDH and the World Organisation AgainstTorture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection ofHuman Rights Defenders, thank the African Commission onHuman and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) for this opportunity to raise some of the keyissues with respect to the situation of human rights defenders in Africa.

While States have the duty to protect human rightsdefenders and to ensure that they operate in a safe and enabling environment,attacks, threats, judicial harassment, restrictive laws, smear campaignsagainst the latter continue to perpetuate an environment of hostility for theiractivities.

Throughoutthe African continent, the space for civil society and human rights defendersis shrinking, due to three major challenges tied together. First of all, thelack of alternation of power in some African countries has driven theauthorities to exercise greater control on civil society. In addition, as theAfrican continent has been undergoing 30 elections, including 18 presidentialelections in 21 African countries this year, human rights violations andescalation of violence have been increasing, putting civil societyorganisations at the forefront of repression. In other countries, issuesrelated to economic, social and cultural rights remain another major challenge,fuelling the repression against their defenders.

1. Political pressure and ongoing use of thejudicial arsenal to silence dissenting voices in the framework of electoralcontexts

In aconstantly growing number of African countries, already known for repressingdissenting voices, the criminalisation of human rights defenders in relation totheir peaceful activities, including in the framework of electoral contexts, ishighly concerning.

Our organisations remain particularly worried by thehuman rights situation in Burundi since April 2015, following President PierreNkurunziza’s third term bid. Within the first year of presidency, we estimatethat almost all representatives of human rights organisations have fled thecountry by fear of reprisals. Similarly, no media is allowed to broadcast freeand independent information. Those who remain in Burundi face increasedintimidation, harassment, physical attacks and in the most worrying cases,enforced disappearance.

The Observatory is particularly concerned by theenforced disappearance of Ms. Marie-ClaudetteKwizera, Treasurer of the Iteka League, since December 10, 2015. To date,Burundian authorities have refused to provide any information about her fate orwhereabouts.

Likewise,Mr. Jean Bigirimana, journalist forthe Burundian independent press group Iwacu,who was arrested without a warrant by the National Intelligence Service (NIS)on July 22, 2016, has been missing ever since.

TheObservatory is also extremely concerned by reprisals against human rightsdefenders who cooperate with the international human rights system to denouncerampant violations in Burundi. For instance, in the aftermath of the review bythe United Nations (UN) Committee Against Torture (CAT) of the country’s humanrights crisis, the Government requested to disbar four human rights lawyers whohad participated in the CAT session, at the end of July 2016.

In Angola,although the Observatory welcomes the release and acquittal of Mr. José Marcos Mavungo, who had beenarbitrary detained since March 2015, many of his fellow human rights defendersremain in a precarious situation, constantly exposed to judicial harassment.

Amongstthem, 17 pro-democracy activists jailed for participating to a book club inJune 2015 namely Messrs. HenriqueLuaty Beirão, NunoAlvaro Dala, NelsonDibango Mendes Dos Santos, Alfonso Joao Matias (“M'banza Hamza”), Sedrick de Carvalho, FernandoAntónio Tómas, Hitler Chiconda (“Samussuku”),Italiano Arante Kivuvu,Benedito Jeremias (“Dito Dali”), Albano Evaristo Bingobingo, José GomesHata, Inocêncio De Brito, Manuel Nito Alves and Ms. Rosa Kusso Conde, Ms. LaurindaManuel Gouveia, journalist Mr. Domingos da Cruz as well as Mr. Manuel ChivondeBaptista Nito Alves, havebeen provisionally released on June 29, 2016 but are prevented from leaving thecountry and have to appear before the Luanda Provincial Court every month. In that respect, the Observatorywould like to recall the decision of the UN Working Group on ArbitraryDetention on June 29, 2016, which found that the “these individuals were arrested anddetained because of the exercise of their freedom of assembly, opinion andexpression” in violation of Articles 19 and 20 of the Universal Declaration ofHuman Rights (UDHR) and Articles 19 and 21 of the International Covenant onCivil and Political Rights (ICCPR). It also stated that their right to a fairtrial had not been respected and that their deprivation of liberty wasarbitrary.

In Chad, Mr. MahamatNour Ibedou, President of the Chadian Convention for Human Rights (Convention tchadienne pour lesdroits de l'Homme)and member of the civil society organisations coalition “It’s Enough” (“Ça suffit”), Mr. Kaina Nadjo, Coordinator of the youth movement “Iyina” (“We aretired” in local Arabic), Mr. YounoussMahadjir, Vice-President of the Union of Chadian Trade Unions (Union des syndicats du Tchad - UST) andMs. Céline Narmadji, Spokesperson ofthe civil society movement “Enough is Enough” (“Trop c’est trop”) were sentenced on April 14, 2016 to a suspendedfour years jail term after being detained for several weeks, on grounds ofplanning to organise peaceful demonstrations to protest against Idriss Deby’sbid for re-election for a fifth mandate.

Besides, Dr. AllazamAlbissaty Saleh, Spokesperson a.i. of the “It's Enough” coalition, wasarrested April 4, 2016, and placed in detention at the Am Sinéné prison, onaccusations of “incitement to an unarmed gathering”, “disturbing public order”and “disobeying a lawful order”. He was subsequently sentenced to four months’suspended imprisonment and released.

In addition, Mr. AssingarDobian, Honorary President of the LTDH and FIDH’s representative before theCEMAC, has been the target of several acts of reprisals, including through hisdismissal as head of the administrative and financial department of the Office national du développement rural(ONDR) on June 26, 2016, for publicly calling for the respect of human rightsin Chad.

In the DemocraticRepublic of Congo (DRC), the Observatory welcomes the long-awaitedrelease on August 29, 2016 of human rights defender Christopher Ngoyi Mutamba, President of the NGO CongoCulture and Development Synergy (Synergie Congo culture et développement) and Coordinator of the Platform CivilSociety of Congo, who had been arbitrary detained since January 2015, butdeplores the deterioration of his health status while in detention.

Besides, while two members of the Filimbicitizens’ initiative, which promotes youth participation in electoral anddemocratic process, i.e. Messrs. Yves Makwambala and Fred Bauma,also a member of the LUCHA (Lutte pour lechangement) movement, have been provisionally released on August 29, 2016,after 18 months in detention, charges against them have not been dropped andtheir judicial harassment is likely to resume at any moment. In addition, onSeptember 9, 2016 Mr. Jean de DieuKilima, coordinating member of the collective “Front Citoyen 2016” inTshopo, as well as member of the Filimbi citizens’ initiative, who had beenreleased four days before, was summoned to appear before the Peace Tribunal ofLemba in Kinshasa, on charges of “attempting to incite disobedience” and“troubles to public order”. His lawyers challenged the territorial competenceof the Kinshasa Tribunal, alleging that the facts reproached to Mr. Kilima as wellas his arrest took place in Kinsangani, and not in Kinshasa. As of issuing thiswritten intervention, the proceedings on the question of the territorialcompetence were ongoing.

Over the past months, threats andharassment in the DRC have also hit judicial operators, as in June 2016, Mrs. Chantal Ramazani Wazuri, President ofthe Lubumbashi Peace Tribunal, was forced, upon order of the GeneralAdministrator of the National Intelligence Agency (Agence nationale derenseignement - ANR) and in presence of the President of the LubumbashiAppeal Court as well as a dozen of elements of the Congolese Republican Guard,to sign a ready-made judgement aiming to condemn Mr. Moïse Katumbi Chapwe, former Governorof the Katanga province and candidate to the 2016 presidential election, tothree years in prison with immediate arrest and a fine. After being forced tosign the judgment, Mrs. Wazuri fled the country and wrote an open letter to theCongolese Minister of Justice and Human Rights, to the President of the Republic,and to a number of international organisations, highlighting how she wasthreatened and forced to sign the judgement, and requesting the annulment ofher signature, while describing the interference of top executive authoritiesin the judicial system of the DRC. The Observatory is highly concerned aboutthis interference and pressure exercised on the judiciary in the country, andrecalls that an independent judicial system is crucial to function as asafeguard where the executive power tries to hinder the work of human rightsdefenders.

2. Economic, social and cultural rights defenders particularly atrisk

Throughoutthe African continent, our organisations remain concerned by the scale ofattacks against economic, social and cultural rights defenders.

In Cameroon, nine membersof the Esu Youth Development Association (EYDA), namely Messrs. Abue PhilipKpwe, Divine Biame, Cyprian Azong, Bernard Fuh,Redemption Godlove, Ephraim Kagha Mbong, Emmanuel Wung,Ivo Meh and Williams Meh, are facing increasing judicial harassment on grounds of “depredation byband”, in relation to their opposition to land-grabbing undertaken on the landof the Esu community. If convicted, they face 10 to 20 years in prison. Afterbeing all arrested earlier this year, the first four remain detained to thisday, while proceedings are ongoing before the Mezam High Court in Bamenda. Thelast hearing took place on October 12, 2016, while the next one is scheduledfor October 27, 2016. Besides, HRH Fon Kum Achuo II, chief of the village,is also facing charges for opposing land-grabbing on the community’s land.

TheObservatory is also concerned by the continued judicial harassment against several members of the Malen LandOwners and Users Association (MALOA) in Sierra Leone. For the past threeyears, MALOA has been monitoring and denouncing the negative human rightsimpact of the activities of Socfin Agricultural Company Sierra Leone Ltd (SAC)in Malen's district, in particular acts of land grabbing.In particular, MALOA leaders Mr. SylvesterKebbie and James Blango,together with nine MALOA supporters Messrs. Ibrahim Sengeh, Sumaila Murana, Ishmael Bockarie, AbuMoiwo, Sao Rogers, Vandy Sumaila, Foday Setua, FodayMansaray and Mustapha Sengeh, are still facing judicial harassmentfollowing an alleged shooting incident at the Bamba village in Malen’s districton January 14, 2015. They are being prosecuted on trumped-up charges of“destroying growing plants” and “carrying offensive weapons”, although the twoMALOA leaders have denied their presence on the scene. They are due to appearbefore the Bo Magistrate court on October 28, 2016.

In Mauritania,latest developments in the continued judicial harassment of members of theabolitionist movement IRA (Initiative pour la résurgence du mouvementabolitionniste) have seen the arrest and detention throughout the summer ofMessrs. Moussa Biram, Vice Presidentof Sbeka’s office, Adballahi Abou Diop,member of Riadh’s office, Amadou TidjaneDiop, IRA Vice-President, AdballahiMatallah Seck, Presidentof Sebkha’s office, Hamady Lehbouss, adviser to the President andNational Communication Officer, Balla Touré, National Bureau ExternalRelations Officer, Ousmane Anne,President of Tevragh Zeina’s office, Jemal Samba Beylil, member ofRiadh’s office, Mohamed Daty, Secretary General of Nouakchott’scoordination, Ahmed Mohamed Jarroullah, Ousmane Lo, both member of the Executive Bureau, aswell as Khatri Rahel Mbareck, National Peace Coordinator, and AhmedHamdy Hamar Vall, Treasurer. As of October 10, 2016, all were detained inZouérat, where they were waiting for their appeal trial hearing, after whichthey are expected to be transferred to Bir-Moghrein prison, in the Northernpart of the country. This transfer is a particularly concerning attempt byMauritanian authorities to prevent the detainees from accessing their familiesand lawyers. The prison is located in a desert and difficult of access region,where terrorist groups reportedly operate. The Bir-Moghrein prison is also aparticularly rough penitentiary centre, which raises grave concerns for thehealth of the detainees, who already suffer medical condition.

In addition, another IRA member Mr. Yacoub Inalla, has been recentlyarrested, detained and released for holding a speech in which he called for therespect of fundamental freedoms. He is now facing trial for “incitingviolence”, “violence towards police officers”, “rebellion”, “belonging to anunregistered organisation” and “disturbing public order and prayer”.

3. Restrictions to freedom ofassociation and assembly, and reprisals against freedom of expression defender

The worldwide trend undertaken by someStates to restrict freedom of association and hinder the work of human rightsdefenders by enacting an arsenal of restrictive laws has been particularlyspreading across Africa, where authorities increasingly aim to control,paralyse or even eradicate independent civil society, in blatantbreach of basic human rights principles.

The mostrecent illustration of this trend of repression occurred over the past few daysin Burundi, as on October 24, 2016, the Ministry of Interior andPatriotic Training published an order to suspend provisionally a number ofnon-profit associations, such as SOS-Torture/Burundi, the LigueBurundaise des Droits de l’Homme « ITEKA », the Coalitionde la Société Civile pour le Monitoring Electorale (COSOME), the CoalitionBurundaise pour la CPI (CB-CPI) et the Union Burundaise desJournalistes (UBJ). A week earlier, on October 19, 2016, the sameMinistry had passed a similar order to permanently remove 5 other NGOs from theMinistry's List of Associations operating in Burundi, i.e. The Forum pourle renforcement de la société civile (FORSC) the Forum pour laconscience et le développement (FOCODE), the Action chrétiennepour l'abolition de la torture (ACAT), l'Association burundaisepour la protection des droits humains et des personnes détenues(APRODH) and the Réseau des citoyens probes (RCP). These twoorders are the latest illustrations of a long series of violations of freedomof expression and association targeting Burundian defenders, and stem from arepressive campaign conducted relentlessly by the Burundian government againstits civil society for a year and a half now.

In Ethiopia,where independent human rights work in the country remains almost impossible,the repression targeting human rights defenders has increased over the pastmonths. On August 14, 2016, Ethiopian authorities arrested Mr. Tesfa Burayu, Chairperson of the WestEthiopian Regional Executive Committee of the Human Rights Council (HRCO), athis home in Nekemte, Oromia. Mr. Burayu, who had been monitoring the Oromiaprotests aiming to resist peacefully over a plan to expand the boundaries ofthe city of Addis Ababa into the Oromia region, was denied access to his familyand his lawyer, and released on August 17 without charge. Two days earlier, onAugust 12, Mr. Abebe Wakene, also amember of HRCO, was arrested and taken to the Diga district police station inOromia. He was eventually released on a bail of 5,000 Birr on August 23, 2016.In addition, on August 13, Mr. TesfayeTakele, human rights monitor in the Amhara region, was arrested in theNorth Wollo zone, before being released shortly after due to his very badhealth condition. On July 8, Mr. BultiTesema - another active member of HRCO - was arrested in Nejo, Oromia. Hehad been working with HRCO to monitor and document the violent repression ofthe protests in Oromia. His whereabouts remained unknown for several weeksafter his arrest, until it was revealed that he had been transferred to thecapital’s Kilinto prison, and charged with terrorist offences. To date, heremains detained and has not been given access to either his family or hislawyer.

In Rwanda,independent civil society organisations have become extremely weak as a resultof years of State intimidation and infiltration. On May 28, 2016, Mr. EpimackKwokwo, former Executive Secretaryof the Ligue des droits de la personne dans la région des Grands Lacs(LDGL), subsequently appointed to a position of programme manager within LGDLas part of a “mediation” that followed the takeover of the organisation bymembers closed to the Rwandan authorities, was summoned before the immigrationoffice in Kigali and informed of his status of persona non grata inRwanda and of his immediate deportation to the DRC without being able to warnhis family or collect his personal belongings.

In Sudan, the Observatory denounces thecontinued judicial harassment against five human rights defenders working atthe Centre for Training and Human Development in Sudan (TRACKs), namelyMr. Al Hassan Kheiry, a computer technician, Ms. Arwa Elrabie,the Administration Manager, Ms. Imani-Leyla Raye, a student volunteer,Mr. Khalafalla Al-Afif Mukhtar, the Director, and Mr. MidhatA Hamdan, a trainer, as well as against the Director of Zarqa Organisationfor Rural Development (ZORD), Mr. Mustafa Adam, who had deliveredtraining for TRACKs. The last three remain in arbitrary detention. All arebeing tried on trumped-up charges including “undermining the constitutionalsystem”, “waging war against the State”, “espionage” and “belonging to acriminal and terrorist organisation”. Their harassment exposes the veryprecarious situation in which the Sudanese civil society is left, when theirwork is more crucial than ever.

The Observatory also deplores the continued acts ofharassment, both physical and judicial, against LGBTI rights defenders andtheir community in Uganda. On August 4, 2016, at 11:30 pm, the police raided at anevent organised at the occasion of Ugandan LGBTI Pride celebrations inKampala’s Venom nightclub. Ms. Clare Byarugaba, Equality &Non-Discrimination Coordinator at Chapter Four Uganda, and two leaders of theSexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), Messrs. Pepe Julian Onziema and FranckMugisha, were arrested together with other activists, and were questionedat the police station for three hours. They were all released without chargesbut reported that during their detention, they were slapped and pushed aroundby officers. The other 200 people attending the pride show were locked up inthe building for two hours and humiliated. The police, who sexually assaultedseveral of them by touching parts of their body to “confirm their identity”,particularly harassed Transgender women.

Besides, on May 22, 2016, four unknownassailants scaled the fence of the premises of the Human Rights Awareness andPromotion Forum (HRAPF), and suffocated the security guard to death. Afterbreaking into the premises, the assailants ransacked the offices of HRAPFExecutive Director, Mr. Adrian Jjuuko, and of the Deputy ExecutiveDirector, Mr. Edward Mwebaza, and took a number of documents and files,including copies of the memorandum of association, while leaving other valuableitems such as laptops and other electronic material on the spot. While theKampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson subsequently announced that policeinvestigators had been sent to the crime scene, no information could be obtained todate regarding the status of the investigations.

In recent months, civil society in Egypthas also faced an unprecedented wave of attacks by the authorities. Many NGO workers have been detained and ill-treated,charged with offences under the draconian counter-terrorism law, or subject toa judicial request to ban them from travel and freeze their assets. Scores of human rights organisations anddefenders have been enlisted in the case known as the “foreign funding case No.173”, a five-year-old investigation into the funding andregistration of independent human rights groups. In this context, on September17, 2016, the Cairo Criminal Court ordered the freezing of the assets ofMessrs. Gamal Eid, Director of the Arabic Network for Human RightsInformation (ANHRI), Hossam Bahgat, founder of the Egyptian Initiativefor Personal Rights (EIPR), Abdel Hafiz Tayel, Executive Director of theCenter for the Right to Education (CRE), Moustafa El Hassan, Director ofthe Hisham Mubarak Law Center (HMLC), and Bahey Eldin Hassan, Director ofthe Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), as well as those of the CRE, the CIHRS and the HMLC.

Alongside the judicial harassment of human rightsdefenders, authorities are now trying to pass a new NGO law, which would leadto the eradication of existing human rights groups and prevent the setting-upof new ones. A handful of the most worrying provisions of this bill includegiving the Ministry of Social Solidarity authority to approve or reject NGOs’licensing, establishing a security/governmental committee called the“Coordinating Committee”, which would include General Intelligence Services(GIS) and representatives of the Interior Ministry, to approve foreign fundingof Egyptian NGOs, to give international NGOs licenses to work and to approvethe opening by Egyptian NGOs of new branches nationally and abroad. TheObservatory strongly condemns the ongoing attempts of Egyptian authorities tohinder and paralyse the work of civil society.

Last but notleast, in Tunisia, on August 3 at around 1am, blogger Lina Ben Mhenni, who has been activesince the 2011 revolution, including by documenting the protests and byreporting them online, has been arrested together with a member of the “ManichMsamab” movement, to which she is also part, while they were strolling throughdowntown Tunis. A police agent stopped them and required to search their bags.They were carrying posters and glue from the “Manich Msamah” campaign.Subsequently, they were arrested and taken to Bab Bhar police station forallegedly putting up posters and tagged a wall, although the tag was alreadythere and that they were not tagging or putting up posters at the time of theirarrest. In addition, on September 19, 2016 Ms. Lina Ben Mhenni appeared beforethe Médenine Investigating Judge on charges of “insulting a police officer” asa defendant, although she had initiated the complaint against the official. Thefacts date back to August 2014, when Ms. Ben Mhenni was insulted and aggressedby security agents in Djerba's capital Houmet Souk under the pretext that hercar was not rightly parked. Her parents and her bodyguard (Ms. Lina BenMhenni's name features on a list of persons at risk) were alsoaggressed in the course of that evening. As of October 2016, the case remainedpending.

4. Impunityover killings and killing attempts targeting human rights defenders

Impunity forkillings and killing attempts targeting human rights defenders is anotherworrying trend that maintains civil society in Africa in a climate of fear andencourages perpetrators to commit further acts of violence against human rightsactivists.

In Kenya,on, July 1, 2016, the bodies of human rights lawyer Mr. Willie Kimani,his client Mr. Josephat Mwenda and their taxi driver were recovered from theOl-Donyo Sabuk River in Machakos Country. They had been missing since June 23,2016, at around 12 pm, as they were traveling home after filing a complaintagainst a police officer in a corruption case. The post-mortem report intotheir deaths showed that they were brutally beaten and tortured before beingkilled. On July 18, 2016, four officers, Messrs. Frederick Leliman, LeonardMwangi, Stephen Chebulet and Ms. Sylvia Wanjiku, denied the charges when theyappeared in front of High Court Judge Jessie Lessit, who remanded them incustody pending investigation. Their bail application is scheduled to be heardon October 31, 2016.

In Lesotho,on July 9, 2016, Mr. Lloyd Mutungamiri, a Zimbabwean journalist andEditor of the Lesotho Times, was shot four times by unknown gunmen uponarrival to his home at Ha Thamae, in Maseru. At the end of June, he hadpublished an article about alleged human rights violations committed byLieutenant General Tlali Kamoli, the current commander of the Lesotho DefenceForce (LDF).

5. Recommendations:

1) In view of the above-mentionedelements, the Observatory reminds States Parties of their obligation to complywith all the provisions of the African Charter, in particular those relating tothe protection of human rights defenders. In that regard, States shouldimmediately and unconditionally:

- Implement all the provisions of the 1998United Nations (UN) Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, especially byguaranteeing in all circumstances their physical and psychological integrityand their capacity to operate in a safe and enabling environment;

- Release all defenders who arearbitrarily detained for their activities of promotion and protection of humanrights and fundamental freedoms, in particular freedoms of expression, peacefulassembly and association;

- Develop differentiated measures for theprotection of the most vulnerable groups of human rights defenders such as landand environmental rights defenders, defenders working in rural areas, womanhuman rights defenders or defenders working on LGBTI issues;

- Put an end to all acts of harassment -including at the judicial level - against human rights defenders;

- Order immediate, thorough, transparentinvestigations into allegations of violations of the rights of human rightsdefenders, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them before anindependent tribunal, and apply them the sanctions provided by the law;

- Refrain from adopting any provisionsthat do not comply with international and African standards with respect to theexercise of the right to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly andassociation, and abrogate or revise any such provisions that may be in force;

- Send a standing invitation to the UN andACHPR’s Special Rapporteurs on Human Rights Defenders and facilitate theircountry visits.

2) TheObservatory also calls upon the ACHPR to:

- Highlightthe legitimate work carried out by human rights defenders, and the need fortheir protection from harassment and attacks;

- Systematically raise the question of the situation of human rightsdefenders as well as denounce and condemn all human rights violations they faceduring the examination of the periodic reports of States parties to the ACHPR,and on the occasion of all visits conducted in a State party;

- Denouncethe impunity that prevails with regard to these violations, and urge States tohold all those responsible to account;

- Increase its capacities to respond to urgent situations faced by humanrights defenders;

- Ensure the effective implementation of its resolutions, concludingobservations and decisions on communications in order that everyone, includinghuman rights defenders, be able to effectively enjoy all the rights andfreedoms recognised by the ACHPR, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights andthe UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders;

- Continue to strengthen the collaboration with the UN Special Rapporteuron the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, as well as with the other regionalmechanisms dedicated to the protection of human rights defenders.