Intervention à la 62ème session de la Commission Africaine des Droits de l'Homme et des Peuples

AFRICAN COMMISSION ON HUMANAND PEOPLES' RIGHTS

62nd Ordinary Session

Nouakchott, Mauritania

April 25 – May 9, 2018

Contribution of the WorldOrganisation Against Torture (OMCT)

and FIDH (the International Federation for Human Rights)

In the framework of theirpartnership,

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders

Madame Chairperson, Distinguished Commissioners andState Delegates,

TheWorld Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and FIDH, under the framework of theObservatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory),thank the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) for thisopportunity to raise some of the key issues with respect to the situation ofhuman rights defenders in Africa.

WhileStates have the duty to protect human rights defenders and to ensure that theyoperate in a safe and enabling environment, attacks, threats, judicialharassment, restrictive laws, smear campaigns against them continue toperpetuate an environment of hostility towards their activities.

1. Pursuitof criminalisation, threats and violence to silence human rights defendersdenouncing human rights violations

Inseveral countries, we are concerned that human rights defenders arecriminalised in relation to their legitimate human rights activities recognisedand protected under regional and international human rights instruments,particularly for denouncing human rights violations and corruption perpetratedby State authorities.

In Angola, despite newPresident Joao Lourenço’s promises to fight corruption and to open thedemocratic space, award-winning investigative journalist, Mr. Rafael Marques de Morais continues tobe judicially harassed for his human rights activities. On March 19, 2018, Mr.Rafael Marques de Morais appeared before the Criminal Court of the Province ofLuanda facing charges of “outrage towards a sovereign body” and “insult towardspublic authority”. If convicted, he faces up to four years and six months inprison. These charges come in retaliation to an article published on theanti-corruption website Maka Angolain November 2006, exposing the illegality of Angola’s former Attorney General,Mr. João Maria Moreira de Sousa’s activities as a property and real estatedeveloper in addition to his legal duties. The article also reported that thePresident, Mr. José Eduardo dos Santos, supported some of his subordinates whohad been accused of corruption.

InCongo– Brazzaville, Mr. Noël Mienanzambi-Boyi, President of the Association forthe culture of peace and non-violence in Congo – Brazzaville has been detained since January 21, 2017, without access to his lawyerfor his role in establishing mediations between the authorities in Brazzavilleand rebel leader Bintsamou Frederic. After publicly denouncing ongoingviolations he observed during the process, he was arrested, detained without awarrant and charged with “undermining the security of the state”.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), on January 9, 2018, Mr.Paul Nsapu, President of the Leagueof Electors (LE), and FIDH Deputy Secretary General, received death threatsfollowing the publication of a report on December 20, 2017, together with FIDH,entitled “Slaughter in Kasai: Crimesagainst humanity perpetrated to create chaos”, which gathers testimoniesfrom Congolese refugees who had fled slaughters perpetrated in the Kamoniaterritory, Kasai province. The harrowing testimonies published reveal the scaleand seriousness of the crimes committed against the civilian population by theCongolese defense and security forces and their auxiliaries.

Most recently, on April 2, 2018, Mr. Eliezer Ntambwe Mposi, journalist and author of the online series Tokomi Wapo (“Where are we at?”) was arrested from his office by twoofficers on charges of "defamation", "extortion throughblackmail" and "damaging allegations". These charges stem from acomplaint filed by the Governor of Kasai Oriental, Alphonse Ngoyi Kasanji,after Mr. Eliezer Ntambwe reported on a case of diamond extortion which has ledto the assassination of the diamond holder.

In Egypt, the Observatory remains concerned regarding thearbitrary detention and judicial harassment of Mr. Omar Mohamed Ali, an independent journalist and human rightsdefender. Mr. Omar Mohamed Ali was arrested on June 1, 2015, in front of theNile City boat in Zamalek, Cairo by three men in civil clothing, and was heldincommunicado and tortured for 16 days in the State security building ofLazoughly and in a military intelligence building in Cairo. On May 29, 2016,Mr. Omar Mohamed Ali was sentenced to 25 years in prison by the West CairoMilitary Court following an unfair trial based on the confessions obtainedunder torture. His sentenced was confirmed by the Military Court of Appeals onMarch 26, 2018. In November 2017, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD)published an opinion in which it considered Mr. Omar Mohamed Ali’s detention tobe arbitrary and urging his immediate release and his right to compensation.

In Kenya, the Observatory fears thatthe recent demolition of the Coalition for Grassroots Human Rights Defenders(CGHRD)’s office on March 27, 2018 comes in reprisal against the organisation’speaceful and legitimate human rights activities, in particular againstland-grabbing and the arbitrary detention of local residents. Over the pastyears, the Observatory has documented the shrinking space and the climate ofhostility in which civil society organisations operate in Kenya. This happensunder the same administration that has been undermining, for more than fouryears since its signing into law on January 14, 2013, the commencement of thePublic Benefit Organisation (PBO) Act 2013, a law seeking to provide anenabling environment for NGOs.

Mr. Zine ElAbidine Erradi, member of the Associationmarocaine des droits humains (AMDH), a Moroccan national who took refuge inFrance in 2015, was arrested upon his return to Morocco on April 4, 2018.He is now detained at the Ait Melloul - Agadir prison where he is serving asentence handed down in absentia in2016, on charges of “violent and unauthorized protest” and “civildisobedience”. These charges stem from his participation to a 2014 protest inSidi Ifni when a popular upraise demanded the police to be held accountable forthe murder of a youth.

Furthermore, the Observatory has documented theincreasingly shrinking space in which civil society organisations are operatingin the country. In particular, the Observatory has documented three techniquesused by the Moroccan authorities to hinder their activities. Indeed, they faceparticular hurdles during their registration process, in their access tofunding, as well as when implementing their peaceful and legitimate humanrights activities. In early 2017, AMDH reported that 125 of its meetings,conferences and events had been banned by the authorities since 2014.Particularly targeted by the authorities, AMDH is now facing a procedure aimedat reversing its recognition as a public utility organisation. This comes inretaliation to AMDH’s support to popular movements in the Rif region, itsregular denunciation of torture cases and its support to defendants in theGdeim Izik trial, targeting human rights defenders in Western Sahara.

Inaddition, the Observatory reiterates its concerns regarding the ongoingjudicial harassment under charges of “threats to State security” of Messrs. Maâti Monjib, historian, journalist andPresident of the association “Freedom Now” for freedom of expression inMorocco, Hisham Almiraat, Presidentof the Association des droits numériques(ADN), Hicham Mansouri, ProjectOfficer at the Association marocaine pourle journalisme d’investigation (AMJI), MohamedEssabr, President of the Associationmarocaine d’éducation de la jeunesse (AMEJ), Abdessamad Ait Aicha, former training project Coordinator of theCentre Ibn Rochd, journalist and AMJI member. Furthermore, Mr. Rachid Tarik and Ms. Maria Moukrim, respectively Presidentand former President of the AMJI are accused of receiving foreign fundingwithout notifying the authorities. Hearings in the case against the seven humanrights defenders, whichusually last for a couple of minutes, have been postponed over 10 times and thenext one is scheduled on June 27, 2018. Chargesagainst them are intended to silence and discredit their work for the promotionof freedom of expression and information.

InSudan,following nation-wide demonstrations that began on January 6,2018 and were set off by the announcement of Sudan’s 2018 budget and thelifting of subsidies and measures, effectively tripling Sudan’s U.S. dollarexchange rate and increasing the price of basic commodities, Sudaneseauthorities have carried out a campaign of massive arrests and detentions,including political party leaders, journalists, students, human rightsdefenders and other individuals for their involvement in the protests. On April10, 2018, Mr. Osman Salih,lawyer, Mr. Salih Mahmoud Osman,Vice-Chairperson of the Darfur Bar Association and Mr. Amjed Fareed, blogger and human rights defender were released afternearly 3 months of arbitrary detention. Arrested in the same context, humanrights defenders, Mr. Mohamed AbdallahAldouma, Mr. Salih Mahmoud Osman,Ms. Rawa Jaafar Bakhit, Mr. Ahmed Jadeen, Mr. Mohammed Abdulmonim, Ms. NahidJabrallah, Ms. Amel Habani andMs. Hanan Hassan Khalifa had alsobeen detained by Sudanese authorities. Acts of ill-treatment against Ms. AmelHabani have been reported as she was allegedly beaten with an electric rodduring interrogation.

In Uganda, on February 9, 2018, nineunidentified individuals attempted to break-in into the Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum (HRAPF)’s premises, cutpower to the building, disabled parts of the security system and assaulted twosecurity guards on duty, who both sustained severe injuries, including a skullfracture to one of them. It is the second time in less than two years thatHRAPF’s premises are suffering such gruesome attack, yet to date no effectivepolice investigation lead to those responsible being brought before a court ofjustice.

The Observatory welcomes developments in two separate cases concerninghuman rights defenders in Equatorial Guinea and in Zimbabwe.On March 7, 2018 a court in Equatorial Guinea released Mr. Ramón Esono Ebalé, a cartoonistwhose work is often critical of the government’s policies, after nearly sixmonths of arbitrary detention. Mr. Esono Ebalé had been detained on trumped-up accusationsof “engaging in counterfeit”. During the trial, the police officer who hadaccused him of counterfeiting admitted having made up the accusation followingorders from his superiors. In Zimbabwe, on November 29,2017, Pastor Evan Mawarire, a prominent anti-corruption activistwho led last year’s #ThisFlag protests, was acquitted of charges of “incitingpublic violence” and “attempting to overthrow a constitutional government”which were linked to his role in the anti-government and anti-corruptiondemonstrations.

2. Reprisals against human rightsdefenders and civil society organisations under the premise of national security,and against human rights defenders promoting democracy and electoral rights

Asignificant number of the harassment and attacks documented by the Observatoryoccurred in increasingly securitized states, or against defenders promotingdemocracy or electoral rights.

InBurundi,since April 2015, following President Pierre Nkurunziza’s third term bid, humanrights defenders continue to face increased intimidation, harassment, physicalattacks and in the most worrying cases, enforced disappearance. Many have hadto flee the country and continue to face intimidation in their country ofrelocation.

TheObservatory is particularly concerned by the fate of Mr. Germain Rukiki, Associationdes juristes catholiques du Burundi (AJCB) staff member, President ofNjabutsa Tujane, a community-based organisation fighting against poverty andhunger, and former Action des chrétienspour l’abolition de la torture (ACAT-Burundi) staff member, who has beenarbitrarily detained since July 13, 2017. Since his arrest, severalinfringements to his right to a fair trial have been documented, including theaddition of three counts of charges without procedural authority in the midstof his trial. Mr. Rukiki is accused of “undermining State security”,“rebellion”, “assassination of military and police personnel, and civilians”,“degrading public and private premises” and “attempt to change thedemocratically elected regime” for his cooperation with ACAT-Burundi. Duringthe last hearing of his trial, on April 3, 2018, the Public prosecutorrequested a life imprisonment sentence against Mr. Germain Rukuki. The tribunalis expected to render its decision in early May.

TheObservatory remains particularly concerned as on March 8, 2018,the Muramvya court sentenced in absentiaMessrs. Aimé Constant Gatore, Marius Nizigama and Emmanuel Nshimirimana, spokespersons ofthe organisation Parole et Actions pourle Réveil des Consciences et l'Évolution des Mentalités (Parcem) to 10years in prison and a 200,000 Burundian francs fine (about 90 euros) each for"undermining state security". The three human rights defenders havebeen arbitrarily detained since their arrest on June 13, 2017 while they wereorganising a conference on the publication of a report on the detentionconditions in Muramvya.

Furthermore Mr. Nestor Nibitanga,former representative of the AssociationBurundaise pour la Protection des Droits Humains et des Personnes Détenues(APRODH) in Central-Eastern Burundi was arrested on November 21,2017, after his home was surrounded by police and searched without a warrant.The reason for his arrest was not specified to Mr. Nestor Nibitanga at thetime. On January 3, 2018 he was formally charged with "undermining statesecurity". He remains arbitrarily detained at theRumonge prison.

The Observatory strongly condemns the context of widespread repressiontargeting human rights defenders who are facing arbitrary detentions andjudicial harassment, particularly in retaliation to their peaceful andlegitimate human rights work with Burundian human rights organisations, nowbanned by the government. Furthermore, the Observatory remainsparticularly concerned about the fate of Ms. Marie Claudette Kwizera, Treasurer of the Ligue Burundaise des Droits de l’Homme ITEKA, who was forciblydisappeared on December 10, 2015. To date, Burundian authorities have refusedto provide any information about her fate or whereabouts. Similarly, Mr. Jean Bigirimana,a journalist who worked for IWACU,one of the few independent media still active in Burundi, remains missing sincehe was abducted by members of the national intelligence services (SNR) on July22, 2016.

InCameroon,the endless judicial harassment of six members of the organisation Dynamique Citoyenne, namely Mr. Jean Marc Bikoko, Ms. Bénédicte Jessie Bikoko,Ms. Agnès Adélaïde Metougou, Mr. Yves Léonardo NdjallaEpangue, Mr. SévérinLe Juste Bikoko, and Mr. François Fogno Fotso which started in 2015, continues. They are facing charges of "illegal demonstration and rebellion" after taking part in a peaceful meeting on democracy and electoralrights on the international day of democracy. After eighteen hearings, theirtrial has been postponed to June 27, 2018.

Furthermore, Mr. Mancho Bibixy’strial is ongoing before the Military Tribunal in Yaoundé, where he is facingcharges of “secession”, “terrorism”, “rebellion”, “inciting civil war”,“spreading false information through social media”, “attempting to change theconstitutional regime”, “outrage to a public body” and “failure to hold his IDcard” under the 2014 terrorism law and which carry the death penalty. Since thebeginning of his trial on February 1, 2017, hearings have been postponed morethan fourteen times, for different reasons. Mr. Mancho Bibixy had been arrestedon January 19, 2017, while at a friend’s house in connection with theAngolophone crisis, by armed soldiers who violently broke into and shot at thehouse, and beat him. He is currently detained at the Kondengui central prison,a maximum-security prison in Yaoundé, where he does not have regular access tohis family. He is currently sharing an overcrowded cell with fifteen otherinmates with poor access to hygiene facilities, and his health condition hasbeen deteriorating.

Since 2017, the Observatory has documented a quasi-systemic pattern ofarrest, arbitrary detention, and judicial harassment by authorities in the DemocraticRepublic of Congo (DRC) against human rights defenders and pro-democracymovements including, the Lutte pour lechangement (LUCHA), Filimbi, Compte àRebours, Comité Laïc de Coordination (CLC), and Société Civile du Congo (SOCICO), who support the implementation ofthe 2016 New Year’s Eve political agreement.

Messrs. Timothée Mbuya,lawyer, Justicia Asbl President and member of the NGO Coalition for the respectof the Constitution, Jean-PierreTshibitshabu, SOCICO member and journalist on Kasumbalesa radio-television, JeanMulenda, LUCHA member, Eric OmariOmba and Patrick Mbuya Kwecha,members of the Bomoko Foundation served sentences of six months in prison oncharges of “inciting civil disobedience”. Mr. Timothée Mbuya has also beendisbarred for 6 years.

Many human rights defenders and pro-democracy activists are being heldfor weeks or months in secret detention, without charge and without access tofamilies or lawyers. Some have reported acts of mistreatment and torture, andsome are suffering serious health complications. Many are put on trial ontrumped-up charges. Amongst them, Mr. CarboneBeni Wa Beya, Filimbi’s national director of operations, Mr. Mino Bompomi, coordinator of Filimbi’s Kinshasabranch and Messrs. Grâce Tshiuza, Cédric Kalonji and Palmer Kabeya, members of Filimbi in Kinshasa have been arbitrarilydetained for over 4 months and facing charges of “undermining state security”following their participation in the organization of a peaceful demonstrationon December 31, 2017. They do not have access to their lawyers.

Arrested in the same context and released on January 18, 2018, LUCHAmembers Messrs. Jedidia Mabele, Zacharie Kingombe, and Andy Djuma, are still facing charges of“inciting rebellion”. On April 13, 2018, the prosecutor requested a three-yearimprisonment sentence against them.

The harassment and smear campaign targeting members of the Comité Laïc de Coordination (CLC),including Prof. Thierry Nlandu,Prof. Isidore Ndawel, Prof. Justin Okana, Prof. Gerturde Ekombe, Mrs. Leonnie Kandolo, Messrs. Jonas Tshiombela, Franklin Mbokolo and Brother Julien Lukengu is another illustrationof the systematic repression targeting human rights defenders committed to therespect of civil and political rights as well as the right to peacefulassembly, in the DRC. In January 2018, the General Prosecutor of Gombe hasissued an arrest warrant against the aforementioned human rights defenders,accusing them of organizing peaceful protests banned by the authorities, anddemanding presidential, parliamentary, and provincial elections to be held beforethe end of 2017.

In particular, the Observatory condemns in the strongest terms theassassination of Mr. Rossy ThsimangaMukendi, founder of the MouvementCitoyen Collectif 2016 and CLC board member as he was taking part in apeaceful protest on February 25, 2018. Several witnesses of his assassinationhave since received death threats. Those threatened include his brother, Mr. Arsene Tshimanga, and Cocorico DRCmembers Messrs. Bajik Mpoyi and Timplard Mandianga. All three arecurrently living in hiding out of the fear of being arrested.

InNiger,the Observatory is concerned about the arrest, arbitrary detention and judicialharassment of Mr. Ali Idrissa,national coordinator of the Réseau desorganisations pour la transparence et l'analyse budgétaire (ROTAB) and of Publiez ce que vous payez-Niger (PCQVP),Mr. Moussa Tchangari, SecretaryGeneral of Alternative espaces citoyens(AEC), Mr. Nouhou Mahamadou Arzika,chairman of the Mouvement patriotiquepour une citoyenneté responsable (MPCR) and Mr. Lirwana Abdourahmane, lawyer and MPCR member. On March 25, 2018, theywere arrested at their respective workplaces without a warrant, as a nationalaction day to protest the 2018 finance bill was organised by a number of civilsociety organisations. Local authorities in Niamey had prohibited the protestdue to “recent terror attacks” in other parts of the country. On March 27,2018, they were charged with "organizing and participating in anunauthorized demonstration" and "destruction of property".

InUganda,the premises of ActionAid Uganda (AAU) and Great Lakes Institute for StrategicStudies (GLISS) in Kampala as well as the house of GLISS Executive Director,Mr. Godbar Tumushabe have beenraided by the police on September 20, 2017, in retaliation to their humanrights activities and in particular their criticism against the constitutionalamendment to lift presidential age limit to allow President Yoweri Museveni,73, to run for another term in 2021.

3. Economic,land and environmental rights defenders particularly at risk

Throughoutthe African continent, our organisations remain concerned by the gravity ofattacks against land and environmental rights defenders.

InCameroon,on February 23, 2018, the trial against Mr. Musa Usman Ndamba, National Vice President ofthe Mbororo Social and Cultural Development Association (MBOSCUDA),was resumed for the 57th time since its opening in May 2013. The plaintiff Mr. Baba Ahmadou Danpullo, a billionairebusinessman, cattle rancher, tea plantation owner and a member of the CentralCommittee of the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) party, wasnot present at the hearing and was represented by Mr. Sama Francis Asanga, asenior official of the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDF). Mr. Ndamba hasbeen accused of, “being a party in a judicial proceeding on oath and makingfalse declarations”, “making a false report against Baba Ahmadou Danpulloliable to lead to his prosecution” and “injuring the reputation of Baba AhmadouDanpullo by imputation of unprovable facts”. These offenses are punishable byup to three years of prison and a fine. Mr. Ndamba’s lawyers have reportedseveral irregularities in the proceedings. These acts of harassment haveincreased after MBOSCUDA and its members submitted in early May 2013 a reportin the framework of the United Nations Human Rights Council Universal PeriodicReview (UPR) of Cameroon in Geneva, outlining the various obstacles faced bythe Mbororo community.

Additionally, several members of the Organic Farming for Gorillas (OFFGO), a group of farmers founded inSeptember 2015 to promote organic farming, environmental protection, opposingland grabbing and working for the protection of the cross-river gorilla inMbengwi, in the North-West Region of Cameroon are still subjected to acts ofjudicial harassment and threats. Since April 13, 2018, while the NationalCommission on Human Rights and Freedoms (NCHRF) is meant to publish a reportfollowing investigations carried out into the abuses and judicial harassmenttargeting OFFGO members, several OFFGO members and their lawyer receivedrenewed death threats.

InEgypt,Messrs. Mohamed Azmy, Maysara Abdoun,Ms. Seham Osman and 29 Nubian rightsdefenders were arrested and detained throughout September and November 2017,during peaceful demonstrations defending the constitutional right to return ofNubians to their ancestral lands, from where they were evicted in the 1960s andprotesting against the death in custody of Mr. Gamal Sorour, French-Egyptian resident and prominent Nubian humanrights defender. The 32 Nubian activists have appeared before Aswan StateSecurity Emergency Court under charges of “participating in an unauthorisedprotest”, “inciting protests” and “disrupting public order” on the basis of theProtest Law No. 107 of 2013. If convicted under these charges, they could faceup to five years in prison and fines of 100,000 EGP (approx. 4,734 EUR), withno possibility to appeal.

InSouthAfrica, Mr. Sibonelo PatrickMpeku, leader of ESCR-Net member Abahlali baseMjondolo, was reportedlykilled on November 19, 2017 in Sisonke Village, Lamontville, municipality ofeThekwini, province of KwaZulu-Natal. To date, no arrests havetaken place with respect to Mr. Mpeku’s murder. His murder is the mostrecent in a wider trend of ongoing threats and attacks perpetrated againstcommunity leaders in the informal settlements in and around Durban, in themunicipality of eThekwini. With particular concern at the apparent impunityfollowing these acts, various threats leveled against the human rights defenderhad been reported to the area councilor, the wardcommittee, the local police and offices of the governing political party, butno notable response by local authorities or the media was received.

InSudan,the Observatory is concerned about the arbitrary detention of humanrights defenders, Messrs. Hashim AliAhmed and Osman Albagir Osman, two community leadersfrom Port Sudan, Red Sea state. On December 11, 2017, theywere summoned to National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) officesafter leading a peaceful protest of the Bishareen tribe members againstactivities of the Sudanese mining company “Abor Shirish” contracted by thegovernment to search for gold in a number of archaeological sites in Halayiblocality, Red Sea state. OnDecember 17, 2017, the two leaders were intercepted bythe NISS and arrested while they were travelling from Port Sudan to Halayib locality. The community leaders were then taken to theNISS offices in Port Sudan where they remained in detention until they weretransferred to Khartoum on December 29, 2017. On March 6, 2018, the two leaderswere released without charges.

4.Recommendations:

1)In view of the above-mentioned elements, the Observatory reminds States Partiesof their obligation to comply with all the provisions of the African Charter,in particular those relating to the protection of human rights defenders. Inthat regard, States should immediately and unconditionally:

- Implement all the provisions of the 1998 UnitedNations (UN) Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, especially by guaranteeingin all circumstances their physical and psychological integrity and theircapacity to operate in a safe and enabling environment;

- Release all defenders who are arbitrarily detainedfor their activities of promotion and protection of human rights andfundamental freedoms, in particular freedoms of expression, peaceful assemblyand association;

- Ensure that the application of counter-terrorism andnational security legislation is consistent with international human rightsstandards and is not used against human rights defenders in retaliation totheir peaceful and legitimate human rights activities.

- Develop differentiated measures for the protectionof the most vulnerable groups of human rights defenders such as land andenvironmental rights defenders, defenders working in rural areas, woman humanrights defenders or defenders working on LGBTI issues;

- Put an end to all acts of harassment - including atthe 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 provisions that do notcomply with international and African standards with respect to the exercise ofthe right to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, andabrogate or revise any such provisions that may be in force;

- Send a standing invitation to the UN and ACHPR’sSpecial Rapporteurs on Human Rights Defenders and facilitate t