Amnesty report details rights violations across sub-Saharan Africa

Amnesty report details rights violations across sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa has been subject to grave human rights violations in multiple nations, according to a new State of the World’s Human Rights report released by Amnesty International on Tuesday. The report authors say it highlights “the failure of global and regional institutions, including the UN Security Council and African…

Laureen Fagan

Laureen is the editor of Africa Times

Report: Africa’s COVID vaccine access a human rights issue

Report: Africa’s COVID vaccine access a human rights issue

Africa’s struggle with the coronavirus, including the lack of COVID-19 vaccine access, was the focus of a blistering Amnesty International report released Tuesday. Just 8% of the 1.2 billion people on the continent were vaccinated by the end of 2021, with multiple waves of the pandemic having a “devastating impact”…

Nigeria bans Twitter use after Buhari flagged for violation

Nigeria has suspended the use of Twitter across the country, just days after a tweet posted by President Muhammadu Buhari was removed for what the social media platform said was a violation of its rules. Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the Nigerian Minister of Information and Culture, announced the decision in a…

Amnesty links surveillance tech to South Sudan repression

The surveillance society in South Sudan is harnessed by the state in service of repression, according to a new report from Amnesty International that focuses on impacts to journalists and opposition groups critical of the government. The report, called “These Walls Have Ears” – The Chilling Effect of Surveillance in…

ICC to investigate crimes against humanity in Nigeria

The International Criminal Court based in The Hague announced it will move forward to investigate crimes against humanity and war crimes in Nigeria, where Boko Haram’s activities and other attacks have gone on for years. The announcement was made Friday by ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda. “My office has concluded…

UN’s Bachelet warns Tigray attack may amount to war crimes

The United Nations human rights chief warned Friday that allegations about mass killings in the northern Tigray region of Ethiopia, if confirmed, may amount to war crimes. Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, called for a full inquiry as the fighting between the Ethiopian military and Tigray’s…

Military chief killed ahead of Guinea elections

Authorities in Guinea confirmed on Friday the death of Colonel Mamady Condé, the head of a special forces battalion who was fatally wounded in an overnight attack on the Samoreyah military camp in Kindia. The statement from Guinea’s Defense Forces said Condé died when a group of armed men opened…

Amnesty calls for inquiry into Ethiopian musician’s death

Human rights activists are pressing Ethiopian authorities to properly investigate the shooting of a popular Oromo singer whose death has sparked protests in parts of the country. Hachalu Hundesa, who spoke out publicly last week on the tense political situation in Ethiopia, was shot around 9:30 p.m. Monday in Addis…

Amnesty warns of COVID-related hunger, human rights woes

Human rights advocates with Amnesty International warn that the COVID-19 pandemic is sparking oppressive government responses in southern African nations, just as national lockdowns affect millions of vulnerable people who are losing incomes and fighting off hunger. “With inequality and unemployment so high across Southern Africa, the majority of people…

Amnesty pressures Tshisekedi over DR Congo human rights abuses

In the year since he took office in a bitterly contested election, President Felix Tshisekedi hasn’t done enough to advance human rights in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Amnesty International said Friday. The international NGO cited last week’s ban on meetings called by opposition leader Martin Fayulu, the Engagement for…

Rights groups take Magufuli to task on human rights

Two reports on Tanzania, released separately by the Amnesty and Human Rights Watch NGOs, charge President John Magufuli’s government with stifling the free press, opposition politicians and NGOs. The reports follow several years of progressively harsher laws and penalties since Magufuli was elected in 2015. The country has seen routine…

Amnesty honors Fridays for Future youth activists with top award

Young climate change activists from across the globe have received Amnesty International’s Ambassador of Conscience Award for 2019, for their work in the Fridays for Future movement spearheaded by Greta Thunberg of Sweden. “We are humbled and inspired by the determination with which youth activists across the world are challenging…