International Federation
for Human Rights

WRITTEN INTERVENTION - THE OBSERVATORY

AFRICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES’ RIGHTS

51st ordinary session

Banjul, The Gambia

April 18 - May 2, 2012

Contribution of

the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)

and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)

Within the framework of their joint programme,

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders

Under agenda item:

“Situation of human rights defenders”

Over the past six months, the Observatory has continued to observe that political and judicial contexts surrounding human rights defenders’ activities have remained particularly hostile and have often been used by authorities as pretexts to adopt repressive measures: electoral contexts, armed conflicts, movements of social protest marred by serious human rights violations and acts of repression targeting human rights defenders, repressive laws, etc.

In addition, far from recognising human rights defenders as the main actors for change and as the guarantors of a free society, governments continue to control every activity of the civil society and human rights defenders, multiplying hindrances or judicial proceedings against their legitimate activities. Therefore, several human rights defenders in Africa continue to face a number of obstacles at legislative, judicial, or administrative levels, in order to sanction their human rights activities.

Human rights defenders are also subjected to assaults, harassment or various forms of threats. While they are often targeted by non-State actors, acts of violence against them are quite often tolerated, encouraged or even directly perpetrated by State agents, in particular by security forces supposed to protect them. The continued impunity prevailing for authors of human rights violations in several countries of Sub-Saharan Africa has contributed to fuel the cycle of violence faced by human rights defenders.

Violations targeting either their physical or psychological integrity (disappearances, assassinations, threats, assaults, defamation) or their freedoms (arrests, arbitrary detention) are perpetrated in blatant violation of international human rights standards. Moreover, certain categories of human rights defenders, because of the nature of the rights they stand for, are privileged targets of repression.

The Observatory also wishes to recall that the cooperation between national and international organisations is the cornerstone of the international human rights protection system. On March 15, 2012, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, along with the Rapporteurs of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) and of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), urged all States, through a joint statement, to put an end to any kind of threats or acts of harassment against individuals or organisations involved in a direct dialogue with these institutions.

Criminalisation of the defence of human rights

In some countries of the continent, the judicial system is utilised, manipulated by the authorities to sanction human rights defenders activities. Such criminalisation usually takes the form of arbitrary judicial proceedings, which sometimes lead to abusive sentences. Besides, a legislative framework criminalising human rights defenders’ activities continues to be in force, or develops. Judicial proceedings faced by human rights defenders sometimes last several years, thus affecting their determination to successfully fulfil their activities. The nature of such phenomena is very concerning as these institutional and legalised attacks blatantly violate the most basic international human rights protection standards.

a) Criminalisation of human rights defenders fighting against impunity

On the African continent, human rights defenders fighting against impunity and denouncing violations, including the most serious international crimes, are targeted by attempts to criminalise their actions. Such criminalisation is generally triggered by a deficient, sometimes corrupted, judicial system.

In Algeria, Mr. Mohamed Smain is at risk of imminent arrest to serve his two-month imprisonment sentence after having been subjected to a continued judicial harassment for more than ten years. In 2001, Mr. Smain had alerted the Algerian media about the discovery and the exhumation of mass graves by the services of the gendarmerie and by members of the militia of Mr. Hadj Fergane, the former mayor of Relizane. This is more generally because of the activities of Mr. Smaïn in Oran and Relizane in favour of the families of disappeared persons and because of his activities for truth regarding the violations committed in Algeria, especially during the civil conflict which ravaged the country in the 1990s, that the latter has been targeted by the political and judicial authorities. Already convicted in first instance and in appeal, the Supreme Court of Algiers, through a decision issued on October 27, 2011, found Mr. Smain guilty under charges of “calumnious denunciation” and “denunciation of imaginary crimes” and sentenced him to two months’ imprisonment, to a fine of 50,000 Algerian dinars (about 510 Euros) and to 10,000 Algerian dinars in damages for each of the plaintiffs. Late February 2012, on the basis of this decision, police services were ordered to arrest Mr. Smain by the Prosecutor General of Relizane.

During the period covered, several human rights defenders were also subjected to arbitrary detentions and unfair judicial proceedings, but were however able to be released, acquitted or discharged, sometimes following an independent judicial process.

For instance, in Chad, on December 30, 2011, Mr. Daniel Deuzombé Passalet, President of the human rights organisation “Human Rights Without Borders” (Droits de l’Homme sans frontières - DHSF), was found not guilty, as he benefited from a “reasonable doubt”, following an 11-day pre-trial detention. These proceedings followed his statement made on December 18, 2011 on Radio France Internationale (RFI) about the abduction of the wife of the late village head of Mataléré. Through the interview, Mr. Passalet had denounced the obstruction of the investigation into the assassination of this village head in September 2011, and the fact that the widow of the latter would have been kidnapped by security forces to prevent her from withdrawing a complaint for “false accusation”, which she had lodged against a political opposition leader and parliamentary representative, Mr. Saleh Kebzabo, regarding her husband’s assassination. The Prosecutor had decided to sue him for “calumnious denunciations”. Although the discharge of Mr. Passalet must be welcomed, it illustrates the judicial harassment faced by human rights defenders when their public statements do not please representatives of local or national political authorities.

In Egypt, bloggers Alaa Abdel-Fatah and Bahaa Saber were arrested on October 30, 2011, after they denounced the violent repression of a protest in Cairo which had led to the death of 27 persons, and were accused of “instigating violence against the armed forces” and “assault against military agents”. Although Mr. Saber was released on the same day of their arrest, Mr. Abdel-Fatah remained detained until December 25, 2011. Similarly, it is only on January 21, 2012 that blogger Maikel Nabil was released following an amnesty issued by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces on the first anniversary of Egyptian Revolution. The latter had been arrested on March 28, 2011 for allegedly “insulting the army” and “disseminating false information” after he had denounced human rights violations which had occurred during the Egyptian Revolution, and had then been sentenced on April 10, 2011 to two years’ imprisonment.

In Guinea, five members of the organisation “Same Rights For Everyone” (Mêmes droits pour tous - MDT), focusing on detainees’ rights, were placed in custody and released on November 3, 2011. Those arrested were Mr. Foromo Frédéric Loua, President, Mr. Tossa Montcho, Coordinator, Mr. Pierre Camara, Programme Supervisor, Mr. Boniface Loua and Ms. Fatouma Bangoura, protection assistants. All of them had gone to the central police station of Conakry to accompany the release, ordered on November 2 by the Attorney General before the Appeal Court, of two individuals detained without judgement since 2001 and 2005. While in detention throughout the afternoon and evening, they were lengthily questioned regarding cases they had been raising and about MDT activities. Following their arbitrary detention, the five defenders lodged a complaint. On November 30, 2011, the Tribunal of First Instance of Conakry found the governor of the capital, Commander Sekou Resco Camara, guilty of unlawful intrusion into judicial proceedings and sentenced him to a fine of one million Guinean Francs (108 Euros) in favour of the MDT President, and to one fine of one symbolic Franc in favour of the other members. The Observatory welcomes this judicial decision which, in spite its mainly symbolic character, marks a first positive step for an enhanced protection of human rights defenders against hindrances, threats or intimidations they meet in the exercise of their functions, and more generally for the independence of the Guinean judiciary. Nevertheless, the Observatory deplores the threats faced by MDT and the environment surrounding the hearings. Indeed, the trial court was systematically invaded by supporters of the governor, including several policemen both in plain-clothes and uniforms. The latter continuously showed their support to the governor through noisy interventions and repeated acclamations during his declarations. Furthermore, MDT members and their lawyers were subjected to several verbal threats and physical intimidations. They were blamed by policemen for being “villains not deserving to live” and these policemen promised that the “last word” would be theirs. Some of the police officers also declared that, now that they knew Messrs. Frédéric Loua and Tossa Montcho, “they would show them how the country is governed”. Furthermore, at the end of the trial hearing on November 23, 2011, an important group of policemen and military agents, surrounding the governor’s vehicle, headed to the building where the MDT offices are located, yielding “Enemies: zero! NGO: zero!” while they were pointing at the floor occupied by MDT.

In Zimbabwe, Mr. Joel Hita, Regional Director of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights) in Mavingo, was acquitted on January 23, 2012 by Judge Mwanisa of Masvingo jurisdiction, after little less than two years of judicial harassment. He had indeed been prosecuted since April 26, 2010, after he had organised an exhibit in the framework of a programme to foster thought about the 2008 political violence, in breach of the Public Order and Security Act (POSA).

Independent journalists who publish information addressing human rights violations or denounce them in line with the very nature of their profession are also subjected to attempts to silence them, in order to prevent them from freely denouncing the exactions committed by State authorities.

Thus, in Burundi, on November 14, 2011, Messrs. Bob Rugurika and Bonfils Niyongere, journalists for the Radio publique africaine (RPA), spent the whole day in the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Bujumbura, before being released after approximately twelve hours of questioning. This incident would be directly related to the broadcast by RPA of information about the Gatumba slaughter, which resulted in 39 people dead and to 40 wounded, on September 18, 2011, in the city of Mutumbuzi. The day before, the Editor-in-chief of Isanganiro radio, Mr. Patrick Mitabaro, had also been summoned. On November 8, Messrs. Bob Rugurika and Patrick Nduwimana, Editor-in-chief of Bonesha FM, had to present themselves before Bujumbura Public Prosecutor. The Prosecutor blamed the radios for having disclosed some information on the Gatumba slaughter, including the testimony of the main suspect, Mr. Innocent Ngendakuriyo alias Nzarabu, gathered by phone from Bubanza prison. Those elements would have been disclosed despite the governmental statement of September 21 which bans the media from making any commentary on the investigation, and in a context where the investigation report had not yet been published. On November 10, three private radio directors were summoned: Messrs. Patrick Nduwimana, Eric Manirakiza, RPA Director, and Vincent Nkeshimana, Isanganiro Director, were asked to provide the Prosecutor with documents about their statutes, their internal rules of procedure and the proofs of funding of their radios. They all refused to comply with the Prosecution’s request, which had failed to give any justification to both this summon and request. Furthermore, intimidations aiming at impeding the journalists from exercising their profession freely sometimes come from the highest governmental authorities. On November 16, 2011, the Minister of Communication, Ms. Concilie Nibigira, stated, in a letter referring to the investigations into the Gatumba slaughter, that any person who disclose, in the media or by other means, elements on a case which is still at a pre-trial investigation stage exposes him/herself to prosecution as set out by Article 11 of the Law of November 27, 2003 regulating the press in Burundi (addressing the exceptions to the freedom of dissemination and publication of documents). The Minister ended her letter by urging the media to avoid escalation, otherwise they would have “to assume consequences in compliance with relevant provisions of the Criminal Code”.

b) Criminalisation of human rights defenders who exercise their right to freedom of peaceful assembly

In several countries, meetings and gatherings organised by human rights defenders are used as pretexts to hinder their actions. In this framework, women defenders are particularly exposed to gender specific violence. Protest actions related to democratic reforms, to free and transparent elections, to economic and social claims, including an increased respect of workers’ rights, are often met with repression in spite of their peaceful character. Human rights defenders, NGO members, trade unionists, journalists, students’ union leaders, can therefore be particularly targeted because of their participation in, or their monitoring of, the good conduct of these gatherings. Thus, over the period covered, several human rights defenders were prosecuted on charges of “disturbing public order” or “participation in an insurrectional movement”.

In Djibouti, members of the Djiboutian League for Human Rights (Ligue djiboutienne des droits humains - LDDH) are subjected to constant harassment when a protest is organised by the population or in relation to past demonstrations. Thus, on February 1, 2012, Mr. Farah Abadid Heldid, LDDH member and journalist for La Voix de Djibouti, was arrested by agents of the Section of Research and Documentation (Section de recherches et de documentation - SRD). He was released on a waste land the following day, after having been subjected to particularly degrading treatments (torture, forced nudity...) and threatened with death in the course of his detention because of his activities as a human rights activist. He had already been arrested on February 5, 2011, following a protest organised on the same day by both university and high school students to denounce the education policy carried out by the government, before being released on bail on June 23, 2011. As of April 13, 2012, Mr. Jean-Paul Noël Abdi, President of LDDH, remained prosecuted on charges of “participation in an insurrectional movement” under Articles 145 and 146.4 of the Criminal Code, which set out maximum sentences of 15 years’ criminal imprisonment and a fine of 7,000,000 Djiboutian Francs (approximately 27 222 Euros). Similar charges are still pending against Mr. Abadid Heldid. These accusations are related to the above-mentioned protest of February 5, 2011.

In Cameroon, seven trade unionists were subjected to an almost one-year-and-a-half-long judicial harassment in relation to a sit-in. Thus, Mr. Jean-Marc Bikoko, President of the Public Sector Central Trade Union (Centrale syndicale du secteur public - CSP), Mr. Maurice Angelo Phouet Foe, Secretary General of the Autonomous National Education and Training Union (Syndicat national autonome de l’éducation et de la formation - SNAEF), Mr. Théodore Mbassi Ondoa, Executive Secretary of the Cameroon Federation of Education Unions (Fédération camerounaise des syndicats de l’éducation - FECASE), Mr. Joseph Ze, Secretary General of the Unitary National Union of Teachers and Professors (Syndicat national unitaire des instituteurs et professeurs des écoles normales - SNUIPEN), Mr. Eric Nla’a, CSP accountant, and Messrs. Nkili Effoa and Claude Charles Felein, SNUIPEN members, were prosecuted under charges of “organisation of an unlawful demonstration” and “disturbing public order”. These proceedings followed their arrest on November 11, 2010, during a sit-in called for by CSP in front of the Prime Minister’s offices, in Yaoundé, in order to deliver to the Prime Minister, Mr. Philémon Yang, a memorandum made by public services workers for the attention of the Head of State, Mr. Paul Biya, addressing the necessary improvement of working conditions in Cameroon. The CSP had notified the authorities its intention to organise a protest, as provided by Article 6 of Law n°990/055 on the Regime of Gatherings and Protests. On November 8, 2010, the Deputy Prefect of the district of Yaounde III had issued a letter banning the activists from protesting, arguing that “public demonstrations with a vindictive and/or protesting character are and shall remain prohibited in the District of Mfoundi”. However, according to Article 8 of this very same law, a protest can only be prohibited by a by-law issued by the prefect, as a deputy prefect does not enjoy the legal capacity to do it. The Observatory welcomes the judgement of the Court First Instance of Yaoundé issued on March 5, 2012, which acquitted all seven trade unionists.

In Algeria, in spite of the lift of the state of emergency, trade unionists continue to be targeted by an intense repression aiming at limiting their freedoms of expression and assembly. On February 26, 2012, 40 members of the National Workers’ Committee of Pre-Employment and Social Net (Comité national des travailleurs du pré-emploi et filet social), affiliated to the National Autonomous Union of Public Servants (Syndicat national autonome des personnels de l’administration publique - SNAPAP) were thus arbitrarily arrested during a demonstration staged in front of the Maison de la Presse in Algiers. Among them were Ms. Malika Fallil, Chair of the National Workers’ Committee of Pre-Employment and Social Net, and Mr. Tahar Belabès, Spokesperson of the National Coordination for the Defence of the Rights of the Unemployed (Coordination nationale de défense des droits des chômeurs - CNDDC). They were released a few hours later. This kind of arrests has become recurrent in Algeria where trade unionists are subjected to an almost permanent police and judicial pressure. Both Ms. Fallil and Mr. Belabès had already been arrested on February 22 at a gathering that took place in front of the Palais des Expositions in Algiers, where they had attempted to question the Minister of Labour and the representative of the President of the Republic, Mr. Belkhadem Abdelaziz, about the rights of unemployed and casual workers. Both had already been subjected to a number of similar arrests in 2011, together with other union activists. Moreover, Mr. Hadj Aïssa Abbas and Mr. Mohamed Bouamer, representatives of the CNDDC branch in Laghouat, 400 km south of Algiers, were sentenced on January 18, 2012 in first instance to one year in jail for “gathering in a public place”, after having taken part in a peaceful gathering in favour of the rights of unemployed workers in August 2011 in Laghouat. The decision was issued by the Tribunal of Laghouat in absence of the accused, who had received no summons and who lodged an appeal. Such harsh sentences send a clear and disturbing message to union leaders and human rights defenders calling for the recognition of the right to decent living and working conditions.

In Senegal, Mr. Alioune Tine, Coordinator of the June 23 Movement (Mouvement des forces vives de la nation du 23 juin - M23) and President of the African Assembly for the Defence of Human Rights (Rencontre africaine pour la défense des droits de l’Homme - RADDHO), was arrested on January 28, 2012, in reaction to the organisation of a protest denouncing the announcement of the candidacy of the outgoing President for a third mandate. At the margin of these protests, a police auxiliary had been killed. Mr. Alioune Tine was eventually released on January 31, 2012, without charges.

In Zimbabwe, members of Women and Men for Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), an organisation involved in the defence of women’s rights and freedoms in Zimbabwe, have been constantly harassed at judicial and police levels. On January 19, 2012, 17 WOZA members, including 16 women, were arrested and molested by police officers in Bulawayo. The police officers even threatened the activists to “remove their panties and beat their bottoms”. On February 7, 2012, ten members of the association, including Ms. Jennifer Williams, National Coordinator, were arrested while they were participating in a peaceful demonstration in Bulawayo to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the association. Initially detained for having organised the demonstration without prior notification of the authorities (Section 25 of the POSA), they were eventually charged with "criminal nuisance" under Section 46 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act. All were then released on bail pending trial, and denounced the acts of physical violence they sustained while in custody. The lawyers decided to apply to the Supreme Court for review, and the decision should be issued on April 27, 2012. Besides, two WOZA members, Ms. Jennifer Williams and Ms. Magodonga Mahlangu, have been prosecuted since December 2011 for “kidnapping” and “theft” following a demonstration organised on September 21, 2011. Despite the lack of evidence and contradictions in the witness statements, the charges against them have never been dropped. The next hearing is to take place on April 26, 2012.

In Tanzania, sixteen human rights defenders were arrested on February 9, 2012 following an “unlawful assembly”. Those arrested included Dr. Helen Kijo Bisimba, Executive Director of the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC), LHRC staff members, Mr. Marcus Albany, Ms. Anna Migila and lawyer Godfrey Mpandikizi, an intern from the Canadian Bar Association Ms. Erin Riley, the Executive Director of the Tanzania Media Women’s Association (TAMWA) Ms. Ananilea Nkya, the Executive Director of SIKIKA Mr. Irenei Kiria, as well as Ms. Anna Kikwa. All were arrested as they arrived at the National Hospital (MUHIMBILI), where the Prime Minister Mr. Mizengo Pinda was to address health staff in relation to a national strike organised by doctors. Although they were released on bail, as of April 12, 2012, the charges brought against them had however not been dropped, yet implying a permanent risk of arrest against them.

In Mauritania, Mr. Bakary Bathily, Secretary General of the National Trade Union of Mauritanian Students (Syndicat national des étudiants de Mauritanie), disappeared on February 2, 2012, when the authorities violently dispersed, through the use of truncheons and tear-gas, a sit in organised by several students in front of Nouakchott University to demand the improvement of their student conditions. Besides, thirteen students were arrested and questioned on Mr. Bakary Bathily’s whereabouts, although the latter did not participate in the sit-in, before being released without charges on February 9. As of April 16, 2012, no information could be obtained concerning Mr. Bathily’s whereabouts.

c) Reprisals against human rights lawyers

In some countries, the activities of lawyers are hindered by the authorities. Indeed, whether they provide a legal assistance to defenders or support directly victims of human rights violations, they may be subjected to reprisals because of their professional activities.

For instance, in The Gambia, Mr. Lamin K. Mboge, a lawyer and former magistrate who has also been involved in the legal defence of two women human rights activists, was sentenced on February 21, 2012 for “making false documents without authority”, “false swearing” and “uttering false documents” to two years’ imprisonment and forced labour by the Tribunal of Banjul.

In Zimbabwe, Mr. Alec Muchadehama, a lawyer who represented several victims of abduction and torture, who had been acquitted on December 10, 2009 following baseless charges pending against him since May 6, 2009, remains subjected to judicial harassment. He is accused of having impaired the reputation of a court and of justice by having permitted the release on bail of his clients. On February 15, 2012, the Supreme Court postponed sine die the decision to allow the Public Ministry represented by Attorney General Johannes Tomana to appeal the acquittal of December 10, 2009. The Attorney General argued that her late request to lodge an appeal was due to her family issues.

Freedom of association: a right to respect, protect and guarantee!

Aside from individual threats potentially affecting human rights defenders, the working structures they belong to are directly targeted by hindrances, and sometimes by legal repressive provisions, regarding in particular the exercise of freedom of association. This dissuasive legal framework leads to several restrictions at various levels:

– On the one hand, the pieces of legislation regulating the registration of civil society organisations may, while implemented, restrain both their autonomy and independence. Thus, rules regarding registration procedures for NGOs have sometimes been used to judicially harass these organisations or to deny the agreement to so-called disturbing organisations or trade unions.

In The Gambia, for instance, NGOs register on the basis of a two-tier system. First, they register as charities with the Attorney General’s Chambers under the Companies Act. This allows them to operate as legal entities, and also provides limited access to duty waivers. Then, they register as NGOs with the NGO Affairs Agency (NGOAA), which submits them to a Code of Conduct and to a Protocol signed with the authorities. Subsequently, in order to avoid reprisals from State authorities, NGOs choose to focus on issues which are deemed not sensitive and on which the government is making progress such as women and children’s rights. In this context no NGO can carry out any monitoring of human rights violations.

In Egypt, several organisations, though prominent ones, are still denied, without precise grounds, any official registration.

– On the other hand, the national legislative framework restraining NGOs funding resources, such as freezing of assets, was also used as a mean to negate the capacity of action of some NGOs.

In Ethiopia, for instance, since the Charities and Societies Act of 2009, NGOs receiving more than 10 percent of their funding from foreign sources, even from Ethiopian living abroad, remain officially prohibited from exercising activities related, amongst others, to human rights and democracy. This is under these circumstances that, on October 24, 2011, the Federal High Court upheld the decision of the Charities and Societies Agency to freeze the assets of the Human Rights Council (HCRO). HCRO appealed this decision before the Supreme Court.

In Egypt, several raids were conducted in the offices of several national and international NGOs and questioned the staff of these NGOs about the enforcement of various financial restrictions in view of restraining the capacity of NGOs to fulfil their mission. Following these raids, 43 employees of American and German NGOs were summoned to court on February 26, 2012, upon accusations of having illegally opened offices in Egypt and having received funding from abroad. Beyond these foundations, NGOs themselves are targeted by these acts of intimidation, in order to clamp down on their activities.

In The Gambia, criminal laws are sometimes twisted to wrongly accuse human rights defenders and hinder the normal functioning of their associations. Thus, Dr. Isatou Touray and Ms. Amie Bojang-Sissoho, respectively Executive Director and Programme Coordinator of The Gambia Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children (GAMCOTRAP), an organisation working on sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and children, have been prosecuted for “theft” since November 2010, for the alleged embezzlement of 30,000 Euros, an amount sent in 2009 by “Yolocamba Solidaridad”, a Spanish development NGO supporting local civil society groups. January 11, 2012 marked the 41st hearing of this trial. Throughout the proceedings, the Prosecutor explicitly denounced the activities of GAMCOTRAP in terms of genital mutilation. As of April 16, 2012, hearings were ongoing, with the interrogation of Dr. Isatou Touray by the Prosecutor.

Repressive legislation specifically targeting defenders of the rights of sexual minorities

The defenders of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals, together with the persons they defend, have continued to face, in many sub-Saharan African countries, various forms of prejudice and intimidation. Laws or bills criminalising sexual minorities in many countries also hinder the work of defenders.

In Uganda, a law criminalising homosexuality was again submitted to Parliament on February 7, 2012. This text, if enacted, would reintroduce into the Ugandan Criminal Code the notion “crime of homosexuality”. The foreseen sentences would range from five years’ imprisonment for “promoting homosexuality” to the possibility of a life imprisonment sentence or even death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality”. This text directly targets the action of human rights defenders as it states that every NGO violating these provisions would see its official authorisation to act cancelled. One has to recall that homosexuality is already severely repressed by the existing Criminal Code as it provides life imprisonment for anyone accused of same-sex sexual relations. The draft law submitted to Parliament would contribute to expand and strengthen the repression in the form of arbitrary arrests, physical and psychological violence and an increased marginalisation of LGBT community members over the country. One has to recall that in 2011, Mr. David Kato, LGBT rights defender, was assassinated following the release of his name and picture in the Ugandan media.

Impunity and continuation of attacks suffered by human rights defenders

Aside from legislative and judicial threats against militant activities, human rights defenders are subjected to other forms of intimidation, outside of legal ways: threats, defamation campaigns, assaults and even assassinations. Moreover, the climate of impunity that prevails in several countries of the continent contributes to the reinforcement of the violence cycle.

a) Ongoing impunity for the assassination of several human rights defenders

On the continent, assassinations and other violations human rights defenders’ right to life and physical integrity remain an awful reality, all the more as they generally remain unpunished. The lack of independence of certain national judicial systems prevents victims and the human rights organisations that represent them from obtaining justice and breaking the cycle of violence, therefore encouraging the perpetuation of new acts of violence.

Thus, the full chain of criminal responsibility has not yet been established in the assassination:

– in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in 2010, of Messrs. Floribert Chebeya Bazire, President of Voice of the Voiceless (Voix des sans voix - VSV) and a member of OMCT General Assembly, and Fidèle Bazana, a member of VSV, as well as in 2005 of Mr. Pascal Kabungulu Kibembi, Executive Secretary of the NGO “Heirs of Justice” (Héritiers de la justice);

– in Burundi, in 2009, of Mr. Ernest Manirumva, Vice-President of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Malpractice Observatory (Observatoire de lutte contre la corruption et les malversations économiques - OLUCOME);

– in Uganda, in January 2011, of Mr. David Kato, advocacy officer within the organisation Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG);

– in Kenya, in 2009, of Messrs. Oscar Kamau King’ara, a lawyer and Chief Executive Officer of the Oscar Foundation Free Legal Aid Clinic Kenya (OFFLACK), and John Paul Oulu, OFFLACK Communications and Advocacy Officer;

– in The Gambia, in 2004, of journalist Deyda Hydara, as well as in the enforced disappearance of journalist Ebrima Manneh since 2006.

b) Ongoing threats and violence against human rights defenders

During the period covered, new acts of violence were committed against human rights defenders.

Thus, in the DRC, Mr. Mbatswe Mushunju, a member of the “Legitimacy Core” (Noyau de légitimité) in Kibati, of the Research Centre on Environment, Democracy, and Human Rights (Centre de recherche sur l’environnement, la démocratie et les droits de l’Homme - CREDDHO) and customary head of the Kibati group, in North Kivu, was murdered on March 15, 2012. Mr. Mushunju was denouncing and documenting various human rights violations committed, amongst others, by agents of the Armed forces of the DRC (Forces armées de RDC - FARDC) in a region bordering Rwanda. Threatened several times over 2011, he had already been abducted by FARDC members from December 15, 2011 to January 5, 2012.

Still in the DRC, Ms. Justine Masika Bihamba, Coordinator of the Women’s Synergy for Victims of Sexual Violence (Synergie des femmes pour les victimes des violences sexuelles - SFVS) and Vice President of the Civil Society of North Kivu (Société civile du Nord Kivu), was threatened on March 15, 2012. Those threats followed the interview she had given the day before to BBC radio, in which she had welcomed the International Criminal Court (ICC) ruling issued the very same day against Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, found guilty of war crimes for recruitment, enlistment, and use of child soldiers in Ituri. She had, on the same occasion, urged the ICC and the Congolese authorities to implement the warrants issued against the other alleged authors of grave crimes carried out in the Eastern DRC, in particular General Bosco Ntaganda. Following this interview, General Ntaganda and other FARDC colonels would have planned actions to “silence” her. In addition, on March 27, 2012, Ms. Masika Bihamba received an anonymous threatening message by phone, which stated the following: “Justine Masika, stop meddling in things that are none of your business”.

In Algeria, Mr. Noureddine Belmouhoub, Spokesperson of the Committee for the Defence of the Former Interned of Safety Camps (Comité de défense des ex-internés des camps de sûreté - CDICS), was abducted on October 23, 2011, in a street of Algiers, and held in an unknown location for three days by members of security services, before being released on October 26, 2011. During his detention, he was subjected to both insults and pressures from the persons who were maintaining him into custody, and who blamed him for having lodged a complaint in 2001 against General Khaled Nezzar, former Minister of State Defence from 1991 to 1993. These individuals also attempted to force him to sign a solemn statement that he would withdraw his complaint. As to date, the Algerian judiciary has not yet examined this complaint for torture.

In Tunisia, lawyer Najet Laabidi, member of the human rights organisation “Freedom and Equity” (Liberté et équité), who defends several torture victims in the framework of the so-called Baraket Essehel case, was violently told off on November 8, 2011 by relatives of Messrs. Abdallah Kallel, former Interior Minister, and Mohamed Ali Ganzouï, former Head of the National Security Services, who notably insulted her, and it is only under the protection of the military police that she was able to leave the tribunal. Previously, Ms. Laabidi had been informed that the families of those accused had contacted the plaintiffs to incite them to withdraw their complaints in the framework of the Baraket Essehel case.

Moreover, amid tensed electoral contexts, the authorities and press organs close to those in power often stigmatise the role played by human rights defenders, hence reinforcing their insecurity.

Thus, in a particular context of denunciation of electoral frauds in the DRC, human rights defenders were targeted by threats and public defamation campaigns aiming to reduce the legitimacy of their attempts to denounce the fraudulent political manipulations taking place in this context.

For instance, Mr. Zacharie Bababaswe, journalist for the Radio télévision nationale congolaise (RTNC) and candidate of the presidential majority to the legislative national election in Kinshasa, denied, in his show entitled “Vert Vert Toleka” on January 7, 2012, the title of human rights defender to Mr. Dismas Kitenge Senga, President of the Lotus Group (Groupe Lotus) and FIDH Vice President, and assimilated him to “political opponents who would be preparing a plot against the Government and the Congolese nation”. He added that “Dismas Kitenge, [the Lotus Group and FIDH] are obeying to obscure powers harmful to the interests of the DRC” and that Mr. Kitenge would be “leading a campaign to be granted asylum in the West”. This same journalist had, in December 2011, directly targeted FIDH, by stating that “(...) The international community through FIDH has resolved to draw blood in the DRC, and would have given weapons to the population so that the latter attacks policemen dispatched all over Kinshasa City...” in the framework of an interview granted to RTNC in Kinshasa. During this show, he explicitly targeted Mr. Jean-Claude Katende, National President of the African Association for the Defence of Human Rights (Association Africaine de défense des droits de l’Homme - ASADHO), and Mr. Paul Nsapu, President of the League of Electors (Ligue des électeurs) and FIDH Secretary General, accusing them to be manipulated and to receive money from FIDH.

Besides, the residence of Mr. Dismas Kitenge Senga was burned down on January 5, 2012. A fire fighting vehicle arrived on the spot only three hours after the beginning of the arson, despite immediate alerts by family members and neighbours. Although no member of the family was injured, all the goods and the whole residence of the family were reduced to ashes. Furthermore, despite the complaint lodged by Mr. Kitenge, no investigation was diligently led regarding the causes of the arson. This incident took place little after public statements made by Mr. Kitenge to denounce certain electoral irregularities, the lack of independence of justice in electoral litigation, the lack of willingness of the Congolese authorities to fight impunity and to allow compensation to victims of serious human rights violations.

Recommendations:

· Establish a regional protection programme inspired by the good practices listed in the Commentary of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders related to the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

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Banjul, April - May 2012

To contact the Observatory :

Email: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
Tel and fax FIDH: + 33 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80
Tel and fax OMCT: + 41 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29