Freedom of expression: Hopes, anxieties and skepticism in Liberia’s nascent democracy
Posted: 2 August, 2018 Filed under: Urias Teh Pour | Tags: constitution, Criminal Libel laws, decriminalise free speech, ECOWAS Treaty, free speech, freedom of expression, Freedom of Information Act, George Manneh Weah, human rights, ICCPR, Konate v. Burkina Faso, Liberia, Liberian Football legend, Ministry of Information, New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, newly elected Governmen, Penal Law, Table Mountain Declaration, UN Human Rights Committee Leave a comment
Author: Urias Teh Pour
Legal Advisor on the Liberia Law Society Land Rights and Freedom of Expression Projects
The recent move to repeal Liberia’s Criminal Libel laws by the newly elected Government of former Liberian Football legend, George Manneh Weah, has been hailed by human rights groups as a positive step in the right direction. The effort to decriminalise section 11.11 of the Penal Law comes barely two months following the visit of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression to Liberia. The UN Officials called on the Government of Liberia to review all laws that undermine free speech, as guaranteed by article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and other instruments ratified by Liberia.
Tax treatment of gains on the sale of assets in the extractive sector in DRC: A much-needed mix of human rights, sustainable development and legal certainty
Posted: 23 July, 2018 Filed under: Eric Ntini Kasoko | Tags: Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), DRC, extractive industry, gas, Law on Hydrocarbons, legislation, Mining Code, mining operations, natural resources, nonrenewable, tax, tax policy, taxpayers’ rights Leave a comment
Author: Eric Ntini Kasoko
Prospective Independent Tax Advisor; Researcher
The extractive industry consists of operations of exploration and/or exploitation of nonrenewable natural resources, especially gas, petroleum and mining operations. A distinction is to be made between the hydrocarbon sector (which comprises petroleum and gas activities) and the non-hydrocarbon sector (which relates to mining activities). Mineral-rich countries may choose to enact an all-encompassing piece of legislation to regulate both sectors. They may also opt for two or even three different pieces of legislation, each designed to regulate a specific sector.
The outlaws in Malawi: The travails of sexual minorities in a Southern African country
Posted: 10 July, 2018 Filed under: Urerimam Raymond Shamaki | Tags: criminalize, discrimination, homosexuality, ICCPR, intersex, LGBTI, Malawi, Penal Code, sex reassignment surgery, sexual minorities, transgender, transsexual 1 Comment
Author: Urerimam Raymond Shamaki
Barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria; LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa) Candidate
Introduction
Homosexuality is still considered a crime in many countries of the world. Malawi is one of the 33 countries in Africa and 72 in the world that still criminalises homosexuality. Although there is no direct law prohibiting homosexuality in Malawi such as is the case in countries like Nigeria with the Same-Sex Prohibition Act 2015, there are still provisions of some laws indirectly affecting homosexual activities in Malawi. This article briefly reviews some of the provisions of these laws and how they impact on the rights of sexual minorities in Malawi.
Stop the human rights violations in the South-west and North-west regions of Cameroon now: A call on all relevant stakeholders
Posted: 3 July, 2018 Filed under: Basiru Bah, Essa Njie, Theophilus Odaudu, Urerimam Raymond Shamaki | Tags: African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, Anglophone regions, arbitrary arrest, Cameroon, death in custody, detention, human rights, protests, torture, use of force, violations Leave a commentAuthors: Basiru Bah, Essa Njie, Theophilus Michael Odaudu and Urerimam Raymond Shamaki on behalf of the 2018 class of the Master’s Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa (Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria)
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| Basiru Bah | Essa Njie | Theophilus Odaudu | Urerimam Raymond Shamaki |
For the Centre for Human Rights latest press release on the human rights violations in Cameroon, please visit www.chr.up.ac.za/StopCameroonViolations
Since 2016, the human rights situation in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon has been deteriorating. It all started with peaceful protests organised by lawyers, teachers and students in the region demanding the appointment of Anglophone Cameroonians to key positions in the judiciary, civil service and educational institutions. The state responded with brutal force killing at least 10 people and injuring hundreds. This crack down increased agitation in the region and further calls for reform and even secession. The government militarised the area and conducted series of operations against protesters killing even more people. Amnesty International has reported arson attacks, torture, incommunicado detentions, arbitrary and extra-judicial executions, murder and other inhumane acts against civilians. These atrocities are committed by both the Cameroon security forces and armed separatist movements. The end of 2017 to date has seen more than 150,000 people being internally displaced and over 20,000 fleeing to neighbouring Nigeria in the wake of increased violence in the region. Cameroon is edging closer to civil war every day as the world watches in silence.
The status of the rights of persons with disabilities in Sierra Leone: The need for a paradigm shift from political lip service
Posted: 6 June, 2018 Filed under: Joel Tejan Deen-Tarawally Esq. | Tags: begging, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, CRPD, democratic dispensation, Excellency Brigadier (Rtd) Julius Maada Bio, hearing and speech impaired, human rights, mentally impaired, National Social Protection Strategy, persons with disabilities, physically impaired, political lip-service, Poverty Reduction Interventions, Sierra Leone, social paradigm, visually impaired Leave a comment
Author: Joel Tejan Deen-Tarawally Esq.
Human Rights Lawyer, Sierra Leone Legal Aid Board
(An earlier version of this article was published in the Sierra Leonean newspaper Concord Times on 3 May 2018)
Whenever one speaks of persons with disabilities (such as the visually impaired, the hearing and speech impaired, the mentally and physically impaired) in Sierra Leone the next thing that comes to mind is an idea of destitute Sierra Leoneans begging in the streets of Freetown and other areas in the provinces. Such a national image regarding persons with disabilities is clearly not in line with Sierra Leone’s legal obligation under national and international laws.
Promoting and protecting children’s rights in Africa: Case of the Talibés of Senegal.
Posted: 31 May, 2018 Filed under: Henrietta Ekefre, Jonathan Obwogi, Samuel Ade Ndasi, Susan Mutambasere | Tags: ACERWC, African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, children's rights, daaras, financial targets, forced child begging, la Rencontre Africaine pour la Defense des Droits de l’Homme, RADDHO, religious schools, Senegal, street begging, Talibés 1 CommentAuthors: Coordinator and members of the Implementation Clinic of the Centre for Human Rights
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| Henrietta Ekefre | Samuel Ade Ndasi | Susan Mutambasere | Jonathan Obwogi |
In 2012, the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, together with La Rencontre Africaine pour la Defense des Droits de l’Homme (RADDHO), an NGO in Senegal, submitted a case to the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC). The case concerned children forced into street begging in Senegal.
Since the 1980s, Senegal has had a challenge with access to primary education, which leaves thousands of children unable to get absorbed in the mainstream schools. Further, religion plays an important role in the upbringing of children. These have contributed to a situation where at least 100 000 children are enrolled in daaras (religious schools) often far away from their parents. The daaras are administered by marabouts who are religious leaders and not trained educators. These children who are called talibés live in deplorable and overcrowded conditions where they are subjected to various forms of abuse. The marabouts exploit the talibés by making them beg on the streets. In some instances, children are given financial targets to reach, failure of which results in punishment. There is no provision of medical care should the talibés fall sick as they essentially have to fend for themselves.
Why we need both words and actions to help Africa’s children
Posted: 23 May, 2018 Filed under: Assefa Bequele | Tags: access to justice, African Governments, African Union, Call to Action, children, children suffering, children's rights, civil society organisations, Continental Conference on Access to Justice for Children, informal justice system, NGOs, prison, UN agencies, UN Global Study Leave a comment
Author: Dr Assefa Bequele
Executive Director, Africa Child Policy Forum (ACPF)
We’re often told that actions speak louder than words, and it’s true we won’t change lives by simply talking about the problems. But I also think that you can’t make a real impact unless you’ve thoroughly debated and agreed what needs to be done. Words first, then actions.
I was reminded of this at the Continental Conference on Access to Justice for Children, held recently in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. More than two hundred child rights experts, politicians, lawyers and civil society activists came together to try and find a way forward for the thousands of children across Africa who are denied access to justice. It’s easy for the cynics to dismiss such conferences as talking shops – fine words and discussions, but little in the way of concrete action. And if we had simply presented and debated the issues, there could have been some truth in that
