Courting Dignity: The East African Court of Justice and the Jurisprudence of Silence
Posted: 20 November, 2025 Filed under: Carolyn W. Gatonye | Tags: cited torture, civil war, crimes against humanity, EAC, East Africa, East African Court of Justice, enforced disappearance, fundamental freedoms violation, gender equity, harassment, human dignity, human rights defenders, human rights violations, jurisdiction, jurisprudence, political sensitivities, rising repression, silence of justice, unlawful arrests, unlawful imprisonment 3 Comments
Author: Carolyn W. Gatonye
Kabarak University
The silence of the East African Community (EAC) in the face of rising repression in Tanzania is deafening. Yet, this is hardly new thunder in the EAC bloc. Time and again, the region has watched storms gather over its neighbors; tremble, then retreat. Its response to human rights violations has slowly been morphing into a modern norm, where crises within partner states are met with studied indifference. No meaningful condemnation, no show of solidarity with those whose rights are violated, just mere silence, setting a dangerous precedent that suggests member states may violate fundamental freedoms without fear of regional scrutiny. It’s from this refusal to speak out, that the EAC risks complicity in the very injustices its Treaty seeks to prevent.
The New Egyptian Asylum Law and the fate of LGBTIQ+ Refugees in Egypt
Posted: 16 May, 2025 Filed under: Rehim Baharu Elala | Tags: asylum seekers, civil war, debauchery, deportation, detention, Egypt, equality before the law, gender identity, homophobic nature, human rights, LGBTIQ community, LGBTQ refugees, Memorandum of Understanding, non-discrimination, refugee population, rights to privacy, same sex relationship, sexual orientation, torture, voluntary repatriation Leave a comment
Author: Rehim Baharu Elala
Human rights attorney and women’s rights advocate
The refugee population in Egypt has significantly increased following the eruption of the Sudanese civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in mid-April 2023. Sudanese refugees and asylum seekers account for 68.7% of the total refugee population in Egypt[1]. Amid this crisis the Egyptian Government enacted a new asylum law in December 2024 without meaningful consultations with the refugee community, human rights organisations and other key stakeholders including UNHCR.
UNHCR was conducting the registration of asylum seekers and Refugee Status Determination (RSD) to offer protection on behalf of the government on the basis of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in 1954. The MoU delegates a set of defined responsibilities to UNHCR including but not limited to registration, documentation, refugee status determination (RSD), resettlement (RST), voluntary repatriation, and support for vulnerable individuals, while the Egyptian Government retains the role of the issuance of residence permits for refugees[2]. Despite the backlogs in processing asylum applications, UNHCR Egypt has been the largest and most productive RSD mandate operation globally. The Egyptian government wants to take over the task without indicating a viable transition plan to establish an asylum management system in line with its international and regional undertakings.
Mozambique’s struggle for the freedom of peaceful assembly: A complex reality that reaps lives
Posted: 18 September, 2024 Filed under: Denise Ivone Mboana | Tags: Amnesty International, Azagaia, civil war, economic development, excessive force, Excessive Use of Force, freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly, human rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Intimidation of victims, lack of transparency, Mozambican National Resistance, Mozambique, multiparty system, peaceful assembly, peaceful protests, police suppression, Regional and International Human Rights Instruments, Restrictive Legal Framework, street protests, The Civicus Monitor, Universal Declaration on Human Rights, unrest, violence 8 Comments
Author: Denise Ivone Mboana
LLM Student, University of Sussex
Introduction
This article aims to provide a brief analysis of the freedom of peaceful assembly in Mozambique. Nestled along Africa’s southeastern coast, Mozambique has a vibrant cultural history. Nevertheless, the nation has confronted substantial challenges rooted in its colonial past and internal conflicts, notably the “16 years’ war” involving the ruling Frelimo party (in power since independence) and the main opposition Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo) party. Following the 1994 peace agreement that concluded the civil war, Mozambique transitioned to a multiparty system, enabling other political parties to participate in elections; after this period of turbulence, the country has made significant progress in recent years towards political stability and economic development.[1] However, in terms of civil participation and freedoms, The Civicus Monitor, a reputable global civil society alliance, ranks Mozambique’s status as “oppressed”[2] and recent events and the current pre-election scenario confirm this assessment. The restrictions on civil liberties, limited freedom of expression, and suppression of dissent are indicative of the challenges faced by Mozambican citizens in exercising their democratic rights.
President Mayardit shouldn’t run in the 2024 election: 3 compelling reasons
Posted: 25 April, 2024 Filed under: Mark Deng | Tags: 2024 election, civil war, communal conflicts, deadly violence, democratic right, epidemic of insecurity, incidents of violence, outbreak of violence, population census, President Mayardit, revitalised agreement, South Sudan, Transitional Period, Unification of forces Leave a comment
Author: Mark Deng
McKenzie Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Melbourne, Australia
In my recent article, I discussed how President Salva Kiir Mayardit has vowed to hold the first election in South Sudan in 2024. In this article, I argue that he shouldn’t run in the election. I provide 3 compelling reasons to justify my argument: President Mayardit’s overstay in power, the need for the country to heal without him in power, and his apparent poor health.
South Sudan is set to hold its first election in 2024: 3 critical preconditions for the election
Posted: 4 April, 2024 Filed under: Mark Deng | Tags: 2024 election, arms proliferation, civil war, communal conflicts, deadly violence, democratic right, epidemic of insecurity, incidents of violence, outbreak of violence, population census, revitalised agreement, South Sudan, Transitional Period, Unification of forces 1 CommentAuthor: Mark Deng
McKenzie Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Melbourne, Australia
South Sudan was supposed to hold its first election as an independent country in 2015. However, a civil war erupted in 2013 that threw the country into a deep state of insecurity, inevitably altering the government’s priorities. Restoring peace urgently became the focus for the government.
The government and other parties to the war signed the revitalised agreement in 2018, paving the way for the establishment of the current unity government at the beginning of 2020. The unity government was given a 3-year tenure – the transitional period. This was extended in 2022 for 2 more years to give the parties enough time to resolve critical issues outstanding in the revitalised agreement.
Reflecting on the importance of migration in an African context: A case for the ratification of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families by African states
Posted: 19 June, 2023 Filed under: Jonette-Ann Matilda O. Greene, Waris Asmal | Tags: African history, civil war, conflict, economic collapse, employment, fundamental human rights, globalisation, governance failure, International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, legal entitlements, mass-migration, medical treatment, migrant workers Leave a comment
Author: Jonette-Ann Matilda O. Greene
Human Rights Advocate
Author: Waris Asmal
Intern, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria
Introduction: Migration in a pan-African context
In Southern Africa the ‘great shattering’ of the Nguni people that led to mass-migration in the form of the Mfecane in the 19th century teaches us that the free movement of peoples to escape conflict or disruptions to way of life, is an integral part of African history. Similarly, trends of mass migration in the 20th century in North Africa, be it from Libya or Sierra Leone during their civil wars or even mass migration in East Africa from Rwanda during the genocide demonstrate that migration of people away from centres of conflict to pursue a better life is a core part of African history.
Decoding the ignorance of the world towards rising terrorism in Africa: A new Jihadist battlefield?
Posted: 17 January, 2022 Filed under: Shelal Lodhi Rajput | Tags: 300 school girls, Africa, al Qaeda, Algeria, AQIM: Al Qaeda in the West, Boko Haram, Burkina Faso, campaigns of violence, Chad, civil war, French hostages, immoral activities, imposing taxes, ISIS, Islamic State groups, Islamist militants, Jihadist terror groups, mounting violence, new Syria, Syria, terrorism, terrorist attacks, United Nations, War on Terrorism Leave a comment
Author: Shelal Lodhi Rajput
BBA LL. B (Hons.)) candidate at Symbiosis Law School, Pune, India
Some of the greatest concerns for humanity right now, apart from the ongoing pandemic are the problems of climate change, ecocide and the rise of terrorism and jihadist outfits. Following the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, the threat of radical Islamic terrorism, which has its roots in the Middle East and South Asia, has taken center stage. While these violent religious extremists constitute a small percentage of the population, their danger is real. The International community has not been completely able to neutralise ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant). In 2015, ISIS expanded into a network of affiliates in at least eight other countries. Its branches, supporters, and affiliates increasingly carried out attacks beyond the borders of its so-called caliphate. Now once again a ‘new Syria’ is being built in West Africa but the world is ignoring it, world media is not highlighting the plight of the people.
Why Angola should ratify the African Protocol on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Beyond the legal imperative
Posted: 11 August, 2021 Filed under: Eduardo Kapapelo | Tags: Africa, African Disability Rights Protocol, African Protocol on the rights of Persons with Disabilities, Angola, ‘shellshock’, civil war, constitutional law, disability, disability rights, human rights, human rights violations, intellectual disabilities, Kalashnikov, military casualties, post-conflict, post-conflict state, psychological, psychology, PTSD, rule of law, shellshock, social norms, Sudan, Syria, trauma, Vietnam, violence, violent conflict, war, World War II, Yemen Leave a comment
Author: Eduardo Kapapelo
Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria
One of the main objectives of international and regional law is to ensure the widest scope of human rights and welfare. It has been reasoned that when the physical and mental health of individuals is promoted and safeguarded societies have a better chance of establishing peaceful societies in the aftermath of violent conflict.
Some of the earliest literature has identified that a significant proportion of military casualties are psychological. Such literature which has focused heavily from the perspective of soldiers who have had to fight and ultimately kill on the battlefield to a large extent neglected to adopt a wider scope – to include the civilian population who often receives the brunt of such violence in war-time.
Why has the EU’s Temporary Protection Directive not been applied during the migration crisis in order to receive Syrians and other asylum seekers?
Posted: 10 June, 2016 Filed under: Clara Burbano-Herrera | Tags: asylum, civil war, Council of the European Union, Directive on Temporary Protection, EU, EU states, European Asylum Support Office, European Commission, Europol, Frontex, immigration, irregular border crossings, Kosovo, Mediterranean, migrants, migration crisis, refugees, Syria, Turkey, UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, war, Yugoslavia 1 Comment
Author: Clara Burbano-Herrera
Fulbright Fellow, FXB Center for Health and Human Rights, Harvard University; Visiting researcher, Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law (Heidelberg); and FWO Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Human Rights Centre, Ghent University
The EU Border Agency Frontex indicates that a total of 1.83 million irregular border crossings were detected at the EU’s external borders in 2015, compared to 283 500 in 2014. According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), 1 015 078 people reached Europe irregularly in 2015 by crossing the Mediterranean, while a further 3 771 are believed to have drowned attempting the same journey. The main country of origin of applicants in EU+ countries (the 28 EU Member States as well as Norway and Switzerland) was Syria.
AfricLaw 
Right to participate and citizenship: Liberians yearn for an inclusive vote in 2023
Posted: 6 January, 2023 | Author: AfricLaw | Filed under: Uncategorized, Urias Teh Pour | Tags: 2023, African Charter on Democracy, African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, Alien and Nationality Act of 1973, citizenship, civil war, Elections and Good Governance, Gabriel Shumba and Others, General Comment 25, human rights, Human Rights Committee, inclusive vote, Liberia, migrant workers, Mtikila v Tanzania, New Elections Law, refugees, Right to participate, right to vote, Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties | 1 CommentExecutive Director, Independent National Commission on Human Rights (INCHR), Liberia
For the first time in the political history of Liberia, Liberians in the diaspora are making a strong case for their inclusion in the 2023 general and presidential elections. This call has come at the time when the Alien and Nationality Act of 1973 which prohibited dual nationality has been amended. The amended Act, Alien Nationality Law of 2022, provides that ‘any person who acquires another in addition to his or her Liberian citizenship shall not [be] deemed to have relinquished his or her Liberian citizenship.’
The passage of this law led to a wave of calls for the democratisation of electoral politics, considering the huge population of Liberians living abroad and their aspiration to participate in elections to elect their leaders at home. The Liberia Demographic Survey of 2021 projected Liberia’s population at 5.18 million. There are approximately 1.2 million Liberians and people with Liberian heritage scattered all over the globe, with the majority living and referring to the United States as their home. Some statisticians have predicted that the on-going population and housing census would exceed the projected number.
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