Chairperson, Commissioners, and distinguished delegates,
Human Rights Watch welcomes the opportunity to address the 83rd Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. We commend the Commission’s continued efforts to uphold human rights across the continent.
Zimbabwe
We urge the Commission to closely examine Zimbabwe’s human rights record during its review at this session. Despite some reforms, the government continues to suppress dissent through arbitrary arrests and politically motivated prosecutions, harassment of journalists, and excessive use of force against protesters. Zimbabwean authorities have long used domestic law as an instrument of repression. The rights to freedom of association and expression for nongovernmental organizations have been sharply curtailed. Civil society activists and opposition members have faced intimidation, harassment, repression, abduction and torture. The judiciary’s independence remains compromised, and impunity for past abuses persists. We call on the Commission to press Zimbabwe to uphold human rights, ensure judicial independence, and hold perpetrators of human rights violations accountable.
Extrajudicial Killings and Enforced Disappearances in Counterterrorism Operations
In some African countries, counterterrorism operations have led to extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. Security forces in countries including, but not limited to, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, and Mozambique have been implicated in serious human rights abuses under the guise of combating terrorism. Governments have collaborated with abusive self-defense militias or created their own voluntary untrained forces, which they have failed to control, and this has resulted in massive human rights violations committed with almost total impunity. The authorities have accused certain ethnic populations of collaborating with Islamist fighters and those populations have been targeted in these operations, such as the Fulani in Burkina Faso. We urge the Commission to investigate these violations and advocate for accountability and adherence to international human rights standards in all counterterrorism operations.
Violations Against the Chagossian People
The negotiations between the UK and Mauritius over the Chagos Islands has to prioritize the rights of the Chagossian people. The forced displacement of Chagossians, an Indigenous people, by the UK and US governments, and the continued deprivation of their access to their ancestral lands, constitutes a grave injustice and an ongoing colonial crime against humanity, based on systematic racism and ethnic discrimination. We call on the Commission to support the Chagossians’ right to return, restitution, and full reparations, and to ensure their voices are central in any agreements concerning their homeland.
Conflicts in Sudan and Eastern DRC
The escalating conflicts in Sudan and the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have resulted in widespread atrocities, including mass killings, sexual violence, and forced displacement. Warring parties have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. Attacks against particular ethnic groups have become more prevalent, including evidence of ethnic cleansing in Sudan. We urge the Commission to intensify its engagement with respective governments to protect civilians, facilitate humanitarian access, and hold accountable those responsible for human rights violations.
In conclusion, we call on the African Commission to:
- Ensure Zimbabwe addresses ongoing human rights abuses and upholds the rule of law.
- Investigate and condemn extrajudicial killings and other abuses in counterterrorism operations across the continent.
- Advocate for the rights of the Chagossian people in the UK-Mauritius treaty negotiations.
- And take decisive action to address the human rights and humanitarian crises and widespread impunity in the conflicts in Sudan and the eastern DRC.
Thank you for your attention.
