Thursday, February 12, 2009
UN: Press Senegal on Habré Trial, by Noémie Cournoyer
(Geneva) – The United Nations Human Rights Council should ask Senegal to move forward on the trial of the exiled former Chadian dictator Hissène Habré, five African and international human rights groups said today. On February 6, 2009, the council will examine Senegal’s human rights record as part of its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) procedure.
Habré, accused of mass atrocities during his 1982-1990 rule, has been living in Senegal since 1990. A Senegalese court indicted him in 2000, but higher courts blocked the prosecution. Belgium sought his extradition in 2005 to put him on trial, but Senegal refused. In May 2006, the United Nations Committee Against Torture found that Senegal had violated the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and called on Senegal to prosecute or extradite Habré.
In 2006, Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade accepted an African Union mandate to prosecute Habré in Senegal “on behalf of Africa.” But Senegal has not even begun the legal proceedings, said the Chadian Association for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (ATPDH), the Chadian Association of Victims of Political Repression and Crime (AVCRP), the African Assembly for the Defense of Human Rights (RADDHO), Human Rights Watch, and the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH).
“Senegal has mocked us for 18 years and now it is mocking the United Nations,” said Souleymane Guengueng, founder of the Chadian Association of Victims of Political Repression and Crime, and the lead petitioner in the case that led to the UN ruling. “The Human Rights Council needs to tell Senegal to comply with the UN ruling and bring Habré to justice.”
On September 16, 2008, 14 victims filed new complaints with a Senegalese prosecutor accusing Habré of crimes against humanity and torture, in an attempt to get the case started, but the Senegalese authorities have refused to act on the complaints. In November 2008, the Committee Against Torture met with the Senegalese ambassador in Geneva to express its frustration that Senegal had not complied with its ruling.
Senegal has said that it will not move forward until it receives full international funding for all the costs of the trial, which Senegal puts at €27.4 million over three years, including €8 million to reconstruct a courthouse. The rights groups noted that the European Commission, Chad, France, Switzerland, Belgium, and the Netherlands have already agreed to help fund the trial, but are still waiting for Senegal to present a detailed budget, and that the normal procedure is to fund such trials year by year.
“It’s not the money that is lacking for Hissène Habré’s trial, but Senegal’s political will,” said Dobian Assingar, a Chadian activist with the FIDH.
“For my country to say that it won’t start proceedings until it gets three-years of funding upfront seems a lot like blackmail,” said Alioune Tine, president of the Dakar-based RADDHO.
The Universal Periodic Review is the Human Rights Council’s most innovative and ambitious instrument, with reviews of the human rights situations in all 192 UN member states over a four-year cycle. The February 6 review will be Senegal’s first.
In its May 2006 ruling in the case Guengueng v. Senegal, the UN committee found that Senegal had violated the Convention against Torture twice, first by failing to prosecute Habré when the victims first filed their case in 2000, and then by failing to prosecute or extradite him when Belgium filed an extradition request in September 2005. The committee ruled that Senegal was “obliged to submit the present case to its competent authorities for the purpose of prosecution.” Failing that, it said, it should comply with Belgium’s extradition request, or with any other extradition request made by another country in accordance with the convention.
Background
Hissène Habré ruled Chad from 1982 until he was deposed in 1990 by President Idriss Déby Itno and fled to Senegal. His one-party regime was marked by widespread atrocities, including waves of campaigns against ethnic minorities. Files of Habré’s political police, the DDS (Direction de la Documentation et de la Sécurité), which were discovered by Human Rights Watch in 2001, reveal the names of 1,208 persons who were killed or died in detention. A total of 12,321 victims of human rights violations were mentioned in the files.
Habré was first indicted in Senegal in 2000, but then its courts ruled that he could not be tried there. His victims then turned to Belgium and, after a four-year investigation, a Belgian judge in September 2005 charged Habré with crimes against humanity, war crimes, and torture.
After Belgium made its extradition request, Senegalese authorities arrested Habré, in November 2005, but did not extradite him. The Senegalese government then asked the African Union to recommend how to try Habré. On July 2, 2006, the African Union, following the recommendation of a Committee of Eminent African Jurists, called on Senegal to prosecute Habré “in the name of Africa,” and President Wade said that it would.
Senegal has amended its laws and constitution to allow its courts to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity, torture, and war crimes committed in the past. At the same time, however, it has appointed the former coordinator of Habré’s legal defense team, Madické Niang, as minister of justice – the government official heading the agency responsible for the organization of the trial.
Link
Labels: Human Rights Watch, Noémie Cournoyer, Senegal, UN
Monday, November 10, 2008
Spain: Give Migrant Children Legal Aid, by Renata Daninsky
(Brussels, October 17, 2008) – Spain’s accelerating effort to send back unaccompanied children who enter the country illegally might subject them to danger, ill-treatment and detention, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The government needs to halt repatriations until it has a process to ensure their well-being, and, as an immediate step, give them the same right to an independent lawyer that adult migrants have under Spanish law.
The 22-page report, “Returns at Any Cost: Spain’s Push to Repatriate Unaccompanied Children in the Absence of Safeguards,” says that in Andalusia, the southern region that is a common entry point for migrants, authorities have said they intend to send up to 1,000 unaccompanied children in their custody to Morocco, claiming that safeguards are in place. But officials could not explain how they determined it was in a child’s best interest to return, as required by law. They also said that the Moroccan government’s agreement to take a child back was in itself a sufficient guarantee of the child’s well-being after return.
“Spain is taking a chance with these children’s safety,” said Simone Troller, children’s rights researcher in Europe for Human Rights Watch. “Why deny these especially vulnerable children more safeguards, including the same right to an independent lawyer that adult migrants have?”
On October 20, 2008, Spain is scheduled to appear before the United Nations Human Rights Committee, which will review the government’s implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). In its official report to the committee, however, the Spanish government does not address its efforts to repatriate children who enter the country without parents or caregivers, though research by Human Rights Watch and other organizations has shown that it routinely violated their rights under the ICCPR when returning them.
In repatriation decisions, government officials fail to analyze or even collect information about what could happen to these children in their home countries, Human Rights Watch researchers found. In many cases children are not allowed to be heard as officials consider whether to send them back. Spanish courts have stopped at least two dozen repatriations in the past two years because the process violated the country’s own laws.
Although Spain provides adults facing deportation with lawyers, it denies legal assistance to children. Instead, they are represented by the same body that often proposes to deport them. The government has tried to block pro bono lawyers who have taken up a minority of children’s cases on appeal.
“More than any other migrants, children who come to Spain alone need lawyers to protect their interests,” Troller said. “Spain should provide children with legal aid, just like it does adults.”
Most of the children who arrive unaccompanied come from Morocco. Spain’s strategy to speed up the return of unaccompanied children to Morocco and Senegal, another country from which hundreds of unaccompanied children arrived to the Canary Islands, has led it to conclude bilateral readmission agreements followed by high-level meetings with both countries. It has also financed the construction of residential reception facilities for children in Morocco.
But Human Rights Watch and other international and Spanish nongovernmental organizations have repeatedly documented Spanish and Moroccan abuses of unaccompanied children during and following returns to Morocco. Instead of being reunited with their families, Moroccan security officials turned children out onto the streets and left them to fend for themselves.
“Spain must investigate what children will face upon return before deciding whether to send the child back,” Troller said.
Human Rights Watch urged Spain to:
Provide all unaccompanied children with competent independent legal assistance throughout repatriation proceedings;
Adopt regulations that clearly state the government’s obligation to carry out an individualized best interest determination and a risk assessment before deciding to repatriate a child, as well as specific procedures to be followed and standards to be met; and,
Put in place procedures for regular public reporting about how the readmission agreements for unaccompanied children with Morocco and Senegal are being carried out, and allow for independent monitoring of these agreements.
Link
In repatriation decisions, government officials fail to analyze or even collect information about what could happen to these children in their home countries, Human Rights Watch researchers found. In many cases children are not allowed to be heard as officials consider whether to send them back. Spanish courts have stopped at least two dozen repatriations in the past two years because the process violated the country’s own laws.
Although Spain provides adults facing deportation with lawyers, it denies legal assistance to children. Instead, they are represented by the same body that often proposes to deport them. The government has tried to block pro bono lawyers who have taken up a minority of children’s cases on appeal.
“More than any other migrants, children who come to Spain alone need lawyers to protect their interests,” Troller said. “Spain should provide children with legal aid, just like it does adults.”
Most of the children who arrive unaccompanied come from Morocco. Spain’s strategy to speed up the return of unaccompanied children to Morocco and Senegal, another country from which hundreds of unaccompanied children arrived to the Canary Islands, has led it to conclude bilateral readmission agreements followed by high-level meetings with both countries. It has also financed the construction of residential reception facilities for children in Morocco.
But Human Rights Watch and other international and Spanish nongovernmental organizations have repeatedly documented Spanish and Moroccan abuses of unaccompanied children during and following returns to Morocco. Instead of being reunited with their families, Moroccan security officials turned children out onto the streets and left them to fend for themselves.
“Spain must investigate what children will face upon return before deciding whether to send the child back,” Troller said.
Human Rights Watch urged Spain to:
Provide all unaccompanied children with competent independent legal assistance throughout repatriation proceedings;
Adopt regulations that clearly state the government’s obligation to carry out an individualized best interest determination and a risk assessment before deciding to repatriate a child, as well as specific procedures to be followed and standards to be met; and,
Put in place procedures for regular public reporting about how the readmission agreements for unaccompanied children with Morocco and Senegal are being carried out, and allow for independent monitoring of these agreements.
Link
Labels: Children, Human Rights Watch, Morocco, Renata Daninsky, Senegal, Spain
Saturday, June 28, 2008
African Union: Use Summit to Press Senegal on Hissène Habré Trial, by Francis Chartrand
Two Years After AU Mandate, No Action on Former Chad Dictator
Chadian Association of Victims of Political Repression and Crime (AVCRP)
Chadian Association for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (ATPDH)
African Assembly for the Defense of Human Rights (RADDHO)
Chadian League for Human Rights (LTDH)
National Organisation for Human Rights (ONDH)
Agir Ensemble pour les Droits de l’Homme
International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH)
Human Rights Watch
(Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, June 23, 2008) – During its upcoming summit, the African Union should ask Senegal to explain why little progress has been made in the two years since it mandated Senegal to prosecute former Chadian dictator Hissène Habré, eight human rights organizations said today. The African Union is holding its bi-annual summit here on June 30 and July 1.
Habré is accused of massive crimes during his 1982-1990 rule before he fled to Senegal in 1990. On July 2, 2006, the African Union mandated Senegal to “prosecute and ensure that Hissène Habré is tried, on behalf of Africa, by a competent Senegalese court.” Senegal has yet to initiate a prosecution, however.
The African Union should ask Senegal for a road map for the investigation and trial of Habré, said a joint statement by the Chadian Association for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (ATPDH), the Chadian Association of Victims of Political Repression and Crime (AVCRP), the African Assembly for the Defense of Human Rights (RADDHO), the Chadian League for Human Rights (LTDH), the National Organisation for Human Rights (ONDH) Human Rights Watch, Agir Ensemble pour les Droits de l’Homme, and the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH).
“Senegal has perfected the art of delay in this case. The African Union’s credibility is at stake,” said Alioune Tine of the Dakar-based African Assembly for the Defense of Human Rights (RADDHO). “This is a test case for African justice. Africa can’t complain that international justice is picking on African leaders while it allows the Habré case to die a slow death in Senegal.”
In January 2008, at Senegal’s request, European Union experts visited Senegal to evaluate its financial and technical needs. The experts called on Senegal to define a prosecution strategy and set forth a precise calendar and a reasonable budget, none of which has been done. They also suggested that a Senegalese coordinator be named to handle the administrative and financial aspects of the case.
In April, the former coordinator of Habré’s legal team, Madické Niang, was named minister of justice of Senegal – a key position for the organization of the trial. In May, he announced the appointment of a coordinator for the trial as well as a “Follow-up and Communication Committee.” He also stated that a constitutional amendment would soon be adopted making clear that Senegalese courts may prosecute acts of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes perpetrated in the past. He also said judges would be named to investigate the case by June 7, but neither of these pledges has happened.
“The victims are tired of Senegal’s promises, it is time for the case to get moving,” said Souleymane Guengueng, founder of the Chadian Association of Victims of Political Repression and Crime (AVCRP), who almost died during two years of mistreatment in Chadian Habré’s prisons. “The African Union needs to step in.”
The AU decision mandating Senegal to try Habré envisaged “provid[ing] Senegal with the necessary assistance for the effective conduct of the trial,” but it took 16 months for the African Union to name Robert Dossou, Benin’s former foreign minister and justice minister, as an envoy to the trial. His role is unclear, however, and the groups asked the African Union to define his mandate and to provide concrete assistance to Senegal.
“The African Union needs to ensure that its decision to try Hissène Habré is put into practice,” said Dobian Assingar, a Chadian activist with the FIDH.
In its May 2006 ruling in the case Guengueng v. Senegal, (http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/aafdd8e81a424894c125718c004490f6?Opendocument), the UN Committee against Torture found that Senegal had violated the Convention against Torture twice, first by failing to prosecute Habré when the victims first filed their case in 2000, and then by failing to prosecute or extradite him when Belgium filed an extradition request in September 2005. The committee ruled that Senegal was obliged to prosecute or extradite Habré.
Background
Hissène Habré ruled Chad from 1982 until he was deposed in 1990 by President Idriss Déby Itno and fled to Senegal. His one-party regime was marked by widespread atrocities, including waves of ethnic campaigns. Files of Habré’s political police, the DDS (Direction de la Documentation et de la Sécurité), which were discovered by Human Rights Watch in 2001, (http://www.hrw.org/justice/habre/habre-police.htm) reveal the names of 1,208 persons who were killed or died in detention. A total of 12,321 victims of human rights violations were mentioned in the files.
Habré was first indicted in Senegal in 2000 before courts ruled that he could not be tried there. His victims then turned to Belgium and, after a four-year investigation, a Belgian judge in September 2005 charged Habré with crimes against humanity, war crimes, and torture.
Following a Belgian extradition request, Senegalese authorities arrested Habré in November 2005. The Senegalese government then asked the African Union to recommend how to try Habré. On July 2, 2006, the African Union, following the recommendation of a Committee of Eminent African Jurists, called on Senegal to prosecute Habré “in the name of Africa,” and Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade declared that Dakar would do so.
To view an April 2008 letter to the international and African communities from the International Committee for the Fair Trial of Hissène Habré, please visit: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/04/29/africa18666.htm
For additional background on the case against Hissène Habré, please visit: http://www.hrw.org/justice/habre/
Labels: Francis Chartrand, Senegal
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