Open letter to Hillary Clinton on human rights in Africa

Amnesty International sends this open letter to Hillary Clinton as she prepares for her first visit to several African countries in the role of U.S. Secretary of State. We urge her to use this opportunity to address human rights violations in each of these countries.

Download PDF version

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20520

July 30, 2009

Dear Madam Secretary,

I am writing to you about your upcoming visit to several African countries. Since this is your first visit to Africa as the Secretary of State, it is important that you set the tone for U.S. relations with Africa on human rights. I urge you to frankly address human rights concerns in those countries and press those governments to make substantive improvements. Failure to discuss human rights abuses in a meaningful way would send the wrong signal about the seriousness with which the United States views the human rights situation in those countries.

I also urge you to solicit support from the leaders you meet to play an active role in making the U.N. Human Rights Council a strong body. In addition, as African Union member states, each of the countries you visit could potentially play a crucial role in bringing Sudanese President Omar al Bashir to justice. I request that you urge them to condemn the Sudanese government’s response to al Bashir’s indictment by the International Criminal Court and to pledge to enforce the arrest warrant against him.

Below are Amnesty International’s human rights concerns and recommendations for each of the countries that you will be visiting. I hope that you will raise these issues while in those countries. I wish you a successful trip and I look forward to continuing this important dialogue.

Angola

Since 2001, Amnesty International has documented thousands of families forcibly evicted from various neighborhoods in the Angolan capital of Luanda in order to make room for public and private housing projects. These forced evictions were typically carried out without prior notification or consultation and without due process of law. Nearly all of the evictions were accompanied by excessive use of force. Officials specifically targeted poor families who had little access to the means of securing their tenure.

Amnesty International is also concerned about reports from Angola that the freedom and security of human rights defenders, associations, and journalists has not been protected under the current leadership. The case of journalist Fernando Lelo, who was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment in 2008 for crimes against the security of the state, exemplifies the control on freedom of speech in Angola. Amnesty International believes his arrest and conviction were politically motivated, and his trial unfair, and therefore considers Fernando Lelo a prisoner of conscience.

Amnesty International urges you to encourage the Angolan government to implement the following recommendations:

• End all forced evictions, compensate and provide adequate housing to those who have been forcibly evicted, and ensure that the rights of those who have been affected by evictions are respected, including by providing adequate notice, consultation, due process, and assurance of adequate alternative housing;
• Ensure that human rights defenders and journalists are able to work freely and without threat or intimidation;
• Immediately and unconditionally release Fernando Lelo from prison.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Civilians continue to suffer in South Kivu province as Operation Kimia II proceeds. Despite the participation of the UN peacekeeping mission alongside the Congolese army, large numbers of civilians are being killed, raped, or displaced from their homes. Serious human rights violations, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, continue to be committed in conflict zones by both government forces and armed groups.

Human rights defenders in the Democratic Republic of Congo continue to be harassed and intimidated by authorities. One such case is that of Justine Masika Bihamba, the coordinator of a women’s human rights organization in the DRC that provides services to help victims of sexual violence and has drawn attention to the increasingly high incidence of rape in eastern DRC.

In September 2007, DRC soldiers entered Justine’s home and physically and sexually assaulted her children. More recently, Golden Misabiko, a prominent human rights defender, was arrested by intelligence services for publishing a report alleging state complicity in illegal mining at a uranium mine. He is currently being held at the Prosecutor’s Office, sleeping outdoors on a cardboard box because the holding cell is overcrowded and filthy. He is facing politically motivated charges and Amnesty International considers Golden Misabiko to be a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for his lawful human rights work.

Amnesty International urges you to encourage the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to implement the following recommendations:

• Ensure that greater care is taken to protect civilians in conflict zones;
• Conduct a full and impartial investigation into the attack on Justine Masika Bihamba and her family and bring the perpetrators to justice;
• Respect and protect the right of human rights defenders and lawyers to conduct their work without hindrance and release Golden Misabiko immediately.

Kenya

Human rights defenders in Kenya have been the subject of killings, targeted threats and intimidation. The legitimacy of the work of human rights defenders is being questioned and their security jeopardized by hostile statements from police and government representatives.

Half of Nairobi's population live in informal settlements, but are crammed into only 5 percent of the city’s residential area and just 1 per cent of all land in the city, where they endure dire conditions and gross human rights abuses. Just last week, Amnesty International reported that approximately 3,000 people were forcibly removed from their homes in the Githogoro village neighborhood of Nairobi. The evictions were carried out without adequate notice or any consultation with the affected people.

Amnesty International urges you to encourage the Kenyan government to implement the following recommendations:

• Protect human rights defenders;
• Provide emergency shelter and other humanitarian aid to people forcibly evicted from their homes and take all necessary measures to prohibit and prevent forced evictions.

Somalia

Amnesty International welcomes the opportunity for you to meet with Somalia's President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed during your visit to Kenya. The ongoing armed conflict between Transitional Federal Government forces and armed al-Shabab and Hizbul Islam insurgent groups has displaced hundreds of thousands of Somali civilians in the last several months alone, and continues to impact stability and human rights throughout the Horn of Africa.

I encourage you to raise concerns regarding ongoing impunity for human rights abuses committed by all parties to the conflict, the need to enforce the UN arms embargo on Somalia, and the critical need to ensure unhindered access by humanitarian agencies to provide emergency assistance to displaced persons and other vulnerable civilians.

Liberia

Rape and other forms of sexual violence remain among the most frequently committed crimes in Liberia. Access to health facilities to address emergency needs and psychological care for women affected by sexual violence continues to be inadequate; reintegration into civilian life is especially difficult for women and girls formerly associated with fighting forces.

Amnesty International welcomes the recent Truth and Reconciliation Commission report and supports its strong focus on prosecutions and accountability with a view to establishing a criminal court with jurisdiction over “egregious domestic crimes, gross violations of human rights and serious humanitarian law violations” committed in Liberia between January 1979 and October 2003. It is critical for the government to prioritize investigating and prosecuting those responsible for crimes under international law committed during the conflict.

Amnesty International urges you to encourage the Liberian government to implement the following recommendations:

• Ensure that psycho-social counseling and health facilities are widely available in local communities to all women, men and children;
• Implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s recommendations on prosecutions.
• Investigation and prosecution of all alleged perpetrators and a comprehensive reparations program should be part of a long-term action plan to address impunity in Liberia.

Nigeria

Amnesty International is concerned that extra-judicial executions have become a tool of policing in Nigeria. There are consistent reports that the Police Force executes detainees, suspected armed robbers under arrest, people who refuse to pay bribes or people stopped during road checks. The police routinely use torture to interrogate suspects and extract confessions. In general, there is no
mechanism to prevent torture and other ill-treatment in police custody, and many inmates await trial for years in appalling conditions without being convicted of any offense.

The case of Patrick Obinna Okoroa for highlights the ongoing rule of law concerns in Nigeria. At age 14, Patrick was arrested on charges of kidnapping and robbery, crimes he has maintained he did not commit. Initially, he was sentenced to death in violation of international standards that prohibit death sentences for juveniles. In May 2009, Patrick’s sentence was reduced on appeal to 10 years in prison. However, contrary to standard practice in Nigeria, the authorities have refused to take into account the 14 years Patrick has already been detained. Amnesty International remains concerned about Patrick’s health given the deplorable prison conditions in Nigeria and about reports that he is being tortured.

Oil spills, waste dumping and gas flaring are endemic in the Niger Delta. The polluted environment has resulted in violations of the right to health and a healthy environment, the right to an adequate standard of living (including the right to food and water) and the right to gain a living through work. Hundreds of thousands of people are affected, particularly the poorest and those who rely on traditional livelihoods such as fishing and agriculture.

Amnesty International urges you to encourage the Nigerian government to implement the following recommendations:

• Ensure that national legislation criminalizes torture and extrajudicial executions;
• Promptly, thoroughly and fully investigate and prosecute any persons suspected of having carried out torture or extrajudicial executions;
• Improve access to legal aid and to provide adequate resources to the Legal Aid Council to hire more lawyers;
• Immediately and unconditionally release Patrick Obinna Okoroafor;
• Effectively regulate the oil industry in Nigeria and ensure mandatory assessment and disclosure of the social and human rights impacts of all oil and gas projects.

South Africa

Xenophobic attacks against immigrants were committed on a large scale in South Africa last year and continue on a lesser scale today, as people already displaced from their homelands are forced into camps with minimal protections. Recent violent protests over inadequate housing and social services in several South African provinces highlight the deep tension that remains regarding the promises made by the government following apartheid and the ability of the government to honor those commitments.

A recent survey revealing one in four men admits to committing rape demonstrates the endemic nature of the crisis. Amnesty International has reported that women in rural areas are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS, domestic and sexual violence, lack of access to health care and inadequate police protection.

Amnesty International urges you to encourage the South African government to implement the following recommendations:

• Take all necessary measures to protect the human rights of people at risk of violent attacks and displacement from their homes on the basis of their perceived ethnic origins or status as “foreigners” or asylum-seekers;
• Honor its obligations under both national law and international human rights law to eliminate all forms of discrimination, including on the grounds of gender, sexuality or economic status, in the realization of the right to health
• Promote, protect and fulfill women’s right to equality, their sexual and reproductive rights and right to freedom from all forms of violence and abuse.

Sincerely,

Larry Cox
Executive Director
Amnesty International USA
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE
Washington, D.C. 20003
(202) 544-0200, x.224

Send this page to a friend

Your Email:
Friend's Email:
Add a Message:
Security code: (case sensitive)