By Lauren Salim Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has ruled Uganda since 1986. In February 2021 Uganda will hold elections. Museveni circumvented term limits in the Constitution to run for his sixth term. In June 2020 the Electoral Commission of Uganda declared that due to COVID-19, the campaign for the 2021 Presidential and General Election will be held digitally as a “ scientific election process .” Museveni is far better equipped than opposition groups to disseminate digital information because of his access to the internet, radio, and television media. Voter Demographics & Access to Information : Uganda’s 2020 population is 45.7 million with roughly 50% of the population 18 years of age or older and thus eligible to vote. According to the Electoral Commission, 17,782,594 people have registered to vote in the 2021 election, approximately 2.5 million more than in the 2016 elections. Figure 1: map of ethnic regions in Uganda by Dr. Stefen Lindemann of the London School of Economics 75.6% of the Ugandan population lives in rural areas that have limited access to digital technologies. According to the World Bank only 42.6% of the population has electricity in their homes. Groups that have opposed Museveni in past elections, such as the Acholi in the north and the Bakonjo peoples in the southwest have limited access to electricity. Museveni’s traditional supporters, urban Ugandans from the Baganda group, are much more likely to have access to TV, radio, and the internet. They will therefore have disproportionate weight in a “digital election.” Figure 2: Ugandan Population Density 2020 with data from ESRI Access to electricity and digital communications Figure 3 Lighting and electricity data courtesy of Energy Sector GIS Working Group Uganda Ugandans must have a national identity document to obtain access to phones, bank loans, and the ability to vote. Around 80% of Ugandan women have national identity documents. 70% of Ugandans have mobile phone subscriptions. 82% of men and 63% of women own a phone . Rural women are the least likely to own a phone . 17 million of the 26 million Ugandan telephone subscribers have phones that have at least rudimentary abilities to surf the internet . During the 2016 election, President Museveni shut down access to social media sites, ostensibly to stop the spread of misinformation and disinformation. It can be anticipated that a similar restriction will be imposed during the 2021 election. In July 2018, an ‘ idle talk’ tax was imposed, ostensibly to combat online “gossip” in the country. To visit social media sites including Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter, Ugandans have to pay a tax of 200 shillings per day. 41% of Ugandans live below the poverty line of $1.90 USD/day or 6,971.82 shillings. The tax constitutes at least 3% of the daily income for 41% of the population. In Uganda, radio is the most accessible mass medium, particularly in rural areas, as batteries can power radios even where there is no electricity. The cost of the radios (around 20,000 shillings), however, is a barrier to ownership. To keep broadcasting, many Ugandan stations receive government subsidies and donations to stay afloat, which compromises a station’s ability to disseminate unbiased information. In Uganda, popular stations CBS FM and Akaboozi FM have government ties. Television is another source of news that will be used for campaigning. Uganda has 1.6 million TV subscribers. Figure 4: radio ownership data courtesy of Energy Sector GIS Working Group Uganda Most TV and radio stations in the country are pro-Museveni , so Ugandans cannot get unbiased information about opposition candidates. The state police and military function as protection for Museveni against political rivals and ethnic opposition groups. Radio and TV stations are now asked to submit details to police on which politicians they will invite to their shows so that police presence and curfew enforcement can be organised in advance. Opposition candidates have complained about being excluded from shows in rural areas as security agencies bar them from attending. Early Signs of Violence and Intimidation : Over twenty candidates have expressed interested in running for president. In August 2020, one of Museveni’s opponents, pop star Bobi Wine, stated that Ugandan police fired tear gas and bullets into crowds in Mbale that were greeting him before a radio talk show. A police spokesperson has since stated that “violence suppression units” have been created to “control demonstrations and all acts of violence during the elections”. Thus far these police units have only targeted groups opposing Museveni. In 2018 Wine was arrested following some party gatherings . Police intervened with gun fire, resulting in civilian fatalities. Many have likened the treatment of Wine to the treatment of former presidential candidate, Kizza Besigye, who was repeatedly arrested during his campaigns in 2006 and 2011. Since the beginning of 2020, Uganda has suffered its highest levels of violence in over a decade . The lead up to the 2021 election is likely to result in an increase of state repression. Genocide Watch expects to see Museveni’s government targeting political opponents, their supporters, and ethnic minorities like the Bakonjo and Acholi that oppose Museveni’s rule. COVID-19 and the 2021 Digital Election Museveni has imposed COVID-19 restrictions that limit access to political information, especially in rural areas of Uganda. The restrictions prohibit mass rallies . Since the ban on campaign rallies, eligible voters can learn about the presidential candidates only through internet, radio, or television sources. This limitation favors urban over rural voters and supporters of Museveni over his opponents. According to data compiled by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), incidents of state violence against civilians have markedly increased since March 21, 2020, when Uganda had its first COVID-19 case. In March 2020 state police reportedly used excessive force to impose COVID lockdown measures and targeted political opponents and ethnic groups that are at odds with Museveni’s government. Repressive measures have included forcefully breaking up demonstrations and targeting market traders. According to the ACLED COVID-19 Disorder Tracker , 47% of the incidents of police violence in Uganda since March 2020 have been cases of state repression of civilians. Ugandan security forces have cracked down on writers and journalists for criticizing the president . Figure 5: incidents of state repression are occurring at the highest frequency in over a decade Conclusion The 2020 – 2021 campaign season in Uganda will likely see increased violence and state repression as Museveni’s ruling party seeks to maintain power. At-risk groups include political and civilian groups opposed to Museveni and his re-election, and ethnic minorities from the North and West that are excluded from power. In their campaigns they will emphasize the corruption of Museveni’s National Resistance Movement. Access to information during this so-called “scientific election” will be directly linked to unequal access to electricity and mobile phone subscriptions. Electricity in homes is largely restricted to homes near Kampala, which limits rural voters in accessing information via TV and the internet. Radios, despite state restrictions on content, will likely be the best way for opposition candidates to reach the population. But even radio stations are now subject to police control. With the backing of state sponsored media, the Ugandan Defense Forces, and the police, Museveni will have the upper hand during this election season. Violent suppression of anti-Museveni protesters may result in riots. Heavy-handed moves to enforce COVID-19 restrictions frame an increasingly violent election year in Uganda. If the official result of the election is another victory for Museveni, Uganda could erupt into violent demonstrations. Repression by the Ugandan police and military could result in crimes against humanity that target minority ethnic groups. Genocide Watch considers Uganda to be at Stage 6: Polarization. Genocide Watch recommends: - The Ugandan government must ensure that as many Ugandans as possible can connect to the internet during the election period. Freedom of expression and access to information are rights enshrined in Uganda’s constitution as well as in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Uganda is a state party. - The Ugandan government should ensure that all presidential candidates receive airtime on radio and television stations without restrictions or police interference. - The African Union, The Carter Center, The European Union, and other organizations should monitor the preparations for and conduct of the 2021 Ugandan election.

By Keminni Amanor The U.N. children’s fund has strongly condemned the killing of at least 17 minors among scores of others slain in a weekend massacre in Niger. UNICEF says unofficial sources put the death toll from Saturday’s attack in Tchomo-Bangou and Zaroumadareye villages at more than 100. A UNICEF statement Tuesday said the victims include 10 boys and seven girls, who were believed to be under the age of 16. Gunmen surrounded the villages in the southwestern Tillaberi region and began killing people. Some children were burned to death, UNICEF said. There has been no claim of responsibility. “Such wanton violence and disregard for the lives of children and families must be condemned in the strongest possible terms,” said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF executive director. She said these “heinous acts are grave violations of children’s rights and of international humanitarian and human rights law.” The attack on the villages near the Mali border came on the same day election officials announced results for the first round of Niger's presidential vote, showing ruling party candidate and former government minister Mohamed Bazoum with a clear lead. A runoff is set for next month. The villages are in a volatile area where Islamist militant groups are active. Seven Nigerien soldiers were killed in an ambush in Tillaberi on December 21. Travel by motorbike has been banned in Tillaberi since the first of January in a bid to prevent incursions by highly mobile fighters. On the other side of Niger, Toumour in the Diffa region was the target of a December attack that left 45 people dead, including 10 children. UNICEF said the attackers destroyed “vital food stocks, water infrastructure, and two classrooms, affecting nearly 21,000 people.” That attack too came the day before municipal and regional elections that had been repeatedly delayed because of poor security. In total, about 4,000 people across Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso died in 2019 in violence and ethnic bloodshed stirred by Islamists, according to the U.N. Fore said “UNICEF stands ready to support the government of Niger in assisting survivors and affected populations, and in protecting the rights of all children.” © Voice of America 2021

Troubling Trend of Anti-LGBT Actions By Kyle Knight Authorities in Indonesia’s Aceh province publicly flogged two gay men 77 times each on Thursday after a vigilante mob raided their apartment in November, allegedly caught them having sex , and handed them over to the police. The whipping—recognized as torture under international law—was punishment under the province’s Sharia (Islamic law) regulations, which forbid same-sex conduct. The floggings are part of a longstanding pattern of targeted abuse by Acehnese authorities against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. In 2012, then-Banda Aceh deputy mayor Illiza Saaduddin announced a “special team” to make the public more aware of the “threat of LGBT," posting an image of herself on Instagram holding a handgun and vowing to flush gays out of Aceh. In October 2015, special Sharia police arrested two women , ages 18 and 19, on suspicion of being lesbians for embracing in public, and detained them for three nights before sending them to religious “rehab.” An episode nearly identical to this week's flogging happened in 2017 – including vigilantism, police involvement, prosecution under grossly discriminatory Sharia regulations, and public flogging. The abuse also is part of a five-year anti-LGBT campaign driven by many of Indonesia’s national and local leaders with harmful rhetoric and repeated failure to punish abusers. Aceh is the only one of Indonesia’s 34 provinces that can legally adopt bylaws derived from Sharia (though such provisions are spreading elsewhere in the country). Over the past decade, Aceh’s parliament has adopted Sharia-inspired ordinances that criminalize everything from non-hijab-wearing women, to drinking alcohol, to gambling, to extramarital sex. The province’s 2014 Criminal Code bars both male and female same-sex behavior. And while the spectacle of public torture in Aceh is horrific, authorities across the country continue to lead or participate in arbitrary raids and arrests in private spaces. Increasingly, authorities are using a discriminatory pornography law as a weapon to target LGBT people. The crackdown has contributed to a major public health crisis : HIV rates among men who have sex with men were already spiking, and the attacks of the last five years have stoked fear and inhibited vital HIV prevention work. The Indonesian government has made commitments in principle to protect LGBT people . But it seems President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s slogan of "unity in diversity" does not genuinely extend to protecting everyone – including the two men mercilessly flogged today. © Human Rights Watch 2021

A court in Colombia is exposing atrocities in the country’s long civil war, trying to compile a record all sides can accept, and offering leniency to those who confess. Not everyone is pleased. By Julie Turkewitz BOGOTÁ, Colombia — The testimony is searing. “They tied me to a tree,” said one victim of Colombia’s guerrilla. “They put us in a cage,” said another. “I was kidnapped for four years.” “Until then, I had not heard of ‘mass graves,’” said a victim of the military. “Finally I understand that those in charge of protecting civilians killed thousands of Colombians.” After decades of civil war, Colombia has created a historic postwar court designed to reveal the facts of a conflict that defined the nation for generations, morphing into the longest-running war in the Americas. Thousands have testified. Wide-ranging investigations are underway. The first indictments were issued in January — and the first pleas are expected in April. Perpetrators will be punished, with those who admit responsibility receiving lesser, “restorative” sentences, like house arrest or remaining free while doing hard physical labor. Those who refuse to do so will face trial, and the possibility of decades in prison. The goal of the court, which began its work in 2018, is to give the country a common narrative about the conflict, one that will allow Colombians to move forward, together. The success of the court, called the Special Jurisdiction for Peace , could help change the trajectory of a nation that has been at war for much of its history, with one conflict rolling almost immediately into the next. Its failure could mean the repetition of that cycle. “We have a window — a generational opportunity — to leave behind the insane violence we have lived in all our lives,” said Ingrid Betancourt, a former presidential candidate who was kidnapped and held by guerrillas, sometimes in chains, for more than six years. “I would like us to be able to open that window and let the light in.” Colombia’s most recent conflicts date to the 1960s, when a leftist rebel group called the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, launched an insurgency meant to remake a sharply unequal society. The war grew into a complex battle among left-wing guerrilla groups, right-wing paramilitaries, the military, drug cartels and the United States, which supplied and advised the military. For years, everyday life was marked by bombings, kidnappings and assassinations. At least 220,000 people died and more than five million were displaced. The war ended in 2016, when the FARC and the government signed a peace deal that included the creation of the postwar court. But if the goal of the court is to dig up buried truths, it is clear that this search is also exhuming and exacerbating longstanding divisions — and that the road to a common narrative, if one can be found, will be lined with conflict. Some see the court as their best chance to find answers about lost loved ones, and the country’s best hope for peace; others are angered that assassins and kidnappers will not receive prison sentences; still others simply dismiss the court’s findings, saying the institution is biased in favor of the former guerrillas. The court’s most prominent critic is former President Álvaro Uribe, who presided over some of the final years of the war, and who remains the country’s most divisive and influential political figure. A recent report by the court implicates the military in more than 6,400 civilian deaths from 2002 to 2008, during his presidency. Mr. Uribe responded to the report by calling it an “attack” with “only one purpose,” “to discredit me personally.” The court is held in an imposing black building on a main avenue in Colombia’s capital, Bogotá. Some testimony is public, and has been streamed on social media or released in public documents , offering a window into decades of suffering. To protect participants’ safety, much of it takes place behind closed doors. So far, the court’s findings have been explosive, revealing victim counts far higher than previously confirmed and hard-hitting accusations that many skeptics did not expect. In January, magistrates issued their first indictment , accusing eight top FARC leaders of orchestrating a kidnapping-for-ransom operation that lasted decades and resulted in more than 20,000 victims, many of them civilians, some of whom were raped or murdered. The kidnappings were used to fund the insurgency, said the court, and amounts to crimes against humanity. The accused former FARC leaders have indicated that they will admit guilt. If they do, they will receive non-prison sentences, which could include up to eight years digging up old land mines or tracking down bodies. If they don’t admit guilt, they’ll face a trial and the possibility of decades behind bars. They have until late April to reply to the court. “We are assuming collective responsibility,” said Julián Gallo, who is among the indicted leaders, in an interview. “These were practices that in some form delegitimized our fight,” he went on. “What we have asked for is forgiveness.” Some see the charges and the defendants’ response as signs that the court’s decisions will be taken seriously, enabling it to establish that common narrative. Héctor Angulo’s parents, a metalworker and housewife, were kidnapped by the FARC on April 19, 2000. He sold his home and paid a ransom for their release, but the guerrillas never returned his parents. He has spent two decades searching for their bodies, he said. He’s not sure he can ever forgive, he said, “because the pain one feels for a family member is irreparable.” But he supports the court’s work, he added, because “it’s what we have.” Ximena Ochoa opposes the court. Her mother was kidnapped by the rebels on Dec. 16, 1990, held for four terrible months and released after her family paid a hefty ransom. She believes that the court is a distraction designed to gloss over the FARC’s unresolved crimes. The guerrillas, for example, have yet to hand over much of their war chest. The court, she said, will allow the former rebels to admit to some things, an effort to placate the international community by claiming that justice has been served in Colombia. “This whole transitional justice thing is a hoax,” she said. Of the FARC, she added: “They are never going to tell the whole truth.” Two of the rebel leaders accused of crimes against humanity are sitting senators, including Mr. Gallo — the result of a provision in the peace deal that transformed the FARC into a political party and gave it 10 seats in the 280-person legislature. Some victims are calling on the indicted senators to step down. Others, including Ms. Betancourt, believe they should be allowed to stay. “It’s very important that we say to Colombia that we are building a democracy that is mature enough to listen to the political voice of people who committed crimes,” but then “accepted and signed the peace accord,” she said. In February, magistrates turned their attention to the crimes of the military, issuing the scathing report that implicated officials in the intentional killing of at least 6,402 civilians when Mr. Uribe was in office. The killings were part of a previously revealed strategy in which Colombian soldiers or their allies lured civilians from their homes with the promise of jobs, and then killed them and tried to pass off their deaths as combatant kills. Many of the victims were poor, some were mentally disabled. The idea was to show that the government was winning the war. In Colombia, the scandal is among the most-discussed aspects of the conflict, and victims have become known as “false positives.” A previous report from the country’s top prosecutor had put the number of victims at 2,248. The court’s new number is nearly three times as high, and implies that a significant percentage of combat kills in that era were actually civilian murders. The association of retired military generals responded to the court’s announcement by calling the numbers “inflated,” and an attempt to “delegitimize the commendable work” of the military. Magistrates are expected to begin announcing indictments in that scandal later this year. Mr. Uribe, who has repeatedly said he did he everything he could to stop the killings, is exempt from the court as a former president. During one of the court’s public hearings , Jacqueline Castillo described how her brother Jaime, a civilian, disappeared one day in August of 2008, and reappeared days later in a mass grave far from home, identified by the military as a rebel killed in combat. She went to the grave, she said, and watched as men pulled her brother from the earth. Before, she had idolized the Colombian military. “They were my heroes,” she said, pressing her palm to her heart. “Now they make me sad.” Sofía Villamil contributed reporting. © The New York Times 2021

Aid groups warn of collapsed health system as traumatised people displaced by Islamist insurgency in Cabo Delgado seek help By Kaamil Ahmed The insurgency in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province is causing a mental health crisis, with a quarter of the region’s population now displaced. People are struggling with untreated trauma after witnessing extreme violence, including mass beheadings, said humanitarian groups concerned about the strain on those who have sheltered dozens of displaced people in their homes. “There is so much trauma. There is an atmosphere of fear; people are afraid to speak. This is a public psychological condition that is affecting Cabo Delgado,” said David Matsinhe, an Amnesty International researcher. “You can only imagine that a woman who sees her son, her husband, chopped up like an animal is affected by it; who gives birth in a crowded boat in the sea, everybody watching. There’s no privacy, all dignity and humanity stripped.” He said mental health support was urgently needed because of the scale of the conflict . Patricia Postigo, a medical coordinator for Médecins Sans Frontières, said the psychological distress of people when they emerged from hiding in the bush was generally worse than their physical condition. “You see the people are very sad, depressed. You can see they are lost when they are talking with you, totally lost. They cannot sleep at night,” she said. “All of these displaced people, they all need support, and also the local community. They are the ones giving support and they are caring, but they need help themselves.” Postigo said the health system in the historically neglected province had collapsed, and was not equipped to support the mental health needs of the displaced people. An Amnesty report released on Tuesday said hundreds of civilians had been killed by the Islamic State-linked armed group Ahlu Sunnah Wa-Jamaa , and by government forces including the South African mercenary group Dyck Advisory Group (DAG). Ahlu Sunnah Wa-Jamaa launched an insurgency in the region in 2017, which escalated last year. A group monitoring the conflict, Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, put the total fatalities at 2,614 , with 1,312 of them civilians. The Amnesty report quoted a lorry driver who said he regularly saw corpses on the roadside and received photos of decapitated people, sent by the militants to scare local people. Witnesses told Amnesty that government forces tortured and killed civilians it suspected of supporting the militants. DAG announced it would investigate allegations of grenades being thrown from its helicopters during the fighting. Postigo said she was concerned about reports from witnesses that many people were still living in the bush, waiting to return to their homes but without access to food or healthcare. The UN population fund, UNFPA, called on Thursday for $12m (£8.7m) to support displaced women and girls with sexual and reproductive health services. It is estimated at least 3,000 women have suffered sexual violence. “There are women who have managed to escape the bases of insurgents who have experienced the deepest forms of human cruelty,” said Matsinhe. “They’ve been raped, been forced into marriages, been violated, physically and emotionally, made to work like slaves.” Cabo Delgado received little attention or development from the government until the discovery of gemstones and gas reserves in 2009. In January, the French energy company Total suspended operations at the Afungi gas project in Cabo Delgado over security issues. © The Guardian 2021

After the coup in Myanmar, President Biden is being pushed to do what the Trump administration would not: Declare atrocities against the Rohingya in 2017 as genocide. By Lara Jakes Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar in 2017. Some American allies have already declared the monthslong rampage against the Rohingya as genocide. Credit...Adam Dean for The New York Times Three years ago, American investigators produced a 15,000-page analysis of atrocities committed in 2017 against the Rohingya, an ethnic Muslim minority group in Myanmar. The report documented survivors’ accounts of gang rapes, crucifixions, mutilations, of children being burned or drowned and of families locked inside their blazing homes as Myanmar’s military sought to exterminate them. That was not enough to convince the State Department during the Trump administration that the United States should officially proclaim the Rohingya to be victims of genocide and crimes against humanity. But now that the military, the Tatmadaw, has overthrown Myanmar’s civilian government , current and former American officials and human rights activists are demanding that President Biden do what the Trump administration would not: Formally hold the country’s military accountable for genocide and compel international protection of the Rohingya. “The same military leaders who orchestrated atrocities against the Rohingya have seized power in a violent coup against the elected government,” Senator Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, told Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken at a Senate hearing in early June. Mr. Markey asked when the State Department would decide whether the atrocities amounted to genocide, and though Mr. Blinken described a “very much actively ongoing” review, he would not predict when it might be resolved. He said the State Department was working with the United Nations “to try to collect and preserve evidence that will be very important” to conclude if genocide was committed. Some American allies — including Canada, France and Turkey — have already declared the monthslong rampage in 2017 against the Rohingya as genocide. The 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation filed legal action against Myanmar in 2019, accusing it of violating the U.N.’s Genocide Convention . Mr. Biden has made fostering democracy and protecting human rights pillars of his foreign policy , and in April went so far as to declare century-old atrocities committed against Armenians by the Ottoman Empire as genocide. But he has stopped short of a genocide designation on behalf of the Rohingya because of a continuing internal debate that has left the administration torn over what impact it would have and how forcefully the United States should be engaged in the protracted conflict between the Tatmadaw and Myanmar’s citizens, according to three people familiar with the discussions. Diplomats who work on human rights issues have pushed for a genocide declaration. But State Department officials who oversee East Asia policy fear that it could turn other Burmese against the United States for appearing to favor the Rohingya — who are widely reviled in Myanmar and have been denied basic rights by their own government — over people who are now also being brutalized by the military. “What is the catalyst that’s needed right now for people to focus on Burma as this continues?” said Anurima Bhargava, the past chairwoman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a bipartisan panel that makes policy recommendations to the federal government. She cited “deepening atrocities” that are threatening hundreds of thousands of Myanmar’s people — including the Rohingya — by the Tatmadaw. “That would make a genocide determination easier right now, given who’s in power and, certainly in some ways, be a way in which to highlight what it is that this particular military has done over the course of many years,” Ms. Bhargava said. The Biden administration was quick to declare the military’s takeover of Myanmar’s government in February as a coup, and in May committed to sending $155 million in aid to Rohingya refugees in what Mr. Blinken described as a continuing effort to promote “peace, security and respect for the human rights and human dignity of all people in Burma, including Rohingya.” The 2018 report detailing the attacks against the Rohingya left little doubt to investigators hired by the State Department that the Tatmadaw had committed genocide and crimes against humanity. It was based on evidence compiled by investigators and lawyers with the Public International Law & Policy Group, which the State Department hired in early 2018 to assess the violence in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine State in 2017. After interviewing more than 1,000 Rohingya refugees who had fled to camps in neighboring Bangladesh, the team documented more than 13,000 grave human rights violations, in findings that Daniel Fullerton, who managed the investigation, described as “staggering.” The final analysis that Mr. Fullerton wrote and submitted to the State Department in July 2018 amounted to what he called the most expansive investigation into the crimes against the Rohingya. Two months later, the State Department quietly released its final report, drawing on the evidence that Mr. Fullerton’s team had compiled. It detailed the planned and coordinated nature of widespread violence against the Rohingya in Rakhine State, resulting in mass casualties, including against religious leaders who had been singled out. But it conspicuously did not conclude that Myanmar’s military had committed genocide or crimes against humanity. At a U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom hearing on genocide in May, Mr. Fullerton said the evidence his team gave the State Department provided “reasonable grounds to believe there was an intent to destroy the Rohingya.” He added, “We thus face the question of: If the U.S. can’t, or we won’t, make a determination when it actually has so much reliable information about what happened, when can it?” Jalina Porter, the State Department’s deputy spokeswoman, declined to comment when asked why those findings had failed to convince diplomats that genocide had been committed, calling it a decision made by the Trump administration. In its final days in office, the Trump administration issued a genocide declaration on behalf of ethnic Uyghur Muslims in northwest China, blaming Beijing for a systematic and brutal repression of the minority group. While few have disputed the merits of that designation, it raised questions about why the Rohingya were not similarly declared victims of genocide. Under Mike Pompeo, President Donald J. Trump’s second secretary of state, the State Department was sharply focused on countering and containing China. With the genocide declaration, the United States this spring imposed additional economic sanctions against several Chinese officials on top of a raft of penalties that the Trump administration had already issued to punish Beijing for human rights abuses against the Uyghurs. Mr. Pompeo’s strategy sought to isolate China among its regional neighbors, and a decade-long American push to promote democracy and the rule of law in Myanmar after a civilian government was formed in 2011 was widely seen as an effort to counter Beijing’s influence. Priscilla Clapp, the chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Yangon from 1999 to 2002, said the State Department had long been mindful of trying to keep the civilian government in Myanmar “on an even keel” and help it resist being overrun by China’s ambitious Belt and Road initiative . Issuing a genocide designation on behalf of the Rohingya against the civilian government that was in power until February — led by the Nobel laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi — could have disrupted those efforts and other democratic reforms, said Ms. Clapp, now a senior adviser to the U.S. Institute of Peace. “No matter how much criticism they were taking over the Rohingya issue and various other things, they were actually doing a lot to reform,” she said. Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi has been detained by the military, including at an undisclosed location , since the Feb. 1 coup. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her years under house arrest to resist Myanmar’s earlier military rule. But she also defended Myanmar from accusations of genocide against the Rohingya during a 2019 appearance at the International Court of Justice that tarnished her international credentials as a champion of human rights. A genocide declaration by the United States could prompt economic sanctions, limits on aid and other penalties against Myanmar’s leaders. It almost certainly would increase pressure on other nations and foreign companies that have even indirectly helped the Tatmadaw remain in power. The Biden administration has been torn over penalizing Myanmar’s state-owned oil and gas industry amid a lobbying push by California-based Chevron , which is one of three foreign operators in a massive gas field off the country’s coast. Profits from the field are one of the Myanmar military’s largest sources of revenue. “If there’s a declaration of genocide, it at least will allow for a reconsideration by those companies as to whether or not they want to be doing business there,” said Michael H. Posner, a longtime human rights activist and former assistant secretary of state during the Obama administration. But Mr. Posner said American diplomats in Yangon had described themselves in 2019 as “playing small ball” when trying to map out a human rights strategy in Myanmar and predicted that the Biden administration was “having a hard enough time trying to figure out where its leverage is there.” “My view would be: When you see a genocide, when you document a genocide, anywhere in the world, and the evidence is clear, then you ought to say it, as a starting point,” said Mr. Posner, now an ethics and finance professor and director of the Center for Business and Human Rights at New York University. © 2021 The New York Times Company

A Syrian doctor has been charged in Germany with crimes against humanity for allegedly torturing people in military hospitals in his homeland and killing one of them. By Kirsten Grieshaber Refugees arriving to Dortmund, Germany, in September 2015. Credit...Gordon Welters for The New York Times A Syrian doctor has been charged in Germany with crimes against humanity for allegedly torturing people in military hospitals in his homeland and killing one of them, German federal prosecutors said Wednesday. The Federal Prosecutor's Office in Karlsruhe said in a statement that Alla Mousa, who came to Germany in 2015 and practiced medicine before he was arrested last year, is accused of 18 counts of torturing people in military hospitals in the Syrian cities of Homs and Damascus. The allegations include charges that Mousa tried to make people infertile. A federal indictment charged him with murder, severe bodily harm, attempted bodily harm and dangerous bodily harm, the statement said. Prosecutors said after the beginning of the opposition uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad in 2011, protesters were frequently arrested and tortured. Injured civilians who were thought to be members of the opposition were also taken to military hospitals, where they were tortured and sometimes killed. In February, a German court convicted a former member of Assad's secret police of facilitating the torture of prisoners in a landmark ruling that human rights activists said would set a precedent for other cases in the decade-long conflict. Eyad Al-Gharib was convicted of accessory to crimes against humanity and sentenced by the Koblenz state court to 4 1/2 years in prison. It was the first time that a court outside Syria ruled in a case alleging Syrian government officials committed crimes against humanity. German prosecutors invoked the principle of universal jurisdiction for serious crimes to bring the case that involved victims and defendants in Germany. In the current case, prosecutors accuse the Syrian doctor of having poured alcohol over the genitals of a teenage boy and another man and setting fire to them with a cigarette lighter at military hospital No. 608 in Homs. He is also accused of torturing nine more people in the same hospital in 2011 by kicking and beating them. The indictment also alleges that Mousa kicked and beat a jailed man who was suffering an epileptic seizure. A few days later, the doctor gave the man a medication and he subsequently died without the exact cause of death ever clearly being identified, German prosecutors said. The indictment lists other cases of alleged torture at the military hospital in Homs, including hanging people from the ceiling and beating them with a plastic baton, and pouring flammable liquids over the hand of one of them and burning it. Mousa also is accused of kicking another patient's open, infected wound, pouring disinfectant into it and setting it on fire. In one case in 2012, Mousa allegedly beat and kicked an inmate severely. When the man defended himself by kicking back, Mousa beat him to the ground with the help of a male nurse and shortly after administered a toxic substance that killed the inmate, German prosecutors allege. In addition to the torture allegations at the military hospital in Homs, Mousa is also accused of abusing inmates at the military hospital Mezzeh No. 601 in Damascus between late 2011 and March 2012. The general secretary of the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights lauded the indictment of Mousa. “Grave crimes against Syria’s civil society are not only taking place in the detention centers of the intelligence services: Syria’s torture and extermination system is complex and only exists thanks to the support of a wide variety of actors,” Wolfgang Kaleck said in a statement. “With the trial (of Mousa), the role of military hospitals and medical staff in this system could be addressed for the very first time." Kaleck also noted the trial could also be important in terms of addressing sexual violence. “Sexual violence is being used as a weapon — systematically and intentionally — against the opposition in Syria. Those affected not only suffer physical and psychological consequences but are also stigmatized and discriminated by society, ” Kaleck said, adding that Mousa's trial "could make them seen and thus also send an important signal to the many survivors who have remained silent until now.” © 2020 ABC News Internet Ventures

By Karen Lema and Neil Morales Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte delivers his 6th State of the Nation Address (SONA), at the House of Representative in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, July 26, 2021. REUTERS/Lisa Marie David MANILA, July 26 (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Monday the battle against narcotics is far from over, more than five years after he began a brutal war on drugs that has killed thousands and prompted an accusation of possible crimes against humanity. Duterte, in his last State of the Nation address, defended the campaign, saying it had brought down crime and improved peace and order. "We still have long way in our fight against the proliferation of drugs," Duterte said in his nearly three-hour address, which many had expected would focus on the COVID-19 pandemic. Duterte, 76, is not eligible for re-election, but has hinted he may run for vice-president, which critics see as a possible backdoor to a return to power. Before his address, hundreds of activists took the streets of Manila despite the threat of the more contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus, carrying banners criticising Duterte's rights record and his handling of the COVID-19 crisis. Last month, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) sought the go-ahead to launch a formal investigation into the drugs war killings, saying crimes against humanity could have been committed. read more Duterte, who has dared the ICC to put him on trial, taunted the court again, saying he has never denied that he will kill people out to destroy the country. "I have never denied, and the ICC can record it: those who destroy my country, I will kill you. And those who destroy the young people of our country, I will kill you. I will really finish you, because I love my country." Report ad Human rights groups accuse Duterte of inciting deadly violence and say police have murdered unarmed drug suspects and staged crime scenes on a massive scale. Police deny this and Duterte insists police are under orders to kill only in self-defence. "Duterte has nothing to show for his promise years ago to eliminate illegal drugs — nothing to show but dead bodies killed by the police," said Carlos Conde, Philippines researcher for Human Rights Watch. Duterte, who won the presidency in 2016 on a promise to fight corruption, crime and illegal drugs, remains highly popular despite the criticism of the killings and his pandemic response. With more than 1.5 million coronavirus cases and more than 27,000 deaths, the Philippines has the second worst outbreak in Southeast Asia. "We had hoped the president would present a clear roadmap to economic recovery, and how the government is building up healthcare capacity to handle any surges and future pandemics," said Rizalina Mantaring, an officer at the Management Association of the Philippines. While saying the country could no longer afford more lockdowns, Duterte said he could not completely rule out stricter curbs if the spread of the Delta variant got worse. He also called on the public to get vaccinated. The Philippines has so far fully immunised only 5.5% of its 110 million population, data shows. Additional reporting by Enrico dela Cruz; Editing by Nick Macfie © 2021 Reuters.

By Lara Jakes Rohingya refugees, fleeing from Taung Bazar, Myanmar, crossing the border into Bangladesh in 2017.Credit...Adam Dean for The New York Times WASHINGTON — Against the backdrop of a war in Ukraine and atrocities in Ethiopia, the United States on Monday formally accused Myanmar of committing genocide against its minority Rohingya population. “The day will come when those responsible for these appalling acts will have to answer for them,” Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, which is exhibiting evidence of decades of discrimination and abuse against Rohingya Muslims by Myanmar’s military. The violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine State peaked in August 2017 with a campaign of mass rape, burnings and drownings against entire families that killed more than 9,000 people and forced nearly one million to flee the country. It was the eighth time that the United States has issued a formal genocide declaration, committing to supporting international investigations to hold violators accountable and probably prompting additional sanctions or other penalties to isolate Myanmar’s military-led government. Messages left at the Myanmar Embassy in Washington on Monday were not immediately answered. Officials who “bear the greatest responsibility for atrocities” will continue to face severe sanctions, Mr. Blinken said. He did not mention any penalties against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi , the Nobel laureate who was Myanmar’s de facto leader at the time of the 2017 massacres and had rejected accusations of genocide. Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi was arrested in a February 2021 coup. Since then, Myanmar’s military, known as the Tatmadaw, has violently cracked down on civilians across the country, killing at least 1,670 people and detaining more than 12,000. The designation bolsters international charges of genocide that have been brought against the leaders who ordered the atrocities against the Rohingya, some of whom Mr. Blinken said remain in power in Myanmar. Canada, France, Turkey and other American allies have already declared the 2017 rampage to be genocide. Gambia, acting on behalf of the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation, filed legal action against Myanmar in 2019 at the International Court of Justice, accusing Myanmar of violating the United Nations’ Genocide Convention . Monday’s declaration “adds another layer to the already quite damning accusations against Myanmar for atrocities committed against the Rohingya,” said Oumar Ba , an assistant professor of government at Cornell University and an expert on the international criminal justice system. Noting Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s possible culpability, Mr. Ba added, “We should, however, be careful not to attribute these crimes solely to the Myanmar’s military junta.” Mr. Blinken said the Biden administration would continue to provide humanitarian aid to Rohingya refugees, the majority of whom have fled to neighboring Bangladesh, and would send $1 million to a U.N. fact-finding mission that is gathering evidence on Myanmar’s worst cases of atrocities since 2011. American investigators conducted their own inquiry into the violence, interviewing more than 1,000 refugees who reported widespread and systematic attacks. More than half of the Rohingya interviewed witnessed sexual assaults, and three-quarters said they saw killings at the hands of the military. One of every five Rohingya interviewed witnessed a mass casualty event, where more than 100 people were killed or injured, Mr. Blinken said, citing the report. “The evidence also points to a clear intent behind these mass atrocities — the intent to destroy Rohingya,” Mr. Blinken said. The State Department stopped short of declaring the Myanmar atrocities to be genocide when it released the findings in 2018 , in part to maintain an alliance with the government and keep neighboring China off-balance in the region. More than two years later, at the end of the Trump administration, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared the systemic abuse and detention of Muslim Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region of China to be an act of genocide. The Biden administration has also resisted declaring atrocities in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray province to be a genocide, although Mr. Blinken has warned of cases of ethnic cleansing against civilians there. And just last week, Mr. Blinken said he believed that war crimes had been committed by Russian forces in their invasion of Ukraine but said investigators still had not concluded that officially. Still, Mr. Blinken mentioned both conflicts on Monday. Shortly after his speech, the State Department also announced that it had designated Sudan’s Central Reserve Police as a human rights violator after accusations of rape, torture, and other abuses against pro-democracy protesters surfaced starting late last year, including as recently as last week. “Over recent weeks, as I’ve spoken with diplomats from around the world about Ukraine, I’ve also heard a constant refrain,” Mr. Blinken said. “Many of them say: ‘Yes, we stand with the people of Ukraine. But we must also stand with people suffering atrocities in other places.’” At one point, he stopped reading from his speech, displayed on a teleprompter. “It’s painful to even read these accounts,” he said after detailing some of the abuses against the Rohingya. “I ask each and every one of you listening: Put yourself in their place. Imagine this was your own child.” Mr. Blinken’s speech came nearly 89 years to the day after the opening of the Nazis’ first concentration camp, in Dachau, Germany, where his stepfather, Samuel Pisar , was held until he was liberated by American troops near the end of World War II. Mr. Pisar’s experiences helped shape Mr. Blinken’s zeal for advocating human rights and democracy in foreign policy. “That pain ripples outward, from the individual victims and survivors to loved ones, friends, to entire communities,” he said. “We also must remember to see these individuals as more than victims, but rather as whole human beings.” Copyright 2022 The New York Times Company

August 2021 By Laura Drysdale A soldier trained his weapon during the 2018 election protests. Zinyange Auntony/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Between 1983 and 1987, the Fifth Brigade of the Zimbabwe National Army killed more than 20,000 ethnic Ndebele civilians in Matabeleland and Midlands. Thousands more were detained, tortured, or raped. The atrocities, known as “Gukurahundi,” constituted genocide because the Shona-dominated Fifth Brigade intentionally destroyed a substantial part of the Ndebele ethnic group. In 2018, the Zimbabwean government formed the National Peace and Reconciliation Committee. The Committee has not formally acknowledged the Gukurahundi genocide. Perpetrators have not been held accountable for their crimes. Victims’ families have not received compensation. Genocide Watch recognizes Gukurahundi as a genocide and calls on the Zimbabwean government to end its denial. A military coup in 2017 ended Robert Mugabe’s oppressive 37-year reign. Mugabe’s successor, Emmerson Mnangagwa, was Mugabe's ZANU-PF comrade. He planned and directed the Gukurahundi genocide. ZANU-PF is dominated by the Shona. ZANU-PF youth militias have a history of violently suppressing political opponents, protestors, and other ethnic groups, especially the Matabele (Ndebele). When Mnangagwa was officially elected in 2018, large-scale protests ensued. Similar to the 2008 election violence carried out by ZANU-PF thugs, in 2018, six protestors were killed and 35 were wounded by state security forces. Members of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change were beaten or killed. Perpetrators of the 2008 and 2018 repression have never been held accountable. In January 2019, state security forces responded to civilian protests against increased fuel prices and severe food shortages with excessive force, killing 17 people. 17 women were arrested and raped. During the COVID-19 pandemic, government crackdowns on freedom of speech and media intensified. Using vague new laws on misinformation, Zimbabwean authorities harassed journalists and protestors with arbitrary arrests, detention, and torture. The LGBTQ+ community also faces state-sanctioned discrimination. Zimbabwe’s constitution bans same-sex marriage, and a 2006 law criminalizes any actions perceived as homosexual. Such laws encourage homophobia. They officially stigmatize LGBT+ people. Genocide Watch considers the situation in Zimbabwe to be at Stage 3: Discrimination . Ethnic Matabele, political dissidents, and LGBT+ individuals face discrimination and arbitrary arrests by security forces. Zimbabwe is also at Stage 10: Denial. The government’s denial that the Gukurahundi was a genocide and its refusal to hold perpetrators of grave human rights abuses accountable has created a culture of impunity. Political and military leaders believe they will never be prosecuted for their crimes. Genocide Watch recommends: Zimbabwe should recognize the Gukurahundi as a genocide. Zimbabwe's government should compensate descendants of its victims. Surviving leaders of the genocide should be prosecuted. Leaders of the 2018 election violence and January 2019 crackdown should be prosecuted. The EU, U.S., and U.N. should maintain financial sanctions and arms embargoes on Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe should repeal its legal restrictions on freedom of the media and freedom to protest. Download report: GENOCIDE WATCH is the founder and coordinator of the Alliance Against Genocide E-mail: president@genocidewatch.org Website: www.genocidewatch.com Tax exempt EIN: 26-1672589

By Kylie Henry Trainee soldiers for a new unified army attend a reconciliation program at a makeshift barracks run by the United Nations in Mapel, South Sudan, on Jan. 31, 2020. Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images In July 2011, South Sudan officially gained independence from Sudan. A referendum in January 2011 indicated 98% of South Sudanese supported secession . The new state was led by President Salva Kiir, former rebel leader and an ethnic Dinka, and Vice President, Riek Machar, an ethnic Nuer. Many hoped independence would end the violence in the south. For decades, government-backed Arab militias had aggressively targeted Christian and Indigenous groups. From 1983 to 2005, intense fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and southern rebel groups resulted in two million deaths . The conflict ended with the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement ( CPA ), which outlined the 2011 referendum and subsequent independence for South Sudan. The 2011 referendum was also meant to settle the status of the oil-rich Abyei area at the Sudan-South Sudan border. However, weeks before the scheduled vote, Sudanese Armed Forces invaded Abyei and 100,000 Ngok Dinka fled south. No formal referendum for Abyei has taken place. The region remains marred by conflict between Misseriya and Ngok Dinka. Independence did not end the violence in South Sudan. President Kiir and Vice President Machar’s power struggle and manipulation of ethnic grievances devolved into civil war in December 2013. Kiir’s government forces and Dinka militias violently clashed with Nuer forces loyal to Machar. All forces and groups torture, rape, and kill civilians along ethnic lines and regularly abduct or recruit children. Over 400,000 civilians have been killed in the conflict. Peace agreements in 2015 and 2018 collapsed into renewed violence. Kiir and Machar signed a power-sharing agreement in February 2020, but implementation of the deal has faltered. Security sector reform, which includes unification of Kiir and Machar’s forces into a national army and demobilization of smaller militias, has not progressed. More than 80% of civilian casualties in 2021 are attributable to ethnic militias. Though the peace deal stipulated the creation of a Hybrid Court , this has yet to be established. A violent attempt to oust Machar from his SPLM/A-IO party in August 2021 jeopardizes the already fragile peace process. Clashes between Machar’s allies and opponents have killed dozens of soldiers. Ten years after independence, the country has little to celebrate. 8.3 million people are dependent on humanitarian support; 4.5 million children are malnourished. Over 2,300 civilians were killed in 2020. Today, 1.6 million South Sudanese are internally displaced, and 2.2 million are refugees in neighboring countries. Increased violence and attacks on civilians in Unity, Warrap, Lakes, Jonglei, and the Greater Pibor Administrative Area threaten the prospect of peace. Due to the slow implementation of the 2020 peace agreement and the ongoing, ethnic-based targeting of civilians, Genocide Watch considers South Sudan to be at Stage 9: Extermination . Genocide Watch recommends: · The South Sudan People’s Defense Force and opposition forces be integrated into a single national army. Ethnic militias should be disarmed and demobilized. · Church and Indigenous leaders engage in dialogue to encourage inter-ethnic unity. · The African Union establish the Hybrid Court for South Sudan to try suspected war criminals. · U.N./A.U. forces support a free and fair election for a new transitional government. Download Report: GENOCIDE WATCH is the founder and coordinator of the Alliance Against Genocide E-mail: president@genocidewatch.org Website: www.genocidewatch.com Tax exempt EIN: 26-1672589

By Laura Drysdale Taliban fighters patrol in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 19, 2021. © 2021 AP Photo/Rahmat Gul Six months after the Taliban takeover, attacks against former Afghan military and minority groups have continued. Despite announcing an amnesty , the Taliban’s consolidation of power has been characterized by revenge attacks and murders. Taliban militiamen have killed over 100 members of the former Afghan government security services since August. On August 20, 2021, Taliban forces murdered 13 Hazaras in the village of Kahor, Daykundi province. In September and October, officials carried out forced evictions against thousands of Hazara residents and redistributed their land to Taliban supporters. These measures mirror 1990s mass killings and forced displacements of Hazaras under the Taliban. Hazaras face a high risk of genocide under Taliban rule. Women’s rights have been curtailed since the Taliban takeover. On August 24, 2021, the Taliban ordered working women to stay at home . They introduced a strict dress code. They have prevented many women from returning to their jobs. Most women may not leave their homes without male accompaniment. Girls’ secondary schools remain closed. It is Taliban policy to confine women to their homes. On January 16, 2022, women’s rights protests in Kabul were met with brutal crackdowns, and several protesters have since been reported missing . This demonstrates a wider policy of arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances against civil rights activists and journalists . LGBTQ+ rights have deteriorated significantly under the Taliban. In line with their openly anti-LGBTQ+ stance , the Taliban have targeted LGBTQ+ individuals in a string of attacks . ISIS ( ISKP ) is a major threat in Afghanistan. It has targeted the Shi’a Hazara in widespread genocidal massacres and crimes against humanity. Suicide bombings by ISKP killed 72 people at a Hazara mosque in Kunduz on October 8, 2021, and 63 people at a Hazara mosque in Kandahar on October 15th. An ISKP suicide bombing at Kabul airport on August 26, 2021 killed 183 people trying to flee the country. Afghanistan’s economy has declined rapidly since the Taliban takeover. International aid was withdrawn in August 2021, sanctions were imposed, and Afghanistan’s overseas funds were frozen. These measures have created a catastrophic humanitarian crisis . The economy is on the verge of collapse. The country faces a severe food crisis, with 8.7 million people at risk of starvation. The UN Secretary-General has urged donor countries to finance massive emergency aid operations. On February 2, the US announced sanctions exemptions for humanitarian initiatives. Taliban suppression of women’s rights constitutes Stage 3: Discrimination . Taliban and ISKP attacks on minorities represent Stage 5: Organisation . Murders and forced displacement of Hazaras, former government employees, and attacks on LGBTQ+ people demonstrate Stage 8: Persecution . Genocide Watch recommends: The US should release funds from Afghan assets to support UN World Food Program relief. The Taliban government should be recognized only when it stops murdering Hazaras and former government employees and when women are allowed to return to their jobs. The UN Assistance Mission (UNAMA) mandate renewal in March 2022 should require resumption of human rights monitoring and monthly reports to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Hazaras should be accorded preferential asylum status in the US and Canada.