Genocide Watch is issuing a Genocide Emergency Alert for North and South Kivu and Ituri provinces of displaced by violence between the Banyamulenge and the Bafuliro, Babembe, and Banyindu communities in South Defeating them demands disciplined, forceful action by the DRC government, U.N., African Union, and African displaced in violence between the Banyamulenge and the Bafuliro, Babembe, and Banyindu communities in South The report previously said that at least 110,000 Banyamulenge specifically had been displaced in South

The 2400 kilometre long sand and rock wall through Western Sahara credit: Getty Images/ AFP/ Hertzog Western Saharan independence groups have been engaged in conflict with Morocco over its territorial sovereignty since Spain ended colonial rule in 1975. Following the declaration of a Republic by the nationalist group, the Polisario Front, Morocco invaded and occupied the territory. Since then, war has driven 158,000 Sahrawi people into refugee camps in Algeria. Moroccans now outnumber Sahrawis in Western Sahara. The Western province of Sahara is home to the indigenous Sahrawi people , a mixture of Berber and Arab descent. . The Polisario contends that Morocco’s refusal to allow West Saharan independence is a violation of Article 1 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights . Morocco claims that Spanish colonisation only suspended Morocco's traditional sovereignty over the territory, and Morocco is restoring its legitimate authority. In the 1980's Morocco constructed a 2700 km long sand and rock berm, known as the Moroccan Western Sahara Wall, it separates 80% of the western territory that is controlled by Morocco from the Polisario controlled east. 120,000 Moroccan troops patrol it. Over seven million landmines are strewn along it. The United Nations brokered a ceasefire in 1991 and established the Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) in 1991. The referendum to decide whether Western Sahara would be independent, or part of Morocco has never been held. In November 2020, the Polisario ended the ceasefire due to its frustration with endless referendum negotiations. The ‘ open war’ has deteriorated into low-intensity clashes between the Moroccan army and the Polisario Front along the Moroccan wall, which runs through Western Sahara and the southwestern portion of Morocco. Morocco has launched missile bombardments , drone strikes, and attacks on the Polisario soldiers patrolling the Moroccan wall. In August 2021, Algeria publicly broke diplomatic relations with Morocco, citing the government’s ‘abandonment’ of efforts to resolve the conflict. From 1975 until a 1991 ceasefire, Morocco perpetrated numerous war crimes in Western Sahara. The Moroccan army used napalm and white phosphorus on Sahrawi refugee camps in Guelta Zemmur. Moroccan forces have arbitrarily detained, tortured, and murdered Sahrawi nationalists, many of whom were kept at the secret Tazmamert centre for 18 years. In 2015, a Spanish judge ruled that there was sufficient evidence to show that 11 former Moroccan officials could be tried for genocide against the Sahrawi by Morocco from 1976 to 1991. A Spanish High Court dismissed a charge of genocide against the Polisario leader, Brahim Ghali , after the prosecution failed to produce enough evidence against him. Morocco’s penal code punishes criticism of Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara with prison time or fines . It obstructs free assembly and association by banning Sahrawi self-determination meetings. Morocco is accused of extrajudicial imprisonment, and forced disappearances against activists and journalists. Due to attacks unimpeded by MINURSO and restrictions on the Sahrawi people, Genocide Watch considers Western Sahara to be at Stage 3: Discrimination and Stage 8: Persecution. Genocide Watch recommends : Moroccan forces should retreat from Western Saharan provinces and demilitarise the Moroccan wall. Morocco should allow the people of Western Sahara to participate in a referendum to determine whether they will be part of Morocco or become an independent nation. The Moroccan Government should help the UNHCR and IOM to resettle Sahrawi refugees in Algeria and Mauritania displaced due to the conflict.

(Marina Riera/Human Rights Watch, 2018) The surrender by Central African Republic authorities of the Mahamat Said Abdel Kani was flown from the Central African Republic to ICC headquarters in The Hague In 2012, the predominantly Muslim Seleka rebels ousted the Central African Republic President, François a request from the Central African government . This is the ICC’s second investigation into crimes committed in the Central African Republic.

protests against President Mnangagwa, who appears increasingly intolerant of criticism, BBC World Service Africa

The joint United Nations and African Union mission in Darfur (UNAMID) has condemned the violence in Sudan's

South Sudan has carried out more executions this year than it has done in any year since gaining independence abandoning this abhorrent punishment,” said Joan Nyanyuki, Amnesty International’s Director for East Africa “The President of South Sudan must stop signing execution orders and end this obvious violation of the Last year, South Sudanese authorities executed four people, two of whom were children at the time of Article 37(a) of the Convention on the Rights of a Child, to which South Sudan is a party, stipulates

South Africa’s High Court blocked the government’s attempt to withdraw from the International Criminal South Africa’s main opposition party had gone to court, saying the government's notice was illegal because “South Africa does not want to be lumped together with pariah states who have no respect for human rights In South Africa's case, that is expected in October. Three African states - South Africa, Gambia and Burundi – last year signalled their intention to quit

Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in 1966 to commemorate the Sharpeville massacre in South Africa. On 7 March 2023, activists of Mlodziez Wszechpolska (All-Polish Youth, a far-right organisation) disrupted

If convicted, the 76-year-old, who is already in prison for corruption, could face the death penalty. Sudan's former President Omar al-Bashir, who was overthrown last year by the military in the face of mass protests against his rule, has gone on trial in the capital over his role in a coup that brought him to power more than 30 years ago. Al-Bashir, who has been jailed in Khartoum since his removal, faces charges of undermining the constitution, violating the Armed Forces Act and fomenting a coup in 1989 against the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi. Before any statements or evidence could be given on Tuesday, the trial was adjourned until August 11 to reconvene in a bigger court to allow more lawyers and family members of defendants to attend. Some lawyers had complained their colleagues had not been able to get into Tuesday's session. Other defendants include 10 military personnel and six civilians, including his former vice presidents, Ali Osman Taha and Bakri Hassan Saleh, as well as former ministers and governors. They are all accused of having plotted the June 30, 1989, coup during which the army arrested Sudan's political leaders, suspended Parliament and other state bodies, closed the airport and announced the putsch on the radio. The man dubbed the true brain behind the military coup, Hassan al-Turabi of the National Islamic Front, died in 2016. Al-Bashir stayed in power for almost 30 years before being overthrown on April 11 last year after several months of unprecedented, pro-democracy demonstrations that eventually forced the creation of a joint civilian-military ruling "sovereign council". The 76-year-old is also wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), facing charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for atrocities committed by pro-government forces in Darfur. Sudan's new governing authorities, which are tasked with leading the country to elections under a 39-month power-sharing agreement, have yet to hand him over to the ICC for prosecution. Al-Bashir is also being investigated over the killing of protesters while, in December, a Sudanese court handed him a first, two-year sentence on corruption charges. 'First Coup Trial' Ahead of Tuesday's trial, Moaz Hadra, one of the lawyers who led the push to bring the case to court, said al-Bashir and Saleh "have totally refused to cooperate with the commission of enquiry, but they will be present at the court". Hadra told AFP news agency the accused are charged under crimes including Chapter 96 of the 1983 Penal Code, which had been abolished by al-Bashir, and which carries the death penalty for attempting to destroy the constitutional order. The lawyer said "this is the first time someone who launches a coup will be brought to justice" in Sudan, which has seen three coups d'etat since its 1956 independence from Britain. "This trial will be a warning to anyone who tries to destroy the constitutional system," he added. "This will safeguard Sudanese democracy. In this way, we hope to bring an end to the era of putsches in Sudan." One of the 150 defence lawyers, Hashem al-Gali, charged that Bashir and the others would face "a political trial" being held "in a hostile environment on the part of the judicial system against the defendants". "In fact, this trial is aimed at the Islamic movement, and its sole purpose is to present it as a terrorist movement, but we have prepared our defence, and we will prove the contrary," Gali said. He argued that al-Bashir's overthrow of Mahdi took place so long ago that it was beyond the statute of limitations and should therefore no longer be dealt with by a court. The trial takes place at a time when Sudan's joint civilian-military transitional government is introducing a host of reforms and has relaunched peace talks with rebel groups. Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok's administration has recently abolished rules restricting women's freedom of movement, outlawed the practice of female genital mutilation, scrapped a law against apostasy and relaxed a ban on alcohol. Sudan hopes to soon be taken off the US State Department's list of state sponsors of "terrorism", a major hurdle to receiving foreign aid and investment. SOURCE: AL JAZEERA

By Abdi Sheikh Former al Shabaab group co-founder and spokesperson Mukhtar Robow sits among colleagues after he was named as the minister in charge of religion by Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre in Mogadishu, Somalia August 2, 2022. REUTERS/Feisal Omar MOGADISHU, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre on Tuesday named a co-founder and spokesman of the Islamist al Shabaab as minister for religious affairs, a move that could either help strengthen the fight against the insurgents or provoke further clan clashes. Mukhtar Robow had a $5 million U.S. bounty on his head after he co-founded al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab and served as the group's spokesman. Al Shabaab insurgents have killed tens of thousands of people in bombings in their fight to overthrow Somalia's Western-backed central government and implement its interpretation of Islamic law. Robow split from the group in 2013 and publicly denounced al Shabaab when he came to the government side in 2017. But the relationship soured after he grew too politically powerful. Somalia's previous government arrested Robow in December 2018 as he campaigned for the regional presidency of southwest state. Security forces shot dead at least 11 people in the protests that followed, sparking criticism from the United Nations. Robow's new job sparked a flurry of hashtags on Twitter crowing he had made it # FromPrisonertoMinister. He had been held under house arrest until recently. His appointment could help strengthen government forces in his native Bakool region, where insurgents hold substantial amounts of territory but where Robow also commands support. Or it could fan flames with the region's president, who sees him as a political rival. "We welcome his appointment. The move will advance reconciliation and will serve as a good example for more high level al-Shabab defections," said political analyst Mohamed Mohamud. "Al Shabaab members who might be thinking of surrendering ... can dream of serving their country at the highest levels." New President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, elected by lawmakers in May, has promised to take the fight to the insurgents after three years in which his predecessor, consumed by political infighting, took little action against al Shabaab. That allowed the insurgents to build up substantial reserves of cash and carry out attacks over a wide swathe of Somalia. Last week scores of al Shabaab fighters and Ethiopian security forces were killed in clashes along the two nations' shared border. Additional by Abdi Sheikh and Daud Yusuf in Nairobi, Kenya; Writing by Katharine Houreld and George Obulutsa; Editing by Estelle Shirbon © 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved

Robert Lynn and Susan Howarth were tortured at their farm in South Africa. But in South Africa, these kinds of farm attacks are happening nearly every day. In South Africa, it is 54. South Africa president Jacob Zuma. “The question I would ask, given the rhetoric, is there a future for farming in South Africa?

inspite of the challenging times" said Millicent Mutuli, UNHCR’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa