AFRICA
Photo courtesy of ISHR Kenya
The ISHR’s presence on the African continent includes the West African Committee of the ISHR, including groups in Togo, Cameroon, Mali, and Benin, who report on human rights violations occurring in their countries. ISHR Kenya in eastern Africa focuses on caring for and educating underpriveleged children and orphans, and new group is also forming in Uganda. The ISHR headquarters in Germany also has ongoing projects supporting the education of girls in Nigeria, as well as spreading awareness of human rights violations committed by the terror group Boko Haram. To learn more about specific issue areas and our work in Africa, see the updates below.
UPDATES
Uganda: Government should Account for Heinous Violations
On the 31st of May 2021, Ugandans woke up to scathing footage of what security forces had done six months before in the infamous November 2020 shootings in Kampala.
Cameroon: Growing Trend of Reprisals against Human Rights Defenders in Cameroon for their Cooperation with the United Nations
While the Anglophone crisis in Cameroon rages on, there has also been a growing trend to make use of acts of intimidation and reprisals against human rights defenders for their cooperation with the United Nations (UN).
Tigray: Rape as Weapon of War in Tigray, Ethiopia
One of the most gruesome and defining features of the war has been the extensive weaponization of rape and sexual violence consistent with the well-established definitions of genocidal rape.
Africa: Are African Youths being Apathetic to Politics?
Alex Martin Musiime about the youth in Africa
Africa: Dictators in Africa are not Letting Their Guard Down
This year’s International Day for Democracy fell at a time the African Continent is registering big steps in the democratic governance space.
Kenya: A Human Rights Defender Retires
ISHR’s long-time representative in Kenya, Bishop Joseph Kimani, is retiring as of September 2022.
Kenya: A Silent Epidemic – Sexual Abuse of Boys
Sexual violence and harassment continuous to permeate all sectors of society worldwide, a vice that threatens to disenfranchise our social fabric.
Human rights – A glimpse into Ghana
Standing tall as a strong democracy and the fastest growing economy in Africa, Ghana continues to write her story in the fight for fundamental human rights of all citizens, achieving a couple of wins, amidst many challenges.
Nigeria: Wave of violence in the Christian state of Kaduna
In the past few weeks dozens of people have been killed during attacks by armed men in the Nigerian state of Kaduna. The latest attack on July 19 claimed 18 lives. The ISHR is very concerned about the current flare-up of violence.
Ex-Muslim arrested for blasphemy
Frankfurt am Main/Abuja, 29 April 2020 - Mubarak Bala, President of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, was arrested by the police in Kaduna on charges of blasphemy. The arrest of the former Muslim followed a petition by Muslim lawyers to the police commissioner in Kano state, reports the ISHR.
Plan Colombia: a fundamentally flawed model for Nigeria
Christian activists in the United States are urging the US government to implement a “Plan Nigeria”, based on its military/economic Plan Colombia.
Victims of Xenophobia Abroad, Culprits of Xenophobia at Home
The mindless xenophobic violence against Nigerians and other African immigrants in South Africa is igniting social media conversation about what one might call global Naijaphobia, that is, the mass resentment of Nigerians in many parts of the world.