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Author: Adotei Akwei

  • Ethiopia: Zone 9

    By Adotei Akwei and Miho Mitobe

    At the end of 2016 Amnesty International published a report titled Ethiopia Offline: Evidence of Social Media Blocking and Internet Censorship in Ethiopia. This report documented how social media and networks in Addis Ababa and the Oromia region were being blocked by the Ethiopian government. Among the more alarming findings is that AI and the Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI), who co-authored the report, detected the use of Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) technology, which can be used to monitor and filter internet traffic. The Ethiopian government appears to be using the technology for “mass surveillance internet censorship.” The government’s actions constitute a violation of Ethiopia’s obligations to protect freedom of expression under the African Charter and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and also drastically restricts access to information for the Ethiopian people.The internet crackdown is linked to a brutal crackdown by the government in response to protests that started in the Oromo region in November 2015 against the Addis Ababa City Integrated Development Master Plan. This led to nationwide protests following a stampede in Oromia region on October 2, 2016 that followed attacks on foreign and local businesses. In response to the attacks and the protests, the Ethiopian government declared a State of Emergency (SOE) on October 9, 2016. The government declared that under the SOE they could “restrict freedom of expression where such freedom is abused”, and imposed a wide range of restrictions on internet access.  The government also arrested more than 11,000 people charging them with “violence and property damage.”

    Based on the standards of the ICCPR, the State of Emergency in Ethiopia has resulted in many derogations that fail to meet international human rights law. For example, the Ethiopian government established a Command Post whose purpose was to “stop any media, prohibit any assembly and search and seize any person or place.”  Under the SOE, WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter were either blocked or inaccessible in Ethiopia, especially in the Oromia region. Further, certain types of URLs were blocked, including news media, web pages of political opposition, LGBTI, calling for freedom of expression, and circumvention tools such as Tor and Psiphon.

    The Ethiopian government continues to misuse the Anti-terrorism Proclamation (ATP) legislation to charge and arrest people critical of government policies or actions. Amnesty International believes that “the acts of censorship, conducted outside a clear legal framework, over several months and affecting dozens of websites and social media platforms as well as the State of Emergency itself – which is so broadly drafted violates Ethiopia’s international legal obligations and permits violations of numerous human rights.”

    These violations include the arrest of a number of government critics such as Bekele Gerba, a leading Oromo human rights activist, Eskinder Nega a prominent journalist and a human rights defender. Who was sentenced to 18 years in jail after he wrote articles demanding freedom of expression and an end to torture in Ethiopia.. Yonatan Tesfaye, a prominent opposition figure facing a possible death sentence due to his Facebook post opposing a government plan to extend the capital’s administrative authority to the Oromia region and Merera Gudina, a human rights activist and leader in the Oromo community.

    An untold number of Ethiopians are subject to human rights violations as a result of the State of Emergency, the Anti-terrorism Proclamation and other legislation that the government is using to impose order, and, according to the government, restore peace and security.

    As 2017 begins however, the government of Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn will face very stark truths. In can continue down the current path of increasing repression, and jail anyone who it considers unacceptable, creating a nationwide detention camp, or

    it can display the leadership the country needs by ending the State of Emergency, allowing an independent commission of inquiry into the protests that have shaken the country for the last two years, repeal the draconian laws it created to silence opposition, and release the scores of prisoners that it will need to talk to and work with to address the governance and human rights challenges the country is facing.

    The world is watching and time is running out.

    This post was originally published on Human Rights Now.

  • Human Rights, Justice and Nigeria’s Security Sector: Will 2017 see the change that is needed?

    Protestors gather in Nkpor, Onitsha on 30 May 2016, Nigeria.

    By Adotei Akwei and Miho Mitobe

    In late November AI released a report on human rights violations committed by Nigerian security forces in the southeast of the country. The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) had conducted largely peaceful marches as part of an effort to establish an independent state, and the response was brutal and depressing in its familiarity. 

    It is not the first time that AI has called on the Nigerian government to investigate possible crimes against humanity by the security forces. In fact, before and since taking office, President Buhari frequently reiterated that Amnesty reports would be read and human rights violations by the security forces would be investigated. Yet by the end of 2016 no concrete progress had been made to address the ongoing human rights crisis, which contrary to public perception, is not limited to the counter insurgency effort against Boko Haram in the north eastern part of the country but is also flaring up in the south eastern part of the country

    Since August 2015, the Nigerian security forces killed at least 150 IPOB members and injured hundreds more during peaceful assemblies and marches. The reported numbers include many unlawful killings by the security forces which were documented through approximately 200 interviews including eyewitness and victims’ accounts of these human rights violations as well as analysis of a number of videos and photographs.

    The report shows that the security forces failed to comply with international and regional human rights obligations including as set out in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights.

    The Charter, which was incorporated into the Nigerian constitution, requires states to respect and uphold the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of association and expression. However, some states (Anambra, Rivers and Abia) have issued statements banning assemblies for IPOB protests. On top of that, in spite of the face that most of the assemblies were peaceful, several officials in these states have classified the protests as violent in order to justify the use of force to crack down on them.

    The report documents seven cases in which Nigerian military and police used excessive force to impede assemblies. It also highlighted the fact that the security forces have required hospitals to refuse to treat people without a letter of authorization from the police-even if they have sustained life-threatening wounds. This goes against the both the African Charter and the ICCPR as well as Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials.

    There are also many testimonies that the security forces and the police went to the hospitals to arrest critically wounded people. AI found that those who were arrested were charged with treason, which is defined as“Any person who levies war against the State, in order to intimidate or overawe the President or the Governor of a State The definition does not refer to a particular type of act, nor does it refer to a particular circumstance wherein use of force is justified.

    The government of Nigeria has yet to investigate the cases mentioned in this report. There has been no justice, truth or reparation for those extra judicially executed by the security forces, and their families have not been officially informed of their loved ones’ deaths.

    In response to the threat of the Boko Haram insurgency, Congress passed a bill (S. 1632) which is focused on facilitating the development of   an effective regional strategy. The bill not only highlights improving the capacity and performance of the regional military force known as the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) assembled to defeat Boko Haram, but also requires partner countries to “investigate and prosecute human rights abuses by security forces and promote respect for the rule of law within the military.”

    It will be up to U.S. Congress to ensure that U.S. support for the Nigerian military and the MNTJF prioritizes the issues of justice, accountability and human rights in 2017.

    This post was originally published on Human Rights Now.