Month: March 2022

KINSHASA, Mar 30 (NNN-IRIN) – A helicopter of the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), or MONUSCO, was shot down yesterday, by rebels of the March 23 Movement (M23), with eight people on board, said the DRC armed forces (FARDC).

The tragedy took place as several FARDC military positions had been attacked since early Monday by M23 rebels, in the Rutshuru territory of the north-eastern North Kivu province, the same area where the MONUSCO helicopter crashed.

“The helicopter was shot down in the midst of a mission to assess the population movements, caused by the M23 attacks in the region for humanitarian actions,” read the statement issued by the military governor of North Kivu, while accusing the M23 of having shot down the plane, in an area where rebels are staging an offensive.

According to the statement, the downed helicopter had eight peacekeepers and UN observers on board. For the moment, the military authorities have indicated that they are working hard to find the wreckage of the downed aircraft and survivors.

According to a MONUSCO briefing, released earlier, the helicopter, which was on a reconnaissance mission, crashed around noon, local time. The MONUSCO has not yet confirmed the FARDC accusations and the casualty.

The M23 is a group of former rebels of the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP). The name came from the March 23, 2009, agreement between the CNDP and the Congolese government, which M23 leaders claimed had not been respected by the government.

The cause of the air crash remains unknown, and a search-and-rescue mission is underway.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

Rights group Amnesty International has issued a scathing report on the failure of global drug companies and Western governments to quickly provide COVID vaccines to millions of people in Africa. In its annual report, Amnesty says tens of thousands of deaths could have been prevented if companies put people before profits and if governments were less nationalistic.

In its report for 2021, Amnesty International says Africa was discriminated against by wealthy nations and international corporations who failed to quickly distribute COVID-19 vaccines.

Speaking in Nairobi, Deputy Regional Director of Amnesty International East Africa Sarah Jackson said African countries were among the last to get the vaccines.

“We see a global system that has prioritized vaccines for the few, that have prioritized vaccines for wealthy countries, and it’s been very limited vaccine rollout in this region,” Jackson said. “And yet at the same time, there are a host of lots of problems that has arisen in the way in which vaccines have been distributed that often come in at short notice with very limited expiry dates, and this makes it very difficult for governments to build effective information campaigns to overcome distrust, misinformation that is prevalence in some segments of the population.”

African governments have struggled to purchase vaccines in the global market due to high demand and scarcity. Some African countries accused wealthy nations of hoarding vaccines.

Erastus Mwencha, a former deputy chairperson of the African Union Commission, echoes that view.

“’Apartheidism’ of vaccines you saw in the global north, vaccines that were expiring went to global south. In other words, Africa is seen as a nuisance value,” Mwencha said. “But yet if you think of the pandemic, there is no way the rest of the world can be happy if Africa is sick.”

In its effort to make vaccines more available on the continent, the Africa Centers for Disease Control has pushed for greater production of vaccines on the continent.

The push has paid off as American pharmaceutical giant Moderna is expected to set up vaccine production plants in five African countries.

The Amnesty report praised Rwanda for vaccinating 40 percent of its population. Researchers were also encouraged by the effort of Burundian and Tanzanian authorities to focus more on the pandemic after they initially rejected health measures to contain the virus.

Still, only 10 percent of Africans are vaccinated, the lowest rate among all the world’s continents.

Amnesty International also accused some African governments of using COVID health protocols to control or punish their citizens.

Jackson says the government used lockdowns and restrictions of movement to abuse people.

“We’ve seen a number of governments in the region, particularly the year before 2020 but also sometimes in 2021, have limited right to freedom of assembly,” Jackson said. “I am thinking in Ugandan context around the Uganda elections in the name of COVID-19, and this impacted the rights of citizens to organize to assemble.”

Amnesty International is calling on African citizens to stand up for their rights and resist any attempt to muzzle their voices. The rights group will be launching a global campaign demanding respect for the right to protest.

Source: Voice of America

A new report on the human rights situation in the Central African Republic says combating impunity is key to achieving national reconciliation and a durable peace in the war-torn country. The report from a U.N. investigator was submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Council on Monday.

The report says atrocities and human rights violations continue to be committed by various armed groups in the Central African Republic, including by the mainly Muslim ex-Seleka, the largely Christian anti-Balaka, and FACA, the Armed Forces of the C.A.R.

U.N. investigator Yao Agbetse accuses them of pillaging and looting villages and of threatening the civilian population with violence to exact illegal taxes.

He expresses particular concern about reports of ongoing human rights abuse by Russian mercenaries employed by the Wagner Group, a private security company, which reportedly has close ties with FACA.

He says witnesses have reported many crimes perpetrated by the mercenaries. Agbetse told the council they include sexual violence, intimidation, destruction of homes, racketeering, and torture.

“The Russian bi-lateral forces have also hindered investigations where violations of human rights were committed… As regards contractual relations with the C.A.R., under international law, the Russian bi-lateral forces are not a recognized international body,” he said.

Therefore, said Agbetse, the responsibility for violations falls on the Central African Republic government, which must take all measures to achieve justice for the victims.

In response, C.A.R. Minister of Justice Djoubaye Abazene told the U.N. council that his government is making major reforms. He says it is improving the security sector and has a new judicial and court system, which is working to shed light on allegations of human rights abuse.

“Investigations are now open for all presumed allegations in cases of human rights violations. Whoever the perpetrators may be and whatever their positions may be, they will be brought to justice and punished. You can be reassured of that,” he said.

The president of the C.A.R. Truth, Justice and Reparations Committee, Marie-Edith Douzima, said 87% of the population thinks it is possible to have lasting peace in the C.A.R. — providing those responsible for violence are punished.

She said it is vital to combat impunity for the C.A.R. to find a way out of the repeated crises afflicting the country. She noted that to date, no victims of sexual or other crimes have received compensation and reparations. That wrong, she added, must be rectified.

Source: Voice of America