Human Rights Abuses

Kampala, Uganda | NIC CHEESEMAN | Africa is often imagined to be a place in which presidents can do whatever they want, unencumbered by constitutional or democratic constraints. A large body of literature has developed around the idea that the law can be flouted at will, leading to a situation …

Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | Hundreds of people demonstrated in Freetown on Saturday against sexual violence against women, days after the Sierra Leone government promised a crackdown on rape and sexual abuse. Among the estimated 300 to 400 demonstrators was the country’s first lady, Fatima Bio, who on Friday …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Two South African men accused of cannibalism were given life sentences for murder on Wednesday, with the judge saying they were guilty of “the most heinous crime”, local media reported. Sitting at the Pietermaritzburg High Court, judge Peter Olsen sentenced Nino Mbatha, 33, and …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | In Democratic Republic of Congo, they call him “Doctor Miracle” for his surgical skill and dedication in helping women overcome the injuries and trauma of sexual abuse and rape. Denis Mukwege is a crusading gynaecologist who has spent more than two decades treating appalling …

Paris, France | AFP | Here is a rundown of the main points in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations in Paris 70 years ago. – The charter addresses four key areas: personal rights, such as freedom and equality; relationship rights, such as nationality and …

Accra, Ghana | AFP | Respect Ruvimbo Topodzi was 15 and walking home from school in her native Zimbabwe when a 22-year-old man asked her out. She turned him down but it was too late. Her father saw them and assumed they were already together. He told her she had …

Madrid, Spain | AFP | A Spanish court Wednesday upheld a disputed nine-year jail term for to five men who sexually abused a woman, despite two out of five judges believing the gang committed rape and calling for tougher sentences. The men were accused of raping the woman, then aged …

Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Thousands of Israeli women protested against domestic violence in a nationwide strike on Tuesday, calling for more action and state funding to deal with the problem. The strike came after two girls were killed last week, bringing the number of women and girls murdered in …

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | With a devastating drought worsening an already horrendous humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, parents are increasingly compelled to “sell” young daughters into marriage to pay off debt or buy food, the UN said Tuesday. In the drought-hit Herat and Baghdis provinces of Afghanistan, the UN children’s …

Goma, DR Congo | AFP | A former milita leader accused of mass rape and crimes against humanity in the Democratic Republic of Congo went on trial Tuesday at a military court in the eastern city of Goma. Ntabo Ntaberi Sheka and his militiamen are accused of raping more than …