Mired in poverty, corruption and violent unrest, Haiti faces a fresh problem in the form of paid gunmen out to settle scores
At the barricaded junction next to the international airport in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, protesters burn tyres and block the road with stones and a large truck.
Cars and commercial vehicles that approach turn back or risk being stoned, while pedestrians wade on through the smoke.
Continue reading...A team of volunteer paralegals are fighting to stop Indians without proof of citizenship being sent to detention camps
When she was one, Suro Devi was rescued by a sewer cleaner from a rubbish dump in Assam, northeast India. When the state of Assam started a massive exercise to register its citizens in 2015, Suro Devi did not have a birth certificate, information about her parents, a voter list with her name on it, or anything to prove that she had lived in Assam before 25 March 1971. She seemed destined to be left off the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and become stateless, and perhaps spend the rest of her days in a detention camp.
But Zamser Ali, a citizenship rights activist based in Assam’s capital, Guwahati, heard about Devi’s case. He knew that documents were not the only thing that could prove your origins. He managed to track down five eyewitnesses to her rescue from the dump. And in August, when the draft NRC was published, Devi’s name appeared on it.
Continue reading...Amnesty and Human Rights Watch raise concerns over rising levels of abuses against activists, opponents and the press – including arrest of journalist Erick Kabendera
Tanzania’s president John Magufuli is presiding over an escalating campaign of repression that has targeted journalists, human rights defenders and political opponents ahead of his plans to run for re-election next year, two reports claim.
Magufuli – nicknamed “the Bulldozer” – is accused in two independent reports, by the human rights organisations Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, of presiding over rising levels of abuses against activists and opponents since his election in 2015.
Continue reading...Global acclaim for the peace he forged with Eritrea should buoy a leader facing the persecution of ethnic minorities at home
The Nobel prize awarded last week to Ethiopia’s prime minister, Dr Abiy Ahmed, honoured his achievements as a peacemaker. Most widely recognised was his success in thawing relations with Eritrea, the breakaway republic with which Ethiopia had remained on a war footing since the country gained independence in 1993.
No less significant, however, was his management of the internal conflict between the Ethiopian government and protesters in Oromia, the region surrounding Addis Ababa, the capital. Rather than attempting to shut down the protests by force, Abiy acknowledged their grievances, and opened up political space. He freed political prisoners jailed by previous administrations, and restored the legitimacy of parties formerly branded as terrorist organisations.
Continue reading...Relatives tell of 1,000km bus journeys to Agra where prisoners are held after Modi crackdown
The last time he saw her, Mehraj-ud-din Wani assured his wife that he would soon be a free man.
Wani was speaking to his wife, Gulshan, from behind bars in Srinagar jail in Kashmir. “He was certain that he would be released,” she said. “He said that he will be home in a matter of days.”
Continue reading...Yoweri Museveni calls for repeal of ‘colonial’ law grounded in ‘fear of Africans’ as he orders immediate release of people arrested for ‘nonsensical crime’
Uganda’s president has ordered a reprieve for street vendors arrested in a recent “idleness” crackdown, saying the law was the result of a colonial “fear” of Africans.
Yoweri Museveni signed a directive to the attorney general and the chief of police for the immediate release of people jailed for being idle and disorderly.
Continue reading...Swamped by sewage and prone to floods, Cité Soleil is a hotbed for gangs and violence. But for a lucky few, an education initiative offers a glimpse of a better future
Billy Lafalaise has spent much of his 16 years avoiding the allure of gang life in one of the world’s most notorious slums. He was born in Cité Soleil, the sprawling shantytown of Haiti’s downtrodden and chaotic capital, Port-au-Prince.
“Everyone wants to be in a gang here,” Billy says, his mother Jinette nodding in agreement. “And every gang is always looking for recruits.”
Continue reading...Exclusive: ‘World’s greatest show’ could be linked to cardiorespiratory failures in labourers building infrastructure
Thousands of migrant construction workers employed on huge infrastructure and building projects ahead of next year’s Expo 2020 exhibition in Dubai are likely to have been exposed to dangerous levels of heat stress, a Guardian investigation has found.
Dubai will host the Expo 2020 next year, in which 190 countries will come together to celebrate themes of mobility, innovation and sustainability in a series of bespoke, themed pavilions across a 4.38 sq km site in Dubai South economic zone.
Continue reading...The UK government’s continued loyalty to Saudi Arabia is causing its ‘rigorous and robust’ arms export control regime to descend into tatters
Wednesday marked the anniversary of the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Outrage at his death at the time served as a trigger for public reckoning over US and UK support for Saudi Arabia and its involvement in the war in Yemen.
At that point, the war was three and a half years old, notable for airstrike attacks on civilians and a blockade that has pushed millions into famine – violations of international law, some of which that may amount to war crimes. The murder of a prominent western-friendly journalist seemed to be the final straw.
Continue reading...As construction boom hits its peak ahead of Fifa World Cup, Guardian analysis shows workers toiling in potentially fatal temperatures
Dead at 24: did heat kill Doha World Cup worker Rupchandra Rumba?
Migrant labourers are being worked to death in searing temperatures in Qatar, with hundreds estimated to be dying from heat stress every year, a Guardian investigation can reveal.
This summer, hundreds of thousands of migrant workers toiled in temperatures of up to 45C for up to 10 hours a day as Qatar’s construction boom hit its peak ahead of the Fifa World Cup 2022.
Continue reading...When he ended the brutal 22-year presidency of Yahya Jammeh, he was hailed as a hero. But the hope inspired by Adama Barrow’s ascent has long since faded
Almost three years ago, Yahya Jammeh’s 22-year rule over the small west African nation of the Gambia came to a shock end. Fed up with the constant fear and human rights abuses, a floundering economy and endemic corruption, Gambians voted out one of Africa’s most notorious strongmen.
The man who beat him, estate agent, businessman and one-time Argos security guard Adama Barrow, was a political nobody who united a divided opposition in a coalition, promising to create jobs, repeal bad laws and create a level political playing field. He also promised to be only a transitional president, resigning after three years.
Continue reading...Determined to prevent security forces from entering their community, people in the suburb of Anchar, in the disputed region of Kashmir, stand united in their desire to achieve freedom from India. Defying teargas and pellets, they are the last remaining pocket of resistance in the country's only Muslim-majority state
Human Rights Watch says thousands of children were detained in distressing conditions by military over last six years
The Nigerian military arrested thousands of children it suspected of involvement with Boko Haram, holding them in squalid conditions for years in some cases, according to a new report.
Some of the children detained were as young as five, and others described being crammed into overwhelmingly hot, crowded cells in a notorious military facility in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri called Giwa barracks, said a report released by Human Rights Watch.
Continue reading...International Organization for Migration apparently amends programme documentation to avoid conflict with US ‘political sensitivities’
Leaked communications suggest that the UN’s migration agency is censoring itself on the climate crisis and the global compact on migration, following pressure from the US government.
An email sent by a US-based official of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on 28 August to colleagues around the world relayed that the US state department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) told the agency documents related to programme activities it funds “must not be in conflict with current [US government] political sensitivities”.
Continue reading...Travel firms adopt wait-and-see approach as government seeks to entice visitors with safaris, Nile rafting and climbing trips
When Carsten Lillelund Pedersen visited South Sudan in November he was almost turned back at the airport.
The immigration official had never seen a tourist visa before.
Continue reading...Lawsuit brought by Master’s student at Harvard, who was blocked after referring to head of state as a ‘dictator’
A Ugandan student living in the US is suing President Yoweri Museveni for blocking him on Twitter after he referred to the head of state as “a dictator” and said he had to go.
In the lawsuit, Hillary Innocent Taylor Seguya, a global youth ambassador and master’s student of international relations at Harvard University, contends that by blocking him on Twitter, Museveni bars him from online conversation. It leaves him unable to see or respond to tweets on the president’s official handle, @KagutaMuseveni, used as a public forum to disseminate information relating to the activities of his public office in his official capacity and to get feedback from citizens.
Continue reading...Bombing believed to be linked to Timothy Mtambo’s role at forefront of mass protests over alleged rigging of elections
The home of a leading human rights activist in Malawi has been petrol bombed in what is believed to be a targeted move to stop mass demonstrations planned for next week.
Three bombs were thrown at the car and home of Timothy Mtambo, the chairman of Malawi’s Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC), and the executive director of the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRC).
Continue reading...Fearful for their safety, many of the 241,000 people forced from their homes by conflict in Myanmar are reluctant to go back. Now campaigners are mobilising to resist organised returns
Bawk Nu Awng hasn’t been home since 2011. All three of the villages where she spent her childhood have been destroyed.
“War hit wherever my family lived,” she said. “I feel like it is my responsibility to engage in all matters related to peace.”
Continue reading...Mass protests triggered by leaked text messages have led to the resignation of Ricardo Rosselló. Oliver Laughland discusses his time on the island. And: Larry Elliott on why sterling is at a 28-month low
Hundreds of thousands of people have lined the streets of Puerto Rico over the past couple of weeks in some of the largest demonstrations in the US territory’s history. They began in response to hundreds of pages of leaked text messages between the governor, Ricardo Rosselló, and 11 members of his inner circle, which made homophobic and sexist jokes and mocked the victims of Hurricane Maria.
However, the problems go further back than July. The Rosselló administration has been plagued by allegations of corruption and mismanagement during the response to Hurricane Maria. Shortly before the messages were leaked, the FBI arrested five former government officials and contractors accused of misappropriating millions of dollars in federal funds given to the island after the disaster.
Continue reading...Proposal to replace restrictive legislation with independent media council could end closures of outlets but campaigners remain wary
The Malaysian government is considering repealing a restrictive media law and creating an independent watchdog to regulate the industry.
In a move that activists hope will become the first of many to improve press freedom in the country, the government is discussing the abolition of the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA).
Continue reading...