Annual Report 2021
31 December 2021
The East and Horn of Africa sub-region continues to experience
The East and Horn of Africa sub-region continues to experience
As a young student, Anny Kapenga used to cringe at the cult-like worship of Mobutu Sese Seko, the then Zaire’s President. By then, in the early 1990s, Zaire was still under one party rule, and calls were increasing for Mobutu to open political space to allow other parties to operate. In the meantime, however, all Zairians were expected to show affection for Mobutu wherever they gathered in public.
Students across Zaire’s schools were required to sing and dance adoringly before his (Mobutu)’s portrait every morning before they went to class, and all school scholastic materials were emblemed with his portrait. A young Anny never really appreciated the obsession:
Dear Comrades and Friends, 2021 was a busy year for
Dear friends and colleagues, As we wind down 2021, I
The UN Human Rights Council took an important step to
The situation of Human Rights Defenders in Sudan
DefendDefenders joins the world to celebrate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. This year’s theme “leadership and participation of persons with disabilities toward an inclusive, accessible and sustainable post-COVID-19 world” underscores the importance of fostering an inclusive society.
November started on a promising note, after the UN Human Rights Council, at our and our colleague civil society organisations’ urging, on 5 November 2021 held a special session to assess the human rights implications of the 25 October military coup in Sudan, and adopted a resolution reinstating Sudan on the council’s agenda.
Women in Somalia are not supposed to be ‘loud.’ Historically, conservative religious traditions combined with a resilient patriarchal system ensured that women in the coastal nation remain veiled and meek, always in the shadow of their husbands.
Not so for Fadwo Hassan Jimale, Somalia’s crusading human rights defender. As a ranking member of Somalia’s Women Human Rights Defenders Coalition, Fadwo and her colleagues host regular capacity building sessions for current and emerging women human rights defenders (WHRDs).
AfricanDefenders and DefendDefenders welcome the report of the Working Group.