Burkina Faso reforms are unlikely to stem violence

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Burkina Faso ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Security Forces ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Border Regions ◽  
Community Protests ◽  
Artisanal Miners

Significance Following a relative slackening of activity, 480 civilians were killed between May and August alone, bringing the total number of Burkinabe deaths since the first attacks in 2015 to more than 1,500. Insecurity seems to be disturbing wider social relations as well, with frequent community protests, deadly vigilante actions and clashes between artisanal miners and mine security forces. Impacts The army’s questionable human rights record may hinder efforts to improve relations with local communities. Organised labour may seek to capitalise on government failures to press its own demands. Failure to reduce armed conflict in the border regions may encourage more violence in the country’s centre as well.

Social environmental injustices against indigenous peoples: the Belo Monte dam

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 865-876
Author(s):  
Heidi Michalski Ribeiro ◽  
Jose Rubens Morato
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Hydroelectric Power Plant ◽  
Northern Region ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Hydroelectric Power ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Environmental ◽  
Belo Monte

PurposeThis proposal is a case study of the Belo Monte dam. The article deals with human rights and environmental violations arising from the construction of the Belo Monte Hydroelectric Power Plant in the northern region of Brazil. This paper aims to evidence human rights violations brought by the construction Belo Monte dam, a glimpse of the COVID-19 scenario and how Brazilian regulation allowed those violations.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve the objective of this article, the Brazilian norms, public policies and the current situation of the affected communities were analyzed, focusing on the human rights violations and the historical timeline of this mega-project. The analysis was directed to the hardcore social sciences, considering analytical and qualitative research.FindingsThe data gathered and the references consulted proved that many human rights violations occurred and that the vulnerability of indigenous and local people increased with the construction of the Belo Monte Hydroelectric Power Plant in the northern region of Brazil. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated this adverse scenario since indigenous and local people already had their vulnerabilities increased with the construction of Belo Monte.Research limitations/implicationsThe Belo Monte Dam has had severe and irreversible impacts on the lives of local communities, especially indigenous peoples, as it had destroyed their culture and the environment. The authors were not able to do fieldwork, due to the great distance of the dam. In this sense, the research does not cover all the social–environmental issues, as an ethnographic approach is necessary.Originality/valueThe authors intend to bring attention to harms caused to indigenous people and the local communities, expecting to create an alert of what this kind of project can do to vulnerable peoples' life, especially now with the pandemic scenario, which makes indigenous and traditional communities more vulnerable to diseases due to the loss of their territories.

Jihadi groups will compete for support in the Maghreb

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Security Forces ◽  
Content Type ◽  
High Profile ◽  
International Action ◽  
Security Environment ◽  
Militant Groups ◽  
State Group

Significance Instability in Libya has exacerbated an already fraught security environment in the Maghreb and the Sahel. Several militant groups co-exist in these parts, usually in competition with each other. The Islamic State group (ISG) has taken centre stage, but despite high profile attacks in Libya, it has failed to establish a foothold in other Maghreb countries. Impacts ISG encroachment in Libya will strengthen calls for international action to address Libya's crisis. Sporadic attacks are expected against security forces and government targets in Tunisia and Algeria. Government pressure and expanded counterterrorism operations could cause more widespread abuses of human rights. Fighters returning from jihad in Syria and Iraq could bolster the capabilities of local jihadist cells.

Ethiopian protest risk rises as emergency declared

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Foreign Investment ◽  
Developing Economies ◽  
Risk Tolerance ◽  
The State ◽  
Internet Usage ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
Security Forces ◽  
Content Type

Significance The declaration came a week after reports emerged that protestors were attacking foreign businesses in the country as well as government property. Under the state of emergency, security forces will have expanded powers to search homes without warrants, detain individuals and restrict rights of assembly. Impacts Most foreign investment comes from firms based in other developing economies that have a high (but not unlimited) risk tolerance. Ethiopian claims of Egyptian and Eritrean links to violent protesters are tenuous and are meant to shift causality to external issues. Donors have limited traction and will push only for an outcome that yields stability rather than improvements in human rights. Further restrictions on communication (especially internet usage) are likely.

Cambodian rapprochement to continue uneasily, for now

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Security Forces ◽  
Content Type ◽  
People's Party ◽  
Deputy Prime Minister ◽  
Official Corruption

Subject Cambodia's 'culture of dialogue'. Significance Interior minister and deputy prime minister Sar Kheng, of the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP), will meet opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) co-leader Sam Rainsy on October 1 after a similar September 23 meeting. Publicly, such meetings, notionally to discuss forthcoming legislation, characterise the 'culture of dialogue' between the CPP and CNRP. However, the July imprisonment of opposition-linked activists, passage of a controversial civil society law and the August arrest of an opposition senator, raise concerns about the robustness of the rapprochement. Impacts The opposition will focus on sensitive popular issues to gain support, including official corruption and judiciary politicisation. The CPP will use the security forces and judicial apparatus to constrain its opponents. Limitations to civil society freedoms could stoke local unrest over land and human rights.

West Africa's Fulanis face mounting pressures

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Burkina Faso ◽  
Ethnic Group ◽  
The South ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Civil Society Organisation ◽  
The North ◽  
Southern Nigeria

Subject Problems facing Fulani communities in the Sahel. Significance In July, the Northern Elders' Forum of Nigeria, a prominent civil society organisation, called for Fulani herders to leave southern Nigeria and return to their historical homelands in the north, reflecting a sense among some northerners that the south has become too dangerous for the Fulani ethnic group. Amid a marked increase in jihadist violence in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Nigeria since the early 2010s, the Fulani have found themselves targets of widespread ethnic profiling and even collective punishment. Impacts Tensions surrounding the Fulani in Mali are spreading into Burkina Faso and Niger as community members feel stigmatised more generally. Government will find it difficult to disarm former partner militias, such as the ethnic Dogon militia Dan Na Ambassagou in Mali. Respect for human rights would help stem radical recruitment among young Fulanis.

Taliban's war outpaces efforts for Afghan settlement

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Security Forces ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Counter Terrorism ◽  
Damage Limitation ◽  
Government Security

Significance He may ask Ghani to step aside and make way for an interim government, in the hope that this will halt the apparent slide into chaos. The Taliban are capturing territory rapidly across Afghanistan and panic is spreading among government security forces. The Taliban are complying with a promise not to attack provincial capitals but have surrounded several and are just waiting for US and other NATO-led forces to leave Afghanistan. Impacts Pakistan, Iran and perhaps Russia and Saudi Arabia are lobbying for their proteges to be included or spared under Taliban rule. The international focus will switch to damage limitation and securing Taliban cooperation on counter-terrorism and minimal human rights. The pace of the Taliban’s advance is so stunning that Islamabad is wondering how it can curb or control them.

New military rule is entrenching itself in Chad

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Foreign Relations ◽  
Political Transition ◽  
Military Rule ◽  
Security Forces ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Lake Chad ◽  
Chad Basin ◽  
Security Issues ◽  
Lake Chad Basin

Significance Although Deby and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed Chad’s political transition from military to civilian rule, the meeting’s emphasis was on security issues in the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin, in Libya, and within Chad itself. Impacts Deby is investing substantial energy in foreign relations, not just with France but also with neighbouring states. If Deby and the CMT ultimately decide to prolong the transition, foreign objections will likely be fairly minimal and brief. Despite outcry from human rights groups over the security forces’ treatment of protesters in April and May, accountability is unlikely.

Haiti’s police will struggle without UN troops

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Security Forces ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
Criminal Investigations ◽  
Local Police ◽  
Criminal Groups ◽  
Funding Cuts

Subject Security in Haiti. Significance Latin American delegates at the UN General Assembly’s Fifth Committee warned on December 18 against funding cuts to the UN Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH). Peacekeeping troops withdrew from Haiti in mid-October and were replaced with a smaller force involved only in training and supporting local police. Haiti’s security forces appear to be struggling with their new responsibilities. The police have already been accused of human rights abuses, and several officers have been killed in raids on criminal groups. Impacts The withdrawal of UN troops is leaving the domestic police ill experienced in conducting criminal investigations. A new expansion in the size or scope of UN operations is unlikely, even if the Haitian police prove incapable. Lacking transparency in financing and recruitment suggests the army’s expansion will be slower than intended.

COVID-19 will embolden autocrats

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Quality Of Democracy ◽  
Checks And Balances ◽  
Security Forces ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
The World ◽  
Sub Saharan

Subject Democracy and COVID-19 Significance A growing number of leaders are using the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to curtail the activities of opposition parties and to expand their powers. In some cases, such as Malawi, unpopular presidents are using a declaration of emergency to prohibit opposition rallies and protests. In others, such as Hungary, emergency laws have been introduced that effectively undermine democratic checks and balances. The need for lockdown and quarantine to contain the virus has also led to a militarisation of the healthcare response -- with significant human rights abuses already reported in Kenya, Rwanda and South Africa. Impacts Further power grabs are likely as the crisis's impact is increasingly felt in Sub-Saharan Africa. Human rights violations will increase as stretched security forces enforce lockdowns on populations that have limited trust in government. The quality of democracy in many parts of the world will continue to decline.

Dissatisfaction with Burkinabe government could mount

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Local Communities ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
National Plan ◽  
Security Forces ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Student Protests ◽  
Civil Unrest ◽  
The North ◽  
Government Leadership ◽  
The Government

Subject Rising instability in Burkina Faso Significance After two years in office, President Roch Marc Christian Kabore’s government is facing a wave of strikes, student protests and demonstrations by disgruntled local communities. This unrest comes as the Burkinabe security forces struggle to contain salafi-jihadist insurgents in the north amid public criticisms of poor government leadership. Kabore's administration has stated that a recent cabinet reshuffle will refocus energies on the National Plan for Economic and Social Development (PNDES). However, growing public discontent is emboldening the previously weak opposition. Impacts Growing civil unrest could divert funding and resources from the northern provinces most vulnerable to terrorist attacks. The government will try to avoid clamping down on protests for fear of aiding the opposition further. If conducted fairly, long-delayed trials of former regime leaders could increase the government’s popularity.

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