02 05 14 US: Kerry’s Africa Trip Should Emphasize Rights
(Washington,
DC, April 29, 2014) – US Secretary of State John Kerry should raise
concerns about endemic human rights violations when he visits Ethiopia,
the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Angola, Human Rights Watch said
today. Kerry will visit the three countries from April 29 to May 5, 2014.
According
to the State Department, Kerry will travel to Africa to “encourage
democratic development, promote respect for human rights, advance peace
and security, engage with civil society…and promote trade, investment
and development partnerships in Africa.”
“These
three African countries are tremendously important for the United
States, so Secretary of State Kerry should be careful not to marginalize
their poor human rights records,” said Sarah Margon,
acting Washington director at Human Rights Watch. “During his visit,
Kerry should emphasize that rights, development, and security are
inextricably tied.”
In
Ethiopia, Kerry should call on officials to release unconditionally all
activists and journalists who have been arbitrarily detained or
convicted in unfair trials, including the six bloggers and three journalists arrested
on April 25 and 26. Kerry should also press the Ethiopian government to
amend or repeal two repressive laws on association and terrorism that
have been used to oppress activists, independent organizations, and the media, and to bring politically motivated prosecutions.
In
Congo, Kerry should call on the Congolese government and parliament to
move forward with the establishment of independent, credible, and
effective specialized mixed chambers to
prosecute serious abuses domestically, and to consult with donors,
civil society, and other stakeholders in order to make improvements to
the current draft law. He
should also press Congo’s leaders to take concrete steps to arrest and
prosecute, in credible and impartial trials, leaders of armed groups –
including the M23 rebel group – as well as army officials implicated in war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In Angola, Kerry should urge the government to respect the rights to freedom of assembly and speech and
cease harassment, arbitrary arrests, and detention of protesters and
journalists. The Angolan government should open credible investigations
into serious abuses by the security forces, including the abduction,
torture, and murder of two protest organizers, which came to light in a
leaked internal government report.
“Kerry
should not let this important opportunity to raise human rights
concerns go wasted,” Margon said. “Strong language on rights will
resonate throughout the African continent.”
For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Ethiopia, please visit:
https://www.hrw.org/africa/
For more Human Rights Watch reporting on the Democratic Republic of Congo, please visit:
https://www.hrw.org/drc
For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Angola, please visit:
https://www.hrw.org/angola
For more information, please contact:
In Washington, DC, Sarah Margon (English): +1-917-361-2098 (mobile); ormargons@hrw.org. Follow on Twitter @sarahmargon
In Amsterdam, Leslie Lefkow (English): +31-6-21-59-7356 (mobile); orlefkowl@hrw.org. Follow on Twitter: @LefkowHRW
In Kinshasa, Ida Sawyer (English, French): +243-81-33-78-478 (mobile); orsawyeri@hrw.org. Follow on Twitter @ida_sawyer
Ida Sawyer
Senior Researcher
Human Rights Watch
+243 81 33 78 478 | +243 99 86 75 565
Twitter: @ida_sawyer