This week’s conflict update covers events since the beginning of 2019 in STAND’s key focus areas: Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Yemen, Syria, Burma, and the escalating crisis in Venezuela. We are thankful to STAND Action Committee members Grace Harris and Maya Ungar, as well as STAND Managing Committee members, Grace Fernandes, Isabel Wolfer, Hannah King, Vishwa Padigepati, Caroline Mendoza, and Zachary Gossett for researching and writing pieces of this brief.

Sudan and South Sudan

Sudan

Weekly protests every Thursday calling for the end of the al-Bashir regime continue as they enter their fourth month. These peaceful protests, which originally began in December to protest the rising costs of basic goods and shortages of fuel, have resulted in dozens of civilians killed, hundreds injured, and thousands detained as Sudanese security forces responded with extreme force, including tear gas, batons, and ammunition. The Sudanese Professionals Associations (SPA), one of the primary groups coordinating the marches, named the demonstration on March 21 the “Procession for Justice” as a memorial for war crimes committed by the government. Although the government has reduced the excessive use of force against demonstrators, between 30 and 50 protesters have been killed since December 2018.

On February 22, President Omar al-Bashir declared a yearlong State of Emergency in an effort to quell the protests. The legislature has since cut this to six months. Earlier this month, Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes in Darfur, delegated leadership of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) to Ahmed Harun, who is also wanted by the ICC for war crimes in Darfur.

Earlier this month, an emergency court sent eight people to prison for participation in anti-government protests. The Democratic Lawyers Alliance, a group supporting the protests, reported that at least 870 protesters were brought before these emergency courts that were established due to al-Bashir’s declaration of a national emergency.

Interested in learning more about current events in Sudan and how you can support peaceful demonstrators? Join our webinar on Thursday, March 28 at 7 PM EST – click here to register!

South Sudan

Violence in South Sudan continues despite the peace deal signed by President Salva Kiir and rebel leader and former Vice President Riek Machar last fall. The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, stated last month that the peace agreement has done little to deliver immediate improvement for civilians or enhance accountability measures, noting an increase in arbitrary detention, torture, execution, and gender-based violence. Notably, more than 10,000 people have been displaced since January due to violent clashes between government forces and armed groups. Violence has been particularly severe in Central Equatoria State, where the National Salvation Front has clashed with the government army. Thousands of refugees displaced by this unrest have fled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo over the past eight weeks. A UN report released last week concluded that South Sudan’s population is the least happy in Africa.

In late March, an almost $185 million spending deal was approved by the transitional government. This decision sparked criticism from observers claiming that the peace deal continues to suffer from a lack of funds due to corruption. Last December, the government allegedly authorized over $135,000 to renovate private residences owned by First Vice President Taban Deng Gai and the late revolutionary leader John Garang. Experts have expressed concern over an increasing lack of financial transparency among government officials and warned that international donors may not contribute to the depleting transition fund as consequence.

Great Lakes of Africa

Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

Controversy surrounded the long-awaited DRC elections in December 2018. In addition to internet and text messaging shutdowns, signal cuts of Radio France Internationale, and voter intimidation and coercion, voting was postponed for voters in three opposition areas, restricting voting for over a million Congolese citizens. Over 1,000 polling stations in Kinshasa were closed due problems with voting machines and voter lists, and election observers were unable to access many polling stations and vote tabulation centers. In the wake of these events, at least 10 people were killed and dozens wounded by security forces during protests against the victory of Félix Tshisekedi. Notably, the Catholic Church, one of the most trusted institutions in the country, leaked results based off of their voter observation efforts that Martin Fayulu, another opposition candidate, had won by a landslide. Fayulu has challenged the results in court, but to no avail.

Concurrently, Congo has suffered a grave Ebola epidemic which has exceeded 1,000 cases, making it the world’s second worst outbreak. Due to ongoing conflict in Eastern DRC, there is great deal of public mistrust when it comes to treatment of the disease, and armed groups have staged attacks on ebola treatment centers, inhibiting the response of health workers. Just last week, two Médecins Sans Frontières treatment centers were set on fire in such attacks, forcing them to suspend operations in these areas. According to UNICEF statistics, children represent a third of ebola victims, and women, who often serve as primary caretakers of sick children, have also been disproportionately affected.

On March 14, DRC held Senate elections in which former President Joseph Kabila’s party, the Common Front for Congo, won the majority of  seats while Tshisekedi’s party, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress, won only 3 out of 100. There is evidence of at least 20 candidates who withdrew from races due to voter bribery efforts by provincial assembly members. As such, Tshisekedi has not allowed the newly-elected senators to take office, pending an investigation, and has indefinitely suspended the gubernatorial elections that were scheduled for next week.

Middle East

Yemen

At the end of 2018, there was cautious optimism for the situation in Yemen as the warring parties met in Sweden for peace talks. They agreed to a ceasefire in the strategic port city of Hodeidah, as well as a prisoner exchange. However, the condition of ordinary Yemenis remains bleak, with 80% living in poverty and 110,000 suspected cases of cholera. Since the war began, the World Bank estimates that 35% of businesses have closed, with household income plummeting due to inflation and currency devaluation. While the ceasefire has lead to short respites from violence, civilian deaths remain high and both parties blame the other for violations. The agreed-upon prisoner exchange has yet to occur and relatives of those imprisoned are calling for the parties to uphold the agreement. The continuation of peace talks has been delayed and some say time is running out. Additionally, some from southern Yemen are threatening a new conflict if they are not included in the talks. There have been calls for independence in southern Yemen since the unification of Yemen in the 1990s, as the ruling north has sidelined local economic and political concerns.

The United Nations is seeking $4.2 billion for the continuation of humanitarian work over the next year. Last month, they regained access to the Red Sea Mills, a food storage center pivotal to efficient food distribution in the region. Despite their active involvement in the war, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have pledged $2.6 billion dollars to fund the UN humanitarian plan for Yemen. However, the full funding goal is, as of now, unmet.

In the United States, the House and Senate voted this year to end assistance to Saudi Arabia’s efforts in Yemen, each passing a version of the War Powers Resolution. However, since the language is not identical, the House must vote on the Senate version before being sent to the White House to be signed into law. President Trump has threatened to veto this legislation if passed.

Syria

As Syria enters the ninth year of civil war, Syria’s refugees and internally displaced peoples have suffered another harsh winter. Over 37 internally displaced children were frozen to death, both in Rukban Camp, and fleeing from Hajin, an ISIS-held bastion further north. In late January 2019, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey revived the idea of creating safe zones along Turkey’s border to protect civilians. Concerns remain as to whether refugees may be forcibly returned as a result, and how safe zones would affect Kurdish civilians. Turkey has long has tensions with the Kurdish people, who have long fought for political autonomy in Turkey and throughout the Middle East. Since the beginning of the conflict, over half of the country’s pre-war population has been displaced, with 5.6 million people living as refugees and 6.2 million people displaced internally. Half of those affected are children.

On March 23, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces announced a military victory over the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS), who once held a third of Syria and Iraq’s territory. Following this victory, the top military commander in Syria’s Kurdish territory, who led anti-ISIL efforts, urged President Bashar al-Assad to pursue dialogue and in order to reach a political solution towards an autonomous Kurdish region. In response to the announcement of the defeat of the ISIL, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany said they would remain vigilant of the group’s “sleeper cells” that still pose terrorist threats. Amongst military strategists, concerns remain that victory will be fleeting, and that ISIS will regroup once troop withdrawals are complete.

Southeast Asia

Burma

Content Warning: This section describes sex trafficking and sexual violence.

The situation of the Rohingya has continued to worsen in 2019. The Rohingya, a primarily-Muslim ethnic and religious minority group, have long been persecuted by the Burmese government. Since August 2017, thousands have been killed, driving hundreds of thousands across the border to Bangladesh, sparking international outrage and leading to the creation of the largest refugee camp in the world. Overcrowding in the camps has led to further problems. Bangladesh, already a very poor country, has struggled to handle the influx of refugees, and are seeking to move Rohingya refugees to an island in the Bay of Bengal. This island is remote, frequently hit by cyclones, and is considered uninhabitable. Experts worry that this forced movement will lead to further problems for the vulnerable Rohingya population.

Conflict continues against ethnic minorities due to Burmese military activity in the Kachin and Shan states. These conflicts have increased the vulnerability for exploitation of Kachin and Shan women. While men fight, women must take increasingly risky job opportunities to support their families, some of which lead to human trafficking. A massively incriminating report released by Human Rights Watch last week uncovered the human trafficking of Kachin women forced to become wives in China. Originally promised jobs in China, these women discover upon arrival that they were instead sold to Chinese families. They are locked away and repeatedly raped until they become pregnant. After having a child, the women either remain as sex slaves or are returned to their families, sometimes after years of abuse.

Emerging Crises

Venezuela

The Venezuela crisis began in January when the opposition-led National Assembly declared Juan Guaidó the interim president of the country. For years, Venezuela has suffered from hyperinflation, food shortages, and increasingly totalitarian policies at the hands of Nicolás Maduro’s government. While the U.S. and the majority of the EU and Organization of American States support Guaidó, Russia and Cuba, long-time Maduro allies, continue to support the current government.

Early on March 21, Venezuelan authorities apprehended Guaidó’s chief of staff, Robert Marrero, marking a significant escalation in the political crisis. His arrest mirrors similar crackdowns on dissent by Maduro’s government. Venezuelan doctors also face government pressure after attempting to alert the UN to the dire shortage of essential medicines. Michelle Bachelet, the UN Human Rights Chief, has criticized both the Maduro regime for cracking down on dissent, and US sanctions for exacerbating the conflict.

The US claims that these sanctions are meant to target government activities alone, yet many argue that they are hurting the most vulnerable Venezuelans. Along with sanctions, the US has increased intelligence sharing in the region, providing information to Colombian authorities about insurgents who have been strengthened due to the Venezuela conflict. While unconfirmed, experts speculate that Maduro is allowing insurgent activity in order to prepare for possible military intervention. If true, these actions would simply be the latest example of the Maduro administration’s transgressions.

Recent US-Russia talks over Venezuela have stalled due to the differing visions of Maduro’s role in the nation, and on Monday, Russia landed two military planes in the country, a move the U.S. denounced as a “contradiction of both Nicolas Maduro’s and Russia’s calls for non-intervention […] [and] a reckless escalation of the situation.”

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Grace Harris, who contributed to the Sudan section of this brief, is a sophomore at Tampa Preparatory School in Florida, where she serves as the president of her STAND chapter. She joined STAND after learning about the Darfur genocide in my World History 1 class during her Freshman year, seeking an opportunity to take action and make a difference in the world. In addition to leading STAND at Tampa Prep, Grace serves on STAND national’s Sudan and Yemen Action Committees.

Isabel Wolfer, who contributed to the South Sudan section of this brief, is STAND’s Communications Coordinator and a member of the Sudan Working Group. She is a senior at The George Washington University in Washington, DC and a former intern for the Darfur Women Action Group.

Hannah King and Vishwa Padigepati, who contributed to the Yemen section of this brief, are members of STAND’s Managing Committee and the Yemen Action Committee. Hannah is STAND’s Campaigns Coordinator and a senior at Clark University in Massachusetts and Vishwa is STAND’s Advocacy Coordinator and a student at Fairmont Preparatory Academy in California.

Maya Ungar, who contributed to the Burma section of this brief, is a junior at the University of Arkansas and is serving as STAND’s Southeast Asia Coordinator for the 2018-2019 academic year. She is currently studying abroad in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Grace Fernandes, who contributed to the DRC section of this brief, is a junior at Simmons University in Boston, Massachusetts, and one of STAND’s Student Co-Directors. She leads STAND’s Indigenous Peoples Action Committee.

Caroline Mendoza, who contributed to the Syria section of this brief, is a junior at Cerritos High School in California, and serves on the STAND Outreach Team. She is a member of the Burma and Yemen Action Committees.

Zachary Gossett, who contributed to the Venezuela section of this brief, is a sophomore at Butler University and a member of STAND’s Outreach Team, He serves on the Indigenous Peoples and Burma Action Committees.

Southeast Asia

Burma (Myanmar)

For the first time, the Burmese military admitted its participation in crimes against humanity by sentencing 7 soldiers for killing 10 Rohingya men last September. The work of two Reuters reporters, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, helped convict the soldiers. First Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and her government are pressing charges in this criminal case against the two reporters, who have remained in detention since December, and face a possible 14-year conviction for possessing classified documents. Their report includes testimony from security officers, relatives of the victims, and Buddhist villagers, and describes how Burmese soldiers and villagers executed the 10 men and dumped the bodies into a mass grave. They also possessed photographs of these killings, further implicating the troops and villagers.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is facing the tensely debated issue of whether or not they have jurisdiction over Burma’s deportation of Rohingya Muslims. While Bangladesh, the country to which they have fled, is a member of the ICC, Burma is not. The ICC’s Chief Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, is a strong proponent, claiming jurisdiction on the basis that the crux of these allegations – deportation – can only occur when victims are forced across an international border, and that “exercising jurisdiction would be in line with the court’s legal framework and also recognize consequences of forced migration.”

Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times visited Burma in March, writing about what he witnessed. He said that he “enter[ed] Myanmar on a tourist visa, [and] was able to slip undetected into five Rohingya villages. What [he] found was a slow-motion genocide. The massacres and machete attacks of last August are over for now, but Rohingya remain confined to their villages — and to a huge concentration camp — and are systematically denied most education and medical care.” Kristof speaks about how Burma uses “guns and machetes for ethnic cleansing” and explores how “it also kills more subtly and secretly by regularly denying medical care and blocking humanitarian aid to Rohingya.”

Suu Kyi, who had been recognized by The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) with their prestigious Elie Wiesel Award in 2012, was rescinded this award earlier this year because of her lack of action and sometimes active discrimination against the Rohingya. She and her political party “have refused to cooperate with United Nations investigators, blocked access to journalists and ‘promulgated hateful rhetoric against the Rohingya community.’” In the letter from USHMM to Suu Kyi, museum leaders wrote that, as attacks against the Rohingya unfolded, they “had hoped that [Suu Kyi]—as someone [they] and many others have celebrated for [her] commitment to human dignity and universal human rights—would have done something to condemn and stop the military’s brutal campaign and to express solidarity with the targeted Rohingya population.”

Bangladesh

As the Rohingya refugee population in Bangladesh increases and sanitation and security concerns continue to rise, so has international support. The UAE donated $2 million in April to the United Nations Refugee Agency in order to aid Rohingya women and children refugees in Bangladesh. This funding will support the UN’s larger mission to help 1.3 million displaced individuals this year, including 884,000 Rohingya and 336,000 host communities. India’s Foreign Secretary Vijay Keshav Gokhale met with Bangladeshi officials in April to organize humanitarian efforts, including women and child care, medical equipment, and “relief supplies including milk powder, baby food, dried fish, cooking stoves and cooking fuel, raincoats and gumboots.” These goods were requested by Bangladesh officials in advance of monsoon season, which will only exacerbate existing public health issues.

In the camps, a looming disaster awaits. Overpopulated, built of bamboo and plastic sheets, and located on steep hillsides, the camps are exceedingly prone to landslides and flooding as monsoon and cyclone season begins. A two-year-old Rohingya boy was among the first killed last week when a mud wall fell on him. Along with the extreme dangers of such floods and other natural disasters, this season will also lead to a public health crisis. Poor waste management, overflow from latrines, standing water, and even “improperly buried dead bodies” lead to high risk for the spread of disease, which already includes cholera, measles, and diphtheria.

Mohammad Shah Kamal, the top civil servant in the Bangladesh Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, claimed that the government is working with international aid agencies to relocate 100,000 Rohingya, and “as of the first week of June, more than 28,000 refugees had been relocated [from the camps].” About 200,000 people are identified as “high risk,” but relocation proves difficult due to the lack of alternative flat ground, says the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, although the Government of Bangladesh has now “granted hundreds of additional acres for this purpose.”

Middle East and North Africa

Syria

Since the peaceful revolution in 2011, and the bloody crackdown by Bashar al-Assad’s regime, conflict has raged between anti-government rebel groups and the government  militia, causing the largest refugee crisis since World War II, the proliferation of terrorist groups like ISIS, and horrific atrocities against civilians.

In April, claims of chemical weapons attacks in Douma prompted the United States, Britain, and France to carry out a wave of airstrikes on Syrian targets. The chemical weapons attack was denied by both Russia and the Syrian government, but it was clear through reports by doctors and first responders that the attacks contained chemical components. The attacks not only killed many civilians, but also sent hundreds to hospitals because of exposure to chemical agents.

In the southwest, Syrian government and rebel forces are fighting over control of the southwest border areas. Russian-Israeli coordination has reached unprecedented levels in recent weeks, leading the United States back into diplomatic talks. Last year, the U.S. agreed to take more of a backseat approach to the Syria conflict, moving away from arming moderate rebel groups, and instead calling for a ceasefire and negotiations. The United States now must to decide its strategy: whether it will give up influence in southwest Syria, or whether it will increase military action in the region, either directly or through support of rebel groups. Either could be devastating to the already suffering civilian population.

As the Syrian government and its aligned forces continue to try and take land, suffering of the civilian population persists. In February, the government clashed again with rebels in Eastern Ghouta in an attempt to take over the area that has been a rebel stronghold for years. Backed by Russian war planes, the fighting killed hundreds of civilians in just days. After a ceasefire on February 24, the Syrian army deployed ground troops to gain control of the area. Evacuations of rebel groups started in April and now the area is completely under control of the Syrian army and Russian forces. The five-year siege of Eastern Ghouta was the longest in modern history, and this year’s two month offensive, in which government forces indiscriminately attacked civilians, and denied them food and medicine, was found by a UN Commission of Inquiry to constitute crimes against humanity. Likewise, attacks by rebels on civilian-inhabited areas of Damascus were condemned by the Commission.

In March, Turkish forces and Syrian allies started an eight-week campaign to drive out Kurdish rebels in the town of Afrin in northwest Syria. More than 150,000 civilians from the town were forced to flee because of the fighting. Turkey, which views the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) as a terrorist group, has been accused of “quietly orchestrating a demographic shift,” wherein they seek to change the balance of Afrin’s population from predominantly Kurdish to majority Arab.

In April, Yarmouk refugee camp, the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Syria, was attacked by Syrian allied militias in order to drive out ISIL and gain a stronger foothold in the region. The forces launched air strikes on the refugee camp that was home to around 160,000, and dwindled down to only 6,000 in April due to the attacks. Dozens of Palestinian refugees were killed.

The Syrian refugee crisis is worsening every day, and has reached an estimated 11 million people. In the past year, the United States has only hosted a total of 11 Syrian refugees. This number is in stark contrast to the nearly three million Syrian refugees in Turkey, and about one million in both Jordan and Lebanon. 

Sudan

In eastern Sudan, drinking water shortages have left the area of El Mazmum with almost no drinking water. “About 160,000 people living in El Mazmum and surrounding villages [have been] suffering from thirst” for the past week. An administration leader explained that the root of the problem is “malfunctioning of the main water carrier line from Wad El Nil station,” which has caused many citizens to drink from unclean and unsanitary reservoirs, causing serious health concerns. Meanwhile, their livestock may soon die due to lack of water. In addition, power cuts have left residents in the dark for over six months. On Saturday, amid protests of these conditions, “security forces intervened during vigils in various neighbourhoods, [arresting] dozens of people, among them a number of minors.”

The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Fatou Bensouda called for accountability for crimes against humanity in Darfur. She presented a six-month report to the UN Security Council on June 20, asking the Council to play a more active role in the process of bringing the accused perpetrators to justice and to better support her office with cooperation and funding. Bensouda also requested that the suspects be arrested as a step toward justice for the victims. She said that it is “past time” to work together to “ensure full implementation and compliance” with Resolution 1593, which emphasizes the need for reconciliation and truth commissions to reinforce peace efforts.

The UN Security Council is expected to approve cuts to Darfur’s peacekeeping mission, which is tasked with monitoring human rights and publicly reporting on findings in Darfur. The mission is set for renewal by the end of June, but the Security Council is expected to close 14 African Union-United Nations mission sites, limiting the mission’s operation to only 13 sites in the area where the government has been attacking civilians in fighting against opposition groups. Under this new plan, peacekeepers would also no longer carry out patrols in the region, which have been necessary for the security of humanitarian aid groups, and which would limit their ability to monitor and address security and protection concerns.

Central Africa

South Sudan

In a press release this month, it was reported that South Sudan is experiencing the highest level of food shortages the country has ever witnessed. Along with an insurgence of fighting in the country and attacks on aid workers, the lack of food is devastating already food insecure communities. “The UN’s deadly prediction of record numbers of hungry people in South Sudan is already unfolding from what I’m seeing,” said Jan Egeland, Secretary-General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, while visiting South Sudan, a “relentlessly hostile operating environment.” Over 100 aid workers have been killed since December 2013, and “in April alone, there were 80 reports of aid workers prevented from delivering aid. In May NRC was forced to suspend an emergency food distribution in Unity State because of active fighting in the state.”

South Sudan has proposed an increase to its 2018-2019 financial budget by 75 percent, which is set to be approved next week. Although details have not yet been revealed, the cabinet is hoping that the $63 million budget will provide long desired economic reform. Much of the funding will come from the oil industry, which has been a mainstay of the nation’s economy since its independence from Sudan in 2011.

Foreign ministers of Inter-Governmental Authority on Development in Africa (IGAD) member states agreed in a meeting held earlier this month to work to “revive the peace process in South Sudan and urge the parties to the conflict to implement a peace deal brokered by the IGAD in August 2015.” South Sudan President Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar, who has been under house arrest in South Africa since 2016, and whose sentence has been called into question by several Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) members, met for the first time in two years with the hopes of brokering an agreement. South Sudan, however, ruled out the possibility of Machar rejoining the government, effectively ending the possibility of successful talks.

South Sudan has made strides in eliminating a major source of suffering within their country: Guinea worm, an infection caused by contaminated drinking water. Developing countries like South Sudan, with few sources of potable water, are often massive hotspots for this ailment. Known as the “fiery serpent” because of its debilitating effects, this affliction has received very little international coverage or response because it is not lethal like other widespread diseases such as malaria. Nevertheless, efforts by the Carter Center, including distributing water filters and launching educational campaigns on hygiene, resulted in a 15-month streak of zero reported cases of Guinea worm.

Lt. Gen Lam of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO) released 7 aid workers who were captured on the Ugandan border after three weeks of detention. Since 2013, 99 aid workers have been killed in South Sudan. Aid workers play a key role in providing basic nourishment, vaccinations, and other critical services. The International Organization of Migration claims that there are over 5 million people still in need of health care in Sudan, so it is crucial that aid workers have unrestricted access to these populations.

Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

Fears abound that another Congo war could be in the making as President Joseph Kabila has continued to delay presidential elections since 2016, and is now in his seventh year of a five year term. Elections are now scheduled for December 2018. Late last year, there was massive police and militia violence against protesters who oppose Kabila’s efforts to extend his term. As the Economist reports, “there were protests at Catholic services in Kinshasa, the capital, and 12 other cities. Mr Kabila cracked down hard. Police surrounded 134 churches in Kinshasa alone, beat and tear-gassed churchgoers, and shot live rounds into fleeing congregations. At least eight people died and probably many more. Human Rights Watch reports that bodies were dumped into the Congo river.” In total, around 13.1 million Congolese are in need of humanitarian assistance – twice as many as last year.

Violence has also taken place in rural areas, as rebel groups target civilians in those areas. Over 2 million people fled their homes in 2017, and 4.3 million are now internally displaced. New rebel groups are forming because of distrust of the government, and are often formed along ethnic lines. Old rebel groups are now resurfacing, like the Bundu Dia Kongo, and are once again attacking the Congolese military. In the past year, the country has seen several prison breaks, attacks on cities, and a major insurgency in the Kasai province that has caused thousands of deaths.

In January 2018, a military tribunal investigating massacres in the eastern town of Beni convicted 134 people. These massacres, which killed more than 800 people in one night alone, were originally blamed on Ugandan rebels, but through trial it was discovered that the massacres were in part committed by Congolese army officials, civilians, and local area chiefs. The trial included 249 interviews with perpetrators, witnesses, and victims, and found that Congolese army officials “collaborated with local fighters and, in some cases, soldiers secured the perimeters so that victims could not escape.“ However, during the trials, only one Congolese army official was convicted, receiving a four-year jail term.

Central African Republic (CAR)

The humanitarian crisis in CAR continues to place pressure on the country and the region. The number of refugees has risen to over 582,000 and 1 in 3 children still in the Central African Republic are out of school.

On April 10, MINUSCA, CAR’s UN Peacekeeping mission, clashed with the Séléka coalition, a mainly Muslim rebel group who ousted former President Francois Bozize in 2013, in response to an attack on their forces. 21 people were killed, many of whom were civilians. In response, protesters placed at least 16 of those corpses in front of the UN headquarters in CAR to denounce alleged MINUSCA shootings at civilians. The UN claimed that this action was a form of propaganda and did not fully represent the situation. Violence against peacekeepers is becoming a norm in CAR, where attacks come from both the Séléka coalition and the Anti-balaka, a mainly Christian group who fights against the Séléka.  

The UN Peacekeepers deployed in CAR, many of whom are from Burundi, are under investigation for human rights violations, including unlawful killings and rapes. The MINUSCA mission, which is supposed to protect the civilians of CAR, has faced countless accusations of abuse since the start of its operations in 2014. The UN Department of Peacekeeping has documented 10 formal accusations, but civilians and local activists claim there to be many more.

In May, at least 20 civilians were killed and 90 injured in an attack on a church in the capital city of Bangui by government forces in an attempt to arrest a suspected rebel group member. When the security forces came, a self proclaimed “self defense” group opened fire, escalating the violence and leading to deaths of civilians.

On June 8, the International Criminal Court overturned its war crimes conviction on the DRC’s former vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba who was convicted in 2016 of failing to prevent his militia from commiting crimes in CAR that included rape, murder, and pillaging. This acquittal means that the victims in CAR will lose all hopes of reparations through the ICC, and will have to seek justice at the Special Criminal Court in the Central African Republic, a hybrid tribunal that is expected to launch investigations this year. The new Special Criminal Court is especially important because it is an avenue for victims of human rights violations and attacks to gain justice.

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Charlotte Abin is a rising senior at Gettysburg College, where she studies History and Political Science. She is currently interning at STAND in their D.C office. She is passionate about doing her part in making the world a more accepting place.

Elizabeth Sturley is a rising junior at Amherst College, where she is majoring in Political Science and Law, Jurisprudence, and Social Thought, with a certificate in International Relations. She is a summer intern with STAND in the DC office and is extremely passionate about international human rights and everything related to social justice issues!

Burma

Earlier this week ,the U.S. announced that they will withdraw their assistance from Burmese units and officers involved in the violence against the Rohingya. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson did not critique Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government for the humanitarian crisis, but held Burma’s military leadership accountable.

State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert reported that the U.S. is “exploring accountability mechanisms under U.S. law,” specifically the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. This act allows the president to block or revoke visas of certain foreign individuals and entities, or to impose property sanctions on them. This has the potential to further impede injustices committed by the Burmese military. The U.S. lifted these sanctions last year, after Burma began making more significant moves towards democratization.
Furthermore, both Burmaand Bangladesh have signed two agreements aiming to strengthen border security and cooperation. Mostafa Kamal Uddin, Bangladesh Home Secretary, praised this agreement, hopeful that it will foster a way for the Rohingya to return home safely, and with dignity. However, neither country has yet to release any specific, planned steps for the repatriation, especially because Burma previously claimed military operations ceased on Sept. 5.

Sudan and South Sudan

South Sudan

Under the Magnitsky Act, Canada has decided to impose sanctions on three officials from South Sudan. These sanctions go further than previous Canadian sanctions, freezing the assets of the officials in question. These sanctions are indicative of wider institutional problems in South Sudan. According to The Sentry, South Sudan has several key attributes that make it susceptible to corruption. South Sudan’s vast majority of wealth is held in natural resources, which leads government elites to control the majority of South Sudan’s immense, but not very liquid wealth. This further incentivizes them to hold on to their wealth, explaining why the state has such tight controls over the economy and the budget, while also having corporatist tendencies. South Sudan’s corruption and corporate ties are only intensified by the existence of no-bid contracts that allow for officials to give lucrative projects to companies that are partially owned by those same government officials. In addition, the fragile financial system makes it very easy to siphon money out of the country.

The economic future of refugees has been a top priority of the UNHCR, especially for South Sudanese arriving  without any assets. Per request of the UN, South Sudanese refugees have been permitted to work as laborers in the farms of the White Nile region of Sudan. Not only is the UN providing refugees an opportunity to learn useful skills, but it is also creating a framework whereby refugees can integrate better into their host countries. According to an OCHA report, 40 to 50 percent of the refugee population have started to work on these farms.

Political instability continues in South Sudan, as one of President Kiir’s army chiefs, Paul Malong, has been restricted to his home, now surrounded by troops. Malong was suspected of joining opposition forces after being fired for leading anti-Nuer pogroms in Juba last year. Because of his divisive actions, he was fired by Kiir and sanctioned by the US.

South Sudan

In August, the Sudanese Vice President authorized an effort to disarm rebel groups and citizens in the Darfur region, voluntarily or coercively.  Unfortunately, this effort has been hampered by a lack of funds to assist coercing individuals or groups that continue to resist this initiative. So far, the government has collected 30,000 out of the estimated 700,000 illegal arms harbored in Darfur. Tribal leaders have shown the most resistance and are willing to militarily confront any state force if necessary. The movement of state forces into Darfur has occurred in tandem with the reignition of the conflict between the Ma’alia and Rizeigat tribes. As a show of force, 93 tribal leaders have been arrested and a peaceful demonstration at the South Darfur Kalma Camp was quashed violently, with 6 people dead and 28 injured. This has warranted international condemnation and a call by the US embassy for Sudan to launch an immediate investigation into this instance.

During a diplomatic trip to Khartoum on November 1st, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir addressed the claim that South Sudan has been supporting Sudanese opposition groups. During a meeting with Kiir’s Sudanese counterpart, Omar al-Bashir, Kiir assured him that he would end all support to these opposition groups. Kiir nevertheless rebuked any criticism of his actions saying Sudan was a primary supplier of arms for South Sudanese opposition groups and that Bashir too had supported and even housed some of Kiir’s opposition. Despite this rhetoric, both nations remained conciliatory and made several compromises to end their strenuous relationship, which Kiir believes fuels the ideology of violent rebel groups. This manifested in their agreement to completely demarcate their long border and thereby finally make their demilitarized zone operational.

Middle East and North Africa

Egypt

Egypt’s Al-Aqrab prison is housing an ongoing hunger strike in protest of poor living conditions.

This notorious prison, officially named Tora Maximum Security Prison, is more commonly known by its nickname, the Scorpion. A 2016 report by Human Rights Watch details the gross human rights violations to which prisoners are subjected, including beatings, torture, lack of medical care, and psychological abuse.

The emphasis on Scorpion by human rights groups and news outlets does not mean abusesin other Egyptian prisons has been overlooked. Yet, it is crucial to note that Scorpion “has re-emerged as the central site for those deemed enemies of the state,” and thus, its prisoners are particular targets of government entities. Human Rights Watch explains that the Tora “sits at the end of the state’s repressive pipeline, overseen at nearly all points by the Interior Ministry and its internal security service, the National Security Agency.”

In September, about 80% of the prisoners began a hunger strike against Scorpion employees and Egyptian government’s vile humanitarian offenses. Their complaints included: unwarranted banned family visits, malnourishment; a lack of medical care, confinement, and weather-appropriate clothing. These basic needs are crucial to human dignity, regardless of actual or supposed criminal activity.

This is not the first time prisoners have started a hunger strike at Tora. In March 2016, Al-Jazeera reported on “Egypt’s Guantanamo,” citing similar complaints among prisoners. At the time, the head of the Arab Organization for Human Rights, Mohamed Gameel, in the UK,, said the “Egyptian government would not react unless there was immense pressure from the international community.”

Horn of Africa

Somalia

On October 15, the Somali capital of Mogadishu was devastated by a deadly double car bombing attack which resulted in upwards of 300 confirmed casualties. Surrounding details that emerged soon after have all but confirmed al-Shaabab’s implication in the attack, presenting a major challenge in Somalia’s decade long battle against the militant Islamist group. The attack came as US military officials have increased drone strikes and counter-insurgency efforts.: It has become increasingly clear that accruing military elements to secure the country must come with something more. In a recently released UN article, researchers found that state-sponsored counterterrorism efforts across Africa have systematically increased levels of extremist violence, with 71% of former terrorists indicating that “government action” was the primary factor in joining a terrorist group.

Despite these findings, the front against terrorism following the attack has been primarily militaristic. In the weeks following the attack, the African Union deployed troops in the Lower Shabelle region, for the first time in two years since the AU formally launched an operation against al-Shaabab). The offensive, given the American administration’s relaxed rules of engagement effective March, is likely to contribute to a rise in civilian casualties in the region. Recent investigation has shown that in the Somali city of Bariire, for example, the United States operated on misleading intelligence, which contributed to accidental casualties, which only exacerbate terrorist threats. A week ago, al-Shaabab once again carried out an attack on Mogadishu, killing 23 people at the Nasa-Hablod hotel. On November 7th, al-Shaabab executed four men accused of spying for the Ethiopian and Kenyan governments. As the military response to the terrorist attack builds, it is difficult to predict to what extent the situation will improve.

Meanwhile, tensions in Ethiopia have come to a head as soldiers shot and killed 10 civilians protesting an unfair allocation of food supplies in the region of Oromia. This event underscores the underlying anger of many ethnic Oromo, who claim that the federal government has unequally distributed wealth in favor of other ethnic groups. After the protests dwindled, soldiers were stationed across the region to intimidate civilians and enforce rule of law. This rapid military response has cast doubt on Addis Ababa’s competence in effectively responding to civil protest, while others look to the new Oromo regional administration, which has recently promoted a ethno-nationalist agenda. The mounting instability in the region has captured regional and international attention, raising questions about the federal relationship between Oromia and Addis Ababa, and future grievances in the region.

Great Lakes Region

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Following the turbulent month of October, in which the national Electoral Commission announced elections would not be held until late 2018 at the earliest, two United Nations peacekeepers were killed, and the United Nations declared D.R. Congo an L3 emergency (on par with nations such as Yemen and Iraq). A United Nations watchdog reported on November 9th that militia groups, comprised primarily of child soldiers, continue to commit widespread human rights abuses despite years of warnings. The country’s National Human Rights Commission has been unable to act upon these abuses without funding, which they have gone without since March, and are restricted to operations within the capital city of Kinshasa.

 The Tanganyika province in the southeast of the country has suffered from some of the highest levels of violence and displacement, especially in recent months. On November 1st, the independent aid organization, Norwegian Refugee Council, released a humanitarian assessment documenting squalid living conditions, wherethe majority of internally displaced peoples have no access to clean water, shelter, or latrines. They conclude that a mass outbreak of disease is likely, and that there are not enough humanitarian aid organizations in the region to organize an adequate humanitarian response to such an event.

 On November 7th, at the 730th meeting of the African Union, the organization’s Peace and Security Council evaluated the results of a four day field mission led by the Burundian ambassador to the AU. The Council adopted a resolution reaffirming the AU’s support for a free and democratic Congo, insisting upon the public release of an elections schedule, and expressing concern about continued human rights abuses.

In a positive development, eighteen people were brought to trial on November 9th for charges of child rape, murder, and organization of an armed group. Though the significant delay of the beginning of the trial and the short initial proceedings of a mere twenty minutes have raised fears that a mistrial is possible, experts suggest there is evidence that the DRC is serious about prosecuting those accused of such crimes. In the past few years, the country has somewhat increased its efforts to combat sexual violence and has successfully prosecuted even high-level military commanders. These efforts have only targeted a tiny proportion of the crimes committed, however.

Burundi

 The crisis in Burundi will be addressed again at the United Nations in November, when the Secretary General’s Special-Envoy will present his findings to the Security Council. The briefing is expected to focus on key recent developments, such as ongoing human rights abuses and the stalling of inter-Burundian peace talks facilitated by the East African Community (EAC),  a regional intergovernmental organization. According to the Security Council’s monthly forecast, the security situation in Burundi has been stable as of late, though this guise of peace is likely unsustainable and the report predicts an escalation of violence between the government and opposition should conditions fail to change.

On November 9, the International Criminal Court granted prosecutors authority to launch an investigation into human rights abuses in Burundi. This follows only days after October 27, when Burundi became the first nation to formally withdraw from the ICC. Any investigation will likely build off of claims made in a United Nations report in September, which documented extrajudicial killings, rape, torture, and other human rights abuses. The Burundian government has announced that it will not cooperate with any investigation.

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Sael Soni is STAND’s Horn of Africa Coordinator. Sael is a freshman at Vanderbilt University. His interests lay mostly in understanding the dynamics of post-Colonial Latin America and the intersection of human rights and economic policy.

Ana Delgado is STAND’s Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Coordinator. Ana Delgado is a senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is studying Political Science and Peace, War, & Defense while minoring in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies. After graduation, Ana hopes to pursue a law degree with an emphasis on human rights.

Soham Mehta is STAND’s Sudan and South Sudan Coordinator.

Caroline Brammer is STAND’s Southeast Asia Coordinator. Caroline is a sophomore majoring in Media and Journalism with a minor in Medical Anthropology at UNC Chapel Hill. She is eager to delve into her role as a member of the Education Task Force for Southeast Asia and excited to learn how she can influence change while on the other side of the world. She enjoys painting, writing, trekking, humanitarian work, and loves travelling above all else.

Rhiannon Winner is STAND’s Great Lakes of Africa Coordinator, focusing mainly on the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burundi. She is a junior at Gettysburg College where she double majors in Political Science and Public Policy.

An increasing number of Rohingya are fleeing Bangladesh to escape ongoing communal violence and substandard living conditions. The UNHCR has expressed concern over the number of people who have boarded the smugglers’ boats. According to the UN, as many as 13,000 people left by boat and 500 died at sea. Most boats head south for Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. In the press release, UNHCR “recognizes the regional dimension of the irregular movements of refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants by sea,” and states that, “Genuine cooperative regional approaches that promote sharing of burdens and responsibility could offer asylum seekers and refugees an alternative to dangerous and exploitative boat journeys.” A boatload of over 120 Rohingya arrived in Jakarta earlier this week.

A team from the International Committee of the Red Cross this week visited the Kachin town of Laiza. The Kachin Independence Army has been fighting the Myanmar military for greater autonomy since ceasefire agreements broke down in June 2011. This was the first time in months that aid organizations were allowed access to the area by the Myanmar government.

In other news, Naypyidaw has approved a $1.15 billion military budget, one-fifth of the total budget, from which a majority of funds is to be built on “hardware”.  Under the 2008 Constitution, the military holds 25% of the seats in Parliament. Additionally, a parliamentary commission has discovered that the Myanmar military has forcibly seized about 250,000 acres of farmland from villagers. The report urges the military to return untouched land to their owners or to reimburse them if their land has been developed.

Sudan

Sudan and South Sudan will resume stalled talks on Thursday to set up a demilitarized border zone. At the last meeting on January 19, both sides traded accusations of making new demands for the border zone. Khartoum also accuses Juba of backing rebels of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, two Sudan border states. Juba denies this. South Sudan claims that Sudan often bombs its territory and accuses Sudan of supporting rebels in South Sudan led by David Yau Yau. Apart from oil and the buffer zone, the two countries must agree on ownership of Abyei and other disputed areas.

On Friday it was reported that the Sudanese army would send reinforcements to southern Blue Nile state where government forces are battling rebels from the SPLM-N.

Darfur

A joint offensive of two Darfur rebel groups against the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) in North Darfur left more than 25 government soldiers dead on Wednesday, JEM and SLA-MM rebel movements say. The battle took place on the road connected to the North Darfur capital El Fasher.

There are signs of progress following reconciliation meetings between the Arab Abbala and Beni Hussein tribes brokered by state authorities last week in Saraf Omra, North Darfur. Roads have been reopened for the first time since February 21, “enabling food, commerce and urgently needed supplies to reach the area.” Most vital roads in the war-affected region had been closed since clashes over control of a gold mine of Jebel Amer broke out on January 5th. This prevented thousands of displaced from receiving aid for weeks. Over 100,000 people fled their homes in connection with the first wave of tribal fighting, making this the largest forced displacement in Darfur in years. A second wave of tribal clashes erupted on February 21.

Last weekend, a planned two-day visit of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to North Darfur sparked negative reactions among three of Darfur’s rebel groups who ensured the trip would not go “smoothly.”Al-Bashir postponed his trip after severe clashes broke out between the Sudan Revolutionary Forces (SRF) and the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) in Wad Bahr, a village on the border of Darfur and North Kordofan.

On Wednesday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced the date of the trial of two former Darfur rebels accused of killing UNAMID peacekeepers in 2007. The assault involved approximately 1,000 rebel attackers, and resulted in the death of 12 peacekeepers.  The trial will start in May 2014.

South Sudan

Two clashes between soldiers and rebels resulted in the deaths of 33 people. South Sudanese troops killed 28 fighters led by the rebel leader David Yau Yau in the restive state of Jonglei.

Syria

The Assad regime launched an offensive against rebel forces on Wednesday, with warplanes striking targets throughout Syria. Dozens were wounded or killed in the northern city of Raqa, most of whom rebel forces had recently overrun. Government warplanes also raided the city of Homs, which is now mostly under government control with the exception of a few rebel-held districts. Rebel enclaves near Damascus and in northwest Syria were also subject to bombings. Opposition leader Moaz al-Khatib visited Syria on Sunday for the first time since his exile last year. His visit appears to be a move to address skepticism among some rebel groups toward the Syrian National Coalition, the representative of the Syrian opposition abroad.

Syrian government forces that had crossed into Iraq for refuge were ambushed on Monday, leaving 48 dead. Iraqi officials have blamed the attack on Al-Qaeda. Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Moussawi, stated the soldiers were allowed into Iraq for humanitarian purposes and that Iraq was not picking sides in the Syrian conflict. On Sunday, Iraq shut down the Iraqi side of the Syrian-Iraqi border crossing of Rabia after Syrian rebel forces captured the Syrian side.

A Syrian rebel brigade in southern Syria near Israeli-occupied Golan Heights has seized 21 UN peacekeepers. The captured peacekeepers are part of the UN observer force that has monitored the Syrian-Israeli ceasefire line since the end of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The rebel group demanded that Syrian government forces withdraw from the nearby village of Jamla, threatening to treat the peacekeepers as “prisoners of war” if their demands were not met within 24 hours. On Monday, Israel warned the UN Security Council that it “cannot be expected to stand idle” as the Syrian conflict spills over its borders.

American and Russian diplomats are planning to meet this Friday with the international mediator for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi. On Tuesday, American Secretary of State John Kerry stated in a joint press conference with the Qatari Prime Minister that he believes arms for Syrian rebels are increasingly being channeled to moderate militarized groups within the Syrian opposition.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

The M23 delegation in Kampala has split into two factions following internal clashes within the leadership. Last week, M23 clashed after political leader Jean Marie Runiga was linked with General Bosco Ntaganda, who is wanted by the ICC. One faction is representing General Makenga, the military leader of M23, and the other is representing Runiga.

On Tuesday, ICRC staff entered Kitchanga, Masisi, North Kivu to find corpses lying in the streets and “extensive destruction.” St. Benoit Hospital, one of two hospitals in the city, had been hit by shells. For an extended analysis and background, see IRIN’s report here.

Secretary-General of the UN Ban Ki-Moon called on the Security Council to create an intervention brigade within the UN peacekeeping operation in DRC to combat rebel groups in eastern Congo. The brigade would have the ability to conduct counter-offensive operation against all armed groups threatening peace, with or without the Congolese army and also help to neutralize and disarm groups. Additionally, the UNHCR is seeking $70 million to help forcibly displaced Congolese civilians in the Great Lakes region this year, and will be split amongst the DRC, Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda.

On Monday, a bilateral cooperation agreement between South Sudan and DRC was initiated in order to make their common borders safer and protect it from dissident groups that may create insecurity. Issues of trade, customs and migration services are to be addressed by both countries.