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Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea, Mohamed Abdelsalam Babiker (A/HRC/47/21)

Human Rights Council

Forty-seventh session

21 June–9 July 2021

Agenda item 2

Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner

for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the

High Commissioner and the Secretary-General

Summary

The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 44/1, in which the Council extended the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea and requested the mandate holder to present a report on the implementation of the mandate to the Council at its forty-seventh session.

The report is based upon the observations of the Special Rapporteur and information gathered from a variety of other sources. In the report, the Special Rapporteur provides an overview of the human rights concerns in Eritrea, and outlines recent developments and some of the human rights challenges in the country, including incommunicado detention, arbitrary arrest and detention, inhumane prison conditions, indefinite national/military service, lack of freedom of expression, opinion, association, religious belief and movement, lack of the rule of law and the serious human rights violations in the Tigray region of Ethiopia committed by Eritrean troops. In the light of the five benchmarks for progress set out in the report of his predecessor, the Special Rapporteur addresses a number of recommendations to the Government of Eritrea and to the international community with a view to improving the situation of human rights in the country.

I. Introduction

1. The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 44/1, in which the Council extended the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea for one year and requested the mandate holder to present a report on the implementation of the mandate to the Council at its forty-seventh session.

2. The report covers the period from 5 May 2020 to 28 April 2021. Owing to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and the related restrictions of movement, and to the lack of cooperation of the Government of Eritrea, the Special Rapporteur was unable to conduct a field visit to Eritrea during the period under review.

3. The report is based on information gathered by the Special Rapporteur by monitoring the human rights situation remotely and on information provided by other sources, including civil society organizations, United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, and the donor community. In compliance with the Code of Conduct for Special Procedure Mandate Holders of the Human Rights Council, a draft report was shared with the Government of Eritrea in order to provide it with an opportunity to comment on the observations and findings of the Special Rapporteur.

4. The Special Rapporteur wishes to thank the previous mandate holder, Daniela Kravetz, for her invaluable support and the exchanges held with her on the implementation of the mandate.

Source: UN Human Rights Council

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New schools constructed in Kerkebet

New schools in the administrative areas of Agmait and Akaide, Kerkebet sub-zone, constructed in cooperation with the office of Construction Development in Gash Barka region, the Ministry of Education, Border Patrol Units as well as the public have been inaugurated on 27 May.

The inauguration ceremony of the schools was conducted in the presence of Ambassador Mohammed Ali Hiruy, Governor of the region, Col. Yonas Bitsuamlak, Commander of North-West Command and Border Patrol as well as other officials in the region.

Pointing out that the construction of the new schools attests to the attention the Government is giving to remote areas, Sheik Omar Mohammed-Tahir, a village elder in Agmait, said that signals the bright future of the area.

Ambassador Mohammed Ali Hiruy on his part said that developmental activities being conducted in Agmait attest to the progress being made in terms of ensuring social justice and called on the residents to take advantage of the opportunity provided and send their children to school.

At the event, prizes were handed over to outstanding students by the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare branch in the region.

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea

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Cameroon Clears Illegal Miners from Border Village after Landslide Kills 27

Cameroonian authorities say they are deporting more than 1,000 illegal gold miners on the country’s eastern border with the Central African Republic after 27 miners died in May due to landslides. Those being expelled include 400 Central Africans and Senegalese in the village of Kambele.

At least 300 illegal miners were forced by Cameroonian police and military to sit on the floor at the Kambele market square on Tuesday night this week. Among them are Cameroonians, Central Africans and Senegalese.

Alfred Kamoun is a 31-year-old father of two from the neighboring Central African Republic. He says he was forced out of a mining site called Boukarou in Kambele village.

He says he and his two brothers will no longer be able to raise $50 each night from digging and selling gold. He says while at the mining site they could dig at least 7 grams of gold each night. Kamoun says his son will no longer be paid $4 every night for supplying water to wash gold.

Kambele is a village in Batouri, an administrative unit located about 700 kilometers from Cameroon’s eastern neighbor, CAR.

On Monday local authorities at Batouri said 27 illegal gold miners died in Kambele village in May. Auberlin Mbelessa, mayor of Batouri says an emergency crisis meeting recommended the deportation of at least 1,000 civilians from the risky mining area.

He says no one can be indifferent when civilians are dying in gold mines, yet thousands of people continue to rush to mining sites which from every indication are dangerous. He says while deporting the illegal gold miners, rescue workers and Cameroon military will also search to remove corpses and save the lives of people who may still be trapped in the collapsing mines.

Cameroon said it deployed its rescue workers, military and police to Kambele to clear the area of illegal miners and make sure foreign illegal miners either obtain their residence and mining permits or leave.

The military is prohibiting miners from visiting risk zones where trenches dug to harvest gold are collapsing. Baba Bell, traditional ruler of Kambele says some civilians may have drown in trenches filled with water from heavy rains.

He says every year during the rainy season as from the months of April, so many gold mines collapse leaving many people severely wounded or dead. He says a majority of the victims are unemployed Cameroonian youths who flood his village in search of opportunities. He says several hundred foreigners from Congo Brazzaville, Central African Republic, China and Senegal are in his village.

Hilaire Kembe is a Cameroon illegal gold miner at Kembele village. He says it is impossible to know the exact number of dead or wounded people in May in Kambele.

He says miners do not report when they discover fresh corpses and human bones at mining sites because of fear that they will be held for several weeks at police posts for interrogations. He says several hundred villagers and foreign miners whose identities are unknown prefer digging for gold at night when Cameroon police and military retire to their barracks. He says it is difficult to know when the night miners are buried by collapsing soils.

Cameroon says some of the illegal miners are displaced persons fleeing the conflict in CAR and fleeing from Boko Haram terrorist groups on its northern border with Nigeria. Some are escaping from the Anglophone separatist fighters in the country’s English-speaking western regions.

The government has always prohibited unauthorized people from digging in the area. But many youths ignore the order saying that they are unemployed.

Source: Voice of America

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Zimbabweans Protest COVID-19 Vaccine Shortages

Hundreds of Zimbabweans protested Wednesday about a shortage of COVID-19 vaccines as the country awaits more doses from China. The government wants to inoculate at least 60% of Zimbabwe’s more than 14 million people by the end of the year but has struggled to get the necessary supplies.

Claudina Maneni brought her 60-year-old mother to get her second vaccine dose Wednesday at Wilkins Hospital, Zimbabwe’s main COVID-19 vaccination center.

She was among people who arrived at 4 a.m. but waited in vain for hours.

The crowd demanded to see authorities and began to protest but dispersed upon hearing police were on their way.

Maneni says she wonders why Zimbabwe’s finance minister, Mthuli Ncube, has not imported more vaccines to avert shortages.

“That’s the problem with freebies. Shortages must affect those who want their first jabs,” she said. “I hear some private points are selling it. I will pass through to check. It must be them — government officials — taking vaccines to those places. They are not ashamed at all. There will be chaos here. Why did they call us to come for vaccination?”

On Wednesday, Dr. John Mangwiro, Zimbabwe’s junior health minister, refused to comment. Tuesday, he told state-controlled media that government would redistribute COVID-19 vaccines from areas with lower demand to those where uptake has been high to avert current shortages.

He said Zimbabwe still had more than 400,000 doses from the 1.7 million COVID-19 vaccines it got from China, Russia and India since February.

Updating media Tuesday about Zimbabwe’s COVID-19 situation, Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa was mum about the shortages.

“As of 31st May, 2021, a total of 675,678 people had received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and about 344,400 their second dose — this is across the country. Priority is being given to second doses,” she said.

After speaking, she did not field questions from reporters.

Calvin Fambirai, executive director of Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights, says his organization is worried about the COVID-19 vaccine shortages with winter season approaching the region.

“The vaccine shortages could have been avoided if there was proper planning on part of the government,” he said. “Although we understand the limited availability of vaccines on the market, we have some countries like South Africa, which entered into bilateral deals with manufacturers. We cannot afford to rely on donations, government must be proactive and secure the vaccines for all Zimbabweans.”

Last week, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization’s director for Africa, appealed for at least 20 million vaccines of second doses for everyone who received their first shots on the continent to curtail a potential third wave of COVID-19.

Zimbabwe has 38,998 confirmed coronavirus infections and just under 1,600 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University, which tracks the global outbreak.

Source: Voice of America

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Twitter Deletes Nigerian President’s Tweet Invoking Civil War

Twitter deleted a post by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari Wednesday invoking the country’s civil war.

In a series of tweets sent out earlier Wednesday, Buhari, who served in the army during the 1967-1970 civil war, said that regional secessionists did not remember the tragedy of the war, using language that Twitter flagged as “abusive.”

“Many of those misbehaving today are too young to be aware of the destruction and loss of lives that occurred during the Nigerian Civil War,” his now-deleted tweet said. “Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand.”

A similar comment, in a video clip, remained on the Nigerian presidency’s Twitter account.

The civil war left over one million people dead.

Buhari’s office responded to Twitter’s action Tuesday by saying the president had a right to denounce violence.

“If Mr. President anywhere in the world feels very bad and concerned about a situation, he is free to express such views,” Nigeria’s Information Minister Lai Mohammed told reporters.

Buhari’s comments follow increased attacks, particularly on government buildings and police stations in southeastern Nigeria, in recent weeks. Authorities have blamed separatist group the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) for the attacks.

The banned IPOB, which has pushed for a separate Igbo state, has denied involvement.

Source: Voice of America

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A new chapter powered by a global coalition: SNOMED International releases its 2020 Annual Report

London, UK, June 01, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — 2020 has been a year like no other in the world’s recent history. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the health and well-being of a global community, and, in doing so, has necessitated shifts in the way the world conducts business, engages with colleagues, and, at a personal level, connects with family and friends. The continued dedication and service of healthcare providers globally, despite the new demands placed on them as a result of the pandemic, cannot be overstated.

SNOMED International’s 2020 Annual Report, “A new chapter powered by a global coalition,” demonstrates the vast breadth of progress made possible by the will of a growing and committed community. The start of the year was marked by the delivery of necessary COVID-19 terminology to equip healthcare systems globally in their management of the pandemic, an activity which continued steadily throughout the year. Further, 2020 marked the first year of a new five-year strategy, the focus of which tackled many imperatives for the organization’s product and services enhancement and innovation.

The organization continued to strengthen its connections with Members through refreshed statements of the value SNOMED CT delivers to its complement of stakeholders, further underlining the case for investment in SNOMED CT — a product uniquely positioned to support innovation in medicine with artificial intelligence and personalized medicine playing an increasingly prevalent role in safe and informed care delivery.

As SNOMED International continues to satisfy the mission and vision that guide its new strategy, the organization is energized by the desire for innovation and commitment to excellence observed from Members, governance bodies and the SNOMED CT Community of Practice.

SNOMED International is proud of its collective achievements in 2020 and looks forward to sharing them with the global SNOMED CT community. Read SNOMED International’s 2020 Annual Report and contact info@snomed.org with inquiries.

About SNOMED International

SNOMED International is a not-for-profit organization that owns and develops SNOMED CT, the world’s most comprehensive healthcare terminology product. We play an essential role in improving the health of humankind by determining standards for a codified language that represents groups of clinical terms. This enables healthcare information to be exchanged globally for the benefit of patients and other stakeholders. A Member oriented organization, we are committed to the rigorous evolution of our products and services, to deliver continuous innovation for the global healthcare community. SNOMED International is the trading name of the International Health Terminology Standards Development

Kelly Kuru
SNOMED International
comms@snomed.org
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BAND Royalty Is Changing the NFT Landscape

NEW YORK, June 01, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — via InvestorWire — BAND Royalty today announces its placement in an editorial published by NetworkNewsWire (“NNW”), one of 50+ trusted brands within the InvestorBrandNetwork (“IBN”), a multifaceted financial news and publishing company for private and public entities.

To view the full publication, “NFTs Flipping the Script, Bringing Value Back to Music Artists,” please visit: https://nnw.fm/dvON4

Currently retail investors can only get exposure to the music industry by buying stock in a public music label, investing in funds that buy/sell music royalties, or via websites that auction royalty rights, often well into the six-figure dollar range. In what many perceive as a ground-floor opportunity, BAND Royalty is changing the landscape and making it accessible for retail investors to participate by owning NFTs.

After a private sale of music NFTs that generated almost $1 million, BAND launched its own NFT sales platform on its website, creating the first music NFT-only platform this month. The company opened up access to the first series of 3,000 BAND NFTs on its platform, staggering the release based on rarity. The company’s plan is to keep the NFT count tight, much like other popular NFT projects such as CryptoPunks and Hashmasks, both of which have had secondary market sales in the millions of dollars. The long-term intention is to have a maximum of 12,000 BAND NFTs across four different series to be released over the next 18 months.

About BAND Royalty

BAND Royalty lets music lovers and fans take their enjoyment of music to the next level by offering blockchain-secured BAND NFTs that enable holders to earn crypto from some of the world’s most popular songs. This unique opportunity allows individuals to share in income streams each time a song in the BAND music catalog is performed. The name BAND is derived from the initials of its co-founders, blockchain experts Barnaby Andersun (BA) + Noble Drakoln (ND).

To learn more about the company, visit https://BandRoyalty.com

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to BAND are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/BAND

About NetworkNewsWire

NetworkNewsWire (NNW) is an information service that provides (1) access to our news aggregation and syndication servers, (2) NetworkNewsBreaks that summarize corporate news and information, (3) enhanced press release services, (4) social media distribution and optimization services, and (5) a full array of corporate communication solutions. As a multifaceted financial news and content distribution company with an extensive team of contributing journalists and writers, NNW is uniquely positioned to best serve private and public companies that desire to reach a wide audience of investors, consumers, journalists and the general public. NNW has an ever-growing distribution network of more than 5,000 key syndication outlets across the country. By cutting through the overload of information in today’s market, NNW brings its clients unparalleled visibility, recognition and brand awareness.

NNW is where news, content and information converge.

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For more information please visit https://www.NetworkNewsWire.com

Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the NetworkNewsWire website applicable to all content provided by NNW, wherever published or re-published: http://NNW.fm/Disclaimer

NetworkNewsWire (NNW)
New York, New York
www.NetworkNewsWire.com
212.418.1217 Office
Editor@NetworkNewsWire.com

NetworkNewsWire is part of the InvestorBrandNetwork