Eritrea Wire

A report submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Council accuses the Eritrean government of involvement in Ethiopia’s conflict in the Tigray region and of committing serious human rights violations against Eritreans who have sought asylum in Tigray.

The special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Eritrea, Mohamed Abdelsalam Babiker, is new to the job, although in 2017 he was part of a U.N. monitoring team whose findings resulted in the imposition of sanctions on the country.

In this, his first report since he started his mandate in November, he pulled no punches. He presented a grim picture of a government that perpetrates gross human rights violations with impunity both at home and abroad.

“There are no tangible signs of progress or concrete evidence of improvement in the internal human rights situation in Eritrea. In addition, Eritrea extended its human rights violations extra-territorially or beyond its borders during this mandate and committed heinous human rights violations in the Tigray region of Ethiopia,” he said.

Babiker said he has received allegations that Eritrean troops in Tigray carried out deliberate attacks against civilians, summary executions, sexual and gender-based violence.

He said they also allegedly took part in the abduction and disappearance of Eritrean refugees and asylum seekers.

Babiker expressed particular concern about the reported destruction by Eritrean troops of two refugee camps in Hitsats and Shimelba in northern Tigray, which hosted more than 25,000 Eritrean refugees. The refugee camps are located near the two countries’ borders.

“I call on the Eritrean authorities to withdraw their forces from Tigray, to provide information about the whereabouts of the missing Eritrean refugees and to release any Eritrean refugees held in detention,” he said.

Turning to the situation inside Eritrea, Babiker said the only positive news he has to report is of the release of more than 100 Muslims, Orthodox Christians, and Jehovah’s Witnesses who were detained without charges and trial, some for over 20 years.

He urged the government to release all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience who have been held incommunicado for indefinite periods under inhumane conditions.

In his response to Babiker, Ambassador Tesfamicael Gerahtu of Eritrea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs made no reference to an Eritrean troop presence in Ethiopia. He rejected the report, calling it politicized. He also called into question the legitimacy of the Special Rapporteur’s mandate and told the Council it should be abolished.

Source: Voice of America

Malawi’s government Tuesday announced a goal to eliminate malaria, a leading cause of death in the country, by 2030. The mosquito-spread parasitic disease accounts for about 15% of Malawi’s hospital admissions.

Speaking during a televised launch of a nationwide anti-malaria initiative known as ‘Zero Malaria Starts with Me’ campaign, President Lazarus Chakwera said statistics on malaria infection in the country are worrying.

He said malaria contributed about 36% of all out-patient department cases and 15% of all hospital admissions in Malawi.

“This creates a lot of work for our health workers and pressure on drugs in our public health facilities. And additionally, malaria remains the leading cause of death in Malawi claiming six lives every day,” said Chakwera.

President Chakwera said last year, Malawi registered 6.9 million malaria cases – more than a third of the total population — and lost 2,500 lives because of the disease. It killed more Malawians than any other disease, including COVID-19.

The Malawi leader said his administration is committed to do whatever it takes to create a malaria-free country.

“And admittedly this commitment cannot be government’s alone. Malaria is a collective problem that demands collective strategy,” said Chakwera. “By collective strategy I am referring to private sector players and development partners who need to put money where their mouth is and join their resources to ours so we finance this fight together.”

Chakwera announced what he called ‘ten commandments’ which would help in preventing and cure the disease.

These include, clearing all breeding grounds for mosquitoes, timely taking of prescribed malaria medication and sleeping under a mosquito net.

“My administration will distribute 9,258,645 mosquito nets in 25 districts, and also indoor residual spraying in the districts of Nkhata-bay, Nkhota-kota, Balaka and Mangochi,” said Chakwera. “Currently only 55% of Malawians sleep under mosquito nets, and we need to get to a 100% to prevail.”

The initiative is part of the global campaign to end Malaria by 2030.

The U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative, launched in 2005, is among the financiers of the campaign.

The program’s team leader in Malawi, Monica Batista, explained how malaria personally affected her.

“When I first started working for malaria, it was not a personal issue for me,” said Batista . “That all changed just six months ago when I lost a dear friend to malaria. Now the fight against malaria is personal for me. I understand what it feels like to lose a loved one to this preventable disease.”

She said the U.S. government has for the past 15 years contributed about $270 million towards malaria prevention and control activities in Malawi.

“The strides we have made against malaria, though significant, are delicate and incomplete,” said Batista. “To defeat malaria, we will need a more concerted effort among the private sector, the public sector and civil society together as a whole.”

She said the launch of Zero Malaria Starts with Me campaign serves as a call to action.

Source: Voice of America

Algeria’s decision to revoke the accreditation of France 24 over its coverage of long-running pro-democracy protests signals the pressure that media in the North African country work under, analysts say.

The move against the French state-owned news outlet earlier this month comes amid tensions between the government and press over coverage of the pro-democracy Hirak Movement. The announcement came the day after legislative elections in which 70% of the electorate did not vote, according to data from the Algerian electoral authority.

The Hirak Movement protests began in early 2019, forcing former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika to resign. But as protests calling for widespread reform continued, authorities cracked down on journalists who cover them or who criticize the government.

Media and human rights watchdogs say that journalists in Algeria frequently face harassment and arbitrary detention, and that access to several news websites has been blocked. Under a 2020 law, journalists risk up to five years in prison for undermining public order. A separate decree says news websites have to be based in the country and run by an Algerian national, Freedom House data shows.

Overall, the country’s press freedom record since 2018 has declined 10 places — falling to 146 out of 180 — on Reporters Without Borders (RSF) annual index.

In France 24’s case, Algeria’s Ministry of Communication said in a statement that its June 13 decision to revoke the accreditation was a response to the broadcaster’s “hostility” and “aggressiveness toward Algeria,” and added that the broadcaster had failed to “respect the rules of professional ethics, disinformation, and manipulation.”

The broadcaster had received a warning from the ministry in March related to its coverage of protests.

France 24 directed VOA to its statement shared with Agence France-Presse that read, “We cover Algerian news transparently, independently and honestly, as is the case with all countries we cover.”

As well as revoking a broadcaster’s credentials, Algeria this month detained two journalists — RSF correspondent Khaled Drareni and Maghred Emergent director Ihsane El-Kadi. Both have previously faced legal action over their reporting.

Drareni served almost a year in prison for “endangering national unity” and “inciting an unarmed gathering” while covering a protest. He was released on bail in February 2021.

The RSF correspondent says he thinks a meeting that he had with foreign journalists led to his arrest. Drareni told VOA that officials asked him “bizarre” questions about his work, life, and why he had met with foreign journalists who came to Algiers to cover the elections.

VOA attempted to seek comment from Algeria’s Ministry of Communications but received an automated email saying the mailbox is full. The country’s embassies in the U.S. and France did not respond to requests for comment.

Shrinking freedoms

Journalists who cover Algeria said that given the current climate for media in the country, the decision to revoke France 24’s accreditation was not surprising.

Adam Nossiter, the New York Times Kabul bureau chief who used to cover Algeria, said that the broadcaster being a French state-owned outlet adds another layer.

“They’re especially prickly toward the French. Their complicated colonial relationship with the French just also complicates whatever relations they have with French media,” Nossiter told VOA. “Critical coverage coming from French media is much more keenly felt in Algeria.”

Algeria was under French colonial rule until gaining independence in 1962 after a seven-year war, which remains a sensitive issue for both countries.

Mustapha Bendjama, editor-in-chief of Algerian opposition newspaper Le Provincial, said the recent incidents are indicative of declining media freedom across the country.

“The state does not tolerate that journalists and the media dare to have an editorial point of view that differs from the state’s version,” Bendjama said.

The journalist said he has also been arrested previously over coverage.

Journalists in Algeria, especially local media, face widespread harassment and the threat of arbitrary detention, says Justin Shilad, a senior Middle East and North Africa researcher at the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.

“We’re seeing more and more journalists detained for longer periods of time and in greater numbers,” Shilad said. “At one point last month, authorities arrested at least 16 journalists who were covering the protests.”

The situation is leading to widespread self-censorship, said Akram Kharief, editor-in-chief for news website MENADEFENSE, which focuses on international defense and security.

Kharief said efforts to suppress the media include indirect pressure including financially via a loss in advertising revenue, and direct pressure, like revoking accreditation or arresting journalists.

“Since the beginning of this revolution in 2019, we have more and more pressure applied against the media,” Kharief said. “And we have a very strong decline in free speech in general.”

Foreign journalists in Algeria tend to have more leeway that their local counterparts, according to Nossiter.

“In the case of foreign media, if they’re really unhappy with you, they’ll just kick you out or revoke your accreditation,” Nossiter said. “They’re even harsher with local media. They throw them in jail.”

Drareni said that even if the treatment is different, the government’s objective is the same.

“In the same way that the government controls or tries to control the Algerian press, it also tries to control the foreign press,” Drareni said.

With limited coverage in state or official media of the protest movement and big issues including corruption and the economy, Algeria has seen a growth in independent outlets “specifically to fill the void,” said Shilad.

It would be incorrect to characterize the media as all being supportive of the protest movement, but Shilad said, “There is definitely an appetite in Algeria for critical reporting on corruption, the economy, and human rights, which are also issues that the Hirak protests have focused on.”

For journalists on the ground, there is determination to keep reporting.

“As long as there are online media and newspapers that continue to resist, in the face of censorship, in the face of pressure, in the face of threats, I am optimistic,” Drareni told VOA.

Source: Voice of America