Two human rights defenders who held a news conference to criticize the Democratic Republic of Congo’s “state of siege” in eastern provinces have been held without charge since August 1, 2024, Human Rights Watch said today.

Jack Sinzahera, 35, one of those held, a member of the citizens’ movement Amka Congo (Wake up Congo), is a longtime activist and campaigner who advocates lifting the “state of siege” imposed in the North Kivu and Ituri provinces. Gloire Saasita, 27, also held, is a member of the Génération Positive citizens’ movement, which fights for the defense of human rights in Congo. Neither has been taken before a judge, which Congolese law requires within 48 hours of an arrest. The government should immediately release them.

“Human Rights Watch is deeply concerned for the safety of activists Jack Sinzahera and Gloire Saasita,” said Carine Kaneza Nantulya, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Congolese authorities should release them and stop using the ‘state of siege’ to crack down on the rights to free expression and association.”

These arrests occurred at a time when armed conflict in eastern Congo has intensified as Rwandan-backed M23 continue to seize territory around the eastern city of Goma. In May 2021, President Félix Tshisekedi, who was re-elected in December 2023, declared martial law – a “state of siege” – in the North Kivu and Ituri provinces. The military has taken over civilian authority in both provinces since then, and martial law has remained in effect. Armed groups continue to attack civilians with little protection from the Congolese army despite the “state of siege.”

Activists who were at the August 1 news conference told Human Rights Watch that at about 10:45 a.m., Sinzahera and Saasita were in the basketball stadium of Goma’s Institut Supérieur de Commerce (Higher Institute of Commerce) giving interviews to journalists when men in civilian clothes approached them. The activists interviewed said they recognized the men as being from the Goma intelligence police, known as P2.

They said one of the men told Sinzahera that they had come to arrest him and another told Saasita: “As you’re covering yourself with the country’s flag and you’re a patriot, you too can come and explain yourself afterwards.” The men put the two activists into a private car and drove away.

A family member and a human rights defender based in Kinshasa, the Congolese capital, told Human Rights Watch that on August 10, the two activists were transferred to the General Directorate of Intelligence (Direction Générale des Renseignements) in Kinshasa. The families said the authorities have not told them the reason for the arrests.

An activist from Goma said he was able to visit once the two activists in custody after paying a bribe. He said that Sinzahera and Saasita told friends when they visited them that they were arrested for criticizing the “state of siege.”

Human Rights Watch previously reported that the military and police have used martial law to curtail freedom of expression, put down peaceful demonstrations with lethal force, and arbitrarily detain and prosecute activists, journalists, and political opposition members.

On April 2, 2022, Mwamisiyo Ndungo, an activist with Lucha, an organization which fights for the protection of rights and freedoms in Congo, was arrested and later convicted and sentenced to five years in prison for criticizing the “state of siege” on his X, formerly Twitter, account. These latest arrests further highlight the government’s growing intolerance toward voices critical of the “state of siege” in North Kivu, Human Rights Watch said.

Under martial law orders, military authorities are able to ban meetings deemed against public order and arrest anyone for disrupting public order. Civilians are prosecuted before military courts, which violates Congo’s obligations under international human rights law to ensure due process and fair trial rights.

Under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Congo is a party, certain rights may be suspended under a state of emergency but must be tailored to the “exigencies of the situation” and be lawful, necessary, and proportionate, including when martial law is in effect. The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which Congo has ratified, does not allow for suspending any of its provisions under any circumstances.

“The arrests of Jack Sinzahera and Gloire Saasita appear to be aimed at their criticism of the ‘state of siege,’” Kaneza Nantulya said. “The Congolese government should ensure that martial rule is not used as a pretext to curtail people’s fundamental rights and find effective measures to address security issues in North Kivu.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Deputy President Paul Mashatile will, in his capacity as Acting President, lead the signing by multiple stakeholders of the Second Presidential Health Compact at the Union Buildings, Pretoria, at 12h30 today, Thursday, 22 August 2024.

President Ramaphosa has appointed Deputy President Mashatile as Acting President, based on medical advice that President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is in good spirits otherwise, allow an eye infection to clear.

Immediately after the Health Compact signing, Acting President Mashatile will receive Letters of Credence from Heads of Mission and Ambassadors-Designate of 11 countries.

The incoming members of the Diplomatic Corps have been nominated by their respective governments to serve as official representatives to South Africa.

The presentation of credentials to the Acting President will take place at the Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guest House on the Bryntirion Estate at 14h00.

Representatives of the following countries will be welcomed to South Africa by Acting President Mashatile:

The Republic of Nicaragua; the Republic of Guinea; the Republic of Peru; the People’s Republic of China; the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela; the Holy See; the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; the Republic of Gabon; the Republic of Finland; the Republic of Senegal, and the Republic of Ghana.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Presidency of the Republic of South Africa.

The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, Mr Mosa Chabane, is distraught about the death of a refugee at the Desmond Tutu Refugee Reception Centre in Pretoria on Tuesday following a reported stampede. The death of another refugee undermines the spirit of South Africa’s strong legal and human rights framework on refugees and asylum seekers’ rights, as encapsulated in the Refugees Act 130 of 1998, and South Africa’s global and regional international refugee law obligations.

Mr Chabane emphasised the need for the Department of Home Affairs to fast-track the finalisation of the assessment of the implications of relocating refugee reception centres closer to ports of entry. The one-stop-shop facility proposal in the White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection: Towards a Complete Overhaul of the Migration System in South Africa (2024) makes an argument for refugee reception offices to be located at ports of entry to facilitate immediate assessment of asylum claims.

“It is necessary to have in place refugee reception centres that offer quality services to asylum seekers and refugees to ensure adherence to international obligations and respect to human rights,” Mr Chabane emphasised.

The Chairperson also called on the Department of Home Affairs to work with sister departments to conduct a broad investigation on the causes of the stampeded that resulted in the death. Also, the department must urgently devise strategies to prevent any possible recurrence of this incident.

The committee has a scheduled an oversight visit to the centre in October and hopes that the investigation will establish the cause of the incident.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.

In response to a dramatic spike in malaria cases in Ethiopia over the last eight months, the U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia and the State Minister of Health helped to distribute approximately 85,000 insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) at the Shebe Sombo Health Center in Jimma Zone, Oromia Region on August 21, 2024. After a decade of declining malaria cases, which saw the number of cases drop below one million in 2019, Ethiopia experienced a spike this year with cases reaching five million.

The United States distributed 1.6 million new generation insecticide- treated nets in 28 high risk areas, each infused with two types of insecticide and considered to be the most effective available against the mosquitos that transmit malaria. “These nets are the best way to prevent the disease,” said Ambassador Ervin J. Massinga. The nets are expected to protect at least three million people.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) procured the nets, costing USD 7 million through the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) which has been working with the Federal Ministry of Health to fight malaria in the country since 2008. Malaria affects nearly 75 percent of Ethiopia, putting 75 million people – 69 percent of the population – at risk. PMI has delivered 53.3 million mosquito nets to date and sprayed 700,000 homes annually since the program’s inception. PMI has delivered 9.4 million rapid diagnostic tests and 15.6 million fast acting malaria medicines since 2008.

In sub-Saharan Africa, ITNs have reduced malaria by 50 percent, a region accounting for 94 percent of all malaria cases and 95 percent of deaths. “These nets are the best way to prevent the disease,” said Massinga, “but there’s a catch,” he warned. “They only work if used consistently. You need to sleep under the nets every night,” he advised.

Ethiopia is among the fifteen countries most heavily impacted by malaria in the world. Malaria is highly seasonable and unstable in the country, so adults and children are equally at risk for infection and disease. Because peak malaria transmission often coincides with the planting and harvesting season, the malaria risk is shared among older children and working adults in rural agricultural areas. “If you use the nets consistently,” said the Ambassador, “we may gain the upper hand on what is currently a dramatic uptick in malaria cases here in Ethiopia.”

For 120 years, the United States and Ethiopia have partnered in health and education, agriculture and food security, science and the environment, and many other areas to improve the lives of all Ethiopians.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia.