LGBT Situation in Mozambique

Mozambique is one of the few members of the Commonwealth without a direct link to the former British Empire.

The country has bounced back well from decades of Civil war and series of deadly floods in the first decade of the 21^st century. The economy is growing well whilst infrastructure is being rebuilt by South African and Chinese finance. Today it is generally to be viewed as an “African success” story.

However the country has recently hit the headlines for a series of violent protests against high prices and subsequent police clamp downs.

Here is a look at its LGBT record...

Law that Criminalises Homosexuality Codigo Penal[1] ARTIGO 71º (Aplicação de medidas de seguranças) (Application of Security Measures) São aplicáveis medidas de segurança: (Applying security measures to:) 4°. – Aos que se entreguem habitualmente à pratica de vícios contra a natureza; 4°. – Those that deliver themselves habitually to practice vices against nature.

Practical Consequences of the law One of the few members of the Commonwealth whose laws is not informed by colonial era British laws. (Mozambique is a former Portuguese colony) Conflicts with... African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (?) ICCPR (21 Jul 1993)

Constitutional Clause on Equality or Right to Privacy Constitution of Mozambique (Approved and enacted in November 1990.)[2] Under Article 6 the fundamental aims of the Republic of Mozambique are the defence and promotion of human rights and the equality of citizens before the law; the affirmation of the Mozambican character, its traditions and other social and cultural values. Under Article 56 it is required that the family and the State ensure that children receive a comprehensive education, bringing them up in the values of national unity, love for their country, human equality, social respect and solidarity. Under Article 81 all citizens may contest acts that violate their rights recognized under the Constitution and other laws. Under Article 82 all citizens shall have the right of recourse to the courts against any act which violates their rights recognized by the Constitution and the law. Under Article 96 individual rights and freedoms are guaranteed by the State and may only be limited where the public order or individual rights, freedoms and guarantees are endangered, or where force is used or threatened.

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[1] http://www.portaldogoverno.gov.mz/Legisla/legisSectores/judiciaria/codigo_penal.pdf

[2] http://confinder.richmond.edu/admin/docs/moz.pdf

African Commonwealth Human Rights Weekly Update (28/06 - 03/06/2011)

Kenya

31/06/2011 – Kenya plans to appeal ICC decision

Kenya has declared its intention to appeal the decision of the International Criminal Court which rejected their request that trials of six men accused of crimes against humanity be held in Kenya’s national court.

The ICC ruled that the application did not contain sufficient evidence that the government could deliver justice locally, stating that it ‘did not provide concrete evidence of ongoing proceedings before national judges, against the same persons suspected of committing crimes falling under the ICC's jurisdiction.’

Kenya had earlier challenged the jurisdiction of the ICC, saying its own authorities would investigate and prosecute the cases on Kenyan soil.

Mozambique

01/06/2011 - Free weekly newspaper marks its third year

@Verdade, (truth, in Portuguese) is an extraordinary newspaper. With an aim of increasing access to information, it is distributed free of charge in Maputo and four other towns to people who could otherwise not afford to buy a newspaper.

‘@Verdade was designed and set out to be a tool for development,' says Erik Charas, the papers founder and developer. ‘The development of the citizen, the human being who is entitled to be an active participant of their country's economy simply by being informed. By being able to take or make informed decisions. By being able to speak and be heard. By being allowed to dream, to want and to do. And to change things.’

And three years on, signs show that the newspaper is working as an agent for change in a country that continues on its road to recovery following a sixteen year civil war. A study by Paul Collier, Jenny C Aker and Pedro C Vicente about the 2009 national elections found that access to @Verdade had increased political participation by 10%.

Nigeria

02/06/2011 – Nigerian police raid ‘baby farm’

An alleged ‘baby farm’ in the southern city of Aba was raided by Nigeria police this week. Thirty two pregnant girls, mostly of school age, were found locked up at the Cross Foundation clinic. Their babies were to be sold for illegal adoption or for use in ritual witchcraft.

Human trafficking is the third most common crime in Nigeria after financial fraud and drug trafficking. The UN estimates that at least ten children a day are sold across the country. Traffickers are seldom caught.

The police carried out similar raids on such clinics in neighbouring Enugu state in 2008.

Rwanda

02/06/2011 – Rwanda disputes claims of repressing free speech

This week saw the publication of an Amnesty International report stating that the genocide ideology and sectarianism laws enacted in Rwanda following the 1994 genocide have been used to stifle free speech and political opposition. The report stated that the policies are overly vague, broad and are being used by the government to punish journalists, human rights workers and political opposition.

Justice Minister Tharcisse Karugarama stated that Rwanda is already in the process of reviewing the policies. The government has labelled the report ‘inaccurate’ and ‘highly partisan’.

CHRI Statement

CHRI OFFICIAL STATEMENT ON PROTESTS IN UGANDA, SWAZILAND AND MOZAMBIQUE

Issued 10/05/2011

As the world focuses its attention on oil rich North Africa and the Middle East, a wave of police brutality within sub-Saharan African states of the Commonwealth has gone largely unnoticed and unpunished. Uganda, Swaziland and Mozambique have seen a wave of protests. But little attention has been paid to the uniformly brutal way in which they are being dealt with. These are all Commonwealth countries. The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) strongly condemns the routine use of intimidation, beatings, illegal detention, torture and excessive use of force being used within these countries to curb legitimate expressions of dissent and the right to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly. With their focus on momentous developments, the world and the international media have paid little attention to suppression and illegal acts by state actors in these countries.

Throughout April, political activists in Uganda were repeatedly harassed, beaten and arrested by the police on trumped up charges whilst largely peaceful marches were violently suppressed. As a member of the Commonwealth, Uganda should ensure that its security forces act in the spirit of the Harare Declaration which emphasises the liberty of the individual and a commitment to human rights. Uganda is also bound by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which guarantees the right to hold opinions without interference, the right to freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly.

Walk to work protests began on April 11, 2011 against high fuel prices and a rising cost of living. For three weeks running, these generally peaceful protests were dispersed by the police and the army with rubber bullets, live ammunition, tear gas and pepper spray. At least eight people have been killed including a two year old child in Masaka on April 21, 2011. The UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials requires law enforcement agencies to “use force only when strictly necessary and to the extent required for the performance of their duty”. Firing live ammunition indiscriminately into crowds that offer little threat to police officers or members of the public (as protesters have either been unarmed, or on occasion, armed with stones) is never necessary nor a proportional use of force.

The main Ugandan opposition leader and figurehead for the protests, Kizza Besigye has been shot in the hand, sprayed with pepper spray and forcibly extracted from his car by Ugandan police. On April 28, 2011, he was arrested for the third time in a month, having already been detained on charges of inciting violence and unlawful assembly. Grace Turyagumanawe, the Metropolitan police chief, justified the arrests by claiming Besigye "was inciting violence, blocking the road and disobeying police officers."

The right to freedom of expression is guaranteed in Uganda’s Constitution and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 4 of the ICCPR maintains that curbing rights such as the freedom of expression is only permissible when there is a public emergency  that threatens the life of the nation. The walk-to-work protests in Uganda have been overtly peaceful and carried out by unarmed members of the public, hence can hardly be seen as threatening the life of the nation.

CHRI also notes the failure of other police forces in the Commonwealth to act in the spirit of international human rights law. In Swaziland protests on April 18, 2011 were declared illegal by the state and police broke up protesters with water cannons and a spate of arbitrary arrests. Mcolisi Ngcamphalala, of the Swaziland Youth Congress said he was held and tortured by police for 24 hours. As in Uganda, the right to freedom of assembly is being desecrated by Swazi police. Torture is forbidden by the UN which states that a law enforcement official may not tolerate any act of torture and shall “ensure the full protection of the health of persons in their custody”.

In neighbouring Mozambique, protests on April 6, 2011 about unfair wage deductions of security staff ended in ugly scenes as riot police were filmed kicking and beating detained protesters. The UN states that “Law enforcement officials may use force only when strictly necessary and to the extent required for the performance of their duty”. Documentary evidence shows that this was not the case as protesters were repeatedly beaten having already been detained. Whilst CHRI deplores the excessive use of force, it is encouraged by the fact that a Commission of Inquiry was set up by the Mozambican Interior Ministry to investigate the incident.

We strongly urge the governments of Uganda and Swaziland to prosecute all those individuals who have been implicated in the use of force against peaceful demonstrators. All those responsible should be made accountable for their actions.

We also urge the Commonwealth to speak out in strong condemnation of actions by the Governments of Swaziland and Uganda who continue to violate the rights and freedoms of their citizens.

We encourage the Governments of the Commonwealth to listen to the cries of the people and act in a transparent manner with their citizens on matters that affect their socio-economic situation. Such matters can only be resolved through the promotion of dialogue, transparency and accountability in government dealings, policies and programmes.

We further recommend that the next Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Perth should review the standards of policing amongst its members.

African Commonwealth Human Rights Weekly Update (23/04 - 29/04/2011)

Malawi

Wednesday 27/04: Freedom of Expression: The British High Commissioner, Mr Cochrane-Dyet has been expelled from Malawi after he described President Bingu wa Mutharika as "becoming ever more autocratic and intolerant of criticism" in a leaked cable.

Since its election in 2004, the government of Bingu wa Mutharika has been criticised for harassing opposition and human rights campaigners. Mr Cochrane-Dyet said that civil society organisers were scared to campaign after receiving threatening phone calls.

Malawi has been party International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights since 1993 which guarantees the right to hold opinions without interference the right to freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly .

Mozambique

Tuesday 26/04: Protest: A Commission of Inquiry set up by the Mozambican Interior Ministry to investigate the brutal attack by members of the riot police on unarmed security guards who were demonstrating against their employer, Group Four Securicor (G4S) on the 6^th of April, has reached the preliminary conclusion that they "acted in bad faith in the use of excessive force”.

Riot police were filmed repeatedly beating unarmed protesters with truncheons. The UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials states that "Law enforcement officials, in carrying out their duty, shall, as far as possible, apply non-violent means before resorting to the use of force". This basic principle was not adhered to by Mozambican riot police.   See the video below...

Sierra Leone

Wednesday 27/04: Celebration of Independence: Sierra Leone Marked its 50^th anniversary of independence from Britain. The president Koroma called on Sierra Leone to draw upon the lessons of the past.

Nine years ago the Country emerged from an eleven year civil war that killed 50,000 people. Since the end of the war Sierra has shown tentative signs that it is beginning to turn a corner. It has been particularly encouraging that the 2007 elections have been conducted in a free and fair manner. Former president Kabbah stepped down after serving a maximum two terms and Koroma successfully defeated the incumbent Vice President Solomon Berewa. Sierra Leone is due to go for presidential elections again in 2012.

Uganda

Thursday  28/04: Arbitrary Arrest: For the third week running Kizza Besigye was detained by the police for attempting another walk to work protest. Beigye is being denied his freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly.