UN Panel Seeks Trial or Extradition of Ex-Chad Leader
By Joe Bavier
Abidjan
20 May 2006
Hissene Habre
A U.N. human rights committee has said Chad's former
ruler, Hissene Habre, must be tried or extradited to
Belgium, under the 1984 Convention against Torture.
Chad's ex-president, who has lived in exile in Senegal
for the past 16 years, is accused of mass murder and
torture.
The decision of the United Nations Committee Against
Torture says that by not trying Chad's ex-President
Hissene Habre, or allowing his extradition, Senegal is
breaking international human rights law.
Hissene Habre, who sought exile in Senegal after being
deposed in 1990, is being sought by a court in Belgium
for alleged human rights offenses committed during his
eight-year reign.
In November, a Senegalese appeals court declined to
rule on the extradition request, saying it had no
jurisdiction in the case.
But the U.N. committee Friday accused Senegal of not
fulfilling its obligations under the U.N. Convention
against Torture, which the West African nation
ratified in 1986.
A 1992 Chadian inquiry accused the Habre regime of
some 40,000 political killings and around 200,000
cases of torture.
A human rights lawyer for the New York-based Human
Rights Watch, Olivier Bercault, who has worked on the
case against the former Chadian president, says
victims are fed up and want justice.
"They have been waiting for 15 years," he said. "They
don't understand why Senegal doesn't want to extradite
him. They have been victims of massive human rights
violations, atrocities, torture, and nothing is done.
We have a court that has jurisdiction. So, why don't
we want to extradite him to Belgium?"
Belgium has what is called a universal jurisdiction
law, allowing cases of human rights violations to be
tried there, no matter where they were committed.
Bercault of Human Rights Watch says Senegal no longer
has any excuse not to hand over Hissene Habre.
"It is clarifying the legal situation. Senegal is
either to try Hissene Habre, or extradite him to
Belgium," he added. "That is something we have kept
saying for the last years, and, now, it is official,
it is legal. It is the direct application of the
torture convention."
Some African human rights activists say they are
against extraditing the former Chad leader, saying
African leaders should not be tried outside of Africa.
Senegal's president, Abdoulaye Wade, has called for a
special commission of African lawyers to be set up to
decide how to handle the Habre case, but, so far, no
such panel has been established.
Despite Senegal's adherence to the Convention against
Torture, the decision of the U.N. committee has no
binding legal power.
E-mail This Article
Print Version
Related Stories
Chad's Deby Wins Boycotted Election
Chad And Uganda Pass Presidential Term Extensions,
Nigeria's Fails
Top Story
Bush, Blair, Annan Welcome Iraqi Government
More Stories
Israeli Strike Kills Islamic Jihad Commander in Gaza
President Bush Urges Congress to Act on Immigration
Reform
Three EU Nations Consider New Offers to Iran on
Nuclear Program
Tensions Rise in Ivory Coast Amid Tentative Steps in
Peace Process
World Economic Forum Opens in Egypt
Top Taleban Commander Denies Reports of His Capture
Barbaro's 'Triple Crown' Horse Racing Quest Ends with
Leg Injury
Nigeria Investigates Suspected Symptoms of Bird Flu
FAQs | Terms of Use & Privacy Notice |
Broadcasting Board of Governors | Site Map | Link
to Us
| Contact Us
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com
いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html
To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]
いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい
|
