Publications

This report summary highlights the key findings and recommendations of our report Unequal Justice: Accountability for Torture against LGBTIQ+ Persons in Africa. The report sheds light on the violence and torture suffered by LGBTIQ+ people in Africa and the challenges that victims face to secure accountability for these crimes. It examines the situation in 11 countries in Africa - Algeria, Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Uganda, and South Africa - but the findings of the research are equally applicable to other contexts in Africa. The report outlines specific proposals to States, African human rights bodies, and civil society to improve the current situation.

This report sheds light on the violence and torture suffered by LGBTIQ+ people in Africa and the challenges that victims face to secure accountability for these crimes. It examines the situation in 11 countries in Africa - Algeria, Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Uganda, and South Africa - but the findings of the research are equally applicable to other contexts in Africa. While discriminatory violence can and often does amount to torture or other ill-treatment, the report finds that States often fail to confront or treat it as such. Many States in Africa afford little to no legal protection to LGBTIQ+ persons, whilst others criminalise same-sex conduct and fail to recognise the full spectrum of sexual orientations and gender identities. In recent years, there has also been a resurgence in legislation which targets, rather than protects, LGBTIQ+ persons. This has resulted in an increase in violence against LGBTIQ+ persons, while impunity remains the norm. The report, which has a foreword by the UN Independent Expert on sexual orientation and gender identity, Víctor Madrigal-Borloz, outlines specific proposals to States, African human rights bodies, and civil society to improve the current situation.

This report analyses the steps taken by specialist bodies, UN organs and agencies as well as other international organisations engaged in peacekeeping to address victims' rights and needs following allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeepers in countries including the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Haiti. It calls for fundamental changes to the way in which these cases are handled, with particular need for the recognition of victims right holders, rather than vulnerable recipients of charity or benevolence.

This report presents an in-depth assessment of the anti-torture legal frameworks in place in seven countries in South and West Africa: the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia and Uganda. The report identifies best practices, shortcomings and the key components of an effective anti-torture legislative framework, particularly in light of international and regional standards, including the UNCAT and the Robben Island Guidelines. This report forms part of our regional project, “Anti-Torture Legislative Frameworks: Pan-African Strategies for Adoption and Implementation”.

On 25 November 2015, REDRESS and partner organisations made a submission to the Secretariat of the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region. The submission describes how far Uganda, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have worked against sexual violence against women and girls and outlines areas for improvement. These three countries together with eight other African countries signed a joint declaration to prevent sexual violence, end impunity and provide support to victims (known as the Kampala Declaration). The implementation of this declaration will be reviewed in December 2015. Our submission aims to provide input to that review.  

Cette communication résume les préoccupations de REDRESS et de SAJ (Synergie pour l’assistance judiciaire aux victimes de violations des droits humains au Nord Kivu) quant aux manquements de la République Démocratique du Congo (RDC) concernant la mise en œuvre de certaines de ces recommandations (numérotées sur la base du Rapport du groupe de travail) dans le domaine de la lutte contre l’impunité, l’accès à la justice et à la réparation pour les victimes de violences sexuelles commises en période de conflit armé, dans le cadre du second cycle de l’examen de la RDC.

This shadow report to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), for consideration of the combined 6th and 7th Report of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), focuses on the issue of access to justice for women victims of sexual violence committed in the context of the conflict in the DRC. It highlights a series of priority concerns related to access to justice and includes recommendations for each of those concerns, in order to assist the Committee in its examination of the DRC’s report and its dialogue with the DRC delegation.