Maat: 747 people fell victims to terrorism in Africa during February 2022
Okeil: We remind Ethiopia of its human rights obligations to protect Eritrean refugees on its lands and secure their shelters
Gharib: Rise of climate change as one of the drivers of terrorism in West Africa has become very disturbing
Africa has lost over 747 people as victims of terrorism and violent acts throughout last February. These incidents were all detailed in Maat’s monthly report entitled "Terrorist Operations in Africa" in February 2022, in an effort to monitor and deeply analyze the phenomenon of terrorism and its manifestations in Africa.
Amidst all this, the report revealed that terrorist operations and acts of violence in Africa led to the death of more than (747) people, and the injury of many others. Moreover, several human rights violations have been reported, including violations of the right to life, liberty, personal safety, housing, development, and asylum, especially against women and children. This was clearly evident in West Africa, which topped the list of terrorist operations for the second month in a row, with (389) deaths, equivalent to (52%) of the total number of victims, that is more than its rate in January, estimated at (351) deaths. Unlike January, when Nigeria ranked first in terms of victims, the Democratic Republic of the Congo came first in February with (144) deaths, that is (19.2%) of the total victims in Africa. The Ethiopian government continued to ignore the repercussions of the civil war in its northern region and its impact on the basic human rights situation there.
In response to what was stated in this month's issue of the report, Ayman Okeil, the international human rights expert and president of Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights, said that the repercussions of the civil war in northern Ethiopia remain very alarming, and raise questions about the ability of the Ethiopian government to protect vulnerable and marginalized groups. In this context, Okeil noted the seriousness of the refugee situation in this troubled region.
For his part, the international human rights expert recommended the Ethiopian government to fulfill its human rights obligations to protect refugees within its territory, especially Eritrean refugees, who are still in the crossfire and fighting, not to mention the deterioration of their humanitarian, health, and food conditions and the failure of humanitarian responses to reach them.
In the context of the report, Sayed Gharib, a researcher at the African Affairs and Sustainable Development Unit at Maat, said that the beholder of the African reality and its variables witnesses several stimuli of the terrorist phenomenon at all levels, especially with the rise of climate change as one of the factors activating terrorism. This intensifies in West Africa, the region that is at the forefront of terrorist operations this month.
For his part, Gharib recommended the governments of West Africa to include the definition of climate terrorism and work to develop proactive policies to confront its serious human rights repercussions, especially in Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Mali.
Notably, Africa comes among the issues of interest to Maat for Peace, Development and Human rights, being a member of the General Assembly for the Economic, Social & Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) of the Africa Union (AU). Moreover, Maat serves as an Observer in the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) and as a Northern African Coordinator in the NGO Major Group-Africa of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA).
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