GLIC REPORT
Elections
Senegal
Senegal Presidential Election
Senegal votes Sunday in a tightly contested presidential election that has fired up political tensions and tested one of West Africa’s most stable democracies. The election will take place after much uncertainty following President Macky Sall’s unsuccessful effort to delay the vote until the end of the year, sparking violent protests. In the latest turn of events leading up to Sunday’s vote, opposition leader Ousmane Sonko was released from prison last week, triggering jubilant celebrations on the streets of Dakar and renewed excitement about the contest. Rights groups are accusing Sall’s government of repressing the media, civil society, and the opposition. Observers argued that the coming election is the longest and most violent presidential election process, with the most deaths, injuries, and political detainees in the country’s history. Human Rights Watch said nearly 1,000 opposition members and activists have been arrested across the country in the last three years.
AP News: Senegal votes Sunday in a presidential election that has fired up political tensions March 22, 2024
Conflict
Sudan
UN Sudan sanctions committee warns of targeted measures
The Chair of the council’s Committee Pursuant to a 2005 Resolution on Sudan, reported an increase in violence against civilians particularly in west Darfur and violations of arms embargo. South Korean ambassador Joonkook Hwang who chairs the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1591 briefed the 15-member organ on work covering the period from 13 December to today, including releasing its annual report for 2023; and receiving the Sudan Panel’s final report on 22 December 2023, as well as its third quarterly report on 23 February 2024. “The panel reported on violations of the arms embargo, violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, ethnically based recruitment by the warring parties, complex financing schemes established by armed groups active in Darfur.”
African News: UN Sudan sanctions committee warns of targeted measures March 22, 2024
Politics
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso’s security forces are killing more civilians. Survivors detailed 1 village’s massacre
There have been reports of caranage by the Burkinabe military in a village at the centre of the country. Most of the attacks — including the slaying of children by soldiers at a military base last year, — go unpunished and unreported in a nation run by a repressive leadership that silences perceived dissidents. More than 20,000 people have been killed since jihadi violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group first hit the West African nation nine years ago, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project. Civilian deaths at the hands of security forces increased by 70% from 2022 to 2023 — to 735 people killed from 430, ACLED figures show.
AP News: Burkina Faso’s security forces are killing more civilians. Survivors detailed 1 village’s massacre March 22, 2024
Politics
Hong Kong
Hong Kong Lawmakers Approve Law That Gives Government More Power to Curb Dissent
Hong Kong lawmakers unanimously approved a new national security law that grants the government more power to quash dissent, widely seen as the latest step in a sweeping political crackdown that was triggered by pro-democracy protests in 2019. The legislature passed the Safeguarding National Security Bill during a special session that lasted Tuesday. It comes on top of a similar law imposed by Beijing four years ago, which has already largely silenced opposition voices in the financial hub. Hong Kong’s Legislative Council, which is packed with Beijing loyalists following an electoral overhaul, rushed the law through to approval. Critics worry the new law will further erode civil liberties that Beijing promised to preserve for 50 years when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
Huff Post: Hong Kong Lawmakers Approve Law That Gives Government More Power to Curb Dissent March 22, 2024
Public Health
Kenya
Kenya: Doctors nationwide strike enters seventh day
Doctors at Kenya’s public hospitals have entered the seventh day of a nationwide strike, accusing the government of failing to implement a raft of promises from a collective bargaining agreement signed in 2017 after a 100-day strike that saw people dying from lack of care. The Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union said they went on strike to demand comprehensive medical cover for the doctors and because the government has yet to post 1,200 medical interns.
African News: Doctors nationwide strike enters seventh day March 22, 2024
Economic
Egypt
Egypt increases fuel prices following depreciation of local currency
The Egyptian government raised fuel prices on Friday in a move that is bound to exacerbate inflationary pressures on an already struggling population. The new prices were announced on the Cabinet’s Facebook page and came into effect Friday morning. The price of diesel, the main fuel for the transport of people and goods, rose from 8.5 Egyptian pounds ($0.18) to 10 pounds ($0.21) per litre. Egypt, a net importer of energy, increased the price of 95 octane gasoline to 13.5 Egyptian pounds ($0.29) per litre from 12.5 pounds ($0.27).
African News: Egypt increases fuel prices following depreciation of local currency March 22, 2024
