Congolese Politician, Jean-Pierre Bemba, Sentenced to 18 Years for War Crimes Marlise Simons, The New York Times  21 June 2016  Image: Jean-Pierre Bemba takes his seat in court on Monday. The former Congolese vice-president was arrested in Belgium in 2008. Photograph: Jerry Lampen/AP PARIS — A former vice president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Jean-Pierre Bemba, was sentenced on Tuesday to 18 years in prison for crimes against humanity

ICC sentences former Congo VP Bemba to 18 years in prison Associated Press, The Washington Post  21 June 2016  Image: Jean-Pierre Bemba enters the court room of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 21, 2016. The ICC delivered its sentence against former Congolese vice president Bemba who was found guilty, on 21 March 2016, of two counts of crimes against humanity (murder and rape) and three counts of war crimes

Is Rwanda’s authoritarian state sustainable? Laura Seay, The Washington Post June 3 2016 Image: From left: Tony Blair, former British prime minister, Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Howard G. Buffett, chairman and chief executive of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, at the World Economic Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, on May 12, 2016. (Cyril Ndegeya/AFP via Getty Images) Rwanda is the great success story of a post-conflict state in Africa. The country’s

U.N. to Investigate Peacekeepers Suspected of Killing Women and Children in Africa DIONNE SEARCEY, The New York Times JUNE 7 2016 DAKAR, Senegal — The peacekeeping missions in the Central African Republic have been tainted by allegations that troops from several countries sexually abused children and adults. But on Tuesday, Human Rights Watchreleased a report providing new evidence that soldiers from the Republic of Congo had killed civilians.

Peacekeepers Linked to Grisly Murders in Central African Republic Kevin Sieff, The Washington Post 7 June 2016 Image: A 14 year old girl breastfeeds her three month old son outside her family's home in Bangui, Central African Republic on Monday, Feb. 15, 2016. She says last year, a Burundian U.N. peacekeeper asked her to help carry water into their base located close to her home. Once inside, she was raped and impregnated later giving birth to

Hissène Habré, Ex-President of Chad, Is Convicted of War Crimes Dionne Searcy, The New York Times 7 June 2016 Image: Hissène Habré, the former president of Chad, during his trial on Monday by the Extraordinary African Chambers in Dakar, Senegal. DAKAR, Senegal — Hissène Habré, the former president of Chad, was sentenced to life in prison after he was found guilty of crimes against humanity, torture and sex crimes on Monday, more than 20

Political Violence Roils the Republic of Congo Margaux Benn and Caroline Chauvet, The New York Times 7 June 2016 Image: A burned police station in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, on April 4. CreditAgence France-Presse — Getty Images PARIS — President Denis Sassou-Nguesso’s new term in office, a continuation of his decades in power after a murky re-election, has gotten off to a rocky start since violence in the Republic of Congo has left his

Sweden: Refugee from Rwanda convicted in 1994 genocide Associated Press, The Washington Post May 16 2016 STOCKHOLM — A Swedish citizen originally from Rwanda was sentenced to life in prison Monday for his role in the 1994 genocide in the African country. Claver Berinkindi was found guilty of genocide and gross violation of international law. Some 800,000 people, mostly ethnic Tutsis, were killed by Hutu extremists during the Rwandan genocide, according

Rwanda Ex-Mayors Suspected of Roles in Genocide Go on Trial AURELIEN BREEDEN, The New York Times 10 May 2016 PARIS — Two former mayors from Rwanda went on trial in Paris on Tuesday for their suspected role in massacres of ethnic Tutsi in the early stages of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Tito Barahira, 64, the mayor of Kabarondo, a town nearly 50 miles east of the capital, Kigali, from 1977 to 1986, was a local Hutu party leader at the time of the

Burundi: Statement of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, on Opening a Preliminary Examination into the Situation in Burundi PRESS RELEASE 25 April 2016   Image: nternational Criminal Court prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, is the winner of the  XXXV Peace Prize. The award is conceded by the United Nations Associaton of Spain (ANUE) since 1980. [28 of October 2014]   Since April 2015, I have closely followed