Human Rights Timeline and Causes of War in Africa - Book Report/Review Example

Human Rights Timeline and Causes of War in Africa 1689 John Locke spearheads the four notions of natural rights of liberty, life, and property in Britain by ensuring adoption of British Bill of Rights[Tom10] 1776 North America gets independence form the British Empire after the U.S declares that all men are created equal[Tom10] 1833 Slavery is abolished in Britain by the passing of Great Britain Abolition Act.[Tom10] 1863 Slaves get freedom after President Abraham Lincoln declares that all slaves held in any part of the States to be released[Tom10] 1807 Importation of African slaves is outlawed by US. Ironically, more then 250, 000 slaves are illegally imported within the next 54 years. [Tom10] 1830 Native Americans die trekking after the Congress passed the India Removal Act. 70, 000 Americans were relocated in what is famously known as the “Trial of Tears”[Tom10] 1841 Russia, France, Prussia, Austria, and Great Britain sign the Treaty of London abolishing slavery.[Tom10] 1848 200 people meet in New York drafting a bill of rights related to social, cultural, and religious rights of women[Tom10] 1885 Berlin Conference on Africa passes antislavery act.[Tom10] 1899–1907 International humanitarian laws are drafted through the Hague Conventions. The laws aimed at treating civilians, prisoners of war and war wounded people. [Tom10] 1933-1945 The “Holocaust” is related with Adolph Hitler who persecuted Jews in German. The persecutions were greatly engineered by International Business Machines (IBM) an American company that used flash cards in conducting census[Tom10] 1971 Close to 3 million people dies in Bangladesh due to massive violation of human rights. Millions of people also fled to India. [Tom10] 1975–1979 Millions of Cambodians die under Khmer Rouge regime. The massive death is one of the greatest act against human dignity in Cambodia.[Tom10] 1948 The Law of segregating Africans in their own country is legalized in South Africa. African were discriminated and were deprived of certain privileges in the society. [Tom10] 1990 American government signed the Disability Act that prevented any form of discrimination on people with disability[Tom10] 1994 With South Africa attaining independence, the country abandoned the law of segregation and discrimination. However, to date the effects of segregation in South Africa is still felt and is in effect ‘silently’[Tom10] 1995 Women met in Beijing China in the Fourth World Conference. The women came up with recommendation of empowering themselves within the next five years. This was to ensure that they enhance themselves socially, politically, and economically. All this was aimed at improving their living standards, their children, and their families. Another major recommendation was to enhance their sexual rights and marital status. [Tom10] 1998 The International Criminal Court comes into effect with the signing of the Rome Statutes by 120 countries. The court owns the power to pass conviction on grave crimes against humanity, civil and war crimes, genocides, and other serious crimes.[Tom10] 2001 United Nations member countries meet in South Africa to discuss challenges against minority groups and discrimination. His was just seven years after independence and racial discrimination was still viable in the country[Tom10] 2007 Estimated 400,000 people displaced while an estimated 1000 people die in ethnic clashes in Kenya due to a disputed election[Tom10] 2008 Since the outbreak of war in Democratic republic of Congo in 1998, close to 5.4 million have been estimated to have died. The war involved 7 nations surrounding the country. People seeking basic resources like water and those who wanted control of natural resource fueled the war. The war escalated with different political ideologies by the country’s leaders[Anu11]. 2009 Omar Hassan Al-Bashir defies International Criminal Court and visits Kenya. Kenya t signed Rome Statutes and for this reason, Kenya was supposed to arrest Al Bashir and hand him over to the UN. This did not happen. The man in question is suspected to have led crimes against humanity in Sudan. 2010 Ivory Coast is involved in a second civil after a dispute arose in a presidential election. The incumbent president lost the election but was declared the winner. The country’s opposition leader challenged the elections in a court and was declared the winner by the court. The country then plunged into civil war[Tom10] 2010 Nigeria has been fighting against exploitation by multinational countries who exploit the Niger Delta. The region is under attention of human rights and most of the environmentalist. Many lives have been lost in the region with foreign multinational countries believed to be fuelling the war in order to benefit from the war and exploit oil in the region[Anu11]. 2011 Crisis looms in Libya as opposition leaders and rebel groups bring end to a 40 year rule of Muammar Qadhafi. The war was the worst in Libya’s history. The country requested for international community not to fly around Libya to prevent more bloodshed as Muammar Qadhafi’s forces targeted the civilians.[Anu11] Causes of War in Africa According to my timeline, the last two decades has seen a rise in torture and killing of many civilians in Africa. What are the reasons that might have led to millions of people losing their lives in such a short time? The last two decades have also seen active participation by the International Criminal Court bringing to trial all perpetrators and co-perpetrators of war in Africa. African countries are also some of the poorest in the world. The high level of poverty is amongst the major reason why African countries engage in war. The countries also depend on natural resources for their economic development. The natural resources are owned and governed by ethnic groups, which are not ready to share their resources with the whole nation. A good example is Nigeria which has had massive wars due to oil wells. African countries are also suffering from failing political institutions, which is also the reason behind many civil wars. This is the reason that has led to bloody battles in Africa. Africa is a continent with diverse cultural relations. However, the continent has hit the news for the last two decades with massive killings of civilians. In an attempt to find the reason behind the recent death this paper explores various social-cultural, economic, political, and religious factors that are having a direct or indirect impact into the increased war in Africa. The paper also looks at the law enforcement bodies and organizations and their roles in preventing the wars. In addition, the paper also acknowledges the strides achieved by various organizations and bodies that have fought tirelessly with the aim of restoring peace and respect for human life. Due to cultural difference, there is increased rate of war in Africa. In 1994, close to 800, 000 people died in Rwanda within duration of 100 days according to United Nations estimates. The war was between two major tribes Tutsi and Hutu that live in Rwanda. The two tribes form close to 98% of the population. The death claimed close to 20% of the entire population. Due to conflict of interest, the Hutu planned the genocide against the Tutsis who are the minority and controlled power in the nation. Ethnic tensions erupted between the two groups as both of them sought to maintain power and control the country. Ironically, developed countries like France that has great history of liberation participated in this war by supporting the Tutsis [Ren02]. In 2007, Kenya was at war after claims of election rigging erupted in closely contested elections. There was concern and fear that the country would have gone the Rwandan way. The outgoing UN president as per that time Koffi Annan and other great personalities in Africa came to the rescue of the country and restored peace. War erupted after declaration of the incumbent president Mwai Kibaki as the winner of the elections that was closely contested between Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga. In this case, there was also ethnic tension and an uprising of tribal war that led to more than 1000 people dying while close to a million being displaced. In a close examination of the incident, it is evident that the minority sought to take power but the incumbent president could not relinquish power. There was conflict of interest as both the presidential candidates declared themselves winners of the elections. The two incidents have led to the reinforcement of law. It is with great concern and importance to understand that the International Criminal Law came into existence after the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Currently, 4 Kenyan suspects believed to be perpetrators of the war are in trial at the international criminal law. In addition to this, the International Criminal Court has also charged southern Sudan’s President Omar al Bashir with atrocities in Sudan. The recent developments and the reinforcement of law with the International Criminal Law is giving hopes and chanting victories for human rights activists and groups. However, as Africa celebrates the restoration of peace within the two countries, it is a major concern due to the inability of the two countries to conduct their own internal affairs. Ivory Coast is a country that has suffered a similar case like Kenya in 2011. This war was the second civil war in Ivory Coast. After closely contested elections, the electoral commission declared the opposition leader and Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara as winner of the elections. The incumbent Laurent Gbargbo was also declared the winner of the elections and sworn in as the president after the courts declared him the winner. Ethnic tensions rose and the country was at war just like Kenya and Rwanda did. Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) convened a meeting to help discuss and restore peace in the country. Gbargbo was arrested with the help of French government and handed over to the UN. Currently, Gbargbo is facing charges at the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanities. The International criminal court has played a major role in bringing to trial all perpetrators of civil wars in Africa. While cross-examining the situation, it is evident that the same factors that stem from political, socio-economic, cultural, and religious factors are the causes of unrest in Africa. It is also evident from this scenario that African countries lack proper Law enforcing bodies that are capable of managing their own internal affairs. It is also evident that the citizens in African countries do not respect or have no faith with their judicial systems hence fail to respect their decisions. The United Nations played a major role in helping ad restoring peace in Rwanda and Ivory Coast. Immediately the war erupted in Ivory Coast, The UN peacekeepers took charge of the Abidjan’s airport. The UN was the major Human Rights group that managed to maneuver into war tone Rwanda and offer assistance victims of the war mostly the children and women. Other countries like Sierra Leon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya, Sudan, Eritrea, and Somali are still suffering with civil wars with rebel groups causing more harm to civilians. Works Cited Tom10: , (Head), Tom10: , (Head), Anu11: , (Shah), Ren02: , (Lemarchand), Read More