Africa: Combating War Crimes in Africa

Over the last 10 years, at least eighteen countries in Africa have been consumed by war, usually internal. At present there are several active conflicts in Africa-they are Cote d’Ivoire, the Darfur region of Sudan, Northern Uganda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. There appears to be an inverse relationship between the body of treaties, laws, and conventions aimed at protecting civilians during a time of war, and the degree to which they are deliberately targeted by both state and non-state actors. To combat war crimes in Africa, two key and indeed related components are urgently necessary – the first is ensuring accountability for serious human rights crimes, and the second is implementing preventive strategies to detect, stop and/or mitigate situations with the potential to develop into systematic war crimes. This is according to Corinne Dufka, a senior researcher and the West Africa Team Leader for the Africa Division of Human Rights Watch, speaking in a statement to the U.S.House Committee on International Relations, Subcommittee on Africa.