Cape Town — Hundreds of thousands of Africans in many different countries were deliberately rendered homeless last year, Amnesty International has reported.
The international NGO said in its 2007 annual report that evictions, often accompanied by "disproportionate use of force and other abuses," took place in Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Nigeria and Sudan.
It added: "By forcibly evicting people without due process of law, adequate compensation or provision of alternative shelter, governments violated people's internationally recognized human right to shelter and adequate housing."
Human rights remained precarious in many parts of the continent in 2006, Amnesty said. At least a dozen countries were afflicted by armed conflict. Achieving economic, social and cultural rights remained "illusory" in nearly every country.
HIV/Aids threatened millions, with women and girls more vulnerable than men. Violence against women and children was pervasive. Tuberculosis and malaria were a serious threat.
Dissent was repressed in many countries, Amnesty added. "The authorities in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Sudan, Uganda and Zimbabwe were among those that used a licensing/accreditation system to restrict the work of journalists and consequently impinged on the freedom of expression."
Law enforcement officers continued to abuse human rights, killing, torturing and ill treating people with impunity. But in one of the few rays of light in a litany of gloom, Amnesty said important progress had been made in efforts to hold abusers accountable under international law.
