Rights group calls for greater democratic progress in Africa

Jan 23, 2012, 9:57 GMT

Cairo - Advocacy group Human Rights Watch criticized 'major human rights challenges' in South Sudan, 'ongoing fighting' in Somalia and 'one-sided domestic justice efforts' in post-crisis Ivory Coast, in a report released Sunday.

But the 2011 edition of their World Report praised nations including Zimbabwe, where it said 'significant progress' had been made 'in improving the country's economic situation and reversing the decline of the past decade.'

Rapidly growing tensions between the radical Islamist group Boko Haram and the government dominated the section on Nigeria.

'Deeply entrenched human rights problems, as well as the growing threat posed by a militant Islamist group, underscored the pressing need for President Goodluck Jonathan to strengthen and reform the institutions that ensure security and the rule of law,' the report said.

It added that 'the ruling elite's mismanagement and embezzlement of the country's vast oil wealth' must be tackled, as well as 'episodes of intercommunal violence' and sporadic flare-ups of ethnic tensions.

It called for greater police accountability in Nigeria as a matter of urgency.

The human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) remained 'grave' in 2011, the report said, with 'mixed progress in the government's efforts to hold perpetrators of serious violations to account.'

And in Kenya, the group said there was 'little progress on the ground in terms of accountability for post-election violence or human rights violations by security forces.'