Media Coverage

A bill seeking to repeal Gambia's ban on female genital mutilation (FGM) was presented in the West African country's parliament on March 4 and will be discussed by lawmakers later this month. Former president Yahya Jammeh banned the practice in 2015 and introduced steep fines and jail sentences for...

The United Nations human rights chief has said that the apparent deliberate denial of safe access for humanitarian agencies within war-torn Sudan could amount to a war crime. “Sudan has become a living nightmare. Almost half of the population—25 million people—are in urgent need of food and medical...

The United States on February 28 pushed for the United Nations Security Council to take action to help end a nearly year-long conflict in Sudan between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The United States says the warring parties have committed war crimes and the RSF...

A national dialogue panel in Senegal has proposed holding elections in early June, the first such proposal since President Macky Sall attempted to push the February 25 elections till December. In early February, Sall, who is serving his second term and has said he would not run again, announced the...

Ghana’s parliament has voted to pass a controversial bill to severely restrict LGBTQ rights, in a move that has been condemned by rights activists. A coalition of religious and traditional leaders sponsored the legislation that is favored by most lawmakers and that passed in parliament on February...

Ghana's parliament on February 21 moved a step closer to holding a vote on a bill that seeks to further clamp down on the rights of LGBT people, rejecting a proposal that would have seen jail terms for gay sex replaced with non-custodial sentences such as counselling. A coalition of Christian...

Senegal’s President Macky Sall on February 15 pledged to organise presidential elections “as soon as possible” after the Constitutional Council overruled his decision to delay this month’s vote. The National Assembly’s decision on February 5 to reschedule the vote was “contrary to the constitution,”...

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa said on February 15 that he planned to sign into law a National Health Insurance bill that aims to provide universal health coverage to South Africans, although he did not give a time frame. The bill, which will be implemented in stages at a cost of billions...

As people around the world mark Valentine’s Day with flowers and chocolate, Kenyan women are mourning. Hundreds of them donned black outfits and held lit candles and red roses at a vigil in honour of more than 30 women who have been murdered in the country in 2024. The February 14 vigil in Nairobi...

Ethiopian government troops went door-to-door killing dozens of civilians last month in a town in the country’s Amhara region, according to residents, who said the bloodshed took place after clashes with local militia. The killings in Merawi appear to be one of the deadliest episodes in Amhara since...