Niger 2023
The rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association were severely restricted by the military who seized power by a coup in July. Several high-profile political figures were arbitrarily detained, and women were sexually assaulted in the aftermath of the coup. Armed groups killed civilians in unlawful attacks. Child marriage remained prevalent. Migrants forcibly returned from Algeria were extremely vulnerable. Rights to education, food and water were obstructed by armed conflict, exacerbated by climate change.
Background
In July, the Nigerien military toppled President Mohamed Bazoum in a coup and took power as the National Council for the Salvation of the Fatherland (CNSP). The military detained President Bazoum and his family in the presidential complex and in August he was accused of “high treason”. ECOWAS closed all land and air borders and suspended all commercial and financial transactions by its member states with Niger.
According to the Ministry for Humanitarian Action and Disaster Management, massive floods due to heavy rainfall caused at least 51 deaths, affected 161,252 people, and ruined nearly 2,207 hectares of croplands.
Freedom of expression, association and assembly
On 5 June, the weekly newspaper L’Évènement was closed by authorities for non-payment of taxes. Its editor Moussa Aksar had been experiencing harassment since 2020, following articles in the newspaper related to the overpricing of defence equipment by the Ministry of Defence in the 2010s.
On 26 July, spontaneous demonstrations by supporters of the president were violently dispersed by the military in the capital Niamey. Following the coup, the CNSP suspended all activities by political parties until further notice.
On 30 September, journalist Samira Sabou was arrested at her mother’s home in Niamey by hooded men presenting themselves as members of the security forces.1 She was subsequently transferred to the Criminal Investigations Unit of the Niamey Police and charged with “producing and distributing data likely to disturb public order”. She was released on 11 October pending trial.
On 3 October, Samira Ibrahim, a social media user known also as “Precious Mimi”, was convicted, and faced a six-month suspended sentence and a fine of XOF 300,000 (USD 479) for “producing data that could disturb public order”. She was charged following a Facebook post in which she said that Algeria had refused to recognize the CNSP.
Arbitrary detention
On 23 January, Abdoulaye Seydou, coordinator of activist group M62-Moutountchi/Bourtchintarey: Sacred Union for the Salvation of National Sovereignty and the People’s Dignity and of the Pan-African Network for Peace, Democracy and Development appeared before the High Court in Niamey for the “production and dissemination of data likely to disturb public order”, after he denounced the deaths of gold miners during a military operation in Tamou town in 2022. The prosecutor dropped the initial charges and accused him of “complicity in the arson of sheds and houses used as dwellings”. Detained since his High Court appearance, Abdoulaye Seydou was sentenced in April to nine months in prison and freed on appeal in July.
Following the coup, several officials of the former government and the former ruling party were detained without charge by the military. In addition to President Bazoum and his family, former minister of petroleum Sani Mahamadou Issoufou, former minister of home affairs Hamadou Adamou Souley, former defence minister Kalla Moutari, and former minister of finance Ahmad Jidoud were also detained without charge.2
Unlawful attacks and killings
On 2 February, members of Islamic State in the Sahel (ISS) killed 10 Malian refugees in Egarek village in Tahoua region. Due to the conflict in Mali’s Ménaka region, more than 8,000 Malians had sought refuge in Niger as of February 2023.
On 2 May, a local militia killed at least 17 civilians of the Fulani community in the village of Kandadji in Tillabéri region due to suspicions of their collaboration with ISS.
On 15 August, according to local sources, at least 20 civilians belonging to the Songhay community were killed during an attack by ISS in the villages of Tomare and Issile Kotogoria in Tillabéri region.
Women’s and girls’ rights
Child marriage continued to be widespread. The minimum legal age for marriage remained 16 years for girls, despite commitments to raise it to 18 years during the 2021 UPR. According to Niger’s Institute of National Statistics, more than three out of four women in Niger were married before turning 18.
In March, Nazira, a 16-year-old girl from Daré in the commune of Matameye, Zinder region, ended her own life to escape a forced marriage.
Sexual and gender-based violence
During the week following the coup, at least four women were sexually assaulted by youth vigilantes patrolling Niamey, according to the police and the Nigerien League for Women’s Rights. None of the perpetrators had been charged for these offences by the end of the year.
Refugees’ and migrants’ rights
Between January and April, around 9,000 refugees and migrants who had been deported by the Algerian authorities, including nationals from various West African countries, arrived at the border village of Assamaka, 200km from the closest major town, Arlit, according to the International Organization for Migration. In April, a UN report declared that current human, logistical and financial resources in Niger were not adequate to care for all migrants. Due to the regular expulsion of West African nationals by Algeria, the refugee and migrant population in Assamaka surpassed the village’s original population, affecting access to health, protection and food security for both populations.
In December, the government abrogated a 2015 law that criminalized the smuggling of migrants.
Right to education
Armed conflict severely hampered the right to education. As of June, almost 958 primary schools were closed or non-functional nationwide, of which 891 were in the Tillabéri region, according to the Regional Directorate for Education. These school closures impacted the right to education of more than 81,500 Nigerien children.
Right to food and water
Conflict and climate events heightened food insecurity and water shortages impacted the rights to food and water, affecting 2.5 million people, according to the International Rescue Committee. According to UNICEF data, almost 1.5 million children under the age of five were likely to be victims of malnutrition, with at least 430,000 of them expected to suffer from the deadliest form of malnutrition.
As of October, 58% of the financial requirements needed to implement the humanitarian response plan were unfunded, according to OCHA.