Timidria is the name of an NGO for human rights in Niger, founded by Ilguilas Weila. Timidria is dedicated to the eradication of slavery in Niger. [1] [2]
Timidria was formed in 1991 and the name means 'solidarity' in Tamajaq. Niger's government denies the existence of slavery in the country, but international human rights organizations estimate the number of slaves in Niger at approximately 40,000. [3] [4]
The headquarters of Timidria is in the capital Niamey, and the organization has offices all around the country, helping escaped slaves to build up a new life in freedom. [5]
Anti-Slavery International, founded as the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society in 1839, is an international non-governmental organisation, registered charity and advocacy group, based in the United Kingdom. It is the world's oldest international human rights organisation, and works exclusively against slavery and related abuses.
The Society of the Friends of the Blacks was a French abolitionist society, founded by mostly white French men and women. They opposed slavery, which was institutionalized in the French colonies of the Caribbean and North America, and the African slave trade. The Society was created in Paris in 1788, and operated until 1793, during years of the French Revolution. It was led by Jacques Pierre Brissot, with advice from British Thomas Clarkson, who led the abolitionist movement in the Kingdom of Great Britain. At the beginning of 1789, the Society had 141 members.
The Gayssot Act or Gayssot Law, enacted on 13 July 1990, makes it an offense in France to question the existence or size of the category of crimes against humanity as defined in the London Charter of 1945, on the basis of which Nazi leaders were convicted by the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg in 1945-46 (art.9).
The Commission nationale consultative des droits de l'homme is a French governmental organization created in 1947 by an arrêté from the Foreign Affairs Ministry to monitor the respect for human rights in the country. It may acts as counsellor for the government and propose laws, and then survey the application of governmental measures and laws voted in Parliament.
The application of the labels "cults" or "sects" to religious movements in government documents usually signifies the popular and negative use of the term "cult" in English and a functionally similar use of words translated as "sect" in several European languages. Government reports which have used these words include ones from Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, and Russia. While these documents utilize similar terminology they do not necessarily include the same groups nor is their assessment of these groups based on agreed criteria. Other governments and world bodies also report on new religious movements but do not use these terms to describe them.
The continent of Africa is one of the regions most rife with contemporary slavery. Slavery in Africa has a long history, within Africa since before historical records, but intensifying with the trans-Saharan and Indian Ocean slave trade and again with the trans-Atlantic slave trade; the demand for slaves created an entire series of kingdoms which existed in a state of perpetual warfare in order to generate the prisoners of war necessary for the lucrative export of slaves. These patterns have persisted into the colonial period during the late 19th and early 20th century. Although the colonial authorities attempted to suppress slavery from about 1900, this had very limited success, and after decolonization, slavery continues in many parts of Africa despite being technically illegal.
Sanoussi Tambari Jackou is a Nigerien politician and the President of the Nigerien Party for Self-Management (PNA-Al'ouma). He was Vice-President of the National Assembly of Niger from 1993 to 1994 and served in the government as Minister of State for Higher Education, Research, Technology, and African Integration later in the 1990s. He was a Deputy in the National Assembly from 2004 to 2010.
According to the Republic of Niger's Constitution of 1999, most human rights, as defined by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, are upheld and protected. Despite these protections, concerns of both domestic and international human rights organizations have been raised over the behavior of the government, military, police forces, and over the continuation of traditional practices which contravene the 1999 constitution. Under French colonial rule (1900–1960) and from independence until 1992, citizens of Niger had few political rights, and lived under arbitrary government power. Although the situation has improved since the return to civilian rule, criticisms remain over the state of human rights in the country.
The National police of Niger are one of two Police forces, previously under the control of the Armed Forces of Niger, but following the Constitution of 1999, come under the control of the Ministry of the Interior. They are responsible for security and law enforcement in urban areas, and the protection of government buildings, institutions, and through special agencies, the security of government leaders.
The Ikelan are a caste within Tuareg society, who were at one time slaves or servile communities. While the Ikelan now speak the same language as the Tuareg nobles and share many customs, they are of assimilated Nilotic origin rather than of Berber heritage like the ethnic Tuareg. They also often live in communities separated from other castes.
Garba Lompo is a Nigerien politician who was Minister of Justice in the government of Niger from May 2009 to February 2010. He was previously the President of the National Commission on Human Rights and Fundamental Liberties.
The 2009–2010 Nigerien constitutional crisis occurred in Niger due to a political conflict between President Mamadou Tandja and judicial and legislative bodies regarding the Constitutional referendum that opponents claimed was an attempt to extend his mandate beyond the constitutional maximum. It was held on 4 August 2009 before a parliamentary election which was mandated to take place by 26 August 2009. The crisis eventually led to a coup d'état by military leaders who overthrew President Tandja and formed a ruling junta.
The National Commission on Human Rights and Fundamental Liberties in the West African state of Niger is a national human rights institution charged with investigating breaches of human rights law and advising the Government of Niger on human rights issues. It is a member of the Network of African National Human Rights Institutions and is accredited at the United Nations through the International Co-ordinating Committee of NHRIs.
Slavery in Niger involves a number of different practices which have been practiced in the Sahel region for many centuries and which persist to this day. The Bornu Empire in the eastern part of Niger was an active part of the trans-Saharan slave trade for hundreds of years. Other ethnic groups in the country similarly had a history of slavery, although this varied and in some places slavery was largely limited to the political and economic elite. When the French took control of the area they largely ignored the problem and only actively banned the trade in slaves but not the practices of slavery. Following independence, many of the major slave holders became prominent political leaders in both the multiparty democracy period and the military dictatorship, and so the problem of slavery was largely ignored. In 2003, with pressure from the anti-slavery organization Timidria, Niger passed the first law in Western Africa that criminalized slavery as a specific crime. Despite this, slavery persists throughout the different ethnic groups in the country, women are particularly vulnerable, and a 2002 census confirmed the existence of 43,000 slaves and estimated that the total population could be over 870,000 people. The landmark Mani v. Niger case was one of the first instances where a person won a judgement against the government of Niger in an international court for sanctioning her slave status in official decisions.
Slavery in Malta existed and was recognised from classical antiquity until the early modern period, as was the case in many countries around the Mediterranean Sea. The system reached its apex under Hospitaller rule, when it took on unprecedented proportions, largely to provide galley slaves for the galleys of the Order, as well as other Christian countries. Commerce raids, which were the backbone of the Knights' economic military system helped to maintain this system, partly through creating the demand for slaves to maintain the military fleet, but also due to the influx of Muslim prisoners when battles were won. Thus Malta became the hub of slavery in Christian Europe. Slavery was abolished in Malta by Napoléon Bonaparte during his invasion of the Maltese archipelago on 16 June 1798.
Paula Forteza is a French politician, who was elected to the National Assembly of France in the 2017 French legislative election, as a member of La République En Marche!. She represents the Second constituency for French residents overseas. Head of Cedric Villani list in the 19th arrondissement of Paris for the 2020 municipal elections, she left LREM during the campaign.
The 2018–19 Rugby Pro D2 was the second-level French rugby union club competition, behind the Top 14, for the 2018–19 season. It ran alongside the 2018–19 Top 14 competition; both competitions are operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR).
The 2019–20 Rugby Pro D2 was the second-level French rugby union club competition, behind the Top 14, for the 2019–20 season. It ran alongside the 2019–20 Top 14 competition; both competitions are operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR).
Anti-Asian racism in France refers to discrimination that is faced by individuals of Asian descent in France.
The Collective Against Islamophobia in France is a French non-profit organisation, created in 2003 and dissolved in 2020, which mission is to combat discriminations towards Muslims in France, providing legal support to victims of such discriminations. It annually reports acts it considers Islamophobic. The organisation received critics, about its use of the term Islamophobia, and suspicion of having Islamist links.