Six communications jointly alleged that the Mauritanian state committed numerous human rights violations from 1986 to 1992. Specifically, the communications alleged that the State violated articles 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, and 26 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (“the Charter”), which came into …Read more

In 1991, representatives of the indigenous Enxet-Lamenxay and Kayleyphapopyet-Riachito communities commenced administrative proceedings against the Government of Paraguay to recover what they claimed was ancestral land that Paraguay had largely sold to foreigners in the years between 1885 and 1950. The petitioners described the land as “their main sustenance came from hunting, fishing, and gathering.” The …Read more

Rights International, a non-governmental organization based in the United States, claimed that Nigerian military soldiers arrested and tortured Mr. Charles Baridorn Wiwa at an unknown military detention camp in Gokana, Nigeria. The Complainant alleged that Mr. Wiwa’s detention lasted from January 2-9, 1996, and that during his detention, authorities horsewhipped him, subjected him to various …Read more

The petitioners, Salvatori Abuki and Richard Obuga, brought a constitutional challenge against their convictions in a Magistrates’ Court for the practice of witchcraft. (Richard Obuga died before the hearing on the petition began leaving only one petitioner, Abuki.) The petitioner was arrested on a complaint of witchcraft and charged with practicing witchcraft in contravention of …Read more

The plaintiffs brought a class action lawsuit on behalf of themselves and about 6,000 other homeless persons against the City of Miami, Florida. They claimed that by arresting and seizing the property of the plaintiffs, the City’s police officers violated the plaintiffs’ rights under the United States and Florida Constitutions. The plaintiffs claimed that it …Read more