The American State’s response to the mass discontent in the aftermath of the non-indictment of murderer of Michael Brown demonstrates the heavy-handed use of violence to deny the people the human rights to peacefully assemble and freedom of association. This is consistent with the historical uses of violence to control and suppress opposition.

To celebrate its 20th anniversary the UN International Tribunal for Rwanda, based in the Tanzanian city of Arusha, has created a documentary, narrated by an American actor, to trumpet its achievements. But to one critic, the ICTR only succeeded in bolstering the Kagame regime through victor’s justice.

For transitional justice to be relevant and effective it must be informed by local understandings of justice. The form of justice should be informed by local priorities as identified by victims and survivors.

Ethiopia’s already limited space for civil society and human rights defenders is undergoing further contraction, warn CIVICUS, The East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project, and the Ethiopia Human Rights Project (EHRP).

The Burkinabe uprising against the Compaore dictatorship was apeople-driven and led by civil society and opposition political parties. The military cannot and should not be allowed to seize power in a context in which they played no role.

Ghana’s proposed seed laws are the latest manifestation of a worldwide push by corporations to takeover food systems. Currently, 70 percent of the world’s food is produced by small-scale farmers. But in recent decades they have lost land, markets and livelihoods to corporate investors.

The Pakistani teenage girl won the Nobel Peace Prize this year. US corporate media is engaged in a sinister plot to deliberately silence her in the way it doesn’t report her criticism of US. Even more insidious is the media’s complete disregard for her clearly socialist politics.

Jean-Claude Duvalier, or ‘Baby Doc’, died on 4 October without facing justice for his wanton crimes against the Haitian people. Uneducated in the affairs of governance, he ran the country with an iron fist until the people deposed him.

There can be no excuse for the sexual assault of woman. And no one should be silent regarding the violence allegedly perpetrated by Kenyan columnist and writer Tony Mochama

Armed ANC members acting with police support now openly attack people struggling against corruption and for land in Cato Crest. They are even hiring assassins

The unjust neo-liberal law would have given exclusivity on patented seeds to a handful of transnational companies. But Mayans resisted it relentlessly. The success of these protests is an inspiring example of what the people can achieve for themselves when they rise up to confront power in defence of their own interests.

An unacceptable ethical double-standard is evident, where the violent actions of the Israeli state are framed as legitimate, reasonable and deserving of support, and all acts of resistance on the part of the captured and oppressed Palestinians are seen as criminal, immoral and terroristic

Coverage of the Israeli violence in Gaza is poor, especially in South Africa where the media relies on reports from international news organisations. There seems to be too much attention devoted to the rituals of journalism. The truth about the Israeli occupation ought to be told

Two groups of people deeply affected by the genocide are rarely mentioned in the news or the academic literature: the Batwa and children conceived through rape during the genocide

South Africa is a much better place to live in under the ANC, but the former liberation movement delegitimizes itself by failure to redress growing structural inequalities and injustice rooted in apartheid. A leftist party is needed to drive a true democratic revolution

The corporate media are a key component of the U.S. imperial machine. Although styling themselves as watchdogs, they are in fact the dogs of war, whose mission is to hide Washington’s aggressions behind a fog of lies. War crimes are committed with impunity in part because presidents get a helping hand from their corporate media partners.

Kenya’s well regarded media ought to shift attention from the sideshows and power duels politicians engage in and instead focus more on important national development issues. It is a year since the devolved system of government was implemented. The media should lead in assessing how citizens have benefited from devolution and what needs to be done better.

Prosecutors go to bizarre lengths to put Black victims of police gunfire in prison. A young man blinded by a cop’s bullet may spend 35 years in prison. A unarmed, mentally ill man who was shot at by police faces 25 years behind bars because the cops wounded two bystanders. Who cares? “The black misleadership class are unconcerned with the plight of the people who are targeted by the system.

In the undemocratic state of Swaziland, House of Our Pride (HOOP), an organisation fighting for the rights of Swazi Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people are also ensuring day-to-day care and survival, medical and otherwise, for LGBT people

The following open letter was sent by Somaliland Focus (UK) to Somaliland's government on Nov 11 2013.