An African Union summit will bring African heads of state together tomorrow in Libya; in anticipation 8 human rights organizations yesterday called on the AU to ensure that Senegal prosecutes former Chadian dictator Hissène Habré for crimes against humanity and torture.
Habré, dubbed the “African Pinochet”, ruled Chad from 1982 until 1990; a Truth Commission accused his government of having carried out 40,000 politically motivated murders and 200,000 cases of torture during those 8 years. He has lived in Senegal since his ouster in 1990.
For nearly 2 decades, affected Chadians and international human rights advocates have sought to bring him to trial. This long road was the subject of a 2007 film, and has included a Senegalese indictment issued in 2000, an international arrest warrant issued by Belgium in 2005, an AU mandate in 2006 that Senegal prosecute Habré, and in 2009, a decision by the ICJ not to extradite him to Belgium where he faces charges brought by a dual Belgian-Chadian national.
With allegations of 40,000 deaths, the AU and Senegal need to follow through on the promises they’ve made to prosecute. But if the past 19 years are any indication, the pace is unlikely to quicken anytime soon.