African rights commission sends urgent appeal to Niger over Mahamid Arab community

The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has sent an urgent appeal to Niger’s President Abdourahamane Tchiani, made public on 9 November, raising concern over reported restrictions on the Mahamid Arab community’s access to water, education, healthcare and identity documents in the Diffa region, Al Jazeera reports. The appeal does not amount to a formal finding of violations.

Nigerien officials have accused some community members of fraudulently obtaining nationality documents and of links to armed groups around Lake Chad, claims that have not been independently verified. In August, Diffa’s governor warned against holding the whole Arab community responsible for the actions of individuals, according to the state news agency ANP. No response from the presidency to the appeal has been reported.