African rights body raises alarm over treatment of Niger’s Mahamid Arabs

The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has appealed to Niger’s president over alleged violations of the fundamental rights of the country’s Arab Mahamid community, amid reports of restrictions on access to water, education, healthcare and identity documents. In an urgent appeal sent to President Abdourahamane Tchiani on November 6, three commission representatives raised concerns about the treatment of the community in the southeastern Diffa region. The appeal was made public on November 9.

The signatories included the commissioner responsible for the human rights situation in Niger and the heads of two working groups covering economic, social and cultural rights, and the rights of Indigenous populations, communities and minorities. The Mahamid are an Arab community with historical links to Chad and Sudan. Many live in Niger’s Diffa region.

Some families have been settled there for generations, following successive waves of migration from neighbouring countries.