Niger: 3 Years of Military Rule Deepens Human Rights Crisis
Human Rights Watch said the junta has dissolved parties, detained journalists and extended pretrial detention as it tightens control over dissent.
- Human Rights Watch reported today that Niger's military junta has entrenched authoritarian rule and dismantled democratic institutions three years after seizing power, with researcher Ilaria Allegrozzi stating the junta has "broadened its assault on human rights."
- On July 26, 2023, Gen. Abdourahamane Tiani and army officers overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum, consolidating unchecked powers; since then, authorities dissolved all political parties and independent unions, suspended civil society groups, and detained journalists under a broad cybercrime law.
- In March, Niger adopted a new penal code punishing consensual same-sex relations and LGBT practices with 5 to 10 years in prison, while authorities stripped at least 18 exiled opposition figures of citizenship since late 2024 and arrested six journalists in October 2025.
- Niger's 2025 withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States and June departure from the International Criminal Court restrict regional accountability, while the UN Working Group found former President Bazoum and activist Tiangari were arbitrarily detained in violation of international law.
- Allegrozzi called for international partners to condition security cooperation on human rights benchmarks, stating they should "press the authorities to respect fundamental rights, release those arbitrarily detained, stop targeting political opponents and critics, and set out a credible path to civilian rule.
11 Articles
11 Articles
The military government in Niger had promised social and economic improvements when it took power in 2023. It also wanted to restore security. Three years later, little can be seen about it.
A report by Acled, published on 22 July, deciphers a decade of violence around 44 mining sites in the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), where gold has become the central issue of a conflict that goes beyond the mere financing of armed groups.
Armed groups in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger are intensifying their control over mining sites to fuel their activities and expand their territorial influence. Jihadist groups,
The final episode in this Mondafrique series on the exploitation of Niger's subsoil focuses on gold. The ore, which once represented only a marginal part of the Nigerien economy, now plays a decisive role in both national income and exports. However, the hidden aspects of transactions within the implementation of regulations favor so-called artisanal mining. By Paolo Vieira. As with uranium and oil, the new Nigerien government inherited existing…
HRW Says Niger’s Junta Deepens Repression Three Years On – Axadle
Three years after Niger’s military seized power, Human Rights Watch (HRW) is urging the country’s international partners to reengage as the junta tightens its grip, dismantles democratic institutions and expands its crackdown on dissent. HRW said in a statement that Niger’s military authorities have, over the past year, dissolved every political party and several independent […]
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- 50% of the sources lean Left, 50% of the sources are Center
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