Silent Injustice: A Legal Exploration of Abóbë Atrocities in Equatorial Guinea
“En enero y febrero de 1998 fueron arrestadas numerosas personas tras el ataque contra varios cuarteles de la Isla de Bioko, durante el cual murieron tres soldados y varios civiles. La mayoría de los detenidos - hombres y mujeres - fueron arrestados únicamente por su origen étnico. Muchos fueron torturados por las fuerzas de seguridad y al menos seis murieron a consecuencia de la torturas.”[1]
Afrika is home to the world’s richest economy of natural and mineral resources. Equatorial Guinea, a country on the west coast of Central Afrika, is particularly known for its oil reserves which stimulate the growth and development of many of the world’s famous oil companies.[2] Off the west coast of Equatorial Guinea sits Bioko Island[3], a place recognized as the home of the batyö abóbë.[4]
The Abóbë of Bioko Island are a proud ethnic group in modern day Equatorial Guinea. They have a beautiful and unique culture, and speak a language called “ëtyö.” Despite the peoples’ beauty and determination to preserve their cultural identity, batyö abóbë are consistently targets of violence, torture, and discrimination by the Equatorial Guinean government and its Fang majority.[5] Many journalists have written and more batyö abóbë (“Bubi people” in ëtyö) have spoken about the many atrocities against Bubi people both on Bioko and throughout Equatorial Guinea at large. It is my contention that these acts of violence are violations of the country’s legal obligations and duties under customary international law[6] and the following treaties: Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights.[7]
Both customary international law and treaty law are sources of international law.[8] The International Court of Justice Statute has defined customary international law as “general practice accepted as law.”[9] The government of Equatorial Guinea has consistently violated many of these international law norms against the Abóbë people including: torture, genocide, enslavement, and crimes against humanity.[10]
Franciso Macías Nguema was the first president of Equatorial Guinea, from 1968 until he was overthrown in 1979.[11] During his presidency, an estimated 80,000 people (out of 300,000) had been killed. In particular, members of the öbóbë ethnic group on Bioko associated with relative wealth and intellectualism were targeted.[12] On August 3, he was overthrown by his nephew Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo[13], and jailed.
In 1998, after several attacks on military barracks which resulted in the death of three soldiers and several civilians, many batyö abóbë were arrested and tortured to extract confessions.[14] At least six detainees reportedly died after being tortured.[15] Abóbë women were publicly humiliated in a courtyard with some being forced to swim naked in the mud in front of other detainees whilst others were sexually abused.[16]
Customary international law recognizes the inherent wrongs associated with torture, genocide, and crimes against humanity. Under this legal norm, it is undisputed that the government of Equatorial Guinea has tortured and committed crimes against humanity on the Abóbë minority, and therefore should, face international pressure and scrutiny.[17]
The country has ratified each of the aforementioned treaties. According to the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, ratification defines the international act whereby a state indicates “its consent to be bound by a treaty” if the parties intended to show their consent by such an act.[18] Equatorial Guinea consented to be bound by all of the above treaties and conventions when it ratified them. Accordingly, the Equatorial Guinea government should remember its obligations to uphold fundamental human rights and universal freedoms, and ensure that no one is subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman treatment or punishment.[19]
In 1998, it was recognized that many Abóbë were murdered because of their ethnic origin and fight for self determination to preserve their culture.[20] For example, El Movimiento para la Autodeterminación de la Isla de Bioko (MAIB)[21] is a political organization that has a history of trying to mobilize Ábóbë activists and garner support for a totally independent Bioko Island, without Fang or governmental interference.[22] They believe in the right to life and right to sovereignty. When governmental authorities resisted the movement’s attempts at independence, hundreds of Abóbë were tortured and abused in Black Beach, Bioko, and many more disappeared. It is also an established fact that in 2004, the MAIB gained international attention when Weja Chicampo, one of its leaders, was severely tortured and injured by government agents.
The batyö abóbë are a rich people with a cultural heritage going back thousands of years. They are entitled to the right to life, the right to sovereignty, the right to self determination, the right to be free of erratic and unwarranted torture, violence, and genocide, and deserving of social equality. The past and present circumstances in Equatorial Guinea have shown to members of the Abóbë community that humanity is reserved for members of the silent majority.
Langston Morrison is a staff member of Fordham International Law Journal Volume XLVII.
[1] Translation from Spanish: “In January and February of 1998 a number of people were arrested after the attack against various military barracks of Bioko Island, during which three soldiers and many civilians died. The majority of the detained - men and women - were arrested only because of their ethnic origin. Many were tortured by security forces and at least six died as a result of the tortures” (https://www.amnesty.org/es/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2021/06/afr240011999es.pdf).
[2] Equatorial Guinea has managed to claim the spot as the third largest oil producer in Afrika. As a result, its GDP is among the highest in the world. See Brendan McSherry, “The Political Economy of Oil in Equatorial Guinea,” AFRICAN STUDIES QUARTERLY (Spring 2006), https://asq.africa.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/168/McSherry-Vol8Issue3.pdf).
[3] The Abóbë themselves call the land where they come from Etúla a Eri or “Island of Eri.” Langston Morrison and the collective Abóbë community.
[4] “Batyö abóbë” refers to the name of the indigenous people of Bioko Island. In Bioko, there are several different ethnic groups but the Abóbë are the only indigenous inhabitants of the island. They make up approximately 6.5% of the national population. Although the Abóbë only represent a minority of the population, they constitute the majority of the inhabitants of the territory where the capital Malabo is located, Bioko Island. Ntá Justo Bolekia Boleká.
[5] The President of Equatorial Guinea is Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, whose son Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue also fills the role of Vice President in the country; the Fang people make up 85% of the population; see 56th session of the United Nations Human Rights Comission on the issue of human rights violations in Equatorial Guinea: https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/412156/files/E_CN.4_2000_L.27-ES.pdf.
[6] Customary international law refers to “international obligations arising from established international practices, as opposed to obligations arising from formal written conventions and treaties.” Legal Information Institute, https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/customary_international_law (last visited October 30, 2023); Customary international law “derives from a general practice accepted as law.” International Committee of the Red Cross, https://www.icrc.org/en/war-and-law/treaties-customary-law/customary-law (last visited October 30, 2023); see also Thomas Lee’s Fordham University School of Law international law class on peremptory norms of general international law (jus cogens): https://legal.un.org/ilc/reports/2019/english/chp5.pdf; U.N. Treaty Series, Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, art. 53, May. 23, (1969), https://legal.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/conventions/1_1_1969.pdf; Statute of the International Court of Justice, https://legal.un.org/avl/pdf/ha/sicj/icj_statute_e.pdf.
[7] Equatorial Guinea has ratified and accepted its legal obligations under eight treaties. See list of applicable treaties to Equatorial Guinea. U.N. Treaty Body Database, https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/TreatyBodyExternal/Treaty.aspx?CountryID=56&Lang=EN (select Equatorial Guinea as country in first drop down box).
[8] Supra.
[9] Supra, Article 38(1)(b), International Court of Justice Statute.
[10] Cherif M. Bassiouini, International Crimes: jus cogens and Obligatio Erga Omnes, 59 Duke Law & Contemp. Probs. 4, 63-74 (1996) (discussing what constitutes a violation of customary international law and jus cogens peremptory norms).
[11] Francisco Macías Nguema was delcared himself a “Hitlerian-Marxist,” and during his presidency Equatorial Guinea was called “The Auschwitz of Africa.” See Kim Sengupta, Coup plotter faces life in Africa’s most notorious jail, THE INDEPENDENT (May 11, 2007, https://web.archive.org/web/20071229043459/http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/article2530772.ece.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Supra.
[14] Supra.
[15] Id.
[16] Ibid.
[17] It is worth noting that Equatorial Guinea has not yet joined the International Criminal Court (ICC). It is, however, a member of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the only international court that adjudicates general disputes between countries, with its rulings and opinions serving as primary sources of international law. See Thomas Lee’s Fordham University School of Law’s international law class where we speak extensively about the roles and responsibilities of the ICC and ICJ.
[18] See treaty “ratification” definition https://treaties.un.org/pages/overview.aspx?path=overview/glossary/page1_en.xml.
[19] U.N. Convention Against Torture And Other Cruel, Inhuman of Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Dec. 10, 1984, 1465 U.N.T.S. 85. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Treaties/1987/06/19870626%2002-38%20AM/Ch_IV_9p.pdf.
[20] Supra.
[21] The organization is forced by law to operate secretly. Abóbë community.
[22] Resolution adopted without a vote by the Inter-Parliamentary Council at its 162nd session (Windhoek, 11 April 1998), CASE N° GEQ/07 - MARCELO LOHOSO - EQUATORIAL GUINEA. http://archive.ipu.org/hr-e/162/geq07.htm.
[1] Timeline of NATO expansion since 1949, The Associated Press (May 10, 2022), https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-business-world-war-ii-sweden-finland-240d97572cc783b2c7ff6e7122dd72d2.
[2] Id.
[3] John J. Mearsheimer, Why the Ukraine Crisis is the West’s Fault, Foreign Affairs (Aug. 18 2014), https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/russia-fsu/2014-08-18/why-ukraine-crisis-west-s-fault; see also acTVism Munich, Chris Hedges & Noam Chomsky on Ukraine, NATO & Russia, YouTube (July 7, 2022), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ6T4uZGRTw; F. Stephen Larrabee, Ukraine: The Next Crisis?, RAND Corporation: TheRandBlog (September 7, 2008), https://www.rand.org/blog/2008/09/ukraine-the-next-crisis.html; Ted Galen Carpenter, Many predicted Nato expansion would lead to war. Those warnings were ignored, The Guardian (Feb. 28, 2022), https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/feb/28/nato-expansion-war-russia-ukraine.
[4] See Carpenter, supra note 3.
[5] Carol Bertaut et al., The International Role of the U.S. Dollar, The Federal Reserve: FEDS Notes (Oct. 6, 2021), https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/feds-notes/the-international-role-of-the-u-s-dollar-20211006.html
[6] Id.
[7]Goods and Services, Balance of Payments, Federal Reserve Economic Data, https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/BOPGSTB (last visited Mar. 3, 2023).
[8] Daniel Alpert and Robert C. Hockett, The Jobs Market Isn’t as Healthy as It Seems, Bloomberg News (Dec. 19, 2019), https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-12-19/u-s-jobs-market-isn-t-as-healthy-as-it-seems#xj4y7vzkg.
[9] Zoltan Pozsar, Great power conflict puts the dollar’s exorbitant privilege under threat, Financial Times (Jan. 20, 2023), https://www.ft.com/content/3e05b491-d781-4865-b0f7-777bc95ebf71.
[10] Summer Said & Stephen Kalin, Saudi Arabia Considers Accepting Yuan Instead of Dollars for Chinese Oil Sales, Wall St. J. (Mar. 15, 2022), https://www.wsj.com/articles/saudi-arabia-considers-accepting-yuan-instead-of-dollars-for-chinese-oil-sales-11647351541.
[11] See Pozsar, supra note 9.
[12] Id.
[13] Roland Rajah & Alyssa Leng, Watch China Overtake the US as The World’s Major Trading Partner, Lowy Inst. (Apr. 25, 2020), https://charts.lowyinstitute.org/charts/china-us-trade-dominance/us-china-competition/.
[14] See Pozsar, supra note 9; see also Nouriel Roubini, A bipolar currency regime will replace the dollar’s exorbitant privilege, Financial Times (Feb. 5, 2023), https://www.ft.com/content/e03d277a-e697-4220-a0ca-1f8a3dbecb75
[15] Erik Gartzke, The Capitalist Peace, 51 Am. J. of Pol. Sci. 166 (2007)
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