The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) expressed concern Oct. 30 over the protests and repression that have swept Cameroon following contested presidential election results. Demonstrators immediately defied a ban on public gatherings to support the opposition after the Oct. 12 election, but the situation escalated after the Constitutional Council announced five days later that long-ruling President Paul Biya had won. The opposition rejected the results and proclaimed their candidate, Issa Tchirola Bakary, as the legitimate winner, urging citizens to demonstrate peacefully. Thousands took to the streets demanding recognition of an opposition victory, to be met with repression; clashes between protesters and security forces led to fatalities and numerous arrests. The protests have shaken the capital, Yaoundé; the economic capital, Douala; and the northern towns of Garoua and Maroua. Local jails are filled with opposition supporters who accuse Biya of rigging the polls. Biya is set to assume his eighth term in office as the world's oldest president at age 92, having ruled Cameroon for 43 years. (Jurist)

In Episode 301 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg offers his  anarchist annotation of the New York City mayoral candidates' debate. He makes the case that the promise of "socialism" represented by Zohran Mamdani is (alas) not as real as the threat of fascism represented by Curtis Sliwa—or acquiescence to fascism represented Andrew Cuomo. Both Cuomo and Sliwa invoked the too real possibility of Trump attempting to abrogate New York's municipal powers if Mamdani becomes mayor. However, this contingency could heighten the contradictions in a politically salubrious way—prompting the needed rupture between progressive-run localities and the illegitimate Trump regime. 

Guatemala's Congress on Oct. 21 passed a law designating the Barrio 18 and MS-13 gangs as "terrorist organizations." The move came days after 20 Barrio 18 convicts broke out of the maximum-security Fraijanes II prison outside the capital. So far, only four have been recaptured. The new "Ley Anti-pandillas" provides for heavier sentences for gang members convicted of crimes such as extortion or recruitment of minors, and calls for the construction of more-maximum security prisons. 

Russian authorities are preparing to call up thousands of reservists for active military service—while insisting they will not be sent to Ukraine to fight. Navy Vice Admiral Vladimir Tsimlyanskiy, deputy chief of the Main Organizational & Mobilization Directorate of the General Staff, announced Oct. 21 that he has issued orders that men who had been drafted and served in the military will be subject to mandatory "mobilization" for the purpose of "safeguarding strategically important facilities."

United Nations human rights experts called on Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s government on Oct. 3 to clarify the fate and whereabouts of more than 120 individuals who appear to have been forcibly disappeared after the violent suppression of anti-government protests in 2018. The experts also urged the state to cease using arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance as tools of political repression.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Oct. 16 condemned the adoption of a constitutional reform in Chad, stating that it could pose a significant setback to democracy and the rule of law by empowering current President Mahamat Idriss Déby to remain in power for generations to come. HRW Central Africa director Lewis Mudge commented on the severity of the issue, stating: "By removing presidential term limits, Chad's authorities have dismantled an important safeguard against authoritarianism."

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Oct. 13 called on Italy to revoke its migration cooperation agreement with Libya, saying the arrangement "has proven to be a framework for violence and suffering, and should be revoked, not renewed." The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the countries, first signed in February 2017, was part of Italy's broader strategy to tighten its national borders. Under the agreement, Italy has provided technical, logistical and financial support the Libyan Coast Guard, enabling the force to intercept tens of thousands of people at sea and return them to Libya. However, NGOs have consistently documented how intercepted refugees and asylum seekers are routinely detained in inhumane conditions, where they face torture and other degrading treatment.

Amnesty International called on Côte d'Ivoire authorities to end the repression of peaceful protests ahead of the upcoming presidential elections, following the dispersal of a demonstration by security forces in Abidjan on Oct. 11 and the subsequent arrest of 255 individuals. Amnesty's regional director for West and Central Africa, Marceau Sivieude, stated:

Any restriction on public protests must be lawful, necessary, proportionate, and non-discriminatory. Instead of banning them, authorities should respect and facilitate peaceful assemblies and ensure public order policing is aimed at enabling assemblies to take place as intended and grounded in de-escalation and the protection of participants

Amnesty further reported that security forces used tear gas to disperse the demonstrators in Abidjan, in addition to conducting mass arrests without bringing any official charges. Sivieude called for authorities to either release all the detainees or publish information on the charges against them.