RFK Center Helps Delphine Djiriabe, RFK Human Rights Defender, Evacuates From Chad Amidst Violence

Since early February, Chad has been in a state of chaos after a rebel group attacked its capital city, N'Djamena, attempting to overthrow the government of President Idriss Dby. Since then the New York Times reports the Dby government has been using the failed coup to begin a "political crackdown" targeting human rights defenders and political dissidents.

2004 RFK Human Rights Award winner, Delphine Djiraibe, and her colleague, Jacqueline Moudeina, were in imminent danger. In the past both had been targeted by the Dby government for their outspoken human rights work. RFK Center with the help of a broad coalition of NGOs, including DC-based Environmental Defense and The Center for International Environmental Law, was able to help Delphine and Jacqueline evacuate the country to safety in Paris, France.

RFK Center worked closely with French officials to help Delphine and Jacqueline in the aftermath of the coup. Eventually Delphine and Jacqueline found housing at a French military base in Chad, then were flown to Libreville, Gabon, via a French military plane and finally provided a temporary visa to France. The French Government arranged for Delphine and Jacqueline to meet with the staff of the Minister of State, responsible for foreign affairs and human rights, while in Paris to discuss the current situation in Chad.

Delphine continues to be a shining example of the type of courageous human rights defenders the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights is committed to supporting. She continues to break barriers by founding Chad's first public interest law firm and continuing to hold the World Bank and international investors in the Chad-Cameroon Oil & Pipeline Project accountable for their landmark agreement to invest oil revenues in education, health and services to support the human rights of citizens in the region.