UN: Senegal must extradite Habre

Geneva - Senegal is breaking international human rights law by not trying to extradite former Chad president Hissene Habre on charges of mass murder and torture, said the United Nations Committee Against Torture on Friday.

The UN rights body, whose verdicts have moral authority but no legal power, ruled in favour of seven Chadian nationals who alleged they were victims of abuse during Habre's rule between 1982 and 1990.

The seven argued Senegal was in breach of the 1984 UN Convention against Torture, which the country ratified in 1986 and which obliges signatories to either prosecute or extradite alleged torturers within their territory.

"The committee considers that the state party (Senegal) has not fulfilled its obligations (under) the convention," said the 10-member UN body in its ruling.

Habre's extradition has been sought by Belgium.

He has been living in Senegal since being overthrown in a coup by current Chadian President Idriss Deby.

In 1992, an official Chadian inquiry accused Habre's government of 40 000 political killings and 200 000 cases of torture. He has denied all knowledge of abuse.

The Belgian arrest warrant for Habre was issued by a Brussels magistrate under the country's universal jurisdiction law, which allows Belgian judges to prosecute human rights violations regardless of where they are committed.

In November, an appeals court in Senegal declined to rule on the request, saying that it was not competent to do so.

Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade has called for a commission of African lawyers to consider the Habre question and recommend how it should be handled.