EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTIONS AND ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES In several countries, extrajudicial executions and other unlawful killings, and enforced disappearances continued to be used as tools of repression. In Burkina Faso, public figures were abducted or arrested and forcibly disappeared, including the national president of an organization representing pastoralists’ interests. In Burundi, reports of enforced disappearances, mostly of political opponents, continued; the National Intelligence Service and members of the ruling party’s youth wing, the Imbonerakure, were the main alleged perpetrators. In Eritrea, the fate and whereabouts of 11 members of the G-15, a group of 15 senior politicians who spoke publicly against the president in 2001, remained unknown along with that of 16 journalists accused of being linked to the G-15. Governments must end the harassment and intimidation of journalists, human rights defenders, activists, and opposition members and leaders; immediately and unconditionally release anyone who is arbitrarily detained; and ensure media freedom is respected, including by allowing media outlets to operate independently. ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RIGHTS RIGHT TO FOOD Many African countries were among the world’s most affected by high food price inflation. The number of food insecure people reached staggering proportions. The World Food Programme estimated that as of February, 78% of Sierra Leone’s population was food insecure and 20% of households were severely food insecure. In December, OCHA said that 5.83 million people (46%) of South Sudan’s population were experiencing high levels of food insecurity. In Namibia, acute food insecurity rose sharply, affecting 22% of the population. Climate change and extreme weather events exacerbated the food crisis. In Madagascar, food insecurity increased after two cyclones struck in January and February, destroying cash crops and hindering humanitarian aid delivery to affected areas. In Somalia, an estimated 5 million people experienced food crisis; drought devastated the agriculture sector, which provides up to 90% of its exports. Armed conflicts compounded the situation. In Burkina Faso, armed groups besieged at least 46 towns and cities, cutting off access to essential supplies, blocking residents’ access to their farmlands and sabotaging water infrastructure. International aid agencies suspended food aid to Ethiopia’s Tigray region for six months following evidence of supplies being diverted, allegedly by government agencies and the military. Over 4 million already food insecure people were affected, and hundreds reportedly died as a result. Governments took measures to combat inflation and ensure a stable food supply to the domestic market. These included Sierra Leone’s adoption of a programme to increase agricultural productivity and food self-sufficiency, and Côte d’Ivoire’s suspension of rice and sugar exports. Meanwhile, the international response was insufficient. International funds assigned to food security in Chad was USD 96.9 million as of September, USD 128.1 million short of what was needed. In South Sudan, funding shortfalls for the UN’s humanitarian project meant that emergency food assistance had to be prioritized for people experiencing the highest levels of food insecurity. RIGHT TO EDUCATION The right to education was denied or severely impeded in conflict-affected countries, particularly in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the DRC and Niger. In Burkina Faso, at least 6,549 schools were closed as of October, and only about 539 reopening during the year, affecting over one million children. In Cameroon, at least 13 violent incidents against educational 28 The State of the World’s Human Rights