19 February 2004
A Weekly Electronic Newsletter For Social Justice In Africa
NOTE: To view the links that are referenced below, please copy the url and paste into your browswer.
CONTENTS:
1. Editorial, 2. Comment and Analysis, 3. Letters, 4. Remembering Rwanda, 5. Conflict and Emergencies, 6. Human Rights, 7. Refugees and Forced Migration, 8. Women and Gender, 9. Elections and Governance, 10. Development, 11. Corruption, 12. Health, 13. HIV/AIDS, 14. Education, 15. Social Welfare, 16. Racism and Xenophobia, 17. Environment, 18. Land and Land Rights, 19. Media and Freedom of Expression, 20. News from the Diaspora, 21. Advocacy and Campaigns, 22. Internet and Technology, 23. eNewsletters and Mailing Lists, 24. Fundraising and Useful Resources, 25. Courses, Seminars, and Workshops, 26. Jobs, 27. Books and Arts
1. Editorial
CONFRONTING IMPUNITY THROUGH THE ICC: IS AFRICA READY AND WAITING?
Josphat Ayamunda
The establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 1998 has been widely heralded as a breakthrough in the fight against impunity in reference to the most serious crimes of concern to the international community. Indeed, it has triggered overwhelming numbers of communications detailing situations that may merit investigations. At first sight, observers feel that the first cases the ICC is going to handle are likely to come from Africa. Sure enough, the ICC Prosecutor has received and accepted a referral of the situation concerning the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in Northern Uganda. This referral, made by Uganda in December 2003, is the first from any of the ICC's 92 States Parties. Instructively, however, the Prosecutor is closely monitoring the situation in Ituri in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and has indicated on several occasions that that is his priority.
It is appropriate for the ICC to focus on Africa. There is, however, one matter of concern, which relates to the continent's preparedness. While the ICC aroused relatively strong support from Africa, the Ugandan referral appears to engender considerable disenchantment amongst some interests in the continent. These developments necessitate a newer focus on the role of the ICC, largely because the manner of confronting impunity in Africa may not only have major implications for justice (and hence, peace) in the region, it could determine the future of the ICC. Several concerns are discernible in this emerging debate on the contribution that the ICC can make.
First, there is the broad question of the appropriateness of the Ugandan referral. Some argue that it is politically motivated. During the negotiations for the ICC there was scepticism that the Court might in fact be turned into a forum for politically-motivated international justice. This has brought to the fore problems relating to the political context in which the alleged crimes in the Ugandan referral were committed. Critics point out that there is an armed conflict involving various parties. They assert that the alleged crimes of the LRA have obscured equally serious crimes by the government. Besides, there are reports that the Sudanese government might have played a role in the conflict, say in supplying the LRA with weapons and bases. If these claims carry great weight, the Prosecutor might probe the Ugandan government. He might also have to indict political leadership in the Sudan. However, there are fears that the referral might be limited to crimes committed by one party to the conflict, namely the LRA. Although the Prosecutor has reiterated his impartiality and independence, he says he is unable to make the referral public because it contains confidential information.
In the circumstances, it is helpful to ponder the principle of complementarity. According to this principle, such as it is in the ICC, it is the duty of each state to investigate and try individuals for gross crimes. The ICC will only intervene if the state is unwilling or unable genuinely to perform that duty. Given that most African countries lack relatively developed legal systems, should they be encouraged to prosecute cases themselves (rather than letting the ICC intervene)?
For several reasons, it makes a lot of sense for a state to leverage the complementarity provisions. First, it forestalls an ICC investigation. This would help ease the risks of the ICC becoming the default jurisdiction for African countries, thereby increasing its credibility and legitimacy. Second, it would enhance the national judicial systems in countries that do not meet the high international fair trial standards, thereby improving access to justice generally. To be sure, the ICC envisages states will make extra efforts to improve domestic administration of criminal justice. Third, investigations and trials at the national level might be preferable to referrals to the ICC for policy and strategic reasons. For instance, they could prevent backlogging the ICC. Moreover, the interests of justice, victims and defendants might be better served when investigations and related activities are conducted close to the place where most of the particulars pertaining to the crime are located.
At all events, complementarity provisions were enshrined in the ICC to create a presumption in favour of national jurisdiction. In reality, during the ICC negotiations, the possibility that a state might voluntarily decide to relinquish its jurisdiction in favour of the ICC was considered as being inconsistent with some delegations' understanding of the principle of complementarity. In so 'relinquishing' its national jurisdiction, a state might be seen as being cooperative. But the agreement was that the ICC should not undermine the effectiveness of national justice systems and should only be resorted to in exceptional cases. One would reasonably expect this to mean that, while not being under obligation to do so, in practice states would only resort to the ICC as a matter of necessity rather than choice.
So, why would Uganda resort to the ICC? Unquestionably, there is enormous pressure being exerted on states to make referrals. The Prosecutor has suggested that states parties should make referrals to the ICC regarding certain situations in Africa. Although some would go along with the Prosecutor, others take the view that the ICC should be fully operationalized and efforts made toward universal support for the ICC before investigations can begin. The major issue would then be whether or not a state is willing or able to perform its obligations. For many, Uganda has the judicial capacity and political will to carry out prosecutions itself. On the face of it, there is no reason to believe that Ugandan authorities have decided to shield anyone from criminal responsibility for the crimes foreseen in the ICC statute. However, Uganda passed an amnesty law in order to protect those involved in the conflict from prosecution. Now the Ugandan President says he intends to amend the amnesty law to exclude the LRA leadership from its protection. This raises more questions.
Firstly, might amnesties rather than prosecutions be the better option for Africa, and secondly, what is the effect under the ICC of amnesties? Even if they are not better, the momentous political reality is that amnesties are likely to be granted in Africa especially in transitions. Negotiations on a national amnesty or official pardon are ongoing in Liberia (re Charles Taylor) and Uganda (re LRA rebel leader Joseph Kony and his deputies). Moreover, there are suggestions that amnesties might be indispensable in Sudan (talks are ongoing in Kenya to end the civil conflict in the south) and Somalia (where the Ugandan President, as current chair of IGAD, is leading peace talks).
While Uganda's intended amnesty amendment to exclude LRA leadership is aimed at ensuring that those bearing the greatest responsibility are brought to justice, it concerns some that the ICC's credibility could be questioned regarding its determination to subject only a select few to its justice. However, there is little prospect of such arrangements. Generally speaking, under international law amnesties may not be a bar to prosecution for such serious crimes as those that fall within the jurisdiction of the ICC. Having said that, there remains concern about impunity gap - one of the idiosyncrasies of ICC - that relates to the capacity of justice institutions to prosecute only a small number of perpetrators who are deemed to bear the greatest responsibility. This concept is one that in international law is controversial and unsettled. Perhaps more importantly, it is a curious paradox that this might be left to the Prosecutor's discretion in line with the ICC statute (Article 53). After taking into account all the pertinent circumstances, the Prosecutor may conclude that prosecution is not in the interests of justice.
In that context, the Ugandan referral has broached the subject of the role of advocating peace in Africa by means of dialogue. There could be cases in Africa where it might genuinely be 'expedient or a requirement of justice' that amnesties rather than prosecutions are pursued. Whilst it is arguable that no one has immunity for the most serious crimes under international law, there are cases where amnesties or pardon have been given jurisprudential recognition. Examples include South Africa and East Timor. Forget about the hair-splitting legal arguments about the clear definitions of the relevant technical terms as they applied in those specific cases. Nobody ever got to the bottom of those definitions. The imperative is whether or not in the context of the ICC it is cogent to argue that ending impunity in Africa does not necessarily mean that prosecutions will have to be pursued in every case.
An additional reason why the Ugandan referral calls for a cautious approach relates to the appropriateness of making the referral at a time when peace talks appear to be bearing fruit. In light of that, the Ugandan Amnesty Commission argues for the pursuit of amnesties rather than prosecutions. No one wants impunity in Africa to continue. Equally, nobody wants peace talks to fail. But probing LRA leaders could jeopardize a peaceful solution to the conflict.
I grant that Africa has a poor record of adjudication of crimes of the ICC type. But the key to successful national prosecutions seems to be judicial capacity and political will. There are fears that this could be a trump card in reference to Africa. Take ability to prosecute in the Ituri situation, for instance. The prevailing argument is that the Congolese judicial system would be unable to prosecute those crimes because the conflict is taking part in the extreme northeast of DRC and the central government has little control over that region. Yet, according to the Prosecutor, plans are underway for 'a consensual division of labour', whereby the ICC would target the leaders while the DRC deals with other accused persons. If one were to accept that the DRC is indeed unable to prosecute because its judicial system is fractured, it would be difficult to see why the ICC is proposing the said scenario. In any event, were African countries under the ICC's spotlight to actually initiate their own investigations and trials, it would still be open to the Prosecutor to prove that any fraudulent investigations and trials were not 'genuine'. As regards the political will of the DRC to prosecute, a major concern lies in the fact that a UN investigation points fingers at the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC). MLC's leader is now in the government as part of a peace deal. Naturally, this makes it politically tricky for the DRC government to see the cases to trial.
In reference to Uganda, its national judicial system is intact and readily available, and the state is able to obtain the necessary evidence and testimony. However, to the extent that Uganda has not enacted implementing legislation, one could argue that it might be incapable of effectively discharging its ICC obligations. This is because, for instance, Ugandan national criminal legislation might not foresee the crimes in the ICC statute, thereby making it difficult to sustain adjudication. In that regard, it is noteworthy that Uganda has requested technical assistance in drafting the relevant legislation. Moreover, Uganda might be unable to carry out investigations and trial of the suspected individuals because government forces have failed to arrest them. This particularly weighs against the critics because the LRA leadership is reportedly based in a neighbouring country. While it is arguable that Uganda has been allowed to access suspected rebel bases in the Sudan, it is apparent that Ugandan forces may not have adequate and effective control in that region. Therefore, the most plausible determining factor of Uganda's inability to carry out its national proceedings regarding the LRA situation is the fact that it has not obtained the accused persons. But it is also probable that Uganda genuinely felt it needed the impartiality and/or expertise of ICC.
It is not intended here to suggest that Uganda's referral is an abuse of the ICC process, nor that it should not be supported. My modest opinion, however, is that it might be unwise for African states to either squander the complementarity provisions or use the ICC system for a purpose or in a manner that might threaten the effective execution of the object and purpose of the ICC statute as a whole. One hopes that cooperation will be extended to investigation into crimes allegedly committed by government forces, especially now that some states seem willing to either 'relinquish' their jurisdiction in favour of the ICC or consent to division of labour. Considering the intrinsic nature and the beneficiaries of the ICC, we should all work together to protect the integrity of the ICC. To state that the success of the ICC largely depends on the political will of states is one thing, to politicize the use of the ICC system, quite another. Political will is the very stuff of international law. But politicization of the ICC system will only serve to weaken universal support for the Court and erode its credibility and legitimacy.
*Josphat Ayamunda, a Kenyan lawyer, is a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford and a researcher at Fahamu.
* Send comments on this editorial - and other events in Africa - to editor@pambazuka.org
* NOTE FOR EDITORS: Please note that this editorial was commissioned from the author for Pambazuka News. While we are pleased that several print publications have used our editorials, we ask editors to note that if they use this article, they do so on the understanding that they are expected to provide the following credit: "This article first appeared in Pambazuka News, an electronic newsletter for social justice in Africa, www.pambazuka.org". Editors are also encouraged to make a donation.
2. Comment and Analysis
POWER PRIVATISATION IN CAMEROON, THE CHAD OIL PIPELINE AND SKEWED DEVELOPMENT
Akong Charles Ndika
All over Cameroon, dark clouds are giving way to blue skies. But while the rains are ending, consumers are increasingly worried about their electricity supply and the anticipation of blackouts is a long way from becoming history. In the last three years, power supply has been very erratic. In this connection, the privatised utility, AES-SONEL, is talking-up prospects of investments that are afoot to turnaround the state of events. And amid the uncertainty, Sino-Cameroon relations are taking a twist towards dams. The head of state, Paul Biya, in September flew home with a baggage of dams ready for Chinese financing. These include the construction of three mini-hydropower plants by China International Water and Electrical Corporation (CWE) on the rivers Ntem, Nja, and Kadey. However, beyond government's interest in dams lies a minefield of equity and sustainability issues. Who are the actors and what are their true motives? Are their interests aligned with sustainable development?
The privatisation of electricity provides a background to comprehending some equity issues surrounding the proposed projects. The process, masterminded by the World Bank, was dispossessed of public scrutiny and participation. The recommendations of the International Finance Corporation's consultant - the private sector arm of the World Bank - blueprinted the privatisation of the National Electricity Co-operation (SONEL) in 2001. In the recommendations that were fleshed into a concession agreement, the construction of a big dam over the river Lom-Pangar was mandated to AES SIRROCO: a US based corporation. However, the Lom-Pangar issue predates privatisation. The French - enamoured by the project in 1990 - contracted the consultancy Coyne et Bellier, to carry out a feasibility study on the dam. The study was motivated by the relation between a quasi-owned French company, Alucam and SONEL. Alucam's intent to double its aluminium production capacity depended on cheap hydropower.
* Read the rest of this article by clicking on the link below.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=20260
WHY NEPAD AND AFRICAN POLITICS DON'T MIX
Ian Taylor
It is now over two years since the New Partnership for Africa 's Development (NEPAD) was launched in Abuja, Nigeria and perhaps time to review the progress that this project for supporting development in Africa has made. Stripped to its bare bones, the NEPAD is a "partnership" with the developed world whereby African countries will set up and police standards of good government across the continent--whilst respecting human rights and advancing democracy--in return for increased aid flows, private investment, and a lowering of obstacles to trade by the West. An extra inflow of U.S.$64 billion from the developed world has been touted as the "reward" for following approved policies on governance and economics.
The sad fact is that there has been very little concrete progress, although plenty of meetings, summits, pronouncements, and speeches have marked the NEPAD thus far, the latest being in Kigali last weekend. Why there has been little concrete progress so far is because of the very nature of post-colonial African politics. Most commentaries ignore the reality that power in African politics must be understood as the utilization of patronage and not as the performance of legitimacy drawn from the sovereign will of the people. In other words, in spite of the façade of the modern state, power in most African polities progresses informally, between patron and client along lines of reciprocity. It is intensely personalized and is not exercised on behalf of the public good. Zimbabwe is a good example of this, but most other African countries broadly follow this pattern, including such NEPAD stalwarts such as Nigeria, Gabon, Congo-Brazzaville, etc. Very few countries (Botswana a prime example) have avoided such a state of affairs.
In a traditional patrimonial system, all ruling relationships are personal relationships and the difference between the private and public spheres is non-existent. Under a neo-patrimonial system the separation of the public from the private is recognized (even if in practice only on paper) and is certainly publicly displayed through outward manifestations of the rational-bureaucratic state: a currency, a flag, borders, a "government," and even bureaucratic offices etc. However, in practical terms the private and public spheres are habitually not detached and the outward signs of statehood are often façades hiding the real workings of the system. Consider the fate of Air Zimbabwe and Harrods shopping sprees by Mugabe as a good example; perhaps an extreme example but indicative of a broader trend, which varies across the continent.
* Read the rest of this commentary by clicking on http://www.fpif.org/commentary/2004/0402nepad.html.
* If you'd like to comment on NEPAD, please send your views to editor@pambazuka.org
3. Letters
AN UNWELCOME VISITOR
Riaz Tayob
Apparently R. Zoellick, the US Trade representative is in the country (South Africa) next week. The US is responsible along with its co-perpetrators, the EU, of the worst form of structural violence on the most vulnerable Africans, the subsistence/peasant/ small /commercial farmers. The US continues to pursue policies of disarm and bomb, where they disarm our tariffs by demanding reductions, and then bomb our countries with cheap subsidized imports. While Africa is afflicted with various natural challenges, the structural manner in which our food sovereignty is compromised is unacceptable and defies common sense. Our leaders need to wake up to the fact that a modicum of food security is required and that we cannot just prostitute all our productive resources to the export market. This fact is NOT suitably captured in NEPAD or any of the other benevolent initiatives that the rich North promotes so that their constituencies can feel good about themselves.
Zoellik's visit is not just coincidental, it comes at a time when South Africa is pursuing a regional trade agreement with the US, soon after the collapse of the WTO Cancun Ministerial and at a time when the inequalities between rich countries and poor countries are greatest. South Africa has only recently woken up to the fact that the rich North does not believe in the entitlement of "South Africa" to a fair trading system and have sold out our Ministry of Trade and Industry by not abiding by commitments and promises made during negotiations (mainly that we would not get a raw deal). The Minister took a bold step when moving away from the position of Friend of the Chair of the WTO in Cancun (a pseudonym of bully's side-kick) and sided with the Group of 21 Countries. This is a far cry from the Ministries active involvement as Friend of the Chair in Seattle and Doha and adequate reasons for this change of heart have not been given.
Yet to critical experts it is apparent that despite all the niceties, we Africans continue to get a raw deal. There is only so much that could be done within the WTO before it would have become apparent that the Ministry even lacks nationalism/Pan Africanism in the trade negotiations (some have argued that this has already occurred). Furthermore, civil society, to my knowledge, has not been adequately consulted on the US - South African Customs Union (SACU) Free Trade Area Agreement. Despite this, principles of negotiations have already been agreed to and phase 2 of negotiations are to commence. If the outcome is anything like the EU-South Africa Free Trade Agreement then we can expect further job losses and market take-overs by foreign firms. However, Zoellick is here to kick start the disaster that is the WTO so that what little policy flexibility we have can be removed! Whatever cannot be achieved at the multilateral WTO level will be relegated to the regional and bilateral levels where US and EU might can be brought to bear at the expense of African food sovereignty, development and well overdue industrialization.
Zoellick of course must come with his bag of tricks. He will probably remind us of how grateful we must be for AGOA and its extension. AGOA like many trinkets that were brought to this shore by the Dutch East India Company, crack upon closer inspection. It allows African firms duty free market access to the US provided that no American firm complains about the loss of its market share. South African pear canners have been dealt a nasty blow by having their supposed benefits under AGOA terminated. So the real message of AGOA is we will give you room to develop but that development can be taken away on a whim (or what essentially amounts to a whim). The US with its typical Orwellian doublespeak says that it will not accord benefits under AGOA to those states that do not meet its human rights and democracy requirements. Their concern does not extend to the Ministers that they force, bully and coerce into making agreements which have not been the subject of consultations or discussions with domestic stakeholders, which is an important part of democracy.
One of the key issues that lead to the failure of Cancun was the European Union, who insisted on the inclusion of the "New Issues" / "Singapore Issues" (Investment, Competition, Trade Facilitation and Transparency in Government Procurement). Developing countries secured an agreement that these issues will only be discussed if there was "explicit consensus" from the members of the WTO. Much like the Dispute Settlement Body in it's opportunistic search for the "ordinary meaning" of words (by window shopping in various dictionaries to get the meaning they want), the Europeans tried to fudge the meaning of explicit consensus in the face of clear opposition to the New Issues by developing countries. The Financial Times, after Cancun, reported that the inclusion of the New Issues was to poke France in the eye for its intransigence on agriculture, and had very little to do with the need for regulation on these issues (South proponents of the New Issues take note!). The US on the other hand does not share an interest in the New Issues simply because they believe that they have most of the elements for corporate domination of the south in the General Agreement on Trade in Services. We can however look forward to the inclusion of the New Issues under the Economic Partnership Agreements that the EU is steamrolling through with other African states.
Zoellik needs to be reminded that his antics are well known, and while he may be on a state visit he is not welcome. We are not interested in a "New Round" at the WTO and we no longer want our ministers sworn at by US trade officials, not given notices of meetings or not even chairs to sit on during WTO meetings when they have to attend sessions for over 10 hours. We have had enough of this US arrogance and we should let its minions know.
* Riaz Tayob BA Llb Llm is a researcher at the Southern and East African Trade Information and Negotiations Institute (SEATINI). The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of SEATINI.
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK
Chipo Chigumira
I do find Pambazuka News and your website very useful. It gives me update information on workshops being held in the Southern African Region, trainings that are very useful to the organisation. Keep up the good work.
WHAT IS SO SPECIAL ABOUT ERITREA?
Thomas C. Mountain
The first thing one notices upon landing in Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, is that the streets are clean. The people are friendly, dressed very smartly and there is no evidence of homelessness or beggars. This in a country of an annual per capita income of about $350. The streets of Asmara are safe to walk, even more so for "tilliano´s" or "sa´ada", white people, anywhere, anytime of day or night. Serious crime is rare, to the point of being non existent for most Eritreans. When you leave Asmara the first thing you notice is the reforestation and soil conservation efforts of Eritrea´s student summer national service program, along with the peacetime military. Imagine the highlands of the North African Rift mountains, 8,000 foot altitude, driving down towards the lowlands for hours, through some very rugged terrain, and every cliffside and mountain is layered with walls, and where possible, young trees. Many thousands of miles of walls and millions of trees, all done since independence in 1991.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=20277
"AIDS IS A WAR AGAINST HUMANITY"
Bradford McIntyre, Www.PositivelyPositive.ca
Individuals should not have to suffer all losses due to illness! Men, women and children are suffering with HIV/AIDS. We need to assure that these people are cared for, not discriminated against! We must provide funds for proper nutrition, housing and health care for these individuals to aid and contribute to their well-being. We need to get rid of the false perceptions and judgments. Like Doreen Millman said in Vancouver at the 1996 AIDS Conference in reference to how a 63 year old grandmother got AIDS. She said, "It just doesn't matter!" Neither does an individual's race, religion or sexual orientation matter! Don't look for differences; look at how we can help one another.
I do not believe it is naive to think we can make the necessary changes, but rather it is naive to think that we can continue on our current course neglecting those who suffer from poverty, illness and disease. People are judging those who are sick, disabled and poor.
At the X1V International AIDS Conference 2002, Nelson Mandela said, "Stigma, discrimination and ostracism are the real killers."
People living with illness are no different from anyone else, except for their disease. Prior to this, they were hard working people, contributing to society. Once sick, they are expected to do without and not have those things they had in their life before sickness! Why do we allow this?
Many people have nothing due to the lack of funding and the effort it has taken for them to survive through their illness. People should be entitled to the right to a quality standard of living, which promotes wellness and healing, not death and dying. There are people dying due to the stress on an already stressed and suppressed immune system. There is added stress due to a lack of funds available to support nutritional diet and good health. Proper nutrition is necessary for HIV infected individuals, as those who eat well feel better compared to those who consume a less than adequate diet. Malnutrition can compromise their ability to fight off infection. The stress that people are enduring while trying to maintain a home, food, and health is putting them at risk of continued health problems. This in turn means they are in greater need of medical attention! We should be making good nutrition a high priority in AIDS treatment!
My concern and disappointment is directed at the lack of consideration given to the present situation of poverty, poor nutrition, inadequate sanitation and housing for people living with HIV. These issues are of the utmost importance to individuals who are trying to maintain their health and living. The present situation is driving people below poverty, affecting their health and forcing them to live in standards no one would want to experience! People, who have worked and contributed to society, should not be subjected to living in inadequate conditions due to health and inability to work when diagnosed with a life threatening disease!
A call for action is necessary. The present situation dictates that these are vital necessities for people living with HIV/AIDS throughout the world! Since many people infected with HIV have neither the health nor energy to work towards creating awareness and change, it is my intention to speak through my experience for those whom I hope will benefit. Ignoring the importance of meeting these needs will bring an ever-increasing cost to our health care systems and us worldwide. A simple exercise in these directions and implementation would have an enormous impact on the fight against AIDS!
We are all here together, connected. Nothing is happening to just one of us, but affecting ALL of us! Illness and poverty can strike any one of us, at any time! What is happening affects us all. We can no longer look at others or view other places in the world where people are sick and dying and continue to neglect caring for them, without recognizing how it affects society. We have the means to provide all that is necessary, but we will have to work together to correct the global imbalance. The richer countries have a moral responsibility to help out poorer countries.
We have been warned by science that we are faced with an ever-increasing battle -- the battle against the bug! Every country is at risk of every disease. Here in North America, many people take for granted our quality of life, while others here and elsewhere in the world are faced with poverty, poor sewage and sanitation, famine, drought, environmental devastation and disease, along with millions of people dying. These are problems facing us all. These very same circumstances affect people in every part of the world. We cannot continue to allow millions to suffer and millions to die and expect we will not be affected.
We have to make the necessary changes and care for one another. If HIV and AIDS have not brought this realization, then surely West Nile, SARS, Mad Cow, Monkey Pox and Ebola are convincing enough! It is time to realize that it is only a matter of time before this major global epidemic will affect each and every one of us and that possibly, we will have to deal with some other new bug as well! This is happening already. Look at the impact of SARS and its effects on health care, travel, tourism, jobs, our economy and relationships with other countries. We would do well to pay attention and learn from the enormous poverty, illness and deaths worldwide caused by HIV/AIDS.
At the XIV International AIDS Conference in 2002, Nelson Mandela in his closing speech said, "AIDS is a war against humanity."
There is no doubt this situation is going to have an enormous effect on all our lives. When will our eyes be opened to what is going on all around us?
4. Remembering Rwanda
*REMEMBERING RWANDA*
This year is the 10th Anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda. An international campaign is underway to mobilise to mark this anniversary - "REMEMBERING RWANDA". As our contribution to this campaign, we will be featuring this special section called Remembering Rwanda. We also plan to publish a special issue on Rwanda in April 2004. Get involved! Organise an event in your institution, town, village or city. Send us information about what you are doing to commemorate the anniversary and to provide solidarity to the rebuilding of Rwanda.
A DECADE AFTER GENOCIDE, RWANDA STILL SCARRED
http://www.itechnology.co.za/index.php?click_id=68 &art_id=qw1076989867926B265&set_id=1
Ten years after an orchestrated attempt to exterminate its Tutsi minority led to the deaths of up to a million people over the course of 100 days, the central African state of Rwanda still bears deep scars. The killings, organised by the Hutu government of the day, and carried out amid the total inaction of the international community, claimed up to 10 000 lives a day. The now ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), which took power as a rebel group in July 1994, putting an end to the genocide, and its political partners have since placed much emphasis on national security, reconciliation and poverty reduction.
AFRICAN UNION ENDORSES REMEMBERING RWANDA
http://www.visiontv.ca/RememberRwanda/main_pf.htm
The 10th anniversary of the genocide has now been officially recognized by the Africa Union, the entity that replaced the Organisation of Africa Unity. The move resulted from an effort initiated by Remembering Rwanda and spearheaded by our colleague Abdul Mohammed of the InterAfrica Group in Addis Ababa. The resolution calls on all member states, African civil society organisations, as well as the United Nations, to take appropriate steps during the 10th anniversary to commemorate and reflect on the genocide.
GENOCIDE SUSPECTS WHO CONFESS TO GO FREE
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?storyID=4366782
Thousands of Rwandans accused of participating in the country's 1994 genocide will be released from prison if they admit their guilt and ask for forgiveness before a deadline next month, the government said Monday. The tiny central African nation has been grappling with the question of justice since 1994, when Hutu extremists slaughtered 800,000 Tutsis and Hutu moderates in around 100 days.
PREVENT GENOCIDE
http://www.preventgenocide.org/
Prevent Genocide International is an Internet-based network of anti-genocide activists. The site contains some useful information and reports.
REMEMBERING RWANDA CAMPAIGN MESSAGE
http://www.visiontv.ca/RememberRwanda/main_pf.htm
Remembering Rwanda has been receiving increasing amounts of news about the progress of local commemoration committees, as well as increasing offers of cooperation from friends who want to offer their resources to the commemoration of the genocide. Several of these have photographic exhibitions to share, and they can be found in the Resource section of this website. Local progress can be found in Local Initiatives.
THE AEGIS TRUST GENOCIDE PREVENTION INITIATIVE
http://www.aegistrust.org/
The Aegis Trust runs a genocide prevention initiative that aims to promote a fundamental change in the response to genocidal situations, moving away from reactive measures to policies of prevention.
5. Conflict and Emergencies
AFRICA: ARMS TRADE FROM SLOVAKIA FUELS CONFLICTS
The government of Slovakia must do more to bring its arms trade under control, Human Rights Watch says in a new report. Slovakia adopted some legal reforms in 2001 and 2002, but serious problems remain that allow arms to be exported or illegally trafficked to human rights-abusing countries in Africa and elsewhere. Human Rights Watch said that the country has served as both an exporter and transit hub for arms deals from other countries. Many of the weapons it supplies are surplus weapons the country is shedding as it finalized preparations to enter NATO.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=20111
LIBERIA: ARMED MILITIAS TERRORISE CIVILIANS IN THE COUNTRYSIDE
http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=22403
Armed militias continue to violate human rights and international humanitarian law, despite the progress being made to end Liberia's 14-year conflict, a human rights lawyer says. "The rebels are engaged in a new wave of violence, extorting, abducting and harassing the civilians," said Dempster Browne, chairperson of the Monrovia-based National Commission on Human Rights.
MALAWI: FOOD CRISIS LOOMS
http://www.alertnet.org/thefacts/reliefresources /107694323713.htm
Aid agencies are on red alert for a possible food crisis in Malawi as drought threatens to decimate crops, but will not call for an emergency before assessing this year's harvest. "Everyone is monitoring the country closely to be able to respond to anything that could happen," Jacob Asens, health and nutrition advisor at Action Against Hunger UK (AAH-UK), told AlertNet.
RWANDA: RWANDA AND THE INTERNATIONAL DISARMAMENT, DEMOBILIZATION AND REINTEGRATION EFFORT
Antoine D. Terrar
Along the Rwandan national highway there stands a tattered yellow sign caked in dirt and blackened by pollution. It reads "Muhazi Disarmament Demobilization and Reintegration Camp, 300 Meters." The narrow muddy road winds through plush green fields leading those willing to travel its path to a small patch of land lightly guarded by Kalashnikov - wielding Rwandan military personnel. Within the guarded perimeters of this small plot of land along the Rwandan-Congolese border, there lies a small makeshift camp with showers, dormitories, a kitchen, and a meeting hall. Black earth creeps onto everything, leaving dark smears on the walls of buildings and on clothing, even embedding itself in the cracks of calloused hands. It's mid August, around 3pm, already the sun's light is fading, and there is a chill in the air. The camp is the new home of the ex - Forces Armées Rwandaïses (FAR). These men and women were participants in the 1994 genocide. Forced out of the country and into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), they continued a life of ruthless violence. Many began military careers as children. Their stories are sometimes ones of unspeakable horror.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=20169
SOMALIA: DIRE CONDITIONS IN THE NORTHERN TOGDHEER REGION
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39536
Extensive drought in the northern Togdheer Region of the self-declared republic of Somaliland, where about 350,000 people live, has forced schools to close, water wells to dry up and the livestock population to decline significantly, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) said on Monday.
SOMALIA: IT'S NOW OR NEVER FOR PEACE TALKS
http://allafrica.com/stories/200402120182.html
The third phase of the long drawn out Somali peace talks is set to begin next week at the Kenya College of Communications Technology, Mbagathi, with some of the sticky issues carried forward from the second phase being among those expected to play themselves out prominently. With the tricky question of power sharing and the formation of an all - inclusive government as the main agenda, Article 30 of the Somali Charter - expected to be adopted by the next government as the Constitution for a federal Somali state - is bound to be the centre of focus as some participants are still dissatisfied with the formula for the formation of the 275 member parliament and the eventual appointment of a transitional president.
SUDAN: 81 KILLED IN DARFUR, SAYS RIGHTS GROUP
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39544
A US-based human rights group has claimed that 81 civilians in the war-affected Western Darfur region of Sudan were last week massacred by Arab militia groups aligned with the Sudanese government. The Centre for the Prevention of Genocide (CPG) said it had received confirmation that the massacres were perpetrated by the Janjawid militia, during an attack on the town of Shatatya and its surrounding villages on 10 February.
SUDAN: LOOKING BEYOND THE PROPAGANDA
A negotiated settlement of the conflict in Darfur must be reached, says a briefing from the European-Sudanese Public Affairs Council, a privately-funded organisation that runs advocacy, education and media projects relating to Sudan. "International pressure must be brought to bear upon those external forces that have been fuelling the fighting. The humanitarian needs of those who have been displaced must be met until those affected are able to return to their homes. Khartoum must address the criminality and armed banditry that has undermined law and order in Darfur."
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=20168
SUDAN: SOUTHERN PEACE DEAL EXPECTED IN ONE MONTH
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L17276224.htm
The Sudanese government expects to sign a peace agreement with rebels within a month, ending more than two decades of civil war that has ravaged the south of Africa's largest country, the foreign minister said on Tuesday. Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail was speaking as the two sides opened talks in Kenya on how to share power in the oil-producing country and the status of three disputed areas claimed by both sides.
6. Human Rights
AFRICA/GLOBAL: NEW CAMPAIGN TARGETS DIRTY GOLD
DC-Earthworks/Mineral Policy Centre and Oxfam America have announced the launch of "No Dirty Gold," a consumer campaign intended to shake up the gold industry and change the way gold is mined, bought and sold. Gold mining is being targeted as an industry ripe for reform through consumer pressure because of the extensively documented human and environmental costs of gold mining. "Our people have suffered beatings, imprisonment, and murder for standing up for our community rights against multinational mining companies," said Daniel Owusu-Koranteng, a mining activist from the Tarkwa district of Ghana where 30,000 people were displaced by gold mining operations between 1990 and 1998. "We want buyers of gold to support our rights and demand that mining companies adhere to higher ethical standards."
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=20239
AFRICA/GLOBAL: POVERTY AS A VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS: POVERTY OR INJUSTICE?
http://www.csu.edu.au/faculty/arts/cappe/PDF%20Files /Campbell4.pdf
This paper from the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics discusses the proposal that poverty ought to be regarded as a violation of human rights and therefore as a condition that ought to be abolished. This proposal has been presented as a new paradigm in the fight against poverty that has the potential to galvanise an effective strategy for ending poverty through an international human rights framework. The essay explores this proposal from a philosophical standpoint, and argues that the proposal would be strengthened by including compassion or humanitarianism as part of its moral basis and achieved without diluting either the moral force or the radical implications of regarding poverty as a violation of human rights.
AFRICA: ONLY THE BEST NEED APPLY FOR AFRICA COURT, SAYS AMNESTY
The effectiveness and efficiency of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights will depend on the appointment of highly qualified judges with a strong commitment to human rights, Amnesty International said in a document outlining a checklist of criteria to ensure the appointment of the best qualified candidates for judges. "The judges will be the most visible representatives of the Court. It is essential for the credibility and effective operation of the Court that judges of the highest calibre, with a fair representation of men and women from the main regions and legal systems of Africa, are elected," Amnesty International urged.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=20173
CONGO: NGO DENOUNCES WIDESPREAD VIOLATION OF PYGMY RIGHTS
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39502
A human rights NGO in the Republic of Congo has denounced what it says is the widespread violation of the rights of indigenous populations, commonly referred to as "pygmies". In a report, issued last Thursday, the Observatoire congolais des droits de l'homme (Ocdh) said that aside from factors related to the general weaknesses in the government apparatus, the failure to issue identity cards to and register the births of indigenous populations demonstrated both "negligence and a manifest lack of consideration" on the part of Congolese authorities.
KENYA: CALLS FOR TRUTH COMMISSION TO TACKLE PAST ABUSES
http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=22415
Human rights groups in Kenya have called on the government to set up an independent truth and reconciliation commission that will, amongst other things, try judges who were suspended last year on charges of corruption. At present, a special tribunal is dealing with these allegations. Certain activists have little faith in the body, however.
KENYA: HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS BY THE POLICE PERSIST
http://www.khrc.or.ke/news.asp?ID=11
The persistence of human rights violations committed by the police makes a mockery of the government's stated commitment "to retrain, equip and better remunerate police and other security services to ensure they are people-oriented and work efficiently, effectively and fairly," says the Kenya Human Rights Network in a letter to Christopher Murungaru, Minister of State-National Security and Provincial Administration. "The prevailing culture in the rank and file encourages officers to commit human rights violations and expect no ramifications. This explains the persistence of numerous and serious human rights violations by police officers who enjoy impunity for their actions. To reverse this cycle, the K-HURINET recommends the establishment of a tribunal to hear about the violations committed by the police while demanding that the government heed the advise of the Task Force on Truth Justice and Reconciliation, which recommends the establishment of commission to deal with transitional justice."
MOROCCO: DISCUSSING WESTERN SAHARA
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=2 &ItemID=4819
According to Amnesty International and other credible human rights monitoring groups, the human rights situation in Western Sahara remains among the worst in the world. Any demonstration of support for independence is brutally suppressed. Even displays by the Sahrawis' of their distinct cultural identity is actively discouraged, says Stephen Zunes, an associate professor of Politics and chair of the Peace & Justice Studies Program at the University of San Francisco. Zunes was speaking about the crisis in Western Sahara to Jacob Mundy, a co- founder of Friends of the Western Sahara (www. friendsofthewesternsahara.org) in this interview reproduced on the pages of www.zmag.org.
ZIMBABWE: DETENTION WITHOUT TRIAL LAW INTRODUCED
http://www.zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=8665
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has given himself powers of detention that allow his police to hold opponents of his regime in prison for up a month without legal process on charges of "subversion," the opposition Movement for Democratic Change said. The law applies to a wide range of offences under the Public Order and Security Act (POSA), including "attempting to coerce" the government through boycotts, strikes, civil disobedience or "resistance to the law," said MDC secretary for legal affairs David Coltart.
ZIMBABWE: MDC'S SIBANDA WALKS OUT OF COURT A FREE MAN
http://www.zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=8679
Gibson Sibanda, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) vice-president, this week walked out of the regional magistrates' courts a free man after the state withdrew charges against the former trade unionist and his colleagues who were facing charges of attempting to overthrow the government. The charges against Sibanda, Milton Gwetu, the MDC legislator for Mpopoma and other top executives of the main opposition party in Matabeleland were withdrawn before plea on Tuesday.
7. Refugees and Forced Migration
AFRICA/GLOBAL: NOT GIVING A DAMN: PRIVATE FINANCIERS AND DAM DISPLACEMENT
http://www.id21.org/society/s10cjs1g1.html
As governments turn to the private sector - rather than multi-lateral or bilateral development agencies for assistance - the victims of infrastructure projects are at risk. Without strong regulatory and monitoring capacity the needs and rights of the displaced will continue to be marginalised by private developers' drive to meet construction deadlines and maximise profits. This is according to research from the University of Oxford's Refugee Studies Centre that compares approaches to resettlement and compensation taken by the World Bank and private companies.
AFRICA/GLOBAL: THE GLOBAL RESPONSE TO INTERNAL DISPLACEMENT: ALTERNATIVES TO THE COLLABORATIVE APPROACH
http://www.refugeesinternational.org/cgi-bin/ri /bulletin?bc=00723&spotlight=1
The "collaborative approach," the preferred response of the UN's humanitarian system to the crisis of internal displacement, is not working. Evaluations commissioned within the system describe "egregious failures" to protect and meet the basic needs of internally displaced persons (IDPs). Yet when pressed to defend the collaborative approach, senior officials of humanitarian agencies and donor governments invariably respond that there are no realistic alternatives to a system of ad hoc efforts on behalf of IDPs, a system characterized by diffuse responsibility and lack of accountability.
AFRICA/UGANDA: LOCKING AWAY POTENTIAL: WHAT HOST COUNTRIES LOSE WHEN THEY KEEP REFUGEES IN CAMPS
http://www.oneworld.net/external/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.id21.org%2Fsociety%2Fs10amm1g1.html
Refugees in Uganda are instructed to stay in the rural agricultural settlements set up for them by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Ugandan authorities. Yet a substantial number of refugees are urbanites with entrepreneurial skills and technical qualifications. An estimated 15 000 refugees live in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, but are unable to fully use their skills for the benefit of their families or the Ugandan economy.
ANGOLA/NAMIBIA: SOME ANGOLAN REFUGEES RELUCTANT TO RETURN HOME
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39514
While many Angolan refugees in Namibia are said to be eager to return to their country of origin, some based outside the border town of Rundu are not entirely convinced that this would be in their best interests. They fled the civil war which ravaged Angola for 27 years and are now reluctant to swop a relatively stable life for the uncertainties of repatriation to Angola.
BOTSWANA: CAMP CAPTURES HISTORY OF SOUTHERN AFRICA
http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/news
At first glance, Dukwi looks like your usual African refugee camp, with children attending school, adults working in a weaving and tailoring project, neighbours chatting and babies playing happily in the mud. But probe deeper into Botswana's only refugee camp and you'll find that like no other place in the region, it captures the recent history of southern Africa in a nutshell. Dukwi refugee camp was once a place for exiles from countries like South Africa and Zimbabwe to meet and discuss strategies for a liberated southern Africa. The camp boasts former residents who are prominent leaders in the region today. Today, the camp is still home to some 3,500 people, the largest groups being 1,200 Namibians from the Caprivi Strip and 1,200 refugees from Angola. The rest come from elsewhere in Africa - Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda, with a few cases from Kenya and Tanzania.
ERITREA: IDPS CONTINUING TO SUFFER WAR AND DROUGHT CONSEQUENCES
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39512
Internally displaced Eritreans continue to suffer the consequences of war and drought, resulting in inadequate fulfilment of basic needs such as food, water, health care, shelter and education, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has reported. OCHA said the country still had 58,953 internally displaced persons (IDPs), living in and outside camps and unable to return to their places of origin. "Although much has been accomplished to assist these IDPs, many basic needs are not yet fully met. A continuous effort is required to avoid a deterioration of the situation," it said.
ETHIOPIA: 10,000 FLEE YET MORE FIGHTING IN THE WEST
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39448
Ten thousand people have fled ethnic fighting in western Ethiopia that has claimed more than 250 lives, according to government officials. Clashes had erupted at a gold mine, in which 196 people were killed in a single day; the killings being one of the worst instances of ethnic violence seen in Ethiopia in recent years, the government said on Wednesday. The fighting flared up just weeks after 60 people were killed in the troubled Gambella region, the federal affairs ministry said in a statement.
NAMIBIA: GOVERNMENT ACTS ON REFUGEE'S PAPERS
The Ministry of Home Affairs has moved to end the more than a year-long wait for travel documents by a refugee and his Namibian wife after the couple last week informed the Government Attorney that they intended to sue the Minister of Home Affairs, Jerry Ekandjo, and the Commissioner for Refugees, Elizabeth Negumbo, because of poor service, incompetence and what they termed "bureaucratic brutality".
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=20207
SUDAN: HUMANITARIAN ACCESS STILL DIFFICULT, SAY SOURCES
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39513
Humanitarian access to western Sudan's war-torn Darfur region remains limited despite government claims to have opened relief routes, say humanitarian sources. "There is absolutely no access to any place, no humanitarian access," said the advocacy group Refugees International, quoting an agency trying to bring supplies to Darfur. "Things are not changing at all. If they are changing, they are changing for the worse."
UGANDA: UNHCR HAILS PROPOSED REFUGEE LAW
http://allafrica.com/stories/200402161035.html
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has backed the proposed refugee bill saying it could turn out as an international model of a good refugee law. Erika Feller, the agency's director for international protection, said the bill was a good innovation because it touched on almost all the important aspects of refugee protection. "It is very positive in the way it integrates gender and gender persecution as a ground for refugee status. This is something we have advocated for long. It is positive on family related issues. It's very positive on the right and responsibilities of refugees, it absolves and expands the definition of a refugee," she told The New Vision.
8. Women and Gender
AFRICA: BUILDING MECHANISMS, INSTITUTIONS AND INTRUMENTS FOR PEACE AND SECURITY
http://www.saferafrica.org/DocumentsCentre/Seminars /ThirdAfricanPeaceTable/Speeches/MonicaJuma /DOD-1A.asp
Capacity building is necessary to address the root causes of insecurity and conflict, which derive from a complex amalgam of political, economic and social factors. The challenge for building capacity in Africa is, however, made greater when one considers the gender dimension. Commitment to capacity building will have to overcome an ethos that has over the years marginalized, and at times obstructed the involvement of women in issues of defence and security, and in this case in conflict prevention, management and resolution. Clearly, the sustainable implementation of the AU-NEPAD peace and security agenda will depend on the extent to which women, who comprise a critical constituency in Africa, engage fully in matters relating to peace and security in Africa and internationally. This is according to a presentation by Dr. Monica K Juma from SaferAfrica, an organisation that works to secure the long-term security and development needs of Africa and its peoples.
CAMEROON: FULL STEAM AHEAD FOR ELECTING A WOMAN PRESIDENT
http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=22383
With a bumper crop of elections due in Africa this year, the extent to which women have a voice in government will be coming under renewed scrutiny. This is especially true of Cameroon, where the campaign to elect a female president during polls in October is gaining momentum. "It's time that women mobilized around this goal and catapulted one of us to channel our frustrations. She's the one we'll be looking to in the next elections," says Eugenie Zambo, Vice President of the Campaign for Political Emergence of the Cameroonian Woman (CEPFC), a non-governmental organisation (NGO).
KENYA/MALAWI/NAMIBIA/SOUTH AFRICA: MEN AGAINST GENDER BASED VIOLENCE
http://www.femnet.or.ke/campaigns.asp?id=2
FEMNET'S Men against Gender Based Violence Programme is in the process of conducting a review of existing men groups in Malawi, South Africa, Kenya and Namibia. The review of male initiatives in support of gender equality is already underway in Kenya. FEMNET will document and share the experiences with other male groups in the continent to encourage formation of more men groups and in the process strengthen the Africa Network of Men for Gender Equality. FEMNET will also share the experience with national, regional and global networks, including the INSTRAW and UNIFEM networks.
KENYA: PLEA FOR WOMEN'S REGIONAL NETWORK
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39545
Representatives of women's organisations in the Great Lakes region have recommended the formation of a regional women's network, which would ensure their effective representation at women's meeting to be held in May in Rwanda and at an international conference for the Great Lakes, planned for later in the year.
KENYA: WOMEN TO BRAINSTORM FOR PEACE-BUILDING MEETING
http://www.peacewomen.org/news/International/Feb04 /brainstorm.html
Women from Africa's Great Lakes region will spend a day trading ideas on peace and security in Kenya next week in preparation for a meeting of women's organisations in Rwanda later this year, the United Nations reports. "The participants at this one-day brainstorming session are expected to discuss their various inputs, give an update of ongoing efforts by women's organisations and NGOs [non-governmental organisations] and make suggestions on the way forward for a successful meeting of the women's organisations to be held in Kigali in May," the Nairobi-based Office of the Secretary-General's Special Representative for the Great Lakes region said in a statement.
MOZAMBIQUE: FIRST WOMAN PM
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=68&art_id=vn20040218042907461C247645 &set_id=1
For the first time, Mozambique has a woman prime minister. Luisa Diogo was appointed by President Joaquim Chissano on Tuesday to replace Pascoal Mocumbi, who is leaving the government to take up a post at a new international health organisation.
UGANDA: A PRICE ABOVE RUBIES
http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=22462
"We are going to shout about bride price across Africa and we are going to say 'no' to the sale of women," exclaimed Atuki Turner to a crowded hall at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. Turner was speaking at the opening this week of the first international conference on the tradition of bride price. The groundbreaking event was organised by Mifumi, a women's non-governmental organisation (NGO) in rural eastern Uganda. It brought together activists from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Rwanda and South Africa to discuss the effect that payment of bride price has on women. Delegates also talked about ways of eliminating this practice in Africa and elsewhere.
UGANDA: TAPPING THE KNOWLEDGE OF AFRICAN WOMEN
http://www.isis.or.ug/about.htm
Isis-WICCE relocated to Kampala, Uganda at the end of 1993 with an objective of tapping African women's ideas, views and problems and sharing the information with women at the international level. Since the move to Kampala, Isis-WICCE started National-and regional level programmes to facilitate the flow of information from Uganda to other parts of Africa and the rest of the world, and to contribute towards the strengthening of the Uganda and African women's movement. Isis-WICCE exists to promote Justice, and empowerment of women globally through documenting violations of women's rights and facilitating the exchange of information and skills, to strengthen women's capacities, potential, and visibility.
UGANDA: WOMEN'S DEMANDS TO POLITICAL PARTIES AND ORGANISATIONS
The Coalition for Political Accountability to Women (COPAW) is a non-partisan alliance of rights based organisations and individuals committed to political accountability to women and to socio-political transformation in realising good governance in Uganda. COPAW in collaboration with Uganda Women's Network (UWONET) organised a series of meetings last year (2003) to chart out clear and distinct issues to put to political parties and organisations as Uganda transits to pluralism. The draft memorandum is available through the link below and comments can be sent to uwonet@starcom.co.ug.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=20175
ZIMBABWE: VIRGINITY TESTING STRIPS GIRLS OF THEIR DIGNITY, SAY GROUPS
http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=22451
They form a single file. Some are singing, though their voices have been dwarfed by the hum of the stream. The girls, estimated around 50, are being accompanied home by three middle-aged women from a nearby river. Suddenly the procession is interrupted by irrepressible sobbing. Several teary-eyed, young women have failed their virginity tests. They are dreading the rebukes and curses, likely to follow, once their parents find out about their status. Men eager to marry virgins in this eastern border town, more than 180 kilometres from the capital Harare, must produce documented proof of their HIV-negative status as part of chief Makoni's controversial anti-AIDS campaign. His unorthodox initiative has drawn the ire of women's rights activists and health care workers, to name but a few.
9. Elections and Governance
AFRICA: CAN PEER REVIEW WORK IN AFRICA?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3493813.stm
African leaders now have a new mechanism for monitoring each other's progress towards political and economic reform but can it work? John Kufuor is allowing Ghana to be assessed first. The move launched last weekend in Rwanda is a step towards implementing the economic recovery plan, the New Partnership for Africa's Development, otherwise known as Nepad. Seventeen African leaders have signed up to the peer review mechanism, saying it will improve governance and accountability.
AFRICA: ONLY 14 AFRICAN STATES PASS DEMOCRACY TEST
http://www.businessday.co.za/bday/content/direct /1,3523,1545725-6098-0,00.html
Only 14 of the African continent's 53 countries to be featured in a report published by the US's Boston University, which was launched this week in Johannesburg, are considered sufficiently democratic. Last year the first report featured 13 countries, however with the election in Kenya of Mwai Kibaki as president the country finds a place in this year's report. The countries featured are Benin, Botswana, Cape Verde, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, SA, Tanzania, and Zambia.
BURUNDI: NOVEMBER ELECTIONS MAY BE POSTPONED
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3497037.stm
Burundi may not hold elections by the end of November as stipulated by the peace accord signed in Arusha, a government official has warned. Foreign Affairs Minister Terence Sinunguruza says conditions necessary for a free and fair poll have not been met by the transitional government.
KENYA: CONSTITUTIONAL TALKS MARRED BY INFIGHTING
http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=22419
The prospect of a new constitution has been dangled in front of Kenyans since the late 1990's, when a process of review began under former President Daniel Arap Moi. Last December, Moi's successor - Mwai Kibaki - promised the country a new constitution by June. Political bickering may also derail this pledge, however.
NAMIBIA: CLEARING THE CLOUD OF UNCERTAINTY
http://electiontalk.blogspot.com/
The last two years were characterised by uncertainties and delays, which have thrown a number of challenges in the way of the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) in the execution of its onerous mandate of conducting elections in a free, fair and credible manner. In an apparent attempt to save cost and counter voter apathy, the ruling party and the government in particular initially proposed the simultaneous holding of the local and regional elections. A constitutional amendment bill was therefore introduced in the National Assembly in June 2003 to shorten the term of office of the Regional Councillors from the initial six years. The house of review, which is constituted by representatives of all the 13 Regional Councils, was however unanimously removed to "withhold" its support for the bill. This lack of agreement cast a shadow of uncertainty not only on the scheduling of Regional Councils Elections, but on the Local Authorities elections, as well.
SOUTH AFRICA: MBEKI LASHES DOOMSAYERS
http://www.nu.ac.za/ccs/default.asp?2,40,5,367
In the last 5 years Mbeki made a conscious and strenuous effort to put his own stamp on the presidency. He revelled in the now clichéd label of the man who was committed to delivery - the cold exponent of technical detail rather than the warm fuzziness of Nelson Mandela. But the state of the nation address didn't reveal any new plans for 'delivery'. In fact most of the speech drew on Mandela's speech at the opening of the first democratic parliament. The looming election meant that he had to account for the failed promises on delivery epitomised in the targets set out in GEAR became a shooting gallery for critics. Mbeki's solution was to try and disguise his failure by showing that he was ruling in the spirit of Mandela, that he had Mandela's approval. It was a cheap trick and a clear sign of failure. It is common knowledge that the two biggest challenges facing South Africa are AIDS and unemployment. In now typical fashion both were only mentioned once. And the context was ominous: "Many of our people are unemployed The burden of disease impacting on our people, including AIDS, continues to be a matter of serious concern, as do issues that relate to the fact that many of our people, including the youth, lack the education and skills that our country and society need." Once again Mbeki was careful to place the AIDS pandemic on par with other issues. And of course he offered no analysis of the fact that, despite its projections, GEAR has failed to create jobs.
SOUTH AFRICA: UNIONS, EXPERTS AT ODDS OVER BUDGET
http://www.capeargus.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=49 &fArticleId=353237
Finanace Minister Trevor Manuel's eighth Budget was greeted by opposing reactions from the labour movement, and tax experts and economists. While Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) secretary general Zwelinzima Vavi described the Budget as a "victory for the working class", independent economist Mohau Pheko said the Budget was "a mixture of unrealistic targets".
SOUTHERN AFRICA: FULL ELECTION CALENDAR IN 2004
Six SADC countries are preparing for elections during the course of the year as the region's democracy and governance once again comes under the spotlight. Although election dates are not yet confirmed in some of the countries, it is almost certain Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa will hold either presidential or parliamentary elections between March and December 2004. Lesotho will have its local government elections in November.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=20250
UGANDA: OPPOSITION JOIN FORCES
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3493311.stm
A group of opposition parties in Uganda have announced they intend to form a coalition in an attempt to defeat the Movement Party in the 2006 elections. The G7 in Uganda is set to include the Democratic Party, the Uganda People's Congress, the Conservative Party and the Reform Agenda.
ZAMBIA: UNIONS' STRIKE "SUCCESSFUL"
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39561
Striking Zambian unions described their nationwide stayaway on Wednesday against tax hikes and wage freezes as "successful". Sylvester Tembo, secretary-general of the Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), told IRIN that 90 percent of workers in the public sector had heeded the strike call.
ZIMBABWE: VALENTINE'S DAY MARCH STOPPED
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39492
Police in Zimbabwe on Saturday dispersed more than 100 women who were planning a Valentine's Day march to urge national reconciliation in the capital, Harare. In Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second city, the high court refused to hear an urgent application sought by the Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) to compel the police to allow them to march.
10. Development
AFRICA/GLOBAL: UNDERSTANDING REFORM
Since the third wave of democratization that began in 1974, many regions of the world have experienced significant economic and political reforms as policymakers have sought to provide the citizens of their countries with a better life. Little systematic effort has been undertaken to understand the cumulative results of these reforms on a global scale, the extent to which outcomes have matched expectations, the effect of regional contexts on reforms, and the ways in which reforms have perhaps negatively affected the target populations. The Fifth Annual Global Development Conference, which opened on January 27 in Delhi, addressed these critical questions, premised on the belief that a better understanding of past reforms-including their initiation, implementation, and outcome-should inform the design, introduction, and execution of future reforms throughout the developing and transition worlds.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=20251
AFRICA/GLOBAL: WORLD IS SLIPPING IN GOAL OF FRESH WATER TO POOR
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-02-18/s_13207.asp
The world is slipping behind a U.N. goal of supplying fresh water by 2015 to more than a half-billion people in developing nations who currently lack it, the head of a U.N. Commission said Tuesday. Governments agreed at a 2002 Earth Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, to work out by next year national plans for halving the proportion of people with no access to fresh water by 2015, now 1.2 billion people, or one in five of the world population. "These plans will not be in place in all countries by 2005," said Boerge Brende, chairman of the U.N. Commission on Sustainable Development which follows up the Johannesburg goals.
AFRICA: IS THIS WHAT EFFICIENCY LOOKS LIKE? PREPAYMENT WATER METERS
http://www.citizen.org/cmep/Water/humanright/meter /
Instead of a regular faucet that switches on and off, picture a large metal meter box with a slot for a plastic card and a water tap below. The device requires consumers to pay for water before consumption by purchasing a prepaid card. Consumers can then draw water from the meter by inserting the prepaid card into the meter and collecting the water in a portable container. As service is delivered, the balance is adjusted, and the remaining credit displayed. Service is automatically terminated if the payment balance is depleted until the consumer can pay again. The service is most prevalent in South African municipalities. Prepayment meters can also be found in Namibia, Swaziland,Tanzania, Brazil, Nigeria, Curacao and probably other countries, as well. The devices were previously used in the United Kingdom (U.K.) until they were declared illegal in 1998 for public health reasons. As water becomes an increasingly scarce resource, global corporations, many governments, and international financial institutions such as the World Bank, argue that water should be allocated through market mechanisms. But in many developing countries the lack of access to clean and affordable water contributes to the spread of water-borne diseases. More than 2 million people, mostly children, die each year from water borne diseases.
AFRICA: TRADE TALK WRANGLING SET FOR THIS WEEK
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=68&art_id=qw10770834620B236 &set_id=1
A global attempt to rescue free trade talks will be put to the test in Africa on Wednesday when some of the world's poorest countries seek common ground with the richest. The meeting at a luxury resort on Kenya's coast aims to help bridge gaps between the United States, Europe and Africa which contributed to 2003's collapse of negotiations to promote free trade, seen as vital to the world economy. African states will tell US and European Union trade chiefs to open markets to goods grown by millions of peasant farmers if they are to win their backing to revive the talks.
ETHIOPIA: DOING NOTHING FOR ETHIOPIA
http://www.jubileeresearch.org/
G7 creditors, having promised substantial debt relief, have stalled the disbursement of relief, and are doing nothing for Ethiopia; this despite the fact that according to their own commitments and rules she is fully entitled to this relief. "Doing nothing for Ethiopia", a briefing produced by Jubilee Research at nef (the new economics foundation) in February 2004 argues that this is once again "complicit in murder". Why? Because if Ethiopia is denied additional debt relief, her government will lose US$1 billion in new money, and be obliged to divert US$35 million to service debt repayments to much richer creditors. This money could instead be used for hospitals, clean water and sanitation.
11. Corruption
AFRICA/GLOBAL: A CRUCIAL LINK BETWEEN CORRUPTION AND VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
http://www.thedailystar.net/2004/02/18/d40218020335.htm
When a government of a country fails or neglects to curb spread of corruption, one may conclude that government also fails to fulfil its obligation to promote and protect the fundamental human rights of the people of the country. The same also applies when a powerful country misrepresents its publicly-stated policy towards another country for hidden reasons, thus grossly violating human rights. The fight for political, social, economic and cultural rights is often inextricably linked with the fight against corruption. The elimination of corruption and the protection of human rights are interdependent.
CHAD: OIL REVENUE BONANZA DUE SOON
http://www.transparency.org/cgi-bin/dcn-read.pl?citID=100329
Oil is bringing big changes to Chad, some cultural, others ambitious and practical, like the way the World Bank has staked its reputation on making sure that Chad manages its new wealth prudently. For Chad, among the poorest countries on earth, is now Africa's newest petrostate. Its $3.7 billion underground pipeline, stretching about 1,080 kilometres, or 670 miles, began ferrying crude through the forests of neighbouring Cameroon and to the Atlantic coast last year. It is the largest single private investment in Africa.
KENYA: PROBE TARGETS BANK ALLEGEDLY USED TO LAUNDER FUNDS STOLEN BY EX-NIGERIA DICTATOR
http://www.transparency.org/cgi-bin/dcn-read.pl?citID=100243
Kenya's officials are investigating a bank suspected of being used to launder millions of dollars stolen by former Nigerian dictator General Sani Abacha. Detectives from the Central Bank of Kenya's banking fraud unit are examining documents and accounts of the Trans National Bank from as far back as 1997. They say they want to see if some of the bank's customers helped launder an estimated $100 million that General Abacha allegedly looted from Nigeria's coffers and transferred to the United States, Switzerland, Britain and other countries.
NAMIBIA: TOTEMEYER TAKES AIM AT CORRUPTION
http://www.transparency.org/cgi-bin/dcn-read.pl?citID=100284
Government has expressed concern about the extent of corruption in Namibia's regional and local authorities, which it says represents "a serious departure from administrative ethical norms". Speaking at the induction workshop for newly appointed regional officers, Deputy Minister of Regional and Local Government and Housing Gerhard Totemeyer said that recent months had thrown up ample evidence of corruption by officials not adhering to moral standards.
ZAMBIA: CONCERNS OVER IRREGULARITIES IN HIPC FUND SPENDING
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39537
Zambian debt relief monitors have raised concerns over alleged irregularities in spending on poverty relief under the donor-supported Highly-Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. The independent HIPC Tracking and Monitoring External Team, investigating the use of the funds saved under the debt relief programme, identified alleged abuses involving top civil servants in a report released last week.
ZAMBIA: COURT DELAY FOR ZAMBIA'S CHILUBA
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3491821.stm
The second trial of former president Frederick Chiluba has been adjourned for two weeks after a request from the state's new prosecution team. President Levy Mwanawasa suspended the chief prosecutor last month after accusations he mishandled the first of the two corruption cases.
12. Health
AFRICA: HERBAL REMEDIES NEED TO BE REGULATED, SAYS WHO
http://news.hst.org.za/view.php3?id=20040212
The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday issued guidelines for ensuring the safety and efficacy of the multibillion-dollar herbal medicines market amid reports that some products are tainted with toxic substances. The guidelines, intended for national regulatory bodies, lay out the best techniques for growing and harvesting medicinal plants used for various ailments or weight loss, as well as the clear labelling of the contents of any product.
BURKINO FASO: EACH ABORTION A 'FAMILY PLANNING FAILURE'
http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=22428
Health workers in Burkina Faso have called for a more open discussion of issues related to sexuality and abortion. This follows the release of a report by the Demographic Research and Study Unit, which found that up to 8,000 illegal abortions take place each year in the country's capital, Ouagadougou. "We need to go out into the communities and talk about abortions to increase awareness," says Jean Lankoande, a gynaecologist at the Yalgado Ouedraogo Hospital in Ouagadougou. "Each time there's an induced abortion, it's a family planning failure," he adds.
DRC: MEASLES EPIDEMIC REPORTED IN EQUATEUR PROVINCE
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39488
Up to 300 cases of measles have been reported in Basankusu, 210 km northeast of Mbandaka, the main town in the Democratic Republic of Congo province of Equateur, the deputy director of epidemiological services at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Mondonge Makuma, said on Friday. However, doctors in Basankusu told the UN Mission in the DRC that some 800 people were infected, three of whom had died.
MOZAMBIQUE: CHOLERA WAVE EBBS AS COUNTERMEASURES PAY OFF
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39538
Aggressive attempts to control a recent outbreak of cholera in Mozambique have paid off, and aid officials are reporting a significant drop in the number of cases. The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday confirmed the decrease in the number of admissions to the Mavalane Cholera Treatment Centre (MCTC), the main cholera facility in the capital, Maputo.
SOUTH AFRICA: HEALTHCARE FOR POOR COMES FIRST
http://news.hst.org.za/view.php3?id=20040208
Improvements in secondary and tertiary hospital capacity should not come at the expense of basic care for the poor, the Health Systems Trust (HST) says. The Durban based NGO was responding to Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang's speech, in which she said R2 billion would be spent on upgrading and revitalising hospital facilities next year, including the building of 18 new facilities. The minister also said inequities in the funding allocated to primary healthcare in different provinces would have to be addressed, with some provinces allocating R50 per person each year, and others R300. But Antoinette Ntuli, HST information dissemination and equity director, urged her to ensure resources and initiatives are "fast-tracked in poor, rural areas".
SOUTH AFRICA: TAC AND AIDS LAW PROJECT HOLD SEMINAR ON HEALTH SYSTEM TRANSFORMATION
http://www.tac.org.za/
On the 10th of February, the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and the AIDS Law project held a joint seminar on transformation of the South African Health System, including both the public and private sectors. This is part of preparations for a conference to be held in May with the aim of developing detailed policy positions for TAC's Campaign for a People's Health Service. Presentations made at the workshop can be found on the TAC website.
UGANDA: U.N. HELPS LAUNCH ANTI-FISTULA INITIATIVE
http://www.unwire.org/UNWire/20040217/449_13153.asp
With the support of the U.N. Population Fund, Ugandan first lady Janet Museveni initiated a campaign on Friday to eliminate fistula, a pregnancy-related disability. According to the UNFPA, fistula is caused by obstructed and prolonged labour and exacerbated by improper medical care. The problem is especially acute in Uganda, where only 38 percent of births occur with the assistance of a capable birth attendant and about 60 percent of babies are delivered at home, the UNFPA said.
13. HIV/AIDS
GHANA: SHUN CULTURAL PRACTICES THAT PROMOTE HIV/AIDS, SAYS HEALTH DIRECTOR
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive /artikel.php?ID=51771
Miss Melany Bokuma, Lawra District Director of Health Services has appealed to Ghanaians to do away with cultural practices that could spread HIV/AIDS. Speaking at the launch of the Lawra district HIV/AIDS activities, at Lawra, organized by the District AIDS committee, Miss Bokuma said the stoppage of such practices would go a long way in enhancing the health status of families and communities. She mentioned some of the practices as inheritance of widows of deceased relatives, female circumcision and polygamy.
KENYA: HEALTH MINISTER ANNOUNCES PLAN TO PROVIDE FREE ANTIRETROVIRAL DRUGS TO 140,000
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=22214
Kenyan Health Minister Charity Ngilu last Thursday said that by 2005 the government would provide free antiretroviral drugs to 140,000 HIV-positive individuals, the East African Standard reports. She also said that the government has adopted the World Health Organisation's 3 by 5 Initiative to combat HIV/AIDS.
LESOTHO: NEW LAWS TO STRENGTHEN HIV/AIDS ACTION
http://ippfnet.ippf.org/pub/IPPF_News/News_Details.asp?ID=3236
Two new laws, one currently going through the legislative pipeline - the Child Protection Act - and another enacted last year - the Sexual Offences Act - are key to addressing the confluence of social problems that are contributing to Lesotho's humanitarian crisis. It is hoped that the Sexual Offences Act will have an impact on the spiralling HIV rates.
MALAWI: ONE SMALL MIRACLE BRINGS HOPE TO THOUSANDS THREATENED BY AIDS
http://www.guardian.co.uk/aids/story/0,7369,1149000,00.html
Grace is a happy woman. She is about as poor as you can be, earning just £6 a month selling shoes from a tiny market stall. But in the past year she has been spared the prospect of a premature and painful death. Grace Matnanga is HIV positive, as are one in three of those around her in the streets of Malawi's capital city. But unlike them, and thanks to an act of human kindness, she is on antiretroviral drugs.
MOZAMBIQUE: HIV/AIDS SPREADING DESPITE CAMPAIGNS
http://www.terradaily.com/2004/040213102848.9i6tpeu9.html
HIV/AIDS has spread rapidly in Mozambique despite heightened awareness campaigns by both local and international agencies to battle the epidemic, a senior government health official said Friday. "HIV/AIDS has affected more and more people despite the campaigns and this means that something could be wrong with the way in which messages are put out," Diogo Milagre, deputy executive secretary of the National Campaign for the Struggle against Aids (CNCS), told AFP.
RWANDA: 4.8 PER CENT OF YOUNG GIRLS IN RWANDA HAVE HIV
http://ippfnet.ippf.org/pub/IPPF_News/News_Details.asp?ID=3240
A HIV Survey amongst pregnant women attending clinics indicates the AIDS prevalence rate among the girls aged between 15 and 19 is now estimated at 4.8 per cent and the majority live in urban centres. Statistics from the third National Population and Housing census (2002) indicate that 67 per cent of the total population of 8.4 million in Rwanda is younger than 25 years. Only half of youth between 15 and 24 have both parents living; among the other half one in ten is head of a household.
SOUTH AFRICA: ANOTHER SPANNER IN THE ARV WORKS?
http://www.health-e.org.za/news/article.php?uid=20030936
The relationship between the South African government and the Clinton Foundation, which helped procure low cost antiretroviral drugs for the country's long-awaited AIDS treatment programme, appears to have broken down. Health Minister Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang appears to have turned her back on the Clinton Foundation, which has been assisting her department to develop the country's antiretroviral (ARV) drug treatment programme.
ZIMBABWE: ARV'S TO BE PROVIDED FROM NEXT MONTH
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=22215
Owen Mugurungi, program coordinator for the Zimbabwean Ministry of Health and Child Welfare Tuberculosis and AIDS Program, last Thursday announced that the government next month will begin providing antiretroviral drugs to some of its HIV-positive citizens as part of the country's implementation of the World Health Organisation's 3 by 5 Initiative, Xinhua News Agency reports. The $5.5 billion WHO plan aims to treat three million people throughout the world with antiretroviral drugs by 2005.
14. Education
AFRICA/GLOBAL: BASIC EDUCATION UNDERLIES DEVELOPMENT
http://basiced.org/releases/booklet_release.pdf
Basic education is a prerequisite for economic development, individual health, poverty reduction and democracy, according to a report released this week by the Basic Education Coalition, an umbrella group of 19 private and non-governmental development and relief organisations. Based on the most current data from the World Bank, United Nations and other agencies, the report, Teach a Child, Transform a Nation, illustrates the correlations between education and the benchmarks that determine a country's growth. The report notes that while education alone is not sufficient to generate development, it is a major factor in the ultimate effectiveness of other country investments.
AFRICA/GLOBAL: REPORT FINDS WORLD BANK & REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT BANKS INVEST LITTLE ON EDUCATION & CURBING CHILD LABOUR
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=150-02042004
'Advancing the Campaign Against Child Labour: The Resource Allocations of National Governments and International Financial Institutions', a report released by the US Labour Department comparing military and basic education expenditures by governments in 73 developing countries for each year from 1990-2001, finds that most of these countries dedicated a larger share of their central government expenditures to education than to the military. In contrast, the report indicates that the multilateral development banks the World Bank, African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, and Inter-American Development Bank invested a relatively small portion of their resources in these countries to basic education and child labour.
GUINEA: STUDENTS STRIKE FOLLOWING THE ARREST OF A COLLEAGUE
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39473
The students of Gamal Abdel Nasser University in the Guinean capital Conakry have gone on strike to demand the release of a student leader who was arrested on Wednesday. The 14,000 students at Guinea's oldest university were also demanding an improvement in conditions at the cash-strapped university and the settlement of various other grievances. An IRIN correspondent who went to the campus last Thursday found lecture halls empty and no signs of academic activity.
KENYA: FOCUS ON PRIMARY SCHOOLS COPING WITH HIV-POSITIVE PUPILS
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39499
Mary Waweru, a kindergarten teacher in Nairobi's sprawling Kawangware slums, has noticed that some of her pupils are increasingly absent from school due to ill health. Some of the young children have already been orphaned, being supported by charity organisations. Waweru has begun to suspect that these frequently absent pupils could be suffering from AIDS, which she thinks may have been passed on to them by their parents before they were born.
NIGERIA: CRUMBLING SCHOOLS AND FAILING PUPILS
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39460
At Saint Finbar's College in Lagos, more than 50 pupils pack into a small rundown classroom for their English lesson. Patches of sky are visible through the corroded tin roof. Surrounded by the mouldy walls and windows that have long since lost their panes, Denrele Akinfenwa throws her hands up in resignation when asked how she manages to teach. "I can't really complain because the situation in my class is quite typical," she sighed. "In some parts of Nigeria pupils don't even have a roof over their head and have to study under trees."
NIGERIA: GIRL-CHILD EDUCATION CAMPAIGN IN 6 STATES
http://allafrica.com/stories/200402160407.html
The National Commission for Nomadic Education (NCNE) says it has taken its mobilisation and advocacy campaigns on girl-child education to six states in the country. Executive Secretary of the commission, Dr (Mrs) Nafisatu Dahiru Mohammed who made this known in an interview with Vanguard said this was as a result of gender disparity in nomadic schools. Mohammed said the states include Enugu, Bauchi, Taraba, Gombe, Adamawa and Yobe. "The gender disparity in our schools is disturbing. Out of a total of 294,951 pupils in the nomadic schools only 124,797 are girls."
ZIMBABWE: FARM KIDS STRUGGLE TO FIND DECENT EDUCATION
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39468
In a non-verbal but eloquent answer to a question posed by a visiting government and UN delegation about health conditions in her school, eight-year-old Tendayi Bwanali started coughing. When she finally settled down, she told the education department and UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) officials: "We are holding lessons in tobacco barns where tobacco is prepared (cured) every year - the smell of tobacco is so strong that we have problems breathing."
ZIMBABWE: MIRACLE FADES
http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=22401
It was once celebrated as a rare African success story, an example of what committed leadership can do. Education for all was the policy Zimbabwean authorities pursued diligently for much of the first decade since independence, from Britain, in 1980. The goal was to extend education to the previously disadvantaged black majority. As a result, scores of schools were built and the training of thousands of teachers speeded up. Sadly, those classroom gains are currently in jeopardy, threatened by triple digit inflation and political impenitence.
ZIMBABWE: UNIVERSITY OPENS AS LECTURERS VOW NOT TO REPORT FOR DUTY
http://allafrica.com/stories/200402170131.html
The University of Zimbabwe opened this week with lecturers vowing not to report for duty unless they are awarded a 300 percent salary increment backdated to July last year. This, however, did not disrupt examinations as temporary staff were invigilating. UZ acting director of information and publicity Mr Daniel Chihombori confirmed that the college had opened but said it was difficult to tell whether the lecturers were present.
15. Social Welfare
AFRICA/GLOBAL: GUIDE TO THE OPTIONAL PROTOCOL ON THE INVOLVEMENT OF CHILDREN IN ARMED CONFLICT
http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=3978 &flag=report
Produced by UNICEF and the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, this publication is an essential guide to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child related to children in armed conflict. It describes the context surrounding its adoption, efforts supporting its objectives, key provisions and the legislative processes involved for signature and ratification or accession. The Guide aims to support child rights advocates - including government officials, child protection agencies, humanitarian workers and those involved in national coalitions - in their work to generate momentum and support for ratification and implementation of the Optional Protocol.
AFRICA/UK: SLAVERY FEARS FOR 'LOST' CHILDREN
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3489935.stm
There are fears that large numbers of children may be trafficked into Britain after police discovered up to 30 had been "lost". The BBC has learnt the Metropolitan Police investigation looked at children who came through Heathrow Airport with adults who were not their parents. Until recently few checks have been made by immigration at the airport. Campaigners fear thousands of children are being used as domestic slaves after being brought into Britain. The vast majority of the children were from Nigeria, which is well known among law enforcement officials as being the main source for trafficked children into Britain.
BURUNDI: ARMY DEMOBILISES 29 CHILD SOLDIERS
http://allafrica.com/stories/200402160245.html
The government of Burundi demobilised on Friday 29 child soldiers, who had served as porters in the country's regular army. The children, aged 13 to 18 years, were demobilised at the paratroop barracks in the capital, Bujumbura, in the presences of representatives of the Ministry of Defence, the UN Children's Fund as well as those from the national Demobilisation, Reintegration and Prevention Project, which targets child soldiers. Although the demobilised children served as porters, they also had the task of observing enemy movements, for which they earned the nickname "Doriya", which loosely translates as spy or sentry.
KENYA: A HOW TO MANUAL FOR CHURCHES WHICH HELP AIDS ORPHANS
http://www.africapulse.net/index.php?action=viewarticle &articleid=1897&PHPSESSID=ac558d3c073ac7a8a27f800a41785ed8
A Baltimore-based aid agency, World Relief, issued a guide in Kenya to assist churches with caring for Aids orphans in Africa. Entitled "Our Children: The Church Cares for Children Affected by AIDS", the 92-page document underlines the importance of helping orphans - or children who are caring for parents with AIDS-related illnesses - to continue their education.
SOUTH AFRICA: CAPE TOWN CRECHE KIDS TO GO HUNGRY
http://allafrica.com/stories/200402161004.html
Thousands of preschool children across the Peninsula are set to go hungry - because their creches have been deemed sub-standard, and from the end of March food subsidies will be stopped. "It's a nightmare. We have about 40 little ones who get breakfast and lunch here every day, and that's the only food they get," said an outraged Christo van Rooyen who manages the finances of Jack and Jill creche in Ocean View. They were presented with a list of essential repairs by the department of social services to secure their food grant, but the criteria have proved impossible to fulfil.
SOUTH AFRICA: YOUTH DISCUSS LOCAL GOVT ISSUES
http://allafrica.com/stories/200402160861.html
About 300 youth delegates are converging in Benoni, far east of Johannesburg, for the Second National Conference on Youth Development at Local Government Level. Youth development workers, municipal youth managers and leaders of the broader youth sector are attending the three-day conference. The conference is part of the bilateral relationship between South Africa and Flanders and is hosted by the National Youth Commission (NYC) and the South African Youth Council (SAYC).
UGANDA: ADVOCACY AND PEACE GROUPS RAISE CONCERNS OVER LRA PROSECUTION
http://allafrica.com/stories/200402160205.html
The child rights group, Save the Children, has warned that the children in northern Uganda may suffer most if the International Criminal Court (ICC) decides to prosecute Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels for war crimes, unless questions of child protection are raised before it proceeds to investigate the rebels. In a statement issued last week, the organisation said that since "children are by far the main witnesses (and victims)" of war crimes committed by the LRA, the LRA leadership "might apply even more strict discipline to prevent witnesses from escaping".
ZIMBABWE: NETWORK OF SUPPORT SET UP FOR OVC
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39534
A community-based support network is hoping to provide material and emotional support to more than 40,000 orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in Zimbabwe. The network was initiated in November last year by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), in partnership with the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society, Family AIDS Caring Trust Mutare (FACT), and the Centre for Total Transformation (CTT).
16. Racism and Xenophobia
AFRICA/GLOBAL: XENOPHOBIA AND RACISM IN MEDIA REPORTING ON REFUGEES
http://news.amnesty.org/mav/index/ENGPOL3017022004
Xenophobia and racism are based on the age-old desire of man to find a ready scapegoat and the dislike of anyone who does not readily conform, whether in behaviour, colour or religion. To perpetuate racism and xenophobia through media is not only antisocial and grossly irresponsible, it is well nigh criminal. The attitude of newspapers and broadcasters is a crucial element in race relations and opinion-forming on asylum seekers. This observation is not new and, sadly, neither are racist and xenophobic articles and reports new to newspapers.
SOUTH AFRICA: RACISM ROARS IN LION DEATH CASE
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=15&art_id=vn20040218041238901C244778 &set_id=1
The African National Congress, South African Communist Party and Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) could be in trouble for displaying racist placards at the court appearance of four men accused of feeding a former employee, Nelson Shisane, to lions. Outside the Phalaborwa magistrate's court in Limpopo province, they displayed printed posters proclaiming "Enough is enough - Kill the farmer, kill the boer"; "Tired with boers"; "Fed up with killer-boers"; and "Castrate boers". The South African Human Rights Commission last year declared the liberation slogan "Kill the boer, kill the farmer" to be hate speech.
17. Environment
AFRICA/GLOBAL: WORLD BANK UNDER PRESSURE FROM TUTU
World Bank President James Wolfensohn is facing pressure from Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu to clean up the World Bank's policy and practice on funding oil and mining industries. Archbishop Tutu joins four other Nobel winners and more than 300 organisations who have written to Wolfensohn calling on him to radically reform the way the World Bank supports oil and mining industries. A recent review of World Bank funding for extractive industries, commissioned by Wolfensohn found that funding extractive industry projects was not a suitable use of public money in the vast majority of cases and does not promote sustainable development. It recommended the Bank reallocate funds towards renewable energy.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=20105
AFRICA: THERE'S NEED TO FOSTER A 'TREE REVOLUTION'
http://www.nationaudio.com/News/DailyNation/Today /Comment/Comment180220040.html
Across all of the major farming systems in Africa, the need to integrate livelihood needs with biodiversity conservation is becoming a necessity for sustaining productivity, particularly on small-holder farms that dominate rural areas. In the mountain regions of Eastern and Central Africa, land use pressure on fragile ecosystems has led to severe degradation, exposed thousands of poor farmers to food insecurity, and posed a significant threat to native species and habitats. How Africa utilises its resources for development is what will define its ultimate survival. The consequences of a strained environment have manifested themselves in food shortages, conflicts over use of resources, depletion of forest cover, and drought.
BOTSWANA: THE DEATH OF THE DELTA?
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-02-13/s_12570.asp
The Okavango Delta is a creature of extraordinary subtlety with roots deep in Africa. In summer, tropical storms rumble and flash across the high Bei Plateau from Huambo to Cuito Cuanavale. Water pours off steep slopes, gathering sand, leeching salts from the sodden Earth, and picking up speed as it gutters down long, straight valleys. As you read this, engineers, politicians, and ecologists are pondering a dam that could lead to the death of the Okavango Delta in Botswana, Southern Africa.
KENYA: COMMUNITIES PLAY KEY ROLE IN RETURN OF ENDANGERED BONGO ANTELOPES
Eighteen mountain bongo antelopes, a critically endangered species, arrived safely in Mt. Kenya National Park last month from the United States via a special plane through an unprecedented international partnership that hinges on local communities. The wild bongo population was decimated by unrestricted hunting and poaching and lions, and the last sighting was nine years ago. The goal is to re-establish the bongos, bred in captivity in the US, in their species' native habitat, now a World Heritage Site.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=20248
LIBERIA: UNEP CALLS FOR RESTORATION OF ENVIRONMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39522
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has called for the urgent restoration of public services in Liberia's shattered towns and cities to reduce pollution and improve public health. In its first proper post-conflict assessment report in Africa, UNEP also called for tight controls on logging, which has removed vast swathes of forest cover, and poaching, which has seriously endangered the country's rich wildlife.
NIGERIA: GOVERNMENT FACES VAST CHALLENGES IN WATER PROVISION
http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=22446
Nigeria's Niger Delta region is one of the largest wetlands in the world. It is a source of great irony, therefore, that people living in the area struggle to get hold of clean drinking water: they take what they can from creeks and rivers. "To drink water in this village is a problem for us. As you come here now, we can't give you the water to drink; if we give it to you we are poisoning you," says Daniel Akpere of Okuokolo village.
SOUTH AFRICA: BADLANDS GET A TOUCH OF GREEN
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-02-19/s_13265.asp
South Africa's Cape Flats area is awash with drugs and violent gangs, but amid the despair is a window into the dusty landscape's former ecological glory. "Our story will blow you away," Zwai Peter said proudly, looking out at the "fynbos" - rare flowers unique to the region - and the chattering birds in the heart of Cape Town's ganglands. The Edith Stephens Wetland Park is a haven for some of the rarest plant and animal life in the world and has become a source of pride for the people of neighbouring Manenberg.
18. Land and Land Rights
GHANA: WORKING TOGETHER? THE LIMITS OF LOCAL PRODUCER'S GROUPS
http://www.id21.org/society/s1bfl1g1.html
Encouraging local producers to form co-operative groups has been an important part of development policy in Africa. Such co-operative projects can help to reduce poverty in remote areas and give members greater control over their livelihoods. However, the benefits may be short-term. A paper from the University of Middlesex draws on a survey of isolated regions of Ghana to assess the usefulness of producer's co-operatives. The author found many examples of farmers working together without external support to negotiate prices with traders and to maintain roads required to get to markets. Trust and respect for rules are most apparent in areas where the authority of traditional chiefs and elders remains un-contested. Building trust and co-operation, the report argues, is a long-term process dependent on members being given the time and space to develop and enforce simple and flexible rules.
KENYA: LAND POLICY KEY TO POVERTY REDUCTION
http://www.sarpn.org.za/newsflash.php#1124
At this time when the Government is restructuring the country for economic recovery and creation of employment and wealth, the importance of land as a primary economic resource and the basis of livelihood for the people should not be ignored. The only way to jump-start the economy is by ensuring that land is held, used and managed in an equitable, efficient, productive and able manner for the benefit of all. Land is the most crucial element defining our life as a nation, as it does not only give people cultural identity, but also nourishes their spiritual life. It provides the foundation of shelter, food and labour, hence, it is fundamental to any strategy for poverty reduction.
NAMIBIA: CABINET TO TAKE INTERIM ACTION ON FARM EVICTIONS
http://allafrica.com/stories/200402170110.html
Government has announced that it is drawing up an interim policy on the dumping of workers. Cabinet announced last week that it had resolved that while Government was rightly and legally emphasising orderly land reform and resettlement programmes, it should, as a matter of urgency and absolute necessity, introduce a Temporary Intervention Policy of Eviction - pending long-term solutions to the problem. The policy would be aimed at farm labourers and their dependents and would take into account their length of service on the farm.
SOUTH AFRICA: LAND AFFAIRS POURS COLD WATER ON 'RACIST' NEW BOOK
http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=31144
A new book criticising government land reform threatens to strain relations between the government, farmers and agricultural unions, the Department of Agriculture and Land Affairs said last Thursday. "In fact if this book gets out into the general populace I can see racial outbreaks developing between blacks and whites," said chief land claims commissioner Tozi Gwanya. At the launch of the book, The Great South African Land Scandal, in Pretoria last Thursday, publisher Philip du Toit said he hoped it would "inform the broader public about the slow cancer infecting commercial agriculture in South Africa". The book claims that recent amendments to the 1994 Restitution of Land Rights Act paved the way for the land affairs minister to "expropriate land at will".
19. Media and Freedom of Expression
AFRICA: THE FOSTER DAVIS FELLOWSHIPS FOR AFRICAN JOURNALISTS
http://www.comminit.com/Fellowships2004/sld-9503.html
The Poynter Institute for Media Studies is seeking five fellows for the 2004 Foster Davis Fellowships for African Journalists who are accomplished journalists positioned for expanded leadership roles. They do not need to be full-time trainers. They do need to have a passion to teach fellow journalists. This means they need already to have acquired some repute as newsroom coaches and mentors. This is important. Unless the applicant has already demonstrated that passion, their application/nomination would be discouraged.
DRC: JOURNALIST SPENDS YEAR IN DETENTION WITHOUT TRIAL
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39549
A journalist in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has spent one year in preventive detention at Kinshasa's Penitentiary and Re-education Centre, national media rights NGO Journaliste en danger (JED) reported on Friday. JED recalled that on 14 February 2003 National Intelligence Agency officers arrested Bamporiki Chamira, a journalist with the daily La Tempete des Tropiques, in the capital, Kinshasa. Chamira was accused of plotting to kill President Joseph Kabila, trying to overthrow the government and seeking to avenge the death of Commander Anselme Massasu.
DRC: RADIO PROGRAMME HOST ARRESTED AND DETAINED IN BUKAVU
Télesphore Namukama, a radio programme host with Héritier de la Justice (Heir of Justice), a human rights organisation based in Bukavu, principal city of South Kivu province, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, was arrested on 12 February 2004 by Security and Intelligence Services (Direction de la sécurité et du renseignement, DSR) agents. Namukama also hosts the Swahili-language radio programme "Plaidons pour la justice" ("Let us plead for justice") with the Bukavu-based station Radio Sahuti ya Réhéma (The Voice of Mercy). The DSR has accused the host of "Plaidons pour la justice" of "sowing anxiety within the local population" in the 10 February broadcast of his programme. In the programme, Namukama discussed the recent discovery of arms caches in Bukavu, which cost former provincial governor Xavier Ciribanya his job. Drawing lessons from the situation, Namukama concluded that it is unlikely that peace will return to South Kivu province in the foreseeable future.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=20210
ETHIOPIA: STOP HARASSING JOURNALISTS' GROUP
The Ethiopian government should end its harassment of an association of independent journalists that has frequently criticized the government's repression of the independent press, Human Rights Watch said in a recent letter to Ethiopia's prime minister. The Ethiopian Free Journalists Association (EFJA), a group composed of journalists associated with the country's beleaguered independent press, has come under government attack in recent months for opposing a proposed press law that would tighten government oversight of news reporting. "The Ethiopian government is trying to muffle the independent press," said Peter Takirambudde, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch's Africa Division.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=20208
UGANDA: SUPREME COURT STRIKES OUT LAW CRIMINALISING 'FALSE NEWS'
The Ugandan Supreme Court has declared that the offence of 'publishing false news' was incompatible with the right to freedom of expression. This means that journalists in Uganda can no longer be charged with "publication of false news". Justice Joseph Mulenga, delivering the lead judgment, ruled that the right to freedom of expression protects not only that which can be proven to be true. He warned that the offence dated from colonial times and that the only reason why it was still on the books was because Parliament had not yet gotten around to reforming the law. He stressed that the prohibition of false news served no meaningful purpose. On the contrary, it was a vaguely formulated offence, open to misinterpretation and abuse on political grounds, that could not be reconciled with basic democratic principles and the right to freedom of expression.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=20211
WEST AFRICA: THE SOUND OF THE SUBURBS
The Radio Department of the Panos Institute West Africa with support of Unesco, organized a training workshop for its Anglophone radio correspondents in Ghana. The workshops' end result was the design of an Oral Testimony production support project called "Sounds of the Suburbs". The objective of the project was to focus on the life of youngsters in a complex multicultural surrounding. Cities, and especially capitals, tend to expand into an environment characterized by different ethnic, religious, linguistic and social groups. Youth tend to hold a very specific position in these urban areas. As youngsters and participants in the day to day street life, they tend to better integrate into mixed societies. Through this radio production project, Panos West Africa endeavoured to get the views of the youngsters themselves. They are often ignored by traditional urban media, especially if such youngsters come from socially marginalized areas.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=20206
ZIMBABWE: A COUNTRY AT PEACE - THE WORLD ACCORDING TO THE PUBLIC MEDIA
The government-controlled media's tendency to portray a picture of peace and tranquility in the country has resulted in these media ignoring the continued erosion of basic human rights by overzealous ZANU PF fanatics, security force members and the government through its promulgation of unconstitutional laws. According to the latest newsletter from the Zimbabwe Media Monitoring Project, the responsibility for exposing rights abuses has been completely left to the private media. "For instance, this week SW Radio Africa carried 17 stories, which reported 18 cases of rights abuses. Studio 7 had four stories highlighting two incidents of rights violations. ZBC had none. The trend was similar in the print media. While the private papers published 12 reports on human rights abuses, the government Press only carried a single story."
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=20213
20. News from the Diaspora
AKPA TO SUPPORT WATER DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
http://akpa-atlanta.org/endeavors/pgWater2003-2004.htm
The Association of Kenyan Professionals in Atlanta (AKPA) Development Committee's key objective this year is to successfully support one (or more) high impact and actionable projects on Water in Kenya.
CARIBBEAN DIASPORA EMPOWERMENT CONFERENCE
A Global Caribbean Economic Initiative Through Partnerships And Networks
The Conference is to be held April 12-14, 2004 at the Washington Hilton Hotel, 1919 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC. More than 2,000 delegates anticipated globally.
Topics include:
· The Critical Role of Local Governments in National Development Political
· Small Enterprise Investments and Entrepreneurship Economic
· Formation of strong Linkages-The Status of the African-American Male Social
· Caribbean Agriculture in the 21st Century Economic
· The Caribbean culture and its role in the Inter-Caribbean Movement Economic
· Investment opportunities through Remittance Socio- Economic
· Iwokrama and Biodiversity for Sustainability Environmental/Economic
· AGOA and the Caribbean Partnership Economic
· Brief Description: Expanding the definition of a Free Trade and the benefits to the Caribbean peoples
· FAATIS - Economic Revitalization through Tourism Economic/Political
· The Role of Nonprofits in Community Development.
DEBATE: THE BEST WAY WE CAN HELP AFRICA IS TO LEAVE IT ALONE
3rd March 2004
Speaking FOR the motion:
Richard Dowden - Director of the Royal African Society
Matthew Parris - Former Conservative Member of Parliament, and previously the Presenter of LWT's Weekend World, is a columnist for the Times and The Spectator
Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem - General Secretary of the Pan African Movement and Director of Justice Africa
Speaking AGAINST the motion:
Rt Hon Clare Short, MP - Labour MP for Birmingham Ladywood. She was Secretary of State for International Development from 1997 to May 2003.
Anthony Sampson - Former editor of the magazine Drum (Johannesburg) and author of "Mandela: The authorised Biography"
Sir Marrack Goulding - Warden of St.Antony's College, Oxford. He has held overseas posts in the Middle East, North Africa, New York and is the former Ambassador of Angola. He was UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping (1986-93) and Political Affairs (1993-97).
The debate will be chaired by Nik Gowing, Presenter of BBC World TV News and the former Diplomatic Editor of Channel 4 News.
The debate will take place at the Royal Geographical Society, 1 Kensington Gore, London, SW7 Doors open at 6pm. The debate starts at 6.45pm and finishes at 8.30pm. Tickets £20 each To book tickets call 020 7494 3345 or email info@intelligencesquared.com.
DUAL CITIZENSHIP PROSPECT EXCITES UGANDANS ABROAD
http://allafrica.com/stories/200401220442.html
There is considerable optimism among Ugandans living abroad following the release of the Sempebwa Report, which recommends dual citizenship for those holding citizenship in another country. Currently only South Africa, Ghana and Egypt have the provision for dual citizenship written in their constitutions. In the amended Citizenship Act (Act 88 of 1995), a South African is allowed to retain his or her South African citizenship when becoming the citizen of another country. Meanwhile, with an estimated 1.5 million Ghanaians living abroad and contributing as much as $400 million to the national coffers annually, Ghana officially launched the Dual Citizenship Regulation Act on July 3, 2002. The only other African countries that informally allow dual citizenship are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Lesotho, Nigeria and Morocco.
EAFRICA FOCUSES ON EFFORTS TO MOBILISE THE AFRICAN DIASPORA
http://www.wits.ac.za/saiia/eAfricaSept03.pdf
The September 2003 edition of the electronic journal of governance and innovation contains an excellent overview of recent efforts to effectively mobilise the African diaspora for the benefit of Africa's development.
FIVE MILLION RETURNING TO HOME COUNTRIES IN AFRICA
UN Refugee Agency Anticipates Millions Returning To Home Countries In Africa
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0402/S00126.htm
With more than 5 million African refugees and internally displaced people preparing to return home, the United Nations refugee agency announced plans to hold a ministerial-level meeting next month on comprehensive regional approaches to repatriation and sustainable reintegration on the continent.
ONE-FOURTH OF ZIMBABWE'S POPULATION HAS EMIGRATED
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives /2004/02/15/2003098844
Repression by the government and an ongoing economic crisis have caused an exodus from the troubled nation.
THE ABAYUDAYA OF UGANDA
http://www.mindspring.com/~jaypsand/abayudaya.htm
Out in the green, rolling hills of eastern Uganda, near the city of Mbale in the shadow of Mount Elgon, the Abayudaya Jews live as Ugandans always have, supporting themselves through subsistence farming and struggling against the elements to bring in the next harvest. These rural Ugandans share much with their neighbours; the surrounding fields bursting with mango trees, sugar cane, banana trees and cassava, the frequent communal festivals to celebrate birth, marriage and death, the uncertainty of rapidly changing national politics and the exhaustion of poverty. A significant difference between the Abayudaya and their countrymen is that when they raise their heads to the heavens in prayer, their God is not Jesus, Allah or any tribal spirit, but the God of Israel. They set themselves apart through devout Judaism and their adherence to the belief that some day they will become an accepted part of the international Jewish community.
21. Advocacy and Campaigns
SEND A 'BIRTHDAY CARD' TO THE WORLD BANK
http://www.jubileeusa.org/take_action/birthdaycard.pdf
The IMF and World Bank will celebrate their 60th birthday in 2004. But it is no time for a party, not as long as debt continues to impoverish and take away the sovereignty of peoples and nations across the global South. On the institutions' 60th birthday, Jubilee USA Network is organising a birthday card campaign to the IMF and World Bank. They have developed birthday cards that call on the IMF/World Bank to cancel 100% of impoverished country debt without conditions, and we will be distributing the cards to activists across the U.S. and around the world.
Contact: neil@jubileeusa.org
STRIP THE BACK PAGE
http://womensnet.org.za/MediaPetition.shtml
Are you tired of reading newspapers that portray women as stereotypes? Tired of editors thinking that the average reader believes women are only newsworthy if they are half-naked or the victim of a crime? The South African National Editors Forum (SANEF) has committed itself to get South African newsrooms to evaluate their performance on gender sensitive reporting. In line with SANEF's plans to engender the media, South African gender and media activists propose that all newspapers commit to leaving out their back page or page three "babe" section from the 5th to the 8th March 2004. Instead, content for these pages will be generated by members of the South African Gender and Media Network (SAGEM) around the theme of International Women's Day.
22. Internet and Technology
E-GUIDE TO SCIENCE COMMUNICATION
A New Resource From The Science And Development Network
The e-guide is a 'one-stop shop' providing both original articles and links to the best material elsewhere. Designed to inspire dialogue, it will grow as registrants from across the globe add their own resources and tips. Wherever you are in the world, if you are interested in communicating information about science more effectively, this is the guide for you. It already contains a wide range of indispensable information.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=20170
INTERNET CREATIVITY
According to latest estimates, Africa still has the lowest level of internet access among world regions, accounting for only 1.4% of the estimated 700 million people online worldwide. But the African internet public is large enough to provide much scope for an abundance of diverse ventures to make creative use of new technologies. The latest issue of AfricaFocus Bulletin highlights several such ventures, taken from African projects that placed among the finalists in the Stockholm Challenge, a program that annually honours innovative use of information and communication technology.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=20204
MYDOOM AS A CLASS ISSUE
http://www.ericlee.me.uk/archive/000070.html
The author of the Mydoom virus which is now racing around the net deliberately chose to target home users rather than corporate, government or military users. Home users are 'soft targets' for virus writers. They often barely understand the computer that they have purchased. They use whatever software came with it.
SCIENCE FOR ALL NATIONS
http://www.scidev.net/Opinions/index.cfm?fuseaction=readOpinions &itemid=235&language=1
From preventing environmental damage to halting the spread of disease, many 21st-century problems can be tackled with scientific and technological know-how and capacity. But not all nations possess this, and slow progress on the Millennium Development Goals has badly hampered their development. In this article, Kofi Annan, secretary-general of the United Nations, calls for a new global partnership between the developed and developing worlds that focuses on science and technology. Several initiatives are showing the way, yet more is needed.
23. eNewsletters and Mailing Lists
CHILD SOLDIERS COALITION NEWSLETTER - JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2004
http://www.child-soldiers.org/cs/childsoldiers.nsf /37f914dcf6a462ec802569bb00677467/4b193eee6d2e409a80256e23003d7cc3?OpenDocument
IN THIS EDITION
- WHY DO ADOLESCENTS VOLUNTEER?
- CHILD SOLDIER NEWS
- DEMOBILISATION AND REHABILITATION UPDATES
- ACTION APPEAL: STOP EXECUTIONS OF CHILD SOLDIERS
- VOICES OF YOUTH IN NORTHERN UGANDA
- FEATURE ARTICLE: WHY DO ADOLESCENTS JOIN ARMED GROUPS AND FORCES? INTERVIEW WITH RACHEL BRETT
- CSC HIGHLIGHTS
- EDITORIAL: THE COALITION'S NEW MESSAGE ABOUT ADOLESCENTS
- ABOUT CHILD SOLDIERS NEWSLETTER
GLOBAL CAMPAIGN FOR EDUCATION E-NEWSLETTER
http:// www.campaignforeducation.org
The Global Campaign for Education is an independent coalition of NGOs and trade unions campaigning for the right to free, good quality education and immediate action on the Education for All goals. Their email bulletin is produced as an information resource for activists and practitioners. To subscribe, send a message with the word 'subscribe' in the subject line to:
e-news@campaignforeducation.org
NEWSLETTER OF THE NETWORK FOR EQUITY IN HEALTH IN SOUTHERN AFRICA
http://www.equinetafrica.org/newsletter/
The Equinet Newsletter is the newsletter of the Network for Equity in Health in Southern Africa and delivers a comprehensive round-up of equity and health issues. You will receive two issues from this mailing list per month. One will contain a briefing of Equinet's activities and the other links to information about equity and health issues in the content categories of Equity in Health;
Values, Policies and Rights; Health equity in economic and trade policies; Poverty and health; Equitable health services; Human Resources; Public-Private Mix; Resource allocation and health financing; Equity and HIV/AIDS; Governance and participation in health and Monitoring equity and research policy. There are also sections that include the latest jobs, conferences and other useful resources related to equity in health. Read the newsletter online by clicking on the URL provided.
24. Fundraising and Useful Resources
BRIDGING THE DIGITAL FUNDRAISING DIVIDE
www.thusanang.org.za/index.php?option=news&task=viewarticle &sid=41
At the recent 23rd International Fundraising Conference held in the Netherlands, a survey found that more than half of Germans and 20 per cent of Britons under the age of 40 prefer to give donations online. That is good news, especially for those South African NPOs thinking about, or already raising funds online. Unfortunately, raising funds over the Internet is fraught with challenges. The digital divide, insufficient marketing skills and experience, and gaining donor confidence are just some of the difficulties facing NPOs trying to fundraise through the Internet
CALL FOR PROPOSALS: COMMUNITY-BASED INNOVATIONS TO REDUCE CHILD LABOUR THROUGH EDUCATION
http://www.winrock.org/circle/
Winrock International, a non-profit organisation that works with people around the world to increase economic opportunity, sustain natural resources, and protect the environment, is seeking applications for Urgent Action Contracts (UACs) from interested parties for the Community-based Innovations to Reduce Child Labour through Education (CIRCLE) project under a cooperative agreement with the United States Department of Labour. The CIRCLE project is seeking proposals from community-based, non-profit organisations in developing areas with high rates of child labour to implement initiatives that design, build on, and promote innovative pilot projects.
CALL FOR PROPOSALS: GLOBAL FUND TO FIGHT AIDS, TUBERCULOSIS AND MALARIA
http://www.theglobalfund.org/en/apply/call/
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has issued a call for proposals for the Fourth Round of financing. The proposals should support the scale up of effective existing programs and innovative projects that meet the Global Fund's criteria and that have a clear demonstration of how the resources sought from the Global Fund will achieve additional results in partnership with existing programs. Proposals for funding must be made through Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCM).
FREE JOURNALS ACCESS PORTAL
http://www.gdnet.org/online_services/journals /gdn_journal_services/index.html
The Global Development Network's new Free Journal Access Portal enables social science researchers based in developing or transitional countries to access a searchable, full-text, online database of more than 120 well-known social-science journals, free of charge.
INVITATION TO APPLY FOR FORD FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIPS PROGRAM AWARDS 2004/2005
www.aaisa.org.za/pdf/advertisment_2004.pdf
The Africa-America Institute is pleased to announce the International Fellowships Program of the Ford Foundation for resident citizens and residents of South Africa. The International Fellowships Program, which will provide support for up to three years of full-time post-graduate study, is a Program whose fundamental objective is to provide post-graduate opportunities for individuals from social groups and communities that lack systematic access to higher education. Ford International Fellows, as recipients of the Fellowships will be called, are expected to use their education in helping to reduce inequalities and redress historical patterns of injustice.
25. Courses, Seminars, and Workshops
A NORTH AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST REGIONAL CIVIL SOCIETY FORUM ON PROMOTING AND PROTECTING THE RIGHTS OF STREET CHILDREN
3-6 March 2004; Cairo, Egypt
http://www.streetchildren.org.uk
This Forum, which is organised by the Consortium for Street Children in collaboration with the Hope Village Society, will be a mixture of field study,
plenary, and group sessions focusing on street children in the context of children's rights, poverty, and social exclusion. Key experts working with street children from the following countries will be attending: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan/Palestine, Lebanon, Tunisia, Morocco, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. For more information, contact: Consortium for Street Children, Unit 306, Bon Marche Centre, 241-251 Ferndale Road, London SW9 8BJ, UK; Tel:+44(0) 20 7274 0087; Fax: +44(0) 20 7274 0372; Email:info@streetchildren.org.uk
Contact: info@streetchildren.org.uk
ACTIVISTS' LEARNING WORKSHOP II
26-30 April 2004, Harare, Zimbabwe
AFRODAD (African Forum and Network on Debt and Development) and MWENGO (Mwelekeo wa NGO), a reflection and development centre for NGOs in East and Southern Africa will be holding an Activist Learning Workshop on the 26th to the 30th April 2004, in Harare, Zimbabwe. This is the second workshop, the first being held successfully in March 2003. The workshop will focus on learning for activism targeted at policy activists.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=20124
DEVELOPING GUIDELINES FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE FOR SOUTHERN AFRICAN NGOS
The Charities Aid Foundation Southern Africa will be hosting a regional one-day working conference on governance and accountability in the non-profit sector on the 25th May 2004. Entitled: 'Governance and Accountability: Developing Guidelines for Southern African NGOs,' the conference is aimed at generating discussion on the need for Southern African NGOs to apply principles of good governance and accountability in their work, as well as to launch the process of developing a draft Code of Good Governance for the non-profit sector.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=20125
HIV/AIDS IN THE WORKPLACE
Members of Wits' Schools of Business, Economics, Law, Public Health and Social Sciences are organising an interdisciplinary HIV/AIDS in the Workplace Research Symposium. The Symposium aims to provide an opportunity for researchers from all academic disciplines and practitioners conducting 'action research' in work environments to present and discuss their work on HIV/AIDS in the workplace. Locating the Symposium within a university environment provides a unique opportunity to consider the critical issue of HIV/AIDS in the workplace with rigour and freedom of expression.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=20171
26. Jobs
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: CODESRIA GENDER INSTITUTE 2004
Theme: Gender In The Economy Of Care
http://www.codesria.org/Links/Training_and_Grants /Gender_institute.htm
Each year, since 1994, CODESRIA has organised a Gender Institute which brings together some 12 to 15 researchers for between four to six weeks of concentrated debate, experience-sharing and knowledge-building. CODESRIA is seeking applications for the following posts for the Gender Institute 2004: Director (senior scholars known for their expertise on the topic of the year and for the originality of their thinking on it); Resource persons (senior scholars or scholars in their mid-career who have published extensively on the topic, and who have a significant contribution to make to the debates on it); Laureates (African social scientists who have a minimum qualification of a Masters' degree, with a proven research capacity and who are currently engaged in teaching and/or research activities are invited to send in their applications for consideration for admission into the Institute). For more information, please contact the CODESRIA Gender Institute: Gender.Institute@codesria.sn.
Contact: Gender.Institute@codesria.sn
NIGERIA: CHIEF OF PARTY - NIGERIA HIV/AIDS PROJECT
JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. (JSI)
http://www.comminit.com/vacancy1707.html
JSI Research and Training Institute, Inc (JSI R&T), a Boston-based public health management firm dedicated to providing high quality technical and managerial assistance to public health programs throughout the United States and the developing world, is currently recruiting for a potential Chief of Party for an HIV/AIDS Program in Nigeria. JSI is developing a proposal to submit to USAID to support its HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support initiatives, based in Abuja, Nigeria.
SADC: WOMEN'S LEGAL RIGHTS ADVISOR
Chemonics International
Chemonics International, an international development consulting firm, seeks a Women's Legal Rights Advisor to help implement the USAID-funded Women's Legal Rights Initiative in the SADC region. The Women's Legal Rights Advisor will provide guidance on women's legal rights programs and activities in the region and serve as a liaison with the justice sector, government and civil society counterparts.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=20194
SUDAN: CIVIL SOCIETY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM COORDINATOR
International Rescue Committee
http://www.comminit.com/vacancy1731.html
IRC currently seeks a Civil Society Development Program Coordinator for its Sudan program. The Civil Society Development Program Coordinator, based in the IRC Sudan's Khartoum headquarters, with frequent visits to the field, will lead the coordination of a major two-year community mobilization, civic education and civil society capacity building program in 12 locations across Sudan and South Sudan.
27. Books and Arts
A MOVEMENT OF MOVEMENTS: IS ANOTHER WORLD REALLY POSSIBLE?
Tom Mertes (ed.)
http://www.word-power.co.uk/catalogue/1859844685
'The Movement of Movements' charts the strategic thinking behind the mosaic of movements currently challenging neoliberal globalization. Leading theorists and activists - the Zapatistas' Subcomandante Marcos, Chittaroopa Palit from the Indian Narmada Valley dam protests, Soweto anti-privatization campaigner Trevor Ngwane, Brazilian Sem Terra leader João Pedro Stedile, and many more - discuss their personal formation as radicals, the history of their movements, their analyses of globalization, and the nuts and bolts of mobilizing against a US-dominated world system.
APARTHEID'S FESTIVAL: CONTESTING SOUTH AFRICA'S NATIONAL PAST
Leslie Witz
http://www.africabookcentre.com/acatalog/index.html?http%3A //www.africabookcentre.com/acatalog /New_Titles.html&CatalogBody
This is a study of how the production of history is part of a global process forged by the struggle between colonialism and resistance. The author looks at the 1952 celebrations of the 300th anniversary of the landing of Jan van Riebeeck and the founding of Cape Town. Examining newspapers brochures and pamphlets, the author looks at how history and historical figures were reconstructed and how the ANC and others mounted opposition to it.
DUMPING ON WOMEN: GENDER AND PRIVATISATION OF WASTE MANAGEMENT
Melanie Samson
http://qsilver.queensu.ca/~mspadmin/
More and more local governments across South Africa are privatising their waste management systems. They are doing this because of national government's push to get the private sector more involved in providing basic services, like water and waste management. Municipalities are also privatising to promote black economic empowerment. Who are the winners and who are the losers? Research conducted in Thabazimbi, Sol Plaatje and Johannesburg municipalities shows that both workers and working-class communities suffer as a result of privatisation of basic services. It also shows how, because of the gender division of labour at work and at home, and because women waste management workers employed by private companies are largely left out of collective bargaining agreements, it is women workers who suffer most.
JOURNAL OF AFRICAN ELECTIONS
Vol2 No2 October 2003
Contents include:
* Factional Intrigues and Alliance Politics : The Case of NARC in
Kenya's 2002 elections, by Shumbana Karume
* Legitimising Electoral Process: The Role of Kenya Domestic Observation
Programme (K-DOP) in Kenya's 2002 Election, by Wole Olaleye
* Elections in Nigeria: Is the Third Time a Charm, by A. Carl Levan,
Titi Pitso, Bodunrin Adebo
* Nigeria: Can the Election Tribunals Satisfactorily Resolve the
Disputes Arising out of the 2003 Elections? By Kaniye S.A.Ebeku
* The Electoral System and Conflict in Mozambique, by Luis de Brito
* Adapting to Electoral System Change: Voters in Lesotho, 2002, by Roddy
Fox and Roger Southall
* Missing Cadres? List Voting and the ANC's Management of its
Parliamentarians in the National Assembly, 1999-2003, by Geoffrey Hawker
Subscribe today - two issues @R160 per annum or R80 per issue. The 2004
issues will appear in June and December. All queries and orders, please email publications@eisa.org.za
RE-EXAMINING LIBERATION IN NAMIBIA: POLITICAL CULTURE SINCE INDEPENDENCE
Edited By Henning Melber
http://www.nai.uu.se/webbshop/ShopGB
The back cover of Re-examining Liberation in Namibia: Political Culture Since Independence, edited by Henning Melber, asks the question of what Namibian children can expect from their future in 'the land of the brave' (as the national anthem proclaims)? This question frames the taking stock of emerging trends in the country's political culture since independence in 1990 as the contributors critically explore the achievements and shortcomings that have been part of liberation in Namibia.
Dealing with a wide array of subjects relevant to recent history in Namibia, the collection weaves together a rich tapestry of diverse subjects. It succeeds in pulling together a picture of the sometimes schizophrenic liberation movement SWAPO, which led resistance to colonial rule from 1960, in terms of its worthy values and ambitions compared to the reality of a liberation movement in power.
The themes of this collection illuminate not only the challenges facing present-day Namibia but also resonate throughout the Southern African region. Issues related to land and indigenous people crop up frequently, as does that of truth and reconciliation, memory and forgetting.
Perhaps the contrast between liberation in action and the present day reality is best captured in the fascinating deconstruction of President Sam Nujoma's personality in an essay by Christopher Saunders entitled 'Liberation and Democracy: A critical reading of Sam Nujoma's Autobiography'. This paints a picture of a heroic and committed Sam Nujoma as he travelled through the airports of the world gathering support for his just cause as a young man with little experience of politics. But this contrasts with Nujoma's highly selective and sometimes inaccurate version of events in relation to the liberation struggle, so that Saunders concludes that "Nujoma's work is more a work of propaganda than of history". "It conforms that the liberation struggle was fought for national liberation, and that this meant, for Nujoma and others, the accession of Swapo to power."
The attempt by Swapo and Nujoma to remember the past in a certain way, to construct it and stamp it on the nation's consciousness, is also raised in an excellent essay by John Saul and Colin Leys entitled 'Truth, Reconciliation, Amnesia: The "ex-detainees" fight for Justice'. Here the issue of missing Swapo activists allegedly killed at the hands of their own organisation is carefully examined in the context of the liberation movement's inclination to bury historical record with the excuse that opening up old wounds would be harmful to national reconciliation efforts. This is contrasted strongly with efforts by those in Namibian society who believe that actively remembering the past will open up the path to a more meaningful reconciliation.
How is the past remembered and who has the right to remember it? Who has control over the nation's consciousness? What is national interest and in whose interest does it operate? How do we go about understanding the sometimes contradictory and authoritarian nature of liberation movements? How do these liberation movements understand democracy? These are just some of the questions that Re-examining Liberation in Namibia touches on, and together with many others, the collection provides a critical understanding of Namibian politics and its current day state of health.
(ISBN 91-7106-516-4)
Reviewed by Patrick Burnett, Fahamu
Contact: orders@nai.uu.se
THE AFRICAN AMERICAN EXPERIENCE IN CYBERSPACE: A RESOURCE GUIDE TO THE BEST WEB SITES ON BLACK CULTURE AND HISTORY
Abdul Alkalimat
http://www.africabookcentre.com/acatalog/index.html?http%3A //www.africabookcentre.com/acatalog /New_Titles.html&CatalogBody
Divided into clear subject chapters, this guide highlights the best links and web sites covering every aspect of African American history, society and culture and Black studies. Each chapter has a brief essay, and extensive annotation on the five best sites for each topic.
WORLD ON FIRE: HOW EXPORTING FREE MARKET DEMOCRACY BREEDS ETHNIC HATRED AND GLOBAL INSTABILITY
Amy Chua
http://www.fpa.org/pubs_inventory2418/pubs_inventory_show.htm?doc_id=209030
Drawing on examples from around the world - from Africa and Asia to Russia and Latin America - Chua examines how free markets do not spread wealth evenly throughout the whole of these societies. Instead they produce a new class of extremely wealthy plutocrats - individuals as rich as nations. Almost always members of a minority group - Chinese in the Philippines, Croatians in the former Yugoslavia, whites in Latin America, Indians in East Africa, Jews in post-communist Russia - these "market-dominant minorities" have become targets of violent hatred. Adding democracy to this volatile mix unleashes suppressed ethnic hatreds and brings to power ethnonationalist governments that pursue aggressive policies of confiscation and revenge.
PAMBAZUKA NEWS IS PUBLISHED BY FAHAMU
Fahamu - learning for change
14, Standingford House, Cave Street, Oxford OX4 1BA, UK
620 Overport City, Durban 4001, South Africa
info@fahamu.org
http://www.fahamu.org
info@fahamu.org.za
http://www.fahamu.org.za
Editorial Board: Firoze Manji (Fahamu), Patrick Burnett (Fahamu), Rotimi Sankore, (CREDO info@credonet.org)
Our thanks to the following: Christina Clark, Chukwu-Emeka Chikezie (AFFORD)
Linda Ndlovu (SANGONeT), Catherine Njuguna, Elizabeth Onyango, and to the Ford Foundation's Special Initiative for Africa.
SANGONeT: http://www.sn.apc.org
AFFORD: http://www.afford-uk.org
Pambazuka News list server is hosted at Kabissa: http://www.kabissa.org
SUBMITTING NEWS: send to editor@pambazuka.org
SUBSCRIBE
The Newsletter comes out weekly and is delivered to subscribers by e-mail. Subscription is free. To subscribe, send an e-mail to pambazuka-news-request@pambazuka.org with only the word 'subscribe' in the subject or body. To subscribe online, visit: http://lists.kabissa.org/mailman/listinfo/pambazuka-news
FAIR USE
This Newsletter is produced under the principles of 'fair use'. We strive to attribute sources by providing direct links to authors and websites. When full text is submitted to us and no website is provided, we make the text available on our website via a "for more information" link. Please contact editor@pambazuka.org immediately regarding copyright issues.
The views expressed in this newsletter, including the signed editorials, do not necessarily represent those of Fahamu
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2004 Fahamu. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
