Back Issues

Selected headlines from Pambazuka News 148

2004-03-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/highlights/20986

* Remembering Rwanda: Pambazuka News Special Edition Due Out In April
* Conflicts and Emergencies: Mercenaries set to worry African Parliament
* Refugees and Forced Migration: Peace prospects pull refugees home in West Africa
* Women and Gender: Gender issues in the AU, Nepad and Pan-African Parliament
* Elections and Governance: Pan-African Parliament a voice for all Africans
* Development: MDG report casts gloom over Zambia’s development
* HIV/AIDS: TAC sends letter of demand to SA government
* Education: “Massive” gap between rights education theory and practice
* Environment: Water scarcity can be fixed, says NGO

Challenges for the African Parliament: Special Briefing

From the Editors

2004-03-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/20928

With the growing number of conflicts, declining terms of trade, and growing influence of international powers in determining Africa's social and economic policies all eyes in Africa are focused on the Pan African Parliament and those elected representatives of the people who will meet this week in Addis Ababa. What will it be possible for the Pan African Parliament to deliver?

The first meeting takes place on the 10th anniversary of two historic events in Africa. One was the rise of the popular movements that led to the downfall of apartheid in South Africa. The other, a human catastrophe of immense proportions involving the massacre of nearly a million people in Rwanda in the space of a few months. If the one was achieved through the mobilisation of the majority for the goal of emancipation, the other was fuelled by pressures to comply with an externally defined agenda for social development. These events represent the extremes of hope and despair that came to characterise much of the continent in the closing years of the millennium. Every country in the region contains, albeit to varying degrees, the mixture of factors that can lead to either outcome – a future built on respect for human dignity, or one torn apart by conflicts such as those seen in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Angola, Somalia, and which continue in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Can the Africa Parliament meet the challenge of building a democratic and just future?

Pambazuka News is Africa's widest circulation electronic newsletter on social justice, reaching more than 60,000 people every week. As a service to parliamentarians, and as a service to our readers, we have produced this special issue of Pambazuka News which will be provided in printed form to all those attending the Pan African Parliament this week. We think it is critically important for parliamentarians to be kept up to date with the latest developments in Africa. Pambazuka has become an important tool through which civil society in Africa disseminates information relevant to social justice. We believe that a dialogue between parliamentarians and civil society organisations is vital for development that ensures that the interests and the rights of the majority are protected.

This issue of Pambazuka News is dedicated to the cause of a Pan Africanism that is founded on social justice and respect for human dignity.

Unification of Africa takes another step

Irungu Houghton

2004-03-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/20845

On March 18th 2004, 256 citizens step forward and assume their new role as pan African parliamentarians. The inauguration of the pan African parliament in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia this week is a major significant step for continental unity.

We in Africa must celebrate the inauguration but immediately place on its agenda the challenge of negotiating better global terms for Africa around debt, trade and aid. Yet, this is only half the agenda. The pan African Parliament must be empowered with research and communications facilities to legislate laws, monitor compliance of African states to agreed standards of governance and human rights and lastly, popularise the major protocols and instruments of the African Union. It must be enabled to receive representation by individuals and associations representing interests affected by international or continental public policies or practises. Simply, it must be able to intervene decisively to protect human rights in member states.

The treaty establishing the pan African Parliament states its vision as “a common platform for African peoples and their grassroots organisations to be more involved in discussions and decision-making on the problems and challenges facing the continent”. The Parliament shall provide oversight for the budget of the AU, harmonisation of policies towards regional integration and make recommendations that promote human rights, democratic institutions and good governance among other functions. During the first five-year term of its existence, the Parliament shall “exercise advisory and consultative powers only [article 11]”. Most African countries have nominated five legislators of which one must be a woman from national parliaments and deliberative organs.

The three-day event will be presided over by AU Chairperson H.E. President Joachim Chissano of Mozambique in the presence of several heads of state and citizens past and present. The spirits of Yaa Asantewa, Nkrumah, Ben Bella, Bibi Titi, Nyerere, Mbuya Nehanda, Sobukwe and Kenyatta will, no doubt, be there to see this long unfulfilled dream come to fruition. Yet, the revitalisation of state Pan-Africanism occurs in a rapidly changing international policy context.

The hope of new approaches to old problems of inequitable trade relations and inadequate aid flows over 2001-2 were severely punctured by a return to aid scepticism, a pervasive anti-terrorist lens and the subsequent undermining of multi-lateralism in 2003. In 2004, these developments unfortunately seem set to continue crowding out national sovereignty and dominating the policy discourse on and in Africa for the next three years. It is in this context that the pan African parliament and other organs of the AU must act and do so urgently.

On the surface, it would seem that the experience of parliamentary representation at national levels could strangle the potential of the new Parliament. At a rough estimate, across Africa there are over 9,210 national parliamentarians elected from Africa’s population of over 700 million people. That is, one legislator for every 76,000 people. However, most poor people in Africa, parliaments and legislative bodies seem disconnected from the day-to-day realities and challenges they face.

If the crisis of relevance seems stark in some national contexts, then at regional levels the challenge for parliamentarians is multiplied. 265 nominated legislators in a continent of over 700 million people (one pan African MP for every 2.6 million people) does not embody a high capacity for representative democracy, much less “a platform for African peoples and their grassroots organisations”. For example, this compares unfavourably with India where 795 MPs represent one billion people (one MP per 126,000 people).

For the first five years and until members are elected by universal adult suffrage, the credibility of the pan African Parliament cannot rest on their representational quality but on the issues they espouse, the causes they champion and the changes they bring to the lives of ordinary people across Africa. By doing this, the pan African Parliament can deepen its credibility and relevance to African peoples struggling with poverty and injustice across the continent.

* Irungu Houghton is pan African Policy Advisor, Oxfam GB

* What do you think of the African Parliament? Send your comments to editor@pambazuka.org for inclusion in our letters page.

Africa and the Pan-African Parliament

2004-03-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/20917

Imagine an Africa free from conflict, developing rapidly through an equitable and sustainable relationship with the rest of the world. In this Africa there is an entrenched culture of respect for human rights. Populations are healthy and governed by fair, transparent and accountable governments. This is the vision, but African parliamentarians gathered in Addis Ababa this week will be only too aware of the steep slope the continent faces in overcoming its many challenges so that all its people may live in harmony.

The Pan-African Parliament of the African Union has been established with the intention that it will ultimately function as a kind of continental democracy, representing all the peoples of Africa. In its initial stages it will only have consultative and advisory powers, but over time it is hoped that it will evolve into an institution with legislative powers, whose members are elected by universal adult suffrage.

In the context of the challenges facing Africa, the Parliament has many objectives relevant to Africa’s development. Some of these are to facilitate the implementation of the policies of the African Union, promote human rights and democracy, encourage good governance, and promote peace, security and stability.

The protocol states that: “In terms of its advisory powers it may examine, discuss or express an opinion on any matter, either on its own initiative or at the request of the Assembly or other policy organs and make any recommendations it may deem fit relating to, inter alia, matters pertaining to respect of human rights, the consolidation of democratic institutions and the culture of democracy, as well as the promotion of good governance and the rule of law.”

Clearly – and even in their advisory capacity - this does enable members of the Parliament to highlight key areas of concern relating to conflicts, human rights and good governance in Africa. It is therefore fitting to briefly recap on Africa’s status in key areas such as conflicts, human rights, good governance, gender equality and trade and development.

CONFLICT:

Africa began 2004 on an optimistic note. During 2003 long-standing and destructive conflicts such as the civil war in Angola were finally ended and there appeared to be a renewed commitment to brokering peace on the continent, as evidenced in efforts to resolve the civil war in Burundi.

However, the success of deals such as the one in Burundi will have to stand the test of time, while other conflicts around the continent are still cause for grave concern. In Sudan, peace talks have not prevented continued conflict in the Darfur region, while the war in Northern Uganda between the Lord’s Resistance Army and Ugandan government has intensified.

Meanwhile, several other regional conflicts, such as in West Africa and the border dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea, are simmering and require close attention. Reports of sporadic violence in the DRC continue to surface. Zimbabwe remains a cause for concern.

Much work remains to be done before Africa can be truly at peace. African parliamentarians will face the challenge of how they contribute to conflict resolution and prevention on the African continent through oversight, reform of laws and the entrenchment of human rights.

HUMAN RIGHTS:

Protecting and enforcing human rights is one of the key challenges facing the continent. Human rights abuses are prevalent throughout Africa. According to Amnesty International’s 2003 Africa Report human rights abuses were committed with impunity across Africa in the year under review, especially in Burundi, Central African Republic (CAR), Republic of Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Liberia, Sudan, Senegal, and Uganda.

Torture, ill-treatment, and secret detentions were widespread and the death penalty continued to be imposed extensively by criminal courts in 14 countries, with actual executions in Nigeria, Sudan and Uganda, said Amnesty. Freedom of expression is far from being an established right, with journalists facing extreme harassment on a daily basis in many parts of the continent.

Amnesty International points out that the Constitutive Act of the African Union (the Act) attaches a particular significance to human rights in a more comprehensive manner. This is an area where African Parliamentarians can and must intervene.

TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT

Most of the countries of the world that were poorer in 2000 than in 1990 are in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Report 2003. The report argues that to reverse declines, development strategies must focus not only on economic growth, but also on more equitable distribution of wealth and services. The Report also calls on developing country governments to prioritize spending on the basic services that poor people need most: “primary schools, not universities; rural clinics, not technologically advanced hospitals in big cities”.

Africa has put forward its own development plan, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad) as the fix-all solution to Africa’s development problems. The plan seeks greater integration of Africa in the world economy and commits to standards of good governance across the continent. Nepad has faced criticism from some quarters, especially in civil society. Opponents of Nepad have argued that greater integration of Africa into a profoundly unfair international economic system is a recipe for disaster and say the top down implementation of Nepad smacks of the imposition of neo-liberal economic solutions for the continent.

Africa has shown strong signs of intent to deal with the unfair terms of trade it faces in its trading relationship with the developed world. During the World Trade Organisation ministerial meeting in Cancun, Mexico in 2003, the continent signaled that Africa would demand fairer terms of trade with the rich world.

Debt is another key problem still hampering Africa’s development. In 1996, the Highly Indebted Poor Country Initiative (HIPC) committed to partial debt cancellation, but according to a report from the New Economic Foundation, progress since 2000 has been “glacial”, hamstrung partially by onerous conditionalities. If African governments are to free up significant resources to meet the Millennium Development Goals, it is clear that the debt situation will have to be speedily resolved.

GENDER EQUALITY

There has been some progress towards gender equality on the African continent, but it is generally agreed that the continent has a long way to go before women achieve full equality.

Five of the 10 commissioners of the African Union are women, and females hold a significant percentage of government posts in Rwanda, South Africa, Cape Verde, Gambia, Mali and Zimbabwe, according to a news report quoting the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). But less than 15 percent of economic managers in Africa are women, the UNDP says, while just 10 percent of parliamentarians and eight percent of government ministers on the continent are female. Women are also more likely to suffer from the HIV/AIDS virus and suffer more from the effects of poverty.

A big step forward was taken on 11 July 2003 when the African Union adopted the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, a supplementary protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which was adopted in 1981.

The new Protocol covers a broad range of human rights issues. For the first time in international law, it explicitly sets forth the reproductive right of women to medical abortion when pregnancy results from rape or incest or when the continuation of pregnancy endangers the health or life of the mother.

In another first, the Protocol explicitly calls for the legal prohibition of female genital mutilation. In other equality advances for women, the Protocol calls for an end to all forms of violence against women including unwanted or forced sex, whether it takes place in private or in public, and a recognition of protection from sexual and verbal violence as inherent in the right to dignity.

GOVERNANCE

Coups, counter-coups and rigged elections: Africa is notorious for its governance problems. Consensus has emerged that in looking at the social, political and economic problems facing Africa, the missing link is the absence of good governance.

In February, African leaders agreed to start a review process on the key areas of good governance, democracy, human rights, transparency and domestic business environment under the peer review mechanism of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad).

According to the United Nations Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN), the countries whose review is expected to take place in 2004 are Ghana and Rwanda, in April and June respectively.

Kenya and Mauritius will also to be reviewed but the process for these nations is expected to end in early 2005. The purpose of the peer review is to foster the adoption of appropriate laws, policies, standards and practices that lead to political stability, high economic growth and sustainable development on the continent. Nepad established the peer review mechanism in 2003 in a bid to counter Africa's reputation for bad governance.

Links to background news and information:

* Protocol establishing the Pan-African Parliament
http://www.africa-union.org/rule_prot/protocol-panafrican-parliament.pdf
* Other organs of the AU
http://www.africa-union.org/organs/Pan-African_Parliament.htm
* Meetings of African Parliamentarians on the Pan-African parliament
http://tinyurl.com/create.php
* Statement to the AU summit on behalf of the meeting of African parliaments
http://www.au2002.gov.za/docs/speeches/ginwala.htm
* An Underwhelming Response to the Pan-African Parliament
http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=22592
* Africa at large: Pan-African Parliament to open March 2004
http://www.afrika.no/Detailed/4510.html
* SA wants to house African parliament
http://www.suntimes.co.za/2003/06/22/news/africa/africa10.asp
* Senegal ratification paves the way for Pan African parliament
http://quickstart.clari.net/qs_se/webnews/wed/bm/Qafricanunion-parliament.RXoQ_DNH.html
* The new African parliament: a giant step towards unity
http://mathaba.net/x.htm?http://mathaba.net/0_index.shtml?x=40204
* The Pan-African Parliament: An opportunity for African women
http://www.sarpn.org.za/documents/d0000608/page2.php
* African Union adopts protocol on the rights of African women
http://www.equalitynow.org/english/navigation /hub_ph01_en.html
* Pan-African Declaration on PRSPS
http://aidc.org.za/sapsn/declaration/kampala.html
* Africa united: not helpless, not hopeless
http://www.newint.org/issue326/keynote.htm
* Is Pan-African unity possible?
http://www.newint.org/issue326/colours.htm
* A History of Pan-Africanism
http://www.newint.org/issue326/simply.htm
* Ordinary people and pan africanism
http://www.newint.org/issue326/future.htm
* New meanings of Pan Africanism in the era of globalisation
http://www.nu.ac.za/ccs/files/Panafri1.pdf
* Monitoring the MDG’s: A List of the MDG’s with links to key indicators showing progress
http://unstats.un.org/unsd/mi/mi_goals.asp
* Amnesty recommendations to AU session
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGIOR630012003?open&of=ENG-2AF

RESOURCES FOR PAN-AFRICAN PARLIAMENTARIANS

Relevant organisations and useful websites

* An A-Z of African regional integration
http://www.focusintl.com/whoswho1.htm
* Africa Action
http://www.africaaction.org/index.php
* Africa Commission on Human and People’s Rights: Links
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/africa/comision.html
* African Centre on Democracy and Human Rights Studies
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/africa/ACOHRS.htm
* African Gender Institute
http://web.uct.ac.za/org/agi/
* Africa Human Rights Instruments
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/afrinst.htm
* African Human Security Initiative
www.africanreview.org
* Africa Information Centre
http://www.africainformation.net/
* African Population and Health Research Centre
http://www.aphrc.org/
* Africa Security Dialogue and Research
http://www.cdd.org.uk/
* Africa South of the Sahara: country and regional guide
http://gill.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/africa/guide3.html
* African Union
http://www.africa-union.org/
* Alliance for Conflict Transformation
http://www.conflicttransformation.org/index.asp
* Alternative Information and Development Centre
http://aidc.org.za/
* Association for Women’s Rights in Development
http://www.awid.org/index.pl
* Bretton Woods Project
http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/
* Centre for Democracy and Development
http://www.cdd.org.uk/
Coalition for the International Criminal Court
http://www.iccnow.org/
* Centre for Civil Society at the University of Natal
http://www.nu.ac.za/ccs/
* Development Policy Management Forum
http://www.dpmf.org/
* Dialogue Webpage for conflicts worldwide: Africa
http://www.dwcw.org/cgi/wwwbbs.cgi?Africa
* Electoral quotas for women website
www.quotaproject.org
* Fahamu - Learning for Change
http://www.fahamu.org
* FEMNET
http://www.femnet.or.ke/
* Focus on the Global South
http://www.focusweb.org/index.php
* Global Coalition for Africa
http://www.gca-cma.org/
* Jubilee Movement International
http://www.neweconomics.org/gen/rweo_top.aspx?page=952&folder=146
* Justice Africa
http://www.justiceafrica.org/index.html
* Mwengo
www.mwengo.org/
* Pan-African HIV/AIDS treatment action movement
http://www.phrusa.org/campaigns/aids/news082502.html
* PanAfrican Women’s Liberation Organisation
http://www.wougnet.org/Profiles/pawlo.html
* Parliamentarians for Nepad
http://www.parlanepad.org
* Pan African Movement
http://www.panafricanmovement.org
* Pan African Congress Movement for Humanity
http://www.crin.org/organisations/viewOrg.asp?ID=1968
Safer Africa
http://www.saferafrica.org/
* The African Forum Network on Debt and Development
http://www.afrodad.org/
* The Institute for Human Rights in Africa
http://www.africaninstitute.org/html/institute_for_human_rights_and.html
* The Human Rights Trust of Southern Africa
http://www.sahrit.org/
* The Parliamentary centre
http://www.parlcent.ca/africa/panafrica_e.php
* The Southern African Regional Poverty Network
Http://www.sarpn.org.za
* Third World Network Africa
http://twnafrica.org/
* Women of Uganda Network
http://www.wougnet.org/
World Organisation Against Torture
http://www.omct.org
* 50 years is enough network
http://www.50years.org/

Useful Newsletters and Mailing Lists

* AF-AIDS
"A regional HIV/AIDS information network for Africa (in English and French)...Over 200 organisations working in or with African Nations in the response to the epidemic have already joined the forum." To join send e-mail to: af-aids@hivnet.ch with the word 'join' in the subject line.

* AFRO-NETS
The AFRO-NETS mailing list has been set up to facilitate the exchange of information between the different networks active in Health Research for Development in the Eastern and Southern African Region. It is a forum for discussion that can support collaboration between the networks in the fields of capacity building, planning and conducting research, transformation of research recommendations into action, etc. The list also serves as a forum for announcing meetings, training courses and other events of interest to the networks. Subscribe by sending an email to afro-nets-join@healthnet.org

* Africa Focus Bulletin
The Bulletin will feature material from a range of Africa-focused organisations. It will be limited to an average of 2 to 3 issues a week and offer selected material relevant to promoting international policies that advance economic, political, and social justice and human rights in Africa. Contact africafocus@igc.org to subscribe or unsubscribe.
http://africafocus.org

* Africa Trade Agenda
African Trade Agenda is produced by the Political Economy Unit, Third World Network-Africa. TWN-Africa is co-ordinator of the Africa Trade Network. For more info contact: TWN-Africa, Box 19452, Accra-North, GHANA. Tel, 233 21 511189/503669
Contact: contact@twnafrica.org
www.twnafrica.org

* E-Africa: Journal of Governance and Innovation
To subscribe, email your name, job title, organisation and country to eAfrica-subscribe@saiia.wits.ac.za To unsubscribe, email to eafrica-unsubscribe@saiia.wits.ac.za

* Elections Talk
Election Talk from the Electoral Institute for Southern Africa is available in both electronic format and hard copy. It will now appear fortnightly to give the latest briefing on the forthcoming elections in the SADC region. These policy briefs are written by regional experts to give you a succinct overview on the latest developments in those countries holding elections in 2004.
Contact: publications@eisa.org.za
http://www.eisa.org.za/PDF/et7.pdf

* Femnet Bulletin
The African Women's Economic and Policy Network (AWEPON) is a network founded on the principle that women have the fundamental right to shape economic policies that impinge on their lives. It has partners in several African countries and works with them to strengthen the capacity of women especially at the grass root and national levels to influence the shape of economic policy. Find out more information about Awepon and other organisations by reading the Femnet bulletin. http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=20811

* Global Campaign for Education e-newsletter
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
http:// www.campaignforeducation.org

* Independent Advocacy Project governance news
Independent Advocacy Project (IAP), the Nigerian good governance group, promotes - through advocacy, coalition building, research, publications and information sharing - respect for good governance in Nigeria. IAP produces a monthly electronic journal and you can contact info@ind-advocacy-project.org if you are interested in subscribing.
Contact: info@ind-advocacy-project.org

* SADC Barometer
The SADC Barometer, a quarterly analysis by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), focuses on key issues and trends affecting the Southern African Development Community (SADC). For more information or comment, please contact the SAIIA SADC researcher and SADC Barometer editor, Richard Meissner on +27 (0)11-339-2021, e-mail: SADCBarometer@saiia.wits.ac.za or meissnerr@saiia.wits.ac.za

* Seatini Bulletin
Seatini focuses on trade issues. For more information and subscriptions, contact SEATINI, Takura House, 67-69 Union Avenue, Harare, Zimbabwe, Tel: +263 4 792681, Ext. 255 & 341, Tel/Fax: +263 4 251648, Fax: +263 4 788078, email: seatini.zw@undp.org,Website: www.seatini.org

* Pula – A newsletter on women and ICT’s in Africa
Pula is the newsletter of the Association for Progressive Communications Africa Women (APC-Africa-Women). Pula aims to promote and profile the work and activities of women's Information and Communication Technology (ICT) initiatives in Africa and to act as a communicative tool to link women to each other and to initiatives and opportunities. To subscribe or unsubscribe email Africa@apcwomen.org

A selection from the Pambazuka News Archives:

* The Challenges before Africa and the African Union
http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?issue=112
The challenges facing the African continent are enormous. On every front: economic and industrial development; scientific and technological know how; electrification; agriculture; education; healthcare; housing; telecommunications; transport; peace and stability; institutional respect for social, economic, political and human rights, and all other indices of modern society the continent is yet to fulfil its potential.

* Ensuring a pro-poor focus in Agriculture and rural development through Nepad
http://www.sarpn.org.za/documents/d0000491/index.php
The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) recognises the central role of agriculture. But the bias towards a certain model of agriculture - commercial and export orientated - points to gaps in its conception of a more wider and deeper perspective on rural development.

* Nepad: What is it? What is missing? http://www.sarpn.org.za/documents/d0000550/index.php
The New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad) has gone by many names. Critics have depicted Nepad as a 'neo-liberal' project, clearly contrary to the views of its supporters who see Nepad as a revolutionary plan. Whatever name and epithet one chooses, Nepad has clearly generated a great deal of debate, says this paper prepared for the labour research organisation Naledi.

* The Maputo Declaration
African Civil Society Statement To The Second Summit Of The Heads Of States And Governments Of The African Union
http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=16150
"We are convinced of the crucial role played by civil society in development and governance and further call on the AU member states to establish the necessary mechanisms to involve civil society in policy making, development planning, implementation monitoring and evaluation in accordance with the African charter on popular participation and development...”

* The role of the state in development in the SADC region: Does Nepad provide a new paradigm?
http://twnafrica.org/resdetail.asp?twnID=225
Academic discourse and development policy debates have grappled with the contentious issue of the state-market interactions in Africa’s development agenda and process, particularly since the 1960s independence era. At the heart of this debate has been the contestation over agency for development: what is the key locomotive or engine of development? This article revisits this debate and critically interrogates the extent to which the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) presents a new paradigm in development thinking in the African continent

* ‘No Longer Dinner’: African Activists speak on Cancun
http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?issue=126
Picture this. An island strip of expensive Florida styled hotels, white beaches and brilliant blue skies, disturbed by the violence of wrought iron barriers the length of the Convention Centre and 20,000 armed Mexican police and federal paramilitary. More than 10,000 people land on the island strip for the Inter-ministerial, 3,000 accredited NGO officials - but only 180 from Africa and 30 Africa Peoples Caucus activists on the outside; 1,200 accredited media journalists, of whom fewer than 100 from Africa; roughly 600 European Commission staff, but only 10 African Union staff and consultants. While the Italian delegation consisted of 106 people, there were 45 on the Kenyan delegation and 3 on the Gambian delegation. Towards the end, long and anxious hours waiting for the secretive green room discussions to end… The tears ... and then the shouts of joy and relief when the Kenyan Head of Delegation leaked the news of the collapse of the talks at 3pm on Sunday, 14 September. Africa emerged from the talks a major negotiating player, no longer the dinner of other trading partners, but defining the direction and outcome of the talks in Cancun.

* Barriers to African Regional Integration: The International Aid System and Corporate Interests
http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?issue=115
Why is the entire African continental economy no larger than Spain's, at $580 billion? Why is the combined GDP of the 40-plus countries that lie between South Africa and Egypt scarcely bigger than the annual turnover of ExxonMobil? There's a weary consensus that blames low prices for Africa's agricultural exports, corruption, cash-starved infrastructure and, increasingly, the devastating economic impact of AIDS. But less explored is the perverse logic of dividing Africa's small economic space into fifty sovereign entities. Regional economic integration is an absolute prerequisite for poverty reduction: expanding markets, attracting investment, and increasing savings. Unfortunately, there are powerful interests that stand in its way – mainly the politicians and bureaucrats who extract rent from their possession of sovereign privileges to tax and regulate.

>> To find more relevant articles on African issues, visit www.pambazuka.org and type your keyword in the search box to access nearly 20 000 archived articles.

>> For more articles relevant to the Pan-African parliament, visit the Conflicts and Emergencies, Women and Gender, Elections and Governance and Development sections of this edition of Pambazuka News.

African and International CSOs call for an “activist” pan African Parliament

Press Release on the Inauguration of the African Parliament, Addis Ababa

2004-03-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/20933

Press Release 18th March 2004
Action Not Talk:
African and International NGOs and networks
challenge the new Pan African Parliament

Eleven international and African organisations and networks called on the new Pan-African Parliament to set an ambitious agenda as it was inaugurated today in Addis Ababa. The organisations including the African Women’s Empowerment Network, Eastern African Sub-regional Support Initiative for the Advancement of Women, FEMNET, PADEAP, Pam African Movement, Fahamu learning for Change, Fahamu SA Trust, MWENGO, Justice Africa and Oxfam GB called on the new Parliament to embrace improving governance, giving citizens a voice and improving the human rights environment in Africa as a key priorities.

For most poor people and especially women in Africa, parliaments are far removed from the day-to-day realities and challenges they face. The Pan African parliament is far from being representative (one MP for every 2.6 million people) therefore the 256 parliamentarians must go beyond being a talk shop to advance the issues that face millions of poor Africans.

The organisations called for Parliamentarians to champion in their respective countries, the ratification of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, before the Heads of States Summit in July 2004.

Elizabeth Kharono of EASSI in Kampala
“We immediately place the challenge of reducing gender inequality in the orientation packs of the 256 Pan African Parliamentarians. We will judge the first year of the parliament not on whether it articulates its standing orders well, but on the number of ratifications it delivers on the AU Protocol for Women’s rights”

Lastly, the Parliament must become a key forum for pushing for better global terms for Africa around debt, trade and aid. Parliamentarians must keep Africa’s demands at the forefront of global talks within the World Trade Organisation, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
Elizabeth Eilor of the pan African AWEPON Network based in Kampala
“Parliamentarians should lead in articulating Africa demands for total and unconditional debt cancellation and making trade fairer - by stopping export dumping and saying no to the WTO new issues. This would help Africa lift itself out of poverty. They can also speak out against multinationals who are using and abusing our continents rich resources and ensure that investment works for, rather than against the poor”.

Recognising that in many countries, the public is shut out of the political debate, the organisations called for the African parliament to open up the space for African citizens and organisations to have a voice within the AU and it’s member governments.
Rose Gawaya of Oxfam GB in Pretoria adds,
“The credibility of the Pan African Parliament needs to go beyond what they represent but on what they do, the causes they champion and the positive changes they bring to the lives of ordinary people across Africa. By doing this, the Pan African Parliament can deepen its credibility and relevance to African peoples struggling with poverty and injustice across the continent.”
ENDS

The eleven international, regional and continental organisations and networks are headquartered in Uganda, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Kenya and the UK and work on human rights, debt, aid and trade. They are African Women’s Empowerment Network, Eastern African Sub-regional Support Initiative for the Advancement of Women, FEMNET, PADEAP, Pam African Movement, Fahamu learning for Change, Fahamu SA Trust, MWENGO, Justice Africa and Oxfam GB

For further information or to set up interviews please contact in Addis:
Rose Gawaya Southern Africa Regional Advisor, Oxfam GB Tel: +27-828547764 (roaming) in Addis
Sam Barratt in Addis Ababa on + 251 9 402480
And in Kampala Elizabeth Kharono EASSI Tel: +256-77-651 673

Statement by International and African CSOs
on the day of the inauguration of the Pan African Parliament

Africa needs an “Activist” Pan African Parliament

The inauguration of African Parliament occurs exactly ten years after the Rwandese genocide, the first democratic elections in South Africa and the Beijing 4th World Conference on Women. As these events and experiences a decade ago continue to shape the past and future of Africa, they frame the challenge before the African parliament. This has to be an Activist Parliament. The current conditions in Africa demand no less.

Since 1994, we have not seen significant gains for poor and marginalized groups in Africa. Parts of the continent have been characterized by a crisis in governance reflected in conflicts leading to massive displacement and abuse of the rights people, especially women and children, and deepening poverty. Yet, there has been progress. With wars coming to an end in Sierra Leone, Angola, Liberia, Congo and Sudan, the situation in 1994 where a fifth of all Africans lived in situations of conflict is coming to an end.

Champion ratification of the AU Protocol on Women’s Rights

In its first term, the parliament must prioritise the realisation of human rights, improved quality of governance and the right of citizens to be heard and participate in affairs that affect their lives. Key to realising higher standards of rights is the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa. We urge all Pan African Parliamentarians to champion the immediate ratification of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, before the Heads of States Summit in July 2004.

We immediately place the challenge of gender inequality, poverty and development in the orientation packs of the 256 Pan African Parliamentarians. We will judge the first year of the parliament not on whether it articulates its standing orders well, but on the number of ratifications it delivers on the AU Protocol for Women’s rights

Expand the space for citizens to be heard and participate in AU public affairs

We also call on parliamentarians to support access of African citizens and organisations to the various specialised agencies of the AU and member Governments. Non-state actors, especially civil society organizations, represent the voices of the voiceless sections of society, they are key development agents; they are watchdogs for respect of human rights; they contribute significantly to shaping national and international policies and project implementation.

Articulate and develop Africa’s global policy demands and negotiations

Lastly, we urge Africa to celebrate this inauguration but immediately place on the Parliament’s agenda, the challenge of negotiating better global terms for Africa around debt, trade and aid. Parliamentarians must keep Africa’s demands at the forefront of multi-lateral policy processes within the World Trade Organisation, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Page 2 of statement

Parliamentarians should become active in articulating Africa’s existing positions on the need for total and unconditional debt cancellation, rejection of the WTO new issues and the elimination of northern subsidies and export credits that are currently devastating our economic potential. In so doing, they can meaningfully help the continent to reclaim and retain the policy space for regulation and monitoring of movement of capital investments and trans-national corporations on the continent.

The credibility of the Pan African Parliament cannot rest on their representational quality but on the issues they espouse, the causes they champion and the positive changes they bring to the lives of ordinary people across Africa. By doing this, the Pan African Parliament can deepen its credibility and relevance to African peoples struggling with poverty and injustice across the continent.

Signed by Eleven international, regional and continental organisations and networks are headquartered in Uganda, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Kenya and the UK and work on human rights, debt, aid and trade.

African Women’s Empowerment Network
Eastern African Sub-regional Support Initiative for the Advancement of Women
African Womens Development and Communication Network- FEMNET
Fahamu learning for Change
Fahamu SA Trust
Pan African Development and Advocacy Programme PADEAP
Pam African Movement
MWENGO
Justice Africa
Oxfam GB

ENDS


BACKGROUND MEDIA ADVISORY ON THE PAN AFRICAN PARLIAMENT

Summary of the statutes establishing the Pan African parliament
The preamble to the treaty establishing the Pan African Parliament states as a vision “a common platform for African peoples and their grassroots organisations to be more involved in discussions and decision-making on the problems and challenges facing the continent”. Article 11 enables the Parliament to provide oversight for the budget of the AU, harmonisation of policies towards regional integration and make recommendations that promote human rights, democratic institutions and good governance among other functions. During the first term of its existence the Parliament shall “exercise advisory and consultative powers only [article 11]”. Article 4 provides for five legislators at least one being a woman to be appointed from national parliaments and deliberative organs. If all countries ratify the Parliament, Africa can expect 265 legislators, Speaker and Deputy Speaker to be sworn in on March 18th 2004 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The African Union has made remarkable progress over 2003
The African Union 2003 Heads of Summit Conference in Maputo was remarkable in three respects. Firstly, it adopted a progressive Protocol to the African Charter of Peoples and Human Rights on the Rights of Women that enshrines a commitment to integrating a gender perspective in the public affairs of states. Secondly, the Union elected its Commissioners on a 50:50 gender parity basis. Lastly, the election of former Malian President Alpha Konare has revitalised the leadership of the Union.

Between 2004 and 2007, the Union shall evolve mechanisms that will regulate public participation (ECOSOC), legislative oversight (the African Parliament), human rights and legal enforcement (African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, African Court on Human and People’s Rights and The African Court of Justice) and regional economic integration (Central Bank, Customs Union). As the institutions increase their capacity to regulate and shape Africa’s political and economic development, continental integration – economically, politically, socially, will increasingly becoming a critical factor to overcoming poverty and enhancing governance in Africa.

From a human rights lens, it is possible to begin conceptualising the African Union and its specialised mechanisms along the lines of state obligations namely; to respect, protect and fulfil political, economic and social rights. The Charter and indeed, the Women’s rights protocol become not “side” policies but the very framework that the success of the African Union and NEPAD will be judged.

This progress is threatened by a hostile international policy context
Yet the revitalisation of state Pan-Africanism occurs in a rapidly changing international policy context. In 2001, international opinion on Africa appeared to have taken a radical departure from the early nineties where African leaders claimed that Africa had been forgotten after the cold war. This spirit reflected in the centrality of Africa for the 2001 and 2002 G8 summits and the influential but short-lived enthusiasm around the UN Financing for Development consultations.

In 2003, the hope of new approaches to old problems of inequitable trade relations and inadequate aid flows appears to have been severely punctured by a return to aid scepticism, a pervasive anti-terrorist lens and the subsequent undermining of multi-lateralism. In this context, unreconstructed multi-lateral agencies such as the World Trade Organisation, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund as well as the British, French and American Governments seem set to continue crowding out national sovereignty and dominating the policy discourse on and in Africa for the next three years.

Challenge for public accountability ahead the Pan African parliament
At a rough estimate, there are over 9,210 national parliamentarians among Africa’s population of 700 million people. That is, one legislator for every 76,000 people. For most poor people in Africa, parliaments and legislative bodies seem disconnected from the day-to-day realities and challenges they face. If the crisis of relevance seems stark in some national contexts, than at regional levels the challenge for parliamentarians is multiplied.265 legislators elected indirectly in a continent of 700 million people (one MP for every 2.6 million people) does not embody a high capacity for representative democracy, much less “a platform for African peoples and their grassroots organisations”.

Until members are elected by universal adult suffrage the credibility of the Pan African Parliament cannot rest on their representational quality but on the issues they espouse, the causes they champion and the changes they bring to the lives of ordinary people across Africa.

Global Day of Action against Wars & Occupations

2004-03-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/20937

In Johannesburg, the Anti-War Coalition (AWC) will be joining masses of people across the world by holding a march against wars and occupations and a “Festival of life against wars and occupation”. The gathering will take place on March 20. More information is available through the link below.
Media Alert: Global Day of Action against Wars & Occupations


Issued by the Anti-War Coalition, Johannesburg


The 20th March 2004 will mark a year since the United States of America and its allies declared war on Iraq. Hundreds of thousands of people all over the world will be demonstrating on this day against the continued exploitation and harassment of peoples by the United States of America and big corporations, in whose interests the USA works.


In South Africa, this war is felt not only in solidarity with the people of Iraq, but also in the everyday lives of poor people struggling to live decent lives in the wake of privatisation, as well as in solidarity with those struggling against injustices all over the world, especially in Africa, where the struggle over control of various resources has resulted in wars that have wiped out entire communities and made the lives of ordinary people increasingly difficult. Furthermore, a number of South Africans have been fuelling these wars in Africa by acting as soldiers of fortune in these conflicts.


In Johannesburg, the Anti-War Coalition (AWC) will be joining masses of people across the world by holding a march against wars and occupations and a “Festival of life against wars and occupation”.


March Against Wars & Occupations
Saturday, 20th March 2004
Assembling at 11am
Library Gardens, Johannesburg city centre
To march to the Workers Library and Museum Complex, Newtown


The march will be followed by a festival, including an exhibition of photographs and representations of wars and occupations; film screenings; poetry and live music. Two new video documentaries will be launched: Fourth World War (made in New York), and Life & Debt (made in Jamaica).


Festival of Life Against Wars & Occupations
20th March 2004
Starting at 2pm, after the march
Workers’ Library Complex, Newtown


For further information or interviews, contact:
Prishani – 073 541 8172
Makhoma - 082 682 9177


For as long as a few people control the majority of the world’s resources at the expense and exploitation of the majority, there will always be wars

Stop the war against Africa and Africans

2004-03-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/20932

An African contingent will join an anti-war march in London on 20 March. Click on the link for more information.
African Contingent on 20 March Stop the War demonstration in London
STOP THE WAR AGAINST AFRICA AND AFRICANS

Please meet at Exit 9, Marble Arch tube, by the Supreme Ice Cream hut, at
12 pm. If you can't make it then, meet the African contingent in Trafalgar
Sq at 1pm between the lions and the fountain on the South Africa House side
of the square.

The African Contingent is for African family members only. Organised by the
African Libertion Support Campaign Network and the All African People's
Revolutionary Party

Non-Africans, please come and help at the ALISC Network stall by the wall
on the Canada House side of the square. Be there from 1pm.

*** Also on 20 March, ALISC NETWORK Sisters Eki Gbinigie and Louise
Browne-Lamptey will be on Galaxy Community Radio 102.5FM or 99.5FM on
Saturday 20 March from 10am to 12 noon. ***

Amilcar Cabral's tower

Fatoumata Toure, Pan African Movement, Kampala

2004-03-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/20840

Dear Pambazuka,

I was challenged by the poignant letter by my sister Everjoice Win to Nkosozana Dlamini Zuma et al and in the same breath buoyed up with the Issa Shivji's article. While it is true that the nationalist movement was not that overtly gender sensitive and that the seeds of sectarianism and exclusion were surreptitiously sown even then by vested interests, I also believe that the African women's movement was more focused in the earlier years. It is a great shame to me as a Panafricanist to witness the pain African women have to endure, having had to engage the sticky floor!

My question to Ndugu Shivji is: in your silent class struggle, where do you locate the women’s movement within the nationalist struggle as an integral part of the national question? Is it in the early resistance to colonialism that must include Nehanda Mbuya, the Lancaster generation, because Priscilla Abwao was there or the first Independence governments with Ella Koblo Gulama in Sierra Leone and Bibi Titi in Tanganyika?

My reading of the situation is that male dominated movements cannot be easily weaned from their original tokenism, hence the top women in South Africa can only view the plight of Zimbabwe through the glass ceiling! As Amilcar Cabral put it: "Claim no easy victories, tell no lies". Were he to come back to life he'd see a post colonial landscape dotted all over with leaning towers of failure!

A luta continua.

Influencing Zimbabwe's political system

Barbara Sparks

2004-03-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/20904

This was a powerful article (Pambazuka News 147: Open letter to Nkosazana Dlamaini-Zuma and other women in the South African cabinet). I worked in Zimbabwe for many years and I know some of it to be true as I experienced it with women that I worked with. How can we help to disseminate this information within the United States? How can US women influence the political system in Zimbabwe?
PZ REPLIES: We have forwarded this letter to the author and await a reply.

Reading online

Thobile Thomas, Electoral Institute of Southern Africa (EISA)

2004-03-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/20901

I follow your newsletter with keen interest and have found most of the articles you carry very interesting. I however prefer to access it via the internet as this makes for better readability. I therefore request that I be taken off your subscription list with immediate effect. Thanks for the good work and keep it up.
PZ REPLIES: Thanks for letting us know your reason for unsubscribing. We are more than happy for you to read the newsletter online.

Africa's Development Thinking Since Independence: A Reader

Africa Institute of South Africa

2004-03-18

http://www.allbookstores.com/book/0798301600

This work brings together in a single volume a series of public documents pertaining to Africa’s development since independence. These are various resolutions, declarations, treaties, and plans of action, which represent key moments and turning points in recent history from across the African continent. In its entirety, the collection of documents reflects how development ideas and processes have evolved from the early sixties until the present day. (Taken from: African Books Collective: Autumn 2003 new and recently published titles catalogue)

Goree Institute Update

2004-03-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/books/20962

During the month of February the cultural program at the Goree Institute organized a celebration to commemorate, inform and educate various publics of the contributions of the enslaved Africans after the transatlantic slave trade. The celebration included an exhibit at the History Museum. The students at the Senegalese American Bilingual School in Dakar constructed the displays at the museum. The displays highlighted some of the contributions of Africans residing in the six region of Africa. The students made sketches of various African Americans and provided a brief summary of their contributions in French and English.
Bulletin d'information du Goree Institute - Mars 2004 - N° 08 .

by Breyten BREYTENBACH G

orée Institute was involved in four events over the last month (February) that, each, illustrated aspects of our basic commitments and objectives.

* We hosted a 3-day workshop grouping NGO representatives from several countries in the sub-region together with officials from the GTZ (the German agency promoting technical development assistance). It was a follow-up to our August 2003 Workshop which conceptualized the establishment of a peace constituency in West Africa. This recent meeting identified more clearly the contours of the 'Alliance', defined the immediate objectives and tasks and set certain goals. If everything works according to plan - and at this stage we have no reason to think otherwise - the project should kick off in June this year, to continue over three years. This should be an excellent exercise in understanding the underlying causes of regional and often trans-frontier conflicts (including notions of identity, or the lack of access to basic services, or to power), for identifying the partners who could work towards solutions (including those working with traditional societies and cultural groups), and to link possible solutions to processes of sustainable development. It reaffirms our commitment to working in partnership with other organizations and agencies, in total transparency and with a demand for excellence.
* We were honored to receive and house a meeting of the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Representatives in West Africa, the 20th February. They were accompanied by their respective military commanders of peace-keeping missions in the region. According to a statement released after their one-day consultations, they agreed to coordinate and harmonize their activities more effectively. For us at the Institute it was a way to confirm our willingness and attempts to work constructively with the international agencies in the area. During the Special Initiative for Africa workshop at the Institute, July 2003, it was repeatedly suggested that civil society organizations ought to engage regional and international structures: the sheer dimensions of peace-building work demand this, and it is not very constructive to keep shifting the blame on to others while sniping from the sidelines. We are grateful for the frank and beneficial working relationship developing with United Nations agencies.

* February was the annual celebration of Black American history. Given the symbolic importance of Gorée Island to the African Diaspora community - and the many inexactitudes feeding the mythical connection - we were happy to participate through an exhibition of portraits of prominent African-Americans made by Dakar school children, and a fine jazz concert at the Maison du Soudan preceded by two films about the origins of jazz. This was the occasion for us to flesh out our Cultural Program. (It is still far too anemic!)

* Towards the end of February we organized "Gorée II" in Bissau - a three-day National Conference on Reconciliation and Peace as follow-up to our December workshop on the island which grouped representatives from the political parties, the transitional government, the military and the civil society of Guinea-Bissau. "Gorée II," a continuation and confirmation of the work we do through the African Peace Academy, was a success from the Institute's point of view. We learned again how very difficult it is to work "on the ground," but also how enriching this form of personal interaction can be. We also realized that some aspects of the problem are just beyond our reach: the nearly ruthlessly debilitating conditions of trying to rebuild a failed state; the (absent) role of the private sector, to the extent that it exists, which clearly has no confidence in state institutions; the extent and import of international and multi-national manipulations; the sinking weight of the country's history, and the 'social identity' and stance of a military force seeing itself as essentially a guerilla army in custody of the country's 'revolution' (or freedom struggle, at least). What is the justification of Guinea-Bissau's existence as a nation-state? Can it survive as a national entity? And if not, what would be the alternative configuration? Tutorship? Under whose authority? ECOWAS perhaps? What would the implications of continued failure be to the region? (The lawlessness of 'statelessness', with the attendant smuggling of arms and the movements of large numbers of 'soldiers' out of work, must be destabilizing to the region.) Still, I believe that we could assist in bringing the implications of these problems, and thus the need for a shared way forward, in sharper focus.

Of course, many other events happened at the Institute, notably in the Community Development Program. Influential people came to visit, such as Mr. Adt, responsible for African affairs in the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Gorée Institute is a living organism, with its problems and potential for growth and change. Despite the harsh environment, we believe we are making progress. In any event, the spirits are high, and so is our commitment to continue making a contribution to the development of Africa.

Breyten Breytenbach CONTRIBUTION W. NDIAYE (Directeur des Programmes)

Guinée Bissau : c'est parti !

Vendredi 5 mars 2004 à 00 heure, la campagne pour les élections législatives du 28 mars a débuté sur l'ensemble du territoire bissau-guinéen.

Ainsi donc, malgré l'absence de subventions publiques, malgré la marche des élèves et étudiants violemment réprimée 24 heures avant, et malgré la fracassante déclaration du général de brigade commissaire central de Bissau, selon laquelle la police sera incapable d'assurer la sécurité des personnes pendant la campagne électorale, 15 formations politiques dont 3 coalitions se sont lancées dans la conquête des suffrages des quelques 600 000 électeurs.

Alors que le chef de la police explique sa position par l'absence de moyens matériels et humains suffisants, l'Union des élèves et étudiants de Guinée Bissau (UEGB) quant à elle, a décidé de descendre dans la rue, par crainte d'une troisième « année blanche », au vu de la tournure prise par la grève des enseignants contractuels (60% des enseignants), déclenchée au début de la semaine pour réclamer des arriérés de salaires et autres indemnités.

Ces remous sociaux interviennent malheureusement à un moment où la communauté internationale, après avoir fait preuve de beaucoup de réalisme et de compréhension à la suite du coup d'Etat du 14 septembre, considère la tenue de ces élections législatives du 28 mars comme la condition de toute normalisation de ses rapports avec la Guinée Bissau, tout en n'ayant pas, entre temps, apporté au pays l'aide nécessaire à une certaine stabilité.

Ainsi, le pays d'Amilcar Cabral, pris dans cette espèce de cercle vicieux, révèle à la face du monde les contradictions d'une communauté internationale qui, pour avoir longtemps hésité, semble avoir installé la Guinée Bissau dans une inconfortable situation qu'exprimerait sans doute l'absurde raisonnement suivant, inspiré par la figure du syllogisme:

a) Si vous n'organisez pas des élections régulières, nous ne vous accorderons pas une aide significative, b) or pour organiser des élections régulières il vous faut une aide significative qui réduise la misère de votre peuple, c) mais nous ne pouvons vous donner une telle aide que si vous organisez des élections régulières.

Au total, malgré la mise en place quelque peu tardive d'un « Trust Fund », malgré les efforts de la société civile bissau-guinéenne, ceux de Gorée Institute et de la Raddho, malgré l'engagement des partis politiques et des organes de la transition, l'incertitude demeure.

Cependant, lorsqu'on sait qu'après 25 années de conflit de pouvoir interne ayant débouché sur la guerre du 7 juin 1998 puis la mise en place du premier gouvernement intérimaire, après le règne chaotique de Kumba Yalla qui détruisît systématiquement et méthodiquement l'ensemble des institutions, la Guinée Bissau a pu, au lendemain du 14 septembre 2003, dans un sursaut d'orgueil, construire les fondamentaux du consensus en cours, l'on peut légitimement croire que l'enjeu du scrutin à venir est suffisant pour calmer l'ardeur revendicative des scolaires, policiers et autres travailleurs, afin qu'au sortir de la compétition du 28 mars, nos immenses espoirs ne se transforment point en un gros « poisson d'avril ».

Waly Ndiaye ''TERAL'' INFOS par Anta LABERY Nous accueillons en résidentiel des groupes de participants avec l'aide de partenaires sûrs et compétents, ayant des critères de réception comparables (confort, propreté, décor). Nous pouvons cependant réfléchir à une éventuelle transformation de la résidence Soros pour augmenter notre capacité propre (actuellement 10 personnes). L'insularité de l'Institut pose des contraintes:

- le transport des hommes,
- Le transport des marchandises.

Nous travaillons donc en partenariat avec le maximum de corps de métier présent sur l'Ile (traiteurs, guides, animateurs, etc.) et leur demandons le meilleur d'eux-mêmes, Ce qu'ils nous accordent, dans l'absolu.

Le travail du département TERAL est avant tout un travail d'équipe. Nos performances doivent résulter d'une communication continue et réelle, associée à la motivation de Faire Bien et toujours, Faire Mieux.

En janvier nous avons accueilli nos partenaires GTZ à deux reprises pour leur réunions internes. Nous avons également préparé intensément le séminaire programmé par les Nations Unies les 12 et 13 février intitulé « Combatting Youth Unemployment in West Africa », dont les participants venaient d'Europe, des Amérique et d'Afrique.

La motivation est grande pour l'équipe de Forum d'ouvrir l'horizon des partenaires. Nous avons envie de faire découvrir les valeurs qui nous permettent d'avancer, et notre cadre, lourd d'Histoire, et cependant si favorable à la sérénité.

Nous travaillons à l'élargissement du portefeuille de partenaires avec l'ouverture aux entreprises privées locales et internationales. Un dépliant Forum, en cours d'élaboration, nous permettra de présenter nos capacités à l'extérieur et de contourner l'isolement dû à l'insularité.

Anta LABERY RAPPORT D'ACTIVITES par Carla ANIAGOH "What Happened to the Enslaved Africans After the Transatlantic Slave Trade " African American History Celebration at the Goree Institute.

During the month of February the cultural program at the Goree Institute organized a celebration to commemorate, inform and educate various publics of the contributions of the enslaved Africans after the transatlantic slave trade. The celebration included an exhibit at the History Museum. The students at the Senegalese American Bilingual School in Dakar constructed the displays at the museum. The displays highlighted some of the contributions of Africans residing in the six region of Africa. The students made sketches of various African Americans and provided a brief summary of their contributions in French and English. The students also, reconstructed the city of Washington, D.C. because a well-known Senegalese architect by the name of Benjamin Banneker made the extraordinary blueprint for this unique city. In addition, the students made a model of a ranch, to inform the public of the history regarding the Black Cowboys in America, who were Fulani descendents.

The African American History celebration also included, a tribute to Joseph Nidaye the curator of the "House of Slaves" on Goree Island. Joseph Ndiaye has touched the lives of many Africans residing throughout the world. He has remained committed to retelling the horrific history surrounding the "House of Slaves" and the transatlantic slave trade. The opening ceremony of February 10, 2004, hosted a list of diplomatic representation, international organizations, University students, tourist and the press and media. The celebration continued on February 24, 2004 with "A Day of Jazz". "A Day Jazz" presented two films reviewing the history of the blues and Jazz. The films highlighted the African contribution to this unique form of musical expression. Following the films Dr. Ibrahima Seck of the West African Research Centre in Dakar facilitated a discussion. Later that evening, Vieux Mac Faye a well-known Senegalese jazz artist performed at the institute for the public. All the events were well received and well attended. RTS television was especially cooperative with providing the necessary publicity and interest for this historical celebration.

In short, the Goree Institute cultural program in its quest to help foster self-reliance throughout the six regions, finds it necessary and crucial to emphasize the importance of considering African history as a continuum. To divide and isolate the history of African people into units or entities such as, African, African American, Jamaican, Brazilian etc. is somewhat of a tragedy. Instead it is more productive and realistic to appreciate the history of African people as a blooming force that has spread throughout the world and that has manifested in various forms and context. This realization is much more productive when considering self-reliance and unity throughout the six regions. To accept this tradition of divide and rule is to help continue the work of the former colonial administrators and slave masters.

Carla J. Aniagoh Cultural Program Coordinator - Goree Institute AGENDA
- 30, 31, 01 et 02 Avril 2004 : SEMINAIRE sur le Renforcement des Capacités Communautaires , Approche par le droit et l'Equité Sociale (UNESCO)

FAITES CONNAISSANCE AVEC LES ''GARS'' DU GOREE INSTITUTE FATOU MAAL : ''LE POUVOIR AUX FEMMES'' Nous n'avons pas attendu le 08 Mars pour ''faire la part-belle'' aux femmes au sein de notre organisation. En effet, chez nous, les femmes sont investies de ''périmètres de responsabilités à forte valeur ajoutée'' tels que l'Administration des Projets, la gestion du Département ''TERAL''.

Elles sont au prelier rang quand il s'agit de travailler en synchronie avec l'ensemble des dépositaires d'enjeux (internes et externes) de l'Institut, de construire une ''approche Gorée Institute'' autour de la valorisation de notre capital-client par le biais d'une méthodologie sans cesse innovante afin d'assurer une meilleure prise en compte des critères de choix de nos clients stratégiques. De l'équipe des Administratrices de Projets de 1999, seule Fatou MAAL est à ce jour, encore au service du Gorée Institute où elle ne ménage aucun effort pour soutenir et cordonner tout l'appui logistique et administratif nécessaire à l'exécution des activités inhérentes aux programmes de l'Institut.

www.nitnet.sn <http://www.nitnet.sn>

Measures of Safeguards Under the Banjul Charter on Human and People's Rights

A.M. Fanana

2004-03-18

http://www.africanbookscollective.com/

The Banjul Charter commonly known as the African Charter on Human and People's Rights was formally adopted in 1981. The rationale behind the treaty was to challenge Africa's own neglect of human rights abuses in the post-colonial period, and to urge members of the OAU, now the AU, to adopt a regional human rights instrument. This paper presents a brief introduction to the tenants of the Banjul Charter, procedures and areas of divergence. It examines the rationale behind keeping the proceedings of relevant bodies confidential. It critically analyses the achievements of some African states in implementing human rights and their relationships with the OAU, and provides a view of what future role the AU might play in the protection process.

Problematising the African Renaissance

Edited by Eddy Maloka

2004-03-18

http://www.booksmatter.com/b0798301376.htm

Table of Contents:
* The South African "African Renaissance'' Debate: A Critique
* The Challenges of an African Renaissance in the 21st Century
* Globalisation and African Renaissance: An Ethical Reflection
* African Renaissance and African Unity in the Era of Globalisation
* Renaissance - Romantic Realism?

Somalia Calling: The Crisis of Statehood and the Quest for Peace

Kinfe Abraham

2004-03-18

http://www.africanbookscollective.com/

The author is a political historian and Ethiopian diplomat who was actively involved in the mediation processes in Somalia. Here he has written a comprehensive study of the disintegration of the central organs of the Somali state, which led to Somalia commonly being referred to as a 'failed state'; and the civil strife and the search for peace between 1990 and 2001.

Africa/Global: Asylum-seeking women confronted with specific obstacles

2004-03-18

http://news.amnesty.org/mav/index/ENGPOL3010032004

Many of the tens of millions of people who have been displaced from their homes are women fleeing oppressive norms and violence. Some are women who may have opposed their oppression and stood up to the state, society, their husband or their relatives. Some are women whose only "wrongful" act was to have sex outside marriage or who have been raped. Some are women who have insisted on their right to choose for themselves which man or woman to love. Some are women who, consciously or unconsciously, through their actions or words, have transgressed social mores and therefore fear punishment from the state, from their communities or their families.

Africa/Global: Men must be mobilized in struggle for gender equality, UN commission agrees

2004-03-18

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=10096&Cr=commission&Cr1=women

The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women has wrapped up its annual session with broad agreement on the need to involve men in the struggle for gender equality. At the close of its two-week session, the 45-member panel adopted an informal paper synthesizing the conclusions of discussions on the issue, which concluded that real change requires overcoming stereotypical attitudes which inhibit women's advancement and impede efforts to achieve gender equality.

Africa: Gender issues in the African Union, Nepad and Pan African Parliament

2004-03-18

http://www.sarpn.org.za/documents/d0000608/P622-Gender_NEPAD-AU.pdf

In terms of women’s participation, over the past decade, progress has been made on the African continent in the area of women’s political and economic empowerment, said Prof. Maria Nzomo, Kenya High Commissioner in Zimbabwe, in a speech in October 2003. "Although the road to women’s full incorporation in the areas of development, peace building and politics is long and replete with obstacles, recent developments at the regional level provide space for optimism...Whereas the OAU was concerned with liberating Africa from colonisation, the AU and other recent initiatives are expected to focus on promoting and protecting human rights including women’s human rights, consolidating democratic institutions and culture, building new institutions to monitor and promote peace, security and development, encouraging and promoting civil society, and ensuring good governance and the rule of law."

Cameroon: Report Paints Bleak Picture of Women's Lives

2004-03-18

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=22820

"The situation of women in this country is worrisome. At home, women are beaten, girls are sexually abused, there is violence linked to the dowry and there is marital rape,” says a new report about the challenges facing women in Cameroon. "Surveys seem to indicate that at least a third of women are raped, beaten, forced to have sexual intercourse or mistreated in one way or another during the course of their lives,” it adds.

Kenya: Sexual Violence on the Rise in Kenya

2004-03-18

http://www.nationaudio.com/News/EastAfrican/current/Opinion/Opinion1503200419.html

Rights groups in Kenya observed International Women's Day by unveiling a plan to significantly reduce sexual violence in the country within two years. The plan, titled "Towards Stopping Sexual Violence in Kenya", was launched on March 8 by a coalition of 16 women's rights organisations know as the Medico-Legal Network on Gender-Based Violence in Kenya and includes tightening legislation on sexual violence.

Namibia: Move Out of the Kitchen

2004-03-18

http://www.newera.com.na/page.php?id=218

Calls for women to move from their cooking pots into decision-making positions are growing stronger by the day. During the celebrations of International Women’s Day, both Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Kaire Mbuende, and Women’s Action for Development Executive Director, Veronica de Klerk, called on women to take up positions of power. Four elections, namely, local, regional, parliamentary and general elections are scheduled between May and December this year.

Uganda: An Equal Hearing for Women in Divorce Cases

2004-03-18

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=22846

The ideal of gender equality in Uganda was brought closer to realisation recently with a Constitutional Court ruling on the country's Divorce Act. The court struck down ten sections of the act, saying they contravened a clause in the constitution that guaranteed women equal rights to men. The case which led to the ruling was filed by the Uganda Association of Women Lawyers.

Africa/Global: Shell Leads International Business Campaign Against UN Human Rights Norms

2004-03-18

http://www.corporateeurope.org/norms

One of the hottest topics at the annual meeting of the UN Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) - Geneva, March 15 to April 23 - will undoubtedly be the future of the proposed Norms on Business and Human Rights. Approved last August by a UNHCR Sub-Commission of human rights experts, the Norms make the human rights obligations of transnational corporations explicit and suggest further steps towards corporate accountability. Corporate lobby groups such as the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) have launched a fierce counter-campaign aiming to kill off the proposal, with self-proclaimed Corporate Social Responsibility champion Shell in a leading role.

Africa: Parliament must recognise the importance of human rights

2004-03-18

http://news.amnesty.org/mav/index/ENGAFR010072004

As the African Union's (AU) Pan African Parliament (Parliament) is inaugurated, it is essential for African parliamentarians and leaders to recognize the centrality of human rights and the need to incorporate them in all parliamentary activities, Amnesty International said at the beginning of the historic first session of the Parliament, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. "The inauguration of the Parliament is another chance for African governments to demonstrate their expressed commitment to the full realization of human rights in the continent. The Parliament must seek to safeguard the fundamental human rights of African peoples and the principles on which the AU is founded," Amnesty said.

Kenya: Constitutional Endorsement of Muslim Courts Provokes Anger

2004-03-18

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=22842

A meeting of church leaders in Kenya has been called to discuss how they can remove a clause in the draft constitution that recognises Muslim courts - also referred to as Kadhi's courts. Church leaders say Islam is the only faith explicitly mentioned in the draft, and that the provision for Muslim courts gives Islam precedence over other religions.

Liberia: Activists urge war crimes tribunal

2004-03-18

http://www.africaonline.com/site/Articles/1,3,55313.jsp

While a United Nations-backed war crimes court opened with much fanfare in Sierra Leone last week, human rights activists in Liberia are calling for their own war crimes tribunal. The two conflicts, which both saw many child soldiers involved, were intertwined, and former Liberian President Charles Taylor has been indicted by the court in Sierra Leone. But Nigeria, where he is living in exile, has refused to hand him over, saying it offered him a safe haven to stop the bloodshed.

Sierra Leone: 'Putting People on Trial May Ignite Fresh Conflict'

2004-03-18

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=22800

Sierra Leone's war crimes court has opened in the capital Freetown to try persons who bear the greatest responsibility for the atrocities committed during the country's 1991-1999 conflict. Sierra Leone's civil war was characterised by horror and brutality. Some people fear the court might become a new flashpoint for renewed hostilities. “Our war has ended and every factional fighter disarmed. Putting people on trial at this stage may ignite fresh conflict,” says Abraham Conteh, a 46-year old father of three. “My house was burnt and three of my relatives killed. I fear that this court may not end well.”

Zimbabwe: Mugabe's human rights record under the spotlight

2004-03-18

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/pages/trial.1540.html

President Robert Mugabe’s atrocious human rights record will come under the microscopic gaze of the UN Human Rights Commission which is meeting in Geneva for the next six weeks. It will be the second time that the UNHRC considered the crisis in Zimbabwe after South Africa in 2002 blocked an attempt by the British to pass a resolution calling on President Mugabe to reform.

Africa/Global: Look beyond humanitarian dimension for refugee solutions, Lubbers tells Human Rights Commission

2004-03-18

http://tinyurl.com/3ytyo

Declaring it is not enough to focus solely on the humanitarian dimension of refugee problems, UN refugee agency chief Ruud Lubbers outlined a range of initiatives aimed at finding lasting solutions for the world's displaced. Ensuring a more comprehensive, predictable and effective response to refugee situations requires that their economic, social and political dimensions also be considered. UNHCR and a host of other partners – including the UN Development Programme and the World Bank – have developed a "Framework for Durable Solutions" which is already being implemented through specific projects in Afghanistan, Eritrea, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka and Zambia.

DRC: Interview with Christina Linner, UNHCR Senior Coordinator for Refugee Children

2004-03-18

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39983

Protection of children's rights was the focus of a UN interagency workshop held from 24-27 February in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Christina Linner, senior coordinator for refugee children of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, served as one of the workshop's principal organizers. Originally from Sweden, Linner has worked with UNHCR for more than 20 years. She spoke with IRIN about her experience with regard to protection of refugee children's rights, in particular, but also about the rights of refugees in general.

Eritrea/Sudan: Biggest convoy of returning refugees this year

2004-03-18

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40022

After more than 30 years in exile, an estimated 1,700 Eritrean refugees left their camps in eastern Sudan to return home to Eritrea this week, in the biggest return convoy this year. On Wednesday, a convoy of 58 passenger buses and more than 30 luggage trucks carrying 1,770 refugees and their belongings crossed into Eritrea under the escort of officials from Sudan and the UN refugee agency (UNHCR).

Eritrea: Eking out a living in Emkulu

2004-03-18

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40095

As the blazing sun mercilessly beats down on her, Halima Abdi Adam squints and tries to find some shade under a shrivelled tree. She is one of over 3,200 Somali refugees who have ended up in the Emkulu refugee camp on the outskirts of the Eritrean port city of Massawa. Emkulu, administered by the Eritrean Office of Refugee Affairs (ORA), which in turn is funded by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), was originally intended as a transit centre for Eritrean returnees from Sudan. Hundreds of thousands of Eritreans have been applying for voluntary repatriation from camps in eastern Sudan which, for many of them, have been their homes for 30 years since they fled the fighting of Eritrea’s liberation war.

Kenya: Ogiek attacked and displaced at Mt. Elgon

2004-03-18

http://www.ogiek.org

Two politicians have so far been killed, a woman got shot in the stomach and hundreds of people were displaced from a site at an Ogiek ancestral forest in Western Kenya along the Uganda Border. The attackers are said to be from the Pok (Bok) ethnic group of the Sabaot tribe, which belongs to the Kalenjin group of nilotic tribes and who live also across the border in Uganda, from where it is said the assault weapons used in the attack derive.

Kenya: V-P says bill will give refugees right to jobs

2004-03-18

http://www.eastandard.net/archives/March/sun14032004/headlines/news14030410.htm

A proposed Refugees Bill envisages to accord refugees a right to employment in Kenya, Vice-President Moody Awori said. Awori said if the Bill is enacted into law, refugees will be guaranteed access to housing, health care and education. The V-P was speaking in Kericho during the opening of an international conference on debt burden cancellation and the plight of refugees in developing countries. The V-P said solutions to the refugee crisis lay in the restoration of peace and stability in war-torn countries.

Rwanda/Uganda: Rwandan refugees accuse Gacaca of bias

2004-03-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/refugees/20916

Lack of confidence in Rwanda's Gacaca criminal justice system is holding back more than 20,000 refugees who fled the country 10 years ago from returning home. Gacaca is the traditional justice system that was reactivated by the Rwanda government to cope with the huge numbers of people accused of involvement in the 1994 genocide in which an estimated 800,000 people were killed.

South Africa: Another immigrant victory

2004-03-18

http://www.bday.co.za/bday/content/direct/1,3523,1564814-6099-0,00.html

The Constitutional Court has brought government in line for the second time in less than a week with regard to the treatment of foreigners. The court held that illegal immigrants were entitled to the same rights as South African citizens when visiting SA. Justice Yacoob overturned laws that allowed illegal immigrants entering the country by ship or aircraft to be detained for more than 30 days without a court order, adding that detainees could not be held under intolerable or inhumane circumstances. This ruling, and the one last week that social grants may no longer be limited to South African citizens, has placed obligations on the state to make special provisions for foreign nationals.

Sudan: Close to one million more displaced while peace talks progress

2004-03-18

http://www.db.idpproject.org/Sites/idpSurvey.nsf/wViewSingleEnv/SudanProfile+Summary

Since the 1980s, the conflict ravaging Sudan has generated the world's largest internally displaced population. An estimated four million people have fled their homes to escape fighting between government troops, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) and several smaller militia groups. While peace talks between the two main warring parties have progressed since they started in July 2002, one of the worst crises in Africa has been unfolding in Darfur, western Sudan.

Uganda: Government to concentrate Lira IDPs into larger camps

2004-03-18

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39992

The Ugandan government has announced plans to reduce the number of camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the northern district of Lira and instead concentrate the people in larger camps to minimise their risk of being attacked by rebels. Humanitarian workers, however, fear that the move could worsen the humanitarian situation in the area, owing to the more grim living conditions that are likely to be found in larger camps.

West Africa: Peace prospects pulling refugees home

2004-03-18

http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/news

After years of civil war, thousands of West Africa's refugees are now streaming home through a recently-opened route between western Liberia and southern Sierra Leone to embrace peace prospects in their homelands. At a meeting on voluntary repatriation and sustainable reintegration in Africa earlier this week, UNHCR identified Liberia and Sierra Leone as two West African countries where large-scale refugee returns have been or could soon be taking place, in view of ongoing peace initiatives.

Africa: Pan-African parliament a voice for all Africans

2004-03-18

http://allafrica.com/stories/200403050177.html

One of the most important instruments of the African Union (AU) is contained in the protocol calling for the establishment of a pan-African parliament. This is so because a parliament in which the voices of all Africans are heard is a necessary tool, not only to deepen democracy but also to give expression to the aspirations of Africans everywhere.

Angola: MPLA outlines goals to achieve before elections

2004-03-18

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40029

Angola's ruling MPLA party has laid out 14 tasks it must complete before the country can hold its first national elections since 1992 - a move observers say makes a ballot before 2006 unlikely. Approving a new constitution, passing a new electoral register law and creating an electoral council would be possible by the second half of 2005, the MPLA's information secretary, Kwata Kanawa, told a press conference last Thursday.

Burkina Faso: Alleged coup plotters face military court on April 6

2004-03-18

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40064

Thirteen alleged coup plotters will appear on 6 April before a military court in Burkina Faso, state prosecutor Abdoulaye Barry said on Monday at a press conference. "The investigations were closed on March 12, and the job of the investigating magistrate has ended," Barry said.

Comores: Power cut delays release of election results

2004-03-18

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40059

An unexpected power cut in the Comoros at the weekend has delayed the release of results in the first round of legislative polls in the Comoros, a senior official told IRIN on Monday. "We would have liked to have had most of the results released by today (Monday) but, due to the electricity problems and delays with the delivery of ballot papers, we are a bit behind. But we are quite confident that we will prove successful when the full results are known," said Dini Nassur, spokesman for Grand Comore President Abdou Elbak.

Equatorial Guinea: A murderous dictator, his rapper son and a $700m-a-year oil boom

2004-03-18

http://www.transparency.org/cgi-bin/dcn-read.pl?citID=105295

On the steamy shores of West Africa, oil seldom brings good tidings. Equatorial Guinea, the nugget-sized nation at the heart of last week's bungled apparent coup attempt, is no exception. A despotic leader, his playboy-rapper son, scheming relatives and thousands of American oil men are the characters of a twisted plot that reads like Dallas set in equatorial Africa. And although attention has focused on 67 alleged mercenaries arrested in Zimbabwe, a far greater intrigue swirls around the dictatorial regime of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema.

Ghana: Government postpones vote on controversial amendment to electoral law

2004-03-18

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40054

Ghana’s government has shelved a bid to fast-track a bill seeking to allow all Ghanaians abroad to register for general elections to be held in December 2004. The move followed an outcry from the opposition, which had threatened street protests if the bill was rushed through parliament.

Ghana: New voter register prepared to eliminate fraud

2004-03-18

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40115

Ghana’s Electoral Commission on Tuesday began a two-week voter listing exercise in 21,000 registration centres nationwide to prepare a new voter’s register and supply all voters with a picture identity card ahead of December presidential and parliamentary elections. “We want to eliminate the possibilities of fraud and build confidence in our electoral systems. That is why we are insisting on a register and voter’s identity card complete with the holder’s picture,” a Director at the Electoral Commission, Henry Okyne told IRIN.

Kenya: Constitution crisis deepens

2004-03-18

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3515420.stm

The Kenyan government has withdrawn from the national conference which has been drawing up a new constitution. The announcement follows a decision by delegates to adopt a draft document reducing the president's powers. Those closest to President Mwai Kibaki say creating a powerful prime minister in competition with the president would be "both nonsensical and dangerous".
Related Link:
Kenya Socialist Democratic Alliance Statement on walkout
http://kenyasocialist.org/statements/walk%20out%20on%20constitution.htm

Swaziland: King opens parliament amid controversy

2004-03-18

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40103

King Mswati opened parliament on Wednesday, but avoided commenting directly on the controversy surrounding the resignation of the Speaker and the country's "rule of law" crisis. "The nation knows that the administration of our justice system has been facing some challenges this past year," said Mswati, referring to the resignation of the Court of Appeal bench in protest over palace interference in the judicial system. "I have been assured that the minister of justice has engaged stakeholders on this issue, and await their views on the way forward."

Zimbabwe: 15 points for holding elections

2004-03-18

http://www.zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=8864

With the announcement by President Mugabe that the next Parliamentary elections will be held in March 2005, it seems reasonable to examine the playing field for these elections, and more especially because the MDC has indicated the 15 conditions that need to be addressed before it can consider participating in these elections. These conditions constitute what might be termed the “high bar” for the holding of elections in Zimbabwe. Read the 15 points by visiting www.zwnews.com

Kenya: KRA seizes goods linked to Mwau firm

2004-03-18

http://www.transparency.org/cgi-bin/dcn-read.pl?citID=105264

A company associated with former Kenya Anti-Corruption Authority boss Harun Mwau has been implicated in a multi-million-shilling tax evasion scandal. The scandal was unearthed when a container whose contents had been falsely declared was intercepted at the Mombasa port by officials from the Kenya Revenue Authority and the Weights and Measures Department.

Kenya: Top Names Could Lose Land in Probe

2004-03-18

http://allafrica.com/stories/200403150249.html

Prominent personalities may lose large tracts of land and plots if President Kibaki acts on a report that is currently being compiled by the Commission of Inquiry into illegally allocated land. In an exclusive interview with the East African Standard, the chairman, Mr Paul Nderitu Ndungu, said among those who may surrender land include former Cabinet ministers, Provincial Commissioners, District Commissioners, Parastatal chiefs, church leaders, military and police bosses and businessman.

Lesotho: Crooked Company Snubs Lesotho

2004-03-18

http://www.ocnus.net/artman/publish/article_10849.shtml

Acres International has snubbed the impoverished kingdom of Lesotho by not paying a R13 million fine after being convicted of corruption and bribery. Instead, the Canadian engineering and construction company wants to pay the penalty in instalments, according to Lesotho attorney-general Fine Maema, who said he had flatly refused the request. Parent company Acres Group had a gross revenue of R1 billion in 2002, the year Acres was convicted. On Friday, Acres seemed unaware that its offer had been rejected.

Lesotho: Humanitarian crisis in Lesotho continues for third year

2004-03-18

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,3604,1169970,00.html

The World Bank has formally reopened a corruption inquiry into a leading Canadian engineering company which could lead to the first blacklisting of a major international firm. The move follows the conviction of Acres International in the high court of Lesotho in southern Africa, an unprecedented example of a western firm being prosecuted for bribery by a developing country. The Ontario company was the first of several to be found guilty of bribing Masupha Sole, the chief executive of the multibillion-dollar Lesotho Highlands Water Project, a massive series of dams providing water to South Africa and electricity to the tiny, landlocked country.

Nigeria: Senate seeks better rating by Transparency International

2004-03-18

http://www.transparency.org/cgi-bin/dcn-read.pl?citID=105234

The Nigerian Senate is seeking to improve the country's rating by the corruption watchdog Transparency International, said a senior Senate official in Lagos last Wednesday. Chairman of the Senate's Anti-Corruption Committee Bemisola Saraki told local media in the Nigerian commercial centre Lagos that the legislative chamber is worried by Transparency International's classification of the country as the second most corrupt nation in the world.

Rwanda: Fight against graft extends to police

2004-03-18

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40067

Efforts by the Rwandan government to rid the country of corruption continue, with 139 police officers targeted for dismissal over cases of indiscipline ranging from theft to bribe-taking, a senior police officer told IRIN on Tuesday. The blacklisted police officers would be paraded before the public "as soon as possible", the official, who requested anonymity, said. However, the officer did not say when the police officers would be dismissed, only hinting that most of them were constables.

South Africa: Corruption scandal rocks Aids organisation

2004-03-18

http://iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=13&art_id=vn20040315035934871C620286&set_id=1

A special investigation into the financial affairs of the Aids Consortium has found gross mismanagement of donor funds to the tune of about R1,1-million. As a result, the top management of the non-governmental organisation has been suspended and its executive committee is preparing to step down following the findings of the investigation. The Aids Consortium is a non-profit organisation made up of about 1 000 bodies (mainly community-based organisations) working in the field of HIV and Aids.

Zambia: Forthright attitude towards corruption

2004-03-18

http://www.transparency.org/cgi-bin/dcn-read.pl?citID=105291

Secretary to the Cabinet Leslie Mbula's honest admission that there's still corruption in government is highly welcome, says this editorial in Zambia's The Post newspaper. "We say this because the attitude - that is to say, the seriousness of purpose - of any institution is measured, basically, by the attitude it takes towards its own weaknesses and problems. When weaknesses or problems are acknowledged, they stand a better chance of being overcome or solved. There's need to take a forthright and serious attitude towards our country's problem of corruption," says the editorial.

Africa: Africa puts its foot down over election of IMF head

2004-03-18

http://www.sarpn.org.za/newsflash.php#1204

African governments on Friday signalled their intention to push for a bigger say in the appointment a new International Monetary Fund managing director, following the resignation of Horst Köhler earlier this month. This was part of a broader demand for a greater say in the affairs of the IMF and its sister organisation, the World Bank. African central bank governors, finance ministers and other officials met on Friday to develop a common position on how to raise the "voice and participation" of developing and transitional countries in the Bretton Woods institutions.

Africa: Globalisation, Nepad and the governance question

2004-03-18

http://www.nu.ac.za/ccs/default.asp?5,50,5,354

"Since Africa’s history of unequal relations with the developed world in the last three centuries or so is such that it has largely become a non-autonomous actor without the capacity to decide its own fate and future, NEPAD - by being essentially a-historical does not constitute an adequate response to the continent’s underdevelopment. It needs to be replaced by a more African-centred economic action plan that takes the continents history into account." This the central argument of this article from Africa Studies Quarterly, reproduced on the website of University of Natal's Centre for Civil Society.

Africa: The Foundation of African Development Free from a Regime of Debt, Loan and Grants

2004-03-18

http://www.nu.ac.za/ccs/default.asp?5,50,5,322

Two obstacles remain as a sore preventing Africa from entering the phase of self-reliant development: irrational fragmentation from a casual tearing up of the continent into incoherent real estates of the Africans and dependence on donors to finance African development. The two are dialectically linked. Weak and fragmented states depend on external sources of aid largely unable and not often in a position to mobilise internal resources. Political fragmentation has created unviable economic entities. Conversely lack of success in economic development has created weak political structures, developments and so-called failed states.

Angola: Government and IMF to sign deal

2004-03-18

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3515550.stm

Angola is to sign a trial deal with the International Monetary Fund, paving the way for loans to rebuild the war-shattered country, officials say. Angola has promised to end fuel, electricity and water subsidies by the year's end as part of the agreement.

East Africa: Hopes And Fears Dog East African Customs Pact

2004-03-18

http://allafrica.com/stories/200403120314.html

A Customs Union deal signed in Arusha recently by Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya comes a full four years after the countries embarked on their latest attempt at regional integration. The original East African Community collapsed in 1977 due to Nyerere's war against Idi Amin of Uganda, as well as economic and political divergences. In 1999, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania signed a Treaty re-establishing the Community. But attempts to forge agreements since then on economic and political union have taken some time to materialise.

West Africa: Countries to discuss Nepad implementation

2004-03-18

http://www.sarpn.org.za/newsflash.php#1222

West African leaders and World Bank officials will meet this week in Accra to discuss the challenges of regional integration and implementing the continent's home-grown economic initiative, Nepad, in the region, officials said Wednesday. The 15-member Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) said in a statement here the two-day meeting in the Ghanaian capital will take place on March 19 and 20. "The Ecowas leaders will give their views on issues in their areas of responsibility within the Nepad (New Partnership for African Development) framework. They will identify the sources and impact of conflict in west Africa, and state the needs of the sub-region in terms of infrastructure," it said.

Zambia: MDG report casts gloom over Zambia’s development

2004-03-18

http://www.oneworld.net/article/view/81654/1/

The Zambian government in conjunction with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has launched its first Millennium Development Goals (MDG) report in Lusaka. The report on the eight millennium goals revealed that Zambia is way behind target and will most likely fail to achieve any of the goals with the exception of Gender Equality and women empowerment.

Africa: Accelerating Access Initiative Says Number of HIV Positive Africans Receiving ARVs Has Doubled

2004-03-18

http://ippfnet.ippf.org/pub/IPPF_News/News_Details.asp?ID=3339

Kaiser Daily Update 19 March 2004 reported that an Accelerating Access Initiative (AAI) release stated the number of HIV/AIDS patients in Africa who are receiving antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) provided by companies participating in the AAI has doubled over the last six months of 2003. The AAI was established in May 2000 to improve access to HIV/AIDS treatment and care in developing countries. It is a partnership of five U.N. organizations and six pharmaceutical companies.

Africa: HIV drugs for Africa unsure

2004-03-18

http://www.rnw.nl/hotspots/html/afr040316.html

The United Nations and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have voiced fears that their plan to provide anti-retroviral drugs to some three million Africans with HIV/AIDS by 2005 is under threat. Although a lack of funds appears to be the basic problem, some countries involved with the project are also raising objections to the planned use of cheaper versions of medicines rather than those manufactured by well-known pharmaceutical companies.

Botswana: Gaps remain in AIDS knowledge

2004-03-18

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40006

A survey of listeners to Botswana's popular HIV/AIDS radio drama, "Makgabaneng", has revealed a lack of specific knowledge about the virus in a country with the world's highest level of HIV infection. Only 55 percent of respondents rejected the myths that mosquitoes can spread HIV, sex with a virgin can cure AIDS, and healthy looking people cannot have the virus.

Congo: Measles epidemic declared in Etoumbi, Cuvette-Ouest Department

2004-03-18

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40027

A measles epidemic has been declared in Etoumbi, 700 km north of Brazzaville, capital of Republic of Congo, with 32 cases registered so far, Bernard Mantele, the office director of the Congolese Ministry of Health, told IRIN last Thursday. "The epidemic was confirmed by local health authorities. The Ministry of Health would have sent an emergency medical team earlier, but we did not have the necessary resources," Mantele said. "Nevertheless, a team of doctors left Brazzaville on Wednesday and are on the ground working to stop the epidemic."

Djibouti: Free ARVs distributed for the first time

2004-03-18

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39991

Some 40 HIV-positive people on Tuesday began to receive free anti-retrovirals (ARVs) after Health Minister Muhammad Ali Kamil launched Djibouti's first distribution of ARV medication at Peltier Hospital, the country's main medical centre. Medical staff at the hospital told IRIN that the treatment was started through a donor-funded programme called Global Care for People Living with AIDS (Prise en charge globale des personnes vivant avec le SIDA).

Eritrea: First medical school opens

2004-03-18

http://allafrica.com/stories/200403151316.html

The Ministry of Health has established The Orotta School of Medicine in Asmara, the first medical school in Eritrea. The school admitted its first students on 16 February, 2004. As the first class entry, 32 (thirty two) students have been admitted to the program and of these 6 (six) are women.

Kenya: New Health Plan Starts in Three Months

2004-03-18

http://allafrica.com/stories/200403151155.html

The implementation of the new national social health scheme begins next month in three districts. National Hospital Insurance Fund chief executive A.M. Hassan said the new scheme was part of the Government's efforts to ensure that all Kenyans had access to quality and affordable healthcare. Under the proposed changes, each unemployed family member would be required to contribute Sh400 yearly while income earners continue to pay on monthly basis. Mr Hassan said the Government would subsidise the poor and disadvantaged. Previously, only people in formal employment were beneficiaries of the health scheme which currently has a membership of 1.8 million.

Liberia: Suspected yellow fever cases in 8 out of 15 counties

2004-03-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/hivaids/20825

Suspected yellow fever cases have appeared in eight of the 15 counties in Liberia, three of them along the border with Guinea and Cote d’Ivoire, a senior official of World Health Organisation (WHO) revealed in the capital, Monrovia. Dr Mekonnen Admassu told IRIN last Thursday at the WHO-Liberia offices that the government and his organisation had received reports of 39 suspected cases of yellow fever, a potentially fatal disease that is transmitted by mosquitoes and is spreading rapidly through the country.

Mozambique: Cholera Spreads to Tete

2004-03-18

http://allafrica.com/stories/200403120501.html

The Mozambican cholera epidemic has now spread to the western province of Tete, reports Friday's issue of the Maputo daily "Noticias". The Tete Cholera Treatement Centre (CTC) has diagnosed the first four cases if the diseases, but no deaths have been reported. The local health authorities believe that this onset of the disease is linked to the persistent rainfall in the region.

Nigeria: AIDS treatment resumes as depleted drug stocks replaced

2004-03-18

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40035

Nigeria’s programme of subsidised antiretroviral treatment, interrupted since September last year by drug shortages, has resumed with the arrival of emergency supplies ordered by the government, health officials said on Friday. Ayo Osinlu, spokesman for the Minister of Health Eyitayo Lambo, said drugs worth 500 million naira [about US $3.8 million] ordered by the government in January began arriving in Nigeria two weeks ago.

South Africa: ARVs bring hope to Pondoland

2004-03-18

http://www.health-e.org.za/news/article.php?uid=20030948

Driving through Lusikisiki one is struck by the green rolling hills, the healthy looking cattle grazing in village pastures and the endless fields of maize. For those in the know, the extraordinary biodiversity of the area – with its over 1700 indigenous plants – is as impressive as the rolling hills and the maize fields. This high rainfall and fertile part of the picturesque Wild Coast is very different from so many other communal areas in South Africa that regularly experience drought. But the statistics show that not all is well in Pondoland. The district, like so many parts of South Africa, has an extremely high HIV infection rate of 24% - high for rural areas in the Eastern Cape. It also has an under-resourced provincial health department.

South Africa: TAC Sends Letter of Demand to the Minister of Health

2004-03-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/hivaids/20940

To date, there are less than 2,500 people on the national ARV programme country-wide - and nearly all of them are in the Western Cape. The National Department of Health has admitted that it will miss its target for the end of March. TAC believes the primary reason for the failure to meet this target is the Minister of Health's lack of political will. Her justification for delaying treatment is that the tender process for antiretroviral medicines is not complete and therefore these medicines will only be available in the public health system by the end of June. But there are mechanisms in South African law allowing for emergency procurement without tender that the minister could use to secure an interim supply of ARVs. The TAC demands that the Minister does so.
TAC Welcomes Start of Gauteng Treatment Programme: Other Provinces Must Follow Gauteng's Lead



Minister Must Commit to Purchasing Interim Supply of Antiretroviral Medicines to Avoid Court Case

The TAC warmly welcomes the announcement by the MEC for Health in Gauteng that antiretroviral treatment will begin for people WITH AIDS at 5 hospitals from 1 April 2004. This, together with the dates set for starting treatment at 18 other hospitals and clinics comes as a relief to people with HIV. TAC volunteers in Gauteng will now do everything they can to help the Provincial government make the programme a success and to save lives.

However, the announcement in Gauteng highlights again the need for urgency at a national level and in all other Provinces. 600 people in South Africa die of AIDS-related illnesses everyday. A study to be published in the SA Medical Journal in April shows that adult deaths on the population register have increased by 68% since 1998; most of this increase is due to the HIV epidemic. Many of these deaths could have been prevented and many more can still be prevented by proper care and treatment. Antiretroviral treatment can help people with HIV/AIDS live longer, healthier lives. Recognising this fact, Cabinet adopted a comprehensive HIV/AIDS treatment plan on 19 November 2003 that included a target to rollout antiretroviral therapy to 53,000 people nationwide by 31 March 2004. The plan also commits to making treatment available in at least one site in every district within twelve months and at least one site in every local municipality within five years.

Yet to date there are less than 2,500 people on the programme country-wide - and nearly all of them are in the Western Cape. The National Department of Health has admitted that it will miss its target for the end of March.

TAC believes the primary reason for the failure to meet this target is the Minister of Health's lack of political will. Her justification for delaying treatment is that the tender process for antiretroviral medicines is not complete and therefore these medicines will only be available in the public health system by the end of June.

The Minister acts and speaks as if she has no other options. She does. She is failing to make use of regulations that clearly allow Government to purchase an urgent interim supply of antiretrovirals pending the finalisation of the tender process. She is also preventing provincial governments from accessing funds expressly allocated for the purchase of antiretrovirals until the formal tender process is completed.

There are hospitals and clinics that Government itself has identified as ready to rollout treatment. Some of them have thousands of patients waiting for medicines. Yet it seems the minister is prepared to let them wait and possibly die so that the tender process can finish.

The TAC National Executive Committee (NEC) has evaluated progress on the government's treatment plan. We recognise and acknowledge the work that has been done at hospitals and clinics to prepare to treat people. We recognise the work of the National Department of Health in finalising protocols, training and education. But the delay in starting the programme and providing sick people with medicines is unacceptable and unnecessary. The NEC therefore passed a resolution authorising legal action against the Minister of Health to compel her to authorise the immediate procurement of antiretroviral medicines. The TAC Secretariat met on Wednesday 10 March 2004 and, with deep regret, sent a letter of demand to the Minister (copied below).

We still hope litigation will be unnecessary. We have met with senior officials of the ANC and Department of Health to set out our concerns. However, only the Minister can avoid court action. By close of business on Wednesday, 17 March 2004, she must commit, in writing, to meeting the Constitutional rights to life, dignity and access to health-care services by authorising the urgent purchase of antiretroviral medicines and distributing them to clinics and hospitals accredited under the plan and are ready to proceed.

The TAC is working and will continue to work with a number of provincial, local and district authorities to speed up the process of implementation. We are pleased with the movement and genuine political will being demonstrated by some of these institutions, especially the Western Cape Department of Health, but also the Gauteng, Kwazulu-Natal and, possibly, North-West Departments. In all provinces, there are hospitals, clinics and health-care workers who stand ready to treat. Although the political will of some provincial authorities is still questionable, it is our view that the cause of the delay lies primarily with the Minister of Health.

The Minister has been given seven days (from 10 March) to respond to our letter of demand failing which we will proceed with legal action. Thousands of lives are at risk and there is every reason for the Minister, if she has any compassion, to meet our reasonable demands.

[END OF STATEMENT - BACK TO CONTENTS]


Letter of Demand Sent to Minister of Health

Dr ME Tshabalala-Msimang
Minister of Health
Private Bag X399
PRETORIA
0001

URGENT

Per fax:
(012) 325-5526 and
(021) 465-1575

Dear Dr Tshabalala-Msimang

URGENT PROCUREMENT OF ANTIRETROVIRAL DRUGS - IMPLEMENTATION OF OPERATIONAL PLAN FOR COMPREHENSIVE HIV AND AIDS CARE, MANAGEMENT AND TREATMENT FOR SOUTH AFRICA

1 We act on behalf of the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC).

2 We refer to our client's letter dated 20 February 2004, a copy of which is attached marked annexure "A" to which we have not yet received a response.

3 The TAC has welcomed the release of the Operational Plan for Comprehensive HIV and AIDS Care, Management and Treatment for South Africa (the Plan) approved by the Cabinet during November 2003. As you are aware, the Plan constitutes the implementation by the Government of its decision to make antiretroviral (ARV) medicines available to people living with HIV/AIDS who are in need of ARV treatment. It also makes provision for a plan to procure and provide these medicines.

4 Implicit in the Plan is the need for urgent supplies of ARVs to accredited sites. Our client's concern in this respect was raised in its letter to Dr Zokufa dated 3 February 2004, a copy of which is attached marked annexure "B" to which we have not yet received a response. That letter records that the Plan does not expressly provide for its immediate implementation in a reasonable manner within the State's available resources, so as to ensure that there is provision for and access to a supply of ARV medicines to meet urgent interim needs. Our client also expressed its concern about the lack of urgency on the part of the drug procurement team in taking appropriate steps to ensure that the procurement of ARV medicines meets the short, medium and long-term needs of the Plan.

5 The result of this is that Government has committed itself to a lengthy tender process as the only mechanism for procuring ARV medicines. The Plan provides for a tender process which will take some time and which is already behind schedule. Regrettably, the Plan fails to make express provision for interim procurement. It makes no express provision for the immediate and urgent procurement of ARV medicines and the prescription and supply of these medicines to persons with a CD4 count below 200 and/or persons with very low CD4 counts and/or persons who have already contracted a WHO defined stage IV illness, during the interim period between the date of approval of the Plan, and the finalization of the tender process.

6 In this respect, we bring the following to your attention

6.1 On 8 August 2003, Cabinet released a statement indicating that it had considered a report of the joint Health and Treasury Task Team on treatment options to enhance comprehensive care for HIV/AIDS in the public sector. As a result, Cabinet instructed the Department of Health, as matter of urgency, to develop a detailed operational plan on an ARV treatment programme

6.2 On 19 November 2003 Cabinet approved the Plan (referred to in paragraph 2 above);

6.3 The Plan identified facilities that would be ready to deliver ARV treatment by the first quarter of 2004.

6.4 On 13 February 2004, some two months after Cabinet approved the Plan, the Department of Health issued a notice published in the Tender Bulletin (Vol. 464 Pretoria, 13 February 2004 No. 2315) inviting firms and consortia to submit expressions of interest regarding the supply of ARV medicines.

6.5 The deadline for submitting written expressions of interest was 27 February 2004.

6.6 According to the notice, a briefing session was to be held on 9 March 2004, where invitees would have been provided with documentation on the Request for Proposals (RFP).

6.7 At a briefing to the National Assembly Portfolio Committee on Health (the Portfolio Committee) held on 24 February 2004, the Department of Health (represented by inter alia Dr Chetty, Dr Simelela and Dr Zokufa) indicated that the procurement process is likely to be completed towards the end of June 2004.

6.8 According to them, contracts for each of the ARV medicines on tender are expected to be issued in the last week of May 2004, with the delivery of medicines taking place two to three weeks later in June 2004. A copy of the relevant slide of the presentation is attached marked annexure "C".

6.9 It is clear from the remainder of the parliamentary briefing that no provision has been made for the urgent interim procurement of ARV medicines. The Plan fails to provide for the procurement of ARV medicines and the provision thereof to those persons whose lives depend upon urgent access to these medicines, in the period between approval of the Plan and the eventual procurement and supply of ARV medicines.

6.10 The lack of any provision for the interim procurement of ARV medicines has resulted in at least one province having no option but to procure ARV medicines using donor money and money from other programmes, as it is legally entitled to, until such time that the tender process is completed and contracts are accordingly awarded.

6.11 The failure to procure ARV medicines to meet urgent interim needs means that sites that Government itself has identified as having the capacity to provide ARV treatment safely and effectively in the interim, cannot do so because no ARV medicines have as yet been procured.

7 Our client is aware of the need to have a comprehensive and transparent procurement process that is in accordance with the appropriate regulatory framework that governs state tenders.

8 A commitment to such a formal tender process does not justify denying access to treatment in the interim for those in urgent need, where the capacity to treat such persons in the public sector already exists.

9 We note that the Plan has identified several ARV medicines that will be used for purposes of treatment. Of the medicines that have been identified, we note that:

9.1 Government is already procuring some of the medicines that have been advertised for its post-exposure prophylaxis and mother-to-child transmission prevention programmes;

9.2 Of the nine ARV medicines advertised by government for tender, four have a single supplier; and

9.3Potential suppliers of the advertised medicines identified themselves by 28 February 2004 already.

10 Our client also notes that accredited health establishments and assessed health establishments, all of whom have the capacity and capabilities to implement ARV treatment have also already been identified. In this respect, the department was to have provided an accreditation report to a MinMEC meeting on 27 February 2004. We note that to date this report has not been made public.

11 We are instructed that a mechanism that provides for urgent interim access to ARV medicines is a reasonable measure within the capabilities of the Government. We are also instructed that the Government has at its disposal procurement mechanisms that comply with the prevailing regulatory framework and that can be used to procure ARVs in the interim. Below we set out these mechanisms.

12 The Regulations dealing with Supply Chain Management which came into effect on 5 December 2003, as well as Practice Notes and Guides issued by the National Treasury provide that an accounting officer/authority (or a person duly delegated) can procure goods without having to tender in cases where it is impractical to do so. For example,

12.1 In urgent cases or where there is a single supplier, an accounting officer is permitted to procure goods through other means such as price quotations and negotiations. In this respect, our client would like to draw your attention to regulation 6 (4) of the 'Framework for Supply Chain Management' Regulations issued in terms of the Public Finance Management Act 1999.

12.2 In addition, our client would also like to draw your attention to paragraph 3.3 of Practice Note Number SCM 2 of 2003 issued by the National Treasury on 5 December 2003.

12.3 Also, our client would like to refer you to paragraphs 4.7.5, 4.7.7 and 4.7.8 of the 'Supply Chain Management Guide for Accounting Officers/Authorities' issued by the National Treasury in February 2004.

13 There is consequently no rational, reasonable or lawful basis for the failure to take appropriate steps urgently to procure ARV medicines, on an interim basis, pending the finalisation of the tender process.

14 The failure to make such provision will result, in particular, in irreparable medical harm to and/or the premature deaths of people living with HIV/AIDS in situations where this is both predictable and avoidable.

15 The state is under a constitutional duty to respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights set out in the Bill of Rights, particularly the duty to take reasonable legislative and other measures within its available resources to achieve the progressive realisation of these rights, and also the rights to equality, life, dignity, access to health-care services, the right of children to basic health care services and bodily and psychological security.

16 The state is also under a duty to respect its international obligations.

17 Finally, the provisions of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act 2000 must also be complied with.

18 Our client therefore believes that the failure to procure ARV medicines to meet urgent interim needs is in breach of the state's duty to make provision for urgent interim procurement of and access to ARV medicines. It also infringes the right of access to health care services of those in urgent, desperate need of ARV medicines in the period between approval of the Plan and the procurement and supply of ARV medicines.

19 In addition, our client is concerned that as of 1 April 2004, provincial conditional grant allocations for the purchase of ARV medicines appear to be restricted to the purchase of medicines procured only in terms of the national tender process. This will mean that provinces will not be able to use the money until the tender process is completed. We understand that provinces would be eager to make use of such funds immediately for purposes of urgently procuring ARVs prior to the finalisation of the tender process, that is, to satisfy interim needs.

20 In the circumstances we are instructed to demand that within seven calendar days of the date of this letter that you undertake:

20.1 To use the alternative mechanisms available for the procurement of ARV medicines on an urgent basis pending their availability pursuant to the finalisation of the tender process; and/or

20.2 That you will by no later than 31 March 2004 authorise provinces to use their 2004/2005 conditional grant allocations to procure ARV medicines immediately and directly from suppliers pending the finalisation of the tender process.

21 If you decline to accede to either or both of the afore-going demands, our client requests that you provide written reasons for your refusal within seven calendar days of the date of this letter.

22 Kindly note that if we do not receive a satisfactory response within seven calendar days of receipt of this letter, our client will apply for the appropriate relief to a Court. We sincerely hope that this will not be necessary.


Yours faithfully


Fatima Hassan
Attorney
Law & Treatment Access Unit
AIDS Law Project


CC:
Per fax:
1 PREMIER, EASTERN CAPE
2 PREMIER, FREE STATE
3 PREMIER, GAUTENG
4 PREMIER, KWAZULU-NATAL
5 PREMIER, LIMPOPO
6 PREMIER, MPUMALANGA
7 PREMIER, NORTHERN CAPE
8 PREMIER, NORTH-WEST
9 PREMIER, WESTERN CAPE

[END OF LETTER OF DEMAND - BACK TO CONTENTS]


Letter to Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang
20 February 2004

Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang
Minister of Health
Private Bag X399
PRETORIA
0001

And per fax: (012) 325 5526


URGENT


Dear Minister Tshabalala-Msimang

RE: ANNEX A.1 AND A.2 TO THE OPERATIONAL PLAN FOR COMPREHENSIVE HIV AND AIDS CARE, MANAGEMENT AND TREATMENT FOR SOUTH AFRICA

We welcomed the release of the Operational Plan for Comprehensive HIV and AIDS Care, Management and Treatment for South Africa' ('the Plan'). The Plan is the culmination of a number of policy and other developments over the last few years. We therefore support the commitment by government to make life saving treatment available to those people living with HIV/AIDS who are in need of antiretroviral treatment.

Increased illness and premature avoidable deaths from AIDS-related illnesses requires the urgent, immediate and reasonable implementation of the plan to rollout antiretrovirals in order to improve the quality of life and to save the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS. Access to information about patient targets, time-lines and tasks / activities will allow community organisations and the broader public to assess the progress of the Plan and to assist government with the reasonable implementation of the Plan where any gaps may exist.

We are encouraged that several Annexes to the Plan (Annexes to the Executive Summary and Chapters I; IV; V; XI; XIII; XIV; XV) are publicly available. However, in light of the urgency that is required to implement the Plan in a reasonable manner, we are worried that Annexes A.1 and A.2 have not, as yet, been made publicly available some three months after the Plan was finalised and presented to the Cabinet and publicly released.

We would therefore like to request copies of Annex A.1 (week by week schedule for the pre-implementation period) and Annex A.2 (Detailed Implementation Plan). Both Annexes are referred to and identified in the Plan (referred to at paragraphs 135 - 136, page 51, Executive Summary). Of course, if either Annex has been amended since the Plan was first released, we would appreciate copies of the original as well as any subsequent amended version(s).

It is important that community organisations and the broader public have access to Annexes A.1 and A.2 because according to the Plan, they contain detailed information relating to the implementation of the Plan: First, it appears that Annex A.1 contains information about pre-implementation tasks and includes a weekly schedule for the pre-implementation period. Second, Annex A.2 entitled the 'Detailed Implementation Plan' appears to set out the tasks that have to be completed in each stage of the Plan for each area of activity (in other words, a list of tasks that have been identified relating to the implementation of the Plan). Even though the general target timelines are reflected in the Plan at page 10, Annexes A.1 and A.2 are not attached to the Plan or publicly available as yet.

We trust therefore that you will provide us with copies of Annexes A.1 and A.2 by 25 February 2004.

In addition, we would also like to have a meeting with your offices to discuss, in particular, the issue of reasonable timelines in so far as the implementation of the Plan is concerned.

We hope that we can arrange to have a meeting by no later than the end of February 2004. We look forward to a constructive meeting where we will be able to discuss key aspects of the implementation of the Plan in greater detail. We hope that all the members of the Strategic Management Team (SMT) will be able to attend the proposed meeting as well. Of course we are willing to meet on a date, time and venue that is convenient for you.

We look forward to hearing from your offices shortly.

Yours sincerely



Zackie Achmat Sipho Mthati
Chairperson Deputy Chairperson

[END OF LETTER TO MINISTER OF HEALTH - BACK TO CONTENTS]


Letter to President Mbeki

20 February 2004
President Thabo Mbeki
Private Bag X1000
CAPE TOWN
8000

And per fax: (021) 462 2838 and (012) 323 8246

URGENT

Dear President Mbeki

OPERATIONAL PLAN FOR COMPREHENSIVE HIV AND AIDS CARE, MANAGEMENT AND TREATMENT FOR SOUTH AFRICA

The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) welcomed the release of the Operational Plan for Comprehensive HIV and AIDS Care, Management and Treatment for South Africa' ('the Plan') in November 2003. We view the Plan as a practical and achievable vision, which if implemented urgently and reasonably, will save the lives of many thousands of people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. It will also bring about improvements in the general quality of care and service in our public health system.

The plan estimates that up to 500,000 people are in immediate need of life-prolonging antiretroviral (ARV) medicines. It recognizes that its urgent, diligent and immediate implementation in a reasonable and defensible manner is necessary to improve the quality of life and prolong the lives of people who need ARVs. This is in accordance with the Cabinet statements of 8 August 2003 and 19 November 2003 - both of which TAC has publicly supported and welcomed.

We have already written to the Minister of Health as well as to the MECs for health in all the provinces. We have offered them our assistance with the implementation of the Plan.

The successful implementation of the Plan depends heavily on unambiguous leadership. In this respect, the Office of the Presidency plays an important role in ensuring that the public does not receive mixed messages about the aims and objectives of the Plan, its implementation, the science of HIV/AIDS and the use of antiretrovirals. We therefore request an opportunity to meet with you.

The TAC has met with the Deputy President in his capacity as the Chairperson of SANAC. The critical situation that is presented to us by this national health emergency must receive the open direct and unambiguous support of your office.


Regretfully, on several occasions, our requests to meet with you have been declined. In regard to the nature of time critical elements affecting execution of the Plan, we are hopeful that we will be given an opportunity to meet with you before the next general election on 14 April 2004. We therefore urge you to recognise the TAC as a genuine and legitimate partner in preventing and treating HIV/AIDS and creating a People's Health Service. We are committed to ensuring that people's lives are saved through the successful implementation of the Plan.


We hope to hear from your offices as a matter of urgency.

Yours sincerely

Zackie Achmat Sipho Mthati
Chairperson Deputy Chairperson

Mandla Majola Mark Heywood
National Secretary National Treasurer

[END OF LETTER TO PRESIDENT - BACK TO CONTENTS]


Letter Sent to South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) Regarding Confusing and Damaging Allegations Made by AIDS Denialist David Rasnick about President Mbeki

ATT: SANAC Secretariat

By Fax: 012 312 3122

18th February 2004



Dear Secretariat

Attached is a letter from David Rasnick which recently appeared on the
web-site of the British Medical Journal.

In the letter Mr Rasnick claims to still be a member of the Presidential
AIDS Panel and makes a number of confusing and damaging allegations about
the views of our President and the November 2003 Operational Plan.

At the forthcoming workshop of SANAC on February 27 & 28 please could we be
informed:

1. What the relationship of the Presidential AIDS Panel is to SANAC?

2. What the current status of the Presidential AIDS panel is?

3. Whether the allegations made by Rasnick are true, and, presuming
that they are not, whether SANAC can publicly refute them.

Yours sincerely

M J Heywood

Law and Human Rights sector


Here is Rasnick's Letter (Dated 23 November 2003) to the Online BMJ

Dear Editor,

Ed Rybicki chose not to refute any of the facts or arguments I have presented regarding the lack of evidence for the contagious/HIV hypothesis of AIDS. He merely recites the catechism of AIDS dogma. In addition, he doesn't check his facts. He says, "And yet again, despite its dissolution at least 18 months ago, [Rasnick] claims to be 'Member of the Presidential AIDS Advisory Panel of South Africa'".

I am indeed still a member of the Presidential AIDS Advisory Panel because it has not been disbanded. Just weeks ago, in fact, president Mbeki said publicly that he is still waiting on this very panel to conclude its deliberations and present a report on its findings.

Prior to the recent Cabinet decision to make anti-HIV drugs available throughout South Africa, on the eve of the 53rd Session of the World Health Organization's Regional Committee for Africa convened in Johannesburg, September, 2003, Mbeki posed these questions to the 37 Ministers of Health and delegates from 46 African countries: "Do we know what is it that is killing the people of Africa? Do we have a good sense of the health challenges facing them? And are we therefore in a position to conceptualise strategies and advise African Heads of State and Government on appropriate responses?"

The Cabinet's decision on the anti-HIV drugs was not the president's. He has not changed his mind on those drugs. If Rybicki had read the Cabinet's decision, he would have seen that inclusion of the anti-HIV drugs was a minor component of the comprehensive plan to beef-up the healthcare infrastructure throughout SA. However, this is not reported in newspapers. Mbeki's government is using the hoopla around HIV drugs to improve healthcare generally. One benefit of all the fuss around the Cabinet's decision is that AIDS will most likely not be a campaign issue in the upcoming national elections early next year. Mbeki's second term in office will be very interesting.

David Rasnick, PhD

Member of the Presidential AIDS Advisory Panel

Competing interests: None declared

South Africa: Using the constitution for social justice

2004-03-18

http://www.nu.ac.za/ccs/default.asp?2,22,5,376

Zackie Achmat, the leader of the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), spoke at the Centre for Civil Society’s first Harold Wolpe Memorial lecture for 2004. Achmat is famous for his passionate advocacy for wider access to HIV treatment in South Africa and globally. Strategic use of South Africa’s Constitutional provision for the right to access to health care has always been key to TAC’s campaigns. As South Africa moves towards celebrating ten years of a constitutional democracy, it was apt that such a high-profile civil society leader discussed the use of the constitution as a tactic to engage with the government on development issues. In this review, the authors summarise Achmat’s talk, the interesting critiques from the floor and offer their own critical analysis of the lecture and discussion which followed it.

Southern Africa: Scaling Up Access to Treatment in Southern Africa: A Way Forward

Resolutions of the PATAM Conference, March 3-5, 2004 Harare, Zimbabwe

2004-03-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/hivaids/20842

"We, members of the Pan African Treatment Access Movement (PATAM) who have gathered here in Harare from 3-5 March 2004 to draw up civil society strategies to ensure rapid scale-up of anti-retroviral therapy in Southern Africa understand that everyone in the world is vulnerable to HIV infection and know that HIV-positive people in Africa, particularly women and other vulnerable groups, experience great challenges that must be addressed urgently. We know and understand that there are numerous factors and actors that hamper the provision of affordable life-saving medicines. Some of these include profiteering by pharmaceutical companies, inequitable international trade relationships, poverty, extreme stigma, imbalance of power within patriarchal societies, macroeconomic policies that constrain spending for health care and other social services and a lack of commensurate political commitment by our governments and other leaders to match the scale of the HIV/AIDS pandemic."
For Widest Distribution

Resolutions of the PATAM Conference, “Scaling Up Access to Treatment in Southern Africa: A Way Forward.”

March 3-5, 2004 Harare, Zimbabwe



We, members of the Pan African Treatment Access Movement (PATAM) who have gathered here in Harare from 3-5 March 2004 to draw up civil society strategies to ensure rapid scale-up of anti-retroviral therapy in Southern Africa understand that everyone in the world is vulnerable to HIV infection and know that HIV-positive people in Africa, particularly women and other vulnerable groups, experience great challenges that must be addressed urgently.



We know and understand that there are numerous factors and actors that hamper the provision of affordable life-saving medicines. Some of these include profiteering by pharmaceutical companies, inequitable international trade relationships, poverty, extreme stigma, imbalance of power within patriarchal societies, macroeconomic policies that constrain spending for health care and other social services and a lack of commensurate political commitment by our governments and other leaders to match the scale of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.



While we recognise that there are multiple factors with complex interactions influencing access to treatment in Africa and all over the world, we maintain that our governments as the primary bodies we entrust in ensuring our welfare, whether by direct provision of services or creating an enabling environment for service provision, hold first line responsibility in the response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Too many of our sisters, brothers, friends, fathers and mothers have died needlessly as we have debated ad nauseam and otherwise been in meaningless conflict with each other. We cannot afford to dither any longer.



Therefore, while we welcome reports from country representatives across Southern Africa that treatment rollout is either on the verge of, or has commenced in most countries across the region, we demand an immediate roll-out and rapid scale up of treatment across the continent. Together with our national, regional and international allies we stand ready to provide any support necessary, but also reserve the right to resort to any other available tools--specifically our collective power--if treatment continues to be but a dream for too many of us.



In particular, we commit ourselves:

genuine political leadership from our governments and other people in positions of influence,
greater and respectful representation of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) and other vulnerable groups in all decision-making processes pertaining to access to treatment,
that rollout of anti-retroviral therapy be entwined with rebuilding our health systems,
that the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFTAM) in partnership with activists develop a ‘model proposal’ to be made publicly available to support development of stronger GFATM proposals,
and that international institutions such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group cease in constraining responses against HIV/AIDS at country level.
We demand:

genuine political leadership from our governments and other people in positions of influence,
greater and respectful representation of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) and other vulnerable groups in all decision-making processes pertaining to access to treatment,
that rollout of anti-retroviral therapy be entwined with rebuilding our health systems,
that the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFTAM) develop a model proposal to be made publicly available to support development of stronger GFATM proposals,
and that international institutions such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group cease in constraining responses against HIV/AIDS at country level.
5 March 2004, PATAM delegates in Harare

----------

For Further information

email info@patam.org

url: www.patam.org

Zambia: Anger at Move to Declare Schools Condom-Free Zones

2004-03-18

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=22877

One step forward, three steps backwards: that's how various AIDS activists, parents and teachers in Zambia are describing government's decision to ban the distribution of condoms in schools on the grounds that it promotes promiscuity. Walter Tapfumaneyi, HIV/AIDS Regional Programme Coordinator for PANOS - a non-governmental organisation - says the condoms simply afforded protection to those children who did choose to have sex.

Zambia: Nurses Exodus Condemned

2004-03-18

http://allafrica.com/stories/200403120186.html

Norwegian Nurses Association International (NNAI) Secretary Per Godtland Kristensen has described as unethical the practice whereby rich countries rob poor nations of nurses through mass recruitment. Speaking at a joint Press briefing for NNAI, Zambia Nurses Association (ZNA) and International Council of Nurses (ICN) in Lusaka, Mr Kristensen said rich nations must not be allowed to recruit nurses from developing countries en-masse.

Africa/Global: Education: Part of the problem, essential for the solution

2004-03-18

http://portal.unesco.org/education/ev.php?URL_ID=29603&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201&reload=1079434100

Education is often put forward as a panacea, and few would contest its importance in shaping citizens to play an effective part in their societies. But education, says researcher Sobhi Tawil of UNESCO’s International Bureau of Education, is also “an inherently ideological instrument that is related to political violence in both intended and unintended ways.” A group of experts from seven countries that have experienced decades of violent conflict share their experiences and work for change in the latest issue of UNESCO's new Courier.

Africa/Global: The missing 65 million: getting girls into school

2004-03-18

http://www.id21.org/education/e2ns1g2.html

Is there any prospect of achieving one of the key Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) - getting equal numbers of girls and boys into school by 2005? Could educating girls be the key to ending world poverty? What must be done to achieve universal primary education (UPE) by 2015?

Africa/Global: Violent response: protecting African schoolgirls from sexual abuse

2004-03-18

http://www.id21.org/education/e2fl1g2.html

Why is sexual violence so prevalent in Africa's schools? Why is predatory aggressive masculinity condoned? What are the links between abuse in schools, lack of information and poverty? How should schools tackle abuse and intimidation of female students?

Africa: Education - responding to a human rights violation

2004-03-18

http://www.actionaid.org/resources/pdfs/educationinafrica_2003.pdf

This paper looks at what the 'right to education' means in theory and practice, and outlines what a rights-based response to education in Africa would entail. It argues that although the concept of rights has become increasingly commonplace in the discourse of international development there is a massive gap between the language and practice of rights. This is starkly apparent in education, where the basic rights of millions of people are routinely violated, and particularly in Africa.

Africa: New website on literacy in Africa launched

2004-03-18

http://portal.unesco.org/education/ev.php?URL_ID=29433&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201&reload=1079434100

Nations Literacy Decade (2003-2012), the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in Africa (Dakar, Senegal) is launching a new website dedicated to literacy in Africa. The website currently presents basic information but the aim is to develop an observatory and a platform for information exchange for all those working to promote literacy in Africa. This will require the active participation of all partners. Comments, suggestions and contributions are therefore most welcome.

Burundi: Schools reopen as teachers suspend strike

2004-03-18

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40041

Secondary and primary schools across Burundi reopened on Monday after teachers suspended a strike that began on 5 January. "We accepted to return to work for the love of Burundi's children, we wanted to prove our goodwill unlike the government which, instead of resolving the teachers' problems, complicates it," Philbert Ngenzahayo, a representative of the National Council of Secondary Education Staff, said on Monday. However, he said the teachers would resume the strike if the government refused to accede to their demands for better wages and housing allowances.

Ghana: An Information thirsty university

2004-03-18

http://www.oneworld.net/article/view/81820/1/

It is 7:00 o’clock in the evening, and students at the University of Development Studies (UDS) Ghana, Navrongo campus are gathered in their various common rooms. All eyes are transfixed on a box, an electronic box: the television. They are watching Ghana Television News at Seven, the only source of up-to-date information for an information thirsty university. The University of Development Studies is the fifth state university in Ghana. For a campus with the sciences as its main focus, UDS Navrongo is in serious crisis: the university has a computer lab of about 30 computers with no Internet connection.

Mozambique: Inauguration of community radio for education

2004-03-18

http://portal.unesco.org/education/ev.php?URL_ID=29600&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201&reload=1079434100

The Dondo Community Radio was launched in the central Province of Sofala in Mozambique in late February. Inaugurated by UNESCO Maputo, the Dondo radio will bring education and information to over 100,000 rural people, covering a radius of 100 km. As other community radios, the Dondo radio will work for the development of communities covering such issues as education, health, agriculture, economy, children, youth, woman, sports, culture, democracy, and good governance.

Tanzania: Students killed in landslide

2004-03-18

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3520234.stm

Two teachers have appeared in court charged with causing the deaths of nine students in Iringa, southern Tanzania. The primary school children were buried in a landslide while collecting sand to build their classrooms. Regional police chief Omar Mganga told the BBC the teachers contravened laws barring students from taking part in projects other than studies.

Zambia: Teachers' Unions Urge Govt to Pay February, March Salaries

2004-03-18

http://allafrica.com/stories/200403170223.html

Two teachers' unions have called on government to pay teachers their February and March salaries with immediate effect. In separate interviews, Primary Education Teachers' Union (PETUZ) general secretary Cosmas Mukuka and the Zambia National Union of Teachers (ZNUT) spokesperson Joel Kamoko urged the government not to take teachers' patriotism for granted.

Africa/Global: Message by UN Secretary-General for the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, 21 March 2004

2004-03-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/racism/20858

On 21 March 1960, a non-violent protest took place in Sharpeville, South Africa, against the “pass laws” -– one of the most hated institutions of apartheid; it ended with the death of 69 demonstrators. The Sharpeville massacre was a landmark in the history of the anti-apartheid movement. It also led the United Nations General Assembly to establish this annual observance, which is meant to draw attention to the fight against racism wherever and whenever it occurs.This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, reminding us of the horrors that ethnic and racial hatred can cause. This year is also the bicentenary of the revolution in Haiti, which led to the liberation from slavery of the peoples of the Caribbean and Latin America. And the General Assembly has proclaimed 2004 the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition. What must link these observances is not only our honouring the memory of the victims of past tragedies, but also our determination to save others from becoming the victims of similar tragedies in the future. I expect soon to appoint a United Nations special adviser on the prevention of genocide, and to make other proposals for strengthening our action in this area.

Ivory Coast: New labour law is not exclusionary - minister

2004-03-18

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40009&SelectRegion=West_Africa&SelectCountry=COTE_D_IVOIRE

Labour Minister Hubert Oulaye has denied that a ministerial decision requiring companies to give priority to Ivorians when hiring staff was “exclusionary”, amid growing tension over the measure. Last month, a senior UN official told the Ivorian government that the country was not "xenophobic" but had entered " a dynamic of xenophobia."

Venezuela/Africa: Racist comments in Venezuelan TV “an offense to the African People”, African ambassadors say

2004-03-18

http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=1226

African Ambassadors in Venezuela described the ridicule of Zimbabwean President, Robert Mugabe in a local TV show as “a grotesque and indecent spectacle full of racist content”. A letter by representatives of several diplomatic missions, including Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Saharawi, South Africa and Nigeria expressed deep rejection of what they consider to be offensive remarks “against the African people and human dignity”.

Africa/Global: Water 'Scarcity' Can be Fixed, says report

2004-03-18

http://www.ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=22720

Despite a worldwide rise in consumption, there would still be adequate water on planet Earth for everyone if waste was ended, says a new report by an independent research group. According to the WorldWatch Institute in Washington the world faces a problem of "over-consumption" and "under-consumption" of water rather than the more clichéd image of a planet suffering from water scarcity. "There is more than enough water, but so far the political will and financial commitments to provide the poor with access to it have not been sufficient," says the U.S. non-governmental organisation (NGO).

Africa: A Third of Bird Species At Risk

2004-03-18

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=22794

The plight of birdlife in Africa and other parts of the world is being highlighted at a meeting that is currently underway in the South African port city of Durban. ”Empowering People for Change”, a global conservation conference hosted by BirdLife International, attracted about 350 delegates from over 100 countries. BirdLife International is an umbrella organisation for conservation groups around the world.

Africa: Africa's Nile nations chart fairer use of waters

2004-03-18

http://www.enn.com/news/2004-03-18/s_14134.asp

Poor nations that are home to some of Africa's most arid corners will push for a fairer share of Nile waters this week, exploring joint ventures in energy and irrigation to spread the river's bounty more equitably. Organizers of the meeting of water ministers from 10 Nile Basin countries have played down reports that they will negotiate a replacement to a controversial colonial-era treaty that gives Egypt control of the river.

Burundi: Preventing a Lake From Doing a Vanishing Act

2004-03-18

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=22898

One of Burundi's ecological jewels, Lake Gacamirinda, is in danger of disappearing. The circumstances of this problem provide a case study in what can happen when human and environmental factors combine to affect a natural resource. Philippe Njoni, Governor of the north-eastern Kirundo province where the lake is located, says the factors causing it to dry up include the drought that ravaged Burundi between 1998 and 2001.

DRC: Forests under Threat

2004-03-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/environment/20885

Central Africa is the region having the richest rainforest resources on the continent, and its Congo basin is second only to the Amazon among the world's rainforest regions. How these resources are used and who controls their "development" are issues that deserve wide debate. Yet new legislation to permit rapid expansion in logging is being introduced in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), on the advice of the World Bank, without significant consultation with civil society or people living in forest areas. The latest issue of the AfricaFocus Bulletin features a report from the Rainforest Foundation on new threats to the forests of the DRC.
Congo (Kinshasa): Forests under Threat

AfricaFocus Bulletin
Mar 16, 2004 (040316)
(Reposted from sources cited below)

Editor's Note

Central Africa is the region having the richest rainforest resources
on the continent, and its Congo basin is second only to the Amazon
among the world's rainforest regions. How these resources are used
and who controls their "development" are issues that deserve wide
debate. Yet new legislation to permit rapid expansion in logging is
being introduced in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), on
the advice of the World Bank, without significant consultation with
civil society or people living in forest areas.

This issue of AfricaFocus Bulletin features a report from the
Rainforest Foundation on new threats to the forests of the DRC. For
additional background resources on forests in the DRC and other
central African countries, see:

http://www.rainforestweb.org/Rainforest_Regions/Africa
and http://www.forestsmonitor.org/countries.htm
for links to a variety of resources.

http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/005/Y8719E/Y8719E00.HTM for the FAO's
Forestry Outlook Study for Africa Subregional Report for Central
Africa, 2003.

http://www.fao.org/forestry/site/6452/en/cod for a map of the
forest cover in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Many thanks to those of you who have already sent in your voluntary
subscription payment to support AfricaFocus Bulletin. If you have
not yet made such a payment and would like to do so, please visit
http://www.africafocus.org/support.php for details.

++++++++++++++++++++++end editor's note+++++++++++++++++++++++

New Threats to the Forests and Forest Peoples of the Democratic
Republic of Congo

The Rainforest Foundation
City Cloisters, 196 Old Street, London, ECIV 9FR
Tel: +44 (0) 207 251 6345, Fax: +44 (0) 207 251 4969
E-mail: rainforestuk@rainforestuk.com
website: http://www.rainforestfoundationuk.org

Briefing Paper

[slightly abridged for length; full version with footnotes
available in pdf format at ]http://www.rainforestfoundationuk.org]

February 2004

Summary

New laws governing forestry in DRC are presently in preparation,
and the 'development' of the country's forests is being planned
by international agencies including the World Bank. Linked with
planned new investments, this could result in a 60-fold increase
in the rate of logging. The future of the world's second largest
area of rainforest, and the many millions of people who live in
it, is thus at stake. The Rainforest Foundation believes that
plans for this development should be suspended until the
necessary safeguards have been put in place.

Purpose of this briefing

The rainforests of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC,
formerly Zaire), and the many millions of people that live in
them, are at a critical juncture. Most of the country has not yet
been affected by the large-scale industrial logging and forest
clearance that has all but eradicated rainforests in other parts
of Africa. However, with the ending of decades of economic chaos
and civil wars, this is about to change.

International agencies including the World Bank and the UN Food
and Agriculture Organisation are planning extensive 'development'
of DRC's forests. Potentially, tens of millions of hectares of
forest will be opened up to logging companies. The rights and
livelihoods of tens of millions of people will be put at risk.

A process has begun which may soon be irreversible and could
result in the eventual loss of much of the world's second largest
area of rainforest This could well be the first major
environmental catastrophe of the 21st century. This briefing sets
out some of the key issues at stake, and makes suggestions as to
how this catastrophe can be avoided.

Background: a country emerging from a devastating 'natural
resources war'

Following decades of despotic rule by Mobutu Sese Seko, the DRC
is still divided by a civil war that, directly and indirectly,
has claimed the lives of an estimated 3.5 million people. Much of
the east of this vast country is still under the nominal control
of 'rebel' groups in a complex pattern of shifting alliances
between various factions, ethnic groups and militias, with the
support and involvement of neighbouring countries' armies.

The war has, at least in part, been fuelled by competition for
control over natural resources. A UN Security Council 'Expert
Panel' on the Illegal Exploitation of DRC's Natural Resources
reported in October 2002 that 'corrupt and criminal elites' both
within DRC and neighbouring countries such as Uganda and Rwanda
were profiting from the civil war by using it to gain access to
timber, minerals and ivory [1] . The proceeds from illegal mining
and logging have been used to purchase arms and munitions, thus
perpetuating the conflict.

The illegal and uncontrolled exploitation of these resources has
had devastating social and environmental impacts in some
localities. Forest people such as the Twa 'Pygmies' of eastern
DRC have suffered traumatic impacts during the conflict. As well
as brutal treatment - including cases of cannibalism and reported
'genocide' - at the hands of one faction or another, Pygmy people
have also suffered from a depletion of wild food resources, which
have been exploited by armies and militias.

In July 2003, a 'Transitional Government', including
representatives of most of the main rebel factions, was put in
place. Although sporadic armed conflict is still occurring, the
international community has quickly moved to assist President
Joseph Kabila to rebuild the country's political institutions and
economy, and particularly to encourage foreign investment.

Forests and forest people in the firing line

DRC's forests cover an area of 1.3 million square kilometres,
more than twice the size of France. According to World Bank
estimates, some 35 million people (70% of the national
population) are resident within, or to some extent dependent on,
the country's forests [2]. Bantu farming peoples are believed to
have migrated into the much of the forest zone several thousands
of years ago, where Mbuti and Twa hunter-gatherers may have
already been present [3]. The World Bank estimates that the
average per capita income in DRC is presently the lowest in the
world, at $90 per year [4]; average income in rural, forested,
areas is likely to be lower than the average.

The economic chaos of the Mobutu decades, and failure to invest
in infrastructure, has meant that much of the forest has not been
exploited industrially, although a few (mostly foreign) companies
have had access to large areas for logging. The German group,
Danzer, for example, has for many years held logging concessions
extending over 2.4 million hectares [5].

New forest laws, and the World Bank

Although recent rates of deforestation in DRC have been
relatively low, the forests are now coming under great pressure,
particularly from commercial logging.

In August 2002, a new Forest Code was adopted by the (unelected)
Interim Government of DRC [6]. The Code sets out the basic
'framework' for the DRC Government's forest policy, such as that
the government continues to assert state ownership over all areas
of forest. Certain categories of forest are broadly defined, such
as for 'exploitation', 'community use' and 'conservation'. The
development and adoption of the Code was supported financially by
the World Bank, and was broadly modelled on the Forest Law that
the Bank developed for Cameroon

Following the adoption of the Code, in January 2003, a project
was set up, also with World Bank (and other donor) funding, under
which the specific legal decrees to implement the framework
Forest Code would be developed and adopted. The project is being
implemented under a Technical Cooperation Programme run by the UN
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The project is also
developing a 'zoning' system for DRC's forests, under which the
country's entire forest area will eventually be divided up into
areas for logging, conservation, and other uses [7]. This project
is due to be completed by October 2004.

The World Bank has taken some positive steps to reform the timber
industry in DRC. For example, the Bank has pressed the Government
of DRC to cancel a number of existing logging contracts, and to
revoke 6 million hectares of logging concessions that were
allocated, in contravention of the new Forest Code, to a
Portuguese company. The Bank has also urged that the level of
forestry taxes should be increased substantially, in order to
generate greater revenues for the Congolese Treasury. However,
these changes have been resisted by the logging industry:
forestry taxes remain very low ($0.06 per hectare [8]), and
logging has continued in illegally allocated concessions.

Despite the apparent failures to bring the existing forest
exploitation under control, the World Bank has been closely
involved in discussions with the Government of DRC about a
massive expansion of the country's timber industry. The industry
has declined in recent years, but World Bank documents refer to a
possible 60- 100-fold increase of timber production to around
6-10 million cubic metres of timber per year [9]. Bank documents
also refer to the 'creation of a favourable climate for
industrial logging' [10]. According to the Bank, an area of some
60 million hectares (somewhat larger than the size of France) is
considered as 'production forests' [11].

Peoples participation? A lesson in how not to make policy

Despite expressed policies and general commitments from both the
World Bank and the UN FAO, there has been virtually no
consultation with civil society or forest communities over the
new Forest Code or the legal decrees that will implement it. In
November 2003, the Rainforest Foundation organised a meeting in
Kinshasa with representatives of leading civil society
organisations from across DRC concerned with conservation,
development and human rights. At this meeting, it was clear that
almost no-one within DRC (apart from a small group of government
officials and their consultants, and some members of the private
sector), were even aware of the existence of the new Forest Code,
let alone the farreaching changes which are envisaged [12].

By November 2003, 15 legal decrees to implement the Forest Code
had already been drafted or were planned, of which 6 had been
immediately passed for official authorisation, having been deemed
as 'needing no consultation'. Nine decrees were at various stages
of 'discussion and consultation', but of these, only three had
been made available to the three small 'civil society'
organisations involved in the project.

In November 2003, representatives of DRC's civil society asked
for greater participation in the process of drawing up the new
legal decrees about forestry. This request has been accepted by
the Government of DRC, but consultation has not yet actually
commenced.

The reasons for concern

The Rainforest Foundation believes that the proposed
'development' of DRC's forests, and the way in which this is
being undertaken, presents a number of serious dangers:

* The proposed expansion of the logging industry does not take
into account the findings of the UN Security Council Expert Panel
on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources in DRC, nor with
UN Security Council Resolution 1457 (January 2003), which
encouraged "States, international financial institutions, and
other organizations to assist in efforts to create appropriate
national structures and institutions to control resource
exploitation" in DRC.

Given the speed with which the 'development' of Congo's forests
is being pursued, there is no prospect that 'appropriate national
structures' will be in place before vast areas of the country's
forest land are handed out to companies and individuals, some of
whom may well have been associated with, or benefited from, the
conflict over DRC's natural resources. The experience in other
countries, such as Cameroon, has been that, without very close
regulation, the logging industry is extremely susceptible to
corruption and malpractices, and that this can have a pervasive
corrupting effect on government and administrative structures
more widely. We believe that this could have serious, negative
long-term results if allowed to develop in DRC.

* The World Bank's approach to the development of DRC's forests
appears to be based on the assumption that the expansion of
industrial logging will necessarily bring economic benefits to
the country's poor people. However, there is very little evidence
from other comparable countries that this assumption is valid. In
fact, the evidence from countries such as Cameroon has been that
communities living in the forest - often the poorest of the poor
- are further impoverished, as the logging industry can destroy
resources upon which forest people depend for their very
subsistence, including small-scale forest farms, supplies of
fresh water, wild game, fruits and oils, and natural medicines.
The development of a large-scale logging industry in DRC could
therefore have serious negative impacts on millions of poor
people.

* The approach being taken by the Bank also appears not to fully
recognise that, as elsewhere in Africa, communities that have
been present for hundreds or even thousands of years lay claim to
large areas of Congo's forests under 'traditional rights'. Again,
the experience in countries such as Cameroon has been that the
failure to properly recognise such rights and claims when
're-zoning' forest areas and allocating logging concessions can
result in serious, persistent and violent social conflict.

The adoption of new legal decrees, without ensuring public
'ownership' of those laws, is likely to lead to serious problems
of implementation, and will potentially also fuel social
conflict.

* According to the World Bank, the projects under which its
forest sector initiatives in DRC have been financed were
categorised as 'Environmental Category 'A'' projects, " because
the scale and nature of the project activities, and the potential
for resettlement, displacement and social tensions due to the
project are significant". Various of the Bank's 'safeguard'
Operational Policies, including those concerning Forestry (OP
4.36), Natural Habitats (OP 4.04), Involuntary Resettlement (OP
4.12), and Indigenous Peoples (O.P 4.20) were 'triggered' by the
projects. The Bank is supposed, by June 2003, to have conducted a
full Strategic Environmental Assessment and "sub-project
Environmental Assessments" of its planned activities in DRC.

As yet, the Rainforest Foundation has seen no evidence of steps
taken by the Bank to ensure proper compliance with these
Operational Policies, nor that the Strategic Environmental
Assessment has actually been undertaken. We therefore believe
that the Bank may have acted in serious breach of its own
Operational Policies.

Many of these issues have also been raised by Congolese
environmental, human rights and developmental organisations, more
than 100 of which signed on to a letter of concern sent to the
World Bank and the FAO in February 2004 [13].

Recommendations

On 2nd December, 2003, the Rainforest Foundation wrote a detailed
letter to the World Bank, seeking clarification about its
involvement in forestry in DRC, and raising a number of the above
concerns. By February 11th, 2004, we had received no substantive
response.

The Rainforest Foundation appreciates that there is a need to
'kick-start' the Congolese economy, and also that the World Bank
and other agencies such as the FAO can encourage important and
necessary dialogue about forest policy within countries such as
DRC. We also appreciate that there is potentially a place for
commercial exploitation of timber in DRC's forests. However, we
believe strongly that this should not occur at the expense of the
rights and livelihoods of perhaps tens of millions of poor
forest-dwellers. We believe that a hasty approach could result in
serious, long-term social conflict, will have negative effects on
the most vulnerable in Congolese society, and will cause
long-term or irreversible environmental damage.

The Rainforest Foundation therefore makes the following
recommendations:

1. The World Bank should clarify its intentions, plans and
strategy for the forests of DRC. In particular, the Bank should
give a detailed account of the steps that have been taken to
ensure compliance with the relevant Bank Operational Policies of
its three most recent projects in DRC. The Bank should also
provide documented evidence that the expansion of DRC's
industrial logging industry will provide a greater benefit for
poor rural people in DRC than other options, such as supporting
the recognition of community rights over forests, the development
of community-based forestry, and management of 'non-timber forest
resources'.

2. The Forest Code, and any legal decrees which have already been
adopted should be reviewed through an inclusive and participatory
process, and amended if necessary.

3. International agencies including the World Bank, the FAO and
other donors should establish a process to ensure that the forest
zoning process in DRC takes full account of traditional and
customary rights and claims by forest communities, and that the
particular circumstances of hunter-gatherer people such as the
Twa and Mbuti are also properly addressed.

4. There should be a thorough 'stakeholder analysis' of the
political economy of the forest sector before any further
development of industrial logging in DRC. This should draw on the
work of the UN Expert Panel and other relevant studies [14], and
should identify the interests of specific individuals and
organisations in the development of the DRC Forest Sector. These
interests should be analysed in relation to the potential for
poor, forest-dependent, communities to benefit from forest
resources. The study should be produced through a consultative
and multi-stakeholder process.

5. The current process of development of the legal decrees for
forestry should be suspended until such time as the actions
recommended above in 1-4 have happened and been fully documented.

6. Following the above, the process of developing new legal
decrees for forestry in DRC should be extended to ensure proper
and meaningful consultation with civil society, and that the
views of forest peoples and communities are incorporated into the
relevant texts.

7. The World Bank and other international donors should ensure
that 'transparency' in the DRC forest sector is guaranteed in
law, such that civil society is assured access to the information
necessary to monitor compliance with the relevant laws.

...

*************************************************************
AfricaFocus Bulletin is an independent electronic publication
providing reposted commentary and analysis on African issues, with
a particular focus on U.S. and international policies. AfricaFocus
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Gambia: 14 Million Mahogany Trees for Gambia

2004-03-18

http://allafrica.com/stories/200403151191.html

Project Stop The Sahara is embarking on a grand design to plant 14 million Mahogany trees over a 350-kilometre stretch along The Gambia's northern borders with Senegal, as an ecological answer to the southward advance of the Sahara desert. Its founder and coordinator Beppie Smits says Project Stop The Sahara is an uncompromising attempt to check the rapid and relentless encroachment of the Sahara Desert southwards into the Senegambia region.

Kenya: One Ecosystem: One Community

2004-03-18

http://www.pactworld.net/programs/country/kenya/kenya_stories3.htm

Communities who depend on plant and wildlife resources for their livelihood often contribute to stresses on vulnerable natural resources. An approach known as community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) sees management of human and natural resources as part of the same equation: when communities are able to increase their incomes through improved agricultural practices and alternative economic activity, precious natural resources are sustained.

Namibia: Okakarara Farmers in Wild Dogs Dilemma

2004-03-18

http://allafrica.com/stories/200403151227.html

Farming communities in Okakarara are caught up in a Catch-22 situation. Wild dogs are killing their livestock in growing numbers. Yet they may not kill the wild dogs because they are one of the world's most endangered species. Wild dogs have all along been a problem in the area but this year, says conservancy co-ordinator Gemon Kaapehi, the situation is so bad that farmers are losing cattle, sheep and goats on a daily basis.

East/Central Africa: The impact of globalisation on agriculture

2004-03-18

http://www.iita.org/info/impact_globalization.pdf

This paper from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) looks at the process and impact of globalisation on agriculture. It attempts to set these issues in an historical context, to highlight the main issues that need to be addressed, and to list important questions that need to be asked of policy makers throughout the agricultural industry. The authors argue that East and Central African countries have not appreciated the scale and implications of the changes brought about by globalisation and that, without urgent action on their part, they may seriously weaken their economies in the years ahead.

Kenya: Land for the Poor

2004-03-18

http://allafrica.com/stories/200403150500.html

A couple of iron sheets cover the tiny shelter where Virginia Njeri and her family live in the heart of Deep Sea. Before Father Franco Cellana showed up in this Nairobi slum four years ago, she had no idea who owned the land. She only knew she had to pay Sh3,000 to the chief before she could put up her structure. Fr Cellana, the priest-in-charge at Consolata Shrine, organised a team of people to educate Virginia and her neighbours on their civil rights. The first job was to find out the landlord's name.

South Africa: LPM launches mass action campaign

Press Statement

2004-03-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/land/20884

"The Landless People’s Movement (LPM) – a national movement of poor and landless people struggling for land reform – will launch a national rolling mass action strategy this week as part of it’s “No Land! No Vote!” campaign in response to the 14 April election. The campaign, which aims to raise the voice of millions of poor and landless people who say that “10 years of failed land reform is enough” through an organised boycott of “ballot-box democracy” in a context of broken promises, will include local, provincial and national actions culminating in a national march on election day. These actions will include a series of marches, demonstrations, assemblies, pickets, land occupations and occupations of government buildings."
LANDLESS PEOPLE’S MOVEMENT



PRESS STATEMENT AND INVITATION





“LPM LAUNCHES NATIONAL ROLLING MASS ACTION”
“MILLIONS OF POOR AND LANDLESS PEOPLE IN SA SAY ‘NO LAND! NO VOTE!’”





The Landless People’s Movement (LPM) – a national movement of poor and landless people struggling for land reform – will launch a national rolling mass action strategy this week as part of it’s “No Land! No Vote!” campaign in response to the 14 April election.



The campaign, which aims to raise the voice of millions of poor and landless people who say that “10 years of failed land reform is enough” through an organized boycott of “ballot-box democracy” in a context of broken promises, will include local, provincial and national actions culminating in a national march on election day. These actions will include a series of marches, demonstrations, assemblies, pickets, land occupations and occupations of government buildings.



The rolling mass action strategy was developed and adopted by an LPM National Strategy Meeting held in Rustenburg from 5-7 March. The meeting brought together the LPM National Council and representatives from all nine provinces who unanimously endorsed the LPM’s “No Land! No Vote!” campaign as the most appropriate response of poor and landless people to the 2004 elections.



The LPM Rustenburg meeting was clear in its belief that poor and landless people cannot join in “celebrating” ten years of democracy by voting when our voices have not been heard during those 10 years, when less that 3% of land has been redistributed from 60 000 white farmers to more than 26-million poor and landless people, and when we continue to face evictions from farms and forced removals from informal settlements 10 years after the end of apartheid.



LPM members and supporters come from many different political parties and we have voted in each of the past four elections at national and local levels, since 1994. In our communities, our regional and provincial committees, and since the LPM’s birth in July 2001, at national level, we have pleaded with the government and with other political parties, to take seriously our demand for land reform as a fundamental requirement of post-apartheid transformation. We have written letters, attended meetings, marched and delivered memoranda, we have pleaded and begged and offered solutions. We have met several times with the D-G of Land Affairs and the Minister of Land Affairs and Agriculture to explain our very reasonable demand for a national Land Summit to look at the underlying problems causing land reform to fail. Yet our cries have not been heard and our solutions have been ignored. Not a single political party has effectively supported our demands.



We are sick and tired of being used as pawns by political elites who only “care” about us at election time, then expect us to suffer our poverty and dispossession in silence for the next five years. We do not believe that going to the polls will do anything to change our lives. Only direct, organized action by the united masses of poor and landless people across South Africa can solve the land crisis that has made us slaves in the country of our birth.



That’s why the LPM is calling on all of South Africa’s 19-million poor and landless rural people and 7-million poor and landless urban people to participate in this election by boycotting the polls, and by making Xs in the streets instead. The LPM calls on all poor and landless people to support the “No Land! No Vote!” campaign by joining our national rolling mass action campaign events across the country, as follows:



Eastern Cape: March to DLA office, Umtata on 11th March

Free State: Provincial march in Bloemfontein on the 1st April

Gauteng: Assembly of landless people on the 25th March

KwaZulu-Natal: March to Department of Safety and Security, Pmb on 21st March, or march to provincial DLA on 23rd March

Mpumalanga: March to DLA office, Ermelo on 12th March

North-West: Rustenburg march in the course of the coming month

Western Cape: Mass action/gathering on 22nd March



ISSUED BY: THE LANDLESS PEOPLE’S MOVEMENT ON 11 MARCH, 2004

FOR MORE INFORMATION: CONTACT THE LPM NATIONAL ORGANISER MANGALISO KUBHEKA ON 072-127-4055

South Africa: Making amends for apartheid: the resurrection of District Six

2004-03-18

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/story.jsp?story=501297

Dan Ndzabela, aged 82, stood at the foot of Table Mountain and looked out to the sparkling blue sea. He smiled. "It's good to be home," he said quietly. Mr Ndzabela was standing in District Six, the scene of one of apartheid's most notorious travesties. Now, in his dying years and a decade after the end of white rule, some justice is finally his. Until the 1960s District Six was Cape Town's most vibrant quarter. Blacks, coloureds, Jews and immigrants from all over the world bustled through its cobbled streets and crammed into colonial-era houses. Its diversity represented everything apartheid opposed. In 1966 the area was declared "whites only" under the hated Group Areas Act, and the first bulldozers rumbled in. Houses were levelled, streets wiped from the map, and an entire community dismembered and banished to squalid townships on the marshy Cape Flats.

Zimbabwe: Land reform in Zimbabwe - good for poor black farmers?

2004-03-18

http://www.id21.org/society/s1ajc1g1.html

Zimbabwe's fast-track land reform has had a bad press. Reports of violence and intimidation have obscured the reality that formal procedures used to settle black farmers in model villages bear a striking resemblance to earlier colonial procedures. Whilst colonial myths about African farmers as subsistence oriented and inefficient live on, evidence from south-eastern Zimbabwe suggests that the reforms have benefited some poor black farmers.

CAR: Journalist sentenced to six months

2004-03-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/media/20879

Judes Zossé, publication director of the private daily newspaper L'Hirondelle (The Swallow) in the Central African Republic (CAR), was sentenced today to six months in prison and fined 200,000 CFA francs (US$375). He was charged with "insulting the head of state." "This harsh sentence belies the CAR government's stated commitment to press freedom," said Ann Cooper, executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). "We call on authorities in CAR to release Judes Zossé immediately and unconditionally."
PRESS RELEASE/ACTION ALERT UPDATE - CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

12 March 2004

Publication director of private daily "L'Hirondelle" sentenced to six months in
prison

SOURCE: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), New York

**Updates IFEX alerts of 9 March and 26 February 2004**

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a CPJ press release, followed by the
organisation's 11 March 2004 letter to Central African Republic President
François Bozizé:

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Journalist sentenced to six months in jail

New York, March 12, 2004-Judes Zossé, publication director of the private daily
newspaper L'Hirondelle (The Swallow) in the Central African Republic (CAR), was
sentenced today to six months in prison and fined 200,000 CFA francs (US$375).
He was charged with "insulting the head of state."

"This harsh sentence belies the CAR government's stated commitment to press
freedom," said Ann Cooper, executive director of the Committee to Protect
Journalists (CPJ). "We call on authorities in CAR to release Judes Zossé
immediately and unconditionally."

Zossé's lawyer told CPJ that he would appeal the sentence. CPJ sent a letter to
CAR President François Bozizé yesterday calling for Zossé's release [the letter
follows].

CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to
safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information about press conditions
in the Central African Republic, visit www.cpj.org


March 11, 2004

His Excellency François Bozizé
President of the Central African Republic
c/o The Embassy of the Central African Republic
1618 22nd Street, NW
Washington, DC 20008

Via facsimile: (202) 332-9893

Your Excellency:

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the continued imprisonment
of Judes Zossé, publication director of the private daily L'Hirondelle (The
Swallow). Zossé was arrested on February 25, two days after the newspaper
reproduced an article titled "General Bozizé: the State's Tax-collector."

The article, which originally ran on the news Web site Centrafrique-presse.com,
alleged that Your Excellency, who came to power after a March 2003 coup, had
personally taken over the collection of state tax revenue in the Central African
Republic, prompting two senior Treasury officials to contemplate resignation.
Centrafrique-presse.com is a France-based opposition Web site run by former
President Ange-Félix Patassé's spokesperson Prosper N'Douba.

On February 26, Zossé was transferred from the police station to the N'Garagba
Central Prison in the capital, Bangui. The transfer came after a hearing before
the Bangui Court Prosecutor, who charged Zossé with "insulting the head of
state" and refused a request by Zossé's lawyer to release the journalist pending
his trial. The prosecutor has asked for an 18-month prison sentence for Zossé.
According to local sources, a verdict in the trial is expected tomorrow.

CPJ is dismayed that Zossé faces criminal charges for an article published in
his newspaper, despite repeated assurances from you and members of your
administration that you would uphold and protect press freedom. Criminal
defamation laws have a chilling effect on journalism and free expression, which
are crucial to the establishment of democracy. Zossé's imprisonment also sets a
troubling precedent during a period in which Your Excellency has called for
national reconciliation and dialogue ahead of elections expected early next
year.

As an independent organization of journalists dedicated to defending our
colleagues worldwide, CPJ demands the immediate, unconditional release of Judes
Zossé, and we call on you to ensure that Central African journalists are able to
pursue their work without fear of imprisonment.

We thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.

Sincerely,

Ann K. Cooper
Executive Director

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Send appeals to the president:
- calling on his administration to release Zossé immediately and unconditionally
- call on him to ensure that CAR journalists are able to pursue their work
without fear of imprisonment

APPEALS TO:

His Excellency François Bozizé
President of the Central African Republic
c/o The Embassy of the Central African Republic
1618 22nd Street, NW
Washington, DC 20008
United States
Fax: +1 202 332 9893

Please copy appeals to the source if possible.

For further information, contact Africa Program Coordinator Julia Crawford,
Research Associate Adam Posluns or Alexis Arieff at CPJ, 330 Seventh Ave., New
York, NY 10001, U.S.A., tel: +1 212 465 1004, fax: +1 212 465 9568, e-mail:
africa@cpj.org, aarieff@cpj.org, Internet: http://www.cpj.org/

The information contained in this press release/action alert update is the sole
responsibility of CPJ. In citing this material for broadcast or publication,
please credit CPJ.
_________________________________________________________________
DISTRIBUTED BY THE INTERNATIONAL FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
EXCHANGE (IFEX) CLEARING HOUSE
489 College Street, Suite 403,Toronto (ON) M6G 1A5 CANADA
tel: +1 416 515 9622 fax: +1 416 515 7879
alerts e-mail: alerts@ifex.org general e-mail: ifex@ifex.org
Internet site: http://www.ifex.org/
_________________________________________________________________

Gabon: Journalist arrested and jailed in Libreville

2004-03-18

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/57366/

Alfred Ngamba, a journalist with the bi-monthly newspaper "Le Nganga", was arrested and detained on 8 March 2004. He is currently incarcerated at the "Gros bouquet" prison in the Gabonese capital, Libreville. "Le Nganga" is published in the capital. According to "Le Nganga" editorial staff, Ngamba has been charged with libelling a medical doctor in an article he wrote for the paper. The unidentified doctor is also director of a well-known Libreville-based non-governmental organisation.

SADC: Call for entries for the annual John Manyarara Investigative Journalism Award

2004-03-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/media/20878

The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) is inviting entries for the MISA John Manyarara Investigative Journalism Award. This award is in honour of retired Judge John Oliver Manyarara, the founding Chairperson of the MISA Trust Fund Board (TFB) (1994 -2000), who retired from the TFB on September 8, 2000.
**We apologise for any cross-posting - The following is being forwarded exactly
as received**

To: IFEX Autolist (other news of interest)
From: Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), research@misa.org

MISA Communiqué (Investigative Journalism Award)
March 11, 2004

Call for entries for the annual John Manyarara Investigative Journalism Award

The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) is inviting entries for the MISA
John Manyarara Investigative Journalism Award. This award is in honour of
retired Judge John Oliver Manyarara, the founding Chairperson of the MISA Trust
Fund Board (TFB) (1994 -2000), who retired from the TFB on September 8, 2000.

The award seeks to recognise excellence in investigative journalism in any form
of media in the SADC region (except D R Congo, Mauritius and Seychelles). The
award carries a cash price of Euro 2 000 and a scholarship to the value of Euro
10 000. The scholarship should be used to further the recipient's journalism
professional training. The award is given for an article or series of articles
that demonstrate investigative skills and presentation of facts. The winner's
work will be published/broadcast in a major Dutch newspaper or broadcaster with
the assistance of our partner The Netherlands Institute of Southern Africa
(NIZA).

To qualify, entries must have been originally published or aired between January
1 and December 31, 2003 in any of the SADC countries (except DR Congo, Mauritius
and Seychelles). The entry must take the form of a single article or a series of
articles on the same subject, published in a
newspaper, journal, magazine or other print media, or on the Internet or aired
on radio or TV. For broadcast media entries, a written transcript of the article
or series of articles must be submitted together with details of when and where
the broadcast was made. Articles entered must be in either English or
Portuguese.

Entries should be sent by courier to: Bonita Kangootui, 21 Johann Albrecht
Street, Windhoek West, Namibia or by airmail to her on Private Bag 13386,
Windhoek, Namibia. Fax: 264 61 248016 or by e-mail: bonita@misa.org

Entries should include a copy of the article in its original published form or,
if sent by e-mail, should contain details of when and in which publication it
was made.

The closing date for entries is March 31, 2004. The award will be presented at a
gala dinner to coincide with the World Press Freedom Day celebrated annually on
May 3.

Ends

**The information contained in this autolist item is the sole responsibility of
MISA**

South Africa: Jozi FM - making it work where others failed

2004-03-18

http://cinsa.info/portal/index.php?option=articles&task=viewarticle&artid=130&Itemid=60

The following are excerpts from an interview that was conducted in September 2003 between CINSA, Africa Pulse and the station manager of a Soweto Community radio station, Jozi FM. The station manager takes us through a journey the station endured to sustainability, which serves as a lesson for establishing or strengthening similar initiatives in the SADC region.

Tanzania: Veteran journalist finally granted citizenship

2004-03-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/media/20880

The Ministry of Home Affairs has officially granted journalist Jenerali Twaha Ulimwengu citizenship by naturalisation. In 2001, in a move that shocked many, the government announced that Ulimwengu, a prominent journalist and chairperson of Habari Corporation Limited, and three other individuals had been stripped of their citizenship for allegedly failing to prove their parents' citizenship.
IFEX - News from the international freedom of expression community
_________________________________________________________________

ALERT UPDATE - TANZANIA

15 March 2004

Veteran journalist finally granted citizenship

SOURCE: Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), Windhoek

**Updates IFEX alert of 15 February 2002**

(MISA/IFEX) - The Ministry of Home Affairs has officially granted journalist
Jenerali Twaha Ulimwengu citizenship by naturalisation.

According to a public notice issued by Director of Immigration Services
K.W.B. Kihomano and published in the 11 March 2004 edition of the "Daily
News", Ulimwengu and 32 other persons were granted citizenship under
Sections 9 (1) and 1 (11) of Tanzania's Citizenship Act No. 6, 1995.

BACKGROUND:
In 2001, in a move that shocked many, the government announced that
Ulimwengu, a prominent journalist and chairperson of Habari Corporation
Limited, and three other individuals had been stripped of their citizenship
for allegedly failing to prove their parents' citizenship.

The four individuals were all advised to apply for naturalisation to address
"technical problems." On 13 February 2002, it was revealed they had all been
granted naturalisation by the home affairs minister, except for Ulimwengu.

The move confirmed fears that the whole affair had been organised to punish
Ulimwengu for his journalistic activities. His critical newspaper articles
and weekly television programme often upset the authorities.

A journalist and lawyer by training, Ulimwengu is a former member of
parliament, a former Tanzanian representative to the Pan African Youth
Movement in Algiers, Algeria, and a former member of Tanzania's ruling party
national executive committee, which is the party's highest policy organ.

For further information, contact Zoe Titus or Kaitira Kandjii, Regional
Information Coordinator, MISA, Street Address: 21 Johann Albrecht Street,
Mailing Address; Private Bag 13386 Windhoek, Namibia, tel: +264 61 232975,
fax: +264 61 248016, e-mail: research@misa.org or kkandjii@misa.org,
Internet: http://www.misa.org/

The information contained in this alert update is the sole responsibility of
MISA. In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please credit
MISA.
_________________________________________________________________
DISTRIBUTED BY THE INTERNATIONAL FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
EXCHANGE (IFEX) CLEARING HOUSE
489 College Street, Suite 403, Toronto (ON) M6G 1A5 CANADA
tel: +1 416 515 9622 fax: +1 416 515 7879
alerts e-mail: alerts@ifex.org general e-mail: ifex@ifex.org
Internet site: http://www.ifex.org/
_________________________________________________________________

Zambia: Community radio station reporters picked up by police

2004-03-18

http://www.africapulse.org.za/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=1943

On February 20, 2003 two reporters working for Radio Lyambai, a community radio station in Mongu, 581 kilometers west of the capital, Lusaka, were detained by police for about four hours for allegedly inciting people in a local township to riot.

Africa/Global: Fair globalization - creating opportunities for all

2004-03-18

http://www.eldis.org/cf/search/disp/docdisplay.cfm?doc=DOC14320&resource=f1glob

This final report of the ILO’s World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization suggests how the potential of globalisation can be better harnessed to address the needs, concerns and aspirations of more people in the world. The report argues that globalisation can be a process with a strong social dimension based on universally shared values and respect for human rights and individual dignity. It can also be fair, inclusive, democratically governed, and should provide opportunities and tangible benefits for all countries and people.

Namibia: Youth with big hearts

2004-03-18

http://allafrica.com/stories/200403151230.html

Some youths in Okakarara are beating their unemployment woes by caring for bed-ridden AIDS patients. Under the name Home Based Care Givers, the 22, mainly youth, started giving care after realising that people living with HIV/AIDS are discriminated against and stigmatised. On a daily basis, they walk some 30 km to get to their bed-ridden clients spread around Okondjatu, Otjituuo and sometimes Okamatapati.

Uganda: LRA child soldiers highly traumatised

2004-03-18

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40042

Child soldiers who have served in the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebel group, many of whom were forced to kill or watch other people being killed, may remain traumatised for years after they have been released, according to a new study. A study published by the UK-based scientific journal, the Lancet, on 13 March, has found that over half of the children surveyed - over 300, all of whom were abducted at an average age of 12 - had been seriously beaten, 77 percent had witnessed another person being killed, 39 percent had killed another person and 39 percent had abducted other children. Over one-third of the girls had been raped while 18 percent had given birth while in captivity.

Uganda: What keeps people poor?

2004-03-18

http://www.id21.org/society/s5cdl1g1.html

Uganda has made great strides against poverty. Many of those judged to be poor at the beginning of the 1990s had escaped poverty by the decade's end. However, a substantial minority were left behind and many others fell into poverty. Against the background of Uganda's impressive economic growth, there has been significant variation in individual experiences of poverty. What factors explain these divergences? What are the drivers, interrupters and maintainers of poverty in Uganda?

Zambia: Orphan crisis

2004-03-18

http://allafrica.com/stories/200403150884.html

Bessie, 11, and her sister, Dorcas, 8, (not real names) are orphans. Until a few months ago, they lived with relatives in the heart of Lusaka. But instead of care and guardianship, the two sisters were repeatedly defiled. Unable to bear the acts of sexual violation, Dorcas spoke about their ordeal to a neighbour who, in turn, reported the matter to the police. Today, Dorcas and Bessie are in the care of a local orphanage, but sadly, the effects of their defilement still live with them.

Zimbabwe: The plight of street children

2004-03-18

http://www.africapulse.net/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=1942&PHPSESSID=b31462e5882a78d6e574ef52fe91ace2

The children living on the streets ran away from their homes into the streets because the house was no longer safe for them. Some survived abuse and others lived with neglect following the deaths of their parents from AIDS. Going to the streets was a way of escaping. When the children arrived on the streets, life was not rosy but rough.

African diaspora in Latin America

2004-03-18

http://lanic.utexas.edu/la/region/african/

Through this portal you can link to numerous resources about diverse aspects of the African diaspora’s existence and experience in Latin America.

Dar Es Salaam Tells African Americans: Come and Retire Here

2004-03-18

http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/develop/africa/2003/0331retire.htm

Although originally published nearly a year ago, this article makes interesting reading.

Mobilisation of Nigerians for Nigeria (MNN): Sustainable developmental capacity for Nigeria, London, 2nd and 3rd April 2004

2004-03-18

http://www.cbc-link.com/africarecruit/Nigeria.jsp

Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation - Europe (NIDOE) is organising a two-day conference aimed at mobilising the significant Nigerian diaspora in support of development efforts in Nigeria.

Nuclear physicist promotes Indian music in South Africa

2004-03-18

http://www.indianembassy.org/i_digest/2004/jan_31/india_diaspora.htm

“To most people, nuclear physics may seem very far removed from Indian classical music - but not to South African Indian scientist Raju Kala…”

The 13th Annual Africa/Diaspora Conference

California State University, Sacramento, The Centre For African Peace & Conflict Resolution, In Collaboration With: CSUS Pan African Studies Program

2004-03-18

http://www.csus.edu/org/capcr/conference%20&%20workshop/2004%20Africa%20Conference%20Program.doc

Theme: African & African American Relations in US, Americas & Africa.
When? April 29- May 1, 2004
Where? California State University, Sacramento Univ. Union Building

Africa: Africa can curb arms proliferation

2004-03-18

http://www.smallarmsnet.org/issues/themes/armsprol.htm

The trafficking and the illicit trade in small arms has marred Africa for decades. Various national, regional and international organisations are working hard to halt this problem. The United Nations estimates that there are more than 500 million light weapons in circulation around the world. This is surely a serious cause for concern as peace and security are the fundamental prerequisites for social and economic prosperity. Millions of people in Africa have been killed while multitudes have become refugees and internally displaced, writes Khulani Qoma.

Africa: Dogs of War to Nip at Heels of Continental Parliament

2004-03-18

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=22845

When the new Pan-African Parliament is inaugurated in Ethiopia next week, it will confront a host of challenging issues - not least the role of mercenaries in Africa. “Mercenaries are now topical. They are in the news,” Frene Ginwala, the Speaker of South Africa's National Assembly, told journalists in Johannesburg on Friday. Ginwala was referring to the 79 suspected mercenaries who were arrested in Zimbabwe and the oil-rich West African nation of Equatorial Guinea this week. Along with four of her colleagues in the legislature, the speaker will represent South Africa in the Pan-African Parliament (PAP), which is to hold its first session from March 15 to 20 in Addis Ababa.

Chad/Sudan: Cross-border conflict escalates

2004-03-18

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40074

Chadian troops have successfully crossed into Darfur, western Sudan, to rescue cattle stolen by Sudanese militias known as Janjawid, according to UN sources. In the last couple of days, Chadian soldiers had crossed into Gogei, Western Darfur, to collect the cattle, following an agreement signed last week between presidents Idriss Deby of Chad and Umar al-Bashir of Sudan, sources told IRIN. The agreement allowed Chadian soldiers to cross into Sudanese territory to chase away "rebels", but was being used to chase away Janjawid militias, IRIN was told. On both sides of the largely unguarded 1,350-km border between the two countries, the military presence has reportedly increased in recent days.

East Africa: MPs Back Disaster Calls

2004-03-18

http://allafrica.com/stories/200403150185.html

Lawmakers in the East African Legislative Assembly have called on government to abide by Parliament's resolution, which declared the northern Uganda a disaster area. Addressing a news briefing on Friday at Parliament, the Legislators from Uganda read a statement signed by their counterparts from Kenya and Tanzania. They said that declaring the areas that have borne the brunt of the Kony-led insurgency since 1988 would lead to intervention from the international community.

Ivory Coast: Coup claims denied

2004-03-18

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3508492.stm

Political tension in Ivory Coast has intensified after the ruling party accused opposition forces of plotting a coup with rebels. But a senior official of the opposition Democratic Party (PDCI) has firmly denied the allegations.

Niger: Government reports clashes with Islamic militants

2004-03-18

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40112

Government troops and members of an armed Islamic group have clashed in recent weeks in the north of Niger, Defence Minister Hassane Bonto told parliament on Tuesday. Bonto said there were three clashes between the armed forces and the Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC - le groupe salafiste pour la prédication et le combat) between 22 February and 5 March.

Nigeria: Army denies alleged massacre in Niger Delta

2004-03-18

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40063

Nigerian troops have denied a claim by an activist group that they opened fire last week on unarmed villagers near the southern oil town of Warri, killing at least 51 people, hours after a soldier was killed in a clash with an armed gang. The Federated Niger Delta Ijaw Communities (FNDIC) group said in a statement on Saturday that 10 women, 19 children and 20 men were initially counted dead in the alleged 9 March dawn attack on Fenegbene by members of a special military task force stationed in the volatile region.

Sudan: Darfur - attacks against civilians ongoing

2004-03-18

http://news.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAFR540282004

"The government of Sudan has made no progress to ensure the protection of civilians caught up in the conflict in Darfur," Amnesty International said this week. Scores of civilians have reportedly been killed and dozens of villages burnt by the government-backed Janjiwid militias over the last few weeks.
"This is not a situation where the central government has lost control. Men, women and children are being killed and villages are burnt and looted because the central government is allowing militias aligned to it to pursue what amounts to a strategy of forced displacement through the destruction of homes and livelihood of the farming populations of the region," Amnesty International said.

Zimbabwe: Arms saga raises questions over govt role

2004-03-18

http://www.zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=8874

The planned trial of suspected mercenaries in Zimbabwe could raise embarrassing questions for the government over their alleged bid to buy weapons illegally from the state, defence analysts say. The key question will centre on what role President Robert Mugabe's senior aides played in any plans to procure weapons from state-owned Zimbabwe Defence Industries (ZDI), a cash-strapped agency under the firm grip of the government. Experts said it was difficult to imagine the ZDI would agree a deal to sell arms without the approval of senior government or party officials or without an end-user certificate specifying the final destination of the weapons.

Africa Speaks: Perspectives on the Road toward the Information society

2004-03-18

http://www.uneca.org/aisi/docs/africa_speaks.pdf

A collection of views from several electronic discussion groups established by the United Nations Economic Commission of Africa-UNECA in the past 5 - 6 years.

Computers help Ethiopian high schools harness online power

2004-03-18

http://www.undp.org/dpa/frontpagearchive/2004/march/8mar04/

UNDP and Ethiopia's ICT for Development Authority have delivered the first batch of 1,500 computers to the Ministry of Education as part of efforts to bring information and communications technology (ICT) to more than 160 high schools around the country. UNDP has provided US$3.5 million for the initiative and is seeking support from donors for an equal amount to enable all high schools to get online. Partners include the Ministry of Capacity Building and the Ministry of Education.

Kenya: IT meet to bridge digital divide

2004-03-18

http://www.eastandard.net/archives/March/mon15032004/business/bsnews15030402.htm

The Commowealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) has singled out Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) as vehicles for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, the chief executive officer of CTO, said bridging the digital divide and building an information based society is the most effective way of enhancing the realisation of the millennium goals — reducing the alarming global poverty levels by a half by the year 2015.

Multimedia Market Information System for Senegalese Farmers

2004-03-18

http://www.manobi.net

Farmers in the field and artisans and fishermen on the sea can use their mobile phones to check prices before they set off and find out where they will get the best offer for their produce. Manobi is a Mobile & Internet added value services operator for the agri-business sector and rural communities. Manobi had developed the T2M, a system that enables users to use their mobile telephone, a PDA or Internet in order to know in real time (i) the price and arrival status of their products at the markets, and (ii) the availability of the same products in the production sites.

Uganda: E-Commerce Law, Uganda Leads the Way

2004-03-18

http://www.nationaudio.com/News/EastAfrican/current/Business/Business1503200497.html

To boost electronic commerce and the country's foreign exchange earnings, Uganda is working on legislation that will recognise contracts entered into electronically. Peter Edopu, principal legal officer of the Uganda Law Reform Project, said that the e-commerce law under the E-Transactions, Computer Misuse and Electronic Signatures Bill 2004, the first of its kind in East Africa will recognise electronic signatures and transactions in national and international businesses.

PartnersGF online discussion

2004-03-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/enewsl/20836

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria has launched PartnersGF - an online discussion forum which will provide an opportunity to communicate ideas and suggestions about how to improve the Global Fund at all levels. This forum is open to all organisations and individuals who wish to join. To join, send an email to join-partnersGF@eforums.healthdev.org

Call for applications: Ecosystem approaches to human health training awards 2004-05

2004-03-18

http://web.idrc.ca/en/ev-54483-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html

The Ecohealth Training Awards encourage graduate-level students to examine the relationships between the environment, human health, and development from a holistic perspective through field research that contributes to understanding these relationships as inter-related. The focus of this year’s competition is health in an urban context. Applicants are asked to submit proposals that use ecosystem approaches to human health to analyse the links between human health and urban ecosystem conditions, as well as identify potential intervention strategies based on better natural resource management that improves human health and ecosystem sustainability. Deadline for receiving applications: May 15, 2004.

Call for papers: Training workshop on alternative historical sources

Maputo, 13 – 19 September 2004

2004-03-18

http://www.codesria.org/Links/Research/Sephis/position%20paper.pdf

It is increasingly acknowledged that visual traces and records, whether art or documentary, offer new routes to the past – especially where the life experiences and expression of people of the South have been marginalized in external or dominant literary sources. The immediate goal of this South/South workshop is to bring together esearchers from Latin America, Africa, Southern Asia and the Caribbean, with a view to exchanging experiences, theories and methodologies on the visual. Interested applicants should include a three page academic CV, the proposed paper (maximum of 5 pages), including its summary (500 words) and a recommendation letter by 15 June 2004. An international scientific committee will select the candidates by 15 July 2004.

Double bottom line project report: Methods catalogue

2004-03-18

http://www.rockfound.org/display.asp?context=1&Collection=1&DocID=649&Preview=0&ARCurrent=1

The Double Bottom Line (DBL) is a relatively new concept for business leaders. The authors of this report think of DBL businesses as entrepreneurial ventures that strive to achieve measurable social and financial outcomes. As the lines between grantmaking and investing continue to blur, the idea of measuring social return concurrent with traditional financial accounting has caught on among investors, funders and entrepreneurs. Additionally, there has been widespread movement toward more tangible accountability for the social impact created for each invested or granted dollar. Unlike the business community, where generally accepted principles of accounting and legal infrastructures help manage the reporting of financial returns, there is no comparable standard for social impact assessment.

Re-imagining philanthropy: Partnerships and poverty in the global age

2004-03-18

http://www.rockfound.org/display.asp?context=1&Collection=1&DocID=652&Preview=0&ARCurrent=1

The context within which we practice philanthropy has changed dramatically — the world of even 15 years ago is gone. As recently as the 1980's, the world's economic systems were fairly clear: nation states controlled their borders and most businesses operated within those borders, importing or exporting from them. International institutions, created almost exclusively after WWII, mediated between nation states, helping diffuse tensions on everything from monetary policy to movements of refugees. That was the context in which philanthropies operated. It was difficult, but orderly. Three new forces have disturbed the old world we lived and acted within: global economics, access to information and the role of the United States as the sole superpower.

Resource Alliance targets South Africa for the 5th International Workshop on Resource Mobilisation

Press Release

2004-03-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/fundraising/20954

The 5th International Workshop on Resource Mobilisation (IWRM) is an annual workshop organised by the Resource Alliance. The workshop is taking place at the Birchwood Executive Hotel, Johannesburg, South Africa, 26th-28th March 2004. 220 attendees from 45 countries worldwide have already booked to attend this year's IWRM making it the largest and most international to-date. The reputation of the IWRM is obviously spreading worldwide, as delegates from countries ranging from Malaysia and India to Egypt and Ecuador are travelling to South Africa to attend this leading international forum for training and policy discussion on local resource mobilisation.
Resource Alliance targets South Africa for the
5th International Workshop on Resource Mobilisation

The 5th International Workshop on Resource Mobilisation (IWRM) is an annual workshop organised by the Resource Alliance. The workshop is taking place at the Birchwood Executive Hotel, Johannesburg, South Africa, 26th-28th March 2004.

220 attendees from 45 countries worldwide have already booked to attend this year's IWRM making it the largest and most international to-date.

The reputation of the IWRM is obviously spreading worldwide, as delegates from countries ranging from Malaysia and India to Egypt and Ecuador are travelling to South Africa to attend this leading international forum for training and policy discussion on local resource mobilisation. Delegates from all over Africa have also booked and the total attendee figures are expected to increase in the final weeks as the excitement builds up to the conference. The wide range of nationalities at the IWRM is renowned for creating a unique environment in which to debate and share ideas and experiences on an international scale.

Previous IWRMs have taken place in Europe, Nairobi, India and Thailand but for 2004 the Resource Alliance chose to target South Africa.

Simon Collings, Chief Executive of the Resource Alliance commented 'South Africa has a vibrant civil society. Hosting the IWRM here will provide us with an opportunity to highlight many of the exciting initiatives, which are taking place. There are also many valuable lessons to be learned from the steps the South African government and the donor community have taken to support civic action and philanthropy.'
CONTINUES

The Resource Alliance are also delighted that they had the opportunity to work alongside Civicus and link the event with the Civicus World Assembly, which is taking place on 21-25 March 2004 in Botswana.

Leading resource mobilisation experts and practitioners from all over the world will present a comprehensive programme of workshops, plenaries and discussion forums at the 5th IWRM. The programme covers all aspects of resource mobilisation, including fundraising, communication, accountability and mobilising local involvement. The first day will consist of Policy Day, which will specifically focus on the wider policy environment in which not-for-profit organisations operate in and the challenges and opportunities in the global South.

Key Speakers include: Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi, (African Women’s Development Fund, Ghana), Kurt MacLeod, (PACT Cambodia), Tony Elischer (THINK Consulting Solutions, UK), Gail Smith (Department of Social Development, South Africa) and Kumi Naidoo (Civicus, South Africa) and Ezra Mbogori (Mwengo, Zimbabwe).

The full programme and booking information is now online, so log onto www.resource-alliance.org to find out more.

If you have any questions on the Workshop, please do not hesitate to contact the Resource Alliance either by email to iwrm@resource-alliance.org or by telephone: 00 44 (0) 20 7587 0287.

ENDS
Notes
For information on the Civicus World Assembly, please visit: www.civicus.org

Created on: 11th March 2004 by Louise O’Mahony. The Resource Alliance: Louise@resource-alliance.org Telephone 0044 (0) 20 7587 0287.

Sabbatical Research Grants

2004-03-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/fundraising/20943

The Organisation for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa (OSSREA) is offering Sabbatical Research Grants to successful applicants based in Eastern and Southern Africa. Proposals may be submitted by researchers from any of the disciplines in the social sciences involving applied social and economic analysis of contemporary development issues.
THE SABBATICAL RESEARCH GRANT PROGRAMME

The Organisation for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa (OSSREA) is offering Sabbatical Research Grants to successful applicants based in Eastern and Southern Africa. The programme uses the Academic calendar year as its base. An application shall be with respect to the current calendar year and/or the following calendar year only, within the period of the Sabbatical. Proposals may be submitted by researchers from any of the disciplines in the social sciences involving applied social and economic analysis of contemporary development issues.
Objectives
African scholars based in various institutions in the region often go outside the region for their sabbaticals. This programme is, therefore, intended to give an opportunity to these scholars to arrange their sabbaticals in the various research institutions and universities found in the region and hence strengthen the teaching and research capacity in the region and encourage South-South cooperation.

Eligibility and Application Procedures
All applicants must be based in Eastern or Southern Africa, currently employed, enrolled in or otherwise affiliated with a national institution which conducts research. They must hold a PhD degree from an accredited academic institution and with a minimum of 7 years full-time university teaching experience. The applicant's institution must endorse the research to be undertaken and be willing to provide some support to the applicant.

A complete proposal should contain the following:
1. A current curriculum vitae.
2. Date of Sabbatical.
3. A copy of your application for sabbatical leave.
4. Location (s) of proposed research (be specific as to institution or other research site).
5. Other research support available during leave.
6. Title of Research Project.
7. Research Plan (objective, scope, significance, literature review, method of approach and design of research, and bibliography).
8. Any research or other scholarly endeavour previously undertaken in this or a related field.
9. List of publications or equivalent endeavour for the last five years.
10. A break-down of the budget (describe each item and indicate how it is related to the research project):
a. Travel (include specific information concerning places to be visited, mode of travel, indicate rates, subsistence cost at approved rates, etc.). Travel expenses of spouse and children may not be claimed.
b. Assistants (include duration and rate of pay)
c. Materials and supplies (itemise where appropriate)
d. Other cost (specify)

i. Eligible - photocopying costs, typing costs, supplies, field expenditures, drafting costs, archival photo reprints, manuscript copying, printing, publication costs, conference attendance, shipping charges of research effects to research destination and return, books, journals directly related to the research project, bench fees and other reasonable costs.
ii. Ineligible – research assistant attending conference, course fees, membership in professional societies, visas, medical insurance, office rental, proportion of mortgage and other expenses for in-home office, exchange, consulting, commuting while sojourning.
A letter of endorsement from the institution of affiliation and official clearance from the relevant government authority (in countries where this is applicable). The letter should state that: a) the Institution will benefit from this research activity; and b) the activity is timely and appropriate for the field of interest of the researcher.
The size of the proposal should be limited to a maximum of 10-15 pages with 1.5” line-spacing. Applications that exceed this page limit will not be considered at all.
Budget
The budget for the proposed research should not exceed US$15,000 and may be used to cover actual research costs (e.g., local travel and subsistence, supplies, acquisition of documents, photocopying, etc.).

Selection Procedures and Other Conditions
Research grants will be awarded on the recommendation of a panel of scholars drawn from Eastern and Southern Africa. The panel will blind-review all proposals.
Successful applicants will be expected to take up their awards within three months from the date of notification. Normally, the award will be good for a period no longer the Sabbatical, by which time a final report and a statement of accounts for the grant fund expended should have been submitted to OSSREA.

Grantees will be required to submit to OSSREA their final research reports as one hard copy and another copy on a floppy disk, and deposit copies of their final research reports with the relevant university library, sponsoring academic department or the national archives in the country where the research was conducted.

Application Deadline
Grant applications and proposals should be submitted to OSSREA by mail before 31st July 2004. Electronic Submissions will not be accepted. Completed applications and inquiries should be addressed to:

The Coordinator
Sabbatical Research Grant Programme
OSSREA
P.O. Box 31971
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia


POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP GRANT PROGRAMME

Committed to its conviction of maintaining the teaching and research capacity in Africa, the Organisation for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa (OSSREA) is offering Post-Doctoral Fellowship Grants to successful applicants based in Eastern or Southern Africa. Proposals may be submitted by researchers from any of the disciplines in the social sciences involving applied social and economic analysis of contemporary development issues.
Objectives
In its effort to retain the teaching and research capacity in the region and beyond, the programme has the following specific objectives:
· To provide opportunities for African PhD degree holders to work in the region and thereby discourage brain drain;
· To enhance the teaching and research capacities of universities and other research institutions in the region;
· To promote the scholarly exchange of ideas in the region;
· To provide a forum for African PhD holders of research and dialogue with policy-makers in the region; and
· To enhance the utilisation of primary research and encourage its circulation among universities and research institutions in the region.
Eligibility and Application Procedures
All applicants must be based in Eastern or Southern Africa, currently employed, enrolled in or otherwise affiliated with a national institution which conducts research. They must hold a PhD degree from an accredited institution and with a not more than 5 years full-time university teaching experience. The applicant’s institution must endorse the research to be undertaken and be willing to provide some support to the applicant.
A complete proposal should contain the following:
1. A current curriculum vitae.
2. Copies of academic credentials (Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral degrees).
3. Title of Research Project.
4. Research Plan (objective, scope, significance, literature review, method of approach and design of research, and bibliography).
5. A break-down of the budget in local and US dollars (describe each item and indicate how it is related to the research project):
a. Travel (include specific information concerning places to be visited, mode of travel, indicate rates, subsistence cost at approved rates, etc.). Travel expenses of spouse and children may not be claimed.
b. Assistants (include duration and rate of pay).
c. Materials and supplies (itemize where appropriate).
d. Other cost (specify).
i. Eligible – photocopying costs, typing costs, supplies, field expenditures, purchase of books and journals directly related to the research project, a maximum of 2 research assistants with details on duties and rates, and other reasonable costs.
ii. Ineligible – purchase of computer and its accessories, camera, video recorder and its accessories, course fees, membership in professional societies, visas, medical insurance, organising/attending conferences/workshops, exchange, consulting.
6. A letter of endorsement from the institution of affiliation and official clearance from the relevant government authority (in countries where this is applicable). The letter should state that: a) the Institution will benefit from this research activity; and b) the activity is timely and appropriate for the field of interest of the researcher.
7. The size of the proposal should be limited to a maximum of 10-15 pages with 1.5” line-spacing. Applications that exceed this page limit will not be considered at all.

Budget

The budget for the proposed research should not exceed US$10,000 and may be used to cover actual research costs (e.g., local travel and subsistence, supplies, acquisition of documents, photocopying, etc.).

Selection Procedures and Other Conditions

Research grants will be awarded on the recommendation of a panel of scholars drawn from Eastern and Southern Africa. The panel will blind-review all proposals.

The research is expected to be finalised 10 months after the signing of the agreement for the fellowship grant award. The grantees are expected to report quarterly on the progress of the research and submit the finalised research report in the form of a publishable monograph/book in both soft and hard copy.

Application Deadline

Grant applications and proposals should be submitted to OSSREA by mail before 31st July 2004. Electronic submissions will not be accepted. Completed applications and inquiries should be addressed to:

The Coordinator
The Post-Doctoral Fellowship Grant Program
OSSREA
P.O. Box 31917
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

SENIOR SCHOLARS RESEARCH GRANT

The Organisation for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa (OSSREA) is a regional research and capacity-building organisation based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Its mission is to develop and promote the emergence of a culture of excellence in the study, research and training in the social sciences.

Objectives

The senior scholars research grant programme provides senior scholars with an opportunity to carry out research that is on par with international standards. This opportunity is provided in recognition of the fact that universities in the region face constraints with regard to funds available for research.

The programme was initiated to retain the research capacity built in the Eastern and Southern African region and redirect the contribution of senior scholars from consultancy work to high quality research that has both policy relevance and academic significance.

Themes for Research Proposals
· Regional integration
· Conflict management, resolution and post-conflict reconstruction
· Migration and refugees
· Education, indigenous knowledge and development
· Information technology, culture and society
· Gender roles, democracy and development
· Resource management and food security
· Poverty, economy and society
· Health, economy and society
· HIV/AIDS and cultural practices
· Human rights
· Religion and society
· Governance issues in multi-ethnic societies
· Environmental concerns and pollution

Eligibility and Application Procedure

All applicants must be based in Eastern or Southern Africa, currently employed in or otherwise affiliated with a national institution that conducts research. They must hold a PhD degree in the social sciences from an accredited institution and with a minimum of 10 years full-time university teaching experience. They must hold a senior rank or position, have at least 10 years research experience and with a high publication profile. The applicant’s institution must endorse the research to be undertaken and be willing to provide some support to the applicant.

A complete proposal should contain the following:

1. A covering letter.
2. A current curriculum vitae.
3. Copies of academic credentials.
4. Evidence of teaching and/or research experience and current position from employer.
5. Research Plan (objective, scope, significance, literature review, method of approach and design of research, and bibliography).
6. Any research or other scholarly endeavour previously undertaken in this or related field.
7. List of publications or equivalent endeavour for the last five years.
8. A break-down of the budget in local and US dollars (describe each item and indicate how it is related to the research project):
a. Travel (include specific information concerning places to be visited, mode of travel, indicate rates, subsistence cost at approved rates, etc.). Travel expenses of spouse and children may not be claimed.
b. Assistants (include duration and rate of pay).
c. Materials and supplies (itemize where appropriate).
d. Other cost (specify).
9. A letter of endorsement from the institution of affiliation and official clearance form the relevant government authority (in countries where this is applicable). The letter should state that: a) the Institution will benefit from this research activity; and b) the activity is timely and appropriate for the field of interest of the researcher.
10. Co-authored proposals are accepted PROVIDED that the proposal is written by only two authors that fulfil the eligibility criteria indicated above.
11. Proposals co-authored by scholars in two different countries and focusing on issues of regional significance are highly encouraged.
Budget

The budget of the proposed research should not exceed US$20,000 and may be used to cover actual research costs (e.g., local travel and subsistence, supplies, acquisition of documents, photocopying, etc.).
Selection Procedure and Other Conditions

Research grants will be awarded on the recommendation of a panel of scholars drawn from Eastern and Southern Africa. The panel will blind-review all proposals.

Grantees will be required to finalise the research and present the output 12 months after the signing of the grant contract. The will have to report quarterly on the progress of the research. They will present the major findings of the research at a forum that will be organised by OSSREA. They will be required to submit to OSSREA their final research report in the form of a publishable monograph/book and a copy on floppy disk. They should also deposit copies of their final research reports with the relevant university library, sponsoring academic department or the national archives in the country where the research was conducted.

Application Deadline

Grant applications and proposals should be submitted to OSSREA by mail before 30th June 2004. Electronic submissions will not be accepted. Completed applications and inquiries should be addressed to:

The Coordinator
Senior Scholars Research Grant
OSSREA
P. O. Box 31971
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia


THE SIXTEENTH OSSREA
GENDER ISSUES RESEARCH GRANT COMPETITION FOR YOUNG SCHOLARS

The Organisation for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa (OSSREA) is pleased to announce the Sixteenth Gender Issues Research Grant Competition. Proposals may be submitted by researchers from any of the disciplines of the Social Sciences, with a focus on gender issues. Suggested topics for this year include the following:

· Gender and Democracy
· Labour, Gender, Class and Ethnicity
· Changing Gender and Generational Relations in AIDS-Ravaged Community
· Entrepreneurship
· Framework and Policy for the Integration of Women in Development
· Sexuality and Reproductive Health
· The Informal Sector
· Political Mobilisation and Good Governance
· Agriculture Industry and the Service Sector

Grantees are expected to conduct field research anywhere in Eastern and Southern Africa.

Objectives

The primary objective of the Competition is to encourage young scholars to conduct research which will contribute to the elucidation and understanding of gender issues as they relate to development. A secondary objective is to encourage the availability of research findings for policy-makers as well as for teaching purposes.

Eligibility and Application Procedures

While the Competition is open to both women and men, women are strongly encouraged to apply. All applicants must be based in Eastern or Southern Africa, currently employed, enrolled in or otherwise affiliated with a national institution which conducts research. They must hold at least a Master’s degree from an accredited academic institution. However, female applicants not affiliated with research institutions but that have a BA degree and prior research experience will be considered for the Competition. The applicant's institution must endorse the research to be undertaken and be willing to provide some support to the applicant. Proposals prepared for the fulfillment of the requirements for a degree will not be accepted.

Individuals who have won once in previous OSSREA competitions are not eligible.
A complete proposal should contain the following:
1. A synopsis of the proposed research, including:
(a) Title, (b) Background, (c) Problem statement, (d) Study objectives, (e) Study significance and scope, (f) Conceptual framework, (g) Literature review, (h) Methodology, (i) Bibliography, (j) Work plan, and (k) A break-down of the budget required to accomplish the proposed research, both in local currency and its equivalent in US Dollars.
2. A current curriculum vita of the applicant, including age, educational level, gender, nationality and a detailed address (P. O. Box, Phone, Fax & E-mail).
A letter of endorsement from the institution of affiliation and official clearance from the relevant government authority (in countries where this is applicable).
4. The size of the proposal should be limited to a maximum of 10-15 pages with 1.5” line-spacing. Applications that exceed this page limit will not be considered at all.

Budget
The budget for the proposed research should not exceed US$5,000 and may be used to cover actual research costs (e.g., local travel and subsistence, supplies, acquisition of documents, photocopying, and, in the case of female applicants, for child care expenses where deemed necessary). This will be subject to the approval of the Jury. Allocation for equipment (PC, tape recorders, etc.) and contingency are unacceptable.

Not more than US$1000 of the total grant will be allowed as payment of honorarium to the grantee.

Selection Procedures and Other Conditions
Research grants will be awarded on the recommendation of a panel of scholars drawn from Eastern and Southern Africa. The panel will review all proposals, with the names of the applicants removed.
Successful applicants will be expected to take up their awards within three months from the date of notification. Normally, the award will be good for a period no longer than one year, by which time a final report and a statement of accounts for the grant fund expended should have been submitted to OSSREA.

Grantees will be required to deposit copies of their final research reports with the relevant university library, sponsoring academic department or the national archives in the country where the research was conducted, in addition to submitting to OSSREA one hard copy and another copy on a floppy disk.

Application Deadline
Grant applications and proposals should be submitted to OSSREA by express mail before 30 April 2004. Electronic Submissions will not be accepted. Completed applications and inquiries should be addressed to:

The Coordinator
16th OSSREA Gender Issues Research Grant Competition
OSSREA
P.O. Box 31971
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia



THE EIGHTEENTH OSSREA SOCIAL SCIENCE
RESEARCH GRANT COMPETITION FOR YOUNG SCHOLARS


The Organisation for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa (OSSREA) is offering research grants to successful applicants based in Eastern and Southern Africa during the current year. Proposals may be submitted by researchers from any of the disciplines in the social sciences involving applied social and economic analysis of contemporary development issues. Grantees are expected to conduct field research anywhere in Eastern and Southern Africa.

Objectives
The objectives of the Competition are to encourage young scholars to conduct research in the social sciences, to strengthen teaching in the social sciences through the joint participation of faculty and students in field research, and to enhance the subsequent availability of research findings for teaching purposes.

Research Topics

The Competition is open to proposals focusing on any topic in the social sciences. However, special consideration will be given to proposals focusing on the following themes:

· Higher Education: Crises, Reform and Transformation
· The Challenge of Globalisation and Poverty
· Migration Dynamics and Changing Rural-Urban Linkages
· Political Pluralism and Management of Diversity
· Population Movements and the Spread of HIV/AIDS
· Structural Adjustment Programmes and the Social Sector
· Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) and Institutions
· Accountability, Ethics and Leadership
· Civil Society, Multi-party Politics, and Democratisation
· Regional Economic Cooperation
· Environmental Issues and Their Relations to Development

Eligibility and Application Procedures
All applicants must be based in Eastern or Southern Africa, currently employed, enrolled in or otherwise affiliated with a national institution which conducts research. They must hold at least a Master’s degree from an accredited academic institution. The applicant's institution must endorse the research to be undertaken and be willing to provide some support to the applicant. Proposals prepared for the fulfillment of the requirements for a degree will not be accepted.
Individuals who have won once in previous OSSREA competitions are not eligible.
A complete proposal should contain the following:

1. A synopsis of the proposed research including:
(a) Title, (b) Background, (c) Problem statement, (d) Study objectives, (e) Study significance and scope, (f) Conceptual framework, (g) Literature review, (h) Methodology, (i) Bibliography, (j) Work plan, and (k) A break-down of the budget required to accomplish the proposed research, both in local currency and its equivalent in US Dollars.

2. A current curriculum vita of the applicant, including age, gender, educational level, nationality and a detailed address (P. O. Box, Phone, Fax & E-mail).
3. A letter of endorsement from the institution of affiliation and official clearance from the relevant government authority (in countries where this is applicable).
4. The size of the proposal should be limited to a maximum of 10-15 pages with 1.5” line-spacing. Applications that exceed this page limit will not be considered at all.

Budget

The budget for the proposed research should not exceed US$5,000 and may be used to cover actual research costs (e.g., local travel and subsistence, supplies, acquisition of documents, photocopying, etc.). This will be subject to the approval of the Jury. Allocation for equipment (PC, tape recorders, etc.) and contingency are unacceptable.

Not more than US$1000 of the total grant will be allowed as payment of honorarium to the grantee.

Selection Procedures and Other Conditions

Research grants will be awarded on the recommendation of a panel of scholars drawn from Eastern and Southern Africa. The panel will review all proposals, with the names of the applicants removed.

Successful applicants will be expected to take up their awards within three months from the date of notification. Normally the award will be good for a period no longer than one year, by which time a final report and a statement of accounts for the grant fund expended should have been submitted to OSSREA.

Grantees will be required to deposit copies of their final research reports with the relevant university library, sponsoring academic department or the national archives in the country where the research was conducted, in addition to submitting to OSSREA one hard copy and another copy on a floppy disk.

Application Deadline

Grant applications and proposals should be submitted to OSSREA by express mail before 30 April 2004. Electronic Submissions will not be accepted. Completed applications and inquiries should be addressed to:

The Coordinator
18th Social Science
Research Grant Competition
OSSREA
P.O. Box 31971
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia


Vacancy

The Organisation for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa (OSSREA)
Addis Ababa, ETHIOPIA

OSSREA MISSION: To promote dialogue and interaction between researchers and policy-makers in Eastern and Southern Africa with a view to enhancing the impact of research on policy-making and development planning.

POSITION: RESEARCH, PUBLICATIONS & TRAINING OFFICER

DETAILS OF DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
· Oversee the proper implementation of research and training programmes of OSSREA;
· Coordinate OSSREA’s research activities, including monitoring and evaluation;
· Be responsible for dissemination of OSSREA’s research outputs with a view to ensuring policy/research interface;
· Ensure the timely publication of all OSSREA publications and research outputs;
· Plan, organise, coordinate research, training and publication activities of OSSREA;
· Formulate strategies and implementation modalities for enhancing the quality of the publications, and the promotion and marketing of OSSREA’s research outputs;
· Coordinate activities of the OSSREA documentation centre;
· Identify project ideas and prepare concept papers and research project proposals;
· Design needs assessment surveys for research and training activities;
· Prepare and coordinate reports to donors on various OSSREA projects; and
· Perform such other related tasks as may be assigned by the Executive Secretary from time to time.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:
· A Ph. D. degree in any branch of the Social Sciences;
· A minimum of 5 years research experience gained within a research/university institution; at least a continuous period of three years to have been spent in Eastern and/or Southern Africa;
· Ability to work in a multi-disciplinary environment;
· Ability to work in a team and under time pressure;
· Experience in dealing with donor agencies is an added advantage; and
· Proficiency in oral and written communication skills in English.

REMUNERATION: The Organisation offers an international competitive and attractive remuneration package commensurate with the candidate’s qualifications and relevant work experiences.

APPLICATIONS: Applications must include a covering letter, curriculum vitae, copies of academic credentials, three recent publications together with the names and addresses of three referees, two of which should come from referees resident in countries other than the applicant’s current country of abode. They should be addressed to:

The Executive Secretary
OSSREA
P. O. Box 31971
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Phone: 251-1-551163
Fax: 251-1-551399
Email: ossrea@telecom.net.et
Website: http://www/ossrea.net

CLOSING DATE: The deadline for receipt of applications is 30th April 2004.

South Africa: Shuttleworth Foundation: Innovation Bazaar

2004-03-18

http://www.thusanang.org.za/index.php?option=news&task=viewarticle&sid=531

The Shuttleworth Foundation is hosting an event for innovative projects to market themselves to potential grantmakers. To this end, the Foundation invites applications from South African initiated education projects involving subject areas such as maths, science and technology for implementation in Gauteng and/or Western Cape in 2005.

8th West Africa Information and Communications Technologies Conference and Exhibition

2004-03-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/courses/20872

AITEC GHANA, Ministry of Communications and Technology and Leaders in West African ICT industry will host The 8th West Africa ICT conference and Exhibition to facilitate a knowledge and information sharing platform on the future of ICT in West Africa and its developmental impact.
Call for Papers and conference annoucement

The 8TH West Africa Information and Communications Technologies Conference
and Exhibition - AITEC WEST AFRICA 2004

Intensive knowledge-sharing platform for Results

WHO: AITEC GHANA, Ministry of Communications and Technology and Leaders in
West African ICT industry will host The 8th West Africa ICT conference and
Exhibition to facilitate a knowledge and information sharing platform on the
future of ICT in West Africa and its developmental impact.

WHAT: A two- day conference
WHEN: 1-2 June, 2004

WHERE: Accra International Conference Center, Accra-Ghana

Call for Papers

Individuals and organizations are invited to submit proposals for Conference
and Workshop Presentations at AITEC WEST AFRICA 2004. The theme for AITEC
2004 is:

"BUILDING PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP AND CREATING OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH ICT"

Presentations will be selected on the basis of their educational value.
Commercial product or service promotion will not be permitted in the main
conference programme. Companies can book presentations in the Enterprise
Solutions Showcase for this purpose.

KEY CONFERENCE SESSIONS

1. ICT's Infrastructure Policy and Action Plans
2. Business Process Outsourcing - BPO
3. ICT Strategic solutions and implementation
4. Interconnectivity - Challenges and Solutions
5. Inter-department relationships and influencing board decision-making
6. Corps de Spirit -Training and coaching end users in your organisation



TRAINING WORKSHOP

1. Leadership, management and entrepreneurship.
2. Mechanism for successful Intranet deployment - Case study
3. Security - Focus on Spam and viruses
4. Implementing Bar coding System
5. Information and Knowledge Management.

CONCURRENT EVENTS

World Summit on Information Society - WSIS Workshop
2nd National ICT's forum
1st National ICT's Award Gala Night
ICT workshop for Journalist


Submission Guidelines:
Please email paper abstracts of not more than 400 words by 28th March 2004.
They should include: the session title, proposed presentation, presentation
title, author's name, institution, address, telephone, e- mail and URL.

Abstracts should be e-mailed to Program Chair ( Gershon Adzadi, PhD) at
gershon@aitecafrica.com indicating the author's last name in the title of
the message.

The Organising Committee will evaluate the abstracts. The Conference
Co-odinating Office will communicate the results of the evaluation by 26th
April 2004.

Languages:
Abstracts and papers may be written in any of the AITEC WEST AFRICA 2004
official languages: English and French.

DATES TO REMEMBER

29 March 2004: Deadline for receipt of abstracts.
25 April 2004: Communication to authors regarding the approval of the
proposed submissions.
2 May 2004: Deadline for the submission of papers.
June 1 - 2 2004: conference dates






CONFERENCE REGISTRATION CONTACT
Kwaku Baffour-Ansah
AITEC GHANA
Accra-Ghana
kwaku@aitecafrica.com

Cities in Gloabalisation seminar

9th –11th of June 2004, Wits University, South Africa

2004-03-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/courses/20871

The seminar will interrogate and critically analyse the approach employed in developing South African cities, and explore challenges faced by the cities in light of increasing globalisation and decentralization. Issues such as integration of various communities through planning that were previously separated by apartheid legislation and how this process is developing will be looked at. A critical analysis and discussion will ensue around integration strategies adopted by various cities.
Open Invitation

The Centre for Urban and Built Environment Studies (CUBES) in
partnership with Rosa Luxemburg Foundation (RLF) is hosting a seminar on

Cities in Gloabalisation

so you are cordially invited to attend the seminar.

The seminar would interrogate and critically analyse the approach
employed in developing South African cities, explore challenges faced by
the cities in light of increasing globalisation and decentralization.
Issues such as integration of various communities through planning that
were previously separated by apartheid legislation and how this process
is developing. A critical analysis and discussion will ensue around
integration strategies adopted by various cities. Other issues to be
interrogated by the seminar would be:

• Public Transport system in Planning
• Ownership and responsibility
• Planning for new settlements and Agricultural programmes
• New planning of housing in the inner city (Co-ops Housing and Trade
Union Movements )
• Link urbanization to socialisation and Public Goods/Services

Date: 9th –11th of June 2004

Venue: University of the Witwatersrand

Invited Speakers from: Germany, Poland, United States of America, Russia
and South Africa

RSVP: 6th May 2004 (this is very important as we are working on a
limited number and the entire programme would be forwarded after having
responded); please note: the detailed programme will be send out on 11th
May only to those who have registered.

Contact details:
Tel: (011) 717-7644/7730
Fax: (011) 717-7719
E mail: cubes@cubes.wits.ac.za

Note:
Delegates attending the seminar are responsible for own transport and
accommodation arrangements. To get a registration form, please contact Eddy.


Please distribute widely!


Eddie Sabi
Programme Coordinator
Centre for Urban and Built Environment Studies (CUBES)

Kenya: Regional Coordinator/Collaboration Programme Officer/Campaigns Officer

Health Action International (HAI)

2004-03-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/jobs/20870

Health Action International (HAI) Africa is a growing informal network of consumers, NGOs, health care providers, academics and individuals in more than 20 countries promoting increased access to essential medicines, the essential medicines concept and the rational use of both modern and traditional medicines. HAI is looking for experienced individuals to occupy the above positions in its office in Nairobi, Kenya.
Job openings, Nairobi, Kenya

Health Action International (HAI) Africa is a growing informal network
of consumers, NGOs, health care providers, academics and individuals in
more than 20 countries promoting increased access to essential
medicines, the essential medicines concept and the rational use of both
modern and traditional medicines. HAI is looking for experienced
individuals to occupy the following positions in its office in Nairobi,
Kenya:
Regional Coordinator
Collaboration Programme Officer
Campaigns Officer

The regional coordinator is the senior executive position in charge of
the overall network and the coordinating office. The HAI Africa regional
coordinating office implements activities that increase partners’
capacity to work effectively on medicines issues, improve their ability
to participate in policy formulation and implementation, increase the
amount of quality information available in a format appropriate for
partners’ needs, facilitate networking and sharing of information and
expertise and increase collaboration between WHO and civil society in
the region.

The collaboration programme officer will organise and implement agreed
activities in the WHO Essential Drugs and Medicines Policy Department
(WHO/EDM)-HAI Africa Regional Collaboration for Action on Essential
Medicines in Africa in three focal countries.

The campaigns officer will be in charge of developing and implementing
HAI Africa's essential medicines advocacy and policy positions in the
region in consultation with the coordinator and the HAI Africa board.
Current priorities are affordability and availability, with a focus on
intellectual property and medicines issues and pricing. The officer
will work to increase partners' abilities to advocate for improved
medicines policies and programmes in the region and internationally.

Full job descriptions and further application information can be found
on www.haifrica.org Deadlines are rolling until the positions are
filled.

Applicants of African nationality and female applicants are especially
encouraged to apply.

Northern Programme Director

ACORD

2004-03-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/jobs/20939

ACORD is an Africa led International Agency working in alliance with others to promote social justice and development. With an income of approximately £8 million p.a. we implement long-term development programmes in 18 African countries that unite practical work with advocacy, research and social action. ACORD employs some 500 staff across Africa, has its Secretariat in Nairobi and a small advocacy and fundraising office in London.
Are you looking for a job where you are an integral part of a forward thinking innovative development agency in Africa?
Do you believe that people are the primary actors in their own survival and development?

Northern Programme Director
London Office
Salary approximately £34,359 depending on experience

ACORD is an Africa led International Agency working in alliance with others to promote social justice and development. With an income of approximately £8 million p.a. we implement long-term development programmes in 18 African countries that unite practical work with advocacy, research and social action. ACORD employs some 500 staff across Africa, has its Secretariat in Nairobi and a small advocacy and fundraising office in London.

Working at senior management level you will be responsible for the delivery of the Northern Component of the ACORD Global Programme; enhancing ACORD’s capacity to engage and influence strategic poverty debates that occur in the North, you'll develop strategies that ensure learning generated from within our programme’s across Africa has maximum impact on key policy debates in the North. You will also help to establish strategic partnerships working with agencies and development networks to influence the policy debates.

You will have at least 5 years programme experience within an NGO development environment of which 3 have been in Africa; a track record of research and policy advocacy on poverty, human rights, international solidarity and/or social justice movements is essential. Marketing the ideas and approaches of ACORD with a view to increasing support for its work is key, therefore you must have experience of building partnerships and alliances for advocacy or influencing purposes.

http://www.acord.org.uk/b-newvacancies.htm for full job description and personal specification, and background information to ACORD.

Please complete an application form; available on the web site and e-mail to with the latest copy of your CV to recruit@acordnairobi.org placing the position you are applying for in the subject line. Hard copy applications may be sent to ACORD, Dean Bradley House, 52 Horseferry Rd. London. SW1P 2AF.

Closing date for completed applications is: 12th April 2004. Interviews will be held in Nairobi.


ACORD is striving to be an equal opportunities employer.
Registered charity no: 283302

South Africa: Publications Co-Ordinator

Institute for Security Studies

2004-03-18

http://www.iss.org.za/jobs/home.htm

The publications co-ordinator serves as the editor of the African Security Review, the flagship quarterly journal of the ISS, and manages the production of all other ISS publications through outsourcing arrangements with typesetters, designers and printers.
South Africa: Publications Co-Ordinator

The Institute for Security Studies publishes its research in
a focused range of publications. The monographs,
papers, books and conference reports cover a wide
variety of topics relating to human security and need to
be carefully edited, accurately typeset and professional in
every respect.

The publications co-ordinator serves as the
editor of the African Security Review, the flagship
quarterly journal of the ISS, and manages the production
of all other ISS publications through outsourcing
arrangements with typesetters, designers and printers.
He/she reports to the executive director.

The Publications Coordinator will be responsible for:
• Managing the production and design of the central ISS
publications range including the African Security Review,
monographs, papers, conference reports, quarterly
reports and books
• Facilitating all stages of the
production process for ISS publications
• Marketing and sales of the central ISS publications range
• Editing the African Security Review
• Layout and provision of ISS
office stationary such as letterheads and complimentary
slips
• Managing the ISS Resource Centre. Requirements:
• A B-degree in social sciences, preferably with English major
• At least five years experience in publications management and editing
• Excellent English spelling and grammar skills
• Knowledge of typesetting and litho printing
• An ability to work to deadlines.

This position is based at the ISS head office in Pretoria
and the length of the contract will be for three years with
a possibility of extension thereafter. Salary will be
commensurate with qualifications and experience and is
market competitive.

Interested candidates who meet the above
requirements should forward letters of
application accompanied by a CV to
Ms. Tonette Grütter email:
tonette@iss.co.za or fax 012- 460 0998
by no later than 19 March 2004.
www.iss.co.za

South Africa: Senior Researcher - Organised crime and corruption in the SADC region

Institute For Security Studies

2004-03-18

http://www.iss.org.za/jobs/home.htm

The successful candidate will work with the project head on a research project aimed at contributing towards the implementation of the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (Palermo Convention) in the SADC region and at supporting SADC with the implementation of the SADC Protocol against Corruption through applied policy research.
Senior Researcher - Organised crime and corruption in the
SADC Region

The successful candidate will work with the project head
on a research project aimed at contributing towards the
implementation of the UN Convention against
Transnational Organised Crime (Palermo Convention) in
the SADC region and at supporting SADC with the
implementation of the SADC Protocol against Corruption
through applied policy research.

The incumbent will work as part of a team of established
senior researchers. The initial contract will be for 12
months with the possibility of extension for a further two
years. The position includes regional travel. Due to the
regional nature of the project, candidates from the entire
SADC region are encouraged to apply. For more details on
the ISS please visit our website at www.iss.org.za

Duties:

• Undertake innovative and independent research
into organised crime and corruption in the SADC region
and analyse relevant legislation and international
instruments
• Liaise with and coordinate a SADC network
of commissioned researchers and senior officials who are
participating in the project
• Monitor recent national and
international policy and legislative developments relating
to organised crime and corruption
• Interpret, analise and evaluate relevant data
• Organise expert round tables and
regional seminars
• Disseminate results through interaction with role players, briefing sessions and
written reports
• Produce research publications of a high
standard.

Requirements:

• An understanding of the key developmental challenges facing the SADC region
• A keen interest in understanding the policies and legislative
strategies that are employed to prevent and combat
organised crime and corruption in the SADC region
• A Masters degree in law, social sciences, or other relevant
similar qualifications
• At least five years relevant experience
• Good management, communication, presentation and networking skills
• The ability to interact effectively with senior government officials, policy
makers, and the media
• Strong research, analytical and computer (MS Office) skills
• Excellent writing skills in English including a publication record
• Valid drivers licence, own transport and a willingness to travel
Salary: A competitive salary is negotiable, based on
qualifications and experience

Assumption of duties: The position is immediately
available.

Applicants are expected to provide a covering letter
motivating their application, a CV, two recent examples of
their own written work, certified copies of their
qualifications, and contact details of three referees. The
closing date for all applications is Friday 19 March 2004.

Please e-mail or fax your application to: Ms Pilisa
Gaushe, pilisa@issct.co.za Fax +27-21-461
7213,
Tel +27-21-4617211
www.iss.co.za

The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) an equal
opportunity, affirmative action employer, is an
independent and non-profit applied policy
research organisation with a focus on human
security in Africa. Its mission is to conceptualize,
inform and enhance the human security debate on
the continent. The Cape Town office of the ISS is
seeking to appoint an experienced senior researcher,
preferably with a legal background.

*REMEMBERING RWANDA*

Pambazuka News Special edition due out in April

2004-03-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/rwanda/20956

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 will also be publishing a special issue on Rwanda in April 2004 that will contain originally commissioned editorials covering key issues relating to Rwanda and the genocide.

Get involved! Organise an event in your institution, town, village or city. Send us information (editor@pambazuka.org) about what you are doing to commemorate the anniversary and to provide solidarity to the rebuilding of Rwanda.

From Brighton to Rwanda with love

2004-03-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/rwanda/20985

Rwanda Youth Information Community Organization (rYico) has organised a programme of events in Brighton to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda. Click on the link below for more details.
10 Years of Memory
>From Brighton to Rwanda.with love

In commemoration of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide

1st - 7th April 2004
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thurs Apr 1st 'Collective Reflections'
Hove Town Hall (6.30pm-10pm)

The Mayor of Brighton & Hove will open the week of events followed by a
number of speakers who will come and talk about Rwanda, past & present.

Rwandan Ambassador:
Linda Melvern Author of 'A People Betrayed'

Mark Pallis- Coordinator and Policy Director All Party Parliamentary Group
on the Great Lakes Region and Genocide Prevention will speak about British
MP's reactions to the Genocide (confirmed).

Survivors Testimonies

Lindsey Hilsum - Channel 4 diplomatic correspondent

Dominic Lowdell - Union Coffee Roasters - First exporters on Fairtrade
Rwandan Coffee.

Thurs Apr 1st A Lunch to Remember'
Brighton General Hospital (12pm-2.30pm)

Elm Grove Restaurant will be preparing a Rwandan Lunch for staff and some
patients at Brighton General Hospital. Rwandan dancers will also provide
some lunchtime entertainment! The hospital will cover the cost of food and
have also agreed to give us a donation after the events.

Thurs Apr 1st Fundraising Night
The Volks Nightclub, Brighton (10pm- 2am)

A club night of which all profits will be donated to '10 Years of Memory'.

Fri Apr 2nd 'Inside Rwanda'
Ben Ngabo, Ben Rutabana & Jean-Paul Samputu
The Pavilion Theatre,
Brighton Dome (8pm-10pm)

A night to remember when for the first time ever these nationally famous and
well respected artists will perform together in the grand venue of the
Brighton Dome.
Ben Ngabo's work brings together the roots of Rwanda's musical tradition.
His work encompasses and conveys a message of peace, mutual love and the
fight against social exclusion and injustice. He is currently in Rwanda
managing the National Cultural Centre. Ben Ngabo will be bringing his
Rwandan traditional dancers to enrich his performance.
Ben Rutabana is one of the most popular and successful young Rwandan
artists. He campaigns for peace and unity. He is well known for his first
album 'Imbaraga z'urukundo' and has recently released a new album.
Jean-Paul Samputu is a highly acclaimed Rwandan artist and last year became
the first Rwandan artist to win the 'Kora Award' for the "Most Promising
African Male Artist".

At this event we will also be selling a variety of Rwandan products and
crafts as well as Rwandan Fairtrade Coffee in association with Union Coffee
Roasters.

Fri Apr 2nd 'APE X'
The Pressure Point, Brighton (10pm-2am)

A club night that has generously dedicated a percentage of its proceeds to '
10 Years of Memory'.

Sat Apr 3rd 'Inside Rwanda for Kids'
Children's Music Playhouse, Brighton (12pm-4pm)

Performance and workshop in association with Children Music Playhouse,
working with local schools (Varndean, Balfour, Downs & Dorothy Stringer- all
infant & junior).

Workshops led by Jean-Paul Samputu and Ben Ngabo & dance group and drum
workshop with local workshop artist Tim Davies.

Sat Apr 3rd Film:'100 Days' (produced by Nick Hughes & Eric Kabera).
Cinemateque, Brighton (2pm-4pm)

Two young film makers, a Rwandan and a Briton have teamed up to produce an
extremely powerful and moving piece of cinema depicting the horrors of the
genocide in 1994.
The actors are mainly Rwandan and amateurs, most of whom experienced the
genocide first hand. Set in the southern province of Kibuye, this is a story
of love and betrayal and is a fictional account of a families' experience.
It also contains live footage of the atrocities that took place.
The aim of the film is to spread awareness if the genocide which is still so
remote and unheard of to many people around the world.

Sun Apr 4th 'Igitaramo'
The Sallis Benney Theatre (7.30pm-11pm)

We will be joined by three of Rwanda's top musicians, Ben Ngabo, Ben
Rutabana and Jean Paul Sampatu. The artists will be joined by Martha
Tilston,a Brighton based singer/songwriter who has prepared a song about
Rwanda for the occasion. RED ZEBRA, a local Samba Group will also be
performing. By setting the backdrop of the genocide against music and dance,
people are able to reflect on the past and look to the future in a more
unusual but approachable way and at the same time discover the vibrancy and
colour of Rwandan and culturally diverse music and dance.

Sun Apr 4th Film:'100 Days'
Cinemateque, Brighton (2pm-4pm)

A second chance to see this moving piece of cinema.

Sun Apr 4th -
Wed Apr 7th Making Sense: A Rwandan Story'
Exhibition: Helen Wilson and Karen Kessi- Williams
Brighton Artists Gallery, Brighton (from 5th-7th April)

Making Sense: A Rwandan Story by Helen Wilson: A moving exhibition of
painting, poems and music. Helen's work shows the beauty of Rwanda and the
resilience of its people in the aftermath of a genocide that claimed the
lives of one million in 100days.

Karen Kessi-Williams lives in Brighton. The Washington Post has written
about her work that her photographs are "so lyrical and perfectly balanced
that they are product of an artist with a feel for people". Karen is
currently undertaking work in Rwanda and we are honoured to be able to show
her work at this time.

Tues Apr 6th Film: '100 Days'
Cinemateque, Brighton (6pm-8pm)

The final opportunity to see the highly acclaimed film

Wed Apr 7th 'Candlelit Vigil'
The Friends Meeting House, Brighton (11am-3pm)

To mark the United Nations' International Day of Reflection on the 1994
Genocide in Rwanda, we will be holding a candlelit vigil in the centre of
Brighton. The public will be invited to light a candle in memory of the
victim1994 Rwanda genocide. This will take place against the backdrop of
Karen Kessi-Williams's Photographic exhibition.

Information sheets will be available containing an outline of Rwanda: past
and present.

All proceeds from the week's events will go directly to the Youth of Rwanda
and the Festival of Hope in Kigali which will take place in June this year.

For more information on any of the events please contact us at
rYico2003@yahoo.co.uk, see www.rYico.org, or phone:
Andrew 07957 497 608
Anna 07884 183 684
Vivenie 07767 770 630

One World Trust Rwanda Genocide Lecture

2004-03-18

http://www.oneworldtrust.org

The One World Trust's lecture by Linda Melvern on 'Conspiracy to Murder: The Rwandan Genocide' will take place on May 18th at 6.00pm in Committee Room 6, Houses of Parliament, London.

Survivors Fund plans two events to remember Rwanda

2004-03-18

http://www.survivors-fund.org.uk

The First Lady of Rwanda, Mrs Jeanette Kagame, will visit the UK Houses of Parliament on Tuesday, April 20th to mark ten years since the Rwandan genocide. She will be joined by Noreen Kaleeba, pioneer of HIV work in Uganda, founder of TASO and UNAIDS Community Mobilisation Programme Manager. Mrs Kagame will be the guest at an event organised by Survivors Fund (SURF), a UK based charity working to support survivors of the Rwandan genocide, and hosted by Brian Cotter MP, Survivors Fund Patron. As the founder of PACFA (Protection and Care of Families Against HIV/AIDS), a Rwandan programme which advocates for specific policies, strategies and actions to fight HIV/AIDS among women, children and families, Mrs Kagame will launch a campaign to access HIV/AIDS treatment for women who contracted HIV/AIDS as a result of being raped during the genocide.

PRESS RELEASE
Monday, 15 March 2004

The First Lady of Rwanda, Mrs Jeanette Kagame, will visit the Houses of Parliament on Tuesday, April 20th to mark ten years since the Rwandan genocide. She will be joined by Noreen Kaleeba, pioneer of HIV work in Uganda, founder of TASO and UNAIDS Community Mobilisation Programme Manager.
Mrs Kagame will be the guest at an event organised by Survivors Fund (SURF), a UK based charity working to support survivors of the Rwandan genocide, and hosted by Brian Cotter MP, Survivors Fund Patron.
As the founder of PACFA (Protection and Care of Families Against HIV/AIDS), a Rwandan programme which advocates for specific policies, strategies and actions to fight HIV/AIDS among women, children and families, Mrs Kagame will launch a campaign to access HIV/AIDS treatment for women who contracted HIV/AIDS as a result of being raped during the genocide.
UNAIDS estimates that half-a-million people in Rwanda are infected with the virus: the population of Rwanda is approximately 8 million.
She will also speak at a public event to remember victims and survivors of the genocide on Saturday, April 17th at The London Oratory School, where she will be joined by BBC International correspondent Fergal Keane and Valentina Ilibagiza, an 11-year-old who was discovered after 43 days hiding among the bodies of those killed during the massacre at Nyarubuye Church. (She was featured in a Panorama programme by Fergal Keane in 1997).
April 7th this year is the official commemoration day of the start of the genocide ten years ago, when an estimated 1 million people were killed in just 100 days.
SURF will be happy to provide information to help with any coverage you are planning to mark ten years since the genocide – survivor to interview, information on Rwanda and our partnership organisations etc. Our patrons include BBC International Correspondent Fergal Keane, Oona King MP, Brian Cotter MP and actor Paul Bradley (formerly Nigel in Eastenders). For more information please contact:
Nick Bell, Communications Officer, Tel: 020 7610 2589, email: surfcomm@dircon.co.uk
Survivors Fund (SURF)
10 Rickett Street
London
SW1 6RU
020 7610 2589
www.survivors-fund.org.uk

Survivors Fund (SURF)

The needs of survivors are complex and SURF works with a number of partner organisations to ensure that these needs are met. AVEGA (Association des Veuves du Génocide d’Avril 1994) is a Rwandan organisation supporting women left widowed by the genocide. Founded by 50 widows in 1995, it now numbers more than 25,000. Uyisenga N' Manzi is an organisation formed to support children head of households - children who were left to raise their younger brothers and sisters when their parents were killed. There are more than 40,000 such children and their number is growing as women who contracted HIV as a result of the systematic rape campaign during the genocide develop, and die of, AIDS.

SURF supports the construction of homes, funds anti-retroviral treatment for those suffering from HIV/AIDS, provides professional training and small business start-up grants and offers survivors the opportunity to remember experiences that many have suppressed, to share these experiences and the feelings they engender with others.

SURF would be happy to answer questions from the press and to organise interviews with survivors living here in the UK. If you have any questions, or would like to speak to a survivor of the genocide, please contact:
Nick Bell, Communications Officer, Tel: 020 7610 2589, email: surfcomm@dircon.co.uk
For more information about SURF, visit our website at: www.survivors–fund.org.uk

Ends

Take part in the Rwanda Commemoration Project

2004-03-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/rwanda/20957

April 7, 2004 marks ten years since the beginning of the Rwandan genocide, when nearly a million people were killed in ninety days while the international community largely stood by. In response, the Centre for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at American University Washington College of Law has launched the Rwanda Commemoration Project: Genocide in Our Time, an international initiative that seeks to raise awareness of this anniversary and the important lessons of the tragic events in Rwanda.
TAKE PART IN THE RWANDA COMMEMORATION PROJECT
Sponsored by Washington College of Law Center for Human Rights and
Humanitarian Law

April 7, 2004 marks ten years since the beginning of the Rwandan
genocide, when nearly a million people were killed in ninety days
while the international community largely stood by.

In response, the Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at
American University Washington College of Law has launched the Rwanda
Commemoration Project: Genocide in Our Time, an international
initiative that seeks to raise awareness of this anniversary and the
important lessons of the tragic events in Rwanda. The Project's
approach is to encourage people both to look back at what led to the
genocide in Rwanda and to look forward to prevent looming genocide
around the world today. To that extent, the Center, with the
cooperation of faculty and students, has produced an 8-page resource
booklet to encourage law schools, universities, high schools, NGOs,
community groups and religious organizations to plan programming to
mark the 10th anniversary of these heinous acts. The booklet,
hauntingly illustrated with drawings by child survivors of the
Genocide, provides a short background of the Genocide and a range of
ideas for commemorative actions, substantive programs and outreach
activities. Also included are a short bibliography of books,
articles, films and traveling photo exhibits, website links and a
sample day of programming.

In addition to the resources available in the booklet, the Center's
website (www.wcl.american.edu/humright/center) has an expanded
bibliography, an event planning worksheet, a sample press release and
a variety of poems, readings and other materials to help make
planning an activity as easy as possible.

Please join schools, community groups and individuals around the
world to mark this important anniversary. While the United Nations
has declared April 7, 2004 to be "International Day of Reflection on
the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda," commemorative programs can be held at
any time.

Electronic copies of the booklet can be downloaded from the Center's
website at www.wcl.american.edu/humright/center . Hard copies are
available free of charge and can be requested by email at
Rwanda@wcl.american.edu

Tenth anniversary should prompt resolve, says Annan

2004-03-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/rwanda/20958

Next month's observance of the 10th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide should be an occasion not only for remorse but also resolve, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in March. In a message delivered on his behalf to a symposium on the Media and the Rwanda Genocide at the Carlton University School of Journalism and Communication in Ottawa, Mr. Annan stressed the need to remember the victims "abandoned to systematic slaughter while the world, which had the capacity to save most of them, failed to save more than a handful, forever sullying the collective conscience." He also urged attention to helping the survivors.
10TH ANNIVERSARY OF RWANDA GENOCIDE SHOULD PROMPT RESOLVE, ANNAN SAYS
New York, Mar 15 2004 2:00PM

Next month's observance of the 10th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide
should be an occasion not only for remorse but also resolve, United
Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Saturday.

In a message delivered on his behalf to a symposium on the Media and the
Rwanda Genocide at the Carlton University School of Journalism and
Communication in Ottawa, Mr. Annan stressed the need to remember the
victims "abandoned to systematic slaughter while the world, which had the
capacity to save most of them, failed to save more than a handful, forever
sullying the collective conscience." He also urged attention to helping
the survivors.

"But most of all, we must pledge - to ourselves as moral beings and to
each other as a human community - to act boldly, including through
military action when no other course will work, to ensure that such a
denial of our common humanity is never allowed to happen again," he
declared.

The UN has had 10 years "to reflect on the bitter knowledge that genocide
happened while UN peacekeepers were on the ground in Rwanda," he said,
pledging "to sound the alarm about emerging crises and to help countries
tackle the root causes of their problems."

Towards that end, Mr. Annan said he would soon appoint a UN special
adviser on the prevention of genocide while making other proposals to
strengthen UN action in this area. "There can be no more important issue,
and no more binding obligation, than the prevention of genocide," he
stressed.

While noting that there has been some progress in addressing the scourge,
he added that "it is still not clear, were the signs of impending genocide
to be seen somewhere today, that the world would mount an effective
response."

UN News Centre

U.N. Studying Airplane Black Box

2004-03-18

http://www.unwire.org/News/328_426_13990.asp

The United Nations has begun investigating whether an airplane's flight data recorder - known as a "black box" - that has been sitting in a U.N. file cabinet for a decade may be the missing device from the plane crash that killed the presidents of Rwanda and Burundi, an act that triggered the Rwandan genocide in 1994. Secretary General Kofi Annan said the discovery of the black box was "a first-class foul up." Annan's spokesman, Fred Eckhard, said the black box is in the possession of the Peacekeeping Department's Air Safety Unit and that Annan had "instructed the Office of Internal Oversight Services to look into exactly what happened 10 years ago."

War of words as Rwanda marks genocide

2004-03-18

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/story.jsp?story=502278

A bitter war of words has erupted between Rwanda and France just weeks before the central African nation marks the 10th anniversary of the genocide of 800,000 people. Western heads of state are due in the capital, Kigali, next month to commemorate the 100-day slaughter, which was sparked by the assassination of Rwandan president, Juvenal Habyarimana, on 6 April 1994. What should be a moment of sombre reflection is, however, being marred by a furious exchange of accusations, centred on a murder mystery that is as central to Rwanda's history as the Kennedy assassination is to that of the United States.

Fahamu