Back Issues

Selected headlines from Pambazuka News 153

2004-04-22

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/highlights/21664

* Human Rights: The situation of human rights defenders in Africa: A continuous nightmare
* Women and Gender: Violence against women and HIV
* Elections and Governance: In placid Malawi, shades of Mugabe
* Development: Protests at World Bank and IMF – the “unhappy birthday”
* Health: Little joy on Malaria Day
* Education: Education for All week
* Environment: NGO’s call for closure of WB climate change fund
* Media&FXI: Press freedom is ‘baggage’, says Moyo
* Books and Arts: Talk left walk right: South Africa’s frustrated global reforms

Darfur: Rwanda genocide revisited

Eva Dadrian

2004-04-22

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/21659

There is no doubt that the painful memory of the 800,000 victims of the Genocide in Rwanda will live with us forever. For many years to come, we will continue to unearth the remains of children, women and men hacked to death in one of the most frenzied, planned and organised massacres ever witnessed by the world.

For the past ten years we said never again, we made resolutions, we set up commissions and tribunals, we organised conferences … yet Genocide was revisited this very year, Rwanda's Tenth year. Still sore and raw in our memories, the Genocide of Rwanda has made way to that of Darfur.

Same crimes, same atrocities and same disregard to human lives. In the name of greed, hatred and spite, the Janjaweed, the Sudanese government armed militias and very much equivalent to the Interahamwe and Impuzamugambi of Rwanda, have killed, looted, burnt, and raped their neighbours. Like vultures, they have cleansed villages from their people and destroyed the dreams of entire communities.

In the space of a few months more they have uprooted from their homes more than one million people and reduced them to statistics for the UN and for various humanitarian organisations. The early warning signs were very much present in Darfur. For more than three decades, indigenous Africans - Fur, Massaleet and Zaghawa to name but a few - were at the mercy of successive ruthless regimes, military as well as the so-called “democratically elected” government of Sadiq el Mahdi (1986-89).

Ruling by the gun and with the gun they imposed a religious-ethnic-sectarian ideology on the country. Their proxy killers, Muraheleen in the South and Janjaweed in Darfur, implemented various scorched-earth strategies to take over land, pastures and water points from their legitimate owners. For years, the international community and us Africans, deserted Darfur. ‘Il n'est pire sourd que celui qui ne veut pas entendre’ (so we closed our eyes and turned away) from the plight of the people of Darfur.

Better not to see, not to hear and not to know was the general attitude. Now, there is some hope, or should we say, there was some hope when two weeks ago, a cease-fire agreement was signed in N'djamena between the Darfur fighters and the Sudanese government.

The 45-day cease-fire that was to come into effect on Sunday 11 April was mainly meant to guarantee safe passage for humanitarian aid, free prisoners of war and especially disarm militias. The ceasefire is good news and a first step to stop the killing but it requires the immediate dispatch to Darfur of an international monitoring team of observers, military and civilian, to prevent further killing, stop the continued displacement of the population and secure humanitarian assistance to the people.

Today, after ten days, where do we stand? Recently, Kofi Annan has pointed out that UN peacekeepers "are no longer restricted to using force only in self-defence” and that they are also “empowered (to protect) local civilians threatened with imminent violence." At the time of the Genocide of Rwanda, Kofi Annan was Under Secretary General for UN Peace Keeping Operations (PKO) and we all know what happened. Today he is UN Secretary General, he is Alpha Dog, but will he give his marching orders to “armed” peacekeepers?

Again and again Khartoum has broken its agreements, prevented a UN human rights team from entering the country to investigate the widespread atrocities committed in Darfur, delayed humanitarian workers to reach the displaced, denied entry to independent observers, turned away the media, closed the borders. The list of Khartoum's violations is too long to continue.

- On the humanitarian front, reports indicate that “nearly 3 million people are beyond the reach of aid agencies trying to provide assistance, and mortality rates in the region are possibly as high as 1,000 per week”.

- On the military front, the ink was hardly dry on that farcical cease-fire agreement before government-backed Janjaweed Arab militias were back into action. Mounting attacks against civilians in Mastrey, a farming locality south of Al Geneina (Western Darfur) and south of Nyala, the capital of Southern Darfur. Despite denying any violation of the cease-fire, Khartoum's request to “postpone” the trip of the chief of the UN Emergency Relief clearly indicates that the fighting is still continuing and that the Janjaweed have not been disarmed.

Shall we give Khartoum the credit of the doubt when instead of disarming the Janjaweed the Sudanese government is providing them with military costumes and integrating them into its regular forces and into the much-hated Popular Defence Forces (PDF)?

Now, as Khartoum's “official” killing machine they have been posted in and around Nyala, capital of Southern Darfur, preventing the return of the refugees. They are attacking internally displaced people and preventing them from returning to their homes. They are occupying the farmland and villages of the Fur farmers they chased away earlier, and refusing to allow them to retake possession of what remain from their homes.

Posted on the borders with Chad, they are preventing anyone crossing into Darfur. Aid agencies allowed in the region have reported that “Sudanese soldiers” have even beaten back women searching for food and firewood. By enrolling the Janjaweed into its regular forces, Khartoum is not only protecting its proxy killers, but also it is covering up its own crimes against the people of Darfur.

The European Union (EU) has put forward a resolution calling for a special Rapporteur to monitor human rights abuses in Sudan, but the vote was postponed until April 22 at the request of the African group. Coordinated by the government of Congo-Brazzaville, the African Group has consistently blocked scrutiny of African governments regardless of their human rights records.

Isn't it true that the well being and the safety of a country's nationals is the first and foremost duty of a responsible government? Isn't it true that that duty is enshrined in national constitutions in Africa as it is elsewhere in the world and that it figures also in the Charter that governs the African Union? Indeed the African Union has announced from Addis Ababa that it will deploy military observers next week to the Darfur region to monitor the ceasefire.

According to Said Djinnit, AU's Commissioner for Peace and Security, Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal and Namibia have agreed to send military officers to be deployed in the region. Discussions are under way in N'djamena and in Addis for the arrangements but reports from the Chadian capital are grim and nothing has been decided as we go to press.

The Sudanese government and the Darfur fighters are to meet again next week in the Chadian capital to iron out a definitive settlement to the conflict, whereby the political issues that have driven the people of Darfur to rebel, will be addressed.

The most crucial issues are land and water points and as redistribution of farmland is high on Khartoum's agenda, Fur leaders are suspicious about the recent Idriss Deby-Omar el Beshir's meeting in N'djamena. The Fur believe that to quell any dissent among the Zaghawa, on either side of its borders, the Chadian president would favour them in any future political settlement between Khartoum and fighters. Such arrangements would be in line with the “divide and rule” policy that Khartoum pursued for years in the South.

I doubt whether the people of Darfur can still trust any one to come to their help. Already they have lost faith in a government that has devoted its time and efforts to usurp them from their land, kill their children and force the survivors into exile.

Now it is the turn of the African community to fail them. We reported here in Pambazuka News 112 that the challenges facing Africans and the African Union are enormous. On each and every front - economic, social, scientific and political - the continent is “yet to fulfil its potential”. Ten years after Rwanda and in the wake of Darfur, many African political and civil society activists are calling for the establishment of an “early warning mechanism” for detecting any attempt, by groups or governments, to violate human rights in any part of the continent.

DEADLINE UPDATE FROM THE AUTHOR: The five-member delegation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has just left Geneva for Darfur, after weeks of waiting for permission to travel into the region. However, in an interim report, based on interviews carried out by the team with refugees in camps along the Chadian borders, the OHCHR lists numerous cases of murder, rape, arbitrary killings and expulsion, committed against the Black African communities of Darfur. These are extremely serious accusations that amount to "crimes against humanity".

* Send comments on this editorial - and other events in Africa - to editor@pambazuka.org For more news and information on the situation in Sudan, please visit the Conflicts and Emergencies section of Pambazuka News.

* Eva Dadrian is an independent broadcaster and Political and Country Risk Analyst for print and broadcast media, who currently works as a consultant for Arab African Affairs (London) and writes on a regular basis for AFRICA ANALYSIS (London), for Al Ahram HEBDO Echos Economiques and Al Ahram WEEKLY (Cairo) and contributes to Africa Service BBC WS (London). Published reports include: Religion and Politics in North Africa; The Horn of Africa: Country Risk Analysis; The Nile Waters: Risk Analysis; State and Church in Ethiopia; Policing the Horn of Africa; Religion and Politics in Sudan; Can South Sudan survive as an independent state?

* NOTE FOR EDITORS: Please note that this editorial was commissioned from the author for Pambazuka News. While we are pleased that several print publications have used our editorials, we ask editors to note that if they use this article, they do so on the understanding that they are expected to provide the following credit: "This article first appeared in Pambazuka News, an electronic newsletter for social justice in Africa, www.pambazuka.org" Editors are also encouraged to make a donation.

* CORRECTION: Please note that Patrick Bond, the author of last week’s editorial (Pambazuka News 152: After the South African election, rhetorics and realities), has pointed out that the reference to more than 50 Landless People’s Movement activists arrested on 14 April should have read “more than 60”. For the latest news on this issue see the Land and Land Rights section of this issue.

Keeping hope alive

Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem

2004-04-22

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/21662

There are so many pessimists about Africa around the world that it seems there is nothing Africans can do that can change their mindsets. Otherwise how does one explain a very common question that any talk of Uganda in many circles outside Africa still prompts: Idi Amin. The fact that Idi Amin was booted out of power in 1979 seems to have passed many people by! On seeing my name tag, Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem, Pan African Movement, Uganda at a huge international conference, only two years ago, a delegate came to me at Tea Break and asked: How is Idi Amin? He seems quiet these days!

I had grown accustomed to these daft questions so I gently broke it to him that the Field Marshall had been out of Uganda for sometime, lodging in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, since 1979. I thought the questioner would walk away quietly in diplomatic embarrassment but he shot another question at me: so what does he do these days? Since he could not get the message it was my turn to walk away from the embarrassing conversation.

But the Afro pessimism is not just from outsiders. So many Africans; many of the educated elite class who are allegedly supposed to know better, are guilty of the same pessimism about Africa and Africans. A religious fundamentalist acquaintance even tried to convince me that our woes were because of many sins that we have committed and unless we return to God in penitence there can not be any respite from our multi legged afflictions, from AIDS to bad governance. I asked him if our disobedience to his God is worse than that of any other peoples on this planet and he was adamant that it was. So if Africa is to continue to suffer all these problems what will God do to those who enslaved us, colonised us and continue to rig the international rules of trade and commerce against us with the active collaboration and grotesque submissiveness of our leaders who are really dealers.

Of course blaming the victim is not a new trick from those who benefit from any system of oppression and exploitation. That is why many of our leaders assume the mantle of ‘father of the nation’ (who does no wrong) as soon as they enter state house and with time they become theocratic asking us to return to God in order to be governed well. They become the chosen ones by God but somehow God’s message is not for them but for the poor hapless citizens. Didn’t colonialists and Slave dealers before them declare their murderous enterprise as ‘civilisation’?

However as the Late Walter Rodney once declared Africa has an incredible capacity to surprise both outsiders and the natives. Amidst all the gloom and doom we see flickers of hope and rays of sun shine here and there, keeping hope alive that our peoples have it within them the capacity to change their conditions for the better. Outsiders can and may help but the duty is that of Africans.

While not denying the challenges we must also put our victories in perspective and build on those good practices of things that work in Africa by African efforts.

South Africa has just concluded its third post apartheid general elections without the much-predicted mass violence especially in Kwazulu Natal. Even Chief Buthelezi is reaching his sell-by-date and is no longer capable of destabilising the democratic order.

Yet just ten years ago there were all prophets of doom about the inevitable catastrophe that a post apartheid South Africa will become. Enemies of Africa now say the ANC has won too much votes and that is supposed to be dangerous for democracy. Does that mean that Tony Blair whose party has a overwhelming majority in the British parliament without overwhelming votes across the country should have shared it with his Liberal and conservative opponents?

Another unsung development is the decision by President Sam Nujoma and SWAPO that finally this term is his final and final term. No more tinkering with the constitution to prolong the rule of one person.

The system should be able to cope with the exit of its founders, veterans and pioneers and move to another person and another generation.

Africa’s enemies will be further proven wrong if and when the same message echoes from Kampala, Harare, Addis Ababa and Asmara. President Thabo Mbeki has made the same declaration in Pretoria as indeed President Kagame (though he still has many years ahead) in Kigali. We have to help those who have seen the light beyond state house and also help those who are yet to that there is more to enjoy outside of it instead of remaining prisoners to power. Some leaders like Eyadema (who is beyond the pale of any democratic pressure) we have to pray to the ancestors to fastforward his recall to the higher house. The next phase in the very painful transitions in many African countries will require being liberated from our liberators.

Let us keep hope alive, Afrika Yetu!

* Dr Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem is General Secretary of the Global Pan African Movement, based in Kampala, Uganda and also Director of Justice Africa, based in London.

Statement by the African Union on the killing of Dr. Abdel Aziz Al-Rantissi

2004-04-22

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/21658

The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union, Mr. Alpha Oumar Konaré condemns the assassination of the Hamas leader in Gaza, Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, during an Israeli air strike in Gaza on Saturday, 17 April 2004.

The Chairperson stress once again that the killings of Palestinian leaders will incite more violence and undermine any prospects for dialogue and peace between Israelis and Palestinians. More importantly, such actions which are illegal and in violation of international law, only serves to compound the prevailing atmosphere of insecurity and despair, especially among the already brutalized Palestinian population.

The Chairperson, once again, calls on the international community, including in particular, the Middle East quartet of the UN, Russia, the United States and the European Union, to intensify their efforts to relaunch the peace process in the Middle East and to encourage the Parties to revert to the implementation of the proposals for a peaceful and negotiated settlement of the Palestinian problem, in line with the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions, and in order to guarantee the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to statehood.

Addis Ababa, 19 April 2004

Appeal for information on police accountability

Chandrima Roy, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative

2004-04-22

http://www.humanrightsinitiative.org

We at Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative are working on Access to Justice and Access to Information as the broad parameters in the advocacy of Human Rights in the Commonwealth. We bring out a report every two years on different subject matters which is tabled at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting.

The report to be tabled at the next year's CHOGM is on "Police Accountability". In this regards we are researching extensively on Police Acts, articles and researches conducted on police organizations, stories from across the globe that deals with the Police in any form, civil societies, justice mechanisms and other social structures.

We shall be grateful and happy if you could send across any document, or related items that could augment and enrich our research and therefore the report.

Taking control of natural resources

Eno Anwana, The Nigerian Conservation Foundation, Lagos, Nigeria

2004-04-22

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/21516

Your newsletter deserves great commendation. It's been useful as a good tracker of events on social justice in Africa. The multifaceted approach adopted on social issues, in addition to the plurality of views, gives it a rich blend of highlights on key social issues.

My comment takes root in the concept of sustainable development in Africa, especially with concern to our natural resources.

African leaders are apt to ratify international conventions and treaties without a proper conceptualisation of underlined ideologies; one tends to ponder on our subjugated position. From experience it is apparent that the concept of sustainability must be redefined for instance by the AU through the organ of NEPAD and other African initiatives to accommodate African traditional institutions and structures. Sustainability for us would include the active involvement of our indigenous local actors and stakeholders.

The question we must answer therefore is what is obtainable for Africa in the sustainable development paradigm?

Take for instance the conspiracy and cartel within the oil sector in Nigeria. Nigeria earns annually about $8.5billion, only 5% of this is earned by the indigenes and a mere 2% of the total sum in earnings remain in the country. Something obviously needs to be done if we are to gain control of our own resources.

I am afraid the message of sustainability will be lost in African economics if its denotations and connotations are not clearly defined within the African context. Local content for me is beyond using a few paid indigenous people collaborating with the west in managing our own resources. Africa has come of age to begin taking responsibility for its spatial domain.

It is my hope and dreams that African natural resource specialists and contributors will emerge from their hibernation to take charge of their natural resources for the continuity of the African Continent.

When 'never again' becomes again and again (2)

Steven Slap, Executive Director, Siksik Foundation for Environmental Justice, Lake Pleasant, MA, USA

2004-04-22

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/21517

When six million Jews died in the Shoah, the Jewish civilization indeed vowed, "Never again."

When the Rwandan genocide occurred, in 1994, the world was wrong to ignore the victims' plight and choose not to intervene. Black Africans, like Jews before them, were not worth the effort to save. It was a familiar lesson.

Dr. Abdul-Raheem is right to point to a similar situation developing today in Darfur, in western Sudan, where black Africans are again being massacred, this time by Arabs, with the support of Sudan's government, and with the tacit support of the Arab world. The world should take heed and do something now, before it is too late.

Unfortunately, Dr. Abdul-Raheem's otherwise perceptive piece is spoiled by his own anti-Semitism, when he drags into his article a typical demonization of Israel, and compares its self defence against terrorists to a "holocaust." The only thing that prevents the Palestinians from doing to the Israelis what is being done to the black Africans in Darfur is Israel's ability to defend themselves. As they vowed, "Never again."

<i>Editor's comment: It helps no one to dismiss anyone who criticise Israel's policies, including acts of gross violations of human rights, as being anti-semitic. It's an old trick that uses abuse in place of debate - and has no place in the pages of Pambazuka News.</i>

When 'never again' becomes again and again (3)

Eva Dadrian

2004-04-22

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/21661

No, Nicole, no and no again. The very people who have built that Holocaust Museum that they proudly show to visitors like yourself, are today killing, destroying and dispersing another people. So what is the meaning of that Museum? What is it there to say? Is it to say “It should never happen again to Jews” but I don't care if it happens to others?

Read Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem's "When 'never again' becomes again and again" (Pambazuka News 152). Do you want me to believe that for Israel to exist and Israelis to live in peace and commemorate the Jewish holocaust, Palestine should disappear and Palestinians continue to be refugees in their own land?

In the name of what can you take away the dream of a Palestinian child for a home or for a country? When Jews were forced to become Christians or were burnt at the stake in the kingdom of the very Catholic Queen Isabel of Spain, they found asylum and refuge in Arab lands. Christian Europe chased them away and then to redeem itself, gave them a “homeland” at the expense of the Palestinians. Let's not forget history.

You talk about awareness, yes I agree. Like the American public should be told about Iraq and should see on their television screens the destruction of that country, Israelis should also see how their soldiers shoot and kill children and women. How their tanks uproot olive trees, how Palestinian water wells are blocked and how cement is poured into Palestinian homes so that they become inhabitable. In retaliation…

Try to find that young Israeli girl who convinced you to visit the museum and ask her if she knows what is happening on the other side of the Wall of Shame her country is building?

Awareness, Yes, Yes and Yes again. Let's build awareness and see with two eyes wide open, not just one. Let's listen with two ears, not just one!

(This letter is in response to Nicole Venter, Letters section, Pambazuka News 152.)

A Human Rights Approach to Combating Religious Persecution

M.S.M. Eltayeb

2004-04-22

http://www.transnationalpubs.com/showbook.cfm?bookid=10208

This study focuses on internal persecution among Muslims. Internal persecution within the Islamic tradition means the persecution of Muslims by other Muslims, what might be characterised as “intra-religious” as opposed to “inter-religious” persecution, exposing the political and sociological nature of religious persecution, since the persecuted group is of the same religion as the persecuting majority. This study also helps to challenge the alleged religious rationale of such persecution in that every religious majority was in the past, and may become in future, a minority. Three case studies (the Ahmadiyya in Pakistan, the Shi’is in Saudi Arabia and the Republican Brothers in the Sudan) are analyzed, and based on these cases, a contextual framework for understanding and combating intra-religious persecution is outlined.

A Possible World

Heikki Patomäki and Teivo Teivainen

2004-04-22

http://www.zedbooks.co.uk/

As globalization proceeds apace international law, and the scope and powers of international institutions - the United Nations, the Bretton Woods institutions, the World Trade Organization - continue to grow. If democratic values are still an aspiration of the 21st century, then their deficit at international level must be addressed. Patomaki and Teiveinen survey the range of proposals now on the table. Ruling nothing out, they emphasise feasibility. While democratic advances do not come without political mobilization, there is little point mobilizing people for the utopian and unrealizable.

Debt Relief Initiatives and Poverty Alleviation: Lessons from Africa

Munyae Mulinge & Pempelani Mufune

2004-04-22

http://www.africanbookscollective.com/

This is a multi-contributor work on the vast subject of debt and debt relief in Africa; the focus of the book being the welfare implications of debt, and its impact on the poorest and most vulnerable, and on future generations. The volume presents a pan-African perspective, giving an overview of the 'Africa debt dilemma', causes, effects and policy options. It presents case studies on virtually all the southern, central-southern, and east African countries, and comparative studies on debt and poverty alleviation in sub-Saharan Africa in general, and in the SADC region in particular.

Kenyan writer wins BBC award

2004-04-22

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3614147.stm

A Kenyan writing about the taboo subject of incest has taken first prize in the BBC's African Performance playwriting competition. John Rugoiyo Gichuki's prize-winning play looks at the after-effects of conflict on family relationships. A Time for Cleansing tells the tale of a couple returning to visit their family in Rwanda.

Links

Nuruddin Farah

2004-04-22

http://www.idiotsguides.com/static/rguides/us/links.html

Links is set in a city that is at once shockingly foreign and hauntingly familiar: Mogadiscio, the capital of Somalis, just weeks after the U.S. troops have pulled out, leaving a decimated, starving city ruled by thuggish clan warlords and patrolled by qaat-chewing gangs who shoot civilians simply to relieve their adolescent boredom. This is the city so disturbingly captured by CNN cameras and in Black Hawk Down, but from a startlingly different - and surprising - point-of-view. Gripping, provocative, and revelatory, Links is the finest work yet from Farah, a novel that will secure his place in the international literary firmament and stand as a classic of modern world literature.

Skeletons on the Zahara

Dean King

2004-04-22

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0316835145/pambazukanews-20/102-0868850-4325732?creative=125581&camp=2321&link_code=as1

Some stories are so enthralling they deserve to be retold generation after generation. The wreck in 1815 of the Connecticut merchant ship, Commerce, and the subsequent ordeal of its crew in the Sahara Desert, is one such story. (Buy this book from Amazon and Pambazuka News will receive a percentage of the sale.)

Talk Left Walk Right: South Africa's Frustrated Global Reforms

Patrick Bond (cartoons by Zapiro)

2004-04-22

http://www.unpress.co.za//showbook.asp?id=581

Thabo Mbeki recently advocated unity with 'anti-globalisation' activists: 'They may act in ways you and I may not like and break windows in the street, but the message they communicate relates.' This raises two critical questions: is the South African government genuinely opposed to what Mbeki calls 'global apartheid'? And are the reforms advocated by Pretoria failing -- even on their own limited terms?

Mbeki's critics, from left and right alike, suggest that his AIDS policies, corrupt arms deal and support for Zimbabwe's repressive regime have damaged his credibility beyond repair. Others claim Mbeki's global ambition is his saving grace. But the content of Pretoria's broader reform strategy is rarely examined.

Between incomparable drawings by Zapiro, Patrick Bond considers the dynamics of international political economy and geopolitics.

He reviews a series of contemporary examples where Pretoria is frustrated by unfavourable power relations: US unilateralism and militarism, the UN's World Conference Against Racism and reparations for apartheid profits, soured trade deals, stingy debt relief and counterproductive international financial flows, unsuccessful reform of multilateral institutions, the New Partnership for Africa's Development, the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development and the World Water Forum.

Bond poses alternatives and also assesses the progressive social movements, which may well be Mbeki's most persistent, unforgiving judges, both locally and globally. (back cover)

We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families

Philip Gourevitch

2004-04-22

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0312243359/pambazukanews-20/102-0868850-4325732?creative=125581&camp=2321&link_code=as1

"Hutus kill Tutsis, then Tutsis kill Hutus - if that's really all there is to it, then no wonder we can't be bothered with it," Philip Gourevitch writes, imagining the response of somebody in a country far from the ethnic strife and mass killings of Rwanda. But the situation is not so simple. (Buy this book from Amazon and Pambazuka News will receive a percentage of the sale.)

Africa/Global: UN Commissioner warns of threats to women's rights

2004-04-22

http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2004/hrcn1074.doc.htm

The Special Rapporteur on violence against women addressed the Commission on Human Rights earlier this month, warning against alarming trends toward political conservatism and a backlash which threatened the gains made thus far in the global women’s human rights agenda. Yakin Erturk, Special Rapporteur on violence against women, said she had emphasized the universality of violence against women, the multiplicity of its forms and the intersectionality of diverse kinds of discrimination against women rooted in other systems of subordination and inequality in her report to the Commission.

Africa/Global: Violence against women and HIV/AIDS

2004-04-22

http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC14547

Besides being a major human rights and public health problem worldwide, violence against women increases female vulnerability to HIV. This is according to a UNAIDS factsheet that analyses the issue of violence against women and its relationship with AIDS. The factsheet finds that fear of violence prevents women from accessing HIV/AIDS information, being tested, disclosing their HIV status, accessing services for the prevention of HIV transmission to infants, and receiving treatment and counselling, even when they know they have been infected.

Africa/Global: Women and the MDG's

2004-04-22

http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC13576

A publication from the Women's International Coalition for Economic Justice (WICEJ) brings together a wide range of issues and debates in relation to gender and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The debates include looking at the impact of gender activism; how different players are interpreting the MDGs; and what some of the broader challenges are which need to be addressed. Many of the articles explore how to use the MDGs as tools to challenge the existing status quo, to demand action on women's key concerns, to mobilize civil society in both North and South, to highlight labour rights and employment needs, and to push for a global reordering of the world's resources.

Africa/Zimbabwe: Women And the Anti-Corruption Debate

2004-04-22

http://allafrica.com/stories/200404120333.html

While corruption is evidently the talk of the day and infuriating everyone given its socio-economic implications, what is not easily appreciated is the fact that women and children are more affected by the scourge. Women are short changed in aspects of service delivery as they do not have the same economic clout to negotiate for qualitative services as their male counterparts. But countries that promote women's rights and improve their institutional frameworks have seen a marked decrease in corruption and their economies have actually boomed, says this commentary from the Zimbabwe Standard.

Africa: Africa Rejects Donations From Churches That Support Gay Unions

2004-04-22

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=23351

Africa’s Anglican archbishops have vowed never to receive donations from western churches which support the ordination of gay priests. "We do not want any money from the Episcopal Church of the United States of America. This is not rhetoric. It is not a matter of a joke. We mean what we say," the chairman of the Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa, Nigeria’s Archbishop Peter Akinola said, as the other clergymen nodded in affirmation.

Algeria: Bouteflika 'determined' to emancipate women

2004-04-22

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=85&art_id=qw1082379600409B242&set_id=1

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika vowed Monday to free women from the yoke of the repressive Islamic "family code" that considers them perpetually dependent on men. Bouteflika, taking the oath of office for his second and final term after winning re-election in a landslide on April 8, said he rejected that women "should be subjected to a status that assails their rights and condemns them to a condition inferior to men".

Ghana: Gay Rights Dawn

2004-04-22

http://www.thegully.com/essays/gaymundo/030827_gay_ghana.html

Cobbled together from the West African British colony of the Gold Coast and the Togoland trust territory, Ghana became in 1957 the first country in colonial Africa to gain its independence. Lesbians and gays, though, are still waiting to be liberated from a repressive British legacy: sodomy laws. A gay social life exists, mostly in the form of house parties, and a few queer-friendly clubs in the capital, Accra, but there are risks. Because homosexuality is illegal, club-goers, especially tourists, risk blackmail. If they don't pay, social and legal consequences can be serious.

Africa/Global: UN human rights commission makes corporate responsibility breakthrough

2004-04-22

http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGIOR410252004

On 20 April, for the first time ever, governments meeting at the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva confirmed the importance and priority that the Commission accord to companies' responsibilities in relation to human rights and requested the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to focus on elaborating those responsibilities. A decision, adopted by consensus, specifically asks the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to compile a report setting out the scope and legal status of all existing initiatives and standards on business responsibilities with regard to human rights, including the UN Norms for Business. "We are very pleased that the Commission has acknowledged the need to strengthen standards on business responsibilities in relation to human rights and will consider elements of the Norms," Amnesty International said.

Botswana: Government accused of disregarding human rights

2004-04-22

http://www.gov.bw/cgi-bin/news.cgi?d=20040416&i=Govt_accused_of_disregarding_human_rights

Government has been accused of "trampling upon the human rights of its citizens". The accusation was made by Botswana Federation of Trade Unions (BFTU) secretary general Temogo Makgele when addressing Botswana Congress Party (BCP) third national congress in Ramotswa. Makgele said there were many contradictions in the country's democracy which government was reluctant to rectify.

DRC: Concern at ill-treatment of rights defender

2004-04-22

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/rights/21583

The Southern Africa Human Rights NGO Network (SAHRINGON), consisting of at least 50 human rights NGOs' in the region, has noted with regret the recent kidnapping, assault and torture of a fellow human rights defender Been Masudi Kingombe by security forces in the town of Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo. Kingombe is the Executive Director of the Centre for Human Rights (CDH) based in Lubumbashi, DRC.

A SAHRINGON STATEMENT ON THE KIDNAPPING, TORTURE AND CONTINUED HARRASSMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO


The Southern Africa Human Rights NGO Network (SAHRINGON), consisting of at least 50 human rights NGOs’ in the region, notes with regret the recent kidnapping, assault and torture of a fellow human rights defender BEEN MASUDI KINGOMBE by security forces (ANR) in the town of Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo.

BEEN MASUDI KINGOMBE, is the Executive Director of the Centre for Human Rights (CDH) based in Lubumbashi, DRC. He has been an active member of the network and has been associated as trainer at one of our region wide national training workshops on police brutality and torture that took place from 31 March 2004 to 3 April 2004 in Lubumbashi, DRC.

It is against this background that SAHRINGON is deeply disturbed and concerned with the on-going persecutions of human rights defenders in that country. This incident is not the first and there are threats that more rights defenders in that country face similar treatment. This is a total affront to fundamental human rights to life, human dignity, association, speech and freedom from cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, including torture.

Our partners in the DRC have confirmed that BEEN MASUDI KINGOMBE was kidnapped on 10 April 2004 at 18:00 where he was kept in seclusion until 20:00, beaten up, and tortured, after which he was released with no charge and or explanation to his ordeal.

We condemn the DRC government’s failure to comply with its primary obligation to promote the rights of people and protect them from violence, which is a total disregard of their rights to life, freedom from torture, and arbitrary arrests. This is an apparent disregard of the provisions of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and various other international and regional instruments particularly the Convention Against Torture which they are party to.

We call upon all Heads of State and Government of the African Union, and particularly in the Southern African Development Community and in keeping with the provisions of the Constitutive Act, and the APRM principles, which requires them to “promote democratic principles and institutions, popular participation and good governance” and further to “promote and protect peoples’ rights” according to the African Charter, to intervene.

SAHRINGON also calls upon the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to take note of the various incidents of torture and increased violation of human rights in that country.

Issued By: Regional Office

More...

DRC: President Asks ICC To Investigate War Crimes

2004-04-22

http://www.unwire.org/News/328_426_22973.asp

The International Criminal Court could begin investigations this year into war crimes committed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, following a request by the country's president, the ICC said. President Joseph Kabila sent a letter to Louis Moreno Ocampo, the court's chief prosecutor, asking him to look into alleged war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity, the court said in a statement. When the court was launched last July, Ocampo said he intended to probe the situation in the war-torn Ituri region, and he has received six complaints of atrocities in the northeastern region since that time.

DRC: The Situation of Human Rights Defenders in Africa: A Continuous Nightmare?

2004-04-22

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/rights/21624

Human rights defenders “form the base that regional and international human rights organisations and mechanisms build upon in the promotion and protection of human rights” and that “as a result of their involvement in the struggle for human rights, the defenders are often the first victims of human rights violations,” according to the United Nations. Africa in general and particularly the DRC is characterize by the persistence of actions that directly or indirectly prevent or hinder the work and security of individuals, groups or organisations working to promote and protect human and peoples' rights, including the growing risks faced by human rights defenders and their families.
CENTRE D’ETUDES ET DE RECHERCHE EN DROITS
DE L`HOMME ET DEMOCRATIE
(Centre for Human Rights & Democracy Studies and Research)
Lubumbashi – Democratic Republic of Congo

The Situation of Human Rights Defenders in Africa: A Continuous Nightmare?

Human rights defenders “form the base that regional and international human rights organizations and mechanisms build upon in the promotion and protection of human rights” and that “as a result of their involvement in the struggle for human rights, the defenders are often the first victims of human rights violations.”

Africa in general and particularly the DRC is characterize by the persistence of actions that directly or indirectly prevent or hinder the work and security of individuals, groups or organisations working to promote and protect human and peoples’ rights, including the growing risks faced by human rights defenders and their families.
Some efforts, improvements have been made to protect human rights defenders. However, in practice we note with deep concern that impunity for threats, attacks and acts of intimidation against human rights defenders persists and that this impacts negatively on the work and safety of human rights defenders and even on human rights generally.


In the fight against the culture of impunity and looking for mechanisms to protect human rights defenders, the Centre d’Etudes et de Recherche en Droits de l’Homme et Démocratie (CERDH), (Centre for Human Rights and Democracy Studies), a Congolese organization in charge of promotion and protection of Human Rights based in Lubumbashi, DRC expresses deep concern over the continued persecution of human rights defenders in Africa, particularly in DRC and calls upon other organisations and the international community to look upon all adequately measures to ensure the protection of human rights defenders;
Thus, recognising their crucial contribution to the protection and promotion of human and peoples’ rights in the continent, we urges political authorities to take all necessary measures to ensure human rights defenders can carry out their activities freely.

Furthermore, the CERDH has decided to share its expertise to assist and support individuals, groups or organisations working to promote and protect human and peoples’ rights against actions that directly or indirectly prevent or hinder their work and security. In that way, the CERDH propose to take complaints to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights for recent human rights violations against Human Rights Defenders in DRC (Tortures, inhuman treatment, arbitrary detention, violation of freedom of expression, association, etc).
The notorious case is for M. Dieudonné BEEN MASUDI KINGOMBE, Executif Director of CDH (Centre des Droits de l’Homme et du Droit Humanitaire) Human Rights NGO based in Lubumbashi DRC, was kidnapped on 10 April 2004 at 18:00 where he was kept in seclusion until 20:00, beaten up, and tortured, after which he was released with no charge and or explanation to his ordeal.

For more informations and your support please contact Mr YAV KATSHUNG Joseph on behalf of the CERDH
Phone: +27 72 43 42 896 Fax: +1-501-638-4935
E-mail: cerdh@best.cd or joyav22@yahoo.fr Web site: www.cerdh.tk

More...

Ethiopia: Genocide in Ethiopia?

2004-04-22

http://www.oneworld.net/article/view/83811/1/

A Canada-based representative of the Anuak Survival Organisation has given chilling testimony on a genocide being perpetrated against the Anuak people in Gambella Province, Ethiopia. Obang Metho spoke to a special UN Human Rights Commission meeting in Geneva on April 8, 2004. Mr. Metho said, “I speak to you as the representative of a forgotten people, the Anuak (or Anywaa) of Ethiopia. We number only 100,000 persons in the Gambella province of south-western Ethiopia. Our province is the tongue of fertile land, rich with natural resources such as oil, gold and other minerals that extends into southern Sudan. In the past four months, over 1137 Anuak have been murdered by the Ethiopian defense forces and some others from the highland.”

Ghana: “The truth is in the bosom of Mr. Rawlings”

2004-04-22

http://www.worldpress.org/Africa/1827.cfm

For nations moving from authoritarian to civilian rule, debate about whether to forget past human-rights abuses and focus on the future has always been emotive. Freed from prison in 1990 after 27 years, Nelson Mandela presided over South Africa’s attempt to put the atrocities of the apartheid era behind it through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) chaired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. More recently, Sierra Leone’s truth commission has asked how combatants in the country’s brutal civil war could slice open the wombs of pregnant women and amputate villagers’ limbs in the name of a senseless civil war. Ghana, too, has opted for a National Reconciliation Commission to examine the abuses that took place under the leadership of President Jerry Rawlings.

Kenya: Activists protest against 'violations'

2004-04-22

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=87&art_id=qw1082118063903B256&set_id=1

Scores of human rights activists on Friday demonstrated in the streets of the Kenyan capital Nairobi against what they called "blatant violation of human rights across the country". The demonstrators raised banners that condemned the increase of rapes, extra-judicial executions and inability of the government to offer security to Kenyans. The Kenya Human Rights Commission, a non-governmental organisation which organised the demonstration, presented a memorandum detailing rights violations to the justice ministry.

Kenya: Rights Campaign in EPZs Elicits Mixed Results

2004-04-22

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=23374

A number of employees in Kenya’s export processing zones claim they have been threatened with dismissal should they continue associating with human rights groups that are championing better conditions for workers. However, certain companies in the zones also appear to have taken heed of the groups’ concerns. The employees who are alleging threats of dismissal work in textile firms. Their employers have reportedly complained of several contracts being cancelled by foreign buyers who were concerned about poor conditions in the export processing zones (EPZs).

Mozambique: Mozambique Urged to Ratify Treaty On War Crimes Tribunal

2004-04-22

http://allafrica.com/stories/200404140523.html

Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano received on Wednesday a delegation from the Portuguese section of the human rights body Amnesty International (AI) that is currently visiting Mozambique. Among the delegation's priorities is to request the Mozambican government to ratify the treaty creating the International Criminal Court, a supra-national tribunal that will be empowered to deal with war crimes.

Swaziland: Rights groups forced to hold protest outside kingdom

2004-04-22

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40650

A human rights rally will be held outside Swaziland, after security forces blocked a planned gathering at the weekend by pro-democracy groups who intended to condemn the government's draft constitution. "We will now restage [the event] in another country that recognises human rights," said Kislon Shongwe, an official with the banned political party, People's United Democratic Movement.

Zimbabwe: UN human rights resolution defeated

2004-04-22

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40614

A Zimbabwean human rights body has criticised an African-Asian grouping which shot down a draft resolution on the human rights situation in Zimbabwe for the second year at the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) in Geneva last Thursday. The draft resolution, mooted by the European Union and supported by the United States, would have expressed "deep concern" at what it said were "continuing violations of human rights in Zimbabwe, in particular politically motivated violence, including killings, torture, sexual and other forms of violence against women, incidents of arbitrary arrest, restrictions on the independence of the judiciary, and restrictions on the freedoms of opinion, expression, association and assembly".

Angola/Southern Africa: Spontaneous returnees facing difficult hurdles

2004-04-22

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40582

Angolan refugees coming back under a formal programme from the Republic of the Congo, and neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia and Namibia are aided by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). But many more - the so-called spontaneous returnees - have struggled home on their own since the end of Angola's civil war in 2002. In recent months their passage has been hampered by the rainy season, which has rendered many roads impassable and increased the ever-present threat of landmines. Just crossing the border back to Angola can be the biggest challenge facing returning refugees.

Burundi: 'Legal clinic' on wheels for Burundi returnees

2004-04-22

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

Early in the morning, when the fog lifts, the Land Cruiser carrying a team of three lawyers from the UN refugee agency leaves the town of Muyinga in north-eastern Burundi for one of the many hills covered by eucalyptus and firs. As soon as the car stops in an open space, the first "clients" arrive. They ask the lawyers for advice. Soon there are long queues of people hoping to find answers to myriad problems facing post-war Burundi. Normally, they are related to property and domestic disputes. Many returnees find their land and houses occupied. Others arrive with new families, causing tensions with those they had left behind. UNHCR set the legal clinic in motion to help find answers to these problems before they come to a boil.

DRC/Uganda: Congolese refugees fear returning home

2004-04-22

http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home/opendoc.htm?tbl=NEWS&id=407e41120&page=news

Thousands of Congolese refugees are still in Uganda more than a year after a peace deal was signed back home. The refugees are unwilling to return home for fear of ethnic reprisals because parts of eastern Congo, where the Hema and the Lendu – the principal actors in the tribal clashes from which they fled – are said to be still under the rule of warlords. The Congolese, estimated by the Uganda People's Defence Forces to be 10,000 in number, live in Bundibugyo district without refugee status. The Refugee Law Project (RLP) says that they are living in inhuman conditions.

Mozambique: The role of churches in refugee camps

2004-04-22

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

Marratane camp has more than 30 churches to meet the spiritual and other needs of less than 5,000 refugees. Some say religion helps them overcome conflict, some simply enjoy the singing and dancing involved, while others are praying for resettlement to the west.

Sudan: Number of IDPs in Darfur now 1 million, says UN

2004-04-22

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40682

The number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Sudan's western region of Darfur has risen to one million, the United Nations said on Tuesday. In a report issued in New York, the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that the situation in Darfur was compounded by shortfalls of shelter, clean water, food and health-care supplies. It warned that "all funds contributed for relief efforts in Darfur so far have already been exhausted", noting that the UN expected to revise its humanitarian appeal for the region beyond the US $115 million requested earlier this month.

Sudan: Thousands displaced by militias into Malakal

2004-04-22

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40632

Up to 30,000 people, mostly women and children, have been displaced by fighting into the garrison town of Malakal in Upper Nile, Sudan, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the capital, Khartoum. A regional analyst told IRIN that up to 75,000 people were believed to have been displaced by conflict in the nearby Shilluk kingdom, which pits government-backed Nuer and Shilluk militias against the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A). The vast majority of the IDPs were women and children, who had arrived in the town with scant personal belongings, reporting looting, burning of villages, killing and rape, especially around Tonga, about 75 km west of Malakal, according to Nadia. The men are believed to have scattered into "the bush" to protect their cattle.

Uganda: A refuge from civil wars

2004-04-22

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40581

Thousands of people displaced by wars in neighbouring Sudan, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have at different times poured into Uganda to seek refuge and rebuild their lives. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Uganda is currently hosting 18,000 refugees from Rwanda and some 171,000 from Sudan. It is harder to give exact figures for refugees from the DRC. UNHCR says that technically the war in eastern DRC has ended, but since migration between western Uganda and eastern DRC has been such a regular part of life in the region for centuries, it is impossible to estimate how many Congolese refugees live in western Uganda.

Uganda: UN Security Council urges government to improve protection of IDPs

2004-04-22

http://www.idpproject.org/weekly_news/weekly_news.htm#1

Following a briefing by the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Jan Egeland, on the humanitarian situation in northern Uganda, the members of the UN Security Council on 14 April 2004 condemned the atrocities carried out by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and expressed their concern about the humanitarian crisis, in particular the large-scale displacement of the civilian population, as well as the abduction of children and their forced recruitment as soldiers. The Council members called on the Ugandan government “to enhance its protection for displaced persons and those providing essential services to them”, and called on all parties to facilitate safe and unimpeded humanitarian access to the civilian population in accordance with international law.

Kenya: Constitutional review in crisis claim minority and indigenous groups

2004-04-22

http://www.minorityrights.org/news_detail.asp?ID=247

The constitutional review process in Kenya has reached its final stages after the presentation of a draft Constitution to the Attorney General on 23rd March. However a constitutional court has ruled that Kenya’s parliament be given powers to alter the draft Constitution document, a move which minority and indigenous rights groups claim could seriously weaken important provisions for minority and indigenous rights, which they have lobbied hard to achieve.

Liberia: Public Frustrations Spark Mob Justice

2004-04-22

http://www.ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=23328

The guns in Liberia's civil war have been silent for several months now, as the country makes tentative efforts to establish lasting peace. But in many respects, inhabitants of the capital - Monrovia - have simply exchanged one sort of war for another: the battle against criminal activity. Fourteen years of intermittent fighting have stripped government departments of the personnel and equipment needed to perform their duties. The result is that citizens have taken to meting out mob justice to real and perceived criminals.

Malawi: In Placid Malawi, Shades of Mugabe's Zimbabwe

2004-04-22

http://www.wits.ac.za/saiia/eAfrica/April2004.htm

It has a reputation for being as calm as the lake that bears its name, but as Malawi heads into its third multiparty presidential and parliamentary elections in May, serial attacks allegedly perpetrated by ruling party youth militias against opposition leaders and journalists cast doubts over the stability of the sliver-shaped central African country. The Malawi Human Rights Commission has warned that rising incidents of pre-election violence by the Young Democrats, the militant youth wing of the ruling United Democratic Front, is polarising the country along ethnic and regional lines. Political analysts, furthermore, worry that voters are losing faith in the democratic process. The upcoming vote marks the second consecutive poll to be marred by ruling- party violence.

Malawi: Violence, allegations of rigging ahead of poll

2004-04-22

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40666

Tensions are high as Malawi's third multiparty general elections draw closer - the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) faces accusations of bias, while police have shot dead two opposition supporters protesting the death in detention of a comrade. Police in the southern district of Nsanje shot and killed the two opposition supporters on Monday for hurling stones at a police station, after an opposition sympathiser died in detention.

Namibia: Concern at "Zimbabweanization"

2004-04-22

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/elections/21619

The National Society for Human Rights says it is "alarmed" at the "Zimbabweanization" of not only the socio-economic and political, but also judicial, system in Namibia. "The Zimbabweanization of our judicial system, as seen in the ongoing erosion of judicial independence and circumvention of its effectiveness, becomes even more evident in what amounts to influencing intimidation of independence-minded Namibian judicial officers," said the NSHR in a press statement.
April 21 2004

PRESS RELEASE



MAGISTRATE DENIED LEAVE AND PAY AFTER

CHALLENGING EMPLOYER’S UNCONSTITUTIONAL ACTS



1 As a vigorous advocate for judicial independence, NSHR is once more alarmed at insidious but systemic Zimbabweanization of not only the socio-economic and political, but also judicial, system in this country. The Zimbabweanization of our judicial system, as seen in the ongoing erosion of judicial independence and circumvention of its effectives, becomes even more evident in what amounts to influencing intimidation of independence-minded Namibian judicial officers, most of whom are white and or “foreign” judges, magistrates, prosecutors and lawyers.



“Judicial independence means that judges and magistrates can decide cases before them without fear or favor, based on the law and the facts of a particular case. With an independent judiciary, cases will be decided on their merits. All litigants know that their case will be decided according to the law and the facts, not the vagaries of shifting political currents or the clamor of partisan politicians. Moreover, one cannot have checks and balances without an independent judiciary to protect every citizens' individual liberties and to prevent a tyranny of the majority”, NSHR executive director Phil ya Nangoloh says.



2 NSHR has recently expressed grave concern at verbal attacks directed by high-ranking Government of Namibia (GRN) and ruling SWAPO party officials at “white” and “foreign” judges in general and in particular Justice Elton Hoff following his February 23 2004 unpopular ruling in alleged Caprivi secessionist case. A truly independent judicial is there to protect the rights of those promoting unpopular views, including those representing minority viewpoints or factions and accused of serious crimes.



3 In this particular case, NSHR wishes to draw the attention of both local and international advocates for judicial independence to rancorous victimization and intimidation against Magistrate Walter Mostert (44). Clearly, Mostert victimization sends chilling signals to other independent-minded judicial officers that they would face similar consequences unless they tow the political line.



4 NSHR information shows that Magistrate Mostert is being persecuted through inter alia denial of his annual leave and suspension or threat to suspend his remuneration. This state of affairs amounts to a subtle strategy leading to his constructive dismissal. As a human rights organization, we affirm that like any other employees of his category, Mostert has the right not only to work as a Magistrate but also he is entitled to leisure in terms of Section 39(1)(a) of the country’s Labor Act 1992 (Act 6 of 1992).









Background Information



5 During 2001 Magistrate Mostert, a white Namibian citizen, was unconstitutionally transferred from his permanent post in the Gobabis Magistracy to the Oshakati Magistracy. Consequently, as an aggrieved judicial officer he lodged successful Court cases against impermissible executive interference in judicial affairs. Such interference is evident in the Minister of Justice being legally empowered to ‘hire and fire’ judicial officers in the country’s lower courts, as he pleases. Clearly, this scheme of things runs counter to the provisions Articles 12(1)(a), 78 and 83 of the Namibian Constitution (NC), which guarantee judicial independence.



6 Through an investigation, NSHR reliably established that ever since he challenged the unconstitutionality of his transfer Magistrate Mostert is faced with several vindictive omissions or commissions from certain officials of Ministry of Justice.



7 Mostert’s Court challenges led to the Constitutional Court, the country’s highest court, declaring unconstitutional and ultra vires the Minister of Justice’s powers to ‘hire and fire’, including to transfer, magistrates from one magistracy to another.



8 Basing its interpretation on Articles 12(1)(a), 78 and 83 of the Namibian Constitution (NC), read together with Article 25, the said Court ruled in favor of Mostert and declared that the Minister of Justice has no power to ‘hire and fire’ magistrates.



9 Ipso facto in terms of Article 25 of the Constitution, the said Court also not only impugned the relevant provisions of the law, to wit the old Magistrates’ Court Act 1944 (Act 32 of 1944), in terms of which the Mostert transfer was effected, but also gave Parliament until or before June 30 2003 to pass “appropriate” legislation in accordance with which the Minister of Justice must take action to remedy on or before June 30 2003 the defects in transferring Mostert from the Gobabis to the Oshakati Magistracy. The Court inter alia ruled that:



“(a) … the order of [the Minister of Justice] to transfer [Magistrate Mostert], was ultra vires. This order and transfer which took place in effect, will however remain in force and effective until 30th June 2003, provided that appropriate legislation is passed and action is taken in accordance with such legislation to remedy the defects in the existing transfer, on or before the 30th June 2003”.



(b) [the relevant provisions] of the Magistrates’ Court Act, Act 32 of 1944, is declared unconstitutional. These provisions will however remain in force until 30th June 2003, on condition that legislation correcting the defects is properly passed and gazetted on or before 30th June 2003.”



10 As an apparent move to give effect to the order of the said Court, Parliament in 2003 enacted new legislation inter alia to:



“ensure that the appointment, promotion, transfer or dismissal of, disciplinary steps against, magistrates take place without favor or prejudice, and that the applicable laws and administrative directives in this regard are applied uniformly and correctly”



and



“ ensure that no influencing victimization of magistrates takes place”.



11 The fundamental question lies in whether or not the new legislation, to wit the Magistrates’ Court Act 2003 (Act 3 of 2003)--which is intended to correct the defects contained in the old Magistrates’ Court Act 1944 (Act 32 of 1944)--is both “appropriate” and “properly passed” as envisaged by the Court. This was, in the first place, the fundamental lacuna on which the Court based its order!



12 NSHR believes that there has been legislative mischief or even defiance to the Court order that “appropriate” legislation correcting the defects should be “properly passed and gazetted on or before 30th June 2003”. Because, like the old Act, the new Act does not make requisite provision for truly judicial independence of lower courts.



“In my opinion, the new Act is taking the likes of Magistrate Mostert out of the frying pan into the fire. That Act, without any doubt in my mind, is one of the worst pieces of legislation ever passed by Parliament in the history of our country’s constitutional order, in so as judicial independence is concerned. In certain respects the new Act is even worse than the old one, the defects of which the new Act was intended to correct and remedy. As a matter of fact, the new Act even more than before promotes executive impunity and entrenches executive interference in both the decisional and institutional independence of the judiciary”, argued NSHR Executive Director Phil ya Nangoloh.



13 In terms of Section 13 of the new Magistrates’ Court Act 2003 (Act 3 of 2003), the Minister of Justice is still empowered to ‘hire and fire’ judicial officers on the recommendation of the Magistrates’ Commission (MC) consisting of 7 members. Moreover, with the exception of its Chairperson, who is a High Court judge, only one member of the MC is a magistrate. The remainder is, for all practical purposes, GRN civil servants or even activist politicians who need to have legal qualifications.



“This is tantamount to a male-dominated body empowered to ’hire and fire’ female rights activists in a women’s rights organization. This is not only a red herring but also a serious administrative lacuna”, says ya Nangoloh



14 Hence, the composition of the MC appears to be carefully crafted in such a fashion as to ensure that the status quo ante is substantially and procedurally maintained.



15 The systematic erosion of judicial independence in Namibia has alibis in Zimbabwe. Since the prime targets of Zimbabwean-style land grab drive in Namibia are white farmers, it is logical to conclude that the GRN would also target primarily white Namibian judges, magistrates, prosecutors and lawyers as “allies of white farmers”. Hence, a Zimbabwe-style divide et impera (divide and rule) strategy could be employed to divide the judiciary along racial lines. Several other parallels can be drawn between the situation in Namibia, on the one hand, and that in Zimbabwe since 2000, when Mugabe’s “land reform” campaign started in earnest, on the other:



15.1. Like President Mugabe in Zimbabwe, the GRN has repeatedly demonstrated its disdain for judicial independence and disrespect for the rule of law. This is witnessed by the numerous verbal attacks as well defamation and intimidation of judges who deliver politically unpopular rulings. Such attacks reflect ongoing GRN efforts to rid this country of an independent judicial system and prevent judicial officers to discharge their functions in an impartial and professional fashion.



15.2. On March 17 2004 in Zimbabwe a female Magistrate who ordered the immediate release of a businessman due to irregularities in his arrest, was subjected to verbal attacks by Mugabe officials and other forms of intimidation in Government-controlled media. Despite the said Magistrate’s order, the businessman was rearrested.



In similar case in Namibia on February 23 2004, High Court Judge Elton Hoff ordered the release of 13 persons accused of high treason due to irregularities in their arrest. The 13 were abducted from neighboring Zambia and Botswana between August 1999 and December 2002. However, despite Hoff’s order, the 13 were rearrested and recharged with unspecified high treason charges!



As a consequence of his order for the release of the 13 high treason suspects, Judge Hoff was subjected to a barrage of verbal attacks by Justice Minister Albert Kawana and several other high-ranking GRN and ruling SWAPO party officials (please visit NSHR Press Releases of February 25 2004 and March 19 2004 at www.nshr.org.na)



Currently there is battle raging in the High Court over whether or not Home Affairs Minister Jerry Ekandjo and Prosecutor-General Olivia Imalwa were severally in contempt of court for the non-execution of the February 23 2004 Court order for the release of 13 alleged Caprivi secessionists.



15.3. On February 26 2001 Zimbabwe’s white Chief Justice Sir Anthony Gubbay was summarily ousted and subsequently replaced with a black judge said to be a puppet of President Mugabe. Gubbay was accused of “siding with white farmers” and standing in the way of Mugabe’s “land reform” exercise. NSHR suspects that there are similar moves in Namibia to indirectly force Chief Justice Johan Strydom into early retirement to pave the way for a GRN favorite. In March 2002 the country’s legislation of governing High and Supreme Courts judges was amended to reduce judges’ retirement age from 70 to 65. In terms of such amendments Namibian President Sam Nujoma, a Mugabe ally, is given leeway to decide whether or not judges should retire at the age 65 of 70.



On November 22 2002 Namibia’s Prosecutor-General Advocate Hans Heyman, a no-nonsense white judicial officer, stepped down after the country’s black Attorney General led a GRN campaign pressurizing him into early retirement. The country’s Legal Practitioner’s Amendment Act 2002 (Act 10 of 2002) was tailor-amended to enable an unqualified black female and a reportedly GRN favorite to replace Heyman as Prosecutor General.



NSHR fears that with politically favored Chief Justice and Prosecutor-General the stage could be set for Zimbabwe-style political prosecutions to start in Namibia.



16 NSHR believes that decisionally and institutionally an independent judiciary is a pillar and cornerstone of not only Namibia’s justice system but also its entire constitutional order. Maintaining an independent judiciary enables the courts to make impartial decisions and to keep the Executive Branch in check. However, when public officials and policymakers criticize judges, or threaten removal or other forms of censure, based upon their rulings in specific cases, they attempt to influence future decisions. This undermines the standing of an independent judiciary and jeopardizes Namibia’s democratic constitutional order itself.



“Our judges, magistrates, prosecutors and lawyers make our Constitution work for all of us. We have designed for ourselves a constitutional order based on a system of checks and balances. But you can't have checks and balances without an independent judiciary”, says ya Nangoloh.



17 NSHR calls upon GRN to ensure strict judicial independence in the country in line with both national and international law on the independence of the judiciary.



In case of further enquiries, Please call Phil ya Nangoloh or Dorkas Nangolo-Phillemon at Tel: +264 61 236 183 or +264 61 253 447 (office hours)

More...

Nigeria: Armed forces may court martial coup suspects

2004-04-22

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40593

Military authorities in Nigeria said last Thursday they had set up a special panel to determine whether a group of soldiers and civilians arrested on suspicion of plotting to topple the government should face court martial. General Alexander Ogomudia, the Chief of Defence Staff, has created an all military "Special Investigation Panel" which will determine whether those arrested should face military trial on the basis of the allegations against them, his spokesman Colonel Ganiyu Adewale said.

Sierra Leone: An Election 30 Years in the Making

2004-04-22

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=23412

Local elections aren't a rarity, some would claim. But, they are if you live in Sierra Leone and have not had a say about local councillors in three decades. That the elections are happening is the good news. The bad news is that the contest is not going to be a pretty one. Osman Yansaneh, secretary general of the opposition All Peoples Congress (APC), has already alleged "gross interference of (tribal) 'chiefs' in the electoral process in favour of the ruling SLPP (Sierra Leone Peoples Party)." Of the 17 registered political parties in the country, only four are taking part in the elections - the others having run out of steam after the last general election in May 2002.

South Africa: ANC names eight new premiers

2004-04-22

http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/zones/sundaytimes/basket3st/basket3st1082610349.asp

The African National Congress named its candidates for premiers in the nine provinces this week, after a national working committee meeting of the ruling party was held in Cape Town. It is the first time that candidates have only been named after the election, which the ANC won with a landslide victory. The ANC will take the premierships in all nine provinces for the first time since democracy in 1994.
Related Link:
* IFP claims rigged poll
http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/zones/sundaytimes/basket3st/basket3st1082610399.asp
* Opposition left licking wounds
http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/2004/04/18/politics/politics02.asp
* Crippling blow for once mighty Nats
http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/2004/04/18/politics/politics03.asp

Zimbabwe: In search of a new strategy

2004-04-22

http://www.crisisweb.org/home/index.cfm?id=2607&l=1

There are two possibilities for the parliamentary elections that the government has indicated will be held in less than a year's time, observes the International Crisis Group (ICG) in a new report. One is that a negotiated inter-party settlement or greatly intensified international pressure - or both - will produce the conditions for a free and fair electoral process. The other is that the ruling party will continue to stall on talks, rig the electoral process, increase state violence, and win a non-credible vote. "If the latter happens, Zimbabwe will probably be at the point of no return," says the ICG.

Africa/Global: $2.7bn Bribes Change Hands Daily, Says World Bank

2004-04-22

http://www.thisdayonline.com/news/20040410news02.html

The World Bank last Thursday released a major report that says that more than $1 trillion is paid globally in bribes yearly. This comes to an average of $2.7 billion per day. The figure does not include embezzlement of public funds or theft of public assets. The study by the World Bank Institute (WBI) in Washington, United States, is an ongoing research, but it shows that the scale of bribery as an economic crime is alarming. This can be seen when the figure is compared with the estimated size of the world economy in 2001-02, for example, which stood at just over US$30 trillion.

Congo: Corruption increasing poverty, NGOs say

2004-04-22

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40656

Although corruption has always been a feature of Congolese life, the lack of political will by the country's leaders to fight the phenomenon is now causing a rise in levels of poverty, according to local NGOs. "It is obvious that the majority of Congolese are hostages of the corrupt minority," said Cephas Ewangui, president of the Congolese Federation of Human Rights and of the Thomas Sankara Pan-African Association.

Ghana: Ghana and Civil Society Clash Over Allegations of Corruption

2004-04-22

http://www.wits.ac.za/saiia/eAfrica/April2004.htm

The government of Ghana has provoked a feud with civil society organisations just as Accra becomes the first to fall under the lens of the African Peer Review Mechanism. In an attempt to purge the private voluntary sector of alleged graft, the government has ordered all non-governmental organisations to register with the Registrar General and submit annual reports and financial statements by the end of April 2004 or risk being black-listed.

Nigeria: Oilmen sacked over scam

2004-04-22

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3640053.stm

Nigeria's state-run oil company is reported to have sacked seven senior managers in connection with a multi-million-dollar fraud scheme. The dismissals have been approved by President Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) told the French AFP news agency.

Nigeria: Swiss to return 50 million dollars of Abacha funds

2004-04-22

http://www.transparency.org/cgi-bin/dcn-read.pl?citID=115152

Nigeria has struck a deal to bring 50 million dollars belonging to late dictator Sani Abacha that were frozen by the Swiss authorities in 1999 back to the country, the justice department said Monday. In total, more than 600 million dollars (498 million euros) of Abacha's money has been frozen in Switzerland. Nigerian authorities finished an investigation into an individual involved in the Abacha case and, in an out-of-court settlement, secured the return of 50 million dollars through the Bank for International Settlements, the Federal Office of Justice said.

Sierra Leone: EU refuses to fund Sierra Leone local elections over corruption claims

2004-04-22

http://www.transparency.org/cgi-bin/dcn-read.pl?citID=115163

The European Union has told Sierra Leone it will not help fund May local government elections due to still unanswered questions about corruption during previous ballots, a government minister said Monday. "The EU wrote my ministry that they are not in the position to fund the elections, even though the request was made eight months ago," Sidique Brima, the minister for local government, told reporters.

Swaziland: Anti-corruption Body Exists in Name Only

2004-04-22

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=23393

The government of Swaziland has allocated R2 million (307,692 dollars) in its budget for an anti-corruption office that does not function, but is sorely needed. "Corruption is part of any national government, any business, any place from a school headmaster’s office to a religious organisation where money and influence are found. It is to government and society’s benefit that an anti-corruption authority exists to take action," said an Mbabane attorney with the Swaziland Law Society.

Zambia: Chiluba questioned on corruption

2004-04-22

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3639725.stm

Police in Zambia have questioned former Zambian president, Frederick Chiluba, over further allegations of corruption. Mr Chiluba's lawyer said he was likely to face new charges that he used state funds to buy two houses which he later sold to pay legal bills. The former head of state already faces charges of stealing tens of millions of dollars of public money.

Africa/Global: UN official calls for doubling of spending on sanitation and clean drinking water

2004-04-22

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=10446&Cr=sustainable&Cr1=development

The world needs to more than double its spending if it is to achieve its 2015 target of halving the proportion of people without access to sanitation and drinking water, a senior United Nations official told a UN commission set up to promote sustainable development in poor countries. José Antonio Ocampo, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, said that while there has been progress towards meeting targets for access to clean drinking water and improved sanitation, especially in East and South Asia, it has not been fast enough, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.

Africa/Global: Water targets are being missed, say Aid agencies

2004-04-22

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3637931.stm

International agencies have warned that many governments are failing in their commitment to help improve access to drinking water. A global campaign launched two years ago brought pledges to halve the number of people who do not have access to clean water by 2015. But the six agencies, including Water Aid, Green Cross International and Oxfam, say the global situation is getting worse rather than better.

Africa: 'After Cancún: Southern Prospects for Trade and Development'

2004-04-22

http://www.tni.org/acts/aftercancun.htm

How monolithic is the group of twenty developing countries that emerged as a regional force during the World Trade Organisation's 5th Ministerial meeting at Cancún? Will the so-called G20 expand its agenda beyond the question of agricultural subsidies? Will it prove a force to shift the global balance of power? Walden Bello, Right Livelihood Award winner and Trans National Institute (TNI) board member and fellow, addressed these crucial questions at a Policy Dialogue organised by TNI and the Institute of Social Studies on the 5th April, as part of an ongoing series of policy dialogues aimed at inspiring critical thinking about the current neo-liberal development paradigm.

Africa: Africa Action Protests 60th Anniversary of World Bank & IMF

2004-04-22

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/development/21616

Africa Action has released a new set of talking points entitled, "Africa’s Debt & Iraq’s Debt - Washington’s Double Standard." This document notes the refusal of the World Bank and IMF to put Africa’s debt crisis at the top of their meeting agenda this week and strongly condemns the failure of the U.S. government to advocate for an urgent solution to Africa’s debt crisis, as it has been doing in the case of Iraq.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ann-Louise Colgan 202-546 7961

Africa Action Protests 60th Anniversary of World Bank & IMF

Releases new Talking Points on Africa’s debt & Iraq’s debt;
Co-Sponsors "Unhappy Birthday Party" outside World Bank

Wednesday, April 21, 2004 (Washington, DC) - As the World Bank and IMF
begin their annual Spring meetings in Washington, DC, Africa Action
today co-sponsors an "Unhappy Birthday Party" to protest the harmful
policies of these institutions, which mark their 60th anniversary this
year. Salih Booker, Executive Director of Africa Action will be among
the speakers at the "unhappy birthday" rally to be held outside the
World Bank from 12 Noon to 2:30pm this afternoon.

Also today, Africa Action releases a new set of talking points entitled,
"Africa’s Debt & Iraq’s Debt - Washington’s Double Standard." This
document notes the refusal of the World Bank and IMF to put Africa’s
debt crisis at the top of their meeting agenda this week and strongly
condemns the failure of the U.S. government to advocate for an urgent
solution to Africa’s debt crisis, as it has been doing in the case of Iraq.

Salih Booker, Executive Director of Africa Action said today, "This
week, the U.S. and other rich countries who control the World Bank and
IMF will again refuse to address Africa’s devastating debt burden. At
the same time, however, the Bush Administration has been actively
pursuing the cancellation of Iraq’s foreign debt. This reveals a blatant
double standard in U.S. policy that should be rejected outright."

The talking points, included below, note the terrible human toll of
Africa’s $300 billion debt burden, and the illegitimate and odious
nature of much of this debt. As African countries struggle to cope at
ground-zero of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, they are forced to spend more
money each year repaying old, illegitimate debts than they can spend on
health care for their own people.

Africa Action notes that the current international debt relief
framework, the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative is
widely acknowledged to have failed as a solution to the debt crisis. But
the U.S. government, the largest shareholder at the World Bank and IMF,
refuses to use its power to advocate for debt cancellation for Africa.
Rather, since December, the White House has been aggressively pursuing
the cancellation of Iraq’s foreign debts.

According to Booker, "There are strong reasons to consider canceling
Iraq’s debts, but these arguments must also apply in the case of African
countries. If Iraq’s debts are considered 'odious', then much of African
countries’ debts, also the product of corrupt and repressive leaders,
must similarly be considered odious."

Booker continued, "As the World Bank and IMF meet this week, the U.S.
should use this opportunity to call for the cancellation of Africa’s
debts. These institutions can afford to do this from their own
resources, and this can be the only logical outcome of the Bush
Administration’s policy on Iraq’s debt."

Today’s "unhappy birthday party" will bring activists from around the
country to Washington, DC to demand debt cancellation for poor countries
and to deliver thousands of "unhappy birthday cards" on the World Bank
and IMF’s 60th anniversary. Africa Action joins Jubilee USA Network and
other sponsors in declaring, "It’s no Time for a Party! It’s time to
Drop the Debt!"

The full set of talking points follow, and are also available on Africa
Action's website at
http://www.africaaction.org/newsroom/docs/africairaq0404.pdf :

-MORE-

Africa's Debt & Iraq’s Debt - Washington’s Double Standard

Talking Points by Africa Action
April 2004

"When a despot falls, his debt should disappear with him. That is what
the White House has tasked former Secretary of State, James Baker, to
convince Iraq's major creditors to accept. But when it comes to Africa,
Washington practices a double standard..."

This week when the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) hold
their annual spring meetings in Washington, DC, Africa’s debt crisis
will hardly appear on their agenda.

As these wealthy and powerful institutions mark their 60th anniversary,
the U.S. and other rich countries that control them will again this week
refuse to address the massive burden of illegitimate debt that African
countries face. At the same time, however, the Bush Administration has
been actively pursuing the cancellation of Iraq’s $120 billion debt as a
means to support that country’s supposed transition to democracy.

The following talking points explore the double standard in U.S. policy
that brings the White House to advocate for the cancellation of Iraq’s
unsustainable debt burden but causes it to ignore the massive debt
crisis faced by African countries.


Africa’s Debt Crisis

* Africa's external debt burden currently stands at more than $300
million, in a continent where most people subsist on less than $1 per day.
* Africa’s debt crisis is the single biggest obstacle to the continent's
development and to the fight against HIV/AIDS. It represents a crippling
load that undermines economic and social progress.
* African countries spend almost $15 billion each year repaying debts to
the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other creditors.
* Servicing these debts diverts money directly from spending on health
care, education and other important needs. While African countries
struggle to cope with the devastating effects of the HIV/AIDS crisis,
they are currently forced to spend more money on debt repayments than on
health care for their people.
* This year almost 3 million Africans will die of AIDS. 500,000 African
children will die of malaria. These deaths could be prevented if African
governments could spend more money on health care than on debt repayments.
* It is estimated that African countries pay $1.51 in debt service for
every $1 they receive in aid.


Illegitimate Debt

* Most of Africa's foreign debt is illegitimate in nature because of the
circumstances under which it was incurred, as well as the harmful
effects it now has on the continent’s development.
* Much of Africa’s debt was incurred by unrepresentative regimes during
the era of Cold War patronage, when loans were made to corrupt leaders
who used the money for their own personal gain, often with the full
knowledge and support of lenders like the U.S. government and the World
Bank and IMF. [For example, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
(DRC), formerly Zaire, dictator Mobutu Sese-Seko received more U.S. aid
than the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa combined during much of the Cold
War, even though it was well known that this money was being diverted
into his Swiss bank accounts. The people of the DRC should not now have
to pay back loans from which they saw no benefit.]
* In many African countries, debts were contracted by repressive or
despotic regimes and used to strengthen the hold of that regime,
contrary to the interests of the nation and its people. These are
considered illegitimate "odious debts", and this is an established legal
principle. [For example, in South Africa, the apartheid regime took out
more than $18 billion in foreign debt in its last 15 years in power. The
people of South Africa, the victims of the apartheid regime, should not
now be forced to pay the cost of their own previous repression.]
* In many African countries, debts have swelled over time because of
high interest rates and other conditions imposed by creditor governments
and banks. These debts are illegitimate, since the original debt has
already been repaid many times over.
* Many African activists and advocacy groups question the notion of an
African "debt" to the U.S. and European countries after centuries of
exploitation and plunder. They consider all of Africa’s debts
illegitimate and ask, "Who really owes whom?"


U.S. Policy on Africa’s Debt

* The U.S., other G8 leaders and the World Bank and IMF established the
Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative in 1996 to address the
debt crisis in Africa and other poor regions. HIPC remains the dominant
international debt relief plan integrating all bilateral, multilateral
and private creditors in one framework for select countries.
* Of the 42 countries selected by the World Bank and IMF as potential
recipients of HIPC relief, 34 are in sub-Saharan Africa. These countries
are eligible for some debt relief, but no African country has been
offered complete debt cancellation, and many get no relief whatsoever.
* Over the past eight years, the HIPC initiative has fundamentally
failed to resolve Africa’s debt crisis. It has not reduced the debts of
African countries to sustainable levels. In fact, it serves the
interests of creditors by continuing to extract the maximum possible in
debt repayments from the world’s poorest countries.
* Recent World Bank and IMF reports have admitted that HIPC is not
succeeding in addressing the debt crisis in Africa and other poor
regions. But the U.S. refuses to encourage Africa’s creditors to move
beyond this framework.
* President Bush and the U.S. Congress have acknowledged that Africa’s
debt crisis represents a real obstacle to the continent’s efforts to
combat HIV/AIDS and poverty.
* Although the U.S. is a relatively minor bilateral creditor of African
countries, it is the single largest shareholder in the World Bank and
the IMF, to whom most of Africa's debts are owed. As such, it holds
major influence over the international response to Africa's debt crisis.
* The U.S. continues to refuse to use its power to promote the
cancellation of Africa’s illegitimate foreign debts, even though the
World Bank and IMF can afford to write off this debt from their own
books using their own existing resources.


Iraq’s Debt

* U.S. Treasury officials estimate that Iraq’s debt amounts to $100-$120
billion.
* Of this total debt stock, some $40 billion is owed to Paris Club
creditors (G8 countries, including the U.S.), and the remaining $80
billion is owed to Arab nations and others outside the Paris club.
* Jubilee Iraq estimates that an additional $50 billion is owed by Iraq
in war reparations to countries like Kuwait and to individuals who claim
damages from Iraq.
* Much of Iraq’s debt can be considered "odious", as it was contracted
by Saddam Hussein’s regime and used for the repressive purposes of this
dictatorship, with the full knowledge of creditor countries and
institutions. This money was not spent on the needs or interests of the
Iraqi people.
* Comparing Iraq’s debt burden with the size of its economy and export
earnings, it is clear that Iraq is a very heavily indebted country.
* In addition, Iraq has urgent relief and reconstruction needs as it
enters into a period of important transition.


U.S. Policy on Iraq’s Debt

* In December 2003, President Bush appointed James Baker III, a
long-time friend and advisor to the Bush family and former Secretary of
State under George H. Bush, as Special Envoy for Iraqi debt reduction.
He is tasked with seeking an international deal to reduce and
restructure Iraq’s massive foreign debt in order to promote peace and
reconstruction in Iraq.
* Baker traveled to Europe in December 2003, to meet with some of Iraq’s
creditor nations. He secured pledges from Britain, France, Germany,
Italy and Russia to relieve much of the $40 billion owed to them by Iraq.
* Baker traveled to the Gulf region in the beginning of 2004 and
negotiated commitments to waive much of the $50 billion Iraq owes to
countries in that region.
* Early in 2004, reports indicated that the Bush Administration’s goal
was to relieve Iraq of two-thirds of its debt burden so that future oil
earnings could be spent on reconstruction rather than on debt repayments.
* Speaking in April, Baker called Iraq’s debt "simply unsustainable",
and referred to it as a major obstacle to rebuilding the economy and
government of that country.
* Baker insists that debt relief for Iraq must be achieved quickly, in
order to allow Iraq to find its feet. He has stated that efforts to
enforce the debt could sink the Iraqi economy and dash hopes for a solid
transition in Iraq.


The Double Standard

* There are many compelling reasons to reduce Iraq’s debt burden, but
these arguments are not being applied equally by the U.S. in the case of
African countries’ debt crisis.
* The U.S. is supporting debt relief for Iraq because it considers that
it has vital interests in Iraq and the larger Middle East region. U.S.
corporations also have major economic interests in Iraq, which the Bush
Administration wishes to promote.
* The U.S. does not consider it has such vital interests in Africa,
despite strong historical ties with the continent and important economic
and political relations with African countries. The U.S. acknowledges
that Africa’s debt hinders efforts to combat poverty and HIV/AIDS, but
it refuses to support debt cancellation for Africa.
* Another key difference between Iraq’s debt and Africa’s debt is who
the creditors are. Much of Iraq’s debt is bilateral and is owed to rich
European countries and to Japan. Most of Africa’s debt is multilateral
and is owed to the World Bank and IMF, where the U.S. is the principal
shareholder. The U.S. appears more willing to pursue the reduction of
debts for which it is not a creditor.
* The Bush Administration and the U.S. Congress argue that much of
Iraq’s debt is odious, but they refuse to apply the same criteria to
African countries’ debt when it is clear that much of Africa’s debt is
also odious.
* The U.S. appears unwilling to support debt cancellation for Africa
because the U.S. actually gains a great deal from Africa’s economic
enslavement. The U.S. and other rich countries, as well as the World
Bank and IMF, use Africa’s debt as leverage to manipulate the
continent’s economic fate to serve their interests.
* Despite the social and economic costs of this massive outflow of
resources from the world's poorest region, the U.S. continues to insist
that these debts be repaid. Yet the U.S. does not feel that Iraq’s debt
should be enforced in the same way. Such a blatant double standard in
U.S. foreign policy must be exposed and rejected outright.


What the U.S. Should Do

* The U.S. is the largest and most powerful shareholder in the World
Bank and IMF, Africa’s primary creditors, and it should use this power
to promote debt cancellation for Africa.
* A new report released by the Debt & Development Coalition Ireland
confirms that the World Bank and IMF have the resources to cancel all
the debts owed to them by the poorest countries without negatively
impacting their credit rating or lending ability.
* Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, has repeatedly
called for a new solution to the debt crisis and the suspension of debt
service payments in the interim.
* As a first step to supporting debt cancellation for Africa, Africa
Action believes that the U.S. government should immediately do the
following:
1. Undertake an inventory of the debts currently being repaid by African
countries, in order to determine the legitimacy of creditor claims.
2. Complete a study to ascertain what would be the cost to creditors of
the full cancellation of Africa's debts.
3. Declare a moratorium on debt repayments by African countries until
such time as an inventory of these debts has been compiled and the costs
of 100% cancellation have been determined, these two studies providing a
foundation for moving towards a just resolution to the continent's debt
crisis.

####

More...

Africa: MDG report makes grim reading

2004-04-22

http://www.commondreams.org/news2004/0421-02.htm

A comprehensive report released on the eve of the World Bank’s spring meeting in Washington has concluded that the world community is simply not doing nearly what it could and should to tackle poverty, war, ignorance and disease. A team of over 40 experts from around the world, overseen by a distinguished steering committee, has concluded that governments, international organisations, business and civil society are engaging in only about one-third of the effort necessary to realize the United Nations Millennium Declaration Goals.

Africa: The curse of remoteness: Poverty and rural isolation

2004-04-22

http://www.id21.org/society/s1clc1g1.html

Economic growth in some African countries has improved the well-being of the poorest. However, in remote areas poverty remains entrenched. New research argues that Africa's economic growth will not be translated into poverty reduction until the poor are given better access to markets and to basic infrastructure, such as roads.

Namibia: Labour Study Slams Water Charges As 'New Apartheid'

2004-04-22

http://allafrica.com/stories/200404070182.html

An in-depth study of privatised water services in Namibia says that while prepaid water systems are being marketed as the solution to bad debts and water conservation, they are in fact worsening the plight of the country's most vulnerable. Titled 'Water Privatisation in Namibia: Creating a New Apartheid?', the report released by the Labour Resource and Research Institute (LaRRI), contends that the system is exposing thousands of the country's poor to preventable diseases and death.

Africa/Global: Rich-Poor Gap in health Care Persists

2004-04-22

http://news.hst.org.za/view.php3?id=20040419

More than one billion people worldwide are not getting essential health care, according to a report by the Population Reference Bureau (PRB), which calls for international donors to focus more on closing the growing health gap between the world's wealthy nations and its poorest. The 32-page report, 'Improving the Health of the World's Poorest People', finds that per capita health spending in the world's least developed countries, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, comes to only about 11 U.S. dollars a year.

Africa: AIDS Epidemic Threatens World Peace, UN Says

2004-04-22

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=4870259&section=news

The spread of the deadly HIV virus is a threat to world peace, the chief the United Nations AIDS agency said Monday. "It's as big of a threat as terrorism," UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot told Reuters on the sidelines of a speech in Oslo, referring to massive poverty as a result of AIDS, sparking political unrest which could even lead to cross-border conflicts, as well as a weakening of defense forces in heavily infected countries.

Africa: Black Market AIDS Drugs Proliferate In Africa

2004-04-22

http://www.unwire.org/News/328_426_22801.asp

Desperate HIV-positive Africans are increasingly turning to the black market for AIDS medicines and healing remedies, often endangering their lives by taking toxic or ineffective drugs, according to a report by Germany's Der Spiegel magazine. The black market often offers more drugs than most pharmacies, from cocktails such as Triomune 40 or Combivir to antiretrovirals such as Videx, Okamune or Zerit. Even though the packets are not always labelled and vendors cannot offer information about dosage, many patients find that buying drugs on the black market provides a hassle-free alternative with no prescriptions needed, no waiting time and no registration.

Africa: Fighting wars, fighting HIV

2004-04-22

http://www.crisisweb.org/home/index.cfm?l=1&id=2606

HIV/AIDS prevention and conflict prevention should go hand in hand, states a new report from the International Crisis Group. "The correlation of HIV/AIDS and war is difficult to calculate with precision because the data are less than complete, and numerous interacting factors are at play. Nevertheless, the evidence available demonstrates that war can lead to increased risks of HIV/AIDS and suggests that HIV/AIDS can make conflicts worse," says the report.

Africa: Little joy on Malaria day

2004-04-22

http://www.massiveeffort.org/html/africa_malaria_day_--_2004.html

Elcidio died before his ninth birthday because he was given the wrong anti-malarial drugs. Thousands of African children like him die every day for the same reason, and will continue to die until effective drugs and insecticide treated mosquito nets (ITNs) are available. April 25th is Africa Malaria Day, commemorating the African Summit on Roll Back Malaria in Abuja, Nigeria that took place 4 years ago. The Abuja Summit brought together 44 African leaders and donor organisations who committed to systems reform and a massive scaling-up of funds to fight malaria in Africa, and set five-year targets for reductions in malaria infections and deaths. With one year remaining to reach the 2005 targets, there is little to celebrate. Many African countries are still administering ineffective drugs, and less than 2% of African children are sleeping under ITNs.

Africa: Malaria Action at Issue

2004-04-22

http://www.africafocus.org/docs04/mala0404.php

Malaria kills approximately two million people a year, some 90 percent of them in Africa. These numbers come close to the estimated three million worldwide dying of AIDS. The two diseases differ in many ways, but there are deadly similarities. In both cases, action falls far behind promises, while debates about strategy are used as excuses for failure to provide resources. In the case of malaria, at stake are both availability of resources and willingness to adopt new, more effective drugs to replace ones that are now ineffective. Both concerns raise issues of political will, says a recent edition of the Africa Focus Bulletin.

Africa: States Lack Political Will to Fight Aids, says Kaunda

2004-04-22

http://allafrica.com/stories/200404190842.html

African Union HIV/Aids committee chairman Kenneth Kaunda has lambasted "some African countries" for lacking the political will to tackle the disease. However, the former Zambian president did not include SA on the list of errant nations. Kaunda stressed that the cost of providing AIDS drugs was prohibitive for many African countries, and urged the international community to "take appropriate measures" to help Africa to lessen the effects of the virus.

Angola: Few pregnant women access medical services

2004-04-22

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40690

Despite the fact that Angola has one of the world's highest infant and maternal mortality rates, few pregnant women are accessing the available medical services. The maternal mortality rate in Angola is 1,000 deaths per 100,000 births, while the mortality rate for infants reaches 250 per 1,000 births. Only Sierra Leone and Nigeria have infant mortality rates worse than Angola's.

Angola: UNITA calls for faster integration of its health workers

2004-04-22

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40681

Former rebel group UNITA has called on Angolan authorities to speed up integration of its health workers into government services, noting an acute lack of medical professionals in the country's ailing health sector. UNITA secretary for health and environment Carlos Morgado told IRIN on Wednesday that despite an improvement in the number of ex-UNITA health "technicians" enrolled at public hospitals last year, there were thousands of trained health workers without employment.

CAR: Government to equip health facilities in three southwestern towns

2004-04-22

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40602

The government of the Central African Republic (CAR) has announced that it will equip health institutions in three towns in the southwestern province of Mambere Kadei with HIV/AIDS research centres and other facilities, state-owned Radio Centrafrique reported on Friday. It added that the government would also establish centres for voluntary AIDS screening, regional centres for treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, a blood bank, and blood transfusion centres in the health facilities in the towns of Berberati, Gambaoula and Carnot, respectively 188 and 281 km southwest of the capital, Bangui.

Kenya: Better Care Needed for Children Orphaned By HIV/Aids

2004-04-22

http://allafrica.com/stories/200404210895.html

HIV/AIDS and poverty have led to increased numbers of orphans, abandoned children and youngsters living on the streets of Kenya, according to the co-author of a report presented at a workshop in Nairobi in March 2004 organised by the Commonwealth Service Abroad Programme (CSAP) and the Department of Children's Services in Kenya's Ministry of Home Affairs. "More than a million children in Kenya below the age of 15 have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS," said Cecilia Manyame, a CSAP volunteer expert and co-author of the report, who visited the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, UK, last week.

Niger: Vaccination starts after measles epidemic kills 149

2004-04-22

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40600

The medical relief agency Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said last Thursday it had launched an urgent vaccination campaign against a measles epidemic in Niger that has led to more than 20,000 cases of the disease and 149 deaths in recent weeks. MSF said in a statement it had begun vaccinating and treating children between the ages of six months and five years in Niamey, the capital of the landlocked Sahelien country, in conjunction with the Ministry of Health.

Rwanda: Appeal for free ARV treatment for survivors

2004-04-22

http://www.aidsmap.com/news/newsdisplay2.asp?newsId=2661

Advocates for survivors of genocide in Rwanda have called for antiretroviral treatment to be made available free to women who were infected with HIV during the systematic rape of tens of thousands in 1994. The Survivors Fund has launched an online petition calling on the British government to do more to pressurise pharmaceutical companies to make antiretroviral treatment affordable in Rwanda. International donors are also being urged to do more to help Rwandan women.

South Africa: TAC calls for all-party Aids group

2004-04-22

http://www.suntimes.co.za/zones/sundaytimes/newsst/newsst1082609708.asp

Political parties in the new Parliament should form an all-party group on HIV/Aids, the Treatment Action Campaign said. In a post-election electronic newsletter, the organisation said it had refused to go along with parties that wanted to make HIV/Aids a party political issue. However it welcomed the major opposition parties' common view that a comprehensive strategy was required for HIV/Aids.

Southern Africa: Food security through the lens of HIV/AIDS

2004-04-22

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40610

It is vital that aid agencies continue to refine their approaches to food aid distribution, given the impact of HIV/AIDS in the region, says the Consortium for Southern Africa Food Security Emergency (C-SAFE). As a result, C-SAFE is running its own training course, "HIV and AIDS: Opportunities for Food Security Programming", for its members in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi. Kate Greenaway, C-SAFE Regional HIV/AIDS Technical Advisor and workshop organiser, said in a statement that "the goals of the training are to provide technical updates on HIV, AIDS and nutrition that will influence and inform future programming".

Africa/Global: Education for all (EFA) week

2004-04-22

http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=28709&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

Education For All Week 2004, 19-25 April, will focus on the world’s 100 million children who have no access to education. UNESCO and the Global Campaign for Education are organising the Big Lobby to give children the world over a chance to ask their governments to do more to enrol all children. The aim of the Big Lobby is to raise awareness of this fundamental human right, the denial of which makes children more vulnerable to poverty, hunger, violence, exploitation and disease.

Africa/Global: Education, work or marriage?

2004-04-22

http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php@URL_ID=19982&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

Children’s right to education is being seriously undermined in dozens of countries by contradictory laws that allow them to work, be married or held criminally responsible at an age when they are legally bound to be in school, concludes a new report. “In the same country,” concludes Angela Melchiorre, children’s rights expert and the author of ‘At what age…are children employed, married and taken to court?’, “it is not rare to find that children are legally obliged to go to school until they are 14 or 15 years old but that a different law allows them to work at an earlier age or to be married at the age of 12 or to be criminally responsible from the age of seven.” The report, launched on the occasion of Education for All Week (April 19-25), found that there is no compulsory education in at least 25 States, of which ten are in sub-Saharan Africa.

Africa/Global: Theory and practice of online learning and teaching

2004-04-22

http://www.eldis.org/cf/search/disp/DocDisplay.cfm?Doc=DOC14683&Resource=f1ict

This book is concerned with assisting providers of online education with useful tools to carry out teaching and learning transactions online. It presents the theory, administration, tools, and methods of designing and delivering learning online. It aims to bring to the teaching community a valuable product which should go a long way in popularizing the use of the learning technologies.

Africa: Send more girls to school, UNICEF stresses

2004-04-22

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=10463&Cr=Children&Cr1=Education

As part of the global Education for All Week, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is calling for increased efforts to reduce the disproportionate number of girls denied schooling. “As long as millions of girls are denied a basic education, we stand little chance of improving the lives of the world’s poorest people,” UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy says in a message. “Education is not only the key to a young girl's personal fulfilment, but it is essential for reducing poverty, stopping HIV/AIDS, and achieving all other development goals.”

Kenya: Does education pay dividends? Earnings and returns to education

2004-04-22

http://www.id21.org/education/e3dm1g1.html

Lack of skilled labour is a major obstacle to achieving development goals. Kenya has devoted the largest share of its budget (29% in 1998) to expanding education. Has substantial state and private investment in education been worthwhile? How are returns to education different for men and women and for primary, secondary and tertiary education?

Nigeria: Education for all unrealisable by 2015

2004-04-22

http://allafrica.com/stories/200404210433.html

Participants at a one-day conference on education have expressed fears over the realisation of education for all by the year 2015. The fear was hinged on the attitudes of parents, students, as well as government on ways of enhancing education, which they agreed could hinder global projection of education for all. Ondo State Commissioner for Education, Chief Bisi Taiwo, said some parents deliberately deny their children access to schools. Instead, they prefer to assist their children make instant money through cart-pushing, scavenging and hawking at motor parks.

South Africa: Post-apartheid education in South Africa: a different class of divide?

2004-04-22

http://www.id21.org/education/e2ms2g1.html

Can South African schools be led away from apartheid's grim legacy? Are policy interventions ridding schools of injustice? Are schoolchildren learning values of democracy and equity? Or are classrooms still places where kids learn about the unjust divisions that exist between different groups of people?

South Africa: Old prejudices now raise a laugh

2004-04-22

http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=34320

Madam is white and bourgeoise. She likes to shoe-shop, watch soap operas and pose as a liberal of Johannesburg's wealthy northern suburbs. Her 80-year-old mother likes gin and tonic, rugby and firing her catapult at black street traders. Their black maid, Eve, wields a feather duster and plots in vain to wangle a pay rise. A decade after apartheid fell, characters in the cartoon strip Madam and Eve are icons of the new South Africa. Elections last week passed off peacefully and on 27 April the country will celebrate democracy's tenth anniversary with hymns to racial reconciliation. But the storylines in Madam and Eve betray the enduring edge in racial relations. Madam's mother beams as snow falls. 'Thousands of snowflakes landing everywhere. What can be more beautiful than a white South Africa?'

South Africa: Racism holds country back

2004-04-22

http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,63130,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_2

When Raven Naidoo entered university in the 1980s, he couldn't study engineering because of his Indian ancestry. "I was only allowed into certain universities that didn't offer the courses I wanted," he says. "To become an engineer, I had to apply to the Minister of Education to get permission to study, and they said no." It was just one example of the absurd levels to which the previous apartheid government stooped in order to enforce the privileges of a white minority, he says.

Africa/Global: Environmental NGOs call for closure of World Bank climate change fund

2004-04-22

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/environment/21579

Over fifty environmental and social justice NGOs and other groups this week sent a letter of protest to the World Bank calling for the closure of its new emissions trading fund, The Prototype Carbon Fund. In the year of the World Bank's 60th anniversary and in the run-up to intense protests in Washington D.C. at their annual meeting this month, the groups state that the Bank's new fund is destructive greenwash and has in fact created extra problems for communities and the environment. The fund was set up in 1999 to facilitate the new trade in greeenhouse gases created under the Kyoto Protocol. The NGOs state that so far the fund has exacerbated existing human rights violations and furthered environmental destruction.
MEDIA RELEASE

Environmental NGOs call for closure of World Bank climate change fund

AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS, APRIL 19TH, 2004. Today, over fifty
environmental and social justice NGOs and other groups sent a
letter of protest to the World Bank calling for the closure of
its new emissions trading fund, The Prototype Carbon Fund.

In the year of the World Bank's 60th anniversary and in the
run-up to intense protests in Washington D.C. at their annual
meeting this month, the groups state that the Bank's new fund is
destructive greenwash and has in fact created extra problems for
communities and the environment. The fund was set up in 1999 to
facilitate the new trade in greeenhouse gases created under the
Kyoto Protocol. The NGOs state that so far the fund has
exacerbated existing human rights violations and furthered
environmental destruction.

One of the fund's model projects is located in Brazil and
involves the expansion of monoculture eucalyptus plantations
owned by the corporation, Plantar. The plantations were
originally established by forcibly evicting geraiszeiros peoples
from the land and since then the plantation's owners have been
accused of creating "slave-like conditions" . Furthermore, the
plantations have heavily polluted surrounding water sources thus
devastating the livelihoods of local farmers and fisher-folk.

The World Bank will fund the expansion of these plantations in
order to generate 'carbon credits' for the international trade
in greenhouse gases. However on top of the impacts upon the
local environment and peoples, the verifiers of the carbon
credit scheme, Det Norske Veritas, have stated that there is no
guarantee that the project will actually have a permanent
positive effect on the climate. Marcelo Calazans from local
Brazilian NGO, FASE-ES, states;

"This and many other projects have terrible negative impacts on
local people and environments and it is still unclear if there
is any real benefits for the climate. We believe that the
Prototype Carbon Fund should cease operations and close down
immediately."

Attached is a full copy of the letter sent to the World Bank and
the signatories. For more information please contact Tamra
Gilbertson on 0642 525766 or Maïmouna Fall on 0645 624106 or see
www.tni.org/ctw or www.sinkswatch.org or www.cdmwatch.org


*****************************************************************
Open Letter to the World Bank 19 April 2004

We, teachers, scholars, activists, scientists, students,
Indigenous peoples, landless people, peasants, NGOs, and others
from the North and South, do not recognise the legitimacy of the
World Bank's Prototype Carbon Fund (PCF). PCF projects would
both be climatically ineffective and disrespect principles of
economic, social and environmental justice.

The PCF was born out of the World Bank's efforts to promote
neoliberalism. It is an instrument to commodify the atmosphere,
promote privatisation and concentrate resources in the hands of
a few, taking away the rights of the many to live with dignity.

The PCF is not a mechanism for mitigating climate change:
· It allows the industrialised North to continue business as
usual, thus impacting the planet's climate.
· It obstructs the necessary change from fossil fuels to
climate-friendly and socially-just energy sources.
· It creates a new market niche into which polluters can spread
risk, expand their business and ensure institutional survival.
· It legitimises a market for an indefinable "commodity" which
claims to consist of greenhouse gases or pollution, but in fact
cannot be reliably described, quantified or verified.
· It generates further negative impacts on local peoples,
particularly in the case of carbon "sink" tree plantations.

The PCF says that it offers a "learning-by-doing" opportunity to
its stakeholders:

Participants in the Fund agreed on a set of project selection
and portfolio development criteria designed to serve the
"learning-by-doing" objective of the PCF while reducing project
risk through portfolio diversity. (www.prototypecarbonfund.org).

However, having followed the PCF's activities and projects to
date, we have learned-by-its doings that it does not avert
dangerous climate change but instead increases hardship for
local communities. This exposes inherent flaws not only in its
own projects, but in project-based "carbon trading" as a whole
and the offset culture underpinning it. Any other similar fund
or trading regime will systematically replicate these flaws.

The World Bank has shown itself to be an undemocratic
institution, dogmatically enforcing "free-market" ideology and
promoting corporate interests. More than half a century of its
activities have persistently failed to implement even the Bank's
own environmental and social standards. World Bank policy has
had a profound negative impact on the South, alienating,
excluding and indebting communities which cannot afford to
participate in, or defend themselves from, a neo-liberal
globalised economy.

The PCF extends the World Bank's unacceptable political
activities into a new sphere with its own special technical
impossibilities. The PCF accordingly must be closed down as a
first step in the right direction. It is neither "carbon" nor
pollution that is being traded, but people's lives and paper
certificates claiming to be carbon credits. Offset culture and
pollution trading must be rejected as false solutions to climate
change.

We are committed to reclaiming space from the neo-liberal
institutions for community led solutions towards environmental
justice.

1- TimberWatch, South Africa
2- Ponglert Pongwanan, Alternative Energy Project for
Sustainability, Thailand
3- Groundwork, South Africa
4- FASE-ES, Brasil
5- Alert Against the Green Desert Movement, Brasil
6- European Youth For Action
7- Sajida Khan
8- Dennis Brutus
9- Campaign for the Reform of the World Bank
10- Ricardo Carrere, World Rainforest Movement
11- Patrick Bond
12- Larry Lohmann
13- The Corner House
14- Landless Peoples Movement, South Africa
15- Khanya College, South Africa
16- Dudu Mphenyeke
17- CUT - Central Unica dos Trabadores, Rio de Janeiro
18- Dr. Klemens Laschefski, Friends of the Earth, Germany
19- RisingTide, Oxford, UK
20- Concrete-Dok
21- Transnational Institute
22- Carbon Trade Watch
23- XminY Solidarity Funds, The Netherlands
24- Friction Films
25- Forest People's Programme, UK
26- Corporate Europe Observatory, The Netherlands
27- Latin America Centre, Amsterdam
28- ACPO - Associação de Combate aos POPs -
acpo94@uol.com.br /
http://www.acpo.org.br
29- ACPO - associação de COnsciência à Prevenção
Ocupacional -
acpo94@uol.com.br / http://www.acpo.org.br
30- André Messias dos Santos - Zumbah - Rapper e
Bailarino -
zumbah.hiphop@click21.com.br
31- Associação de Mulheres Unidas da Serra (Women´s
United
Association/Serra/Espirito Santo/Brazil)- cddh@terra.com.br
32- CADH - Centro de Apoio aos Direitos Humanos -
dhumanos@uol.com.br
33- Carlos Lobo - Direção Estadual do PT/ES (Member of
State
Directroy of Workers Party/Espirito Santo/Brazil) -
lobopt@hotmail.com
34- Centro de Direitos Humanos de Teixeira de Freitas
(Human
Rights Centre of Teixeira de Freitas/Bahia/Brazil) -
pejose@uol.com.br
35- CDDH-Serra - Marta Falqueto (Centre for Defence of
Human
Rights/Serra/Espirito Santo/Brazil) - cddh@terra.com.br
36- CEDEFES - Centro de Documentação Eloy Ferreira da
Silva -
www.cedefes.org.br
37- CEPEDES - Centro de Pesquisa P/Desenvolvimento do
Extr. Sul
da Bahia (Research and Development Centre of the Extreme South
of Bahia/Bahia/Brazil) - cepedes@vrnet.com.br
38- CIMI Equipe ES - Conselho Indigenista Missionário
(Indigenist Missionary Council - Espirito Santo/Brazil) -
cimies@terra.com.br
39- Coopesca - Rosa Maria Nascimento Miranda -
Cooperativa de
Pesca de Jacaraípe (Fisherpeople coooperative of
Jacaraípe/Espírito Santo/Brazil) - cddh@terra.com.br
40- CPT - Comissão Pastoral da Terra - Estado de Minas
Gerais
(Pastoral Land Commission of Minas Gerais State/Brazil) -
cptmg@inet.com.br
41- Eduardo de Biase - Vereador PT/São Mateus
(town-councillor
São Mateus/Espirito Santo/Brazil) cmsmes@escelsanet.com.br
42- Educafro - Maria da Penha Gaspar Pereira -
Pré-vestibular
alternativo de Carapina (alternative education course of
Carapina/Espírito Santo/Brazil) - cddh@terra.com.br
43- Escola Família Agrícola de Jaguaré - responsável
Madalena
Tonieri (Family School for Agriculture Jaguaré/Espírito
Santo/Brazil) - tel. +55 27 37691345
44- Escola Família Agrícola de Nestor Gomes - responsável
João
Rodrigues Pinto (Family School for Agriculture Nestor
Gomes/Espírito Santo/Brazil) - tel. +55 27 37630027
45- Espaço Cultural da Paz (Cultural Peace
Centre/Bahia/Brazil)
- Rua da Paz,73/São Lourenço/Teixeira de Freitas(BA)
46- Evanete Negris - Vereador PSB/São Mateus
(town-councillor
São Mateus/Espirito Santo/Brazil - cmsmes@escelsanet.com.br
47- FASE/ES - Federação de Órgãos p/ Assistência Social e
Educacional (Federation of Social and Educational
Organizations/Espirito Santo/Brazil) - fasees@terra.com.br
48- Federação Sindical e Democrática dos Trabalhadores
nas
Indústrias Metalúrgicas, Mecânicas e de Material Elétrico do
Estado de Minas Gerais e, seus Sindicatos dos Trabalhadores
Metalúrgicos filiados das cidades de (Trade Union and Democratic
Federation of Workers in Metal, Mecanic and Electric materials
Industries of the State of Minas Gerais and the metal trade
unions that are member of this federations of the towns that
follow/Minas Gerais/Brazil): Alfenas, Araxá, Betim, Belo
Horizonte e Contagem, Caeté, Cambuí, Divinópolis, Extrema,
Governador Valadares, Itajubá, Itaúna, João Monlevade, Juiz de
Fora, Lavras, Ouro Preto, Patos de Minas, Pirapora, Pouso
Alegre, Raul Soares, Sabará, Santa Luzia, Timóteo, Várzea da
Palma, Vespasiano, Varginha, Três Marias, e São João Del Rei. -
fsdmg@pib.com.br
49- Fórum Estadual de Mulheres/ES (State Forum of
Women/Espírito
Santo/Brazil) - gilsahb@terra.com.br
50- Geraldo Armando Martins.- STR Curvelo - MG -
gearmando@bol.com.br
51- Helder Gomes, mestre em economia pela UFES
(economist/Espirito Santo/Brazil)- heldergomes@uol.com.br
52- Igreja de Confissão Luterana/Brasil - Sínodo do
Espírito
Santo a Belém - (Lutherian Church-Synod of Espirito Santo at
Belém/Brazil) - fam.schubert@uol.com.br
53- ITAVALE - Instituto dos Trabalhadores e Trabalhadoras
na
Agricultura do Vale do Jequitinhonha - strmed@ligbr.com.br
54- Jeffer Castelo Branco - jeffer@acpo.org.br
55- Joana Tolentino - auxiliar de pesquisa
CNPq/IPPUR-UFRJ.(Researcher's assistant) -
joanatolentino@hotmail.com
56- João Batista de Almeida Costa - antropólogo
(anthropologist/Brasília/Brazil) - joba@unb.br
57- João Batista da Silva - ambientalista
(environmentalist) -
bicuda@bicuda.org.br
58- Jorge Luiz B. Ferreira - AGB-RJ (Brazilian
Association of
Geographers/Rio de Janeiro/Brazil) jb.borges@ajato.com.br
59- Koinonia/RJ - Presença Ecumênica e Serviço
(Koinonia/Ecuminic and Service Presence/Rio de Janeiro/Brazil)-
koinonia@koinonia.org.br
60- Marilda Telles Maracci - Geógrafa -
marildamaracci@uol.com.br
61- Movimento de Desenvolvimento Rural de Nestor
Gomes/São
Mateus - Paulo Chagas (Movement of Rural Development Nestor
Gomes/Espirito Santo/Brazil) - tel. +55 27 99312546
62- Movimento Nacional de Direitos Humanos/Regional Leste
I
(National Movement for Human Rights/Easter Region I/Brazil) -
cadh.es@uol.com.br
63- MPA- Movimento dos Pequenos Agricultores (Movement of
Small
Peasants/ Espírito Santo/Brazil) - strsgp@veloxmail.com.br
64- MST - Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem
Terra/Espírito
Santo (Movement of Landless Peasants/Espirito Santo/Brazil) -
mst-es@escelsa.com.br
65- Pastoral Operária Arquidiocese de Vitória - Luzineide
R.F.
Pinto (Church assistence for Workers - Archdiocese of
Vitória/Espírito Santo/Brazil) - zena.po@bol.com.br
66- Paulo César Fernandes - Bailarino -
enki7es@uol.com.br
67- Paulo César Scarim - Geógrafo (Geographer/Espirito
Santo/Brazil) - pscarim@hotmail.com
68- Projeto Brasil Sustentável e Democrático/FASE -
jpierre@fase.org.br
69- Recuper Lixo - Joel Fanticelli - Associação de
Catadores de
Materiais Recicláveis (Association of Workers in Recycling of
Materials/Espírito Santo/Brazil) - cddh@terra.com.br
70- Ricardo Salles de Sá - Cineasta -
tchokusa@zipmail.com.br
71- Sebastião Ribeiro - Advogado Ambientalista
(environmental
lawyer/Espírito Santo/Brazil)- sefil@uol.com.br
72- Sindicato dos Petroleiros/Espírito Santo (Trade Union
of Oil
Industry Workers/ Espirito Santo/Brazil) -
sindipetro-es@uol.com.br
73- Sindicato dos Trabalhadores Rurais de São Mateus e
Jaguaré
(Rural Workers Trade Union of São Mateus and Jaguaré/Espirito
Santo/Brazil) - strsaomateus@terra.com.br
74- Sindicato dos Trabalhadores Rurais de Medina - Márcio
Pereira - (Rural Workers Trade Union of Medina/Minas
Gerais/Brazil) - strmed@ligbr.com.br
75- Sindicato dos Trabalhadores Rurais de São Gabriel da
Palha e
Vila Valério (Rural Workers Trade Union of São Gabriel da Palha
and Vila Valério/Espírito Santo/Brazil) - strsgp@sgpnet.com.br
76- Super Coonfex - Marilene Ost Leal - Cooperativa de
Confecção
de José de Anchieta (cooperative of workers with
textile/Serra/Brazil) - cddh@terra.com.br
77- Valdemar Moraes - vereador PSC/São Mateus
(town-councillor
São Mateus/Espírito Santo/Brazil) - cmsmes@escelsanet.com.br
78- Waldo Motta - Poeta - waldomotta@bol.com.br

More...

Africa: UK to investigate climate change in Africa

2004-04-22

http://www.epolitix.com/EN/News/200404/6479404a-6d0c-4e73-b3e4-914e5bcdc0d5.htm

The British government is commissioning a report on the impact of climate change in Africa, UK Environment minister Margaret Beckett has announced. Addressing a sustainable development conference on Wednesday, she said: "A two degree change in climate here, would mean a four degree change in central Africa. The economic and humanitarian consequences in a continent already suffering the burden of Aids and malaria are potentially catastrophic. We need to understand the impact on Africa and on the world's ability to deliver the Millennium Development Goals and commitments made at other major UN summits."

Cameroon: Freed gorillas returned

2004-04-22

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=126&art_id=qw1082088720684B254&set_id=1

Four young gorillas captured illegally and kept in a Malaysian zoo have been sent to South Africa, despite Cameroon's insistence they were caught there and should be returned, a newspaper reported on Friday. Cameroon says it has proof that poachers illegally captured the western lowland gorillas in the country's south-west, transferring them to neighbouring Nigeria and then northern Malaysia's government-run Taiping Zoo about two years ago.

Ghana: Water champion wins award

2004-04-22

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3625807.stm

A Ghanaian lawyer and human rights campaigner has won recognition for his work to stop water being privatised. Rudolf Amenga-Etego, who is campaigning against a privatisation scheme being backed by the World Bank, has won a 2004 Goldman environmental prize. Rudolf Amenga-Etego founded Ghana's National Coalition Against the Privatisation of Water, an attempt to halt a $400m project which would have meant water being sold at full market rates.

Tanzania: Anti-air pollution law called for

2004-04-22

http://www.ippmedia.com/ipp/observer/2004/04/18/9072.html

There is no law in Tanzania specifically addressing air pollution control, according to Leandri Kinabo, the Head of Process Technology Standards Department with the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS). Instead the country has several pieces of legislations targeting hazards posed by various forms of air pollution. These include the Mining Act and the Standards Act.

Uganda: Fishing Industry Gets a Facelift

2004-04-22

http://www.ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=23333

The Nile Perch, popularly known here as ‘sabulenya’, is one of Uganda’s most consumed fish species after tilapia. It was introduced to Lake Victoria, the world’s largest inland fresh water lake, in the 1950s and 1960s. Today the Nile Perch constitutes up to 50 percent of the catch in Uganda, some of which is exported as fillet to Europe, Asia and the United States. The Nile Perch has become a cheap source of protein, often referred to as ‘aquatic chicken’. Yet statistics show that the majority of Ugandans go hungry.

Ethiopia: Struggle over Land Reform

2004-04-22

http://www.worldpress.org/Africa/1839.cfm

Twenty years after images of starving Ethiopian children shocked the world, famine and drought continue to stalk this African nation. Now, a new strategy to address poverty is prompting experts and farmers to ask whether it will substantially alleviate hunger. Since 1984’s much-photographed famine, Ethiopia has experienced more than seven famines - with far less world attention. However, successive governments have quietly tried different ways to improve agricultural output in a bid to resolve the root problem. Still, the latest drought in 2003 left 13.2 million people in need of food aid.

Namibia: Farms with poor labour relations might be expropriated

2004-04-22

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40661

Namibian farmers have reacted strongly to the government's suggestion that it might target farms with a record of poor labour relations for expropriation. In a statement sent to the Windhoek-based The Namibian daily newspaper on Monday, the Ministry of Lands, Resettlement and Rehabilitation, while spelling out the criteria for expropriation, said that "aspects of eviction and dumping of labourers, though not a criterion to expropriate a farm", could be considered "because of the social aspect such action poses to the Namibian people".

Namibia: Land Reform May Go Beyond Vision 2030

2004-04-22

http://allafrica.com/stories/200404160741.html

At the rate land redistribution is going, it will take 40 years before half of Namibia's commercial farmland can land in the hands of black people. Present policies of land redistribution, described as transfer of commercial farmland from whites and foreigners to blacks, have led to only one percent of commercial land being redistributed every year. The above assumptions are contained in a research paper written by Robin Sherbourne, Director of Public Policy and Research at the Institute of Public Policy and Research (IPPR).

South Africa: Landless activists released on bail

2004-04-22

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=15&art_id=qw1082034181944B242&set_id=1

Members of the Landless People's Movement (LPM) arrested on election day in Thembelihle informal settlement near Lenasia, south of Johannesburg, were granted bail in the Protea magistrate's court last Thursday. LPM spokesperson Mangaliso Kubheka said 60 activists were granted R300 bail after spending a night in the holding cells. They were charged with contravening electoral laws. Kubheka said some LPM members were "subjected to interrogation, harassment and physical violence last night while in prison".

CAR: Two journalists detained

2004-04-22

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/media/21530

Mathurin Constant Momet, publication director of the independent daily Le Confident, and Le Confident Editor-in-Chief Patrick Bakwa were detained last Thursday by police in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR), and held for questioning. Local sources said the two were summoned to the police station at about 11 a.m. in connection with a report about a press conference by Maximilien Boganda, a Central African businessman. Le Confident reported that during the press conference, Boganda criticized his former lawyer, Pierre Ouadda-Diala, and called the CAR's judicial system confused and mafia-like.
IFEX - News from the international freedom of expression community
_________________________________________________________________

PRESS RELEASE/ALERT - CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

16 April 2004

Two journalists detained

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

**For further information on Jude Zossé, the third journalist currently detained
in the CAR, see IFEX alerts of 16 April, 12 and 9 March and 26 February 2004**

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a CPJ press release:

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Two more journalists detained

New York, April 16, 2004-Mathurin Constant Momet, publication director of the
independent daily Le Confident, and Le Confident Editor-in-Chief Patrick Bakwa
were detained today by police in Bangui, the capital of the Central African
Republic (CAR), and held for questioning.

Local sources said the two were summoned to the police station at about 11 a.m.
in connection with a report about a press conference by Maximilien Boganda, a
Central African businessman. Le Confident reported that during the press
conference, Boganda criticized his former lawyer, Pierre Ouadda-Diala, and
called the CAR's judicial system confused and mafia-like.

According to these sources, the two journalists were summoned to the gendarmerie
because Ouadda-Diala filed defamation charges against them.

Momet told a local radio station on Friday afternoon that the state prosecutor
is keeping them in detention pending the return of Boganda, who is currently in
France, to confirm or deny the statements attributed to him. Attempts to reach
the state prosecutor were unsuccessful.

"Irrespective of the merits of the defamation case," said CPJ Senior Program
Coordinator Joel Campagna, "journalists should never be jailed for their work.
We call for their immediate release."

Three journalists are now detained in the Central African Republic, despite
promises by authorities to respect press freedom and decriminalize press
offenses.

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 http://www.cpj.org

For further information, contact Africa Program Coordinator Julia Crawford
(x112) at CPJ, 330 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10001, U.S.A., tel: +1 212 465
1004, fax: +1 212 465 9568, e-mail: jcrawford@cpj.org, africa@cpj.org, Internet:
http://www.cpj.org/

The information contained in this press release/alert 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/
_________________________________________________________________

More...

Gambia: Newspaper printing press burned

2004-04-22

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40626

The printing press of Gambia’s most outspoken newspaper, The Independent, has been burned down by armed men for the second time in six months, employees of the bi-weekly publication said on Friday. The Independent has been a consistent critic of President Yahya Jammeh. Its staff have frequently complained of harassment by the authorities.

Ivory Coast: Journalist missing

2004-04-22

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/58392/

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has expressed concern following the disappearance of Guy-André Kieffer, an independent journalist who has been missing since 16 April 2004. "We are very concerned about Guy-André Kieffer's disappearance. In this country that remains divided and unstable, journalists continue to work in a very volatile situation; nobody can forget the tragic death of Jean Hélène," RSF said. "We urge the Ivoirian authorities to take all necessary steps to ensure that the journalist is found as quickly as possible," the organisation added.

Liberia: Newspapers called before court

2004-04-22

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/media/21529

The World Press Freedom Committee says it is "deeply alarmed" to learn that a writ of summons has been issued by the Civil Law Court in Monrovia on the management and editorial staff of four newspapers, namely, the National Chronicle, Monrovia Guardian, The Forum and The Heritage, for their editors and certain staff members to appear before court. This is after Labour Minister Lavella Supuwood filed a suit against the journalists, following a series of publications by the newspapers chronicling instances and names of people who allegedly committed crimes against the people of Liberia during the country's bloody 14-year civil war.
**We apologise for any cross-posting - The following is being forwarded
exactly as received**

To: IFEX Autolist (other news of interest)
From: World Press Freedom Committee (WPFC), freepress@wpfc.org

April 14, 2004

Fax letter to: 011 231 226076

President Charles Gyude Bryant
Chairman of the National Transitional
Government of Liberia
Executive Mansion
Capitol Hill
Monrovia, Liberia

Dear President Bryant,

We have been deeply alarmed to learn of the issue of a writ of summons by
the Civil Law Court in Monrovia on the management and editorial staff of
four newspapers, namely, the National Chronicle, Monrovia Guardian, The
Forum and The Heritage, for their editors and certain staff members to
appear before Judge Winston O Henries in April.

It appears that the court issued the writ after Labour Minister Lavella
Supuwood filed a suit against the journalists, claiming "damages from wrong
for defamation of character and injury to reputation."

It is understood that the minister's action comes in the wake of a series of
publications by the newspapers chronicling instances and names of people who
allegedly committed heinous crimes against the people of Liberia during the
country's bloody 14-year civil war.

Minister Supuwood who now represents the biggest rebel group, the Liberians
United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), on the National Transitional
Government of Liberia (NTGL) is one of those whose names have been
repeatedly cited in the publications.

The World Press Freedom Committee and its vast affiliated membership is
deeply disturbed that court action has been taken against the newspapers and
their staffs for publishing material which plays a crucial role in the
reconstruction and reconciliation processes that have been set in motion in
your country since the tyrant Charles Taylor was speeded into exile. These
processes require the fullest disclosure of the atrocities that were
committed against the people during the civil war and, it would appear, the
newspapers were contributing to this process when the writs were issued on
them.

We are not entering into a discussion of the accuracy or otherwise of the
newspapers' reports.

However, we stress that the action taken against them -- and in the light of
the conduct of the courts in Liberia under the Taylor regime we are
uncertain what this may entail -- can only create a deeply chilling
atmosphere which cannot but seriously inhibit Press Freedom.

Such an inhibition, in turn, would reduce the ability of the media to report
freely and openly on the atrocities and other human rights abuses that have
occurred in Liberia and so aid the vitally needed reconciliation and
reconstruction process.

We recognize that people who have been defamed have the right to take action
in a civil court to sue for damages, but the contemplated action against
four respected publications suggests a form of punitive action against a
grouping of newspapers in what is patently an attempt to censor and silence
the independent media of Liberia.

We call on you, Mr. President, to intervene by calling on your Labour
Minister to withdraw his action so that the court may withdraw the writ to
enable the four papers to be released from their burden and thus create an
open climate where the media can continue to expose the evils of the past.

We are sending by air mail a copy of a general amicus curiae brief which
relates to criminal defamation action against the media and which carefully
spells out cogent arguments why punitive actions should not be taken by the
authorities against the media and its journalists.

We also attach a list of the media organizations affiliated to WPFC whose
membership throughout the world runs into the thousands, all of whom are
deeply concerned over this issue.

Sincerely,

E. Markham Bench
Executive Director

ATTACHMENT

World Press Freedom Committee (WPFC) and its 44 affiliated journalists'
organizations worldwide:
International Press Institute (IPI) with a membership of 2,000 editors and
senior journalists worldwide

American Society of Newspaper Editors
American Women in Radio and Television, Inc
Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development
Associacion de Diarios Colombianos (Andiatios)
Associacion de Entidades Periodisticas Argentinas
Association of Hungarian Journalists
Associated Press Broadcaster
Associated Press Managing Editors
Association for Women in Communications
Bloque de Prenza-Venezuela
Brazilian Newspaper Association
Canadian Newspaper Association
Central and Eastern European Media Centre, Warsaw
Committee to Protect Journalists
Commonwealth Press Union
Czech Publishers Association
Federation of Australian Radio Broadcasters
Freedom Forum
Freedom House
Glasnost Defence Foundation
Hong Kong Journalists Association
Inter American Press Association
International Association of Broadcasting
International Women's Media Foundation
National Association of Broadcasters
National Conference of Editorial Writers
National Federation of Press Women
National Newspaper Association
National Newspaper Association
Newspaper Association of America
The Newspaper Guild-CWA
Nihon Shinbun Kyokai
North American Broadcasters Association
Organisation Camerounaise pour la Liberte de la Presse
Overseas Press Club
Pacific Islands News Association
Pakistan Press Foundation
Press Foundation of Asia
Radio-Television News Directors' Association
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
Sociadad Dominicana de Diaros
Society of Professional Journalists

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

More...

South Africa: More science news is needed

2004-04-22

http://www.scidev.net/gateways/index.cfm?fuseaction=readitem&rgwid=4&item=Opinions&itemid=265&language=1

The availability of information on the impact of scientific developments - both positive and negative - is paramount to the effective functioning of democracy. But a recent survey of South Africa's leading newspapers and magazines shows that less than two per cent of editorial space in the country's leading publications is devoted to science and technology. The press is one of the most important vehicles through which science news can be distributed. Print media lends itself to investigative in-depth reporting, but unfortunately, this benefit is not being harnessed effectively, says the leader of the survey in this article.

Zimbabwe: Press freedom is 'baggage', says Moyo

2004-04-22

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/media/21528

Recent comments on press freedom from Information Minister Jonathan Moyo clearly confirmed the suspicion that repressive media laws reflect government's pathological terror of a free media environment in Zimbabwe, says the Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ). According to media reports, Moyo dismissed the universally held doctrine of democratic societies that media freedom is an indivisible element of freedom of expression when he addressed diplomats at a luncheon. He told the diplomats that Zimbabwe did not believe press freedom was a basic constitutionally guaranteed human right because it was merely "the baggage of unipolarism" that "only came about after the end of the Cold War".
Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe
Monday April 5th - Sunday April 11th 2004
Media Update 2004-14

CONTENTS
* General Comment
* Ati-graft campaign or succession war?
* Human rights abuses


1. GENERAL COMMENT

Recent comments on Press freedom from Information Minister
Jonathan Moyo clearly confirmed the suspicion that repressive media
laws such as AIPPA and POSA reflect government's pathological terror
of a free media environment in Zimbabwe.
ZTV (7/4, 8pm) and The Herald (8/4) quoted Moyo dismissing the
universally held doctrine of democratic societies that media freedom is
an indivisible element of freedom of expression when he addressed
diplomats at a luncheon during the week. He told the diplomats that
Zimbabwe did not believe Press freedom was a basic constitutionally
guaranteed human right because it was merely "the baggage of uni-
polarism" that "only came about after the end of the Cold War".
Said Moyo: "We do not agree that there is something called media
freedom and that it is a fundamental value and that we should
kick ourselves and spend sleepless nights trying to achieve that".
Typically, the two media organizations allowed Moyo's comments to
pass without inquiry - and robustly refused to seek comment from his
"diplomatic" audience.
The Herald also quoted Moyo justifying his control of the media saying
it was meant "to put across our national views and not those of
the United States or Britain or the Voice of America" thereby
preserving the country's sovereignty.
He stated that this was the reason ZBC had scrapped CNN bulletins.
Unwittingly revealing who controls ZBC's content, he vowed: "We will
never have it (CNN) again as long as we are still around".
Interestingly, the authorities have previously denied government control
of ZBC's programming.
This obsession to control media content has resulted in the authorities
abusing the media they run for their own political interests - and a
classic example demonstrated this fact in the same week.
The Chronicle (2/4) and The Herald (3/4) both ran a bizarre story that
tried to divert public attention away from an alleged affair Moyo had
with a Kadoma woman, Irene Ali, by portraying the minister as a victim
of his political "detractors".
Ali claims Moyo fathered her son.
Instead of treating the matter as a personal dispute, the two papers
gave the story prominent front-page space and sought comments from
"political analysts" to lend credence to their conspiracy theory that
there were politicians bent on derailing Moyo's campaign to represent
the Tsholotsho constituency.
As The Zimbabwe Independent (8/4) wondered, it remained unclear as
to how "this private matter turned out to be a campaign strategy to
elicit the comment of any self-respecting political analysts".
The Herald and the Chronicle's (5/4) passive coverage of the issue
was further demonstrated by the manner in which they handled Ali's
subsequent arrest under criminal defamation laws. The papers
presented Ali's arrest as proof of Moyo's innocence.
This contrasted with the way the private media handled the matter.
For example, The Zimbabwe Independent, The Tribune (9/4) and The
Standard (11/4), offered an alternative view on the issue when they
cited officials from women and human rights organizations challenging
Ali's arrest. The groups accused the police of "being used to
advance the interests of Moyo" and they challenged Moyo to take a
paternity test to prove his innocence.
As the week ended, The Standard reported Ali as having gone missing
following her arrest. Subsequently, the media have not explained her
whereabouts.


2. ANTI-GRAFT CAMPAIGN OR SUCCESSION WAR?

A double-pronged approach characterised the government-controlled
media's coverage of the effects of government's anti-corruption
crusade on the political and economic fronts in the week under review.
The government electronic media generally used the development to
spruce up ZANU PF's image ahead of Zimbabwe's 24th independence
anniversary, while the government press presented it as a committed
effort by the authorities to eradicate graft.
Revelations that some directors of ZANU PF companies had fled to
Britain following the ruling party's decision to investigate its own
companies, were craftily presented by the government Press to relay
this notion.
As such, these newspapers failed to ask pertinent questions about the
circumstances surrounding the alleged flight of directors Jayant Joshi,
his brother, Manharlal Chunibal, and their colleague, Dipak Pandya.
But this was hardly surprising as they sought to absolve the ruling party
of any wrongdoing by shifting the culpability to the alleged fugitive
directors and giving the impression that the companies were operating
independently of ZANU PF.

As a result, they were blind to other political manoeuvres, such as the
current jostling for President Mugabe's post within ZANU PF, which
was seen by some of the media as a factor in precipitating the probe
and possibly a potential purge of some of the frontrunners in the
succession issue.
This angle only appeared in the private media.
Following up on The Sunday Mirror's breaking news (4/4), The Herald
(5/4) reported that the escape of the three directors was facilitated "by
a top politician who has worked with them over the years". The
paper did not name the politician.
Rather, its comment of the same day likened the probe to a fulfillment
of the adage, "charity begins at home," adding "President Mugabe
and his Government's commitment to this war [on graft] is now
beyond debate".

This fixation with endorsing government's anti-graft campaign resulted
in The Herald (7 & 8/4) reducing its reports on the saga to mere follow-
ups on the flight of the directors at the expense of vital information
disclosing the operations and set-up of the companies.
A clue on the composition of the companies' directorship only
appeared in The Financial Gazette and The Zimbabwe Independent
(8/4).

The papers revealed that the Speaker of Parliament, Emmerson
Mnangagwa, long touted as President Mugabe's heir apparent, and the
three fugitives were among the directors of the ZANU PF holding
companies, M & S Syndicate and ZIDCO.

The Gazette thus noted that the investigation into ZANU PF
investments was "focused on him [Mnangagwa] as the immediate
past finance chief for the party".
An unnamed "senior" ruling party official was quoted saying, ". this
whole thing boils down to the succession issue. as you know,
Mnangagwa has always been seen as the front runner."
However, not all private papers agreed. The Sunday Mirror (11/4) for
example, dismissed the succession angle, saying it was "unfortunate
that such perceptions should exist, worse that they should even
gain currency".

The paper's opinion was echoed in The Sunday Mail (11/4). It quoted
Police Commissioner Chihuri dismissing the speculation as "bizarre"
and "one of the strangest things that I have ever heard".
Moreover, the paper provided him with a political stage to accuse
Britain of trying to "politicise criminality" by frustrating government
efforts to punish those accused of economic crimes who had fled to
that country: ".Britain is becoming the only country, which is
establishing itself as a safe haven for our local criminals. This is
being done for none other reasons but political [sic]".
If the government newspapers glossed over the reasons behind
government's investigations into ZANU PF companies, its electronic
media was equally guilty of being used to portray the probe as part of
Zimbabwe's economic achievements ahead of its 24th independence
anniversary.

It was therefore not surprising that only government sources, or those
aligned to it, were given platforms in these media to propagate one-
sided assessments of the country's economic accomplishments.
Consequently, the subjective successes of government's controversial
agrarian reforms and anti-graft campaigns were sanitized and
presented as the beacon of hope from which all Zimbabweans should
derive inspiration and celebrate independence day (Radio Zimbabwe,
7/4, 1pm and 8pm).
Earlier, ZTV, Radio Zimbabwe and Power FM (6/4, 8pm) passively
quoted Information Minister Moyo claiming that Zimbabweans would
celebrate Independence against a background of "high rainfalls, a
successful land reform (and) a good harvest"

Said Moyo: "We have a reason to celebrate. the people are
saying finally, we have taken the land. we have started using it.
to empower ourselves as a nation."
President Mugabe, Finance Minister Chris Kuruneri and pro-
government analyst Augustine Timbe were also quoted reinforcing this
notion (ZTV, 6/4, 6 pm and 8pm).

While ZTV and Radio Zimbabwe (6/4, 8pm) claimed that
independence celebrations came at a time "when the country's
economy is on the path to recovery, thanks to government
policies", they unwittingly revealed the extent of the collapse when
they quoted a Reserve Bank statement saying the economy had
shrunk by 48 percent since 1999.

This revelation was given more flesh by Studio 7 (6/4), which was the
only the private media organisation to expose the lie of the government
media's propaganda. It reported that Zimbabwe's 24th independence
anniversary would be held under the worst economic conditions ever
experienced with inflation currently pegged at 600 percent and
unemployment at 80 percent.

Meanwhile, recent private media predictions that the Reserve Bank's
anti-corruption campaign against errant financial institutions would
soon be forced to compromise was seemingly vindicated by revelations
that the Bank had abandoned its hard-line policy against these
organizations.
The Zimbabwe Independent (8/4) revealed, albeit belatedly, that the
RBZ had "granted amnesty to banks caught dealing in foreign
currency on the parallel market on condition that they do not
commit a similar offence..
"Banks.fined for selling foreign currency on the parallel market
were subsequently refunded the principal penalty". It also noted
that the amnesty had been granted in January.

The Financial Gazette (8/4) only referred to the amnesty at the end of
one of its stories, while Studio 7 (7/4) broke the story, saying the
persecution of the banks was affecting confidence in the industry.
However, it remained unclear why government, (as revealed by ZTV,
Power FM, 6/4, 8pm, The Herald and Chronicle, 9/4), still took
Barclays, Kingdom and Interfin banks to court on the same charges
despite the amnesty.

In fact, The Zimbabwe Independent criticised the prosecution of banks
and other companies for dealing on the parallel market, saying
government should consider the circumstances that led them to
engage in such transactions. It said the practice was so common that
"every bank and business which has been involved in the
country's economic life over the past few years could be dragged
before the courts".

The directors of ZANU PF-owned Tregers group of companies echoed
this view, saying that if they had not dealt on the parallel market some
of their companies would have been closed (Sunday News, 11/4).

Thus the Zimbabwe Independent observed: ". So long as there is a
failure to acknowledge government's role in encouraging state
companies to survive as best they could on whatever market they
could find.and allowing the private sector to do the same, the
current purge will appear unfair and even vindictive".


3. HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES

On-going human rights violations continued to receive scant attention
from the government media.
As a result audiences of these media have largely remained in the dark
on the violence, intimidation, and in some cases, torture of opposition
supporters and their perceived sympathisers perpetrated by mainly
suspected ZANU PF activists.

For example, out of about 37 stories on politically motivated violence
and other human rights violations carried in the media in the week, only
nine stories appeared in the government-controlled media.

Even then, the government media's stories were either basic
announcements or follow-ups on previous rights abuses and generally
lacked detail.

For example, ZTV (8/4, 7am) merely reported that government had set
up a board of inquiry to investigate claims by "18 suspected terrorists
that they were tortured by prison officers" without elaborating. In
fact, instead of properly investigating the allegations, the national
broadcaster ironically appeared more interested in articulating the
concerns of Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa about the
circumstances under which the suspected terrorists' lawyer, Jonathan
Samkange, "was able to interview his clients a few minutes after
the alleged torture."
The Herald (8/4) carried a similar report.

During the week, the government media also masked the political
affiliation of Ernest Mutsotso whom they reported as having appeared
in court after he was arrested on suspicion of murdering MDC activist
Francis Chinozvinya during the Zengeza by-election when "MDC and
ZANU PF youths clashed" (The Herald, 7/4, ZTV, 8/4, 8pm, Power
FM and Radio Zimbabwe, 9/4, 6am).
SW Radio Africa (7/4) and The Daily Mirror (8/4) also carried the story,
and like the government media, did not identify the political party
Mutsotso belonged. Neither did they give any background of the man.

This only appeared in The Tribune (9/4). The paper carried a front-
page picture of Mutsotso standing behind Mines Minister Amos Midzi
and noted in its caption that the suspect was a "former managing
director of an ex-combatants run firm, Sankorp".

By comparison, The Herald (6/4) was categorical on the violence
allegedly perpetrated by MDC supporters on their way to Chinozvinya's
funeral. The paper claimed the MDC mourners had gone "on the
rampage beating up anyone wearing the ruling Zanu PF party's
regalia" and tearing down the posters of ZANU PF's victorious
Zengeza candidate, Christopher Chigumba. But the paper made no
attempt to investigate the circumstances leading to the alleged
violence.

The private media carried a total of 28 stories depicting the
deteriorating human rights situation in the country. Eighteen of these
were reported by SW Radio Africa and Studio 7.
For example, SW Radio Africa (6/4) reported that CIO agents in
Mukumbwa, Mashonaland Central had abducted MDC district
chairman for Mt Darwin North, Force Chapfuruka, after they accused
him of "acting as an agent for the 70 suspected mercenaries who
were arrested in Harare last month".

Further harassment and beatings of MDC members were reported in
Victoria Falls, Sunningdale, Masvingo, Lupane, Chimanimani and
Mutasa.

Meanwhile, the report of an investigation by the Parliamentary Portfolio
Committee on Youth, Gender and Employment Creation into the
National Youth Service training camps added a new dimension to the
recent BBC Panorama documentary on the activities of the
controversial youth camps that so enraged government.

The Zimbabwe Independent reported that the committee had
"slammed living conditions at national youth training centres"
saying they were "deplorable". A member of the committee, MDC MP
Evelyn Masaiti, was quoted as saying "the principle of national
youth service is noble in those countries where there is
democracy" but "here in Zimbabwe the way it is used is that of
oppressing the people".

In fact, The Financial Gazette quoted MDC MP Gabriel Chaibva
revealing that the abuse of the youths by ZANU PF to silence its
opponents was not a new idea in Zimbabwe. Chaibva reportedly told
Parliament that he also underwent a similar training programme in one
of the camps created soon after independence "at the behest of
Didymus Mutasa, now State Minister in charge of anti-corruption".

Said Chaibva: "When we went there, we spent two weeks. We
were.taught. on how to deal with ZAPU and to kill opponents
to ZANU PF's rule.in the 1980s. So the historical origin of this
programme is very acquainted to me".
Ends.

More...

Liberia: Demobilisation programmes for child soldiers

2004-04-22

http://www.unicef.org/media/media_20447.html

With the re-commencement of the disarmament, demobilization, rehabilitation, and reintegration (DDRR) of fighters of Liberia’s warring factions on15 April 2004, UNICEF is mobilizing resources to provide immediate care and reintegration support to the estimated 15,000 children who will come through the demobilization process. Extensive awareness campaigns have been conducted jointly with UNMIL to prepare children for demobilization and reintegration. The campaigns have also aimed at preparing families and communities for the reunification of the returning children.  Sensitization messages have focussed on peace and tolerance, the importance of disarmament, sending children to school and protecting their rights.

Madagascar: Police break child traffic ring

2004-04-22

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3633087.stm

Police in Madagascar have rescued 11 babies between the ages of three weeks and nine months who were in the process of being sent abroad. The rescue followed a raid on a house in the capital Antananarivo where eight men were arrested and charged following a police inquiry on illegal child trafficking. The illicit acquisition and adoption of babies has increased during the last four years in Madagascar, according to Director of Judicial Police Mr Albert Rakotondravao.

Mozambique: Abuse of women and children in the spotlight

2004-04-22

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40622

Although little research has been done in the area of child abuse, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has said that existing data showed "a grim picture of the reality many children are facing" in Mozambique. The "Government Report on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child" cites a survey among minor sex workers in the capital, Maputo, in which 25 percent of the children interviewed were between 10 and 14 years old, and 22 percent said their first sexual encounter had been violent and against their will. They had been violated by a close relative, including their own father, or a neighbour. According to UNICEF, some of the underlying causes of abuse and sexual exploitation were poverty, gender discrimination and harmful traditional practices.

Nigeria: Child trafficking

2004-04-22

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/3632203.stm

Trafficking in Nigeria is seen as an everyday part of West African life. It starts with the promise of a better life. The parents are taken in. The children are persuaded. When they leave home they do so willingly, with some excitement, not trepidation. The trafficker has promised a good job, a schooling, a regular income. But that is not how it works out.

Nigeria: Children at work in rural northern Nigeria: Patterns of age, space and gender

Journal of Rural Studies, 20/2 (193-210), 2004

2004-04-22

http://else.hebis.de/cgi-bin/sciserv.pl?collection=journals&journal=07430167&issue=v20i0002

Children are increasingly recognised by geographers and other social scientists as independent actors who make valuable (albeit often overlooked) economic contributions to households and society. Hausa children in rural Northern Nigeria are highly mobile and play important economic roles supporting married women who spend much time in their walled residences (gida) because of the local socio-religious practice of Muslim seclusion. Secluded Hausa women have low mobility and do not attend local periodic markets, but make essential day-to-day purchases from child house-to-house hawkers while sending children on errands to make purchases on their behalf. This study shows how children work both independently and alongside adults in the spheres of agricultural production (on farms), domestic reproduction (in homesteads) and trade (within markets).

Togo: Child prostitution goes unchecked

2004-04-22

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40624

In downtown Lome there is an area known locally as “The Child Market,” where girls as young as nine are offered for sex, sometimes for less than a dollar. Child welfare groups complain that Togo lacks strong laws to punish the pimps who ruthlessly exploit these children. And the kids themselves complain that the police who patrol the district and are supposed to protect them, simply demand sex for free. Many of these girls have been separated from their families. Others have simply been abandoned. Most are illiterate. Being alone in the world all of them are highly vulnerable to exploitation by pimps and brothel keepers.

The Movement for Delivery - Campaigning for people's rights

2004-04-22

http://www.africapulse.org.za/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=1998

The Movement for Delivery, an organisation dissatisfied with the pace of government delivery, was launched in 2000 in Limpopo Province to campaign for people’s constitutional rights to basic services like water, health, jobs, education, housing and electricity to be met by the South Africa government.

Africans without borders course

2004-04-22

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/diaspora/21585

The course will critically examine and debate the contribution of the African diaspora to Africa's development; consider the role of African diaspora organisations in terms of influencing development and practice in ways that advance the interests of African development; and critically examine contemporary issues including advocacy, sustaining small and community development groups, future strategies and development policy processes.
Birkbeck, University of London, Faculty of Continuing Education



In partnership with



African Foundation for Development (AFFORD)



Present an eight-week course



Africans Without Borders:

Development from a Distance?



Running each Wednesday from 26th May 2004 - 7th July 2004 between 6pm
and 9pm



Room 2.03, Clore Management Centre, Birkbeck College, 25-27,
Torrington Square, London WC1



Course Aims
The aims of the course are to:



1. Critically examine and debate the contribution of the African
diaspora to Africa's development;



2. Consider the role of African diaspora organisations in terms
of influencing development and practice in ways that advance the
interests of African development;



3. Critically examine contemporary issues including advocacy,
sustaining small and community development groups, future strategies
and development policy processes.

Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course students should have:



1. Gained a critical understanding of the role of the African
diaspora in addressing Africa's challenges in a historical
perspective;

2. Deepened appreciation of some of the potential opportunities
and pitfalls facing African diaspora organisations supporting
Africa's development;

3. Developed a greater awareness of the conditions under which
African diaspora organisations operate and the potential for
improvement of these conditions;

4. Identified a number of practical strategies at individual and
organisational levels for enhancing the capacity of the African
diaspora in supporting Africa's development;

5. Developed networking and advocacy skills to further the aims
of community development organisations.

Teaching and Learning Methods
The course is highly participatory and the sessions will consist of
workshops. A key premise of the course is that although individuals
will have different levels of experience of the topics discussed,
every learner has much to offer fellow course participants. Indeed,
the true power of the learning experience is unleashed through active
use of the space created to share, reflect, challenge together and to
support each other. Each session will consist of debates and
discussions and presentations based on case studies, which form an
integral aspect of the course.

Individual Record of Learning
All students will be asked to complete an Individual Record of
Learning. The completion of this form will hopefully support you in
your current and future learning and give your lecturer the
opportunity to assess your interests and achievements thus far.

Brief course outline
· Diaspora & development in perspective (26/05/2004)

· Follow the money; guests: Michael Norton, Centre for
Innovation in Voluntary Action, Africa Grants Team, Comic Relief
(tbc) (02/06/2004)

· Problems and potentials of organising in the UK; guest:
Krishna Sarda, CEO, CEMVO (09/06/2004)

· Advocacy and global citizenship: By who for who? Guest: Dr
Firoze Manji, Fahamu (16/06/2004)

· Supporting Africa's development: What has and has not
worked? (23/06/2004)

· Media representations of Africa/development: Whose myths,
whose realities? Guests: Desmond Davies, Africa Week Magazine; Henry
Bonsu, journalist (30/06/2004)

· Tackling Africa's brain drain - Careers in and for Africa:
options, employment and diversity in the UK international and
development sectors; Guest: Dr Titi Banjoko,
CBCRecruit/Findajobinafrica.com (03/07/2004 - part of African
Diaspora & Development Day 2004, at City Hall, London SE1 from 09:30-
10:30)

· Migration-development nexus and mainstream-diaspora
relations: Department for International Development (DFID) &
Connections for Development (CfD) case study. Guest speakers from
DFID & CfD (07/07/2004)

Fees
Course fees are £70 (£35) with concessions.

Enrolment
To enrol, please contact Ms Donna Pile, Faculty of Continuing
Education, Birkbeck, University of London, 26 Russell Square,
Bloomsbury, London WC1B 5DQ

Telephone: 020 7631 6653

Fax: 020 7631 6686

Email: d.pile@bbk.ac.uk

More...

Pan-Africa Weekend

23-25 April

2004-04-22

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/diaspora/21586

Organised by the African Liberation Support Campaign Network (ALISC Network), the weekend includes presentations on Pan-Africanism and Neocolonialism and leafleting about wars in Africa.
PAN-AFRICA WEEKEND
23 - 25 April 2004

Organised by the African Liberation Support Campaign Network (ALISC Network)


Friday 23 April
6pm - 8.30pm
Presentations and discussion at the Khalil Lecture Theatre, School of
Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), Thornhaugh St, WC1
Presentations: Tokunbo Oke, ALISC Network/SWP
Vivenne Younger, African Women's Revolutionary Union (AAWRU)
Chair: Eki Gbinigi, ALISC Network
PANAFRICANISM OR NEOCOLONIALISM - THE LEGACY OF WALTER RODNEY
Russell Square tube, Piccadilly line, and Goodge St, Northern line


Saturday 24 April
2pm
Leafleting in Hackney on WARS IN AFRICA, IMF & WORLD BANK CRIMES, and
BRITISH TROOPS' RAPE OF SAMBURU AND MASAI WOMEN IN KENYA
Meet outside Dalston-Kingsland station, Kingsland High Road, E8/N16 at 2pm
for leafleting Dalston Market.
This activity marks the birthday of Mumia Abu-Jamal who has been on death
row in the US for 23 years.

Sunday 25 April
7pm
Presentation and discussion at the Unity Centre, 2-4 Ravenstone Street,
Balham, SW12
Presentation: Explo Nani-Kofi, Kilombo/The Insight
THE LEGACY OF KWAME NKRUMAH - KEY TO AFRICAN LIBERATION
Balham on the Northern line and overground


WATCH OUT FOR ........
** Day school on wars in Africa 15 May in Hackney
** African Liberation Day picket and celebration 28 & 29 May
** Fela Anikulapo Kuti birthday concert 14 October in Brixton

nkexplo@yahoo.co.uk 07890 738997 07771 650915

More...

Still no UK government events to mark UN year against slavery

2004-04-22

http://www.blink.org.uk/pdescription.asp?key=3150&grp=46&cat=149

With a quarter of the year already gone the British government has still failed to organise a single event to mark the United Nations year to remember slavery. Many Africa countries, and the UN itself, have organised a series of exhibitions and events. But Britain stands alone as the only state with a major role in the slave trade that does not have any events planned.

‘Black President: The Art and Legacy of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti’

2004-04-22

http://www.absolutearts.com/artsnews/2004/04/19/31981.html

Yerba Buena Centre for the Arts presents ‘Black President: The Art and Legacy of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti’, a group exhibition exploring the cultural impact of the famous Nigerian musician and activist who died in 1997. Thirty-four artists will examine and respond to this cultural icon through approximately forty works of painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, mixed media and sound installation, video, film, computer animation, and music. On view in our galleries from April 17 to July 4, 2004, Black President is organized by the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City.

Burundi: Securing the second democratisation

2004-04-22

http://www.iss.org.za/AF/current/2004/burundiapr04.pdf

Extreme care will have to be taken to ensure that Burundi’s forthcoming November election will strengthen and reinforce the progress that has been made thus far in securing peace rather than reversing the gains that have been made, argues a report from the South Africa-based Institute for Security Studies (ISS). "In short, elections should not merely be regarded as a necessary formality in a country that is again trying to democratise. Far more is at stake. Any contestation of the election outcome and the conflict it may precipitate will merely further weaken the fragile belief that the present process can actually deliver durable peace," says the ICG.

Ivory Coast: Coalition talks to resume

2004-04-22

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3636159.stm

The Ivorian opposition has agreed to reopen dialogue with President Laurent Gbagbo if a plan of reforms is met. The opposition left the government of national reconciliation around a rally last month in which at least 37 died. With both the president and prime minister agreeing to the bulk of their demands, the opposition has now agreed to reopen dialogue.

Liberia: Rebels gather to disarm

2004-04-22

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=86&art_id=qw1082032380265B241&set_id=1

Hundreds of rebel fighters in Liberia converged on the central town of Gbarnga last Thursday to hand over their guns to United Nations peacekeepers as the country began a relaunched disarmament scheme. Clutching AK-47 assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, fighters from the rebel group LURD (Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy), assembled at a disarmament site at a farm owned by exiled former President Charles Taylor.

Somalia: Stalled peace talks to resume in one week

2004-04-22

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40657

The Somali reconciliation conference sponsored by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) is scheduled to reconvene in a week's time, according to an IGAD source close to the talks. Preparations for the final phase of the talks, being held in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, were proceeding smoothly, said the source. "We are in the process of bringing in traditional elders from Somalia. We expect that exercise to take about a week. We will then proceed to phase three of the talks," he told IRIN.

South Africa: US agents grill Bush Radio man

2004-04-22

http://capeargus.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=405698

Cape Town radio man Zane Ibrahim was taken off an international flight minutes after it landed at Baltimore airport by United States Homeland Security personnel and interrogated for almost 12 hours. Ibrahim, an award-winning journalist and managing director of Bush Radio, had flown to the US from Cape Town via Amsterdam to deliver a keynote address on 10 years of South African democracy at a conference at Goucher College, near Baltimore.

Sudan: African Union To Send Peace Monitors To Western Sudan

2004-04-22

http://www.unwire.org/News/328_426_22914.asp

The African Union said at a meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia last week that it would send a group of monitors to Sudan's western Darfur region, where severe conflict has resulted in the outpouring of some 110,000 refugees into Chad and the displacement of hundreds of thousands. The military observers, from Ghana, Senegal, Namibia and Nigeria, will be there to see that a 45-day cease-fire is carried out among militia groups, government soldiers and rebel fighters, so that aid workers can more easily assist the suffering.

Sudan: Another resource war?

2004-04-22

http://www.monitor.upeace.org/innerpg.cfm?id_article=167

"Never again", pledges a world, which last week commemorated a million Rwandans who died in the 1994 genocide. Yet in Sudan's western Darfur region a similar catastrophe is unfolding amid a deafening silence. "The only difference from Rwanda is the numbers," said last week the UN humanitarian coordinator for Sudan, Dr Mukesh Kapila. Human Rights Watch has accused Khartoum of crimes against humanity. Amnesty International charges the regime with breaking the Geneva conventions. Western governments fear disrupting the peace talks which they are mediating between Khartoum and its southern opponents for the last 6 months, trying to resolve 20 years of violent conflict in the south of Sudan. The international community talks of ethnic cleansing in Darfur, but dares not refer to genocide.

Sudan: Crimes against humanity in Darfur

2004-04-22

http://www.crimesofwar.org/onnews/news-darfur.html

Since February 2003, Sudan's western province of Darfur has been the site of an extremely violent conflict between the province's nomadic Arab tribes, supported by the government in Khartoum, and the native African settled peasant tribes. The present conflict started in February 2003 and has rapidly developed into one of the most violent military confrontations on the continent. There have been an estimated 30,000 casualties, one million people are displaced within the province and over 120,000 have fled into neighbouring Chad.

Sudan: Darfur crisis tests global pledge to prevent genocide

2004-04-22

http://www.minorityrights.org/news_detail.asp?ID=248

A breakdown of the current fragile ceasefire in the Darfur region of Sudan could trigger a further, rapid escalation in the violence leaving the international community helpless to respond with sufficient speed to save lives, warned Minority Rights Group International (MRG) this week. "The situation in Darfur is an immediate test of the resolve of the United Nations to act upon its pledge never again to allow genocide,” stated the rights group amid reports of continuing attacks and violence in Darfur in breach of the ceasefire.

Sudan: Risk of large scale famine

2004-04-22

http://www.odi.org.uk/hpg/papers/HPGBriefingNote3.pdf

Darfur has been described as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today, with an estimated one million people displaced since fighting intensified early in 2003. The UN’s emergency relief coordinator, Jan Egeland, recently characterised the situation as ‘ethnic cleansing’. With the hungry season approaching, violence continuing despite a recent ceasefire agreed at peace talks in Chad, and humanitarian agencies unable to access the majority of the at-risk population, there is a clear risk of large-scale famine mortality. This Briefing Note draws on a variety of sources and on thematic research previously conducted by the Humanitarian Policy Group to highlight some of the key humanitarian issues in the context of Darfur.

Sudan: UN must Release Darfur Findings Before Sudan Vote

2004-04-22

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/conflict/21575

A U.N. fact-finding mission’s new report on gross human rights abuses in Darfur must be made public before the U.N. Commission on Human Rights votes on a key resolution on Sudan, Human Rights Watch has argued. A fact-finding mission from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) was due to present its findings on Darfur to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights. The mission recently spent 10 days in Chad interviewing Sudanese refugees who had recently fled the conflict in Darfur. Unexpectedly, OHCHR decided not to release its report on Darfur to the Commission, which on Friday will conclude its annual six-week session. The decision came at the same time as a move by the Sudanese government, which had denied OHCHR access to the country for the past two weeks, to finally grant it travel authorization. The Sudanese government had allegedly called for a delay in the release, arguing that the report would be “incomplete” without a visit to Sudan.
For Immediate Release:
U.N.: Release Darfur Findings Before Sudan Vote
Commission on Human Rights Must Have Access to U.N. Report on Recent Abuses

(Geneva, April 21, 2004) – A U.N. fact-finding mission’s new report on gross human rights abuses in Darfur must be made public before the U.N. Commission on Human Rights votes Thursday on a key resolution on Sudan, Human Rights Watch said today.

Earlier yesterday, a fact-finding mission from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) was due to present its findings on Darfur to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights. The mission recently spent 10 days in Chad interviewing Sudanese refugees who had recently fled the conflict in Darfur.

Unexpectedly, OHCHR decided yesterday not to release its report on Darfur to the Commission, which on Friday will conclude its annual six-week session. The decision came at the same time as a move by the Sudanese government, which had denied OHCHR access to the country for the past two weeks, to finally grant it travel authorization. The Sudanese government had allegedly called for a delay in the release, arguing that the report would be “incomplete” without a visit to Sudan.

“Denying the United Nations access is one of the delaying tactics the Sudanese government is using to pull the wool over the eyes of the international community,” said Joanna Weschler, Human Rights Watch’s U.N. Representative. “The High Commissioner’s office has an obligation to present the best available information on Darfur to the Commission while it is still in session.”

The OHCHR mission is not the only high-profile mission to have had access delayed in the past few weeks. A second mission that was supposed to be led by Jan Egeland, U.N. Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, was postponed twice in the past week due to lack of travel authorization by the Sudanese government. These delays followed Sudanese government assurances of access.

Each week of delay is critical in Darfur, where the imminent rainy season threatens to further limit access to displaced civilians. Hundreds of thousands of people have been victims of crimes against humanity committed by government forces and allied militias, and many are currently concentrated in camps and settlements around the major towns, where they continue to be attacked and looted by government-backed militias. More than 750,000 people are estimated to have been forced from their homes in Darfur, and more than 120,000 people have crossed the border into Chad.

Humanitarian assistance and protection in Darfur remain minimal. If concrete improvements in the security situation are not made, there is a serious risk of man-made famine and epidemics.

“Commission members must insist on real access for humanitarian and human rights monitors, and reinstate the post of a special rapporteur for Sudan,” Weschler added. “If they don’t, they will be allowing the Sudanese government to get away with murder.”

The Commission, which is scheduled on April 22 to vote on a resolution on Sudan, should unequivocally condemn crimes against humanity and other abuses committed by Sudanese government forces and allied militias in Darfur, call for a human rights monitoring presence in Darfur and reinstate the mandate for the special rapporteur for human rights in Sudan under item 9 of the agenda, Human Rights Watch said.

Background

Since February 2003, the Sudanese government and its allied Arab militias have waged a brutal war against a rebel insurgency and its perceived civilian base in Darfur. Government military operations have mainly targeted civilians who share the same ethnicity as members of the rebel groups. Government forces and allied militias have killed thousands and have forced more than 750,000 people to flee their homes within Sudan and another 120,000 to seek refuge across the border in Chad.

In interviews with Sudanese refugees in Chad, Human Rights Watch researchers documented widespread and systematic abuses committed in Darfur by government forces acting in complicity with the Arab militias known as “janjaweed.” Refugees consistently described indiscriminate aerial bombardment of civilian villages, the looting and burning of their homes by government forces and militia members, and incidents of murder, rape and abductions of women, children and the elderly.

On April 7, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged in a speech to the Commission on Human Rights that “international humanitarian workers and human rights experts be given full access to the region, and to the victims, without further delay.” He stressed that if such access was denied, the international community must “take swift and appropriate action.”

For more information on human rights abuses in Darfur, please see Human Rights Watch report, “Darfur in Flames: Atrocities in Western Sudan,” at: http://hrw.org/reports/2004/sudan0404/ and Human Rights Watch press release, “Monitor Darfur Ceasefire,” at: http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2004/04/14/sudan8431.htm

For further information, please contact:

In Amsterdam, Leslie Lefkow: +31-20-486-2881
In Geneva, Loubna Freih: +41-22-738-04-81
In Geneva, Joanna Weschler: +41-76-446-1623
In New York, Reed Brody: +1-212-216-1206

More...

Uganda: Talking with the Devil

2004-04-22

http://www.rnw.nl/humanrights/html/devil.html

In northern Uganda war has raged for 18 years, and shows no signs of abating. People have grown tired of the government's pledges that it will soon end the rebellion by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), which claims it is fighting to establish a government based on the Ten Commandments. Increasingly Ugandans are asking for talks between the government and the rebels. Over the past two decades the war in northern Uganda has forced 1.5 million people to flee their homes. Twenty thousand children have been forcibly recruited to fight by the LRA.

E-commerce for development is over-hyped

2004-04-22

http://tinyurl.com/2pe5b

Promotion of e-readiness is all the rage. Internet-based business to business (B2B) applications are promoted as tools to enable producer firms in developing countries to reduce costs and enter global markets. However, evidence is emerging that policy makers and development agencies are too optimistic about the poverty-busting potential of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Research from the Institute of Development Studies and the London School of Economics critically examines the expectations and assumptions behind the drive to encourage investment in ICTs.

Fundamental issues with open source software development

2004-04-22

http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue9_4/levesque/index.html

Despite the growing success of the Open Source movement, most of the general public continues to feel that Open Source software is inaccessible to them. This paper discusses five fundamental problems with the current Open Source software development trend, explores why these issues are holding the movement back, and offers solutions that might help overcome these problems.

ICTs for economic and social development

2004-04-22

http://web.idrc.ca/en/ev-58361-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html

In Senegal, pastoralists are tracking their wandering cattle herds using cell phones and Global Positioning Systems. In South Africa, small tourist businesses operating out of the townships are attracting customers from around the world by using the Internet. In Mozambique, forest wardens are using high-frequency radios to stop poaching. Across the African continent, communities are using information and communication technologies (ICTs) for their social and economic development. The articles in this collection present stories of how research is helping to create a “made in Africa” information revolution.

e-Civicus: focusing on the MDG's

2004-04-22

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/enewsl/21618

The latest edition of e-Civicus is dedicated to the Millennium Development Goals and includes a briefing on civil society and the MDG's, news briefs relating to the MDG's and a list of useful internet resources relating to the MDG's. e-CIVICUS is distributed twice monthly in MS Word, plain text, or PDF format, and is also available in Spanish. Future issues will be distributed in HTML format with new exciting sections like donor profiles, capacity building resources, and member’s news. To subscribe or unsubscribe please email eric@civicus.org

Equinet newsletter

2004-04-22

http://www.equinetafrica.org/newsletter/

The Equinet Newsletter is the newsletter of the Network for Equity in Health in Southern Africa and delivers a comprehensive round-up of equity and health issues. You will receive two issues from this mailing list per month. One will contain a briefing of Equinet's activities and the other links to information about equity and health issues in the content categories of Equity in Health; Values, Policies and Rights; Health equity in economic and trade policies; Poverty and health; Equitable health services; Human Resources; Public-Private Mix; Resource allocation and health financing; Equity and HIV/AIDS; Governance and participation in health and Monitoring equity and research policy. There are also sections that include the latest jobs, conferences and other useful resources related to equity in health. Read the newsletter online by clicking on the URL provided.

Eurodad email services

2004-04-22

http://www.eurodad.org/aboutus/default.aspx?id=227

Eurodad currently offers two news services focusing on Debt and Finance and Poverty Reduction Policies. The articles posted are a combination of short analytical pieces written by Eurodad staff on key developments in each theme, and summarised documents, invitations and requests from external sources.

ontrac newsletter

2004-04-22

http://www.intrac.org

ontrac is the newsletter of INTRAC (the International NGO Training and Research Centre). It is published three times a year. To subscribe to ontrac, please contact Natasha Thurlow at INTRAC (n.thurlow@intrac.org) indicating whether you wish to receive it by email (English, Chinese, French, Portuguese, Russian or Spanish) or post (English and Russian only).

Call for nominations: World of Children Awards

2004-04-22

http://www.worldofchildren.org/nominations/

The Hannah Neil World of Children Awards honour ordinary people doing extraordinary work for children. Each year nominations from across the globe are reviewed to identify selfless individuals whose unwavering commitment to children makes the world a better place, for youth and all of humanity. The $100,000 Kellogg's Child Development Award, recognises those who have made a significant lifetime contribution to children's futures by significantly improving their opportunities to learn and to grow. The $100,000 Cardinal Health Children's Care Award, recognizes an individual who has made a significant lifetime contribution to the health and well-being of children. The $15,000 Founder's Award recognizes a young person under age 21, who is making extraordinary contributions to other children. Deadline for nominations: Monday, April 26, 2004.

Interview with Simon Collings, CEO of the Resource Alliance

2004-04-22

http://www.thusanang.org.za/index.php?option=news&task=viewarticle&sid=549

The Thusanang news team caught up with Simon Collings, who is the CEO of the UK-based NGO, Resource Alliance (RA), during its recent 5th International Workshop for Resource Mobilisation (IWRM) held in Johannesburg. The RA is gradually beginning to make its presence felt in Southern Africa, so Thusanang, a fundraising website, thought it appropriate to find out more about it.

Residency Fellowships: Five College African Scholars Program

2004-04-22

http://www.fivecolleges.edu/asp/

The Five College African Scholars Program invites proposals for competitive residency fellowships from junior and mid-level teaching staff employed full-time in African universities. Projects relevant to the study of Africa are welcomed in the humanities and social sciences. The theme for the January 2005 residency is power and representation. Deadline: 1 May 2004.

The 24th International Fundraising Congress (IFC)

2004-04-22

http://www.africapulse.org.za/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=2008

The 24th IFC is taking place on the 12th to the 15th October 2004. The event regularly attracts over 800 fundraising professionals from 50-60 countries worldwide. This year’s programme boasts of 60 world-class speakers and practitioners who will lead over 100 cutting-edge sessions covering all aspects of fundraising from communications to major gifts and leadership to corporate fundraising.

"Tackling poverty through multiple use water services" E-conference

17 May to 25 June 2004

2004-04-22

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/courses/21526

Water is a critical enabling resource for poverty reduction. And people use water from multiple sources and in multiple ways to improve their livelihoods. But sub-sector planners (domestic and irrigation) seldom recognize this, leading to the provision of services that frequently only address some of the needs of their users. However, times are changing and there is increasing interest from all sectors in finding more appropriate, sustainable, and demand-responsive ways to provide multiple use services that really impact poverty.
"Tackling poverty through multiple use water services" E-conference in
English and Spanish from 17 May to 25 June 2004

Water is a critical enabling resource for poverty reduction. And
people use water from multiple sources and in multiple ways to improve
their livelihoods. But sub-sector planners (domestic and irrigation)
seldom recognize this, leading to the provision of services that
frequently only address some of the needs of their users. However,
times are changing and there is increasing interest from all sectors in
finding more appropriate, sustainable, and demand-responsive ways to
provide multiple use services that really impact poverty.

This e-conference on tackling poverty through multiple use water
services will be facilitated by the Thematic Group on productive uses of
water at the household level (http://www.irc.nl/prodwat) , and will take
place in parallel in English (hosted by IRC) and Spanish (by CINARA).
It will provide a platform for individuals and organisations to share
their experiences in all aspects (positive and negative) of multiple
uses of water.

The e-conference will be divided into three sessions of ten days each
covering three themes:
- Weeks 1 and 2: Current experiences with multiple use systems and
services
- Weeks 3 and 4: What are the lessons learned?
- Weeks 5 and 6: How do (and should) we go forward?

Questions to be discussed include:

- Do the extra benefits justify the incremental costs, and how are costs
and benefits distributed between different sections of the community?
- What are the most appropriate approaches, tools and methods to use for
planning, designing, implementing and monitoring multiple use water
services?
- What is needed in terms of policy, legislation, capacity and practice
to better cater to multiple needs?
- What gaps remain? What information needs to be collected?

If you have answers to these questions, or information to share then
join the e-conference - see the e-conference website for the full text
of the first announcement,
http://www.irc.nl/index.php/content/view/full/8902 or register from
today, by contacting - for the English version Laurent Stravato
(Stravato@irc.nl) and for the Spanish, Ines Restrepo
(inrestre@univalle.edu.co).

A background paper and further instruction will be circulated closer to
the start of the conference. The main outputs of the e-conference will
be a synthesis report and a community of practice on this important
topic.
End

More...

Building civil society capacity in Zambia

2004-04-22

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/courses/21527

Organisation Development and Community Management Trust (ODCMT) is a local NGO registered in March 2000 to provide assistance building the capacity of civil society to enhance their missions. The organisation undertakes popular campaign activities on poverty and trade issues, offers short-term development skills training courses and provides information and advisory services to leaders and members of civil society. In the last four years the organisation has managed to build and consolidate its capacity to gain a reputation as an alternative training resource institution to universities and colleges in the provision of practical skills training services to development practitioners.
ODCMT
STATEMENT OF CAPABILITY

1. Introduction:

Organisation Development and Community Management Trust (ODCMT) is a local NGO registered in March 2000 to provide assistance building the capacity civil society to enhance their missions. The organisation undertakes popular campaign activities on poverty and trade issues, offers short-term development skills training courses and provides information and advisory services to leaders and members of civil society.

2. Summary Profile:

In the last four years the organisation has managed to build and consolidate its capacity to gain a reputation as an alternative training resource institution to universities and colleges in the provision of practical skills training services to development practitioners.

Development activists, retirees, the unemployed and Students and members of civil society in general have accessed the services provided at ODCMT. In the last 4 years a wide cross-section of people including children, who have began to be serviced in information technology through the children computer skills club, have benefited from the training services. Information and advisory services provided by ODCMT at the NGO Business Centre facilities have tended to be available, affordable and therefore accessible to a wide cross-section of the people who may not easily afford such services on the open market and in high institutions of learning.

The organisation offers various tailor-made short-term social development-related skills training courses on numerous topics and subject. These include courses in advocacy, lobbying and popular campaigns, and information technology – computer skill courses.

ODCMT has in the last four years become a household name in development in Zambia. Just to illustrate the point from one example by Russell Ndhlovu of Action on Disability and Development, an international development organization, who made the following observation:

“It is interesting to learn how your organisation is growing and spreading in development work. ODMCT is becoming more strategic and relevant to Zambia's developing society. Please keep growing as much as you can – Russell Ndhlovu of ADD.”

3. Collaboration/Networking:

The ODCMT maintains active networks and collaborates effectively with local, especially small and emerging NGOs and other regional organisations and international development NGOs.

3,1. Government

The organisation has good relations with relevant Government Ministries who have occasionally co-operated with the organisation when need arose. Like the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services, Ministry of Labour and Social Security and the Ministry of Commerce Trade and Industry.

“I look forward to working with you and to discuss development strategies and including the promotion of employment through agro-based economic activities in Zambia” – Lt. Col. Patrick Kafumukache; Minister of Labour and Social Security in Zambia.

3.2. Region

The ODCMT is a member of SADC regional network of NGOs called Community Regional Network through collaboration with ZERO based in Harare. The organisation also is a member of the SEATINI (Southern Eastern Trade Information and Negotiation Institution).

3.3. International

Some of the international development organisations that have closely collaborated with ODCMT either as a local training resource or popular campaign organisation include: Oxfam, Action on Disability and Development (ADD) and of late CARE International who have asked ODCMT to train some of their field staff.

According to Oxfam “World Trade could lift millions of people out of poverty but right now, it ruins their lives and leaves them on the edge of survival because trade rules are rigged so that the poorest lose out every time – we have to make trade fair!”. With this objective in mind, ODCMT partnered with Oxfam to make Big Noise to make trade fair. Working with cotton commodity producers and members of the general public along with other civil society organisations, ODCMT spearheaded a popular campaign that was able to mobilize over 750 000 signatures petitions in a period of 6 months in its Big Noise activities.

As part of our campaign materials, we produced three Big Noise CDs; two with songs and one of sound and voices of cotton producers and that of Minister of Commerce Trade and Industry highlighting concerns on the prevailing unfair world trade rules and their negative impact on small scale producers. The two musical CDs on the ‘Make Trade Fair’ and ‘Masulani Malonda’ feature popular musicians like the duo - Sakala Brothers, James Chamanyazi and Saga Che Mutale. These Zambian musicians along with the volunteers, appear in a Make Trade Fare video on the campaign in Zambia. The video has attracted many development activist including Oxfam international who supported ODCMT’s activities in this popular campaign.

“We will certainly make sure that your video is shared with our Big Noise colleagues in Southern countries. We will also look to see if we can used some of the footage as one of the case studies in a Big Noise Training Video for distribution to partners around the world. The Big Noise gets louder and louder. Well done to everyone involved” – Jo Fox of Oxfam (GB).

ODCMT also maintains liaison with other international organisations like HIVOS, Trade Justice Movement, Christian Aid and KEPA Zambia sharing information, on development and campaign issues on poverty, trade and social justice.

“Although I am aware that most developed countries are so selfish and greedy that they would continue to exploit African resources unabated, your contribution towards the campaign against such unfair tendencies would finally bear fruit” – Lt. Col. Patrick Kafumukache; Copperbelt Deputy Minister.

3.4. Local

As a capacity building organisation ODCMT closely maintains contacts with a wide sector of local NGOs. Its qualified and experienced volunteer staff and externally sourced skilled volunteers form a formidable ODCMT team that also offers back-stopping, research, organisation assessments (OD) and provide on the spot field support services. Such a service mainly aims to target some of the small community based organisations in the Movement of Emerging NGOs in Zambia (MENGOZ), which is a loose alliance of civil society organisations, for whom ODCMT serves as secretariat since formation of the movement in May 2002. It is also a member of the Zambia Council for Social Development (ZCSD) an umbrella organisation for NGOs in Zambia.


3.5. ODCMT Secretariat:

The organisation has a small 2 roomed office that serves as secretariat. The office serves as campaign, training and administration centre.

At its secretariat, ODCMT also maintains a Business Centre that service small and emerging NGOs who may not have access to secretarial services such as e-mail facilities, fax, Internet and other information communication technology facilities.

The secretariat comprises a full-time volunteer staff establishment of 8 members. A team, which is led by an executive director who is a highly qualified social advocate with vast practical development and advocacy, work experience (see attached cv).

3.6. Location and Postal Details

The secretariat of ODCMT is situated on Plot 59/A at the Zambia Council for Social Development Building, along Cha cha cha Road near Fidelity House. Phone: 231322 Email: odcmt@microlink.zm Fax 231518

More...

Discussing community based conservation

30 April 2004, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

2004-04-22

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/courses/21620

"The Myth of Community Based Conservation" will be the topic of a monthly seminar series on land issues to be help at 3pm on 30 April 2004 at the Hakiardhi Seminar Room, Vijani Building, Morogogo Road, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The presentation will be in the Kiswahili language and each participant will receive an English copy of the paper.

Lobbying Parliament on the Budget

30 April-02 May, Cape Town, South Africa

2004-04-22

http://www.contacttrust.org.za

The Contact Trust will be holding a workshop on 'Lobbying Parliament on the Budget'. The programme and invitation is available through the link below.
Contact Trust would like to invite one (1) member of your organisation
to attend the workshop:

Lobbying Parliament on the Budget


Date:
30 April 2004 – 2 May 2004

Venue:
Disa Conference Centre, 70 Orange Street, Gardens Cape Town

Time:
9:00am – 5:00pm


We can only accommodate 25 delegates – first come first serve.


Please complete the RSVP form below and fax to 021 426 1446 or
contact Erica at 021 426 1413 if you have any queries:


DAY 1

09h00 – 09h30 Registration, welcome & introductions
10h00 – 12h00 Field trip to parliament & debriefing
12h00 – 13h00 Lunch
13h00 – 14h30 Input – The Structure of Government
14h30 – 14h45 Tea
14h45 – 16h00 Group Exercise – The Structure of Government
· Worksheet 1 – The National Government
· Worksheet 2 – The Legislature
· Worksheet 3 – The Legislature (Provincial & Local)
· Worksheet 4 – The Judiciary
16h00 – 16h30 Video: Take Part in Parliament
16h30 – 17h00 Report back / close of day



DAY 2

09h00 – 10h30 Input – The Budget Process
10h30 – 10h45 Tea
10h45 – 11h45 Group Exercise
11h45 – 12h45 Report back / Discussion
12h45 – 13h45 Lunch
13h45 – 15h00 Guest Speaker / Discussion
15h00 – 15h15 Tea
15h15 – 16h15 Exercise – Reading
16h15 – 16h45 Recap / close of day


DAY 3

09h00 – 10h30 Input – What is lobbying and advocacy
10h30 – 10h45 Tea
10h45 – 12h30 Group Exercise
12h30 – 13h00 Report back
13h00 – 13h45 Lunch
13h45 – 14h45 Guest Speaker / Discussion
14h45 – 15h00 Tea
15h00 – 15h30 Group Exercise
15h30 – 16h00 Evaluation / Close of Workshop

More...

Workshop on Human Rights Litigation in Africa

10-14 May 2004, Dakar, Senegal

2004-04-22

http://www.africaninstitute.org/eng/index.php

The Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa will organise a litigation workshop from 10-14 May 2004, in Dakar, Senegal. The workshop will be bi-lingual (French/English), with simultaneous translation, and will take place during the 35th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which is also scheduled to take place in Dakar. The public sessions of the African Commission commence on 3 May.
Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa
Workshop on Human Rights Litigation in Africa
10-14 May 2004
Dakar, Senegal

The Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa will organise
a litigation workshop from 10-14 May 2004, in Dakar, Senegal.

The workshop will be bi-lingual (French/English), with simultaneous
translation, and will take place during the 35th Ordinary Session of
the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which is also
scheduled to take place in Dakar. The public sessions of the African
Commission commence on 3 May.

Admission to the Institute’s litigation workshop will, as usual, be
competitive. This pan-African workshop, which will be the fourth in a
series that have focussed exclusively on litigation at the national
level and at the level of the African Commission, will target 20 human
rights activists engaged in NGO litigation work in Africa.

The Institute will give priority to female candidates, during the
process of selecting participants.

In applying, each participant will be required to demonstrate a clear
need for attending the workshop. They will explain how their
participation at the training would strengthen the institutional
capacity of their organisations to carry out litigation work and/or
describe other benefits that could accrue to their organisations as a
result of such participation.

Applicants will also be required to furnish outlines of potential human
rights cases or real cases that employ international or African treaty
law, which their organisations are working on. Cases could be in
various stages of development, ranging from those at the research stage
to those that have already been lodged with the appropriate forum.

The training course will be interactive, featuring a combination of
lectures, discussions, group work and simulation exercises (role-plays)
and will cover a range of subjects, viz., human rights litigation at
the national level, Article 55 litigation before the African
Commission, human rights research and documentation for litigation
purposes, press strategies for litigation or the security of human
rights defenders.

Resource people will be drawn from the ranks of academia and human
rights professionals, including members of staff of the Institute.



Economic, Social and Cultural Rights are Focus of Forthcoming
Conference in Cairo (top)

The nature of state obligations in economic, social and cultural rights
(ESCRs) is the focus of a conference to be held from 19 - 23 June 2004
in Cairo, Egypt. Organised on behalf of the African Commission for
Human and Peoples' Rights, INTERIGHTS is working with three local
partners to bring the conference to fruition - the Cairo Institute for
Human Rights Studies, the Social and Economic Rights Action Centre,
Lagos and the Centre for Human Rights Pretoria. The aim of the event is
to identify, with regards to Africa, the priorities for the African
Commission and its partners in the promotion and protection of ESCRs,
and to determine the practical measures they can take to make ESCRs
effective. We hope to generate guidelines on ESCRs and to recommend
concrete initiatives for the improved implementation of ESCRs.

The agenda for the event will be available shortly.

More...

Africa: Communications and Information Policy Programme

Association For Progressive Communications

2004-04-22

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/jobs/21521

The main purpose of the job is to strategically manage and develop APC's Communications and Information Policy Programme (CIPP). The incumbent can be located from anywhere in the world.
==========================================================
OPENING: Communications and Information Policy Programme Manager
ORGANISATION: Association For Progressive Communications (APC)
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: May 9 2004
==========================================================

POSITION TO BE FILLED
Communications and Information Policy Programme (CIPP) Manager

MAIN PURPOSE OF THE JOB
To strategically manage and develop APC's Communications and Information
Policy Programme (CIPP)


ABOUT THE COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION POLICY PROGRAMME

Our goal: To build more inclusive ICT decision-making processes by
facilitating civil society engagement through building their capacity
and supporting advocacy, at national and international levels. Civil
society inclusion in policy-making will lead to their involvement in
implementing and monitoring policies, and ultimately to societies in
which there is greater citizen participation.

Citizens and organisations that want to ensure that the internet remains
a tool and a venue for promoting social, gender and environmental
justice, development and democracy, are struggling to navigate the
terrain of global, regional, and national internet governance, policy
and regulation. They frequently do not know which issues are on the
agenda, who is debating and deciding them, how their work could be
affected, and how to get involved.

Through CIPP, APC is implementing global and regional ICT policy
projects that raise awareness, build capacity, tools and information
resources to strengthen civil society participation in decision-making.
APC has been taking advantage of global processes such as the World
Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) to galvanise civil society
awareness of ICT policy issues, but our ultimate objective is to build
participation in ICT policy at national level. See:
http://www.apc.org/english/rights/

KEY RESULT AREAS FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION POLICY PROGRAMME
MANAGER

The CIPP manager reports to the APC Executive Director and is a member
of the APC strategic management team. The CIPP manager is responsible for:

-Programme and project development, and management of APC's CIPP work
-Participation in APC's strategic management team
-Strategic positioning of the APC and CIPP and implementation of
strategic priorities identified by APC members
-Networking and building APC's profile in the ICT policy field
-Building and maintaining strategic partnerships for APC in the field of
ICT policy
-Management of CIPP project staff and oversight of regional CIPP
projects (projects are based internationally, regionally and also
nationally and cover multiple activities including information
production and dissemination, research, advocacy, etc.)
-Fundraising for the programme and programme projects
-Facilitating the participation of APC members in regional CIPP activity
-Supporting APC members in ICT policy project development
and fundraising

REQUIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
-Experience in and understanding of global and regional level
ICT policy issues
-Understanding of how ICT policy issues relate to development and social
justice
-Experience and background in civil society networking
-Fundraising experience
-Three to five years "hands on" people management experience
-Five years experience in project management
-Excellent computer and internet skills and experience in working in an
online environment
-Good writing skills and experience in writing reports, proposals, as
well as articles
-Sound academic qualifications in a related area

OTHER REQUIREMENTS

-Strategic thinking
-Leadership skills
-Networking and communication skills
-Excellent English written and oral communication skills, including
public speaking experience
-Working knowledge of Spanish and French would be an advantage
-Ability to work in a team and under pressure
-Able to work independently and to manage people mainly via online
communications (project coordinators all work from different countries
and communicate daily through email and other tools)
-Able to travel frequently
-Planning skills
-Integrity

DURATION OF CONTRACT
One-year period, on a full time basis, renewable based on assessment of
performance and availability of funds.

LOCATION
The incumbent can work from anywhere in the world as APC is a truly
virtual organisation and does not have a physical headquarters. We do
our work online. For this position we want to particularly encourage
candidates from the global South to apply.

HOW TO APPLY
Please send a CV and a covering letter IN ENGLISH that illustrate your
interest in the position. You should be include the following information:
-description of your interest in working with the APC
-your background/interest in ICT policy issues
-description of your background in supporting civil society networking
and ICT initiatives
-description of your background in project management and team
coordination, specifically in an international and/or online context
-description of your computer skills
-where you live
-languages you speak and write
-other information you think might be of importance to our assessment of
your application
-2 references: names, relationship, contact details; at least one of
these should be related to project or campaign that you have managed.

Please send this information via email with 'CIPP Manager' in the
subject line to: jobs@apc.org by May 9 2004.

More...

South Africa: Project Manager

Civicus

2004-04-22

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/jobs/21520

CIVICUS, a global alliance of civil society organisations based in Johannesburg, South Africa, seeks to recruit a Project Manager for its Civil Society Index programme (CSI). The CSI is an international action-research initiative assessing the state of civil society in currently over 60 countries around the world. Reporting to the Director of Programs, the CSI Project Manager will be responsible for implementing and managing the CSI programme and overseeing the work of CSI staff members.
CIVICUS
World Alliance for Citizen Participation

PROJECT MANAGER
CIVICUS CIVIL SOCIETY INDEX

CIVICUS, a global alliance of civil society organisations based in
Johannesburg, South Africa, seeks to recruit a Project Manager for its Civil
Society Index programme (CSI). The CSI is an international action-research
initiative assessing the state of civil society in currently over 60
countries around the world. Reporting to the Director of Programs, the CSI
Project Manager will be responsible for implementing and managing the CSI
programme and overseeing the work of CSI staff members.

Requirements:
· Proven track record of at least 5 years in managing social development or
research projects on an international level
· Experience in coordinating and/or conducting social research
· In depth understanding of civil society and its environment at global and
national level
· Experience in resource mobilization and managing relationships with donors
· Excellent written and oral communication skills in English, and
preferably in one other major international language
· First-rate people management and leadership skills
· Experience of working in a multicultural environment.
· High level ability to develop plans and strategies and to work toward
their realization and improvement under trying conditions and demanding
performance schedules
· An advanced degree in an appropriate discipline, preferably development
studies or social sciences

This is a two-year contract and remuneration will be subject to the
applicant's qualifications and experience.

Applicants should send their CV and a covering letter the in Finn Heinrich,
via email to finn@civicus.org or mail to CIVICUS, c/o Finn Heinrich, P. O.
Box 933, Southdale, 2135, South Africa. Please note that only short-listed
candidates will be contacted.

Closing Date: 30 April 2004

More...

South Africa: Senior Researcher Posts: Public Health Epidemiology and Health Information Systems

University of the Western Cape

2004-04-22

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/jobs/21573

The School of Public Health is a forerunner in the public health areas of health promotion, health equity, health information systems, nutrition, health programme development and human resource development. Two senior researchers are required for a new project, aimed at assisting development of health programmes such as HIV/AIDS and nutrition, at health district level. The senior researchers are expected to assist programme managers to develop information systems for their programmes.
Public Health Epidemiology and Health Information Systems
Two-year renewable contract posts with the School of Public Health at the University of the Western Cape

Applications for the above posts, starting as soon as possible, are invited from suitably qualified and experienced persons.
The School of Public Health is a forerunner in the public health areas of health promotion, health equity, health information systems, nutrition, health programme development and human resource development. Two senior researchers are required for a new project, aimed at assisting development of health programmes such as HIV/AIDS and nutrition, at health district level. The senior researchers are expected to assist programme managers to develop information systems for their programmes. The new appointees will work within a team of established health programme and health information researchers. The project is located in 2 large health districts, Chris Hani district in the Eastern Cape and Cape Town district. The successful candidates would be required to work in one or other of these districts. While it is preferable for the candidates to live in the district they will be working in, living outside the district with a frequent travel arrangement would be considered.
Duties:
· Co-operatively develop a minimum set of valid routine health information indicators for a health programme · Assist in implementing routine data collection, analysis and presentation procedures · Co-operatively develop and implement annual surveys · Assist programme managers to optimally utilise information during daily management and during operational and strategic planning Requirements:
Any of the following qualifications and at least 3 years experience working in the field of public health. Inter-personal skills, communication skills and ability to work constructively in a team, would be advantageous.
Required qualifications:
· Specialist in Public Health · or Postgraduate qualification in Public Health · or Postgraduate qualification in Epidemiology · or Postgraduate qualification in Health Management · or Postgraduate qualification in related public health field Remuneration:
An attractive salary commensurate with qualifications and experience is offered Enquiries:
Dr G. Reagon
tel (021) 9592809
greagon@uwc.ac.za
Application procedure:
Please send a 3 page CV listing qualifications, experience and contact details (tel, fax, email, postal address) of 3 referees in assured confidence to "the Human Resources Department, UWC, Private Bag X17, Bellville 7535; or email: galexander@uwc.ac.za
tel (021) 9593626
Closing date for applications is the 30 April 2004

More...

Uganda: Executive Director/Policy Research Associate

2004-04-22

http://www.bridges.org/about/getinvolved/

The ESA CIP is an initiative of the Catalysing Access to Information and Communications Technologies in Africa programme. It is a new Centre dedicated to increasing the capacity of East and Southern African stakeholders to participate in international information and communications technology (ICT) policy-making and is being launched in Kampala, Uganda in April 2004. The following positions are available: Policy Research Associate; Executive Director.

Fahamu