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SELECTED HEADLINES FOR PAMBAZUKA NEWS 178

2004-10-14

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/highlights/25182

* Editorial: Violently intent on keeping us in poverty: Riaz Tayob on interenational trade policy
* Breaking eggs and eating omelettes: africa's experience with the Bretton Woods institutions
* Comment and Analysis: Gerald Caplan on the genocide problem (Part II)
* Pan-African Postcard: Congratulations to Wangari Mathai- Nobel Peace Prize
* Conflicts and Emergencies: Museveni angered by Uganda-Sudan comparison
* Refugees and Forced Migration: 1,618 refugees return home to DRC
* Elections and Governance: Predictions for Cameroon Election 2004
* HIV/AIDS: Pandemic filling African cemeteries
* Corruption: Which are the most corrupt countries in Africa?
* Education: IMF policies squeezing Zambian education system
* Media and Freedom of Expression: AU intellectuals campaign for freedom of expression

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* Violently intent on keeping us in poverty: International trade policy

Riaz Tayob

2004-10-14

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/25184

The North-South economic and political divide is the overriding concern in international trade relations, with the rich North creating conditions that allow for the pillaging and primitivisation of the poor South. Combined the International Financial Institutions (IFIs) and World Trade Organisation (WTO) adopt a coherent and comprehensive neo-liberal paradigm for trade and economic management, and this free trade ideology is imposed on developing countries.

There are serious deficiencies in this ideology, which are rarely given any credence, or receive at best grudging acknowledgement. The North uses the free trade ideology as a means of domination over the resources and livelihoods of the people of the South. One does not have to be a radical or a revolutionary to question the merits of their policies; simply looking at the economic history of rich countries is instructive. Do as I say and not as I did is the North's mantra.

The neo-liberal, free trade, Washington Consensus ideology is used as a tool to maintain resource flows from the South to the North. Militarily the colonisers were kicked out of African countries after bloody and horrific struggles. Neo-liberalism replaced military colonial occupation and ensures that resource flows from the South to the North continue. Instead of rule by the gun, it became: rule by trade policy. Free trade was used as the ideology to continue to maintain colonial economic relations with the South.

Trade is regulated primarily by the WTO. After the collapse of the WTO Cancun Ministerial, where developing countries refused to be bullied into accepting onerous trade and development terms, the United States of America (USA) and the European Union (EU) indicated that they would pursue Regional Trading Arrangements (RTA's) with countries.

The failure of the economic superpowers to achieve what they desired at the multilateral level must inform our analysis of what they hope to achieve at the regional negotiations level. Since many issues the North hoped to impose on the South through the WTO were rejected, it is imperative for the South to maintain this consistency in RTA negotiations simply because the issues are not in our interest. However, Southern governments, especially in Africa, are much weaker in regional and bilateral negotiations with the North than they are at the WTO simply because of their extreme (and increasing) dependence on the North.

The rational for African countries entering into RTAs are complex. There is the overriding perception that RTAs improve a country's economic development because of the alleged link between liberalisation and economic growth. However, a United Nations Development Programme longitudinal study of least developed countries found indications that liberalisation leads to de-industrialisation. One of the main reasons for entering RTA's is that regional bodies have greater representative and market power and may improve parity in bargaining. In order to benefit from the consolidation of representation, one can, wrongly, presume that there is an African regional integration plan that guides efforts in this regard.

The WTO establishes the framework for the implementation of free trade values: liberalisation is the aim of international trade. For an RTA to be WTO compliant it must result in higher levels of economic integration within a reasonable period of time, cover substantially all trade and be more liberalised than the WTO regime. This means that RTAs extend liberalisation commitments even further.

International trade is also impacted upon by the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IFIs actively promote Washington Consensus values of neo-liberal economics. The principle ideology they impart is that the market allocates resources best and the state should not interfere by creating market distortions. They also promote tariff reductions and trade liberalisation generally, forcing the South to give for free what the North should bargain for in negotiations.

In the context of RTAs it is important to recognise that the combination of these factors indicates that trade policy (and development policy) is externally determined by participation with the IFIs and the WTO. These agreements regulate the development path that is open for countries to follow. The control in many instances is indirect and in many more it is quite direct.

But free trade and liberalisation were not used as policies by the North to reach their current stage of development. The Now Developed Countries (NDCs) used different sets of policies (almost the exact opposite of the Washington Consensus). Free trade and liberalisation are now mantras prescribed under the guise of being pro-development. The North used state power to regulate markets, increased the social wage, created public services, used tariffs as a means of industrial development and controlled investment flows amongst other measures.

For evaluation of African policies and global engagement, it is therefore revealing enough for us to begin our analysis in comparing the IFI/WTO prescriptions with the policies used by the North previously (historic capitalism), in order to understand what is happening to the South presently, within this form of neo liberal globalisation. One need not be a revolutionary to see that things in our countries are getting worse or that the policy prescriptions used are so divorced from reality as to be positively harmful.

Neo-liberalism treats all economic activities alike, whereas the North developed by not treating all economic activities alike. Simply put, the North recognised that investing in a casino would have a different developmental impact from say housing construction. This is a distinction the neo liberal system does not allow governments to make, so for instance subsidies under the WTO can be made to general sectors and not specific industries. Or, the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) treats basic health and water services the same as tourism and gambling, when there are clearly qualitative differences.

The neo-liberal ideology also pushes for perfect competition, which is a utopian ideal that has never existed! In the early stages of development, the Northern countries actually pursued anticompetitive policies to assist with their development. Practically Northern countries followed the principle of protection of industries including infant industries and only opened their markets once a particular level of market dominance/ economies of scale were achieved. This is in direct contradiction with the arguments against infant industry protection and in favour of consumer welfare effects of liberalisation based on efficiency, which are being shoved onto African developmental agendas. Tariff liberalisation is promoted by the WTO and the IFIs when high tariffs were the primary tool used to develop manufacturing capacity in the North. In other words, the system forces African governments to prefer cheaper imported goods over job creation at a time when unemployment is rife. The recognition that imported goods contain labour is not obvious, and we continue to import labour contained in our imports and make them cheaper by liberalising tariffs.

By using the economic analysis toolbox that the Northern countries themselves used to develop, we see a world that is violently intent on keeping us in poverty in perpetuity. The term violently is not used lightly because at present even an analysis of Africa's chances of pursuing Schumpertarian increasing return activities is heavily constrained by our international commitments, our so called level of global integration.

Since regional integration is a reality that must be dealt with, national and regional development agendas should, at the very least (but not only), incorporate the view that different economic activities have different impacts on the economy as Schumpeter pointed out.. Some activities generate positive returns (manufacturing), others are return neutral (tourism) while resource extraction and primary commodity production (after a point) generate negative/diminishing returns. In order to generate additional revenue for the state, so that it can serve its distributive function to improve the conditions of citizens, any international trade engagement must prioritise increasing return economic activities to promote revenue generation occasioned in part by tariff income losses due to imposed trade liberalisation. The impact of these losses is not discussed adequately in the public domain and there is a presumption that everything will be alright.

The WTO for instance allows tariff escalation. This means that it is cheaper and easier for Africans to export coffee beans than it is to export processed coffee. Therefore Africa does not develop beyond being coffee growers. It also allows for tariff peaks that are used to keep out goods where African countries have particular advantage like leather goods. So any move by Africans to develop manufacturing capabilities or to exploit comparative advantage to benefit meaningfully from their products meets with enormous obstacles and disincentives in Northern markets. These obstacles are legal and continue the colonial legacy of forbidding manufacturing in the colonies.

To bring about a change in the developmental pathway for Africa a number of obstacles have to be overcome, the first being the ideology of free trade that contaminates every level of policy making in many countries. Most officials and ministers do not know they do not know or are politically helpless in the face of free trade ideology.

The principles of free trade which are presented as inherently good are unsurprisingly absent in the North's approach to agriculture. In agriculture free trade is turned on its head, because the WTO allows the North to use trade distorting subsidies - state intervention that distorts the market: the ultimate free trade sin. So the system is schizophrenic, it prescribes a host of ideologies to govern trade in our countries (and thereby our development) but fails to apply it consistently in areas of interest to the South.

Because our governments are being pragmatic, they do not see the systemic and structural violence it creates and unleashes on our people. Over 70% of Africans rely on agriculture as a means of living, yet they are prevented from using this comparative advantage. South Africa in particular is giving the land back to black people but is forcing these farmers to compete with subsidised European and American imports. This is a recipe for disaster.

Many governments in Africa, however, are adopting the view that the more RTAs they belong to, the more beneficial it will be to their economies. But, for instance, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is estimated to reduce Namibia's revenue by between 31 and 50 percent over the next twelve years (and these exclude the dynamic effects!). A plethora of agreements would further reduce income. This is not simply a matter for trade negotiators; it has serious implications for governmental stability especially at a time when debt levels are rising exponentially. Money for much needed social welfare is simply not going to be available because most governments rely heavily on international trade taxes for revenue.

At present though, the international trade context within which African countries operate is skewed against them because increasing return activities: - Do not enjoy meaningful market access in export markets (especially in areas where we have comparative advantage); - Do not have sufficiently protected domestic markets to promote entrepreneurship and local development; - Suffer from supply side constraints; - Face continually declining commodity/primary goods prices and unfair competition in agriculture; - Are prevented through whimsical barriers to market entry in foreign countries.

Africa's openness to foreign goods and services within the domestic market is a problem. Africa is the continent that is most open to global trade. This means that even in the domestic market, local manufacturers must compete with Transnational Corporations. African manufacturers are expected to survive without protection from the State. We are trying to compete through exports in highly organised foreign markets while surrendering our home turf and losing out in both. The policies imposed on us simply do not make sense.Africa has slavishly followed most of the prescriptions of the former colonial powers with a spectacularly tragic outcome. If most of what we are doing is so different from what the North did and things are getting worse, then it is time to look at alternatives. There are other views on development that are simply not canvassed at all by our governments. If African governments are to prosper economically and politically, we need to at least begin to look at the policies used in the past by the now rich countries. If our governments fail to even consider some of these alternatives, then democratic government or not, it is a sad day. It is even sadder when these free trade conditions are imposed by many honourable and dedicated leaders who suffered greatly to bring us liberation (Nelson Mandela included), only to compound our people's material destitution.

* Riaz Tayob works for the Southern and Eastern African Trade Information and Negotiations Institute (Seatini) in South Africa

* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org

Breaking eggs and eating omelettes: Africa's experience with the Bretton Woods Institutions

2004-10-14

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/25187

This year marks what many activists have dubbed the unhappy birthday of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. It is 60 years since the creation of these institutions in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, and in that time period both have come to have a profound and controversial influence on the world.

These institutions claim to be acting in the interests of the global good, with mission statements such as the World Bank, which says that its "mission is to fight poverty and improve the living standards of people in the developing world". But critics slam both institutions for their lack of democracy and for creating a system of modern day colonialism that does nothing to advance the interests of the poor.

Over the last eight weeks in the lead up to the annual meetings of the WB and IMF in early October in Washington D.C., Pambazuka News has carried a series of articles looking at various aspects of the involvement of these institutions in Africa. Below is the contents list and website addresses of these articles.

1. Recalcitrant reformers require tougher tactics

PATRICK BOND examines how the Bretton Woods Institutions have responded to criticism over their democratic credentials, their particular approach to development policy, their ongoing support for mega-projects and their failure to cancel debt. Boardroom tactics to reform the bank have not been successful, he shows, and it is in the grassroots movements to decommodify the goods and services which the World Bank and IMF increasingly put out of reach, that the only feasible alternative strategy can be found.

Full article: http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?issue=170#2

2. The rains do not fall on one person's roof…

Throughout the Global South, public goods or services such as water, electricity, education and health care have become the subject of privatization under a free market ethos pushed by international financial institutions. This ethos dictates that allowing private companies free rein is the only sure way to 'development'. The privatization of water is one of the hotly contested areas where activists who argue that water is a human right have squared up against water barons represented by powerful transnational companies. In Ghana, the National Coalition Against the Privatization of Water has fought against a major water privatization project backed by the World Bank in a campaign that has wide resonance for movements against water privatization worldwide. In this question and answer article, RUDOLF AMENGA-ETEGO from the National Coalition Against the Privatization of Water, answers questions from Pambazuka News.

Full article: http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?issue=171#2

3. The Lesotho Highlands Water Project: Bribery on a massive scale

FIONA DARROCH charts the dogged battle the tiny mountain kingdom of Lesotho has fought against multinational corporations in the World Bank-funded Lesotho Highlands Water project. The legal trials have set a precedent when it comes to corruption in mega development projects and focused attention on how the World Bank deals with corruption in the projects it funds.

Full article: http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?issue=172#2

4. Global Apartheid continues to Haunt Global Democracy

Debt, argues CHARLES MUTASA from the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD), is the new face of colonialism and slavery. It is an instrument used to plunder and exploit indebted countries' resources and ultimately is at the heart of the unequal power relations between the North and the South. The international community urgently needs to negotiate new measures to resolve Africa's debt crisis and end global apartheid.

Full article: http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?issue=173#3

5. Ignoring the EIR: How industry, government and the bank chose profits over people

Mining always seems to have had an exploitative nature, representing massive wealth for some and grinding poverty for others. The World Bank's Extractive Industries Review (EIR) was supposed to change all of this, but any hope that it would fizzled out in August with a few outraged NGO press releases. Bank management had met and failed to adopt recommendations that would have placed people over profit. ABDULAI DARIMANI from Third World Network Africa explains some of the political machinations that conspired against the adoption of the review's recommendations.

Full article: http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?issue=174#3

6. The IMF and WB in Africa: A Disastrous Record

The International Monetary Fund and World Bank have "utterly failed" in reducing poverty and promoting development in Africa, says DEMBA MOUSSA DEMBELE of the Forum for African Alternatives. "In fact, they are instruments of domination and control in the hands of powerful states whose long-standing objective is to perpetuate the plunder of the resources of the Global South, especially Africa," he says, concluding that the fundamental role of the Bretton Woods Institutions in Africa is to promote and protect the interests of global capitalism.

Full article: http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?issue=175#2

7. A happy birthday?: The Chad/Cameroon oil pipeline one year on

While the Chad/Cameroon oil pipeline has been hailed as a model of how development projects can be instituted, oil corporations cannot be transformed into development agencies even with the best of intentions and monitoring mechanisms, writes AKONG CHARLES NDIKA from Global Village Cameroon. The flawed contention of the World Bank when it comes to development projects, he says, is that "one cannot eat omelettes without breaking some eggs''. But in the case of Africa the eggs are more often the poor who end up with no livelihood opportunities and become even poorer.

http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?issue=175#3

8. Zambia: New report reveals: Zambian children paying the price for IMF policies

While the Zambian government will be expected to give up to $156 million to the IMF in debt payments this year, it does not have the resources to help solve the teacher crisis which has put thousands of Zambian teachers out of work, and even more students without an adequate education. The Global Campaign for Education report has made a number of recommendations to the IMF, all without any positive response. Co-author Lucia Fry from VSO said "Zambia shows us the need for a radical change in the way the IMF does its business.

http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?issue=178

The Genocide Problem: "Never Again" All Over Again Part II

Gerald Caplan

2004-10-14

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/25081

This is the second part of Gerry Caplan's "The Genocide Problem: 'Never Again' All Over Again" published in Pambazuka News 177 last week.

The Genocide Specialists From the first, I had thought my report should put the Rwandan genocide into some historical context, and I began reading in the field of genocide generally. Before long, I had come face to face with the burgeoning world of genocide studies. This subculture, I soon discovered, is quite separate from that of high-profile Holocaust studies. While some specialists in "other" genocides are also students of the Holocaust, for a long time only a handful of Holocaust specialists were prepared to accept experts in comparative genocides as their kin. According to New York City College Professor Henry Huttenbach, a Jewish refugee from Hitler's Germany, most Holocaust specialists still demand that the genocide of the Jews be treated as qualitatively different from - really a greater catastrophe than - the genocide of others. And "any whiff of comparison was automatically condemned as a form of denial, revisionism, trivialization, etc." This is an enormously emotional and divisive issue, but the evidence surely corroborates Huttenbach's assertion. In his intellectually thrilling and morally courageous study, The Holocaust in American Life, University of Chicago historian Peter Novick introduces the concept of "the Olympics of victimization," a fierce competition for primacy among the world's victims that the Jews are determined to win. Largely, they have succeeded. Even a good number, though not all, of my newly discovered genocide studies family share the view that the Holocaust - always with a capital "H" - is at the farthest point of the genocide continuum.

In 1999, when I began working on Rwanda, the world of non-Holocaust genocide studies was just beginning to flourish. Frank Chalk and Kurt Jonassohn's The History and Sociology of Genocide: Analyses and Case Studies in 1990 was way ahead of the curve. It was Rwanda and Srebrenica that really set things off. The International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) had been organized in 1994. In 1999, Huttenbach founded the Journal of Genocide Studies, the first of its kind not exclusively dedicated to the Holocaust. The same year, a two-volume Encyclopedia of Genocide appeared. In 2002, a thick and engrossing collection of essays appeared called Pioneers of Genocide Studies - imagine: pioneers already! - and Samantha Power won the Pulitzer Prize for her exceptional study A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide. Imagine: humanity had inflicted on itself an entire era of genocide, and we were living through it.

The field was taking off. In June, 2003, I was among two hundred people attending the IAGS conference in Galway, Ireland. There were forty-four intriguing panels to choose from, so many I couldn't even attend all the Rwanda sessions let alone those on Burundi, Srebrenica, Armenia, the Third World and the Holocaust, the Herero of southwestern Africa, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Korea, Bangladesh, Assyria, the indigenous peoples of the Americas and Australia, Cambodia, genocide prevention, genocide denial, comparative genocide, genocide art, genocide and children, survivors, truth commissions, the problem of reconciliation, the problem of reparations, the International Criminal Court, the International Criminal Tribunals of Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and even more.

Size is relative, of course. This small, tight world of genocide mavens is some-thing of a movable feast really: I keep meeting them at other conferences, in London, northern England, Stockholm, Lund, Washington, Toronto, and Rwanda itself. Their hero is Raphael Lemkin, the Polish Jewish lawyer who coined the word "genocide" and was the driving force behind the 1948 UN Genocide Convention. They know by rote the convention's key clauses and even its wildly optimistic title: "The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide." And they know the politics. After long, acrimonious negotiations that included early intimations of Cold War hostilities, the General Assembly agreed soon after World War II that genocide would be defined as "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group."

From these few words spill a host of complications. How do you prove intent? Exactly how many victims are necessary to constitute a "part"? What about "politicide," the word invented to describe attempts to eliminate political opponents, the stock-in-trade of both governments proudly promising to introduce "socialism" - Stalin's USSR, Mao's China, Pol Pot's Cambodia - and those defending the "free world" against "socialism" - U.S.-backed military dictatorships in Argentina, Brazil, Guatemala, Chile, Indonesia, the apartheid government in South Africa. What's the difference between mass murder, pogroms, or large-scale massacres and genocide, and why does it matter? And - the central conundrum - how can we know whether a conflict will escalate into a genocide until it actually does?

Then there are the bedeviling practical issues. What are the consequences of a determination that genocide is being carried out? Countries that ratify the convention "undertake to prevent and to punish" genocide perpetrators, and are entitled to call on the UN "to take such action under the Charter of the UN as they consider appropriate for the prevention and suppression of acts of genocide." That's all. There's no call for direct military intervention. So, de-spite the apparent angst by the Clinton administration in 1994 that if it recognized Rwanda as a genocide it would be obliged to dispatch U.S. troops, many authorities agree that a strongly worded resolution at the Security Council would fulfill the obligations of the convention - even if the genocide continued.

These issues have been debated at interminable length by the cognoscenti, who mostly agree about the flaws of the 1948 convention and disagree about attempts to amend it. As a result, like it or not, it will remain unamended, unsatisfactory as it clearly is, while the new International Criminal Court and the rest of us make do as best we can. And we will continue to disagree on what is and what is not a genocide. Some well-regarded scholars argue there have been as many as fifty such calamities since the world vowed "Never Again" after Hitler's defeat in 1945. Others say that only four really meet the criteria set out in the UN Convention: the extermination of the Hereros, the Armenians, the Jews, and the Tutsi. It's more than a merely pedantic academic debate. But it will never be resolved. Genocide specialists seem to hold, simultaneously, two quite separate big ideas: that under certain circumstances all humans are capable of perpetrating unspeakable crimes against humanity; and that the only sound motive for being a "genocide freak" - as one of them wryly calls the group - is to figure out how to prevent its recurrence. Intuitively, the two may seem to be in conflict. After all, the record indisputably shows that humans have used violent means to resolve disputes ever since our species first evolved. How can we prevent genocide - or violence between humans of any kind - since humans are clearly hardwired to resort to force under any number of circumstances? To activists, however, the resolution of this dialectic is obvious: we must learn to predict the onslaught of genocide and have the capacity to nip it in the bud.

It came as no surprise to me that so many well-known, highly reputable genocide scholars subscribe to the old insight memorably articulated by Walt Kelly's sweet comic book character, Pogo Possum: "We have met the enemy and he is us." You can't study this subject without wondering about yourself. And we all do. Most of the two dozen men and women who are the "pioneers of genocide studies" explicitly believe that they themselves are potentially capable of the most atrocious behaviour imaginable. In the words of scholar and author Eric Markusen, "the vast majority of perpetrators, accomplices and bystanders to genocidal violence are not sadists or psychopaths, but are psychologically normal according to standard means of assessing mental health and illness." Yehuda Bauer, an Israeli and one of the Holocaust scholars, told me that genocidal attitudes now exist among both Palestinians and Israelis. This is not a man to use such language loosely. As for Rwanda, hundreds of thousands of Hutu were actively involved in the genocide. Most of them were ordinary Rwandans. What possible reason is there to believe they were fundamentally different from me? Or you?

But genocide scholars believe - hope? pray? - that our capacity for evil can be constrained. Perhaps the driving passion of genocide scholarship is to learn from the past to prevent recurrences in the future. As the presentations at the Galway conference amply demonstrated, these are scholar/activists who make no pretense to scholarly detachment. It's not that they eschew solid academic research; on the contrary, most take it very seriously and some are very good at it. But many openly pursue their academic work for activist ends. Virtually all of them are committed either to the prevention of future genocides or to having the world offer appropriate recognition to their own special genocide. A good number are committed to both. Indeed, there is now a Genocide Watch and a full-blown International Campaign to End Genocide supported by twenty-four active member organizations.

Why should this be? After all, you won't find all of the innumerable students of war marching with the peace movement, and no one expects them to. They're scholars for the sake of scholarship - or, perhaps, for publication. But I'd confidently say that all experts in the Armenian genocide have as their overriding purpose getting the world to recognize the 1915 genocide inflicted by the Turks. What drives them mad is the continuing success of Ankara in pressuring the governments of Germany, Britain, the U.S., and - in an unnerving triumph of realpolitik over the solidarity of victims - Israel, to refuse to officially recognize the genocide of the Armenians.

The personal is political in genocide studies. Most authorities on the Armenian genocide are Armenians, descendants of the genocide's victims or survivors. Here, of course, is the key to their militancy and activism. Similarly, most of the pioneers of Holocaust and genocide studies, and the founders of the International Association of Genocide Scholars, and the Journal of Genocide Studies, have been Jewish - survivors, relatives of survivors, or child refugees. Another perceptible group, small but influential, focus on genocide scholarship from a Christian perspective; that is, genocide as the ultimate violation of the laws of God. This, needless to say, is not the bellicose Christianity that so many Americans now seem to embrace.

So Galway wasn't just another academic conference, a talk shop where the arcane and obscure so often reign. This was a coming together of people who had consciously steeped themselves in the most terrible calamities humans have wrought on each other. Many had been touched directly by a genocide. All had a cause, most of them worthy ones. Just about every imaginable horror show of the past century was flagged in those few days.

Yet every single person at that conference was aware that "Never Again" had proved to be one of the greatest broken promises in history; as any genocide maven will aggressively tell you, "Again and Again" is the more accurate phrase. The very reason the genocide prevention movement is thriving is because the phenomenon itself is thriving. Look at the last decade alone. Bosnia and Rwanda. Serbs and Kosovars. Chechnya and East Timor. Nuclear threats, inherently genocidal, between Pakistan and India. Sierra Leone, with its child militias and child amputees. Potential genocide in the Ivory Coast. Burundi on a knife's edge. Rwanda enigmatic and unpredictable. The ongoing calamity in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. And the latest test case: the disaster in Darfur in western Sudan.

If crimes against humanity continue - and they do, as I write - it's not because specialists in genocide aren't trying to prevent them. The question is how to do so. Most of these "preventionists" argue for an early warning system that would allow experts to predict when a genocide is likely, so that the world can be informed and take appropriate action. For the last couple of years, some advocated for a "genocide prevention focal point" to be set up permanently at the UN, and as his contribution to the tenth anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced something very much like that. The premise is straightforward: through empirical and scientific observation of conflicts, we can isolate the variables and causal mechanisms at work and predict future genocides before they occur. With this information, we can then intervene and prevent the tragedy.

Once again, complications arise. There's no more reason for genocide scholars to agree on everything than for genocide victims to do so. Not everyone agrees on which conflicts in the past have been "real" genocides. Not every-one agrees on the variables and stages that lead to genocide. In practice, it's usually more credible and accurate to speak of large-scale massacres and atrocities than of genocide. The Nazi genocide against the Jews didn't begin until 1941. Until it was actually launched in Rwanda, no one could be sure there'd be a genocide; but there had been anti-Tutsi pogroms galore. Already there's a heated dispute as to whether Darfur constitutes a genocide or "ethnic clean-sing." Surely there's no need to resolve this semantic dispute before intervening?

Two intertwined dilemmas remain. Without meaning to sound pretentious, I'd say that preventionists must address the question of human nature. In spite of endless "Never Again" rhetoric and unprecedented efforts to prevent genocide in the past decade or so, and in the face of the rapid growth of what has been dubbed the "genocide prevention industry," before our very eyes the phenomenon of genocide has continued and even intensified. In this sense, the work of the preventionists is a Sisyphean labour of hope and faith over reason and evidence.

Even more problematic is the premise that if we're able to forecast an imminent genocide, policymakers will then naturally jump in and end the crisis before it escalates. I don't see it: I regard it as the genocide specialists' equivalent of "the truth shall make you free" - one of life's great fallacies. Fore-knowledge of genocide might just as easily have the opposite effect. Given the track record to date, it's at least as plausible to argue that early warnings of potential genocide are most likely to help politicians distance themselves from any obligation to intervene in the conflict. In the words of Samuel Totten, a highly respected genocide scholar, developing potential early warning signals "is easy - and this is a vast understatement - compared to mobilizing the political will of the international community to act when such signals appear on the horizon." Two factors are at work here. Human nature, for politicians, is to avoid entanglements they can't control and which have little political payoff. Beyond that, the interests of the preventionists' world and the powers-that-be seem largely antithetical. Almost all of us oppose the major interventions initiated by the U.S. and Britain, while they in turn are largely indifferent to the interventions we plead for.

As I write, Darfur stands as the test. Despite a flurry of activity, at the moment the world is failing badly, the penalty, as always, being paid by those under siege. Darfur is routinely called "the new Rwanda," but I'm more taken with the differences. The massive attacks by Arab Muslim militias on African Muslim peas-ants and farmers, supported by the terrorist government in Khartoum, began in early 2003. Since then, the usual suspects among humanitarian and human rights agencies, joined by the International Campaign to End Genocide, have been demanding that action be taken. Early in 2004, with the death, rape, and refugee counts mounting, the calls for action intensified. Mainstream media coverage became widespread around April with the tenth anniversary of the Rwandan genocide. An unprecedented informal coalition emerged, including the Bush administration. Maybe it's a genocide, almost certainly it's severe ethnic cleansing, and it is without question a world-class atrocity. Everybody now agrees the situation is intolerable. This makes the situation almost more terrible than Rwanda's a decade ago. Despite everything we know, despite all the demands made on the terrorist Sudanese government by the most powerful forces on earth, nothing has changed. Verbal threats are backed by mealy-mouthed resolutions promising serious consideration of future action if the militias aren't suppressed immediately. Meanwhile, the arrival of the rainy season in May blocked sup-plies to the hundreds of thousands of displaced African refugees, and the raids continued. How many more will be added to the fifty thousand dead and the hundreds of thousands of pathetic refugees, while the world attacks with a torrent of words?

The real comparison with 1994, then, is simply inaction in the face of gross provocation. At the end of the day, no Geneva Convention on genocide, whatever its language, and no early warnings, however unmistakable, can substitute for political will among the powers-that-can. The extent of recent coverage of the Darfur tragedy suggests that media and public interest can indeed influence governments to appear to care. But garnering such interest, as Darfur plainly shows, is a long, drawn-out process, and the move from concern to action can take forever. Pessimists will not be disappointed.

For the record, none of those who betrayed Rwanda has ever faced the consequences. Not a single government has lost an election for allowing hundreds of thousands of Africans to be murdered. Not a single French politician has been held accountable for allowing the genocidaires to escape from Rwanda to Zaire/Congo, thereby setting in motion the catastrophic wars that have since plagued the African Great Lakes region. No one has been called on to resign for their actions or advice. Bill Clinton's 957-page memoir, My Life, calls Rwanda "one of my greatest regrets," and spends exactly two pages in total on the subject. This is truly the globalization of impunity.

Nor did those guilty of sins against Rwanda deign to atone by commemorating the tenth anniversary of the genocide in Kigali in April. Kofi Annan went to Geneva instead. The U.S. sent a mid-level diplomat who offered a derisory handout of a $1 million (U.S.) for orphans, widows, and aids victims. Canada's delegation consisted of a former junior cabinet minister and the ambassador to Rome who advises on things African. Among all Western nations, only the Belgians sent their prime minister to apologize and repent. The Rwandans were disappointed but philosophical; their expectations were low.

None of this can give the preventionists a single reason for optimism. It's true that the Remembering Rwanda movement achieved some success. Commemorations of the tenth anniversary occurred around the world and Rwanda got more media coverage in those ten days than during the past ten years. But even if this attention proves to be sustainable, even if the victims and the survivors and the perpetrators and the "bystanders" are all remembered, what then? We will not have changed. Darfur reminds us that, once more, "Never Again" seems beyond human nature. Too many of us like to cause harm and too few of us care enough to prevent it.

Yet we go on. Why? Maybe because if we refuse to give up, we will stumble across an answer. Maybe because it matters that the victims gain some posthumous dignity. That the survivors will know someone cares. That the perpetrators are reminded that they can run but they can't hide. That those guilty of crimes of commission or omission - the French, the Americans, the Catholics, the Brits - will remember that there is no statute of limitations on accountability, and that we will keep naming and shaming them as long as is necessary. For myself, maybe it's because Carol will be reassured that I emerged from my encounter with genocide gloomier than ever but not ready to surrender. Not yet immobilized. And no less willing than before to throw myself - with the usual modest expectations, of course - into the eternal struggle that the pursuit of social justice and equality has always demanded.

* Gerry Caplan is a Canadian-based public policy analyst and international coordinator of the "Remembering Rwanda" Project. He is also a public affairs commentator and author of "Rwanda: The Preventable Genocide," the report of the International Panel of Eminent Personalities To Investigate the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, appointed by the Organization of African Unity (OAU). He is presently co-editing a book on the Rwandan genocide ten years later.

* This article was first published in the October issue of The Walrus, a new Canadian general interest magazine. It is reproduced here with their permission. The Walrus magazine is available on newsstands and book stores in the US as well as Canada, with subscribers from all over the world. For more information about The Walrus: www.walrusmagazine.com

* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org

Congratulations to Wangari Mathai - Nobel Peace Prize

Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem

2004-10-14

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/panafrican/25177

The award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Kenyan Environmentalist, Mama Wangari Mathai of Kenya has been greeted with justifiable chorus of cheers from around the world and in Africa and the African Diaspora even more ululation, praise songs and loud talking drums. If anyone is deserving of such global acclaim he or she does not come more unprepossessing than this people's Professor who had dedicated her life to a very simple task: planting trees in order to safe her environment from destruction and degradation as a result of excessive exploitation. Who would have thought that such a an ordinary act could be so threatening to the state, local companies and the multinational corporations to make this African woman victim of state violence, intimidation, arrest, detention and other kinds of harassment?

Her impact on Kenya on the Moi regime and its land grabbing elite was similar (even if on a smaller scale) to another simple demand of a different historical epoch. Mahatma Ghandi demanded of the British colonial overlords in India to allow Indians to wear Indian dresses that they had made themselves and also get Salt from their own waters as their ancestors had done from time immemorial. This of course struck at the core of the colonial economy in a way that was very profound. If Indians only bought Indian made things and produced what they consumed then both the British colonial trading houses and their local agents will be out of business. From wanting to determine what they produced and consumed these Indians will (as indeed it came to pass) eventually demand to be their own rulers.

In the early years she suffered all kinds of derision. She was ridiculed as 'the tree woman' by those blinded by their financial interest in turning all lands into money regardless of the impact on the people, environment and the future of our cities and countries as a whole. Africa's governing elite from Independence up to now are dominated by ideas of 'modernisation' which ideologically they mean not just industrialisation, agricultural mechanisation and building of cities but also cultural westernisation: the aping of everything western especially western habits of crass materialism. Even when conscious groups in the West have woken up to the dangers that such a life style posed to their long-term existence and that of humanity our development planners are still stuck at classical modernisation at all cost. Thus people like Wangari who dared to raise environmental concerns were seen as enemies of progress and development. The state murder of Writer and environmental activist, Ken Saro Wiwa and his 8 other colleagues by Abacha in Nigeria is a demonstration of how dangerous being an environmentalist is in Africa. Wangari's tree planting forced her on collision course against powerful vested interests of private land lords, land grabbers in government and their business friends, big local companies (often owned by powerful politicians or controlled by their cronies) and multinational corporations all united around profiting and profiteering from Land regardless of the impact on people and environment. But she became a champion of the urban poor in their ghettoes and slums and rural masses and their insecure and constantly threatened tenure of smallholdings.

From Tree planting she moved on to Land reform, town and country planning issues, rights of users, demands for open green spaces for the public, preservation of historic and heritage sites, etc. In all these fronts Wangari and her growing supporters found bureaucratic obstacles and official hostility. It became clear that the freedom to plant trees and the right of poor people to decent housing and farmers' right to grow crops they like on lands handed down from generation to generation are directly related to the quality of governance, its legitimacy and its respect for its peoples. Tree planting like the right to clean drinking water or education and health services were intricately linked to democratic rights of the whole country. Environment like all issues that concern human beings are about power and politics. She and her constituencies became part of the political activism against the corruption and autocracy of the Moi/KANU power structure. But even in the opposition alliance, which finally defeated KANU Wangari Mathai, remains a difficult partner because she was not willing to sacrifice her environmental concerns to the powers that be. Even though she is now a minister in government that position has not hindered her and she remains one of few Ministers in the NARC government that is still regarded as being true to their convictions. For many it did not take them long to abandon their principles in favour of their new comforts and privileges of office.

By this honour Wangari has shown that you do not have to sell your soul in order to be successful in politics. As many had rightly pointed out her Nobel Laureate is also a positive celebration of the African Woman, Salt of the earth, the solid foundation of our communities and societies whose labour remains largely unpaid for and often unrecognised. But above all else it is an inspiration to all those who still value principles and selfless commitment to public good.

Congratulations, Mama Wangari.

* Dr Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem is General-Secretary of the Pan African Movement, Kampala (Uganda) and Co-Director of Justice Africa

Comparing Darfur to Uganda and DRC

Joe Ochogwu

2004-10-14

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/25080

Darfur article: One of the most progressive views I have come across

Zaki El-Salahi

2004-10-14

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/25078

Genocide, debate of the era?

Floris Beta

2004-10-14

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/25079

Peace in Environment

Kioi wa Mbugua Fulbright Fellow, The Fund for Peace Washington DC

2004-10-14

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/25095

Upbeat mood in Washington News of Prof. Wangari Maathai's award of the Nobel Peace Prize has instantly raised the face of Kenya in the international community. Everyone here is happy with the decision of the Noble Committee in Oslo. It is important for Kenyans to reflect on this award and what it means for Kenya. Wangari has become the first African woman to win the coveted peace prize. Kenya now ranks second to South Africa in the journey of peace. The first peace prize in Africa was bagged by Chief Albert Luthuli in 1964. Wangari not only stood up fiercely against the irrational leadership of president Moi but also raised the profile of the Kenyan woman. In 1992 she tried unsuccessfully to unite the opposition even as backed Jaramogi Oginga Odinga against the will of her tribe mates. The culturally cursing women public nudity that involved Koigi's mother was reminiscent of Mary Nyanjiru's removal of her skirt to give cowardly men who refused to storm the Nairobi police station to release Harry Thuku in 1922. It is in line with Kikuyu protest tradition that saw Waiyaki wa Hinga burried alive near Kibwezi rather than succumb to humiliation by a colonial officer in Dagoretti,a Mr. Purkiss.

Wangari is an ambitious woman. She vied for presidency in 1997 not so much because she had any chances but because she never wanted Charity Ngilu to take another first from her by being the first woman presidential candidate in Kenya. This nobel prize has raised Kenya's visibility abroad. It can have an impact in tourism and giving a general clean bill of health to the new leadership in Kenya. It should be given the right interpretation and place in the Kenyan psyche so that it can inspire the right attitudes and behavior in society. I admire the way South Africans would have used such an occassion to make a national celebration. This is because it has a healing potential for the nation. I would be optimistic to believe that this award will inspire women and men to strive for hard earned recognition rather than mediocre short cut (corruption) based elevation that have propelled some leaders in Kenya.

There are many more women in Africa who would give Wangari a run for her money. In Kenya alone there is the renowned women educationist Dr. Eddah Gachukia, in Tanzania we have Mrs. Getrude Mongella, now Chairman of AU parliament and UN boss Anna Tibaijuka, in Uganda we have legislators Winnie Byanyima and S. Kazibwe. We can't forget the late Rwandese Prime Minister, Agatha Uwilingiyimana and first woman president Ruth Sando Pere of Sierra Leone and Sirleaf Johnson, a 1997 presidential contender in Liberia. We can't also forget Winnie Madikizela Mandela and Graca Machel Mandela. Wangari has opened the way for honoring more African women honors. Hongera!

Information and Communication Technologies for Development in Africa

Edited by Tina James

2004-10-14

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/books/25178

In 1997, IDRC launched its Acacia initiative in an effort to empower African communities with the ability to apply new information and communication technologies, or ICTs, to their own social and economic development. Now, 7 years later, the Acacia initiative presents this unique and groundbreaking three-volume collection of original research on this important and timely issue. This volume documents the processes used, and institutions created, to bring computers and connectivity into schools, as a means of enhancing the use and integration of ICTs in teaching and learning. Information and Communication Technologies for Development in Africa. Volume 3 Networking Institutions of Learning – SchoolNet. Edited by Tina James, Published September 2004 ; 294 pages; tables, illustrations. ISBN 2-86978-117-2 (CODESRIA) ISBN 1-55250-008-X (IDRC).

Kenya: Kenya - The Top 100 people

2004-10-14

http://www.africaintelligence.com/dossiers/aif/dos_aif_gp_HKE.asp?PUB=HKE&edition=

The third edition of "Kenya - The Top 100 People" looks at the power handover to current President Mwai Kibaki, through exclusive biographies on the former and current President and other influential people who currently hold the true keys to power. This book reveals the personalities of the new president's inner circle of power, the young members of civil society who joined the new government, rising Kikuyu businessmen, the new heads of State companies and the regime's new security bosses. In addition to government officials, The Top 100 People discloses who are the men and women who really count in Kenya.

Not yet a force for freedom: the African Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa

Equality Now, FEMNET, CREDO, Fahamu, Oxfam

2004-10-14

http://www.pambazuka.org/petition/

The pan-African campaign to mobilise support for the ratification of the protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the rights of women in Africa has published a pamphlet based on the special issue of Pambazuka News 162 of 24 June 2004 entitled 'Unfinished business - African leaders must act now to ratify the protocol on the rights of women". Copies available from participant organisations.

Burkina Faso: Activism Clashes With Tradition

2004-10-14

http://ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=25793

Scarcely after about 700 delegates gathered in Kenya last month to discuss ways of eradicating female genital mutilation (FGM) in Africa, a court case in Burkina Faso provided a striking illustration of the gulf between activism and reality in the matter of FGM. On Sep. 21, Adama Barry was sentenced to a maximum jail term of three years for having mutilated sixteen girls on Aug. 15 (FGM is banned in Burkina Faso). Prior to the trial, she had received four other prison sentences of between four and six months for carrying out circumcisions.

Great Lakes: Leaders urged to implement affirmative action for women

2004-10-14

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=43615

Women representatives from Africa's Great Lakes region have urged their heads of state and government to implement an affirmative-action policy to ensure that half of all members of decision-making bodies are women, as set out by the African Union (AU), at all decision-making levels. This was included in a 15-point declaration the representatives made on Saturday in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, at the end of a three-day women's regional meeting.

Uganda: Menstruation as a barrier to gender equality in Uganda

2004-10-14

http://www.id21.org/insights/insights-ed03/insights-issed03-art03.html

Puberty can have a severe effect on girls' performance and attendance in upper primary schools in Uganda. In many schools, girls are absent for an average of three to five days a month because they do not have access to adequate protection such as sanitary towels or pads. For some subjects, the result of such regular absenteeism can be devastating as girls miss out on vital stages of the syllabus, resulting in gaps in the learning stages, which they find hard to catch up on later.

Africa/Global: "War on Terror" is no justification for executions

2004-10-14

http://www.hrea.org/lists/hr-headlines/markup/msg01959.html

The "War on Terror" must not be used to justify reversing progress on the abolition of the death penalty, Amnesty International's Irene Khan said as more than 90 countries prepared to mark the World Day against the Death Penalty this Sunday. "Human rights are for the best of us and the worst of us. Human rights are for the guilty as much as the innocent. That is why the death penalty must be abolished world-wide," said Irene Khan. For a copy of Irene Khan's speech to the Second World Congress against the Death Penalty http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engact500172004

Algeria: African anti-terror centre opens

2004-10-14

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3739754.stm

The African Union has opened in Algeria a regional research centre aimed at combating terrorism on the continent. AU commission chairman Alpha Oumar Konanre said the centre in the capital Algiers would beef up AU member states' collective efforts to fight terrorism. Mr Konare also said the AU was working with international institutions to eradicate "a universal threat". AU delegates are also holding talks in Algiers, which has itself been the focus of attacks by militant Islamists.

Nigeria: Nigerian court condemns women to death by stoning

2004-10-14

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/africa/10/12/stoning.reut/index.html

Islamic courts in Nigeria sentenced two women to death by stoning for having sex out of wedlock, but two men whom they said they slept with were acquitted for lack of evidence, authorities said Tuesday. Both sentences, which were passed within the last month in the northern state of Bauchi, have to be confirmed by the state governor before being carried out, and they are open to appeal.

Zimbabwe: NGOs draw up a code of ethics

2004-10-14

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=43600

Zimbabwean NGOs have adopted a code of ethics ahead of a controversial new law threatening them with closure for maladministration and political activism. The code, which deals with accountability, transparency and good governance, was adopted at a three-day exhibition last week in the capital, Harare, which showcased the work of the NGO sector in health and social service delivery.

Burundi/DRC: Refugees stranded in no man's land

2004-10-14

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=43602

At least 1,000 Congolese Tutsi refugees, mostly women and children, have been stuck on the Burundi border with Democratic Republic the Congo (DRC) since the middle of last week, waiting on authorities in the Congo to let them back in. "Not a single organisation, either in Congo or Burundi had assisted us until [Monday]," Boniface Rukumbuzi, one of the refugees, told reporters. The only help had come from friends or other Congolese Tutsis living in Burundi, he said.

DRC: 1,618 refugees gain entry back home

2004-10-14

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=43631

The 1,618 Congolese-Tutsi refugees who massed at a border crossing between Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since mid-last week were taken to a site in the centre of Uvira on Tuesday, despite strong opposition to their return home, South Kivu Province Deputy Governor Didas Kaningingi told IRIN. "Everything went well," he said from Bukavu, capital of South Kivu. "We have transferred all 1,618 registered refugees without incident and hope that the humanitarian bodies will now take care of them."

Morocco/Algeria: Morocco urges Algeria to allow UNHCR fulfil duly its mandate in Tindouf camps

2004-10-14

http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/041008/2004100823.html

Morocco has urged Algeria to allow the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) "fulfil duly its mandate in (Tindouf) camps," and voiced "support" to carry on the visit exchange program between families in the camps and their families in southern Morocco. Families in Tindouf (southern Algeria) and their relatives in southern Morocco have been separated for almost three decades because of the conflict between Morocco and the Algeria-backed Polisario separatists that are claiming the secession of Morocco's southern provinces known as the Sahara.

Cameroon: Biya leads in vote count, government says

2004-10-14

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=43639

President Paul Biya's early lead in Cameroon's presidential election has not come as a surprise. Biya has ruled Cameroon for the past 22 years and opposition parties have accused him of resorting to massive fraud in order to win a further seven-year term. While only 4.6 million of Cameroon's 16 million population made it onto the electoral roll on Monday, there have been numerous reports of individuals casting several votes each.

Cameroon: CDD Election Brief Cameroon Presidential election 2004

2004-10-14

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/elections/25092

The Centre for Democracy and Development has published a Cameroon election brief which outlines the current Cameroon political situation and how the October 11 presidential election in Cameroon is a foregone conclusion. President Paul Biya - incumbent since 1982 - will be elected to serve another seven-year term, probably by a substantial majority. Further, this brief compares the different political parties and their prospective leaders.
The outcome of the October 11 presidential election in Cameroon is a foregone conclusion. President Paul Biya - incumbent since 1982 - will be elected to serve another seven-year term, probably by a substantial majority. Although the ruling Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (RDPC/CPDM) is unlikely to resort to the levels of electoral fraud that have marred previous elections in Cameroon (it may not need to), the inevitability and likely scale of Biya's victory is the latest indication of serious deficiencies at the heart of Cameroon's democratic dispensation.

At the centre of these deficiencies is the ongoing and overwhelming political strength of the RDPC. In power for two decades, the ruling party has recovered from its brush with defeat in Cameroon's first multiparty elections in 1992 and has reasserted itself as the only truly national party. Despite significant if still limited institutional reforms in the 1990s, the RDPC maintains exclusive control of the state apparatus, including - crucially - the electoral machinery, the principal avenues of economic accumulation, and a privileged presence at the level of local and regional administration. It has even succeeded in extending its electoral base into regions hitherto considered beyond its natural core in the Béti-dominated Centre Province, if only through a politically-convenient alliance with the northern-based National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP) and increasingly shrill interventions on behalf of autochthonous communities in disputes with 'stranger' groups.

The opposition, by contrast, appears increasingly divided and demoralised. Having nearly displaced the incumbent regime in 1992 on the back of broad-based popular support for democratic liberalisation and institutional reform, opposition parties have seen their electoral fortunes diminish and their electoral bases contract, to the point where they now represent little more than the ethnic or regional constituencies of their leaderships. Efforts to create a united front in opposition to the regime have consistently failed, most often because of the inability of party leaders to sacrifice personal or party ambitions for the sake of collective objectives.

The effective disintegration of this year's opposition alliance, the Coalition for National Reconciliation and Reconstruction (CRRN), is a case in point. Having previously promised to abide by the Coalition's selection for the 'unity' candidate it would present at the presidential poll, Cameroon's largest opposition party - the Social Democratic Front (SDF) - announced that it would field its own candidate after the selection committee rejected SDF leader John Fru Ndi's candidature. There is good reason to believe that had the victorious CRRN candidate - Adamou Ndam Njoya - suffered Fru Ndi's fate, he too would have withdrawn his party, the Cameroon Democratic Union (UDC). Days after the SDF's withdrawal, Antar Gassagay of the Union for the Republic (UPR) announced his party's defection to the so-called 'presidential majority', bemoaning the 'selfishness' of opposition leaders.

The effects of internal party wranglings and disputes over the opposition leadership are massive and cumulative. Not only do they divide the opposition vote (thereby depriving the electorate a credible alternative to the incumbent), they undermine the credibility of opposition claims to desire more accountable governance and divert election campaigning away from key issues. Indeed, this year's campaign (kept short by the regime to prevent early opposition mobilisation) has been characterised by a distinct absence of political debate. The ideological vitality that energised and united the opposition in the early 1990s has dissipated. Indeed, the only reform issue that made it into the CRRN's election campaign - the computerisation of the electoral register - was effectively dropped in September after it failed to attract significant support at unevenly attended opposition rallies. The murder of a local SDF activist in South West Province, allegedly by the RDPC MP, offered better electoral mileage, but beyond well-attended demonstrations in the regional capital, Bamenda, the SDF has been unable to make the necessary connection between the killing and the perceived human rights abuses of the RDPC regime. Meanwhile, the issues that consumed political discourse in the 1990s have been gratefully sidelined by the regime: the 1996 constitution is yet to be fully implemented; the decentralisation process has stalled; the National Election Observatory sits unreformed; and the electoral process remains the effective domain of a government department, the Ministry of Territorial Administration. In such a context, popular disillusionment with the electoral process (only 12 years after the restoration of a multiparty system) should come as no surprise. Levels of electoral registration have been low - partly because of government obstructions, but also because voting no longer seems to offer the possibility of improved living conditions and enhanced liberties. With access to public amenities heading a long list of public grievances, the active electorate appears to have adopted a 'better the devil you know' attitude, which - along with the expected low turnout at next Monday's poll - will doubtless serve the regime well. The ease with which President Biya will win next week's supposedly competitive election should be a source of significant concern for those interested in the efflorescence of a genuine democratic culture in Cameroon and across the sub-region. Although immensely dis­heartening, the election will also serve notice that Cameroon is about to enter a critical juncture. Biya's forthcoming term will almost certainly be his last, raising key questions about the unresolved succession and the parameters of the post-Biya dispensation. Of course, there is every prospect that the next regime will be very similar to its predecessor. However, there are a number of reasons to believe that an alternative is possible and achievable and the effort of the young radicals in TFF led by Dr Chris Fomunyoh has been noteworthy in this regard.

Yet, Biya's long-predicted retirement will inevitably create a rupture at the heart of the RPDC: an increasingly vocal reformist wing has already stepped up its campaign to excise the old guard and to institute an internal democratisation of the party. Whilst there is no guarantee of success in this project, the vulnerability that such a challenge would entail could create new opportunities for opposition parties to reconnect with the electorate, especially if - as expected - the current generation of opposition leaders finally withdraw from the political scene. The entrenched nature of popular grievances in Cameroon - from disgust at obscene levels of corruption to fears of regional marginalisation - are such that they will always throw up individuals and groups who desire a renegotiation of their position within the prevailing system. The central question is how these endeavours and aspirations can be best identified, harnessed and articulated, if only to take advantage of Cameroon's undoubted but long undermined potential for stability, political freedom and prosperity. This election will fall far short of responding to this central challenge.

MAJOR POLITICAL PARTIES AND PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES CAMEROON PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT (RDPC/CPDM)

Founded in March 1985 as a direct replacement for the Cameroon National Union (CNU) created by Ahmadou Ahidjo, the RDPC draws its greatest support from the Béti population of Centre Province - President Biya's own constituency. However, to a far greater extent than any other party, the RDPC also has a national following and presence: in the 2002 legislative elections it won a majority of seats in all but one of Cameroon's ten provinces. The province that evaded it was North-West - the heartland of the SDF leadership. The RDPC remains committed to current constitutional arrangements and recognises President Biya as its 'natural candidate' at this year's presidential election. Although the RDPC's fortunes have become intimately connected to Biya, there is an emerging reformist faction within the party that may become an increasingly prominent force in the coming term.

President Paul Biya Paul Biya came to power in 1982 following the sudden resignation of President Ahmadou Ahidjo. Although the latter's anointed successor, Biya suffered an early challenge to his presidency from his predecessor, which only faded following Ahidjo's resignation from the UNC presidency and his move into exile. Since that time, Biya has succeeded in making the presidency his personal preserve. A wily politician and masterful tactician, Biya has proved adept at manipulating and dividing opposition to his rule. A religious and intensely private man, Biya relies on a coterie of allies - drawn mostly from his Béti ethnic group - and the ongoing support of the French government, which regards him as a key ally in the effort to preserve French influence in the sub-region.

COALITION FOR NATIONAL RECONCILIATION AND RECONSTRUCTION The CRRN was formed in 2003 following high level negotiations between Cameroon's two largest opposition parties - the Social Democratic Front (SDF) and the Cameroon Democratic Union (UDC). Under an agreement signed by the parties' leaders - John Fru Ndi and Adamou Ndam Njoya - the Coalition agreed to present a common candidate at the 2004 presidential election and succeeding in attracting several smaller parties into its membership. Despite efforts to reach an equitable agreement on the selection of a candidate, the SDF withdrew in September 2004 after the selection committee ruled out Fru Ndi's candidature on the basis of a number of agreed criteria. The withdrawal of the SDF appears to have put paid to the electoral prospects of its candidate, Ndam Njoya, whose electoral base scarcely extends beyond Foumban.

Adamou Ndam Njoya (Cameroon Democratic Union - UDC)

A cousin of the Sultan of Foumban, Adamou Ndam Njoya enjoys a unique reputation for probity and integrity amongst Cameroon's opposition leaders. However, this reputation has been preserved at the cost of a certain detachment from the mainstream of Cameroonian politics. This detachment has not dulled his political ambition, however, and it was always likely that he would challenge Fru Ndi for leadership of the CRRN. Although one of the principal criteria for selection as the Coalition's candidate was the nominee's national profile, Ndam Njoya is less well-known than Fru Ndi and has in the past struggled to convince voters of his capacity to operate successfully at a national level.

SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC FRONT (SDF)

Arguably Cameroon's largest opposition party, the SDF was founded in 1991 by John Fru Ndi, an Anglophone businessman from Bamenda (North-West Province). Drawing its core support from the Anglophone and Bamiléké communities of western Cameroon, the SDF has consistently petitioned for redress of the perceived marginalisation of Anglophone and western populations and the reconstruction of the two-state federal system abolished by President Ahidjo in 1972. The SDF is one of the few parties to have resisted co-optation by the regime. However, it has not avoided the customary pitfalls faced by the Cameroonian opposition - namely increasing fractionalisation and diminishing popular support outside its heartland. Fru Ndi's sometime unpredictable has caused problems for the party, most recently in the aftermath of the 2002 legislative election when Fru Ndi overruled the National Executive Committee's decision to boycott the National Assembly.

John Fru Ndi John Fru Ndi is the most prominent leader in Anglophone politics and arguably the most significant opposition politician in Cameroon. Fru Ndi's foundation of the SDF in 1990 is rightly regarded as a key moment in Cameroon's recent history - an event that continues to enhance his stature despite repeated election defeats and the apparent decline of support for the SDF outside its North-Western heartland. Fru Ndi is regularly attacked by members of his own party for his 'clannish' and authoritarian style of party management and regularly belittled by the regime for his inability to converse in French, Cameroon's majority language.

OTHER PARTIES
PROGRESSIVE MOVEMENT (MP): Jean-Jacques Ekindi
MOVEMENT FOR DEMOCRACY AND INTERDEPENDENCE (MDI): Djeukam Tchameni
MANIDEM: Anicet Ekané
SOCIAL MOVEMENT FOR DEMOCRACY (MSD): Yondo Mandengue Black
ALLIANCE FOR DEMOCRACY AND DEVELOPMENT: Garga Haman Adji
UNION OF DEMOCRATIC FORCES IN CAMEROON (UFDC): Victorin Hameni Bieleu
UNION OF AFRICAN POPULATIONS (UPA): Hubert Kamgang
CAMEROON INTEGRAL DEMOCRACY (DIC): Gustave Essaka
JUSTICE AND DEVELOPMENT PARTY (JDP): Boniface Forbin
SOCIAL LIBERAL PARTY (SLP): George Nyamndi
MOVEMENT OF CAMEROONIAN ECOLOGISTS: Fritz Pierre Ngo
PARTY OF SOCIAL DEMOCRACY (PDS): Jean-Michel Tekam
NATIONALISM OF CAMEROONIAN PATRIOTS (NPC): Justin Mouafo

POLITICAL HISTORY
1960 1 January Proclamation of Independence

1960 5 May Election of Ahmadou Ahidjo as President
Ahidjo was subsequently re-elected unchallenged in 1965, 1970, 1975 and 1980

1961 11/12 February Referendum finds in favour Southern Cameroon membership
The year following independence in French Cameroon, a referendum was held in British Cameroon to determine whether the Anglophone territory should be incorporate into the newly-independent Republic of Cameroon or into Anglophone Nigeria. Whilst the northern province voted for membership of the Nigerian federation, the southern province voted for membership of Cameroon, becoming West Cameroon in the two-state federal system.

1961 14 August Federal Constitution adopted
Under the two-state federal constitution, President Ahidjo retained his position as head of state. West Cameroon Prime Minister John Ngu Foncha was appointed Vice-President.

1966 1 September Creation of the Cameroon National Union (UNC)
Deploying the substantial powers reserved for him under the federal constitution, President Ahidjo pursued an aggressive political strategy designed to undermine opposition to his tenure, particularly from western Anglophone parties. In 1966, this strategy culminated in the creation of the UNC, which under law incorporated all other political parties.

1972 20 May Referendum finds in favour of unitary state
In Ahidjo's state-building strategy, the counterpoint to the creation of the UNC was the dismantling of the federal system. The co-optation or suppression of opposition to Ahidjo's programme had been so effective that few were in a position to oppose the proposals and the referendum passed by a near unanimous majority.

1973 18 May National Assembly elections Single-party (UNC) legislative elections were also held in 1978 and 1983.

1975 30 June Appointment of Paul Biya as Prime Minister

1982 4 November Resignation of President Ahidjo
After a year of serious illness and apparent exhaustion, Ahidjo made the surprise announcement of his intention to resign as President in favour of his prime minister, Paul Biya. Ahidjo retained the UNC presidency, however, and was expected to remain a significant force in Cameroonian politics.

1982 6 November Paul Biya succeeds as President
Despite initial opposition to his succession from the northern barons that backed Ahidjo, Biya's takeover was remarkably smooth, although his control of the party-state was limited by Ahidjo's ongoing control of the UNC.

1983 22 August Discovery of a coup plot implicating Ahmadou Ahidjo
Following the emergence of serious tensions between the new president and predecessor, the Biya regime announced that it had uncovered a coup plot involving northern interests and implicating Ahidjo, who had apparently recovered both his health and his political ambition.

1983 27 August Ahmadou Ahidjo resigns from presidency of the UNC
Under pressure from the Biya regime, Ahidjo was forced to give up the presidency of the UNC and to enter into exile. In 1984, he was sentenced to death in absentia for plotting against the security of the state.

1983 14 September Paul Biya elected president of the UNC

1984 14 January Paul Biya elected as President

1985 21-24 March Foundation of the Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (RDPC)
To consolidate his political authority after the delayed trauma of the succession, Biya rejuvenated the structures of the party, promising reform and replacing the UNC with the RDPC, a party that would draw its greatest support from the southern Béti, a group long opposed to the domination of Ahidjo's northern Fulani constituency.

1988 24 April Re-election of President Biya

1991 5 December Restoration of the multiparty system
Although President Biya had based his authority on a commitment to reform, these promises proved largely hollow. Combined with changing international conditions and protracted economic decline, the lack of genuine political liberalisation prompted the emergence of new oppositionist tendencies, including organisations and proto-parties comprised of marginalized ethnic and regional communities. The foundation of the Anglophone-dominated Social Democratic Front (SDF) in 1990 and the large-scale defections of senior RDPC figures to opposition groups forced the regime to legalise opposition parties, if only to avoid a further breakdown of the social and political order presaged by often violent demonstrations in support of democratisation.

1992 1 March National Assembly multiparty elections
Although the regime successfully resisted calls for a sovereign national conference, it acceded to demands for fresh elections. Such a concession was not sufficient for the SDF, which boycotted the polls. Nevertheless, an opposition party - the northern-based National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP) - won 68 seats to the RDPC's 88, raising hopes of the gradual evolution of a competitive system of electoral democracy.

1992 11 October Re-election of President Biya in multiparty poll
The presidential poll was always likely to be controversial, and indeed it was. The opposition alleged widespread fraud after Paul Biya was found to have won by a small margin with 39.9% to SDF leader John Fru Ndi's 35.9%. Demonstrations in North-West Province were violently suppressed.

1996 18 January New Constitution adopted by National Assembly
Negotiations over a new constitution had begun in 1992 under the aegis of Tripartite Technical Committee. However, whilst the regime was prepared to accept the need for dialogue, in practice it sought to limit the input of the opposition and of Anglophone interests in particular. Anglophone appointees to the Committee were in a minority and were further sidelined by government representatives. As a result, the final document retained the unitary character of the state, protected the powers and prerogatives of the president and made it far easier for incumbent regimes to make subsequent constitutional revisions. It also provided for the creation of an upper house, the Senate, 30% of whose members would be appointed.

1996 21 January Municipal elections
The first multiparty local elections were won by the RDPC, which gained control of 65% of communes.

1997 17 May National Assembly election, followed by by-elections on 3 August
In the second legislative election of the multiparty era, the RDPC won 116 out of 180 seats.

1997 12 October Re-election of President Biya
Having come close to losing the first multiparty presidential election in 1992, Biya's easy victory - aided by officially sanctioned fraud and a boycott by the SDF - came as a welcome relief.

1997 7 December Formation of government including opposition parties Following the election victory of 1997, the regime announced the formation of a government including members of the opposition, most notably Bello Bouba Maigari, the leader of the National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP). The co-optation of opposition figures.

2000 6/7 December Enactment of laws on party financing and national election observatory

2002 National Assembly election
In 2002, the RDPC won 149 of 180 seats in the National Assembly and a majority of seats in nine out of ten provinces. The SDF representation was reduced to 22 seats - all in North-West Province. Although there were some reports of electoral fraud, there is some doubt as to whether a more transparent poll would have resulted in a significantly different outcome.

More...

Ivory Coast: Ivory Coast reform must go to referendum-president

2004-10-14

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/GRA278646.htm

Ivory Coast's President Laurent Gbagbo has said that rules on who is eligible to become head of state will be decided by referendum and only after rebels start disarming. An amendment to permit presidential candidates born of one instead of two parents of Ivorian origin would allow Alassane Ouattara, a former top International Monetary Fund official and arch-rival of Gbagbo who is popular in the rebel-held north of the country, to stand for president in elections scheduled for 2005.

Mauritania: Government arrests mastermind behind coup plots

2004-10-14

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=43637

The Mauritanian government has arrested Saleh Ould Hanenna, the mastermind of last year's military uprising against President Maaouiya Ould Taya, who had been on the run for 16 months. Ould Hanenna was the mastermind of a failed coup attempt on 8 June 2003 which led to two days of heavy fighting in the capital Nouakchott before forces loyal to Ould Taya regained control.

Mozambique: Observers excluded from final vote count

2004-10-14

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=43633

Mozambique's National Elections Commission (CNE) on Tuesday said a decision to exclude election observers from the final vote tallies would not cast doubt over December's poll results. The CNE announced on Monday that international observer missions would be excluded from the final provincial and national poll count, stating that the decision was "in line with the electoral laws". This has sparked concern that the move could compromise the legitimacy of the general elections.

Somalia: Somali enclave voices hostility to new president

2004-10-14

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/109758907157.htm

Somalia's most stable region, the breakaway Somaliland enclave, expressed opposition on Tuesday to new Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf, underscoring its hostility to a man long seen as the territory's arch foe. The Somaliland government warned Yusuf, a warlord elected head of state on October 10th by lawmakers at peace talks held in Kenya, against any attempted aggression and said it was on alert against any move to reunite Somaliland with the rest of Somalia.

Zimbabwe: ZANU-PF wins second by-election by default

2004-10-14

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=43604

Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF party has claimed victory in a weekend by-election after the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) failed to field candidates for the local poll. ZANU-PF retained the Masvingo district parliamentary seat in southern Zimbabwe, which fell vacant after the death last month of 69-year-old Eddison Zvobgo, a founding member of ZANU-PF. The ruling party now holds 98 of 150 seats in parliament, two short of the two-thirds majority that would allow it to amend the constitution.

Africa/Global: Transparency International's Integrity Awards

2004-10-14

http://www.transparency.org/pressreleases_archive/2004/2004.10.08.ia_winners.html

Dr Milica Bisic from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), who took on entrenched interests to stamp out tax evasion in Republika Srpska, BiH, and whistleblowers who brought to light the Goldenberg scandal in Kenya, were the winners of the TI Integrity Awards. David Munyakei, a clerk at the Central Bank of Kenya, provided MPs with documents revealing illegal transactions with Goldenberg International. Constable Naftali Lagat refused to obey Kenya's Director of Criminal Investigations' demand that he release to a director of Goldenberg International smuggled gold he had intercepted at Kenya's Wilson Airport.

Africa: UN Survey:Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Swaziland Govts Rate Poorly

2004-10-14

http://admin.corisweb.org/index.php?fuseaction=news.view&id=115436&src=dcn

Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya and Swaziland have ranked last for the way their governments run public affairs in a U.N. survey of 28 African countries that was released Tuesday. The four countries fell short on corruption , political representation, economic management and respect for human rights, said the survey by the U.N.'s Economic Commission for Africa. Cameroon, Angola, Kenya and Nigeria are ranked as the most corrupt of the 28 countries surveyed.

Equatorial Guinea/Global: New Archer link to coup plot alleged

2004-10-14

http://www.guardian.co.uk/equatorialguinea/story/0,15013,1326040,00.html

New evidence has emerged linking Jeffrey Archer to the alleged conspirators behind the attempted coup in Equatorial Guinea. A lawyer for the Equatorial Guinea government said in London Tuesday that telephone records showed four calls between the homes of one of the alleged financiers behind the plot, London-based Lebanese businessman Ely Calil, and Lord Archer in the run-up to the coup attempt in March. Another alleged plotter, businessman Greg Wales, also made five calls to Sir Mark Thatcher in the days after the failed coup.

Kenya: Kibaki, War on corruption cannot be won in a day

2004-10-14

http://admin.corisweb.org/index.php?fuseaction=news.view&id=115433&src=dcn

Kenya's war on graft came under the spotlight yesterday at a meeting of anti-corruption experts, with President Kibaki asking to be judged fairly. Saying he was personally in charge of the war on graft, the President said he had not wavered and would live true to his promise of zero-tolerance to corruption. But he pleaded for more time, explaining that fighting corruption was not simple. Soon after the President left, anti-corruption experts made a strong case for the immediate sacking of Cabinet ministers and top government officials implicated in corruption.

South Africa: South Africa arms case may hurt Mbeki's deputy

2004-10-14

http://admin.corisweb.org/index.php?fuseaction=news.view&id=115415&src=dcn

The race to succeed South African President Thabo Mbeki began unofficially yesterday with the opening in Durban of a high-profile corruption case. Mr Mbeki, re-elected to a second term in April, is not due to step down until 2009. But the integrity of Jacob Zuma, his deputy and most likely successor, will be in the spotlight as Schabir Shaik, Mr Zuma's former financial adviser, is tried for corruption, fraud and theft linked to a big arms deal.

Zambia: Zambia's Chiluba denies corruption charges

2004-10-14

http://admin.corisweb.org/index.php?fuseaction=news.view&id=115420&src=dcn

A new corruption case began on Monday in Lusaka, charging Zambia's former president Frederick Chiluba with siphoning off $488 000 (about R3-million) when he ruled the southern African country between 1991 and 2001. In the latest case, Chiluba and his two co-defendants are accused of spiriting away a total of one million dollars. The two businessmen face nine counts out of which six also involve Chiluba.

Africa/UK: War on Want Campaign vs. UK Government

2004-10-14

http://www.waronwant.org/?lid=8740

The UK government is giving away millions of pounds from the UK aid budget to privatisation consultants engaged to 'advise' developing countries on handing over their public services to the private sector, according to a new report from anti-poverty charity War on Want. The report - Profiting from Poverty: Privatisation consultants, DFID and public services - reveals how consultancy firms such as Pricewaterhouse Coopers, KPMG and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu have all won vast sums in 'aid-funded business' to direct the privatisation of water, rail, electricity and postal services in developing countries. Since 1997, the Department for International Development (DFID) has also paid over £34 million from the aid budget to Thatcherite think-tank the Adam Smith Institute. STOP PRESS: In response to the campaign by War on Want and other organisations, the UK government has just announced a public consultation on its policy of requiring developing countries to privatise their public services in return for UK aid. The consultation into aid conditionality is being run by the Department for International Development (DFID), and members of the public are invited to send in their responses by 30 November 2004. War on Want is calling on its supporters, partners and allies to respond to the consultation with a simple message: that UK aid must no longer be made conditional upon privatisation, trade liberalisation or any other macroeconomic conditions. More details on DFID website: www.dfid.gov.uk/consultations/

Africa: Africa needs a founding philosophy

2004-10-14

http://www.bday.co.za/bday/content/direct/1,3523,1725863-6096-0,00.html

Initiatives like the New Partnership for Africa's Development point towards neoliberalism as the guiding philosophy. Is neo-liberalism what is driving our renewal agenda? Do African intellectuals have consensus about its relevance for our continent? Are intellectuals committed to building a body of knowledge that supports this philosophy? Are African capitalists prepared to support this necessary research? While the African Renaissance represents moving Africa forward in terms of development, education, good governance etc, African Renaissance lacks a philosophical base to guide, lead and bring countries together.

Africa: How Africa's leaders keep the people poor

2004-10-14

http://www.zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=10359

President Thabo Mbeki's younger brother, Moeletsi Mbeki, deputy president of South Africa's Institute of International Affairs, made world headlines when he said Africans were better off under colonialism. Moeletsi criticises his brother's relationship with Zimbabwe's cruel ruler Robert Mugabe, and is unimpressed with his black economic empowerment programme, which he says creates a destructive "culture of entitlement" among blacks. Moeletsi also pointed out that, in the past 20 years, China has pulled 400 million of its citizens out of poverty, while Nigeria has pushed nine million into poverty!

Africa: Report shows African governance improving, calls to address weaknesses

2004-10-14

http://www.uneca.org/agr/

African governance is improving but significant challenges remain. That's the message of a summary report released by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). "Striving for Good Governance in Africa," an overview of the state of governance in 28 countries covering 72% of Africa's population, says that while African political governance is improving, on some fronts such as tax evasion and corruption, there is still a long way to go. It proposes a ten-point action plan for reversing Africa's governance deficits.

Africa: Experts explore rural impact of AIDS

2004-10-14

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=43635

Africa's cemeteries are "filled beyond capacity" because of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, Ethiopian President Girma Wolde-Giorgis told experts meeting in the capital, Addis Ababa, on Tuesday to discuss combating the spread of the virus. Opening a session of the Commission on HIV/AIDS and Governance in Africa (CHGA), Wolde-Giorgis said HIV/AIDS was fuelling "social decay" and "community breakdown" that threatened the very fabric of African society.

Ethiopia: Risk factors associated with failure of syndromic treatment of STDs

2004-10-14

http://sti.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/abstract/80/5/392

Researchers investigate risk factors associated with the failure of syndromic management of STDs among women seeking treatment in primary healthcare center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Of the 106 women enrolled and presenting with symptomatic STDs, 67% were HIV seropositive. Syndromic STD treatment did not result in clinical improvement in 30% of the women. Only genital ulcer disease was significantly associated with treatment failure. The association between HIV and genital ulcer disease caused by herpes may, therefore, be the reason for the failure of treatment.

Kenya: Kenya headed for polio free

2004-10-14

http://www.kbc.co.ke/story.asp?ID=25500

Kenya will soon be declared a polio free zone. Minister for Health Charity Ngilu says this follows the formulation of a taskforce on polio-virus laboratory containment. The Polio Taskforce would be charged with the responsibility of preparing the country for polio free certification and is also expected to provide a systematic national plan of action to minimize the risk of reintroduction of wild polioviruses from the laboratory.

Madagascar: UN completes huge measles drive in Madagascar

2004-10-14

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=14&click_id=117&art_id=qw1097494740321B243

United Nations workers and hundreds of volunteers have vaccinated more than seven million children in Madagascar against measles to prevent a potentially lethal outbreak on the giant Indian Ocean island. The month-long drive against the world's biggest vaccine-preventable killer saw trucks and planes delivering 10 million doses of the vaccine throughout the country, which is bigger than France.

Mozambique: Religious leaders tackle AIDS

2004-10-14

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=43612

In an unprecedented show of solidarity, 16 faith-based organisations in Mozambique have united to tackle the HIV/AIDS epidemic, coming up with a national action plan. Mohamad Yassine, coordinator of the World Conference of Religion for Peace (WCRP) in Mozambique has said that religious leaders could play a major role in tackling HIV/AIDS, as about 10 million of the country's 18 million people were members of an organised religion - from Christians and Muslims to those of the Bahai faith.

Nigeria: Nominate your heroes! Red Ribbon Awards on HIV/AIDS 2004 is here!

2004-10-14

http://www.nigeria-aids.org/redribbon.cfm

Do you know any person or organization, whose works or actions have helped to break the silence around HIV/AIDS in your community? Do you know any individual, organization or community-based intervention, whose impact has helped highlight the campaign against HIV-related stigma and discrimination? Do you know of any radio or television station that has shown outstanding commitment to coverage of HIV/AIDS and demonstrated accuracy, depth and innovative programming in its coverage? Here is your chance to help us select the most outstanding media and community responses to HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. Deadline for nominations: November 1, 2004

UGANDA: Free mosquito nets for children and pregnant women

2004-10-14

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=43614

The Ugandan Health Ministry is to start distributing free insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) to children under five years and pregnant women in two million households in an effort to fight malaria which kills between 70,000 to 100,000 people annually. The ministry's programme manager for malaria control, said the US $6 million that will be used in the exercise was secured from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and would buy an estimated 4.5 million ITNs in order to reduce the extent of malaria infestation in the country.

Zimbabwe: Global Fund rejects appeal, denies political bias

2004-10-14

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=43634

Zimbabwe's request for funding from the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria has again been rejected. Last week Zimbabwe appealed the Fund's earlier rejection of its HIV/AIDS and TB grant proposals and was also rejected. However, Mary Sandasi, the director of a local HIV/AIDS group, Women and AIDS Support Network, said she believed the Global Fund was "mixing issues" and had "a hidden agenda".

Africa: Reintegrating girls from fighting forces in Africa

2004-10-14

http://www.id21.org/insights/insights-ed03/insights-issed03-art06.html

Armed conflicts in Mozambique (1978-1992), in Sierra Leone (1991-2002) and still ongoing in Northern Uganda (since 1987) have displaced, killed and maimed millions. In each conflict thousands of boys and girls as young as seven were forcibly recruited into the fighting forces. The experience has affected many of them emotionally and physically, and deprived them of years of education. New research tackles the complex question of how best to reintegrate former girl soldiers back into society and education.

South Africa: Mpumalanga Schools Get R30m

2004-10-14

http://allafrica.com/stories/200410130165.html

Schools in Mpumalanga are set to benefit from a R30 million donation from BHP Billiton mining company yesterday, set to improve the quality of education in the province over a five-year period. The Mvelandzandivho, meaning knowledge creation, is a school development support project of the provincial department of education funded by the BHP Billiton Trust Fund to improve quality of teaching and learning.

Zambia: IMF's weak response to Global Campaign for Education report

2004-10-14

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/education/25175

Civil society "disappointed" with IMF's weak response to Global Campaign for Education report "Undervaluing Teachers: IMF policies squeeze Zambia's education system". The IMF's response asserts that they have placed no explicit limits placed on hiring of teachers or health workers. The Managing Director of the IMF, when asked by a journalist [Lucia Fry] on Saturday about the teacher shortage crisis in Zambia, admitted that he was not aware of the situation. But even a Zambian child could explain the problem. No teacher means no learning means no hope. Will they ever learn?
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 2 2004

Civil society "disappointed" with IMF's weak response to Global Campaign for Education report Undervaluing Teachers: IMF policies squeeze Zambia's education system The IMF's response asserts that they have placed no explicit limits placed on hiring of teachers or health workers. This is disengenuous. The PRGF target on the public sector wage bill made it inevitable that there would be an immediate and severe impact on Zambia's ability to both hire teachers and award pay rises. This ignores poverty reduction imperatives and political realities in Zambia.

The response then goes on to rehearse arguments about the need for Zambia to demonstrate fiscal discipline as a precursor for economic growth and poverty reduction. For the fund fiscal discipline means Zambia paying more back to the IMF this year than they spend on Education whilst teachers cannot be employed.

Fiscal discipline is critical but will not be achieved spending more on debt repayments to the IMF than on education. We believe that this merely strengthens the core argument of our paper which is that the MDGs are being de-prioritised by the IMF in Zambia. The Managing Director of the IMF, when asked by a journalist [Lucia Fry] on Saturday about the teacher shortage crisis in Zambia, admitted that he was not aware of the situation. But even a Zambian child could explain the problem. No teacher means no learning means no hope. Will they ever learn?

Lucia Fry and Max Lawson, Global Campaign for Education Spokespeople The GCE's report is available at:
http://www.oxfam.org/eng/pdfs/dc041001_undervaluing_teachers.pdf

More...

Zambia: New report reveals: Zambian children paying the price for IMF policies

2004-10-14

http://www.oxfam.org.uk

Washington, DC: While thousands of trained Zambian teachers sit unemployed and classes overflow with students, Zambia will shell out a staggering $156 million more on debt repayments that it will spend on education this year. These new figures are released today, October 1, in a ground-breaking by the Global Campaign for Education (GCE). The new report reveals how Zambian children are paying the price for IMF policies. Ludicrously, while schools are in desperate need of another 9000 teachers, 8-9,000 qualified teachers sit unemployed. Why? A budget ceiling on government spending imposed by the IMF means that the government is not able to employ the teachers and health workers it desperately needs.

The GCE report, "Undervaluing teachers: IMF policies squeeze Zambian education system" is co-authored with International agencies VSO and Oxfam. It calls upon the IMF and rich countries at today's G7 finance ministers meeting to announce 100% cancellation of multilateral debt owed by the world's poorest countries, funded in part by a revaluation of IMF gold stocks. Report co-author Max Lawson from Oxfam, said: "The IMF's priority is to be repaid at all costs, even at the expense of educating Zambian children. Meanwhile the IMF is sitting on billions of dollars worth of gold they neither need nor use." Co-author Lucia Fry from VSO said "Zambia shows us the need for a radical change in the way the IMF does its business.

IMF commitments to the Millennium Goals are tested in exactly these challenging circumstances and the fund is failing on all counts." In Zambia, one of the poorest countries in the world, more than 70% of the population live in poverty and one in five adults are infected with HIV/AIDS. Education should be the golden path to ending poverty and helping stop the spread of HIV, yet in 2004, the Zambian government will be forced to pay $377 million in debt repayments, and spend just $221 million education. Repayments to the IMF alone will amount to a massive $247 million, more than entire annual education budget.

Silas Silewu, Head Master at Maano Basic School in Lusaka says: "We have only 3 teachers, including me, to teach 526 pupils. The average class size is 70 pupils and each teacher has to teach two classes. To work effectively we need at least 12 teachers." The Dutch Government has now stepped in with a short-term emergency package to allow some of these 9000 teachers to be taken on. However this does not solve the long-term problem of how to finance much needed future increases in teacher numbers.

GCE Report recommendations:

- The IMF and G7 should today announce 100% cancellation of multilateral debt owed by the world's poorest countries, funded in part by a revaluation of IMF gold stocks.

- Rich countries should pledge $50bn extra in development aid annually to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), including the additional US$5.6bn needed to achieve universal basic education. Developed countries should set clear timetables to reach the agreed target of 0.7% of GNP spending on overseas development assistance by 2010.

- A fully independent review of the impact of economic policy conditionality should be conducted, including inflation targets and payroll ceilings, as countries move into the second round of Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers. The report demands due diligence of the IMF in ensuring all macroeconomic frameworks are the product of national discussion of different scenarios, based on independent Poverty and Social Impact Analysis (PSIA) linked to MDG needs.

- The IMF must be explicit in its communiqués that adequate numbers of trained teachers and health workers are vital to achieving the MDGs and resources must be found to pay them a living wage.

- Funding for basic education and other poverty reduction strategies must be delinked from the IMF's lending program.

- Rich countries must expand their commitment to direct budget support, pooled sector funding and predictable long-term financing through mechanisms such as the EFA Fast Track Initiative and the proposed International Financing Facility.

- Developing country governments should make poverty reduction and the attainment of the MDGs an explicit objective of macroeconomic policy with transparent and measurable indicators in the annual budget, and maximize expenditure on poverty reduction, including education and health

Namibia: Monitors subjected to hate speech at SWAPO rally

2004-10-14

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/racism/25120

Human rights defenders were subjected to hate speech and other forms of bigotry and incitement over the weekend at a SWAPO Party rally intended to introduce the party's new manifesto to the electorate. In this case, hate speech is public speech intended to hurt and intimidate or to incite violence or any other prejudicial action or hate crime against real or perceived political opponents.
October 11 2004
PRESS RELEASE

Human rights defenders were subjected to hate speech and other forms of bigotry and incitement over the weekend at a SWAPO Party rally intended to introduce the party's new manifesto to the electorate. In this case hate speech is public speech intended to hurt and intimidate or to incite violence or any other prejudicial action or hate crime against real or perceived political opponents. Whereas hate crime refers to a criminal act committed because of the perpetrator's hatred, bias or prejudice based on real or perceived political affiliation or opinion of the victims.

A monitoring team of two Eenhana-based human rights defenders was publicly referred to:

"Ava nee voku tu landula efimbo keshe have li ufana vati ovanhu voufemba wovanhu. Ova li peni hano fimbo loukoloni? Ovalodi veenghambe domahuvi onguloshi ovo. Omangungule, oikoko nomamwangha! Ohaa nangala peni hano opo tu a dipaelepo? (Meaning: These ones who are following us always, calling themselves human rights people. Where were they during the colonial period? They are riders of owls of the night! They are monsters, reptiles and bears. Where do they sleep so that we can go there and kill them?" said controversial SWAPO back-bencher and Higher Education Deputy Minister Hadino Hishongwa referring to NSHR's Ohangwena-beaurau chief Beata Hainyondo and a male colleague as they monitored the rally. The incident took place on October 9 2004 between 14h00 and 15h30 at Etomba village in the Ondobe Constituency, some 40 kilometers northwest of Eenhana, and the capital of the Ohangwena Region.

Two female SWAPO activists also incorrectly fingered Hainyondo and her colleagues as "agents" of the Opposition Congress of Democrats. Defense Minister Erkki Nghimtina, Ohangwena Regional Governor Billy Mwaningange and Regional Councilor Usko Nghaamwa also attended the rally.

"According to the Code of Conduct for Political Parties, speakers at political rallies may not incite violence or use any language likely to incite violence in any form against any other person or groups of persons. We will not be intimidated by anyone. They call us names or they can kill us or incite others to kill us, but they cannot kill our human rights message. We are here to stay. Their fear of human rights defenders is baseless and unfounded, as we are not a political party. Our mission is to help ensure that the upcoming elections are free and fair," said a defiant Ms. Hainyondo. NSHR warns against the use of hate speech in campaigns, which could lead to hate crimes.

"Owls are associated with witchcraft in many parts of the country. Over the last fourteen years there have been many incidents where mobs have killed people perceived to be witches. It is extremely dangerous and undemocratic to incite people in this fashion", said NSHR Chief Public Relations Officer Dorkas Nangolo-Phillemon this afternoon.

For further additional comment, please call Dorkas Nangolo-Phillemon at Tel: 061 236 183 or 061 253 447 (office hours)

More...

Rwanda: Government justifies civil society probe

2004-10-14

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=43629

Rwanda's government has dismissed a recent report by the European Union (EU) criticising it for backing a move to investigate and prosecute civil society organisations and individuals for allegedly having genocidal ideologies. "We cannot maintain silence on serious issues like genocide," Protais Mitali, the minister for regional cooperation, said on Tuesday. "We know what genocide did to this country and how the preparations were carried out as organisations like the European Union just watched."

South Africa: Accusations of racism ought to Be actionable

2004-10-14

http://allafrica.com/stories/200410111031.html

So abhorrent and damaging is the racism label that I'm amazed we haven't seen a rash of civil cases brought by people who have been accused of racial discrimination without good cause, or at least without solid proof. After all, labelling somebody racist, even when there is not a shred of evidence to support the accusation, can be devastating in a country with a racially divided past and an incumbent government that is determined to stamp out every vestige of apartheid.

Zimbabwe: San struggling to survive

2004-10-14

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=43606

Zimbabwe's tiny San community has laid the blame for their ongoing economic hardships squarely on the government, which they accuse of discrimination and neglect. While the San argue that they are a disadvantaged people in need of humanitarian support in order to escape poverty, some neighbouring villagers look down on them - accusing them of alcoholism and a refusal to embrace "modernisation".

Africa: Long-term ivory trade ban defeat

2004-10-14

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3728038.stm

Kenya's proposal to introduce a 20-year moratorium on the ivory trade has been rejected at a meeting in Bangkok. The idea did not get the votes needed for approval at the biennial summit of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites). The Thai gathering also turned down a request from Namibia for an annual export quota of two tonnes of ivory. But delegates did back a continent-wide plan by African nations to crack down on domestic, unregulated ivory markets. Countries with these home markets will now either strictly control their trade or prevent it completely.

Eritrea: FEWS Eritrea Food Security Update Sep 2004

2004-10-14

http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/UNID/4A889296AAF8398E85256F270070268C

Poor performance of spring and summer rains could result in a total failure of long-cycle crops and a much below average harvest of short-cycle crops. Although some improvement in harvest prospects was expected if September rains improved, a dry spell dominated the last three weeks of the month, removing the prospect for improvement. According to a Ministry of Health (MoA) nutrition survey, the prevalence of acute malnutrition in the lowland areas of the surveyed zones was found to be very high and had increased significantly since the December 2003 surveys.

Nigeria/UK: Call on UK Government to stop funding oil destruction

2004-10-14

http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/press_releases/call_on_uk_government_to_s_14102004.html

Tony Blair and other G8 leaders must urgently act to stop supporting oil multinationals plundering Nigeria for oil. Despite the damaging impacts on countries like Nigeria, the oil industry receives public funding from the UK Government to support new pipelines and operations via publicly-funded financial bodies, such as the World Bank and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

Swaziland: Swazi rhino hunts to be permitted

2004-10-14

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3736478.stm

A United Nations conference has given Swaziland the green light to export some of its white rhinos and bring in trophy hunters to shoot the animals. The motion was passed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, which is meeting in Bangkok. It follows last week's lifting of a ban on hunting the rarer black rhino in Namibia and South Africa. Swaziland claims money raised from exports of live animals or trophy hunts will be used for rhino conservation.

West Africa: South-south cooperation works fast on locust control

2004-10-14

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=43652

As swarms of locusts began devastating the crops and pasture lands of West Africa during this year's rainy season, the first teams to provide assistance on the ground did not come from the traditional donor countries of Europe and North America. Instead, trucks loaded with spraying equipment and pesticide rolled across the Sahara desert only a few weeks after the first swarms of locusts from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya to help the struggling locust control teams of their poorer southern neighbours.

DRC: Land, migration and conflict in Eastern DR Congo

2004-10-14

http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/UNID/76A555615CDD66C7C1256F2B004A1022

This is a summary of a full-length case study, to be published in December 2004. It examines the role of land access in the conflicts which have affected Eastern Congo, especially since 1993. Based on fieldwork and an extensive review of secondary literature, it includes recommendations for the Government of the DRC, the international community, and civil society actors. It concludes that since the start of the Congolese war, land has turned from a 'source' of conflict into a 'resource' of conflict.

Zimbabwe: High court throw settlers life-line

2004-10-14

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=43610

Hundreds of families evicted last month from a farm outside the Zimbabwean capital Harare, occupied under the land reform programme in 2000, have been granted a reprieve. High Court Judge Rita Makarau ruled in favour of Percy Masendu and 429 other settlers who had filed an urgent court application to have their eviction nullified. Brian Zindi, one of those returning to the farm, said although they were excited by the court order, the evictions had traumatised them and depleted their resources.

* Africa: AU intellectuals, freedom of expression

2004-10-14

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/media/25104

Rights organisations and leading African intellectuals support call for continental level treaty Rights organisations and leading African intellectuals support call for continental level treaty protection for academic freedom, freedom of expression and media freedom

The African Union Conference of intellectuals from Africa and the Diaspora has made recommendations to the African Union and member states to repeal all laws and practices that undermine academic freedom, freedom of expression and media freedom in all African countries.

The conference, which was held in Dakar from the 6th to 9th of October, also urged states to realise that these freedoms are prerequisites for the contribution of intellectuals and all citizens to the development of the continent and must be protected through a continental level treaty. In addition to the conference recommendations, 48 media freedom, freedom of expression, rights organisations and leading intellectuals have called on AU member states to revoke these anti-academic freedom, anti-free expression and anti-media laws within a given time frame.

They also urged all concerned persons, organisations and institutions (media, academic, rights based, intergovernmental etc) to support and join the campaign for the establishment of a continental level treaty to protect academic freedom, freedom of expression and media freedom in Africa

The signatories include Noble laureate Professor Wole Soyinka, two of Africas leading legal minds and Professors of government and law respectively Mahmood Mandani and Bereket H SELASSIE, Adigun Ade Abiodun Chair of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, Grace Bansa of Encyclopaedia Africana, Professor Atukwei Okai Secretary General of Pan African Writers Association, Thandika Mkandawire Director UN Research Institute for Social Development, Dialo Bagayoko Professor of Physics at the Timbuktu Academy, Mamadou Diouf Professor of AfroAmerican and African Studies, Tukufu Zuberi Professor of Sociology, Dr Obadiah Mailafiah Economist with the African Development Bank and African Development Fund and Adebayo Olukoshi of CODESRIA (Council for Development of Social Science Research in Africa).

Other Signatories include distinguished scholars and experts from the sciences, arts and social sciences from universities and institutions in Africa and the Diaspora; and representatives of rights organisations, Rotimi Sankore Coordinator of CREDO for Freedom of Expression & Associated Rights, Gabriel Baglo Director of the Africa office of the International Federation of Journalists, Chidi Odinkalu Africa Legal Adviser for the Justice Initiative, Luckson Chipare Director Media Institute of Southern Africa, Dr Firoze Manji Director of Fahamu and Aime Joof-Cole, of FAMEDEV, Inter-African Network For Women, Media, Gender and Development. [Statement and full list of signatories attached]

Speaking in support of a treaty to protect the said rights Professor Soyinka reiterated, A nation develops through the liberal flow of ideas. Freedom of expression guarantees that flow and thus, the fullest development of the nation

The signatories commended the African Union and in particular the Commission of the African Union and its Chairperson for organising the CIAD and call on all relevant institutions and governments to provide adequate resources for the AU and its Commission to continue its good work of accelerating the development of the African continent.

The gala and opening of the Conference was attended by the Heads of State of Senegal President Abdoulaye Wade (host of the conference), Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria (Current Chairperson of the Africa Union), Yuweri Museveni of Uganda, Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, Vice president of Gambia Mrs Isatou Njie Saidy and Chair of the Commission of the African Union and former President of Mali Professor Alpha Konare. Libyan President Moumar Khadafi addressed the conference via a live video link.

Nobel laureates Nelson Mandela, Wole Soyinka and Frederick De Klerk also made contributions to the conference supporting the declaration for a decade of peace.

For further information: info@credonet.org; ifj@ifj.org; or, info@fahamu.org
Rights organisations and leading African intellectuals support call for continental level treaty protection for academic freedom, freedom of expression and media freedom

The African Union Conference of intellectuals from Africa and the Diaspora has made recommendations to the African Union and member states to repeal all laws and practices that undermine academic freedom, freedom of expression and media freedom in all African countries.

The conference, which was held in Dakar from the 6th to 9th of October, also urged states to realise that these freedoms are prerequisites for the contribution of intellectuals and all citizens to the development of the continent and must be protected through a continental level treaty.

In addition to the conference recommendations, 48 media freedom, freedom of expression, rights organisations and leading intellectuals have called on:

AU member states to revoke these anti-academic freedom, anti-free expression and anti-media laws within a given time frame.

They also urged all concerned persons, organisations and institutions (media, academic, rights based, intergovernmental etc) to support and join the campaign for the establishment of a continental level treaty to protect academic freedom, freedom of expression and media freedom in Africa

The signatories include Noble laureate Professor Wole Soyinka, two of Africas leading legal minds and Professors of government and law respectively Mahmood Mandani and Bereket H SELASSIE, Adigun Ade Abiodun Chair of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, Grace Bansa of Encyclopaedia Africana, Professor Atukwei Okai Secretary General of Pan African Writers Association, Thandika Mkandawire Director UN Research Institute for Social Development, Dialo Bagayoko Professor of Physics at the Timbuktu Academy, Mamadou Diouf Professor of AfroAmerican and African Studies, Tukufu Zuberi Professor of Sociology, Dr Obadiah Mailafiah Economist with the African Development Bank and African Development Fund and Adebayo Olukoshi of CODESRIA (Council for Development of Social Science Research in Africa).

Other Signatories include distinguished scholars and experts from the sciences, arts and social sciences from universities and institutions in Africa and the Diaspora; and representatives of rights organisations, Rotimi Sankore Coordinator of CREDO for Freedom of Expression & Associated Rights, Gabriel Baglo Director of the Africa office of the International Federation of Journalists, Chidi Odinkalu Africa Legal Adviser for the Justice Initiative, Luckson Chipare Director Media Institute of Southern Africa, Dr Firoze Manji Director of Fahamu and Aime Joof-Cole, of FAMEDEV, Inter-African Network For Women, Media, Gender and Development. [Statement and full list of signatories attached]

Speaking in support of a treaty to protect the said rights Professor Soyinka reiterated, A nation develops through the liberal flow of ideas. Freedom of expression guarantees that flow and thus, the fullest development of the nation

The signatories commended the African Union and in particular the Commission of the African Union and its Chairperson for organising the CIAD and call on all relevant institutions and governments to provide adequate resources for the AU and its Commission to continue its good work of accelerating the development of the African continent.

The gala and opening of the Conference was attended by the Heads of State of Senegal President Abdoulaye Wade (host of the conference), Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria (Current Chairperson of the Africa Union), Yuweri Museveni of Uganda, Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, Vice president of Gambia Mrs Isatou Njie Saidy and Chair of the Commission of the African Union and former President of Mali Professor Alpha Konare. Libyan President Moumar Khadafi addressed the conference via a live video link.

Nobel laureates Nelson Mandela, Wole Soyinka and Frederick De Klerk also made contributions to the conference supporting the declaration for a decade of peace.

Ends

Profiles and Contact Details

**The Centre for Research Education & Development Of - [CREDO] - Freedom of Expression & Associated Rights is a rights organisation focusing on work in Africa. CREDO believes that freedom of expression and other strongly associated rights are major platforms on which all civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights stand. CREDO's work focuses on themes in Africa related to: freedom of expression, media freedom, rights/access to information and information resources; freedom of opinion, association, assembly, political participation and related rights; and anti-discrimination issues, e.g. discrimination based on gender, race and ethnicity. **The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is the worlds largest organisation of journalists and represents 500,000 journalists in more than 100 countries. The IFJ promotes international action to defend press freedom and social justice through strong, free and independent trade unions of journalists. In Africa, the IFJ works with its numerous affiliates and through its Media For Democracy in Africa Programme. It opposes discrimination of all kinds and condemns the use of media as propaganda or to promote intolerance and conflict; believes in freedom of political and cultural expression and defends trade union and other basic human rights; and works to improve conditions for independence of journalists and high standards of journalism in the African media.

**The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) is a dynamic, member-driven network of national chapters coordinated by a professional regional secretariat which seeks - through monitoring, training, capacity building, research and the distribution of information - to foster free independent and diverse media throughout southern Africa in the service of democracy and development, as stated in the Windhoek Declaration and the African Charter on Broadcasting. **Fahamu is committed to supporting progressive social change in the South through using information and communication technologies. Fahamu believes that civil society organisations have a critical role to play in defending human rights, and that information and communication technologies can and should be harnessed for that cause. We are committed to enabling civil society organisations to use the Internet in the interests of promoting social justice.

MORE INFORMATION:

For further information contact CREDO International Office, 73-75 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BD, UK, tel: +44 20 77875501, fax:+ 44 20 77875502, e-mail: media@credonet.org, info@credonet.org; or

The IFJ, International Federation of Journalists - Africa Office 17, Boulevard de la RpubliqueBP 21 722 Dakar Senegal Tel : 221- 842 01 42, Fax : 221 842 012 69 ,Email : fijafrica@sentoo.sn, ifjafrique@sentoo.sn, Web-Site: www.ifjafrique.org , IFJ international IPC-Residence Palace, Rue de la Loi 155, B-1040 Brussels, Belgium, tel: +32 2 235 22 00, fax: +32 2 235 22 19, e-mail: ifj@ifj.org; or

MISA regional office in Namibia, 21 Johann Albrecht Street, Private Bag 13386, Windhoek, Namibia, tel. +264 61 232 975, fax: +264 61 248 016, e-mail: director@misa.org, research@misa.org;

FAHAMU, 14 Standingford House, Cave Street, Oxford OX4 1BA, UK, el +44 (0)845 456 2442, Fax +44 (0)845 456 2443, e-mail: info@fahamu.org

More...

Africa/World: Internet under surveillance 2004

2004-10-14

http://news.gilbert.org/clickthru/redir/5235/15863/rms

In a report entitled The Internet Under Surveillance, Reporters Without Borders document the obstacles to the free flow of communication in countries throughout the world. This report is as much a call for diligence from nations where things are still pretty open as it is a critique of those states that filter content for everyone.

Global: Indymedia's Internet Servers Confiscated

2004-10-14

http://www.antiwar.com/ips/milan.php?articleid=3762

Before the FBI seized their computers last week, Indymedia had tangoed with FBI agents over the photo of undercover Swiss police published on one of its sites, its activists had been involved in a September court case on electronic voting machines and, it had had an unpleasant encounter with the Italian riot police in 2001. While it is still not clear if the confiscated computers have anything to do with any of these incidents, analysts also find it curious that the seizure came just one week before Indymedia's Communication Rights and Tactical Media Productions event which is scheduled to run parallel to the European Social Forum.

Global: Italy and Switzerland Requested Indymedia's Server Seizure

2004-10-14

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/media/25116

On October 8, 2004, Indymedia has learned that the request to seize Indymedia servers hosted by a US company in the UK originated from government agencies in Italy and Switzerland. More than 20 Indymedia sites, several internet radio streams and other projects were hosted on the servers. They were taken offline on October 7th after an order was issued to Rackspace, Inc., one of Indymedia's web hosting providers.
Today, October 8, 2004, Indymedia has learned that the request to seize Indymedia servers hosted by a US company in the UK originated from government agencies in Italy and Switzerland. More than 20 Indymedia sites, several internet radio streams and other projects were hosted on the servers. They were taken offline on October 7th after an order was issued to Rackspace, Inc., one of Indymedia's web hosting providers.

The reasons for the court order or who actually holds the servers now are still unknown to Indymedia.

According to Italian news agency reports and an Agence France-Presse (AFP) interview with FBI spokesman Joe Parris, the FBI acted on Italian and Swiss requests. "It is not an FBI operation," Parris told AFP. "Through a legal assistance treaty, the subpoena was on behalf of a third country."

Earlier today Rackspace published a statement that they turned over the servers in response to an order under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT). The MLAT establishes procedures for countries to assist each other in investigations regarding international terrorism, kidnapping and money laundering. The court prohibits Rackspace from commenting further on this matter.

An Indymedia system administrator stated: "We do not know if Rackspace is under a gag order, or what legal restrictions were imposed requiring them to act this way, or whether their legal department had enough time to study the request."

Aidan White, the General Secretary for the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) had this to say. "We have witnessed an intolerable and intrusive international police operation against a network specialising in independent journalism. The way this has been done smacks more of intimidation of legitimate journalistic inquiry than crime-busting." Indymedia condemns the fact that even 24 hours after two entire servers were taken down, Indymedia is still not getting any information of the reasons for the order.

By taking down 2 servers more than 20 Indymedia sites were affected in different countries globally as well as several unrelated projects. Indymedia considers this extremely invasive operation a a serious threat to the Freedom of Speech worldwide.

Indymedia insists that the servers are returned because each day they are inoperable and Indymedia's irreplaceable data is unaccessible means greater material damages to the Indymedia operation worldwide.

More...

Kenya: A case for "Mapambano" Newsletter

2004-10-14

http://kenyasocialist.org/kswsfiles/mapambano%20newsletter.htm

A group of Kenyans are making a case for a new publication which can focus on the political, economic and social struggle in Kenya from a different ideological perspective. At the moment, the mainstream print media is dominated by the Daily Nation, The Standard and Kenya Times, three major publications which, according to the Mapambano working group, although very informative in news and analysis, are publications that project a one-sided ideological point of view.

Namibia: Media face treason trial gag

2004-10-14

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/media/25109

On October 7 2004, the state prosecution in the Caprivi high treason trial asked the court to place a partial ban on the media's reporting of the trial. State Advocate Taswald July asked Judge Elton Hoff to order the media not to reveal the identity of the third witness the State intends to call. The state's prosecution team stressed the fact that they were neither asking for a total ban on the media reporting on the trial proceedings, nor on the publication of the testimony given by the witness. Human rights and media activist however questioned the efficacy of the order, if granted, as it only seeks to prevent the media from reporting on and disclosing the identity of one of the witnesses. The public, however, is allowed free access to both courts and prisons. All 120 treason suspects are in custody and being tried at Grootfontein.

BACKGROUND
In the early hours of August 2, 1999, members of a secessionist group, the Caprivi Liberation Army (CLA), launched an armed attack on government forces and buildings in the regional capital of Katima Mulilo in the Caprivi region of north eastern Namibia. According to official sources, they attacked the police headquarters, the local offices of the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation, an army base and an immigration post. In the attacks, 11 people were killed, at least six of whom were members of the security forces. That evening, President Samuel Nujoma declared a State of Emergency. A curfew was imposed in Katima Mulilo and Namibia's borders with Angola, Zambia and Botswana were closed. Mishake Muyongo, leader of the CLA, was granted political asylum in Denmark.

Sierra Leone: World Movement Participant Receives 4-Year Prison Sentence in Sierra Leone

2004-10-14

http://www.wmd.org/alert/oct0804.html

The World Movement for Democracy is gravely concerned wioth the conviction of World Movement for Democracy participant Paul Kamara, editor of the Sierra Leone paper For Di People. On October 5th, Mr. Kamara received a four years prison sentence for criminally libeling Sierra Leone President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah. Paul Kamara was also convicted of criminal libel and served a six month prison for defaming a judge in 2002. Both sentences have received strong criticism from international and local media groups such as the Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Without Borders and the Sierra Leone Associations of Journalists.

Africa/Global: UNICEF Progress For Children: A Child Survival Report Card

2004-10-14

http://www.unicef.org/publications/PFC_update_english.pdf

"...Progress For Children addresses the child survival Millennium Development Goal, graphically depicting the world's advances in the lead up to 2015. It states that despite global gains in child survival since 1990, significant discrepancies remain within and across countries and regions and 11 million children still die needlessly each year. By ensuring access to basic services and continued use of simple, cost-effective interventions, these deaths can be averted and the goal of a two-thirds reduction in under-five mortality from 1990 to 2015 achieved [...]"

Burundi: Nurses go on strike over poor work conditions

2004-10-14

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=43632

Nurses in hospitals and health centres across Burundi began a two-day strike on Monday to demand better working conditions, while the government would not start talks with the union. Hospitals and health centres in the capital, Bujumbura, and in the provinces of Makamba, Kayanza and Bururi could only provide minimum service. The striking nurses listed 14 demands, including one for overtime pay, stating that the current arrangement was unacceptable.

Nigeria: Nigerian petrol strike, ICFTU condemns intimidation of union leader

2004-10-14

http://www.icftu.org/displaydocument.asp?Index=991220641&Language=EN

Nigerian authorities are committing serious acts of intimidation against senior leaders and activists of the Nigerian trade union movement, said the ICFTU today. In a spate of incidents which began to flourish in the days prior to the general strike called by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) after talks with the government to reverse petrol price increases of 25% broke down, the Nigerian authorities subjected the trade union leader Adams Oshiomole to unlawful arrest and ill treatment.

Social pensions: a cost effective way to tackle old age and child poverty

2004-10-14

http://www.africapulse.org.za/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=2220

Social pensions in developing countries can raise the poorest older people and their families out of dire poverty, says HelpAge International in a new report. The Age and Security report provides the first comprehensive survey of social pension schemes in developing countries, and analyses how these regular cash payments can improve the lives of older people and their families.

South Africa: UN food arm spent $11.4m on supplies from SA last year

2004-10-14

http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=2258786&fSectionId=561&nld=2004-10-13&f=d&t=html.

The World Food Programme (WFP), the food arm of the UN, spent over $11.4 million (R74.1 million) to buy over 47 000 tons of maize and other food materials in South Africa last year. This emerged yesterday at the fourth annual African aid, disaster management and relief procurement conference in Johannesburg. "We buy food to satisfy the needs of the people," Joop Menkeld, the WFP's procurement officer said. Over 14.4 million people are set to be affected by disaster every year.

Africa/Global: Bringing HIV prevention back to the forefront

2004-10-14

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/25108

UNAIDS is currently in the process of updating its Global Prevention Strategy. As part of the process of examining and re-positioning HIV prevention, UNAIDS have asked the International AIDS Alliance to consult with partners and facilitate a process that will allow us to share experiences and feed them back to UNAIDS to ensure the new Global Prevention Strategy reflects the realities and challenges on the ground. We would greatly value your input into this process by taking a few minutes to provide responses to the five questions below. Deadline: Friday 15 October 2004
Dear Colleagues,

UNAIDS - the main United Nations agency on HIV/AIDS - is currently in
the process of updating its Global Prevention Strategy, an essential and
urgent task in the light of the changing and challenging environment in
which HIV/AIDS prevention programming operates. As part of the process
of examining and re-positioning HIV prevention, UNAIDS have asked the
International AIDS Alliance to consult with partners and facilitate a
process that will allow us to share experiences and feed them back to
UNAIDS to ensure the new Global Prevention Strategy reflects the
realities and challenges on the ground.

We would greatly value your input into this process. UNAIDS will be
presenting this new strategy at programme coordinating board meeting in
December 2004. However, it is a key document and we think it is
important for all of us to provide input, so we would greatly appreciate
it if you could be part of our response.

Please take a few minutes to provide responses to these five questions
below. To focus our feedback and input, the Alliance has put together a
number of discussion points for you to look at. They would welcome
feedback directly to: sgodfree@aidsalliance.org
latest by Friday 15 October 2004.

Thank you very much for your time!

Omololu Falobi
Main Africa NGO Delegate
UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board

Programme Director
Journalists Against AIDS (JAAIDS) Nigeria
Email: omololu@nigeria-aids.org=20

The challenge:

The re-working of the Global Prevention strategy is an opportunity to
critically examine the challenges that currently exist in prevention
programming, not only expanded HIV/AIDS treatment but also the context
of increasing levels of poverty. The prevention strategy aims to inform
not just the UN agencies but the policy and political leaders of the
world. The commitment to the reinforcing strategies of Risk, Impact and
Vulnerability Reduction is unchanged: the challenge now is to capture
the attention of, and push for action from, not only the UN agencies but
the world at large. What do we feel UNAIDS' key strategies should be
to ensure that this is achieved?

Discussion points:

Q1. What prevention strategies have been shown to be effective in
your area? Over what period of time?
Q2. How is the external environment affecting your work, both
positively (in terms of new opportunities and challenges) and
negatively? Areas to consider: civil society capacity/involvement,
funding, economic conditions.
Q3. How much does the current legal and policy environment underpin
effective prevention work in your country?
Q4. What would be necessary to take effective prevention strategies
to scale?
Q5. Does current thinking in prevention work contribute to reducing
vulnerability, tackle human rights issues and reduce stigma and
discrimination?

Points to consider:

The purpose of comments is to ensure that a solid policy framework is
based on effective practice on the ground. We must not be tempted to
provide a technical / interventions shopping list of our projects but
rather consider how the lessons learned can ensure policy and direction
that can influence right across the UN agencies, not just UNAIDS.

Is there anything missing from current prevention thinking / statements
at a national, regional and global level? What needs greater attention
/ highlighting and why?

Vulnerability reduction: UNAIDS will remain committed to the reinforcing
strategies of Risk, Vulnerability and Impact Reduction. Does the
increasing level of vulnerability of millions of people and the direct
link to human rights, stigma and discrimination mean that we need to
reinforce efforts towards reducing vulnerability and bring this to the
centre of our efforts?

Does the current prevention strategy reinforce the diversity of those
affected by the epidemic and allow for / ensure that responses are
contextual, country / regionally specific and aimed at having the most
long term sustainable impact?

What do we feel is the current success of the Global Strategy framework
on HIV/AIDS in ensuring that HIV is seen as an integral operational
priority for all UN Agencies =96 eg. WFP, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNFPA, the
World Bank. How have we seen this reflected in their work and our
opportunities for joint programming in countries?

The Alliance is circulating this discussion paper both internally and
externally to our networks and associates. If you feel there are other
networks / organizations that would welcome the opportunity to feed into
the development of the new Global strategy then please do forward on the
discussion points and questions. We have pitched this discussion for
the hopeful inclusion of as many of you as possible, recognising the
varying scope for involvement and opportunity to feedback
electronically.

We further acknowledge that you may also feel that not
all the points raised or questions asked apply to your situation, but
would welcome any comments you which to share. Finally, we would
welcome any feedback you have on this process and please feel free to
contact me if there are points of clarification.

With kind regards,

Sarah Godfree
Head, Prevention Team
Department of Policy and Technical Support
International HIV/AIDS Alliance

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Africa/Global: London takes centre stage in fight for global justice

2004-10-14

http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/press_releases/london_takes_centre_stage_12102004.html

Four of the world's foremost environmental and development campaigners are to address a press conference on Friday 15th October in London, at the opening day of the European Social Forum (ESF). All are addressing major platforms at the European Social Forum, being held from 15 to 17 October in London. They will talk about their work and explain why they consider social forums and the London ESF a crucial part of the fight against corporate globalisation and environmental destruction.

Africa: Transitional Justice Research in Africa

2004-10-14

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/25106

The Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation in South Africa (CSVR) is working on a mapping exercise on Transitional Justice Research in Africa, to eventually set up an African Transitional Justice Research Network that will increase the capacity of local researchers and civil society institutions to effectively conduct empirical research and advocacy programmes. CSVR is presently seeking information about research reports or ongoing projects on issues of transitional justice (including truth commissions, prosecutions, community reconciliation, memorialisation and reparations programmes, etc). For more info or to contribute: Emmanuel Kisiangani: ekisiangani@csvr.org.za (research in Southern, Central and East Africa); and Franklin Oduro: Franklin@cddghana.org (research in West and North Africa).

Africa: Database of community radio stations

2004-10-14

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/diaspora/25133

The University of Guelph is conducting a research project to collect information to develop a database of community radio stations in Africa. To be included, please send: Name of radio station; contact person; physical and mailing address; telephone number (with area code): fax; email address; website; radio frequency (ex: 95.2 FM); date established; funding sources; range (number of kilometers); power source (watts); languages broadcast in (please include all); Does your station have rural development programming including but not limited to agriculture, health and the environment? If yes, how many minutes per week is this type of programming broadcast? Number of hours per week you broadcast any NON MUSIC programming? Number of hours per week you broadcast total (including music and non music programming)? And any other relevant information about your station.

Africa: UNESCO hails involvement of Diaspora in African affairs

2004-10-14

http://www.panapress.com/newslatf.asp?code=eng059283&dte=08/10/2004

At the Conference of Intellectuals from Africa and the Diaspora in Senegal, UNESCO deputy director in charge of Africa, Nouréni Tidjani-Serpos believes that with the evolution of information and communication technologies, intellectuals from Africa and the Diaspora do not need to return home before contributing toward continental development. "It is now possible for members of the African Diaspora to use their knowledge to serve the continent without being physically present. You can, wherever you are, bring something to Africa," he encouraged. For information on the 1st Conference of Intellectuals from Africa and the Diaspora:
http://www.panapress.com/dossindexlat.asp?code=eng054

Kenya: KCA Homecoming 2004

2004-10-14

http://www.kenyansabroad.org/homecoming/KCA_HC.htm

The Kenyan Community Abroad will be holding its fifth Annual Conference and AGM in Nairobi from December 14th to 18th. This will be the first time that the Kenyan Diaspora is holding an event of this magnitude and pomp in Kenya. The event, dubbed the KCA homecoming 2004 will be held at the historic Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi. Being a first of its kind, the forum brings together 400 high caliber Kenyans from across the globe. Kenyan's abroad are ready to show what they are capable of and where they can add value.

UK: Screening of controversial film, Injustice

2004-10-14

http://www.injusticefilm.co.uk

In 1969 David Oluwale became the first black person to die in police custody in Britain. Many others have died since then. None of the police officers involved have been convicted of these deaths. In the documentary, Injustice, the families of these victims ask "Why not?". Injustice took seven years to produce and since its launch in July 2001 the police have tried to censor the film. Screenings are currently being held all over the UK.

Nigeria: Two people killed, trade unionists arrested as strike enters second day

2004-10-14

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=43638

Two people have been shot dead and several trade unionists have been arrested in isolated flare-ups of violence triggered by Nigeria's general strike. Lagos, the commercial capital of the West African country, remained shut down on Tuesday for the second day running. Banks, schools, offices and most businesses stayed closed in Nigeria's other main cities, except for Abuja. The four-day stoppage began on Monday and was called by Nigeria's largest trade union movement to protest at a recent 25 percent increase in fuel prices.

Somalia: UN Humanitarian Coordinator appeals for the Humanitarian Response Fund for Somalia

2004-10-14

http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/UNID/748CF7A1FC8FB0D5C1256F2A002CEA91

The Acting United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator, Mr Jesper Morch appeals to the international donor community to make contributions to the Humanitarian Response Fund for Somalia. Since April 2004, the Fund has disbursed over US$1 million to international NGOs for projects in prioritised drought and conflict affected areas of Somalia, including Gedo, Lower Juba, Sool, Sanaag, Bari and Nugal regions. The Fund is almost completely exhausted, while the needs on the ground are increasing with the failure of the recent rainy season.

Southern Africa: Countries urged to adopt disaster legislation

2004-10-14

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=43630

Southern African countries, hard-hit by recent droughts and floods, have been urged to adopt disaster management legislation to improve their response to emergencies. An agricultural economist, Andries Jordaan, told IRIN on Tuesday that the legislation should provide for setting up an early warning system and proactive prevention policies. Jordaan was at a three-day conference and exhibition on African Aid, Disaster Management and Relief, which opened in South Africa on Tuesday.

Sudan: Tragic loss of Save the Children staff in Darfur landmine incident

2004-10-14

http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/UNID/4A0D20EA07D8CE4CC1256F2B003B8CD2

A Save the Children vehicle was hit by an anti-tank landmine on Sunday 10 October in the Um Barro area of North Darfur, Sudan. Two members of staff travelling in the vehicle were killed, Rafe Bullick (British, Programme Manager, North Darfur) and Nourredine Issa Tayeb (Sudanese, Water Engineer). The team were carrying out programme work in this area which until three weeks ago had been virtually inaccessible to the outside world.

Uganda: I backed Iraq war blindly - Museveni

2004-10-14

http://www.monitor.co.ug/news/news10131.php

President Yoweri Museveni has admitted that he blindly supported the United States-led invasion of Iraq. "I supported the Americans in Iraq, but I didn't even know what they were fighting for," he said. "What I knew is that Saddam [Hussein] was a friend of Bashir, and Bashir was my enemy." When referring to weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Museveni said "I don’t know whether it was true or not." He said he figured that if Saddam had weapons of mass destruction, they could have easily ended up with the Sudanese President Omar Bashir and that was why he supported the American invasion of Iraq.

Uganda: Museveni hits out at UN over Darfur comparison

2004-10-14

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L09240755.htm

President Museveni hit out U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland for suggesting that the suffering caused by war in northern Uganda was comparable to that in Sudan's strife-torn Darfur. Egeland urged the international community last week to focus on northern Uganda and the atrocities of the Lord's Resistance Army. Museveni questioned, "In what way is it like Darfur? True, people are in camps because of attacks by the terrorists. But it seems some people don't want us to defeat the terrorists."

Africa/Global: Campaign to end fistula now active in 30 countries

2004-10-14

http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/UNID/6008EDA8FE32ABF985256F2B00571566

A new web site for the global Campaign to End Fistula, a tragic childbirth injury that affects at least 2 million women in developing countries, was launched today. Features include a three-minute web film, an interactive map highlighting Campaign progress, a photo gallery and testimonies of fistula patients and the doctors who care for them. The Campaign was launched by UNFPA in 2003 in response to emerging evidence of the devastating impact obstetric fistula has on women's lives.

Africa/Global: Using Google for African Studies Research: A Guide to Effective Web Searching

2004-10-14

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/internet/25119

A new guide has been launched which is liberally interspersed with examples of searches, and search strategies, relating to Africa or African studies topics. A pilot edition of this guide is now freely accessible at http://www.hanszell.co.uk/google/ It is published as an adjunct to the new third edition of The African Studies Companion: A Guide to Information Sources (online at http://www.africanstudiescompanion.com/) although it can also be used on its own.

Africa: African Interney country market profile

2004-10-14

http://www.balancingact-africa.com/profile1.html

The long awaited first part of Balancing Act's African Internet Country Market Profiles is now out and covers 22 countries in West Africa. It also contains a summary overview of the internet in these countries and a look at the coming legalisation of VoIP in West Africa: who will be the winners and losers?

Africa: International Workshop on Campaign for 1 Million PCs for African Schools

2004-10-14

mailto:s.kyofuna@schoolnetafrica.org

An international workshop on the Campaign for 1 Million PCs for African Schools is to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa on 13 and 14 October 2004. The International Workshop was called to discuss a full end-to-end implementation plan for the Campaign, including how best to source PCs, build capacity, establish targeted refurbishment centers as education solution providers and dispose of end-of-life PCs in environmentally-responsible ways.
Press Release
Johannesburg, SA. 7 October 2004
International Workshop on Campaign for 1 Million PCs for African Schools with United Nations founded organization in Johannesburg, South Africa SchoolNet Africa (SNA), in partnership with the Global eSchools and Communities Initiative (GESCI) ­ founded by the UN ICT Task Force, the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) will host an international workshop on the Campaign for 1 Million PCs for African Schools in Johannesburg, South Africa on 13 and 14 October 2004.

Senior representatives from the private, civil society and public sectors will attend the workshop. Schoolnet practitioners and representatives of ministries of education from 11 African countries will be present as well as representatives from organizations like Free Geek Inc, Computer Aid International, Shuttleworth Foundation, SchoolNet South Africa, NEPAD eSchools, the Dutch and Finnish Embassy, Ungana Afrika, Direqlearn, Microsoft, DFID¹s CATIA Programme and HP.

The International Workshop was called to discuss a full end-to-end implementation plan for the Campaign for 1 Million PCs for African Schools. This plan will include how best to source PCs, build capacity, establish targeted refurbishment centers as education solution providers and dispose of end-of-life PCs in environmentally-responsible ways.

The Workshop will review the most recent research findings on total cost of ownership, case studies and African schoolnet experiences with imported second-hand PCs which have been commissioned by a range of donor and development agencies such as the IDRC, the IICD, the Commonwealth of Learning and the DFID¹s CATIA Programme. These research findings highlight a number of critical conceptual issues for debate and will provide guidance to the planning process.

A crucial part of the conference however, will focus on how SchoolNet Africa and its Campaign partners could reach the target of securing the first 200, 000 PCs to reach an estimated 20 000 African schools in 15 countries; how it will reach the target of training 200 African schoolnet practitioners (of which 40% will be women) and the establishment of 10 Technical Service Centres over the next two years.

Ambassador Astrid Dufborg of GeSCI says ŒHistory has shown us that Development in Africa is only achieved when led by Africans. In our field ­ providing and using technology in schools - SchoolNet Africa is proven as the kind of leadership that is needed. The 1 Million PC's for African Schools Campaign is a step up to a new level of ambition which we at GeSCI fully support.

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Senegal: Senegal's Netcom challenges CFAO Technologies in francophone West Africa

2004-10-14

http://www.balancingact-africa.com/news/current1.html

The biggest technology player in francophone Africa is CFAO Technologies. Bought by French magnate François Pinault, he decided to make it a major African technology player and its rapid growth put the heat on local ICT suppliers. Now there's a Senegalese company that's biting back. Launched by Mamadou Dieng, Netcom is a systems integrator that is rapidly building itself a regional presence through local acquisitions. Interestingly, there are few independent regional companies like this in anglophone Africa of any scale.

Africa: Science and Development Network Newsletter

2004-10-14

http://www.scidev.net/africanewsletter/scidev-africa-oct04.pdf

The Science and Development Network (www.scidev.net) is delighted to announce that the new edition of the Africa Newsletter, focusing on science communication and gender issues, is now available. Coinciding with the news that Kenyan environmental activist and politician (and former scientist) Wangari Maathai has won the Nobel Prize for Peace, the October newsletter includes profiles of women scientists and women science journalists as well as reporting on some innovative science communication projects.

Nigeria/Africa: Youth Protection

2004-10-14

http://www.lists.kabissa.org/mailman/listinfo/youthsurvival-network

The survival of youths in a private sector-driven or full capitalist economy can no longer be guaranteed, due to the challenges that such an economy presents. The Youth Emancipation Crusader is requesting you to share your views on our discussion board related to the following questions: How can unemployed youth survive in a capitalist world?; Has youth empowerment eroded?; How vulnerable are youth to exploitation by this system?; Is youth survival or protection an issue of national and continental (African) interest?; How responsive are the government(s) and the society(ies) to this issue?

Africa: Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA)

2004-10-14

http://www.comminit.com/africa/ResMob2004/sld-1914.html

OSISA oversees US$5 million in grants annually in Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Support is offered to projects that are national or regional. The programmes broadly focus on education, media, information technology, human rights and democracy. Rolling Deadlines.

Africa:WWSF Award- For women in rural empowerment

2004-10-14

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/fundraising/25132

Awarded by the Women's World Summit Foundation (WWSF) - an international NGO for the empowerment of women and children - the Prize (US$500 each) honours creative and courageous women and women's groups around the world for their contributions to improving the quality of life in rural communities. Deadline: 1 March 2005

Global: Global Fundraising Jobs - a new recruitment website for the global not-for-profit sector

2004-10-14

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/fundraising/25179

The Resource Alliance have partnered with CR Search and Selection (CRSS) to launch a new international recruitment website for the not-for-profit sector called: Global Fundraising Jobs: www.globalfundraisingjobs.com The website will be launched at the Resource Alliance's flagship event, the 24th International Fundraising Congress, on 12-15 October 2004, in the Netherlands.
The Resource Alliance have partnered with CR Search and Selection (CRSS) to launch a new international recruitment website for the not-for-profit sector called: Global Fundraising Jobs. The URL is: www.globalfundraisingjobs.com The website will be launched at the Resource Alliance's flagship event, the 24th International Fundraising Congress, on 12-15 October 2004, in the Netherlands.

The aim of the website is to put charities who need fundraisers in touch with prospective candidates, wherever they are based in the world. The Resource Alliance commands a unique audience within the global fundraising community through their website, e-newsletter and extensive programme of international and regional events around the world. This captive audience makes them ideally positioned to advertise national and international vacancies in the not-for-profit sector. CR Search and Selection (CRSS) is a leading UK-based recruitment agency for the not-for-profit sector with over 18 years' recruitment experience.

Simon Collings, CEO of the Resource Alliance comments: "We are frequently asked to assist with recruitment and realised that there was a strong need for an international resource for organisations wanting to search internationally for fundraising staff. We believe the site will also be of interest to fundraisers interested in international postings. We feel that this initiative is a natural extension of our current resources to the sector and we are very excited to be working with CRSS". CONTINUES Facilities for job seekers include: Jobs Board, registration for a weekly email jobs bulletin, advice on CV writing, making applications and interview preparation. Job seekers can also register their CV directly with CRSS.

Olga Johnson, CEO of CR Search and selection comments: "This is a very exciting initiative. We are delighted to be working with the Resource Alliance at the start of providing an important resource that will promote professional fundraising and best practice worldwide and help fundraisers to more effectively manage their careers." To celebrate the launch, Global Fundraising Jobs are offering recruiting organisations the opportunity to advertise for FREE for up to one month until 31st October 2004. For further information, log onto: www.globalfundraisingjobs.com Alternatively, please contact Louise O'Mahony at the Resource Alliance: Tel: +44 (0) 20 7587 0287, Email: louise@resource-alliance.org END Created on 7h October 2004 by Louise O'Mahony. The Resource Alliance: Louise@resource-alliance.org Telephone +44 (0) 20 7587 0287.

Notes to the editor The Resource Alliance The Resource Alliance is an international network, which helps NGOs around the world to develop skills, knowledge and networks to mobilise funds and local resources for their causes and achieve greater financial sustainability.

For further information, please contact Louise O'Mahony at the Resource Alliance. Tel: +44 (0) 20 7587 0287, Email: louise@resource-alliance.org Address: The Resource Alliance, 295 Kennington Road, London, SE11 4QE, CR Search and Selection Founded in 1986 by our Chief Executive Olga Johnson, CR Search and Selection (Formerly Charity Recruitment) has progressed continually to remain at the forefront of recruitment solutions for the not-for-profit sector. CR Search and Selection provides flexible, effective recruitment solutions for mid-range to board level appointments within the not-for-profit sector globally.

For further information, please contact Andrew Stubbs at CR Search and Selection tel: +44 (0) 20 7520 2205 email andrew@crsearchandselection.com address: 40 Rosebery Avenue, London EC1R 4RX

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South Africa: Amandla AIDS Fund

2004-10-14

http://www.thusanang.org.za/index.php?option=news&task=viewarticle&sid=769

Artists for a New South Africa (ANSA) Amandla AIDS Fund (AAF) was established in 2003 by a $2.5 million donation from Carlos and Deborah Santana. They directed the entire net proceeds of the 2003 U.S. Summer Santana Shaman tour to the fund, which provides grants to South African organisations working to combat Aids.

Southern Africa: Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Scholarships

2004-10-14

http://www.comminit.com/africa/scholarships2004/sld-1963.html

This is a scholarship exchange programme that aims to assist individual media practitioners from southern Africa in all areas of the media (managerial, editorial, advertising, and technical) to work on attachment in another media institution to learn new skills and develop existing ones. Both full-time employees and freelancers are eligible to apply. Rolling Deadline.

Nigeria: ICASA 2005 youth e-consultation going on now

2004-10-14

http://www.icasa2005.org

The International conference on AIDS and STI in Africa is a gathering place for leaders across various sectors in Africa to discuss HIV/AIDS and its effects on Africa's development. The XIV edition of ICASA is billed for Abuja in December 2005. The e-consultation begain October 2 and will end November 2, 2004. To join the discussion, send a blank email to youthaticasa2005- subscribe@groups.takingitglobal.org

South Africa: Digital production courses offered in Capetown

2004-10-14

http://www.sacod.org.za/events/

The Television Training Centre (TTC) of Deutsche Welle, Germany, and the Community Video Education Trust (CVET), South Africa, announce the presentation of 2 Full-Time courses to be held in Cape Town, facilitated by experts in each field: Digital Post Production: 1 November to 8 November 2004 and; The TV Production Chain: 1 November to 27 November 2004. Applications should be submitted to the Community Video Education Trust(CVET), PO Box 2870 Cape Town, 8000, Fax: 0866 455 402. Deadline: 17 October 2004.

Uganda: 4th Uganda National AIDS Conference

2004-10-14

http://www.aidsuganda.org/events/details.php?uniqueId=10

Uganda will hold the 4th National AIDS Conference (NAC) in March 2005. NAC brings together policy makers, researchers and AIDS practitioners to share knowledge and experiences about the epidemic and the response. NAC resolutions feed into policy and programme development, and service delivery processes for an evidence-based response.

Angola (Uige): Sectoral Expert

CESVI - Cooperazione e Sviluppo Onlus

2004-10-14

http://www.reliefweb.int/w/res.nsf/wDocs/E3222ED51183B888C1256EDD003137EB

The Sectoral Expert will be supporting the Technical Project Coordinator. He/she will follow the reconstruction on going activities. He/she will support the logistic aspects of the Project. Requirements: University Degree in Architecture or other technical degrees; Fluency in written and oral Portuguese; Experience in rehabilitation projects; Strong motivation to work in the mentioned area. Job reference code: RW_99757A. Closing date: 31 October 2004

Congo (Brazzaville or Pointe Noire): School Lunch Project Manager

International Partnership for Human Development (IPHD)

2004-10-14

http://www.reliefweb.int/w/res.nsf/wDocs/1056D9325DBDAF20C1256F18005702DD

(S)he will manage the day-to-day activities of the project and ensure commodities are received, transported and stored properly and safely. Select schools and kindergartens for direct feeding and monetization assistance. Assure that an adequate distribution and monitoring system is in place and functioning. Manage monitoring function of Food for Education program. Evaluate projects/activities supported by monetization proceeds. Will draft semi-annual reports for IPHD/HQ. Will provide technical assistance at all levels of the MOE in school lunch program management and project.

Rwanda: Expert en matière d'appui à la décentralisation

Belgian Technical Cooperation

2004-10-14

http://www.reliefweb.int/w/res.nsf/wDocs/F5B3AF3FF7CE554AC1256F1D004643A0

Dans le cadre du développement de ses activités, la CTB recherche un (H/F): Expert en matière d'appui à la décentralisation, délégué à la cogestion du projet: Appui au développement local des districts de Buliza, Rulindo, Rushashi et Shyorongi en province de Kigali Ngali, Rwanda. Postulez via le site web: www.btcctb.org ou envoyer votre lettre de motivation ainsi que votre CV en mentionnant clairement la fonction pour laquelle vous posez votre candidature ainsi que le numéro de référence, à l'adresse humres@btcctb.org Postulez, au plus tard le 19 octobre 2004

Uganda: Monitoring and Evaluation Specialists, 3 positions

2004-10-14

http://www.winrock.org/who/current_job_listings.cfm

Winrock International is currently seeking applications for three positions related to a new project to conduct impact monitoring and evaluation for a national rural energy program in Africa: 1) Chief of Party; 2) Data Collection Coordinator; 3) Short Term Consultant - project design and proposal writing. To apply, please email us your CV, cover letter and reference list with the appropriate title in the subject line. Deadline: October 23, 2004

Fahamu