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Featured in this issue

2005-06-16

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/highlights/28626

EDITORIALS: In the wake of the killings of demonstrators in Ethiopia, Makeda Tsegaye paints a picture of a brutal regime - whose Prime Minister served on UK Prime Minister's Commission on Africa - that will stop at nothing to retain its grip on power
COMMENT & ANALYSIS: Africa Day of the Child - 16 June: In Soweto, South Africa, thousands of black school children took to the streets in 1976 to protest the inferior quality of their education. Hundreds of young boys and girls were shot down by apartheid police. To honour the memory of those killed and the courage of those who marched, the Day of the African Child has been celebrated on 16 June every year since 1991.
- Hellen Tombo highlights the negative impact of onerous debt, unfair trade, inefficient aid and poor governance on the lives of African children and youth.
- G8 Finance Ministers allegedly write off $40 billion in debts of the poorest nations. But is the deal all that it's cracked up to be? Pambazuka News summarises reactions to the debt deal.
- For most of Africa's young people, the Day of the African child doesn't mean much - the day is primarily a day for adults, argues Christina Clark
- Despite the hype around the the Global Call to Action against Poverty, insufficient pressure is being put on the G8 by many mainstream international NGOs and demands of social movements are being ignored, argue Patrick Bond, Dennis Brutus and Virginia Setshedi
LETTERS: Cooperation not exploitation; more on the 'second great Boer trek'
PAN-AFRICAN POSTCARD: Rotimi Sankore and Chidi Odinkalu consider whether it would be possible to organise a meeting of civil society organisations as a follow up on the AU meeting in Libya
GLOBAL CALL TO ACTION AGAINST POVERTY: Actions in Africa launched on the Day of the African Child, Africa Snaps launched, SMS function goes live; reports from Zimbabwe Girl Child Network; African civil society organisations have called on the African Union to be prepared to repudiate Africa's multilateral debts
CONFLICTS & EMERGENCIES: Thousands flee CAR into Chad
HUMAN RIGHTS: Rwanda: Trial of top Rwanda genocide suspect starts
REFUGEES & FORCED MIGRATION: Zimbabwe: Refugees caught in Zim blitz; 11 million refugees worldwide
WOMEN & GENDER: Tensions between the role of trade, development and gender equality
ELECTIONS&GOVERNANCE: Egypt: Focus on pro-democracy movement in referendum aftermath; Uganda: I'll lobby for multiparty politics, says Museveni
DEVELOPMENT: Africa: Business As Usual Means 28 Million Dead Children;
AND MORE…links to news on corruption, health, education, media, environment, jobs and books.

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Ethiopia: How many more killings will it take to make a ruler a dictator?

Makeda Tsegaye

2005-06-16

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/28623

Ethiopia remains tense after security forces opened fire on post-election demonstrators, killing up to 40 people. Makeda Tsegaye paints a picture of a brutal regime - whose Prime Minister served on UK Prime Minister's Commission on Africa - that will stop at nothing to retain its grip on power and asks how many more millions of people have to starve in Ethiopia before the world realizes that the root causes of the problem is not lack of rains but failed economic policies that are making people more vulnerable?


After what happened in Ethiopia last week, I would be surprised if anyone had difficulty in understanding the true nature of the ruling party and its leadership.

Is it surprising that the security forces of the Ethiopian Prime Minister, who was appointed to the Commission for Africa by the UK, and is viewed by the US as a key ally in combating terrorism and a stabilizing force in the strategic Horn of Africa, killed over 40 innocent civilians, arrested thousands, instigated violence and hatred in the country? Is it surprising that in spite of these acts, the ruling party perceives itself as not guilty? Is it surprising that the Prime Minister extended the ban on peaceful demonstrations by another month despite protests that this edict was entirely unconstitutional and illegal? Is it surprising that his security forces killed opposition party members outside the capital two days after signing the European Union-brokered peace pact on June 10 to peacefully resolve election-related disputes?

None of these is surprising to Ethiopians who endured 14 long years of similar persecutions, economic hardships and man-made disasters under a deceptive, incompetent and clearly authoritarian leadership.

This was not the first time that the ruling party killed peaceful demonstrators. For instance, in 1992 and 2001, security forces opened fire on Addis Ababa University students who peacefully demonstrated against the ruling party's failed policies, killing more than 35, wounding over 400, and arresting and torturing hundreds of students, while 22 university professors were sacked.

In 2002, security forces shot protestors in Southern Ethiopia, killing over 35 people. While these are examples from urban areas only, it should not be difficult to imagine the situation of dissidents in remote areas where little is known due to lack of communication and the absence of human rights activists.

In spite of all these, the ruling party never admitted its mistakes apart from giving shamefully lame excuses for its irresponsible and barbaric acts. For example, in 1992 its excuse was that its riot police did not have the right equipment to disperse peaceful demonstrators. However shocking such an irresponsible statement seemed to many families who lost their loved ones, the ruling party could simply get away with it without any form of accountability. Just last week, another round of killings claimed the lives of over 40 civilians. Appallingly, the ruling party labeled these civilian victims as 'unemployed hooligans', as if to imply that their lives were worth nothing.

Despite the rhetoric that Ethiopia is 'democratic', persistent abuses of civil and political rights, and lack of an inclusive and responsive political system characterizes the current regime. In fact, the regime is typified by what Steven Levitsky and Lucan A. Way (2002, pp. 51-65)[1] describe as 'Competitive Authoritarianism', which is a hybrid regime where formal democratic institutions are widely viewed as the principal means of obtaining and exercising political authority. However, the incumbents violate those rules so often and to such an extent that the regime fails to meet conventional minimum standards for democracy.

Although the Ethiopian regime may have appeared to be an economic and political reformer in the past, a closer review of its policies reveals otherwise. Notwithstanding its rhetoric about liberal economic policies and privatization, the ruling party and its benefactors control key economic sectors. In fact, strategic control of the economy is one of the tactics that the ruling party employed to manipulate the political process in the country.

For instance, state-owned land was viewed as a key instrument to control the political opinions of eighty-five percent of rural Ethiopians who are entirely dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods. There were reports from many rural constituencies that prior to the recent elections, cadres of the ruling party were threatening to deny those who voted for the opposition parties access to land. The ruling party's false confidence in winning the elections in most rural areas was thus prompted by this unlawful act. Nevertheless, none of these threats made sense to millions of desperate farmers who hardly benefit from their 'less-than-a-hectare' land and whose lives are largely sustained by relief rosters year in and year out. On the contrary, most people viewed the election as an opportunity for ensuring a productive life whereby responsible citizens could earn a living and lead a dignified life. The ruling party was blind to this reality owing to its gross underestimation of the intellect and pride of the rural people.

Ironically, it is also this grave miscalculation of the ruling party that provided the platform for the participation of opposition parties in the recent elections. However, the fact that opposition parties were able to mobilize millions of supporters within a short period of election campaigning, despite massive harassment and intimidation, sent an important warning signal to the ruling party. Hence, it immediately got busy retracting its seemingly democratic gestures. It did not stop there. Terrified by the stiff resistance from the people who are determined to decide their future, its true nature became self-evident. In effect, it was forced to reveal its real identity to the world that it only managed to appear democratic aided by a situation in which it could control the playing field by selecting its own team, the referees and even the spectators. In the absence of any or all of these, it had to resort to the original tactics of any dictatorship, which is typified by mass killing, arrests, torture and so on. In fact, the ruling party was panic-stricken that it started to take any measure that appeared to support its desire to salvage its greed for power. It was interesting to see how in the course of last week, it even targeted every possible means of effective communication including disrupting cellular phone services. Toward the end of the week, the state-controlled telecom agency announced that due to technical problems it was no longer able to provide SMS (text messaging) services. It is to be noted that, in the absence of other media, Ethiopians were exchanging information of a political nature through text messaging.

It is apparent that the current situation in Ethiopia is extremely tense. Given its repeated records of violent confrontation, the ruling party will not refrain from engaging in more brutal and barbaric acts to suppress dissenting voices and the people's struggle for political and economic freedom. The question remains, how many more killings will it take to make a ruler a dictator? How many more millions of people have to starve in Ethiopia before the world realizes that the root causes of the problem is not lack of rains but failed economic policies that are making people more vulnerable?

Last week we heard that the US is set to pledge US$674 famine funds as part of a joint US/UK initiative to 'get Africa back on its feet', of which a large amount is destined for Ethiopia. During the same period, Ethiopians were raising their voices to tell the world that it is the presence of responsible leadership in the country, and not relief assistance, that could fully mitigate the effects of disaster and poverty. While Ethiopians are immensely grateful for the relief support that the US has provided to the innumerable victims of poor governance and resource mismanagement, it has become apparent that charity will not lead to prosperity. If this were the case, Ethiopia would have been Africa's most prosperous nation in the last 14 years. What is needed in Ethiopia is responsible, competent and committed leadership that can create an enabling environment for citizens to work hard and create a prosperous and peaceful Ethiopia.

Ethiopians have long recognized this need and their recent admirable participation in the legislative elections indicates more than ever their determination to change the image of their country and lead a dignified life, wherein the rule of law, accountability, and transparency provide the platform for development and lasting peace. Simultaneously, people are anxious to harness their ethnic and geographic diversity in order to create a better Ethiopia for all citizens. However, it is shameful that a divisive leadership that is not even capable of fully grasping the values of and strengths in national unity is attempting to suppress these noble objectives.

On Monday June 13, 2005, the Prime Minister was quoted as saying in his televised address to the nation that, "there was no reason for riots in Addis Ababa [where] EPRDF has conceded its defeat". This remark clearly indicates the PM's divisive strategy that has threatened to erode the concept of nationalism from the minds of Ethiopians for the last 14 years. Fortunately, his self-centered and anti-development psychology has long been rejected by Ethiopians who embrace unity not only among themselves but also among their fellow African brothers and sisters. It is important that all peace and freedom-loving Africans individually and collectively stand up with their Ethiopian brothers and sisters who are struggling to end the suffering of their fellow citizens and create a bright future for the coming generation.

Notes:

[1] Levitsky, Steven and Way, Lucan A. "The Rise of Competitive Authoritarianism." Journal of Democracy. (2002) 11:2: 51-65

* Makeda Tsegaye is an Ethiopian woman with a Masters degree in International Peace Studies (with specialization in Economic Development and Peace) currently working for an international development agency in Nairobi, Kenya.

* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org

Bad debt, unfair trade and rotten aid

The effects on children and the youth

Hellen Tombo

2005-06-16

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/28620

In Soweto, South Africa, thousands of black school children took to the streets in 1976 to protest the inferior quality of their education. Hundreds of young boys and girls were shot down by apartheid police. To honour the memory of those killed and the courage of those who marched, the Day of the African Child has been celebrated on 16 June every year since 1991. The Day also draws attention to the lives of African children today. In this article Hellen Tombo highlights the negative impact of onerous debt, unfair trade, inefficient aid and poor governance on the lives of African children and youth.


It is estimated that at least 30% of the world's population is aged between 10-24 years while nearly 12% is made up of children between 0-10 years. Out of this population, more than 75% are trapped in abject poverty and have insufficient income levels, if any, and no access to basic education opportunities. Youth and children die as a result of inadequacies in health care and other services, lack basic shelter and are orphaned at an early age. This is in violation of human rights norms as contained in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (1948).

It is now an open secret that trade injustice; insufficient aid and poor governance compounds this situation. These aspects are co-related and are all closely interlinked to debt. Studies have shown that states are subjected to unfair trade practices in return for aid, culminating in huge debts and unwise decisions from leaders. As Shridath Ramphal puts it, "debt is an oppressive tyranny that strips a country's population their rights." The discussion in the rest of this article places emphasis on how debt, unfair trade, insufficient aid and poor governance has had an impact on the youth and children of Africa.

Unemployment

With increased heavy dependence on aid, developing countries have been unable to create employment opportunities due to heavy budgetary allocations and expenditure. The GDP of these countries is far too low even to maintain the already existing workers. The culmination of this is borrowing.

Such monies have come with strings attached in the name of Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs). One condition contained in SAPs is that nations expecting aid should cut down on their labour force. This has negatively impacted on the youth given that opportunities for public employment are nearly impossible.

Privatisation and liberalization of state owned corporations have serious impacts on the youth. Most foreign investors offer casual jobs, resulting in poor pay and exposure to health risks. Further, workers unions are often not allowed.

Child labour is common. Parents cannot afford to provide for their families, either because of retrenchment or simply because of poor pay. Such families have developed "survival strategies" of engaging their children in labour to substitute a meagre income.

Other serious consequences of the unemployment crisis are child prostitution, street children and children becoming breadwinners for their families, as they take care of their ailing parents who have lost jobs or are too poor to afford health care.

Education

African governments have greatly reduced their expenditure on education, thus failing to commit themselves to "universal basic primary education for all".

Although donor countries have set aside money to support the education sector in many countries, to a large extent the initiative has been harmful to youth and children. Such initiatives have in most cases proved unsustainable. (For example, NARC's ''free primary education for all" in Kenya.) The government was promised funding by donor countries, only for most of them to pull out after the programme was initiated. This led to the evolvement of the cost sharing principle between the government and parents.

In Kenya, liberalization of our education system has seen foreign countries opening up their very expensive universities in our country. They have branded Kenya's public university education a sham. The expensive private universities don't open up job opportunities for our youth, despite pocketing so much money from them.

Trade and environment

Donor countries have made leaders their puppets by forcing them to sign trade agreements that only represent corporate interests. Africa depends on the export of primary commodities. Imports of finished goods expose the public to price violations and huge trade deficits, resulting in an increased debt obligation and meaning a country is unable to utilize its resources to develop the youth.

Trade liberalization and the elimination of barriers to US trade and investment has left hundreds of youth working as casuals in foreign companies. Trade agreements from the West and Europe prevent development of intra-African trade, which could easily create additional markets for talented youths. Unfair trade has also not spared youths striving to be in business. Local products have lost out as consumers prefer imported products.

Aids and health

WHO estimates that at least 30,000 children die daily from malaria and that at least 5,000 youth die daily from HIV/AIDS-related illnesses in Africa alone.

The Bush administration committed $15 billion over five years to fight HIV/AIDS. But the commitment is tied to conditions that have impeded the primary goal. The promotion of abstinence by the Bush administration is a noble cause, but we cannot ignore the fact that youth are exposed to high-risk behaviour. This calls for the distribution of condoms as a control mechanism.

With no funds, the cost of antiretroviral drugs will remain high and very few youth can afford and have access to them. Similarly, governments have had to borrow money to boost their health sectors and fight diseases like malaria.

Insufficient Aid

Donor agents have over the last 10 years been non-committal in giving aid that can sustain government's effort to meet its obligations. Varied reasons for such positions have been given. For example, donors have maintained they will not continue funding corrupt governments or governments that fail to meet their conditions. Some conditions like SAPs have been totally harmful to the people.

Insufficient aid means that a government is not able to offer services like education. Cost sharing (which is unaffordable to most parents) and cutting down on health expenditure are the solutions. Insufficient aid means that the government is unable to support youth initiatives that would help them reshape their lives.

Poor governance

There is perhaps no other better evidence of poor governance than corruption. The costs of corruption on the youth is enormous. First, bribery means that young people have to "buy" their way out through payment for services. For a youth to get a job, a bribe would come in handy. Similarly, in accessing public services like medicine from a hospital, one would be forced to bribe the pharmacist.

Embezzlement culminates in schools, health clinics, roads, sewer systems and other public amenities being in a worse state. Corruption reduces the overall wealth of a country. Thus it discourages business as well as investors from operating.

Conclusion

Any achievement of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) and Millennium Development Goals (MDG) targets, especially with regards the youth, requires due attention to strategies aimed at focusing on how debt, unfair trade, insufficient aid and poor governance has impacted on this population sector.

The MDG targets relating to both youth and children (education attainment, gender balance in education, improved maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and decent employment opportunities, sexual and reproductive health etc) have largely been made unachievable because of issues to do with debt.

The 2015 target of the MDGs is long-term, and if the youth are to benefit, then time for global justice aimed at influencing the world global agenda on how debts have negatively impacted on them is now.

2005 offers opportunities for youth mobilization. The key dates for action that lie ahead (the G8 Summit, the UN Millennium Summit, the WTO Ministerial and other local events as well as regional events such as the Day of the African child, coupled with white band days) are some opportunities for the youth to get on board en masse and add their voice.

The youth should wake up to the call and add their voice to the demand for the cancellation of debts. It is unrealistic to expect that poor countries can meet the MDGs without extra international support, thus the youth are called to mobilise and pressure G8 countries to cancel debt. In support of GCAP, the youth should develop a platform and challenge the World Bank and IMF to allow all people to make decisions on how to run their countries.

* Hellen Tombo is executive director of the Kenya Youth Education and Community Development Programme (KYCEP).

* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org

Debt deal: a rigged hand?

2005-06-16

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/28622

G8 finance ministers last Saturday agreed to write off more than $40-billion in debts of 18 of the world's poorest nations in order to free up money for spending on social services like health and education. The 18 nations to benefit immediately are Benin, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guyana, Honduras, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. But is the deal all it is cracked up to be?

Immediate reaction from government and international NGOs was positive, but doubts quickly began to emerge about whether the announcement was all it was made out to be. Apart from the amount being written off only making up a small amount of total debt owed, a major area of concern was in paragraph 2 of the statement made by finance ministers when they announced the deal. The paragraph makes clear that conditions will be attached to the deal. To qualify countries must eliminate "impediments to private investment, both domestic and foreign". These kinds of conditions attached to previous debt relief packages have been extensively criticized for causing more harm than good.

Below are some of the reactions to the debt deal from various civil society organisations and groupings:

* US lobby group Africa Action emphasized that dozens of other African countries continued to be trapped under a burden of illegitimate debt, which the G-8 plan still failed to address. Africa Action also rejected the G-8's embrace of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative as the framework for debt cancellation, noting the harmful economic conditions tied to this program. Ann-Louise Colgan, Director of Policy Analysis and Communications at Africa Action, noted: "We reject the G-8's affirmation of the harmful HIPC framework as the basis for future debt cancellation, when it is clear that the devastating conditions required by this program have deepened the debt crisis and exacerbated poverty across the African continent. The continued exclusion of countries like Nigeria and South Africa, who also carry massive burdens of illegitimate debt, is unacceptable as a matter of law and justice."

* Mozambique civil society issued a statement saying they were concerned about the price of debt cancellation in terms of the conditions that countries would have to adopt in order to qualify. The statement said the amount freed up by debt cancellation would not be enough in itself - more and better aid would also be needed and issues of trade and access to markets resolved.

* Debt campaigning group Jubilee South reiterated long-standing demands for unconditional cancellation of all debt. The organisation demanded the abolition of all IMF and World Bank policies and reparations for the costs of structural adjustment programs. Furthermore, Jubilee South said stolen wealth should be repatriated, while African leaders and policy makers should move away from destructive neoliberal policies and explore genuine people-centred development policies.

Jubilee South said the deal actually strengthened control over the economies of the countries targeted because in order to qualify for debt cancellation eligible countries would have had to have gone through the HIPC completion point, which involves the implementation of stringent free market reforms. Many commentators, academics, theologians and activists within the economic justice movement point out that the costs of Structural Adjustment Programmes and creditor imposed conditionality far outweigh the amount of debt to be cancelled, Jubilee South said.

* The Committee for the Abolition of Third World Debt noted that the financial burden of the operation on rich countries would amount to some 2 billion dollars a year, compared to 350 billion the G8 devoted to farming subsidies or 700 billion they spend in military expenditure. Rich countries would thus be willing to spend every year for the announced cancellation half of the amount the US spends every month on their continued occupation of Iraq. "The G8 decision represents a continuation of the HIPC initiative, which means the imposition of heavily neoliberal policies: privatisation of natural resources and of strategic economic sectors to the benefit of transnational corporations; higher cost of health care and education; a rise in VAT; free flow of capital, which leads to capital leaving the country as shown by several UNCTAD reports; lower tariff protection, which leads to thousands of small and middle producers losing their livelihoods because they cannot compete with imported goods."

* A joint political statement by NGOs worldwide describes as "extremely misleading" statements that the proposals represent 100% multilateral debt cancellation. "It covers only a limited number of countries, and only ones implementing harsh World Bank and IMF policy conditions." Demba Moussa Dembele, of the Forum for African Alternatives, Senegal, recalled that the hype surrounding previous G-7 announcements had not been borne out by the results on the ground. "We've heard this so many times. Africa has already paid enough. We do not owe anything". Neil Watkins, of Jubilee USA said: "The G-8 proposal for 100% debt cancellation for some poor nations to the IMF and other international lenders is an important first step, but the deal must be expanded to include all impoverished countries. Debt cancellation must come without subjecting these countries to devastating economic conditions".

* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org

From adult-centric rhetoric to young people's roles in the struggle for social justice

Christina Clark

2005-06-16

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/28621

So, June 16th is the Day of the African Child ... What does it mean? For most African young people, the Day of the African Child does not mean a whole lot. Many will continue their daily lives -- working in fields and factories, caring for younger siblings or older relatives, begging on the streets of sprawling urban centres, fighting in armed groups and militias, tending sheep and cattle, selling their wares and services in markets and on the streets - without even knowing that June 16th is different from any other.

Those who are aware of the Day of the African Child are likely to be enrolled in some kind of formal education, or 'mobilised' for activities by NGOs, UN agencies and governments. For these young people, the Day of the African Child may be simply that - one day in which they are told something about children's rights that contrasts with the other 364 days of the year during which they are ignored or silenced. Other African young people would not consider themselves to be children. In many traditional African societies, puberty is a biological change that has social implications: after puberty, one is no longer treated as a child, although one may not have full status within social hierarchies based on age and sex.

For many civil society organisations, the Day of the African Child has become a celebration of the entry into force of the African Charter of the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC). The ACRWC, together with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), provide a comprehensive framework for protecting and promoting children's social, economic and political rights. Many civil society organisations thus use June 16th as a day to reflect on the progress made towards the institutionalisation of child rights in law and to call for greater implementation of these legal standards.

For many African governments, June 16th provides a platform for self-aggrandizement. Government leaders often highlight the progress they have made towards upholding and implementing their international and domestic commitments towards children and make more promises about what they will do in the future. This means that the Day of the African Child ensures that children's issues are on the political agenda - for at least one day a year.

In other words, the Day of the African Child is primarily a day for adults, in various capacities and with a variety of motivations. Apart from a few tokenistic children's voices (often under the guise of 'participation'), the overwhelming chorus of speeches, television and radio appearances, and written words (including this commentary) will come from adults. The marginalisation of children's voices is particularly ironic and unfortunate since the day was initially introduced to commemorate a 1976 march by black students in Soweto, South Africa to protest the inferior quality of their education and to demand the right to be taught in their own language. The Organisation of African Unity (now the African Union) in 1991 declared June 16th a day to remember the hundreds of students, who were gunned down, killed and wounded, during the march and subsequent protests. The fact that a day ostensibly for commemorating children's political action is dominated by adults reflects a broader marginalisation of children in the struggle for social justice.

Who cares?

Since the Day of the African Child is largely dominated by adults, why should we care about it at all? Responses to this question often refer to the importance of children as the future generations and/or pull on heartstrings by listing a litany of the ways in which children are victimised. These common refrains again reflect an adult-centric approach to children as semi-human beings: only important in terms of their future contribution to societies, or as victims in the present.

This is why the question about who cares becomes so important. The focus here is not on the 'who cares?' throw-away question in response to issues that are deemed unimportant, but rather who cares in terms of who is best placed to understand and articulate children's issues. Viewed in this way, the answer clearly appears to be: "Children, of course!" Once children are recognised as active economic and social members of families, communities and societies, it is much more difficult to justify their current political marginalisation not only from children's issues, but also from broader social justice issues. In other words, we need to refocus our attention on the reason why the Day of the African Child was initiated in the first place - to commemorate political action by African young people in their struggle against oppression.

Young people's roles in the struggle for social justice

Since the entry into force of the ACRWC and CRC, children's rights advocates across Africa and globally have worked tirelessly to introduce the language of rights around children's issues. However, while claims around children's rights are a necessary component in the struggle for social justice, they are not sufficient in and of themselves. Since social justice is broader than human rights, we need to complement the work done on promoting and protecting children's rights by recognising children as citizens and actors in building just societies. While young people have important roles to play in the struggle for social justice - as economic and social actors who directly confront such issues, and as political actors with views on their own situation - civil society organisations rarely address children's issues, concerns and opinions.

* In order to increase the priority of children's issues, Fahamu intends to develop training materials for a distance-learning course highlighting the roles of children in social justice for partner organisations in Africa. This initiative is intended to complement existing child rights courses by approaching children's issues from a different perspective. It will start from the philosophy that children are first and foremost human beings, and thus must be recognised as active members of their communities and societies. Taking social justice as the end goal, it will show how children's roles must be integral in working towards this goal because of children's often unequal positions within hierarchical power relations that tend to marginalise their views and make them more vulnerable to particular abuses. We hope that this initiative will help us to move from generating more adult-centric rhetoric on a 'Day of the African Child' to recognising and promoting young people's daily roles in the struggle for social justice in Africa.

* Christina Clark is Commonwealth Scholar, Oxford University and a volunteer with Fahamu. She is currently coordinating a consultation process on Fahamu's proposed initiative on young people in the struggle for social justice. For more information on the initiative and/or a detailed concept paper, please contact her on: christina@fahamu.org

* Please send further comments to editor@pambazuka.org

When wearing white is not chic, and collaboration not cool

Patrick Bond, Dennis Brutus and Virginia Setshedi

2005-06-16

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/28625

Notwithstanding the global hype associated with reversing aid, debt and trade injustices during the past few days, it hasn't been an easy time for the huge Non-Governmental Organisations at the centre of the action.

A front-page New Statesman article on May 30 revealed that Oxfam's revolving-door relationship with chancellor Gordon Brown has neutered the demands, strategies and tactics of the 450-member NGO campaign, 'Make Poverty History'. The website of the British magazine Red Pepper followed up with a devastating political critique of the campaign, including a refusal to countenance any anti-war message that will embarrass Brown and Tony Blair.

Embarrassment of this sort seems endemic amongst the charity-minded. The Bob Geldof superstar concert series 'Live 8' correctly stood accused of being 'hideously white' (as Black Information Link put it), since only one band from Africa was scheduled amongst dozens at the five major performances. (A hastily arranged additional concert in Johannesburg may lead to a kind of outsourcing for black bands.) In any case, Sir Bob's mid-1980s Live Aid famine relief strategy is widely understood to have flopped because it ignored the countervailing roles of imperial power relations, capital accumulation, unreformable global institutions and venal local elites - problems repeated and indeed amplified in Live 8.

There was another PR disaster in early June, just a month before the Group of 8 (G8) leaders meet in Gleneagles, Scotland: white wristbands favoured by Blair as a mark of his commitment to Africa were revealed as products of Chinese forced labour at a Shenzhen firm, Tat Shing. According to the Telegraph newspaper, 'Christian Aid, which bought more than 500,000 wristbands from Tat Shing, claims that Oxfam failed to tell other charities that it had decided to stop ordering from the Shenzhen company. Oxfam said it told its coalition partners of its decision, but "perhaps could have put it in writing".'

Do these gaffes signify something deeper? Merely careless paternalism? Or perhaps a sense that the main outcomes of this campaign are to be celebrated in media buzz, fashion statements, celebrity chasing and the NGOs' proximity to power?

NGOs or organic social movements

The heart of the problem is that the large mainstream NGOs - and here we do not mean War on Want, the World Development Movement and Christian Aid - are not putting serious pressure on the G8. For example, when anti-poverty campaigners call for 'cancellation of poor countries' unpayable debts', this leaves undefined what, exactly, is 'unpayable' (quite a weasel word) and concedes that the vast populations of lower-middle income countries will suffer under indefinite debt peonage. NGO and rock star endorsements of the partial debt relief gimmick announced by Gordon Brown and the G8 finance ministers on June 11 illustrate the confusion.

Semantic wiggling is just one of the problems associated with the best of these initiatives, the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP), whose International Facilitation Group was established in Johannesburg late last year. Many excellent African organisations have joined the campaign, but have they fully applied their minds, and social-change instincts?

For GCAP, 'A single global title for the mobilisation is needed to provide focus, cohesion and to maximise impact of activity... The aim of "White Band Day" will be to get everyone around the world that wants to end poverty to wear a white band on those days.'

There is a genuine need for focus and cohesion. But if it is addressed in the manner conceived by GCAP's strategists, it could have the reverse effect: organisational demobilisation accompanied by lowest-common-denominator analyses and demands.

To illustrate, GCAP's first newsletter, issued on June 14, is a 3600-word report-back on campaigning across the world. Yet it contains no reference to organic anti-poverty activism in the Global South, such as - in no particular order - labour strikes, popular mobilisations for AIDS-treatment and other health services, reconnections of water/electricity, land and housing occupations, anti-GMO and pro-food security campaigns, women's organising, municipal budget campaigns, student and youth movements, community resistance to displacements caused by dam construction and the like, anti-debt and reparations movements, environmental justice struggles, immigrants' rights campaigns, political movements to take state power, etc etc. No mention of Bolivia, Venezuela, Palestine, Iraq.

GCAP has superb member organisations across the Third World, to be sure, but as a network it just seems to float in the air, disconnected from the reality of anti-poverty protest. It's as if the formidable recent upsurge of unrest - 1980s-90s IMF Riots, high-profile indigenous people's protests since Zapatismo in 1994, global justice activism since Seattle in 1999, the Social Forum movement since 2001, anti-war demos since 2001, autonomist protests and the Latin American left's revival - never happened, don't exist, aren't worthy of acknowledgment much less integration and amplification.

Worse, GCAP's promotion of the already watered-down UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) could draw away activist energy and resources in many Third World countries, from organic struggles and organisational imperatives. If GCAP is successful, we foresee a tsunami of distraction, flooding out the diverse local struggles that could instead - if nurtured carefully - support a genuinely bottom-up, internationally-linked, networked fight against injustice.

In contrast to the GCAP rhetoric, albeit sometimes off the beaten path, serious activists are crossing borders, races, classes and political traditions in sector after sector: land (Via Campesino), healthcare (International Peoples Health Council), free schooling (Global Campaign for Education), water (the People's World Water Forum), energy/climate change (the Durban Declaration), debt (Jubilee South), democratic development finance (IFIs-Out! and World Bank Bonds Boycott), trade (Our World is Not for Sale) and so on.

Of course, it is not at all easy to interlock the already overlapping grassroots and shopfloor justice campaigns. South Africans now campaigning for an overall programme of 'decommodification' and socio-economic rights know this, thanks to the various movements' political splits (mainly over the merits of alignment to the corruption-ridden, neoliberal ruling party of Thabo Mbeki).

To be sure, there is broad unity in the South Africans' objectives - free anti-retroviral medicines to fight AIDS; at least 50 litres of free water and 1 kiloWatt hour of free electricity for each individual every day; extensive land reform; prohibitions on service disconnections and evictions; free education; the right to employment; and even a monthly 'Basic Income Grant' - but very hard work lies ahead to connect the concrete struggles.

Globophiles, globophobes

Still, without coherence emerging from organic struggles fought by mass democratic movements across the Global South (including in Northern ghettoes), the construction of a top-down campaign against poverty is both unrealistic and subject to early cooption. According to Catherine Quarmby in the New Statesman last month, 'Some of the most intriguing criticism of the softly-softly approach has come from within the government itself. One senior government source suggests that Oxfam has failed to learn one of the essential techniques of negotiation - if you agree on the basics too early you forfeit real influence.'

Unfortunately this is no aberration, but part of a pattern dating at least to 1995, when Oxfam International broke from the 50 Years is Enough protests against the World Bank, endorsing a large inflow of taxpayer funding at the very peak of the Washington Consensus mentality.

By 2002, Oxfam's leading policy analsyst, quoted in the Washington Post, happily revealed an agenda of divide-and-conquer, between 'globophobes' (the global justice movement protesting the WTO/IMF/World Bank) and 'globophiles' (Oxfam): 'Breaking with some of its anti-globalisation allies, the aid agency Oxfam International issued a report yesterday that praised international trade as a potentially enormous boon to the world's poor... "The extreme element of the anti-globalisation movement is wrong," said Kevin Watkins, a senior policy adviser for Oxfam who wrote most of the report. "Trade can deliver much more [for poor countries] than aid or debt relief."'

As then-director of Food First, Anuradha Mittal, complained, 'We are disappointed that Oxfam, one of the NGO leaders on food security, has chosen to undermine the demands of social movements and think tanks in the South such as Via Campesina, Movement of Landless Workers (Brazil), Third World Network, Focus on the Global South, and Africa Trade Network which have demanded that governments must uphold the rights of all people to food sovereignty and the right to food rather than industry-led export-oriented production... Oxfam undermines the demands of social movements and think tanks in the South.'

Proximity to Downing Street and Pennsylvania Avenue has unfortunately become a good proxy for political common sense, or lack thereof. For instance, Mohammad Akhter, chief executive officer of Interaction, the 160-member NGO coalition many of whose members are considered de facto subsidiaries of US AID, met Wolfowitz late last month and publicly pronounced: 'The World Bank is in good hands.'

A few days earlier, Interaction and Oxfam had thrown a grateful going-away bash for James Wolfensohn, even though on three high-profile occasions - the World Commission on Dams, Structural Adjustment Participatory Review Initiative and Extractive Industries Review - he seduced NGOs into multi-stakeholder reviews, and then broke their hearts by allying instead with corporate and state suiters.

As a result of these sorts of influences, there appears little benefit - and great risk - for African NGOs to adopt as a high priority top-down Make Poverty History and even GCAP campaigns which endorse MDG end-goals dreamt up in the backrooms of the UN, where Bush administration ideologues breathe down bureaucrats' necks to reduce funding obligations, impose patriarchal and Christian-fundamentalist values, remove the word 'rights' from (already fatuous) official rhetoric, and denude the few progressive UN agencies of any clout. Even Johannesburg-based Civicus International staff have informally relabeled their objective the 'Minimalist Development Goals'.

Why, then, do those white bands grace some African NGO wrists and heads, from Civicus' chief executive officer at the last World Economic Forum in Davos, to a few brave pro-MDG NGOers at the Africa Social Forum? When Civicus staff brought two huge bags of the headbands to Lusaka and made a pitch for the campaign, it was so controversial - alongside a futile appeal to endorse a 'Joint Facilitation Committee' with the hated World Bank - that the bags were left closed.

South Africa's whiteband ('witdoeke') problem

If we flash back 19 years, to mid-1986, we get a better perspective on why wearing white headbands is so distasteful for the South African left. At the time, Cape Town's African township Crossroads had a population of 100 000+ and a high profile in anti-apartheid protest in part because of its location near the airport. Over a fortnight's time, violence erupted, leaving 60 people dead and approximately 60,000 people homeless as a reactionary paramilitary gang swept through, known as the 'witdoeke', whose leader was specifically mandated by the apartheid regime to terrorise anti-apartheid activists.

According to a reliable history of the area, 'The person selected for this in Crossroads was Johnson Ngxobongwana. Ngxobongwana had evolved from being a local warlord to a strong political voice in Crossroads. As chairman of the ward committee he had built up a popular following, and acquired a retinue of local thugs, known as witdoeke (white-cloths) for the white headbands they wore for identification. Unbeknownst to most people he also had "unofficial" sponsorship from South Africa's apartheid government and its security forces. Ngxobongwana was able to use these resources to eliminate rivals in the area, as well as marginalise women's groups and youth groups.'

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission found Crossroads' fate to be comparable with techniques used in Johannesburg, Durban and other sites where violence emanating from the witdoeke-style Inkatha movement killed tens of thousands of people: 'In the South African context, contra-mobilisation was used to organise and support "moderate blacks" to oppose the revolutionary movements. Of necessity, it was a covert strategy - concealing the hand of the state as provider of logistical, political and financial support - and making use of "surrogate" forces. Hence, the state would not be seen to be involved in the conflict and violence between groupings and the resistance organisations.'

No one is suggesting that putting on a white headband or wristband makes you a collaborator with neoliberalism, dividing-and-conquering the oppressed forces, and supporting 'moderate' NGOs so that they gain bantustan-style rewards from the global apartheid establishment.

Nevertheless, from the standpoint of the resistance organisations, it is overdue that we collectively consider our fundamental visions, and in particular whether the much welcomed globalisation of people - and of culture, ideas, hospitality, travel and political solidarity - can be accompanied by what we'd argue is just as desperately needed: the deglobalisation of capital.

For or against market tyranny?

After all, the danger of NGO-lubricated ideological alignment with the neoliberal project is serious. At a time men like Jeffrey Sachs are celebrated as saviours of the world's poor - for example, in a Bono song dedication at last month's big New York City concert - a deeper critique of markets and the NGOs which legitimate them is desperately needed.

Bono in particular has been obsequious. At the last New Labour party convention, Bono labeled Blair/Brown the 'Lennon and McCartney of poverty reduction'. According to Quarmby, 'some groups involved in Make Poverty History were horrified. John Hilary, director of campaigns and policy at War on Want, was in the audience. "When Bono said that, many NGO leaders who were there put their heads in their hands and groaned... It's a killer blow for us. To see the smiles on the faces of Gordon Brown and Tony Blair! This is exactly what they want - they want people to believe that this is their crusade, without actually changing their policy."'

Are the Make Poverty History campaign objectives for Gleneagles - greater Third World exposure to market mechanisms, a few crumbs of debt relief and a doubling of (neoliberally-conditioned) aid - actually worth endorsing as a reformist step forward - or should they be condemned as more of the same? In his book Deglobalisation, Bello has convincingly set out the justice movement's case for disempowering and defunding the global-scale institutions that push capitalism down Third World throats.

So when Sachs, Oxfam, Mbeki and others continue to insist that the way to cure poverty is to expand the world market and reverse Africa's alleged 'marginalisation', they elide the reality that Africa's trade/GDP ratio has for many years topped the world charts, and the reality that ever-greater reliance upon exporting cash-crops and minerals - most of which have suffered huge declines in price due to gluts - is a recipe for underdevelopment.

When debt relief comes with more Western neoliberal conditionality, as HIPC shows, the reality is that people often end up in worse shape after relief than before.

And when G8 'phantom aid' continues to foster Northern interests above those of the Third World's people, it should be rethought entirely. In late May, Christian Aid's brilliant Ghanaian researcher/campaigner Charles Abugre declared - personally not organisationally - to a Globalise Resistance conference in London: 'Stop the aid! It's done too much damage!'

What to wear, for fun in the sun?

What, then, should be done in coming weeks, especially on July 2 in Edinburgh? As Naomi Klein suggested at a University of KwaZulu-Natal anti-corporate conference on June 10, 'A million people are going to Edinburgh and joining hands, wearing white, in a circle around the entire city, and it's going to be one big, giant bracelet. Everyone will wear bracelets, and then they'll be a bracelet. Are you excited about this? I always had concerns that some of these big corporate NGOs were less interested in contesting power than acting as accessories to power. But being a giant bracelet for the G8 takes this a little too far.'

Instead, suggested Klein, 'Encircle the G8! But instead of declaring themselves a piece of jewelry, they should say, we are a noose, we are putting pressure and we are squeezing these neoliberal policies that are taking lives around the world. Just like the noose that killed Ken Saro-Wiwa ten years ago this November.'

That is indeed the choice: to be a bauble for - or a noose against - neoliberalism. By joining those active across the Third World in concrete struggles (who in our experience are not wasting time with GCAPs and MDGs), Northern readers can offer real, lasting solidarity.

In making the choice, especially in Britain, consider whether the symbolism of the colour white is appropriate. Are NGOs and their friends painting themselves as virgins at an alter, on the verge of marrying G8 leaders like Bush, Berlusconi, Chirac, Blair? Alternatively, will the NGO-led masses be waving white flags of surrender on July 2 in Edinburgh, with these headbands and wristbands?

It's rather hard to tell. According to Make Poverty History's Bruce Whitehead, 'It's not a march in the sense of a demonstration, but more of a walk. It is going to be very much a family affair. The emphasis is on fun in the sun. The intention is to welcome the G8 leaders to Scotland and to ask them to deliver trade justice, debt cancellation and increased aid to developing countries.'

Perhaps Whitehead and Make Poverty History need a change of both attitude and attire. After all, 'white' armies have traditionally fought 'red' armies. Fortunately, unlike Russia in the late 1910s or Crossroads in the mid-1980s, today's armies of NGOs and social movements are not carrying weapons of physical destruction, only ideas, energy and a few material resources.

Still, we can't help but conclude that, in contrast to the red social movement struggles for dignity and justice, those wearing white and adopting the NGOs' weak programme may appear as... well, if not explicit agents of the G8, then at minimum their decorations.

Hence when protesting against Wolfowitz on his mid-June Africa trip, against the Gleneagles meeting of the world's rulers in early July, and against the World Bank and IMF annual meetings during the late September days of anti-war action in Washington, DC, we'll encourage our comrades to wear something more colourful, with politics to match.

***

Bond is based at the Centre for Civil Society at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban; Brutus is a poet and professor emeritus at University of Pittsburgh, and works with Jubilee South Africa and the Centre for Economic Justice; and Setshedi is a Soweto-based anti-privatisation activist employed at the Freedom of Expression Institute.


* Please send further comments to editor@pambazuka.org

African Civil Society and the African Union: Time for Self-Organisation?

Rotimi Sankore & Chidi Odinkalu

2005-06-16

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/panafrican/28631

The African Union Heads of State Summit will hold in Libya from 28th of June to 5th of July 2005. Unlike with previous summits, there will be no AU facilitated civil society meeting preceding the Summit in Libya. As there has been no official and public explanation by the AU, it is best not to speculate on why the expected meeting will not be holding.

The fact that it will not be holding however raises important questions the most obvious of which is - Should African civil society be reliant on the AU to fund its pre summit meetings? A No answer - has its implications, the major question being how then will it be funded. A Yes answer - also has implications in respect of independence and ethical questions, especially given that the state, its agents and agencies in many African countries are the main violators of human, political, economic and social rights on the continent. This is not withstanding the fact that the AU as an institution has surpassed the expectations of many cynics in terms of its engagement with civil society and its vision for Africa. To go further, the leadership and many officials of the AU have been exemplary in their relations with African civil society.

Nevertheless, the fact that the regular AU supported civil society meeting will not be holding will raise a question mark over the relationship of civil society with the AU with regards to summit arrangements. Will this be a one off situation? Will the next one be guaranteed to hold?

The most important question though on the minds of many across Africa will be: how is it that African civil society's major annual meeting will not be holding in the very year when Africa and Africa's problems are the focus of the world? Is it that African civil society is so insignificant in the equation that the governments of Africa, Europe, America and the G8 can decide Africa's future without the input of civil society - even at a time when rock musicians and pop stars across the West can claim to have influence on the future of Africa.

The issues of debt; gender equality; human rights and democracy; conflict, peace and security; HIV/AIDS; agriculture and food security and many more are too crucial to be left to drift for another year without African civil society input.

Of course African civil society is not insignificant. However to actually demonstrate that they are significant, civil society will have to go the extra mile and jump the extra foot to show that to a reasonable extent it has an independent voice and that its voice can be and must be heard at a time when it is most crucial to Africa.

In political and logistical terms this means that gravity must be defied and an African civil society meeting must hold before, parallel to, or immediately after and in response to the AU Heads of State summit. Can such a meeting be organised within two to three weeks? Despite obvious difficulties (the major one being finance) the answer is yes. Can it be organised in Libya without the moral if not financial support of the AU given the strength of Libyan civil society, and the logistics of getting there? It is possible but not guaranteed. If not in Libya, where then? Obvious alternatives could be Lagos, Johannesburg or Nairobi. These are logistically easier to reach, and have strong civil society with the organisational capacity to host African colleagues. Holding such a meeting outside of the venue of the AU summit will be breaking with tradition. However the point should be for the meeting to take place, not where it takes place. This means the meeting may also loose its traditional opportunity to feed into the AU summit process, especially if it holds parallel to or after the Executive Council meeting, or even parallel to or after the Heads of State summit itself. Again, the point is for the meting to take place at a time in history when it is imperative for it to do so. In any case the official AU supported meeting is not going to take place so the opportunity to feed in is already non-existent. However effective use of the media can overcome this shortcoming.

Not holding an African civil society meeting this year will set a precedent that may be too costly for Africa to recover from. The impact on democracy and rights issues in Africa may not be felt immediately but it will be definitely be felt sooner rather than later. Key African civil society actors and organisations must step forward to prevent this. There is no time to waste. Will it be Johannesburg, Lagos or Nairobi? The responses from us all will decide. Act Now!

Rotimi Sankore is Director of Credo, and Chidi Odinkalu is a Nigerian barrister and human rights adviser.

Please send responses to editor@pambazuka.org

Protest government evictions in Zimbabwe

2005-06-14

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/28572

The Coordination Office of the Housing and Land Rights Network of Habitat International Coalition (HIC-HLRN) requests urgent intervention in the following situation in Zimbabwe. HIC-HLRN repeatedly has received alarming information from local civil society sources of massive evictions in throughout Zimbabwe that already have rendered 200,000 people homeless in two weeks. Some 30,000 street vendors and people working informally have been detained and if the eviction drive continues, "the estimates are that 2 to 3 million people could be affected, which is about a quarter of (Zimbabwe's) population," as M. Kothari, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing warned in a press conference on 3 June.
Habitat International Coalition
Housing and Land Rights Network

Urgent Action Appeal: 200,000 people evicted in two weeks and another million threatened in Zimbabwe

The Coordination Office of the Housing and Land Rights Network of Habitat
International Coalition (HIC-HLRN) requests your URGENT intervention in
the following situation in Zimbabwe.

Brief description of the situation

HIC-HLRN repeatedly has received alarming information from local civil
society sources of massive evictions in throughout Zimbabwe that already
have rendered 200,000 people homeless in two weeks. Some 30,000 street
vendors and people working informally have been detained and if the
eviction drive continues, “the estimates are that 2 to 3 million people
could be affected, which is about a quarter of (Zimbabwe's) population,"
as M. Kothari, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing
warned in a press conference on 3 June. Most victims are now sleeping in
the streets and in the open countryside, when the country is in winter
season. Two cases of children dying due to the hardship caused by the
destruction of theirs homes in winter time have already been reported. In
latest newspapers updates on the situation on 3 June, Zimbabwe's police
said their operation against street traders and illegal housing has
entered its final day, but as of 7 June, evictions were still going on.

The government labeled the eviction drive Operation Murambatsvina, which
means “drive out the rubbish.” The operation has happened without any
notice, except apparently in Harare, where government-appointed Mayor
Sekesai Makwavarara gave inhabitants notice of eviction in May, and told
them that they had until July 2005 to vacate. However, evictions started
in different places in the country as early as 17 May and, in the night of
26 May, authorities forcibly drove more than 10,000 people from their
homes in the informal settlement of Hatcliffe Extension in northern Harare
alone.

According to Trudy Stevenson, a Member of Parliament for Hatcliffe
Extension area, 3,000 police were present during the eviction, thus
impeding any possibility for the victims to try and fight back. All
sources have confirmed and denounced this excessive use of force that has
prevented not only any opposition to the illegal evictions, but also
systematic and organized data collection, as people are afraid to tell
what happened to them. Interviewers also need police permission to get to
some of the affected members. As the Special Rapporteur mentioned in his
press conference on 3 June, “[t]he evictions have been carried out by
police forces that, besides destroying the dwellers property, have
allegedly beaten residents who try to defend their human right to adequate
housing.”
Moreover, the immediate people’s concerns are to get the children out of
the cold and find a place, where to store their belongings. Finally,
according to local organizations trying to provide assistance to the
victims, intimidation of some of the community leaders (of federations and
cooperatives) was already underway on 2 June.


Most people affected live in informal shacks in and around the cities,
while others were actually legal residents. Hatcliffe Extension is a
proper site-and-service scheme, and people had paid Z$300,000 per stand
last year for their lease documents. They were therefore legally there.
Others are housing organizations members, who have lease agreements, had
been officially allocated stands by either the government or the local
authority, and had moved on to site still living in temporary shelters
while construction was taking place. Moreover, many settlements had
already received improvements and some basic services—like water and
electricity; one of them even had a school—although they were still
considered informal.
However, the vast majority of evicted residents have not been offered any
alternative place to settle and have been told to go back to the rural
areas they originally come from, but have no means of subsistence.

When most reports are about Harare and its surroundings, people from
various parts of the country actually have been affected or are
threatened, namely Bulawayo, Victoria falls, Chitungwiza, Chipinge,
Kariba, Chinhoyi, Beitbridge and Gwanda. Victoria falls, Harare and Mutare
are the worst affected. 54 residents of Hatcliffe Extension community has
filed a court action through the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights that
was heard on 1 June, but the court judged the eviction lawful under the
argument that the cooperative had not filed proper building plans. The
community is appealing the decision.

A group of local organizations and cooperatives has been organizing
rapidly, so as to respond to the humanitarian crisis and mobilize national
and international pressure. The cooperatives especially have been all the
more surprised and appalled by the evictions, particularly as the
Government itself had entrusted them to help poor Zimbabweans achieve
better living conditions. Today, many of the evictees were residents of
these same cooperatives, through which some had obtained commercial stands
legally.



Background information
According to information received, some officials have justified the
Operation Murambatsvina as an urgent measure to “rid the capital of
illegal structures, businesses and criminal activities.” Harare’s
government-appointed Mayor Sekesai Makwavara also said in a statement e
that "[t]he attitude of the members of the public as well as some city
officials has led to the point whereby Harare has lost its glow. We are
determined to get it back." However, people on the ground and observers
think that the operation is a measure of collective punishment and
repression of potential uprising against the people who voted for the
opposition party in the recent elections.

While the international community has denounced the way these elections
took place, the social situation is explosive. After seven years of
unprecedented economic decline, 80 percent of the work force is unemployed
and 4 million of Zimbabwe's 12.5 million people have emigrated. Michael
Davies, chairman of the Combined Harare Residents Association, said more
than half of the capital's population of 2 million to 3 million people
live in housing marked for demolition. The current evictions exclude all
the people, who came from abandoned rural areas to cities to look for a
minimum to survive. Thus, as the Special Rapporteur pointed out in a 3
June press conference, "We are seeing in the world, and Zimbabwe is a good
example now, the creation of a new kind of apartheid where the rich and
the poor are being segregated."




International Law
Under most circumstances, forced evictions are prima facie in violation of
international law. These mass evictions primarily have grossly violated
200,000 people’s human right to adequate housing, but also have had an
impact on the dwellers’ congruent rights linked to adequate housing, such
as the right to food, right to water, right to health, right to education
and the right to earn a livelihood. In the right to adequate housing, the
Zimbabwean authorities have denied in particular the following elements:
legal security of tenure and freedom from dispossession; information;
participation and self-expression; and resettlement. All are recognized in
international law, especially in the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights that Zimbabwe has ratified on 13 August 1991.

These rights are also emphasized in General Comments no. 4 (1991) and no.
7
(1997) of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights (CESCR), which state that "forced evictions are prima facie
incompatible with the provisions of the Covenant and can only be carried
out under specific circumstances", imposing certain requirements which
State parties to the Covenant must respect, including the necessity to
inform the affected people, agree on a plan with them, and provide
adequate compensation.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing recently
stressed that “forced evictions carried out in the manner alleged would
constitute a gross violation of human rights, in particular of the right
to adequate housing, as has been stressed by a unanimously adopted
resolution of the UN Commission on Human Rights” (see resolution
E/CN.4/RES/1993/77).
In general, women and children are always the most affected by forced
evictions, especially when in already vulnerable conditions (widows,
orphans), thus this type of mass action grossly violates their rights, as
enshrined in international law as well.

Zimbabwe also ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) on 12 June 1991. CEDAW’s Article
14.2(h) requires States to ensure adequate living conditions for women in
rural areas. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Zimbabwe
ratified on 11 October 1990, specifically requires that States protect
children’s right to adequate housing (Article 27.3). The International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by Zimbabwe on 13 August
1991, prohibits cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and/or punishment
(Articles 7) and the arbitrary use of force (Article 17). The evictions
currently underway in Zimbabwe are in violation of all of these binding
international norms.

If evictions take place at all, international law and expressed consensus
establish that they can legally occur only in exceptional circumstances
and in conformity with human rights criteria. These include requirements
of consultation, due process, consent, ensuring alternative housing in
advance, and fair compensation, as set forth by the Committee on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) in General Comment No. 7.

At the regional level, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
also established that authorities are required to explore alternatives and
option with the affected community prior to eviction, to provide adequate
notice and information, to assure the availability of replacement
accommodation, as well as an opportunity to appeal an eviction order. As
in CESCR’s General Comment No. 7, the African jurisprudence affirms that
no one may be made homeless as a result of an eviction. (See Social and
Economic Rights Action Centre (SERAC) and The Centre for Economic and
Social Rights (CESR) v. Nigeria, 2001.[1])

While the Zimbabwean authorities have claimed that these cruel evictions
are based on the requirements of law enforcement, they also have
contravened the minimum requirements of law-enforcement official by using
force outside the principles of necessity and proportionality, as
elaborated in the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials (Article
3), which the General Assembly adopted in resolution 34/169, 17 December
1979. Moreover, the nature of the evictions also violates the General
Provisions of the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by
Law Enforcement Officials (1990). The African Charter on Human and
People’s Rights affirms these same principles, in particular under Article
6, which recognizes the right to freedom from arbitrary arrest or
detention.


These violations may also constitute crimes against humanity. The Rome
Statute of the International Criminal Court has codified the deliberately
widespread or systematic transfer of a civilian population as a crime
against humanity, under Article 7(1)(d) and Article 7(2)(d). The present
forcible transfer of large parts of the Zimbabwean population to rural
areas, relegates them to a state of dispossession, deepened
impoverishment, and without a source of livelihood or means of sustenance.
The grave conditions resulting from these evictions give argument to the
suggestion that the Security Council direct the prosecutor of the
International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate and prosecute these
serious crimes.


Action requested

Please write to the authorities in Zimbabwe, urging them to:
· immediately cease the mass evictions taking place around the
country;
· take urgent measures to ensure that adequate alternative housing
is immediately provided for already displaced populations, now reportedly
homeless;
· initiate dialogue with affected communities in accordance with
human rights principles, especially CESCR General Comment no. 7;
· investigate and prosecute the use of excessive force by the
police during the current eviction drive;
· comply with its obligations under international law and respect
all its citizens’ right to adequate housing—including legal security of
tenure and freedom from dispossession; information; participation and
self-expression; and resettlement—, but also the right to food, right to
water, right to health, right to education and the right to earn a
livelihood.


Addresses
H.E. Simbarashe Simbanenduku Mumbengegwi Minister of Foreign Affairs
Munhumutapa Building Samora Machel Avenue Box 4240 Harare, Republic of
Zimbabwe
Fax: +263 (0)4705–161
+263 (0)4 725–051 [zero required only when faxing from inside Zimbabwe]

H.E. Ambassador C. Chipaziwa
Permanent Mission of the Republic of Zimbabwe to the United Nations
(Geneva)
Chemin William Barbey 27
1292 Chambésy
Geneva, Switzerland
E-mail: mission.zimbabwe@ties.itu.int
Fax: +41 (0)22 758–3044 [zero required only when faxing from inside
Switzerland]

H.E. Ambassador Tichaona Joseph B. Jokonya Permanent Mission of the
Republic of Zimbabwe to United Nations Headquarters
128 East 56th Street
New York, NY 10022
Fax: +1 212 308–6705
E-mail: zimbabwe@un.int

Mr. Miloon Kothari
UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing
E-mail: miloonkothari@vsnl.net
Fax: +41(0)22 917–9010

Mr. Manfred Nowak
UN Special Rapporteur on Torture
E-mail: urgent-action@ohchr.org


**************
Geneva – Cairo…, 10 June 2005

Kindly inform HIC-HLRN and… of any action undertaken quoting the code of
this appeal in your reply to: urgentactions@hlrn.org
**************
Sample letter to Zimbabwean authorities


We have been informed by Habitat International Coalition-Housing and Land
Rights Network (HIC-HLRN) that the Government of Zimbabwe is carrying out
massive evictions in throughout Zimbabwe that already have rendered
200,000 people homeless in two weeks. Some 30,000 street vendors and
people working informally have been detained and if the eviction drive
continues, 2 to 3 million people could be affected. Most victims are now
sleeping in the streets and without shelter in the countryside, when the
country is in winter season. At least two children have died as a result
of the harsh conditions of homelessness.

The government’s Operation Murambatsvina has happened without any notice,
except apparently in Harare, where government-appointed Mayor Sekesai
Makwavarara gave inhabitants notice of eviction in May, and told them that
they had until July 2005 to vacate. However, evictions started in
different places in the country as early as 17 May and, in the night of 26
May, authorities forcibly drove more than 10,000 people from their homes
in the informal settlement of Hatcliffe Extension in northern Harare
alone.

The overwhelming presence of police at the scene have engaged in excessive
use of force added to the deprivation arising from these illegal evictions


Most victims are those who have been living in informal shacks in and
around the cities, while others were legal residents, such as those in
Hatcliffe Extension. The vast majority of evicted residents have not been
offered any alternative place to settle, and the authorities have told
them only to go back to the rural areas wherever they come from. If they
do so, they will have no means of subsistence.

Today, many of the evictees are legal residents from previously
government-supported cooperatives that were supposed to help poor
Zimbabweans achieve better living conditions. Eviction has left them
destitute and demoralized.



Under most circumstances, forced evictions are prima facie in violation of
international law. These mass evictions already have grossly violated
200,000 people’s human right to adequate housing, but also have had an
impact on the dwellers’ congruent rights linked to adequate housing, such
as the right to food, right to water, right to health, right to education
and the right to earn a livelihood. In the right to adequate housing, the
Zimbabwean authorities have denied in particular the following elements:
legal security of tenure and freedom from dispossession; information;
participation and self-expression; and resettlement. All are recognized in
international law, especially in the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights that Zimbabwe has ratified on 13 August 1991.

These rights are also emphasized in General Comments no. 4 (1991) and no.
7
(1997) of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights (CESCR), which state that "forced evictions are prima facie
incompatible with the provisions of the Covenant and can only be carried
out under specific circumstances", imposing certain requirements which
State parties to the Covenant must respect, including the necessity to
inform the affected people, agree on a plan with them, and provide
adequate compensation.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing recently
stressed that “forced evictions carried out in the manner alleged would
constitute a gross violation of human rights, in particular of the right
to adequate housing, as has been stressed by a unanimously adopted
resolution of the UN Commission on Human Rights” (see resolution
E/CN.4/RES/1993/77).
In general, women and children are always the most affected by forced
evictions, especially when in already vulnerable conditions (widows,
orphans), thus this type of mass action grossly violates their rights, as
enshrined in international law as well.

Zimbabwe also ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) on 12 June 1991. CEDAW’s Article
14.2(h) requires States to ensure adequate living conditions for women in
rural areas. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Zimbabwe
ratified on 11 October 1990, specifically requires that States protect
children’s right to adequate housing (Article 27.3). The International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by Zimbabwe on 13 August
1991, prohibits cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and/or punishment
(Articles 7) and the arbitrary use of force (Article 17). The evictions
currently underway in Zimbabwe are in violation of all of these binding
international norms.

If evictions take place at all, international law and expressed consensus
establish that they can legally occur only in exceptional circumstances
and in conformity with human rights criteria. These include requirements
of consultation, due process, consent, ensuring alternative housing in
advance, and fair compensation, as set forth by the Committee on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) in General Comment No. 7.

At the regional level, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
also established that authorities are required to explore alternatives and
option with the affected community prior to eviction, to provide adequate
notice and information, to assure the availability of replacement
accommodation, as well as an opportunity to appeal an eviction order. As
in CESCR’s General Comment No. 7, the African jurisprudence affirms that
no one may be made homeless as a result of an eviction. (See Social and
Economic Rights Action Centre (SERAC) and The Centre for Economic and
Social Rights (CESR) v. Nigeria, 2001.[2])

While the Zimbabwean authorities have claimed that these cruel evictions
are based on the requirements of law enforcement, they also have
contravened the minimum requirements of law-enforcement official by using
force outside the principles of necessity and proportionality, as
elaborated in the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials (Article
3), which the General Assembly adopted in resolution 34/169, 17 December
1979. Moreover, the nature of the evictions also violates the General
Provisions of the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by
Law Enforcement Officials (1990). The African Charter on Human and
People’s Rights affirms these same principles, in particular under Article
6, which recognizes the right to freedom from arbitrary arrest or
detention.


These violations may also constitute crimes against humanity. The Rome
Statute of the International Criminal Court has codified the deliberately
widespread or systematic transfer of a civilian population as a crime
against humanity, under Article 7(1)(d) and Article 7(2)(d). The present
forcible transfer of large parts of the Zimbabwean population to rural
areas, relegates them to a state of dispossession, deepened
impoverishment, and without a source of livelihood or means of sustenance.
The grave conditions resulting from these evictions give argument to the
suggestion that the Security Council direct the prosecutor of the
International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate and prosecute these
serious crimes.

Your Excellency,

We urge you to do your utmost to reverse this tragic destruction of lives
and property. An urgent and effective response is required also to reduce
the already heavy toll that the current evictions have taken on the
internal and external legitimacy of the Zimbabwean government. This can be
achieved through the following actions:
· immediately cease the mass evictions taking place around the
country;
· to ensure that adequate alternative housing is immediately
provided for already displaced populations;
· initiate dialogue with affected communities in accordance with
human rights principles, especially CESCR General Comment no. 7;
· investigate and prosecute the use of excessive force by the
police during the current eviction drive;
· comply with the State’s obligations under international law to
respect everyone’s right to adequate housing, including legal security of
tenure and freedom from dispossession; information; participation and
self-expression; and resettlement; as well as the rights to food, water,
health, education and the right to earn a livelihood.

Thanking you in advance for your attention to this matter, we look forward
to hearing from about your remedial response.

Respectfully,

[Signed]
[Your name and organisation]

Red Cross to spearhead a massive advocacy campaign for orphans

2005-06-13

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/28552

In support of the call from the recently held South African AIDS Conference for a united action to spur a new spirit of unity in fighting the pandemic, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent is launching a new advocacy campaign "Our Children – Our Future" for orphans and other children made vulnerable by HIV and Aids (OVC) on Wednesday 15th June 2005 at The Indaba Hotel, Fourways, Johannesburg, South Africa from 10:00-12:00. The campaign will be rolled out in ten southern Africa countries wherein volunteers from Red Cross National Societies are already active in supporting people living with HIV and Aids (PLWHA) and caring for children orphaned and made vulnerable by the disease.
Red Cross to spearhead a massive advocacy campaign for orphans and other children made vulnerable by HIV and Aids in southern Africa

In support of the call from the recently held South African AIDS Conference for a united action to spur a new spirit of unity in fighting the pandemic, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent is launching a new advocacy campaign “Our Children – Our Future” for orphans and other children made vulnerable by HIV and Aids (OVC) on Wednesday 15th June 2005 at The Indaba Hotel, Fourways, Johannesburg, South Africa from 10:00-12:00.
The campaign will be rolled out in ten southern Africa countries wherein volunteers from Red Cross National Societies are already active in supporting people living with HIV and Aids (PLWHA) and caring for children orphaned and made vulnerable by the disease.

Contact:
Ann Bown
External Relations & Resource Mobilisation
The South African Red Cross Society
P O Box 50696
Waterfront, Cape Town 8002
Tel/fax: +27 (0) 11 795 3271 (Johannesburg office)
email: ann@charismacom.co.za
National office:
Tel: +27 (0) 21 4186640 Fax: +27 (0) 21 418 6644
"Always Needed, Always There"

Stop Suez campaign update

2005-06-13

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/28546

A global campaign against the water transnational Suez has now been lauched in many countries around the world! For more information on the Suez campaign go to www.stopsuez.org
A global campaign against the water transnational Suez has now been lauched in many countries around the world! For more information on the Suez campaign go to www.stopsuez.org

One of the first coordinated global actions was at the Suez annual meeting in Paris, France on May 13th where representatives from countries struggling against the exploitative policies of Suez gathered to protest, hold press conferences and meet with French civil society groups. Boston Common Assets, a Suez shareholder, used their proxy to present a declaration of grievances from civil society groups in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, the Philippines and Uruguay at the Suez Shareholder meeting. Many thanks to all of the French organizations that hosted guests and coordinated the activities during the Suez shareholder meeting including Amis de la Terre, Asociation pour le Contrat Mondial de l'Eau, France Libertes and many, many others.

We must keep the pressure on! The STOPSUEZ website can be an important coordination and communication point, but we need your help to make this happen. Please send information, updates and articles about Suez to sgrusky@citizen.org to be posted to the STOPSUEZ website. The website is trilingual: Spanish - www.fuerasuez.org , French - www.arretonssuez.org , and English - www.stopsuez.org We are seeking volunteers to perform the following functions. 1. Volunteers to translate into any/all languages. 2. Volunteers to serve as regional contact points for Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. Many thanks!

Sara Grusky Water for All Campaign Public Citizen Phone: (202) 454-5133 Website: www.wateractivist.org

Audience feedback

Ahlam Abdelmjeed

2005-06-13

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/28555

As a change agent I need to be supported by these great tools and resources that you are producing. I hope to get connected and receive regular resources to facilitate my work. I work as a community development/civil society capacity building coordinator. We aim to promote rights in our programming through good governance and participation in decision making which can be attained through community empowerment.

Cooperation yes! Exploitation never!

Sergio Martins

2005-06-13

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/28544

There is no one apart from ourselves who will develop Africa in the coming years. It is time to stop dreaming about salvation armies. What we need is to get access to tools and work from scratch. Lets work with them and lets stop all those who are not doing the right work by refusal or other methods like exposing they intentions and funny tricks.Cooperation yes! Exploitation never!

Nothing wrong with so-called “second great Boer trek” from South Africa

Chris Kanyane

2005-06-13

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/28554

For Africa to move forward out of stagnation means Africans all over Africa should move beyond pettiness and babyness. The world is changing and with the change is the reality of integration and intermingling of the races. This new age integration and intermingling of the races especially Black and White has always been in existence previously. It started with the moving into Africa by European adventurers in the 13th and 14th century.

The moving into Africa of these Europeans and the subsequent intermingling of Black and White was characterized by animosity and such hatred such that the Europeans abhorred the Africans in such a way that they called them Monkeys and Apes. The reduction of Africans by Europeans to animalism eventually let to Africans transported like donkeys to Europe and America's as slaves.

* For the rest of this response to Issa Shivji's article, The “Second Great Boer Trek” (http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=28321) and a response from Pambazuka News, please click on the link below.

EDITORS' COMMENT: It is surprising how many people seem to have missed the point of Issa Shivji's article. He wrote about the penetration of South African capital into the rest of Africa, the growing sub-imperial role of capital into the region, and its consequent growing dominance within the region's economies without necessarily a concurrent development of productive forces. This is not a matter of white penetration of Africa. We strongly recommend readers to re-read Shivji's important contribution. It has a direct bearing on the struggle for emancipation and self determination.
Nothing wrong with so-called “second great Boer trek” from South Africa

For Africa to move forward out of stagnation means Africans all over Africa should move beyond pettiness and babyness. The world is changing and with the change is the reality of integration and intermingling of the races. This new age integration and intermingling of the races especially Black and White has always been in existence previously. It started with the moving into Africa by European adventurers in the 13th and 14th century.

The moving into Africa of these Europeans and the subsequent intermingling of Black and White was characterized by animosity and such hatred such that the Europeans abhorred the Africans in such a way that they called them Monkeys and Apes. The reduction of Africans by Europeans to animalism eventually let to Africans transported like donkeys to Europe and America's as slaves.

The integration also took another form that of bigoted view that Africans can not rule themselves therefore they need to be run by the Europeans - and this factor let to colonialism, (the Scramble for Africa) and the idea that Africans being subhuman have no mental capacity for accumulation of scientific knowledge. In South Africa Speaking in Malmesbury in 1926, the founder of the National Party (NP), the Boer General JBM Hertzog, then Prime Minister, told the supporters of the NP that:

"Next to the European, the native stands as an 8-11 year-old child to a man of great experience - a child in religion, a child in moral conviction; without art and without science; with the most primitive needs, and the most elementary knowledge to provide for those needs. If ever a race had a need of guidance and protection from another people with which it is placed in contact, then it is the native in his contact with the white man."


Societies change and people also change. Throughout the 19th and 20th century Africans rose against the bigoted perception of themselves by Whites all over the world. There was an ideological revolution to upset the status quo, to make Whites to realize that are not called upon by God to run the empire of the world as they alleges. That they (whites) are human par excellence and the others are nothing but animals. And the battle was eventually won. These all white governments everywhere and all progressive whites’ movements and organization accept as fact that all human races are equal. Not only so but that the have formed organization and movements to entrench this view.

The idea of equality of the races was to found embodiment in the progressive African people centred liberation movement in South Africa called the African National Congress (ANC) which now is the government of South Africa. The ANC embodied this new age integration of the races into the concepts of non-racialism multi-racialism. The South African leader Arch bishop Desmond Tutu colourfully took these concepts further and called them Rainbownism.

We in 21st Century, a Century that is characterised by globalization of the races and a requisite of highly skilled manpower imbued with initiative. And if Africans, who were marginalised economically will need support. They need highly skilled people to watch them, practice what they are doing. Model them. Copy and imitate them. Most whites who now live in Africa, in fact all over the world have no hatred for Africa. And if they do not have hatred why should we Africans have hatred? For what? We can not continue complaining of the past. We have to acknowledge that whatever happened, happened because it did happen and then move on. Many African commentators fail to accept this fact because their minds have slipped into a dark vortex of hate which they can not extricate themselves, or move out of. Our fear of white people is threatening our survival.

The move of the so-called Boers from South Africa into Africa should be celebrated and encouraged. If there is anything an Africa need it is the so-called Boers from South Africa. Seriously. Recently a study was made in South Africa that "It is becoming increasingly clear that white Afrikaners' (so-called Boers) emotional, psychological and material relationship with Africa and South Africa differs from those of other white people.". The study also found that "There are many signs indicating that Afrikaners are embracing the new South Africa and Africanism more readily than English-speaking whites." The study also found that "Afrikaners were "breaking out" of their self-imposed cages".

The New National Party (NNP) (the political party of Apartheid) Secretary General, Daryl Swanepoel, said: "The NNP is of the firm conviction that the best way to secure a united South Africa is to ensure inclusivity in decision-making; and to achieve this, it is crucial for black, white, coloured and Indian to join forces with the ANC (predominantly black political party)."

Obviously this statement communicate a very powerful message about the extraordinary ability of our people to give real meaning to the goals of national reconciliation, unity in diversity and non-racialism, and a common nationhood. It would confirm the gift we share as a people, regardless of race and colour, practically to communicate the message to ourselves and the world, that we are, together, human beings who belong to one common humanity, regardless of our different histories.

PAMBAZUKA NEWS RESPONDS: I feel this response misses the point of Shivji's article. Without speaking for Prof. Shivji, my interpretation was that he was giving expression to the suspicion on the African continent of aggressive South African capital, which often functions to the detriment of local markets and people. Witness in the last week, for example, the Human Rights Watch report on Anglo American's activities in the DRC. I didn't see the term the "second great boer trek" as referring only to white Afrikaner farmers, but more as a reference towards a particular type of South African capital expansion on the continent and the links between this and previous systems of exploitation. - Patrick Burnett, Pambazuka News

"Hot Beds: Black-White Love and its Representations in Selected Contemporary Novels from the United States, Africa, and the Caribbean"

2005-06-14

http://www.georgetown.edu/crossroads/dis/00thiel.htm

This dissertation is a comparative study of the representations of Black-white heterosexual love in novels, published since the 1940s, by Black, white, male and female authors from the United States of America, Africa, and the Caribbean. It uses African-American feminist theories by bell hooks and the postcolonial theories by Ngugi wa Thiong'o to analyze the images the characters hold of each other and the lacking, ongoing or accomplished process of decolonizing the mind, as defined by Ngugi and hooks.

New issue of Review of African Political Economy

2005-06-13

http://journalsonline.tandf.co.uk.

Volume 32 Number 103/March 2005 of Review of African Political Economy is now available on the Taylor & Francis web site.
The issue includes:
* Imperialism & African Social Formations by Lionel Cliffe;
* Class & protest in Africa: New waves by David Seddon, Leo Zeilig;
* Reaction & Resistance to Neo-liberalism in Zambia by Miles Larmer; 
* Sudan: a flawed peace process leading to a flawed peace by John Young.

Versions of Zimbabwe: new approaches to literature and culture

Edited by Robert Muponde and Ranka Primorac

2005-06-15

http://www.weaverpresszimbabwe.com/lit/litframeset.htm?versions_of_zim.htm

Versions of Zimbabwe: new approaches to literature and culture is a first of its kind: in a turbulent historical moment, the book asks questions about how Zimbabwe's creative literature may be related to its history and politics. The result of a collaboration of scholars situated both in Southern Africa and overseas, the book addresses Zimbabwean literature and culture from angles that have hitherto remained overshadowed.

Africa/Global: Tensions between the role of trade, development and gender equality

2005-06-14

http://www.eldis.org/cf/search/disp/DocDisplay.cfm?Doc=DOC18445&Resource=f1gender

This report explores the tensions between the role of trade, development and gender equality. The main conclusions are that gender considerations are intricately and practically linked with global trade, and that there exist fundamental tensions and dilemmas in the relationship between trade and economic development. The author argues that there are still many paradoxes even within development economics orthodoxies, including: apparent tensions between the norms, values and practice of trade and economic development; and, current patterns of trade (and trade rule-making) may present significant challenges for gender equality objectives, which, in turn, can have significant untoward effects for long-term development.

South Africa: 'Rape trap' condemned

2005-06-10

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4080162.stm

Anti-rape campaigners in South Africa are outraged about a new invention intended to catch rapists. The device, designed for a woman to insert, attaches itself to a rapist and has to be surgically removed. Its inventor says this will help in the prosecution of the rapist. Critics say the invention represents a return to the days of the chastity belt. Some 1.5 million rapes occur in South Africa each year - one of the highest rates in the world. "This is a medieval instrument, based on male-hating notions and fundamentally misunderstands the nature of rape and violence against women in this society," said Charlene Smith, one of South Africa's most prominent campaigners against rape.

Southern Africa: Gender and poverty in the context of human development, health, education and the MDG's

2005-06-15

http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC12785

This background paper summarises the main issues around gender and poverty in southern Africa in the context of human development, health, education, and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It concludes with key issues to facilitate discussion. The paper includes regional reviews of the key elements in the challenge to eradicate poverty; achieve universal primary education; promote gender equality and empower women; reduce child mortality; improve maternal health; and combat HIV / AIDS, malaria and other diseases. The author also examines gender inequality in access to and control of assets, the necessity of engendering national budgets, and gender dimensions of health, HIV/AIDS, and education.

Africa: Support for creation of new rights council

2005-06-13

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/06/06/global11082.htm

Replacing the discredited United Nations Commission on Human Rights with a standing Human Rights Council would be a major step forward for the protection of human rights worldwide, says Human Rights Watch. On Friday the president of the U.N. General Assembly, Ambassador Jean Ping of Gabon, presented a draft outcome document for the General Assembly Summit in September which included a commitment of support for a Human Rights Council. The proposed Human Rights Council would operate year-round to allow it to act both preventively and during urgent crises.

Ethiopia: Crackdown Spreads Beyond Capital

2005-06-15

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/rights/28603

In the wake of last week's election- related protests, the Ethiopian government's crackdown on potential sources of unrest has spread throughout the country, Human Rights Watch says. While international attention has focused on events in Addis Ababa, opposition members and students in other cities are increasingly at risk of arbitrary arrest and torture. The current wave of arrests followed a chaotic week in Addis Ababa that saw security forces put down a series of election-related protests with excessive force.
Ethiopia: Crackdown Spreads Beyond Capital
As Arbitrary Arrests Continue, Detainees Face Torture

(New York, June 15, 2005) ? In the wake of last week's election-
related protests, the Ethiopian government's crackdown on potential
sources of unrest has spread throughout the country, Human Rights
Watch said today. While international attention has focused on events
in Addis Ababa, opposition members and students in other cities are
increasingly at risk of arbitrary arrest and torture.

The current wave of arrests followed a chaotic week in Addis Ababa
that saw security forces put down a series of election-related protests
with excessive force. The disorder in the capital reached a bloody peak
on Wednesday, when security forces responded to incidents of rock-
throwing and looting by opening fire indiscriminately on large crowds
of people, killing at least 36 and wounding more than 100.

The Ethiopian government has refused to accept any responsibility for
the shootings, insisting that the opposition Coalition for Unity and
Democracy (CUD) was wholly to blame because of its alleged
involvement in organizing the protests in defiance of a citywide ban on
demonstrations in the capital.

"Opposition rhetoric may well have contributed to last week's unrest,
but the government must take responsibility for the conduct of its own
security forces," said Georgette Gagnon, deputy Africa director at
Human Rights Watch. "The security forces have killed dozens of
protesters and arbitrarily detained thousands of people across the
country."

Since protests over alleged electoral fraud in the country's May 15
elections erupted last week in Addis Ababa and several other towns,
police and other security officials have detained several thousand
people throughout Ethiopia. Many of those swept up in the initial
round of mass arrests in the capital and elsewhere have since been
released, but smaller-scale arrests targeting CUD supporters and
student activists have continued unabated.

The Ethiopian Constitution mandates that detainees be taken to court
within 48 hours of their arrest and informed of the reasons for their
detention. However, almost none of the people swept up in the past
week's arrests have been brought before a judge.

The situation of individuals detained in towns relatively far from the
capital is of particular concern, as little is known about their total
numbers, the reasons for their arrest or the conditions under which
they are being held. Local officials in many towns have cast a very
wide net, arbitrarily detaining individuals they suspect of being
sympathetic to last week's demonstrations. Most of these detainees are
locally prominent CUD members and students.

"Given the Ethiopian security forces' long record of detainee abuse,
there is every reason to worry that those arrested are being mistreated,"
Gagnon said. "This is especially true for those who have been detained
in towns far from the media spotlight that has focused on Addis Ababa
in recent days."

Human Rights Watch has obtained reports of mass arrests in at least
nine cities outside of Addis Ababa since last Monday. In Gondar, Bure,
Bahir Dar, Debre Markos, Dessie and Awassa, several hundred
students were arrested after police forcibly put down peaceful election-
related student demonstrations. Police subsequently released many of
those detained, but at least several dozen students remain in detention
without charge.

In addition, security forces in Gondar, Dessie, Wondo Genet,
Kombolcha and Jinka have arrested several dozen locally prominent
CUD members over the course of the past several days. Unconfirmed
reports of arrests following a similar pattern have emerged from
several other towns. Government officials have offered no public
acknowledgement of or explanation for any of these arrests.

Security forces have also continued to arrest large numbers of CUD
supporters in the capital over the course of the past several days. They
have also detained three investigators for the Ethiopian Human Rights
Council, all of whom had been working to gather information about
the continuing arrests.

Large numbers of prisoners are being held at the Ziway detention
facility, about 150 kilometers south of the capital. The total number of
detainees being held there is unknown, and the government has not
allowed any outside groups to access the facility. Some of the students
recently released from the Sendafa detention facility, 40 kilometers
north of Addis Ababa, after being detained last Monday reported that
they were forced to perform a series of exhausting drills and exercises
as a form of punishment.

"The Ethiopian security forces' long history of mistreating detainees
arrested for political reasons is hardly a secret," said Gagnon. "The
international community should call on the Ethiopian government to
immediately open up these detention facilities to international
scrutiny."

On several occasions over the course of the past four years, police beat
and tortured large numbers of university and secondary school
students they arrested following student protests in Addis Ababa and
in towns throughout Oromia region. Many of those student detainees
were kept in prison for weeks or months without ever being brought
before a judge. Security forces have subjected other perceived
dissidents to similarly abusive treatment and prolonged periods of
arbitrary detention.

Last week's bloodshed in Addis Ababa was also not the first time that
Ethiopian security forces have killed large numbers of protesters. In
April 2001, police killed more than 30 people and wounded an
estimated 400 more in putting down a student demonstration at Addis
Ababa University. And in May 2002, police opened machine-gun fire
on protesters in Awassa, killing an estimated 38 people.

To view this document on the Human Rights Watch web site, please
visit: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/06/15/ethiop11124.htm

Ghana: Final Report from Ghana's National Reconciliation Commission Available Online

2005-06-14

http://www.ghana.gov.gh/NRC/index.php

On April 22, 2005, the government of Ghana released the final report of the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC). The commission was appointed in 2002 to investigate human rights violations that took place between 1957 and 1993, particularly during the periods of military rule. Over the course of 18 months of hearings, NRC heard testimonies from more than 2000 victims and 79 perpetrators. Victims reported a wide range of violations, including abductions, beatings, detentions, executions-style killings, sexual abuse, torture, and seizure of property. The Commission offered the first opportunity for Ghanaians to publicly relate their experiences of abuse, uncover the truth about the past, and seek redress.

Rwanda: Trial of top Rwanda genocide suspect starts

2005-06-13

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L09005424.htm

The trial of a former Rwandan minister suspected of playing a key role in the 1994 genocide of some 800,000 people started at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) last Thursday. Prosecutors accuse Andre Rwamakuba of drawing up lists of Tutsi people to be killed and allowing militiamen with him to kill women and disembowel those who were pregnant. The former doctor also allegedly walked around a hospital with an axe hanging from his belt, striking any ethnic Tutsis he found in wards or corridors.

Togo: UN rights team to inquire into human rights violations

2005-06-14

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=14555&Cr=togo&Cr1=

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, is sending a fact-finding team to Togo next week to investigate allegations of rights violations in the wake of the West African country's recent elections. Arbour has appointed human rights expert Doudou Diene to head the mission, which is expected to arrive in Togo on 13 June and stay there for two weeks, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said.

Uganda: Partial victory in prisoners' bid to end death penalty

2005-06-14

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47623

Uganda's constitutional court on Friday rejected an appeal by hundreds of death row prisoners to outlaw capital punishment, but ruled in favour of putting an end to laws prescribing death as a mandatory sentence for certain crimes. "The death penalty is not unconstitutional because it is given by the laws as punishment after due process," Galdino Okello, who headed the team of constitutional court judges, said.

Burundi/Rwanda: UNHCR refused access to asylum seekers in Burundi

2005-06-14

http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/news/opendoc.htm?tbl=NEWS&id=42ad884d4

Ignoring UNHCR pleas for restraint, Burundi and Rwanda pressed ahead Monday with a joint operation to return thousands of Rwandan asylum seekers to their homeland. Authorities denied UNHCR and its NGO partners access to the transit centre from where the return operation was being conducted.

Burundi: Thousands displaced in Bubanza

2005-06-15

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47634&SelectRegion=Great_Lakes&SelectCountry=BURUNDI

An estimated 23,000 people have fled their homes in the last week in the western Burundi's Bubanza Province because of fighting between government soldiers and rebels of the Forces nationales de liberation (FNL). "Many of the displaced people have been without food for more than a week," Fidèle Niyongabo, the communal administrator of Mpanda, told IRIN. He said fighting occurred again there on Tuesday.

Global/Africa: Property restitution in practice: The Norwegian Refugee Council's experience

2005-06-15

http://www.reliefweb.int/library/documents/2005/nrc-gen-18apr.pdf

The right of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) to return to their homes and places of habitual residence and to have their property restored to them has been recognized by the UN Security Council in relation to a number of conflicts and has been included in a number of peace agreements. Nevertheless, NRC's own experiences indicate that enforcement of this right remains patchy. The purpose of this paper is to document NRC's own experiences of attempting to uphold HLP rights in the different settings where NRC has programs.

Global: 11 million refugees worldwide

2005-06-15

http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1721553,00.html

The number of refugees around the world rose by one million in 2004, to 11.5 million, according to the United States Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. People fleeing Sudan's troubled Darfur region to Chad and Iraqis crossing into Syria contributed to the increase, the private aid group said in its annual survey. Last year the committee started a campaign to end the protracted encampment of refugees, a practice it labelled "warehousing."

Global: Developing DFID's policy approach to refugees and Internally Displaced Persons

2005-06-15

http://www.rsc.ox.ac.uk/dfid.html

This broad-ranging study was designed to assist DFID in defining a coherent policy position to inform its dealings with and on behalf of refugees and internally displaced persons. Additional expertise was sought through a series of commissioned papers. Consultations were also carried out with representatives of governments, NGOs and international agencies.

Sudan: Plea for US $8.6 million to help returnees

2005-06-14

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47613&SelectRegion=East_Africa&SelectCountry=SUDAN

Action by Churches Together (ACT), a global alliance supporting communities in emergencies, has appealed for nearly US $8.6 million to help thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees spontaneously returning to southern Sudan. ACT said the money would be used on health care, education, agriculture, water, transport and poverty alleviation programmes.

Uganda: Rape common in north Uganda IDP camp -UNICEF

2005-06-15

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L15415001.htm

Rape, sexual attacks and child abuse are common in northern Uganda's biggest refugee camp, where tens of thousands of people shelter from 19 years of war, the United Nations children's agency said. Some 1.6 million northerners have been uprooted by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebellion, triggering a crisis aid workers have called the world's worst neglected emergency. They live in squalid, sprawling settlements where overcrowding, despair and a "culture of silence" allow sexual violence to thrive, especially against children, a study by UNICEF and local officials said.

UK/ Africa: UN condemns British policy on deportees

2005-06-14

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/politics/story/0,6903,1504662,00.html

Britain's policy of forcing failed asylum seekers to return to war-torn countries has drawn an unprecedented public attack from the United Nations. Christian Mahr, the deputy representative in the Office of the UN's High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told The Observer that sending people back to dangerous countries such as Somalia was a recipe for 'chaos' that would make problems worse. The UNHCR has published advisory notices raising concerns about a number of trouble spots including Burundi, Somalia, Ivory Coast and parts of Angola.

Zimbabwe: Refugees caught in Zim blitz

2005-06-15

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=68&art_id=qw1118737800910B256

Nearly 100 refugees from various African countries were detained in Zimbabwe as part of an ongoing police blitz on illegal housing, a newspaper reported. Ninety-four people from Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Eritrea, Mozambique and Rwanda handed themselves over to immigration officials after shack homes they had been living in were demolished in Harare, the state-controlled Herald reported.

Burundi: Ex-Rebel Group Wins Absolute Majority in Communal Poll

2005-06-13

http://allafrica.com/stories/200506100267.html

Burundi's former main rebel group, the Conseil national pour la défense de la démocratie-Forces nationales pour la défense de la démocratie (CNDD-FDD), won 55.3 percent of seats in communal elections held in the country on 3 June, according to provisional results announced last Thursday. Political parties have four days to lodge official complaints to the electoral commission and final results are expected on 19 June.

Egypt: Focus on pro-democracy movement in referendum aftermath

2005-06-15

http://news.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47646

Pro-democracy and human rights organisations are holding weekly candlelight vigils in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, to demand an official apology for violence during the constitutional referendum in May. A number of women said they were sexually assaulted when clashes broke out between supporters of President Hosni Mubarak and oppositionists.

Kenya: Changing fortunes for Kibaki

2005-06-13

http://allafrica.com/stories/200506100945.html

President Kibaki would trail Kanu chairman Uhuru Kenyatta and Environment Minister Kalonzo Musyoka were elections to be held this year, an opinion poll released yesterday indicates. The Steadman Group, whose Gallup poll last October placed President Kibaki at the top, has this time put him behind Uhuru and Kalonzo who tied in the first position with a 29 per cent rating. Kibaki scored 15 per cent.

Somalia: Interim government starts relocation

2005-06-14

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47609

Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia, which has been based in Nairobi since formed eight months ago, began relocating to the country on Monday. Somali government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari said the relocation from Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, would be completed in a few days.

Uganda: I'll lobby for multiparty politics, says Museveni

2005-06-13

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47596

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni changed his stand on Wednesday and said he would campaign for the country's return to multiparty politics during a referendum scheduled for 28 July. For the past two decades, Museveni has strongly opposed party politics and claimed they were the source of Uganda's political upheaval during its post-independence era.

Liberia: Corruption undermines peace drive, says UN

2005-06-14

http://admin.corisweb.org/index.php?fuseaction=news.view&id=117693&src=dcn

International agencies are pressing Liberia's interim government to crack down on corruption because it is undermining the peace process in the troubled West African nation, the United Nations said on Monday. A plan to improve economic governance in Liberia was drawn up last month in Copenhagen by officials of the United Nations, European Commission, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, the West African economic bloc ECOWAS and the United States, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said.

South Africa: Mbeki fires Zuma

2005-06-16

http://allafrica.com/stories/200506140114.html

President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa has relieved the country's deputy president, Jacob Zuma, of his post. Mbeki announced this to a joint sitting of South Africa's parliament in Cape Town. His move came in the wake of the conviction of Zuma's financial advisor, Schabir Shaik, on charges of corruption and fraud last week. Mbeki said he took into account the basic pillars of South African jurisprudence, including the presumption that someone was innocent until proven guilty. Zuma - who was not charged in the trail of Shaik - "has yet to have his day in court." Mbeki also noted that Shaik was taking his case on appeal and that it was possible the judgement might be overturned.

Africa: Business As Usual Means 28 Million Dead Children

2005-06-14

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=29048

If development in Africa continues in a business as usual manner, sub-Saharan Africa will reach the UN Millennium Development Goal of reducing child mortality not by 2015 as targeted but a century later, a study says. That means 28 million children will die, who could have been saved if the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) had been achieved by 2015.

Africa: Memorandum of Civil Society to African Union ministers

2005-06-15

http://twnafrica.org/news_detail.asp?twnID=793

"As members of the WTO prepare towards the Ministerial Conference in Hong-Kong, we note that four years since the adoption of the Doha work programme, there is little evidence of progress in tackling the developmental concerns of African and other developing countries which were proclaimed as pivotal to the success of the Doha agenda. On the contrary, as evident from their proposals, the rich and powerful industrialised countries of the WTO continue to pressurise African and other developing countries to undertake further and deeper liberalisation commitments in their industrial and agricultural sectors even while the developed countries remain intent on maintaining their advantages and protection. "

Africa: Setbacks to privatisations

2005-06-15

http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/article.shtml?cmd%5B126%5D=x-126-235773

The collapse of a flagship water privatisation in Tanzania, and opposition to both a planned privatisation of the state cotton board and the completed privatisation of the state railway in Mali, highlight the continuing struggle over pressure from the Bretton Woods institutions to privatise in Africa. In late May, the Tanzanian government pulled the plug on a deal with British company Biwater, which had been contracted in 2003 to bring water to the capital region. Privatisation of the capital's water system was a condition of both IMF support to Tanzania and for getting debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative.

South/North Civil Society Debt Group Statement on Debt, June 2005

2005-06-16

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/development/28619

The under-signed civil society groups welcome the belated official acknowledgement that existing debt relief efforts have manifestly failed to secure the promised “robust” exit from the burden of unsustainable debt. Only US$ 54 billion has been cancelled so far while the 61 low-income countries still owe around US$ 600 billion. Total developing country debt stands at around US$ 2.4 trillion.
South/North Civil Society Debt Group Statement on Debt, June 2005


The under-signed civil society groups welcome the belated official acknowledgement that existing debt relief efforts have manifestly failed to secure the promised “robust” exit from the burden of unsustainable debt. Only US$ 54 billion has been cancelled so far while the 61 low-income countries still owe around US$ 600 billion. Total developing country debt stands at around US$ 2.4 trillion.

It is now widely accepted that under current conditions the Millennium Development Goals will not be met for another 100 years. This is particularly the case for the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa. The high debt service payments of many countries is a major obstacle to efforts to reach these agreed goals and achieve social justice in countries where very large numbers of people are suffering. Debt servicing restructures economies and diverts needed funds from social investment. Indeed there is a net flow of money from South to North at present, with debt repayments and profit repatriation larger than aid. For example, in 2002, there was a net transfer of US$ 95 billion from South to North.

Northern governments have recently made a series of commitments to assist Southern countries. Not only are they failing to honour these promises, they are also refusing to accept moral and financial responsibility for loans provided for commercial and geo-political reasons. The World Bank also refuses to accept responsibility for exacerbating indebtedness in poor countries by providing new loans simply to roll over old loans.


Current proposals: extremely limited

We welcome any serious efforts to secure further debt cancellation but concrete commitments to date fall very far short of what civil society groups demand. The claim that these proposals represent “up to 100% multilateral debt cancellation” is extremely misleading.

We have carefully studied the different proposals put forward for the G8 summit. We consider that they all:

1) Cover very limited numbers of countries (between 5 at worst and 24 at best). For instance many countries which are facing debt crises are completely excluded.
2) Exclude debts to important creditors such as the Inter-American Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the IMF.
3) Are too closely tied to supposed good performance under harmful conditions established by the World Bank and IMF. These typically include privatisation, liberalisation and public spending cuts.
4) Only include very limited new funding pledges from a small number of creditor countries.
5) Fail to recognise creditor co-responsibility for the debt crisis or call for debtors and creditors to be placed on an equal footing in the design and implementation of solutions to the debt crisis.





Civil society demands

We welcome any progress towards debt cancellation but will continue to point to the need for much bolder steps to end debt domination. This is a matter of fundamental justice and an essential step if international agreements are to be respected.

We, the undersigned civil society organisations therefore reiterate our calls for:

• The cancellation in full of the debts of all South countries, starting with the most impoverished and countries in crisis. Debt service cancellation over 10 years is not enough since come 2015, around 70% of poor country debt will still remain on the books.

• This cancellation to be carried out in such a way that governments have more money to spend on their peoples’ welfare. This implies that money be taken from the multilaterals’ reserves and extra contributions from Northern governments.

• This cancellation should be unconditional.

• Creditors to recognise their co-responsibility for odious debts.

• The international architecture governing debt and finance to be fundamentally overhauled so that debtors and creditors are placed on an equal footing.


South/North Civil Society Debt Group
The South/North civil society working group on debt is composed of networks and organisations across the globe working for social justice and a lasting solution to the debt crisis. It was established at the Global IFI strategy meeting in Accra, Ghana, February 2005.

Members: Jubilee South, Afrodad, Kairos Canada, Halifax Initiative Canada, 50 Years is Enough (USA), Jubilee USA, Campagna per la Riforma de la Banca Mondiale (CRBM - Italy), Comité pour l’ Annulation de la Dette du Tiers Monde (CADTM), Slug (Norway)

Angola: Plight of children still desperate

2005-06-15

http://news.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47658

Angola still has one of the highest rates of child mortality in the world, says UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) Country Representative, Mario Ferrari, and challenges relating to children remain huge. Three years after the end of the country's 27-year long civil war, "the situation is that the long period of war had the effect of dismantling the social services, weakening social services in a radical way in the country. The effect is that ... this country has a child mortality rate of 250 per 1,000 - one of the highest in the world," Ferrari told IRIN.

East Africa: Kenya and Tanzania to start producing anti-malaria drug

2005-06-13

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47556

A company involved in the production of artemisinine, an anti-malaria drug, is due to set up extraction plants in Kenya and Tanzania to make the drug easily and cheaply available to patients, an official for the company said on Wednesday. The factories would be established in East Africa because of the potential in the region for cultivating artemisia-annua, the plant from which the anti-malaria drug is extracted, the managing director of African Artemisia Limited, Geoff Burrell, said at a conference convened by the UN World Health Organization (WHO) in the northern Tanzanian town of Arusha.

Nigeria: Patient fees prevent access to AIDS drugs, activists say

2005-06-14

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47616

Patient fees are deterring poverty-stricken Nigerians from participating in a government-subsidised scheme to provide HIV/AIDS medication, according to a coalition campaigning for free access to the life prolonging drugs. According to the coalition, which includes French NGO Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and representatives of people living with HIV/AIDS, the monthly charge of 1,000 Naira (US $7.50) for the antiretroviral (ARV) medication is more than many Nigerians can afford.

South Africa: AIDS Treatment Update

2005-06-13

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/hivaids/28560

Despite good outcomes in many treatment centers, the message from reports and demonstrators at the Second South African AIDS Conference in Durban last week was that the government's 18-month- old plan for AIDS treatment in the public sector is still falling far short, reports the latest edition of the Africa Focus Bulletin. Results are very uneven among provinces, few children are receiving treatment, nutrition programs as well as antiretroviral (ARV) drugs are failing to reach the majority of those needing treatment, and there is still no plan to address the critical shortage of medical personnel.
South Africa: AIDS Treatment Update

AfricaFocus Bulletin
June 11, 2005 (050611)
(Reposted from sources cited below)

Editor's Note

Despite good outcomes in many treatment centers, the message from
reports and demonstrators at the Second South African AIDS
Conference in Durban last week was that the government's 18-month-
old plan for AIDS treatment in the public sector is still falling
far short. Results are very uneven among provinces, few children
are receiving treatment, nutrition programs as well as
antiretroviral (ARV) drugs are failing to reach the majority of
those needing treatment, and there is still no plan to address the
critical shortage of medical personnel.

The Joint Civil Society Monitoring Forum presented its latest
report both in the official conference sessions and at a parallel
gathering hosted by the Treatment Action Campaign and Medecines
sans Frontieres. TAC called for a new commitment to bring
treatment to at least 200,000 of those in need by the end of 2006.
Currently, only about 45,000 people are receiving antiretroviral
treatment in the public sector. Among children, only about 3,000 of
the 60,000 estimated to need ARV treatment are currently receiving
it.

This issue of AfricaFocus Bulletin contains a statement by TAC
presented to the conference and excerpts from the civil society
monitoring report. The full text of the monitoring report is
available in Word format on the TAC website at
http://www.tac.org.za/Documents/JCSMF/JCSMF-Report-8June2005.doc

For more reports on the conference, see the AF-AIDS listserv at
http://www.hdnet.org/e-forums3.asp and the UN's PlusNews
(http://www.plusnews.org). The official conference site is at
http://www.sa-aidsconference.com

For earlier AfricaFocus Bulletins on health issues, see
http://www.africafocus.org/healthexp.php

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

TAC Electronic Newsletter

9 June 2005

Treatment Action Campaign

Yesterday, over 1,500 people participated in the MSF/TAC meeting
at the 2nd South African AIDS Conference. It was followed by a
march to hand over a memorandum to the head of the AIDS
Conference, Professor Lynn Morris.

At the MSF/TAC meeting the following important documents were
released (now available on the TAC website,
http://www.tac.org.za):

* Latest report of the Joint Civil Society Monitoring Forum on
the state of the rollout of the treatment plan
http://www.tac.org.za/Documents/JCSMF/JCSMF-Report-8June2005.doc

* TB and HIV: A policy paper of the Treatment Action Campaign
http://www.tac.org.za/Documents/TBPaperForConference-1.pdf

Here is the memorandum that was handed over by the marchers:

Treat 200 000 Adults and children by 2006

Build a Better Public Health Care Service for All

End denial about the HIV/AIDS crisis

8 June 2005

Dear Professor Morris and delegates to the 2nd SA National AIDS
Conference

The TAC welcomes the holding of the second SA national AIDS
conference in Durban and the belated decision of the national
Ministry of Health to participate in the conference. We regret
that the high cost of conference registration makes it impossible
for most poor people and communities of people who are directly
affected by HIV to participate in its deliberations.

Nonetheless we recognise that this conference brings under one
roof many of our best researchers, health care workers and public
health officials and that it is an opportunity to reflect on what
has been done to control the HIV/AIDS epidemic and what still
needs to be done.

We salute the many doctors, nurses, government officials and
others whose efforts are beginning to improve the lives of some
people with HIV, particularly by extending access to
antiretroviral treatment to communities.

The conference also takes place at a critical time in this
epidemic: although the treatment plan has been in operation for
18 months, many more people are dying than receiving treatment;
tens of thousands of new HIV infections take place every year,
including of babies as a result of mother-to-child transmission
prevention. Basic medicine shortages continue.

We were angry and disappointed with the comments of Minister
Manto Thabalala Msimang to this conference yesterday. We found
them insulting to people with HIV.

In response to the Minister's refusal to discuss specific numbers
of people on antiretroviral therapy we say that is it specific
numbers of people who are dying of AIDS, each one a person, each
one adding to the numbers, and that is why we must count and
measure our response to this epidemic. As Statistics South Africa
has shown, by 2002 there were already 200,000 additional deaths
per annum, mainly due to HIV. These are the numbers against which
we should measure our progress - because each death is of a
person who had human rights in the new SA, a person to whom the
government had a duty. We offer our services to the department in
monitoring progress with numbers.

In response to the Minister's claim that she does not know what
is going on with the plan we attach to this Memorandum a short
report that we have compiled on the state of implementation of
the Comprehensive plan. It shows that:

* Nationally only about 45,000 people are receiving
antiretroviral treatment in the public sector.

* In some of the worst HIV affected Provinces, especially Limpopo
and Mpumalanga, barely a thousand people are receiving treatment.

* The Operational Plan's nutrition programme is not being rolled
out except at a few sites.

Scale up Antiretroviral Treatment now!

The experience of the plan so far confirms that antiretroviral
treatment saves lives. TAC is calling this conference to support
a national mobilisation to treat at least 200,000 adults and
children by 2006. This target is necessary and possible.

It can be found in the original targets provided in the Cabinet
approved Operational Plan. But achieving it needs political will,
combined with mass treatment literacy education and support to
our health care workers. Achieving it will turn the tide of this
epidemic.

We also draw your attention to other important matters:

1. The national HIV prevention Plan (Strategic Plan) expires in
2005. As yet there is no plan and no evaluation of how to
massively improve HIV prevention in this country. We cannot have
"prevention, prevention, prevention" without a prevention Plan.

2. Three years after the Constitutional Court order to provide
mother-to-child transmission prevention services there is little
reliable information from the department of health about the
extent of implementation. But many reports from people on the
ground show that the programme is very weak. We still have a duty
to save children's lives and it is critical that this programme
is made a priority and a success.

3. Nutritional support is not being provided to most people with
HIV and others in need of it. We call for rapid steps to
implement and monitor nutritional support. The right to nutrition
is part of the right of access to health care services. In this
respect we call on the conference to insist on a rapid scientific
evaluation of some of the nutritional 'products' that claim to
have a particular benefit to people with HIV, including 'African
Solutions' that is being promoted by the Minister of Health. It
must also be stated clearly by the Minister that none of these
'solutions' are an alternative to antiretrovirals.

4. Health care workers are bearing the brunt of care in this
epidemic, but South Africa still does not have a human resource
plan. We call for the urgent finalisation of the Plan and for a
programme to recruit and train new health care workers, draw back
health care workers who have resigned, improve conditions, amend
scopes of nursing practice, and restore dignity to this
profession.

In conclusion we wish to meet urgently with the Minister and
provincial officials to discuss how treating at least 200,000
people by 2006 can be achieved and how this can be used to
strengthen the health service for all people. Unfortunately
however the Minister still refuses to engage with the TAC. We ask
this conference to demand that such a meeting take place urgently
in a spirit of co-operation and common purpose.

We request that this Memorandum be made available to delegates
and read out at the start of the plenary on Friday June 10th
2005.

Yours sincerely

Linda Mafu (TAC National Organiser) and Nkosinathi Mthetwa (TAC
KZN Provincial Chairperson)

************************************************************

Aids Law Project (ALP)
Treatment Action Campaign (TAC)

'Let Them Eat Cake' - A Short Assessment of Provision of
Treatment and Care 18 Months after the Adoption of the
Operational Plan

08 June 2005

Second Joint Report on the Implementation of the Operational Plan
for Comprehensive HIV and AIDS Care, Management and Treatment for
South Africa


[Excerpts only. For full report see ]http://www.tac.org.za]

The first joint AIDS Law Project (ALP)/Treatment Action Campaign
(TAC) monitoring report on the implementation of the Operational
Plan was presented to the People's Health Summit (PHS) held in
East London in July 2004. Since then, the Joint Civil Society
Monitoring Forum (JCSMF) - consisting of more than 12 civil
society organisations, including the ALP and TAC - was formed. In
addition to its launch meeting in Polokwane, in September 2004,
the JCSMF has met on three separate occasions - in Bloemfontein,
Durban and Nelspruit. ...

This second joint ALP/TAC monitoring report considers the
implementation of the Operational Plan, some 18 months since its
adoption. It focuses on early reports of patient outcomes,
explains provincial variations in relation to patient numbers,
and addresses some of the key barriers in the way of speedier
implementation. Importantly, it is limited to the public sector.

Compiled by Fatima Hassan (hassanf@law.wits.ac.za), Law &
Treatment Access Unit, ALP.

Introduction

On 8 August 2003, South Africa's Cabinet made a commitment to
provide antiretroviral (ARV) treatment in the public health
sector. On 19 November 2003, little more than three months later,
government published the Operational Plan on Comprehensive HIV
and AIDS Care, Management and Treatment for South Africa (the
Operational Plan). ...

This report provides a preliminary review of whether some of the
key commitments made in the Operational Plan have been met, some
18 months after its adoption. Future reports will provide updates
about the extent to which ARV treatment is available in the
private sector. This report, which is limited to the public
health sector provision of treatment, focuses on certain key
issues:

[good outcomes in several sites; an update by province; and some
of the key barriers to implementation] ...

Good Outcomes of Treatment in the Public Sector

Several reports confirm good outcomes of ARV use in the public
health sector. They provide incontrovertible evidence that the
use of ARV medicines has saved the lives of thousands of people
living with HIV/AIDS. Below is a brief summary of key aspects of
some of the reports that were released prior to the 2nd South
African AIDS Conference.

* A study conducted in Cape Town found that people with a CD4
count of 200 or less who do not take ARV medicines have a 35%
chance of surviving three years, compared to an 80% chance of
survival for those taking ARV medicines.

* The results of a study of 262 children accessing ARV treatment
at Harriet Shezi Clinic at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in
Soweto have recently been published. The vast majority of the
children are demonstrating excellent outcomes. Only two children
(0.76%) reportedly showed signs of toxicity: the treatment
regimen was altered for one and discontinued in the other.
Although 18 children (7%) died during the study, not a single
death was ARV-related. Instead, the deaths were reported to be
associated with disease progression - the children simply
accessed ARV treatment too late.

* Three clinics at the primary health care level in Khayelitsha
provide ARV treatment to nearly 2 000 adults and children. When
patients first started treatment, the average CD4 count was below
100 (i.e. advanced AIDS). After three years of ARV treatment,
four out of every five patients are still alive. Without ARVs,
half would have died within a year. Almost all deaths were due to
the advanced stage of the disease, with only four deaths being
ARV-related. In three years, only one in every ten patients has
had to change treatment regimens as a result of side effects.

* The Ndlovu HAART programme in Mpumalanga has reported a 100%
success rate with its prevention of mother-to-child transmission
of HIV (PMTCT) programme.

[more examples in full report]

National Patient Numbers and Provincial Variations

As at the end of March 2005, official government figures
indicated that at least 42 000 patients were accessing ARV
treatment in the public health sector. Of these, less than 4000
were children. The 3rd JCSMF meeting heard that most patients on
ARV treatment in the public sector are receiving care at academic
hospitals and the so-called "main sites", with very few patients
accessing ARV treatment at rural and remote sites. ...

Given the need, patient numbers in the public sector are
significantly lower than what the demand actually requires. ...In
comparison, the number of patients on ARV treatment in the
private sector (as of the end of March 2005) was between 50 000
and 60 000.

...

the situation varies from province to province, particularly in
relation to the pace of implementation:

* In particular, North West has in the last few months
dramatically increased its patient numbers. This has been
attributed to exemplary leadership and commitment shown by health
care workers.

* But the North West is not just about patient numbers. It has
been particularly creative in the use of its available resources,
including human resources. For example, patients are prepared,
assessed and staged at wellness facilities prior to their first
visit at a designated treatment site. This has managed to
decongest the treatment sites, also ensuring that first visits
are much shorter and streamlined. In turn, this has reduced
waiting periods and waiting lists. Importantly, it has improved
the morale of health care workers and patients as the latter move
more speedily through the system.

* KZN may have (along with Gauteng) the most number of patients
on ARV treatment in the country. But the pace of the programme
and its reach is nevertheless cause for concern. Given the very
high HIV prevalence in KZN and the associated need for treatment,
it requires a dramatic injection of new patients into the ARV
programme, including children.

* Provinces such as the Northern Cape and Free State are more
cautious with implementation. As in most other provinces, very
few children are accessing ARV treatment in these two provinces.
However, both show that political leadership and the commitment
of health care workers are the crucial ingredients to successful
implementation. A positive factor is that both programmes are
administered with openness and transparency.

In provinces such as the Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga and Limpopo,
the situation is very different. Of significant concern is the
fact that they show very little improvement over the last year.
Several factors have been advanced to explain this:

* The JCSMF has repeatedly noted that the Eastern Cape health
department continues to under spend on its health budget. It has
placed a moratorium on new appointments, despite the public
health care sector being understaffed.

* Mpumalanga is struggling to meet the overwhelming demand for
treatment because it is under resourced and is in urgent need of
technical support from the national department of health.

* Limpopo is faring the worst:

- It was the last province to start treatment
- It has the lowest number of patients on ARV treatment
despite an overwhelming demand for treatment
- It only has a handful of children on treatment
- It has not accredited four essential treatment sites,
resulting in long waiting periods and lack of access to health
services
- It shows inexplicable contempt for civil society
organisations
- It refuses publicly to release information about its
programme.

Donors Supporting the Public Sector


Several donors partially or fully fund patients accessing ARV
treatment in the public sector and contribute towards the costs
of staff or medical equipment. For example, many provinces have
entered into partnerships with donors such as Medecins Sans
Frontieres (MSF), Absolute Return for Kids (ARK), One2One Kids,
Catholic Relief Services,10 the South African Medical Association
(SAMA) and the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
(PEPFAR). Without this type of support, the public sector patient
figures would be even lower. Nevertheless, the long-term
sustainability of these partnerships must be monitored closely.
But the Western Cape example of a donor initially kick-starting
an ARV treatment programme that is - over time - taken over by
the province is a useful model.

Barriers to Accessing and Scaling up Treatment

Crisis in Human Resources for Health

The pace of implementation is being hampered by the lack of
trained doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health care
providers. Attracting, retaining and training health care workers
remains a formidable challenge for the public health sector. But
without addressing the crisis in human resources for health (HRH)
- including poor working conditions, low salaries, concerns about
career pathing, the lack of incentives and the international
poaching of HRH - our health programmes will suffer. Without a
reasonable, flexible HRH Plan that addresses short, medium and
long term needs, the Operational Plan will continue to be
undermined.

Government has a constitutional duty to develop such a plan. But
while the need to address the HRH crisis was identified as far
back as 1994, we are still without a plan some 11 years into our
democracy. ...

Other Gaps with Implementation

...

Nutrition

It is widely accepted that poverty and the lack of food security
are major national challenges, and that there is a clear link
between employment, access to income and food and nutrition
security. ...

In assessing the nutrition assistance programme, the 4th JCSMF
meeting noted anecdotal evidence indicating fragmentation and
unevenness, with the programme being beset by problems. At the
Harriet Shezi Clinic at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, the
largest paediatric treatment site in the country, only 6% of
children who are on ARV treatment have access to nutritional
support - fortified maize meal and milk formula - through the
resident dietician. ...

Serious gaps in the nutrition programme at individual facility
level have arisen because of a shortage of social workers,
dieticians and nutritionists. The lack of proper guidelines,
inadequate supervision and poor resources has compounded the
problem. ...

Drug Procurement

In the first joint TAC/ALP report, we noted that the drug
procurement process had yet to be finalised, notwithstanding an
initial forecast made to Parliament by the national department in
February 2004 that the process would be completed by June 2004.
However the award of the drug tender was only announced on 2
March 2005, some 13 months after the drug procurement process
commenced and more than 16 months after the Operational Plan was
adopted. ...

Table 4 below [in full report] looks at the following three
details in respect of each ARV medicine procured by the public
sector: tender award; registration and availability on the market
generally; and award of licences to generic companies. In light
of the public health need to ensure sustainability of supply
regarding ARV medicines, the table clearly shows that action
against various multinational companies is urgently required. ..

With this in mind, the TAC has already begun taking the necessary
legal steps to ensure that companies such as MSD and Abbott
Laboratories grant licences for the local production and/or
importation of generic versions of their patented medicines. To
this end, the TAC has also demanded that the Minister of Health
use her powers under the Patents Act to issue the compulsory
licences required. She has until 17 June 2005 to respond, failing
which the TAC will institute legal action based on her failure to
take reasonable measures to ensure access to a sustainable supply
of ARV medicines. ...


*************************************************************
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Southern Africa: Early HIV testing key to success

2005-06-13

http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=30593

Early HIV testing is an important factor for the successful implementation of HIV/AIDS treatment programs in African countries, Ernest Darkoh, former operations manager of Botswana's public antiretroviral drug program, said last Tuesday at the 2nd South African AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa, Reuters AlertNet reports. About 1,000 AIDS advocates and health professionals were expected to attend the three-day conference.

Africa/Global: Millions of children work in mines

2005-06-14

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=14532&Cr=labour&Cr1=child

To mark World Day against Child Labour on Sunday, the United Nations labour agency is spotlighting the problems of over a million children around the world who help to support their families by working as miners, often for small unregulated enterprises in dangerous conditions. “Because the money they earn is crucial to ensuring that they and their families survive, many are unable to attend school at all. These children are digging for survival,” the UN International Labour Organization (ILO) says.

Africa: Global walk to fund school meals

2005-06-14

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4084676.stm

A global walk against child hunger is due to take place in 90 countries around the world.
The Walk the World event, organised by the UN World Food Programme, is raising funds for school meals in poor nations. Every year, about 6.5 million children under the age of five die because hunger leaves their bodies too weak to resist disease.

Africa: UN expects 13 countries to provide universal primary education by 2015

2005-06-15

http://www0.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=14583&Cr=Millennium&Cr1=Development

Thirteen African countries are expected to provide universal primary education by 2015 and another 31 may reach that Millennium Development Goal (MDG) if they invest more in the lower educational levels, according to a new report from the United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The report, compiled by UNESCO's Regional Bureau for Africa (BREDA), is entitled "Education for All: Paving the Way for Action" and has been released in Senegal's capital, Dakar.

South Africa: University for the poor

2005-06-15

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/4092130.stm

Taddy Blecher must be the first person to have founded a university from a fax machine.
Five years ago, from his office in Johannesburg in South Africa, without any university buildings, courses or staff, he began faxing out a letter of invitation to 350 schools. He asked the brightest and poorest students to apply for a new university - and promised them the "best business education in Africa".

Africa: Environmental atlas tracks dramatic earth changes

2005-06-14

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=14508&Cr=environment&Cr1=

The dramatic, often damaging environmental changes sweeping planet Earth are brought into sharp focus in a new atlas launched by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The agency’s “One Plant Many People: Atlas of our Changing Environment” compares and contrasts satellite images of the past few decades with contemporary ones, some of which have never been seen before, according to the agency. In addition to images of deforestation, urban sprawl and the retreat of glaciers, the agency says, there are also surprising developments that can be seen from space.

Africa: Scientists warn of dramatic impact of climate change

2005-06-14

http://www.physorg.com/news4465.html

Scientists are warning that dramatic changes may soon occur in Africa’s vegetation in response to global warming. They believe the effect may be on a similar scale to the climatic disruption in the last Ice Age and the African forest decline 2,500 years ago. Dr Jon Lovett, who led the research, said: “The results were extraordinary – plants migrate out of the Congo rainforests and there is a massive intensification of drought in the Sahel. Other areas particularly hard hit are eastern Africa and the south-west coast.”

South Africa: Opposition to Japan's plan to expand whale hunt

2005-06-14

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L14347756.htm

South Africa will next week seek to defeat a Japanese proposal to expand whale hunting as it would threaten a growing industry catering to people who enjoy watching the huge mammals, a senior official said. The International Whaling Commission (IWC) is due to vote on Japan's plans at a meeting in South Korea from June 20-24.

Tanzania: Award-Winning Artist Paints for Wildlife and Children

2005-06-13

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/environment/28564

The African Conservation Foundation (ACF) is announcing a unique fundraising campaign with award-winning Canadian painter, Daniel Taylor. The “Art for Africa” project is a partnership to create artwork for wildlife conservation and for educating school children in Africa. Taylor is a world famous painter. He transforms an original portrait into his signature style known as high realism art. High realism is the realist and natural representation of life in a work of art.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Arend de Haas
Director
African Conservation Foundation
Tel. +44 (0)1535 274160
Fax. +44 (0)1535 271631
arend@africanconservation.org

Award-Winning Artist Paints for Wildlife and Children

African Conservation Foundation Launches New “Art for Africa” project

Arusha, Tanzania, June 01, 2005 - The African Conservation Foundation (ACF) is announcing a unique fundraising campaign with award-winning Canadian painter, Daniel Taylor. The “Art for Africa” project is a partnership to create artwork for wildlife conservation and for educating school children in Africa.

Taylor is a world famous painter. He transforms an original portrait into his signature style known as high realism art. High realism is the realist and natural representation of life in a work of art.

“We are thrilled to be working with Daniel on the “Art for Africa” project,” said ACF Director Arend de Haas. “This is an important campaign for us because it will directly support our work in East and West Africa. Each painting will be available as limited edition prints, as well as prints signed by a celebrity.”

These paintings will portray animals like the elephant, gorilla and lion, and other endangered species. Taylor explains, “I have spent many years developing my technique. I can reveal on canvas the warmth, the beauty of Africa, but also the severity of the given crisis, that mere words cannot express.”

The goal of the “Art for Africa” project is to sell limited edition prints to generate revenue for ACF. In addition, Taylor has created a portrait of a little girl to raise funds for another ACF program called Nature for Kids. This program is an educational effort to help school children in Africa learn about environmental and wildlife conservation in their communities.

Taylor will create a unique series of paintings. The revenue from each painting will be used for the conservation of a specific endangered animal and for the Nature for Kids program.

The first original paintings will be revealed at a special event planned for late summer. Taylor concludes, “Art has always looked to nature for inspiration. In this unique program, nature turns the tables and looks at art.”

###
For information on the “Art for Africa” project:
http://www.art-for-africa.net

The African Conservation Foundation’s (ACF) mission is to support and link African conservation initiatives. Our overall goal is to change the approach of the management and utilization of natural resources to one in which the needs of human development in the region are reconciled with natural resource conservation. For more information, please visit our Website at: http://www.africanconservation.org

Ethiopia: IPI Condemns Continued Harassment of Journalists

2005-06-13

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/media/28556

According to information provided to the International Press Institute (IPI), journalists reporting on violent street clashes in Addis Ababa between police and students protesting over the 15 May parliamentary elections have come under increased pressure from the authorities. On 7 June, the Information Ministry revoked the accreditation of five Ethiopian journalists, Taddesse Engidaw and Assegdech Yiberta of Deutsche Welle and Helen Mohammed, Temam Aman and Bereket Teklu of Voice of America (VOA), who were accused of filing "unbalanced reports" on the elections.
IPI Watch List: Press Release

Vienna, 9 June 2005

IPI Condemns Continued Harassment of Journalists Covering Events in Ethiopia

According to information provided to the International Press Institute
(IPI), journalists reporting on violent street clashes in Addis Ababa
between police and students protesting over the 15 May parliamentary
elections have come under increased pressure from the authorities.

On 7 June, the Information Ministry revoked the accreditation of five
Ethiopian journalists, Taddesse Engidaw and Assegdech Yiberta of Deutsche
Welle and Helen Mohammed, Temam Aman and Bereket Teklu of Voice of America
(VOA), who were accused of filing "unbalanced reports" on the elections. IPI
understands that the Information Ministry warned that the journalists could
face legal action if they continued reporting and that similar action would
be taken against other journalists who file false or unbalanced reports.

The five journalists, who are Ethiopian citizens and work in local
languages, had reported extensively on the elections and the violent street
protests in Addis Ababa that followed accusations that the ruling party was
guilty of electoral fraud. The clashes have left at least 22 people dead,
independent observers say.

This is not the first case of harassment of journalists covering the
elections and their aftermath.

On 2 June, officials summoned at least six journalists from the private
newspapers Abay, Addis Zena, Menilik and Netsanet to the Criminal
Investigations Department (CID) in Addis Ababa. The journalists were
detained and questioned for several hours about articles they published
during the elections before being released without charge.

"IPI strongly condemns the Ethiopian government's attempts to harass and
censor journalists reporting on the elections and the ensuing street
clashes," Johann P. Fritz, Director of IPI, said. "We urge the authorities
to restore the accreditation of the five journalists from Deutsche Welle and
Voice of America and to uphold everyone's right to 'seek, receive and impart
information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers', as
provided for in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

"We further urge the Ethiopian government to ensure that journalists
covering events in Ethiopia are allowed to exercise their profession without
fear of harassment or intimidation," Fritz said.

Ethiopia is an IPI Watch List country. For more information on Ethiopia and
the IPI Watch List, please visit: http://www.freemedia.at/watch_list.htm

______________________________

International Press Institute (IPI)
Spiegelgasse 2/29
A-1010 Vienna
Austria
Tel: + 431-512 90 11
Fax: + 431-512 90 14
E-mail: ipi@freemedia.at
http://www.freemedia.at

IPI, the global network of editors, media executives and leading
journalists, is dedicated to the furtherance and safeguarding of press
freedom, the protection of freedom of opinion and expression, the promotion
of the free flow of news and information, and the improvement of the
practices of journalism.

Sudan: Suspension of Khartoum Monitor Licence

2005-06-13

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/media/28558

On 12 June 2005, the English language daily 'Khartoum Monitor' was served with a suspension order by the Press Council General Secretary, Dr. Hashim Mohamed Salih Aljaz. In a letter to the acting editor of the Khartoum Monitor, Dr. Hashim attached the decision of Judge Ismat Suleiman Hassan sitting at Khartoum North Panel Court dated 12 June 2005, ordering the withdrawal of the newspaper license. In justifying the decision, Judge Ismat's decision cited a High Court decision dated 12 July 2003, which ordered withdrawal of the license of the paper.
SOAT
Sudan Organisation Against Torture


Human Rights Alert: 13 June 2005
Suspension of Khartoum Monitor Licence


On 12 June 2005, the English language daily ‘Khartoum Monitor’ was served with a suspension order by the Press Council General Secretary, Dr. Hashim Mohamed Salih Aljaz. In a letter to the acting editor of the Khartoum Monitor, Dr. Hashim attached the decision of Judge Ismat Suleiman Hassan sitting at Khartoum North Panel Court dated 12 June 2005, ordering the withdrawal of the newspaper license. In justifying the decision, Judge Ismat's decision cited a High Court decision dated 12 July 2003, which ordered withdrawal of the license of the paper.

The Acting Editor of Khartoum Monitor, William Ezekiel has informed SOAT that the paper will submit an application to the High Court requesting a revision of the decision. In the meantime, the newspaper will remain suspended subject to a change in the High Court decision.


Background

The Khartoum Monitor licence to print was first withdrawn on 12 July 2003 following a decision by the Khartoum North Panel Court after it published an interview with Santino Deng, the ex-Minister for Animal Resources in 2001. In the interview, Mr. Santino who has since passed away accused the government of practising a form of slavery. The paper appealed against the decision, the grounds for suspension of the newspaper was rejected and the Appeal Courts reinstated the paper’s licence. The case was then taken before the High Court, without the knowledge of the paper's lawyers.

Since 2003, journalists’ writing for the Khartoum Monitor has been subjected to systematic and ongoing intimidation and arrests. In March 2003, Edward Ladu Terso, a journalist working with Khartoum Monitor, was detained on 11 March 2003 and sent to Kober Prison without charge. He was conditionally released on 29 March 2003 under the order that he had to stop criticizing the government. Edward was interrogated few days earlier following an article he wrote about the history of Islam in Sudan. In May 2003, Nhial Bol, the managing editor of Khartoum Monitor, was forced to flee Sudan to Kenya after he was subjected to constant arrests and detentions. He also had an assassination attempt on his life.


SOAT deplores the suspension of the paper and considers the action of the National Press and Publications Council and the judiciary as an attempt to prevent the publication of information regarding the violent clashes between protesters and security forces that seized the Soba Aradi area in Khartoum on 18 May 2005, resulting in the death of several people including fourteen police officers and six civilians. Following the clashes, the government deployed extra police, military and security personnel on the streets of Soba, (who subjected persons residing in the Soba Aradi Area to) initiating a campaign of mass arbitrary arrests and incommunicado detentions. Over 200 people have been arrested including women and children. The whereabouts of many of the detainees remain unknown to their families.

The 21 May 2005 edition of the (newspaper) Khartoum Monitor was prevented from being issued following a visit from (the) Security officers the previous evening on 20 May 2005. The officers ordered the Acting Chief Editor, William Ezekiel, to remove (its) the editorial coverage of a Reuters report on the violent clashes (which resulted in the death of several people including 14 police officers and six civilians at) in the Soba Aradi IDP area south of Khartoum on 18 May. The editors refused to withdraw the story as the paper would have had to be printed blank and would have resulted in the loss (lose) of six million Sudanese pounds. At 3am on 21 May, the security officers entered the printing press and ordered the printing of the newspaper to stop.

SOAT is concerned by the suspension of the Khartoum Monitor and the continuing restrictions on freedom of expression, and urges the government of Sudan, the Judiciary and National Press and Publications Council:

i. to comply with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which the government is an obligated State Party;

ii. end restrictions on freedom of the press, allow full and open reporting of, and comment upon the current state of affairs in Sudan.

iii. Cease the suspensions and imposition of pre-printing and post-printing censorship on newspapers, and allow full freedom of expression in accordance with international human rights standards.

iv. Guarantee the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights laws and standards.




The above recommendations should be sent in appeals to the following
addresses:

His Excellency Lieutenant General Omar Hassan al-Bashir
President of the Republic of Sudan
President' s Palace
PO Box 281, Khartoum, Sudan
Fax: + 249 183 783223

Mr. Ali Mohamed Osman Yassin
Minister of Justice and Attorney General
Ministry of Justice
Khartoum, Sudan
Fax: + 249 183 788941

Prof. Ali Mohamed Ali Shommou
The National Press and Publications Council
P O Box 11111, Khartoum, Sudan
Fax: + 249 183 77 19 25

Dr. Abdelmuneim Osman Mohamed Taha
Advisory Council for Human Rights
PO Box 302
Khartoum, Sudan
Fax: + 249 183 770883

His Excellency Ambassador Mr. Ibrahim Mirghani Ibrahim,
Permanent Mission of the Republic of Sudan to the United Nations in Geneva,
PO Box 335,
1211 Geneva,
Switzerland,
Fax: +4122 731 26 56,
E-mail: mission.sudan@ties.itu.int


SOAT is international human rights organisation established in the UK in 1993. If you have any questions about this or any other SOAT information, please contact us:

SOAT
Argo House
Kilburn Park Road
London NW6 5LF, UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 7625 8055
Fax: +44 (0)20 7372 2656
E-mail: info@soatsudan.org
Website: www.soatsudan.org

Tanzania: Zanzibar government bars critical journalist from working

2005-06-13

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/media/28559

Authorities on the semi-autonomous Tanzanian island of Zanzibar have banned political columnist Jabir Idrissa from writing, saying he was working without permission. Idrissa told the Committee to Protect Journalists that he believes he was banned for criticizing the Zanzibar government. The Zanzibar-based Idrissa is a well-known political columnist for the weekly, Swahili language newspaper Rai. The newspaper is based on the Tanzanian mainland, but sells on Zanzibar.
ALERT - TANZANIA (ZANZIBAR)

10 June 2005

Zanzibar government bars critical journalist from working

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

**For further information on the "Dira" case, see alerts of 24 November
2004, 4 December and 25 November 2003**

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

TANZANIA: ZANZIBAR GOVERNMENT BARS CRITICAL JOURNALIST FROM WORKING

New York, June 10, 2005 - Authorities on the semi-autonomous Tanzanian
island of Zanzibar have banned political columnist Jabir Idrissa from
writing, saying he was working without permission. Idrissa told the
Committee to Protect Journalists that he believes he was banned for
criticizing the Zanzibar government.

The Zanzibar-based Idrissa is a well-known political columnist for the
weekly, Swahili language newspaper Rai. The newspaper is based on the
Tanzanian mainland, but sells on Zanzibar. Idrissa told CPJ he had been
writing the column for about a year and that it had criticized the Zanzibar
government for human rights abuses and bad governance.

In a statement yesterday, Zanzibar's information ministry said that Idrissa
had been working illegally as a journalist on Zanzibar and that he was being
barred from practicing journalism until he complied with the island's
regulations. Director of Information Ali Mwinyikai told CPJ that a 1988
Zanzibar law obliged all journalists working on the island to obtain press
accreditation from his ministry, but that Idrissa had not done so. This
accreditation must be renewed annually, he said.

Idrissa told CPJ that he had a press card issued by the union government of
Tanzania in Dar es Salaam, and that he did not believe it was necessary to
have two press cards. He and one other local journalist said that Zanzibar
authorities have not routinely enforced the island's accreditation rule.

In November 2003, Zanzibar authorities used the 1988 law to shutter the
island's only independent newspaper, Dira, on unspecified "national
security" grounds. Independent journalists want the law scrapped, saying it
is unconstitutional.

"We're outraged at this blatant censorship of a critical journalist, and
call on Zanzibar authorities to allow Jabir Idrissa to resume working
immediately," CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper said. "Under the cover of an
'accreditation' law, Zanzibar's government is actually licensing
journalists-and, in this case, silencing one. We call on the government to
eliminate the accreditation requirement."

Local journalists say that the Zanzibar authorities are seeking to further
muzzle the press in the run-up general elections in October. The ruling CCM
party faces a strong challenge on Zanzibar from the opposition CUF party.
Previous elections there have often been marked by political violence.

CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to
safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information, visit
http://www.cpj.org

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

The information contained in this alert is the sole responsibility of CPJ.
In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please credit CPJ.

The Gambia: Dismay at government-orchestrated campaign to smear slain journalist

2005-06-13

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/media/28557

Reporters sans frontières (RSF) has voiced "revulsion" at a government-orchestrated campaign to smear murdered journalist Deyda Hydara following the release of a report by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) on its ongoing investigation into his death. The report is full of gratuitous detail about the journalist's private life and absurd theories about the motives for the murder.
ALERT UPDATE - THE GAMBIA

9 June 2005

RSF dismayed at government-orchestrated campaign to smear slain journalist

SOURCE: Reporters sans frontières (RSF), Paris

**Updates IFEX alerts of 19 May, 22 March, 25 and 22 February and 6 January 2005 and 17 December 2004**

(RSF/IFEX) - RSF has voiced "revulsion" at a government-orchestrated campaign to smear murdered journalist Deyda Hydara following the release of a report by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) on its ongoing investigation into his death. The report is full of gratuitous detail about the journalist's private life and absurd theories about the motives for the murder.

"Do we have to remind the NIA that Deyda Hydara was the victim and not the suspect in last December's fatal ambush?" the organisation asked. "His family and friends have already suffered enough and should not have to put up with the government's attempts to divert attention."

"This smear campaign based on trashy police procedures will not succeed in covering up the investigators' negligence. The NIA has just demonstrated its ineptitude by publishing this collection of malicious gossip in the hope of tarnishing the memory of a respected journalist slain six months ago by gunmen who are still at large," said RSF.

"Until now, we were just amazed at the slow pace and fumbling of the government investigators. But now we are convinced that they have decided to never reveal the truth and are prepared to stoop to anything to get their way," the organisation added.

In an interview published on 3 June in the pro-government "Daily Observer", Interior Minister Babucarr Jatta described the Hydara case as "a national issue" and dismissed as "premature" the calls by RSF and Hydara's associate, Pap Saine, for assistance from foreign investigators. Gambia's police and security agents must complete their own enquiries, he said.

Also on 3 June, the NIA sent copies of a 23-page report on the state of its investigation to all of the news media in the capital. RSF has obtained a copy. It is a compilation of all the information obtained by the police and the NIA on "the shooting incident resulting in the death of Mr. Deyda Hydara."

The report points out that the NIA took over the investigation on 8 February, after the police inspector general drafted "an interim report which was found to be inadequate and gave no substantial lead." Although stamped "confidential", the entire 23-page report was published on 6 June in the "Daily Observer", at the government's behest.

In the chapter on "findings", the NIA report says Hydara's newspaper, "The Point", became famous for its "virulent unguarded attacks on all and sundry in the present government, prominent Gambians, public institutions, private enterprises, individual businessmen and groups, international organisations, security agents, and international figures, etc."

It said Hydara was "invited" several times to meetings with the security services "to be cautioned and advised to set records straight, particularly whenever he had erred and was way off the path upholding the canons and ethics of journalism profession."

The report then goes into detail about strictly personal aspects of Hydara's life that have no bearing on the murder. In its conclusions, it says that the most likely motive for the murder was either personal revenge, especially by a jealous husband, or a desire to cover up "financial misappropriation" by his associate and childhood friend, Saine.

BACKGROUND:
The co-founder and editor-in-chief of "The Point", an independent newspaper that appears three times a week, and a correspondent for Agence France-Presse (AFP) and RSF, Hydara was gunned down behind the wheel of his car as he was driving two employees home late at night on 16 December 2004. He was an outspoken critic of two laws curbing press freedom that were passed by the National Assembly on the eve of his murder.

RSF made two fact-finding visits to Gambia, in December and April, partly to support his family and his newspaper, but also in attempt to advance an investigation that was going nowhere. The organisation was able to reconstruct how Hydara spent his last day and it identified a number of leads and hypotheses that any serious investigators ought to have pursued.

In particular, the organisation discovered that his murder, which was carried out by professionals, followed the pattern of a series of attacks against journalists and other figures who had upset the authorities. The circumstances, the method, the recurring use of cars with no licence plates and preceding death threats were similar in every case. Hydara's murder matches the pattern of many press freedom violations in recent years in The Gambia, and in all of these cases, the NIA has been identified as the perpetrator or leading suspect.

By piecing together information in the accounts provided by different sources, RSF also discovered that Hydara was under surveillance by the security services and was still being watched just minutes before he was murdered a few hundred metres from a police barracks.

For further information, contact Léonard Vincent at RSF, 5, rue Geoffroy Marie, Paris 75009, France, tel: +33 1 44 83 84 84, fax: +33 1 45 23 11 51, e-mail: africa@rsf.org, Internet: http://www.rsf.org

The information contained in this alert update is the sole responsibility of RSF. In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please credit RSF.
_________________________________________________________________
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IFEX - Nouvelles de la communauté internationale de défense de la liberté d'expression
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MISE À JOUR D'ALERTE - GAMBIE

Le 9 juin 2005

RSF "écoeurée" par la campagne de dénigrement de Deyda Hydara orchestrée par le gouvernement

SOURCE: Reporters sans frontières (RSF), Paris

**Mise à jour d'alertes de l'IFEX du 19 mai, 22 mars, 25 et 22 février et 6 janvier 2005 et 17 décembre 2004**

(RSF/IFEX) - RSF est "écoeurée par la campagne de dénigrement du journaliste assassiné Deyda Hydara orchestrée par les autorités gambiennes", après la diffusion par la National Intelligence Agency (NIA, les services de renseignements), d'un rapport sur l'état de l'enquête en cours sur cette affaire. Celui-ci étale complaisamment la vie privée du journaliste et échafaude des hypothèses aberrantes sur le mobile de son assassinat.

"Faut-il aller jusqu'à rappeler à la NIA que Deyda Hydara est la victime, et non le suspect, de l'embuscade meurtrière du 16 décembre 2004 ? a déclaré RSF. Sa famille et ses amis, déjà durement frappés, n'ont pas à subir les manoeuvres de diversion du gouvernement. Cette campagne de dénigrement, basée sur des procédés de police-poubelle, ne parvient pas à masquer l'incurie des enquêteurs. Car, non contente de faire la preuve de son inaptitude en publiant un assemblage de ragots, la NIA se sert de ce rapport pour salir la mémoire de notre correspondant, lâchement abattu il y a six mois par des inconnus toujours en liberté".

"Jusqu'à aujourd'hui, nous nous étonnions des lenteurs et des errements des enquêteurs, a conclu RSF. Aujourd'hui, nous sommes certains qu'ils sont décidés à ne jamais découvrir la vérité et à faire preuve de la plus grande bassesse pour parvenir à leurs fins".

Dans une interview publiée le 3 juin 2005 par le quotidien pro-gouvernemental "Daily Observer", le ministre de l'Intérieur Babucarr Jatta a estimé que l'affaire Hydara était "une question nationale" et que l'assistance d'enquêteurs étrangers, comme l'a demandé RSF et l'associé de Hydara, Pap Saine, était "prématurée". "La police et les agents de sécurité en Gambie doivent encore clore leurs investigations et travaillent péniblement sur l'affaire", a assuré Jatta.

Parallèlement, le même jour, la NIA a diffusé auprès de toutes les rédactions de la capitale un rapport sur l'état d'avancée de son enquête. Ce rapport de 23 pages, dont RSF s'est procuré une copie, rassemble les informations compilées par les services de police, puis par la NIA, sur "l'incident (. . .) ayant conduit à la mort de M. Deyda Hydara". Il souligne que les investigations ont été confiées à la NIA le 8 février, après que l'inspecteur général de la police avait rédigé un "rapport intérimaire jugé inadéquat et ne fournissant aucune piste substantielle". Alors qu'il est estampillé "confidentiel", le texte a été publié par le "Daily Observer" le 6 juin, sur ordre du gouvernement.

Au chapitre des "découvertes", le rapport de la NIA indique que le trihebdomadaire que codirigeait Hydara, "The Point", s'était rendu célèbre pour ses "attaques virulentes et incontrôlées contre l'ensemble du présent gouvernement, d'éminents Gambiens, des institutions publiques, des entreprises privées, des hommes et des groupes d'affaires, des organisations internationales, des agents de sécurité, des personnalités internationales, etc". Selon le texte, le journaliste avait plusieurs fois été "invité" par les services de sécurité "pour être mis en garde et conseillé, de manière à rectifier des informations erronées, particulièrement lorsqu'il avait fait erreur et s'était éloigné des règles éthiques régissant la profession".

Entre autres "informations" compilées par la NIA, le rapport égrène ensuite des aspects strictement personnels de la vie de Hydara, sans aucun rapport avec l'assassinat. En conclusion, la NIA retient comme hypothèses privilégiées le règlement de comptes personnel, notamment de la part d'un mari jaloux, ou la volonté de dissimuler des "détournements financiers" de la part de son ami d'enfance et associé, Saine.

RAPPEL DES FAITS :
Hydara a été assassiné par des inconnus au volant de sa voiture dans la soirée du 16 décembre 2004, alors qu'il raccompagnait chez elles deux employées de son journal. Cofondateur et rédacteur en chef du trihebdomadaire "The Point", par ailleurs correspondant de l'Agence France-Presse (AFP) et de RSF, il était l'un des détracteurs les plus véhéments des deux nouvelles lois liberticides sur la presse, votées la veille de sa mort par le parlement gambien.

Pour soutenir sa famille et son journal, mais aussi pour s'efforcer de faire avancer une enquête stérile, RSF a dépêché deux missions d'enquête sur place, en décembre 2004 et avril 2005. L'organisation a ainsi pu reconstituer l'emploi du temps de Hydara le jour de sa mort et énumérer quelques pistes sérieuses que les enquêteurs, en toute logique, devraient examiner. Elle a notamment découvert que son assassinat, perpétré par des professionnels, s'inscrit dans une série d'attaques contre les journalistes et les personnages qui "dérangent". Même mode opératoire, même contexte, utilisation récurrente de voitures sans plaque d'immatriculation, menaces de mort préalables : l'assassinat de Hydara n'a pas échappé au schéma des nombreuses atteintes à la liberté de la presse enregistrées depuis plusieurs années en Gambie, et pour lesquelles la NIA est le principal suspect ou l'artisan désigné. En outre, l'organisation a révélé, en recoupant plusieurs témoignages, que Hydara était menacé et surveillé par les services de sécurité, quelques minutes encore avant d'être assassiné à quelques centaines de mètres d'une caserne de la police.

Pour tout renseignement complémentaire, veuillez contacter Léonard Vincent, RSF, 5, rue Geoffroy Marie, Paris 75009, France, tél: +33 1 44 83 84 84, téléc: +33 1 45 23 11 51, courrier électronique: afrique@rsf.org, Internet: http://www.rsf.org

RSF est responsable de toute information contenue dans cette mise à jour d‘alerte. En citant cette information, prière de bien vouloir l'attribuer à RSF.
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AFFORD calls for remittances by Africans to be on G8 Summit Agenda

2005-06-15

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/diaspora/28605

At a meeting "to discuss the UK priorities for Africa leading to the Gleneagles Summit", the Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown has assured the Chair of the African Foundation for Development (AFFORD) Gibril Faal that remittances are on the G8 Summit agenda. He also invited Mr Faal to present to him a paper on remittances for further consideration, which AFFORD will generate as part of its annual African Diaspora & Development Day (ad3).
PRESS RELEASE: AFFORD calls for remittances by Africans to be on G8 Summit Agenda


Date: June 13th 2005

At a meeting “to discuss the UK priorities for Africa leading to the Gleneagles Summit”, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown has assured the Chair of the African Foundation for Development (AFFORD) Gibril Faal that remittances are on the G8 Summit agenda. He also invited Mr Faal to present to him a paper on remittances for further consideration, which AFFORD will generate as part of its annual African Diaspora & Development Day (ad3).

This year, ad3 takes place on 2 July, focusing on mobilising diaspora resources to create and sustain enterprises and jobs in Africa. The keynote speaker is the 2004 Nobel Peace Laureate, Professor Wangari Maathai, who would be drawing upon her experience of working with grassroots women to plant millions of trees in a bid to save the environment, and provide a dignified means of income for the women.

The issue of remittances has steadily been moving up the political agenda. According to a recent World Bank study: "Informal transfers and formal but unrecorded transfers add another order of magnitude to remittance flows, bringing the estimated total to as much as $200 billion - more than foreign direct investment."

The meeting to discuss the UK priorities for Africa held for NGOs, diaspora and faith groups was hosted by Gordon Brown and South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel on 11 June, shortly after Mr Brown announced the agreement by G7 Ministers to cancel £30 billion of the debt owed by qualifying developing countries to multilateral financial institutions such as the World Bank and African Development Bank. Of the initial 18 countries qualifying for 100% debt relief, 14 are African. Although attention often focuses on aid, Faal made the point that apart from trade income, aid, foreign direct investment (FDI) and diaspora remittances are the three main forms of financial inflow to Africa.

“Only remittances reflect self-help by Africans and the inflows are not countered by future outflows from the continent,” Faal noted. “Remittances are also direct investments through ordinary citizens, without the need of mediation by government or corporate bodies,” he concluded.

Given that the meeting was about discussing UK priorities for Africa, at the G8 Summit, Faal suggested that remittances should be put on the agenda. AFFORD is greatly encouraged by the fact that the Chancellor confirmed that remittances are indeed on the agenda and invited Faal to present to him a paper on the points raised at the meeting for further consideration.

AFFORD gave evidence to the House of Commons Select Committee enquiry in 2004 in which ways of reducing the transaction costs of remittances were discussed. AFFORD hopes that the G8 will examine other innovative ways of extending the effectiveness of remittances, beyond just the issue of transaction costs. After the ad3 event, Gibril Faal and AFFORD will publish proposals on how financial instruments used to encourage social enterprise and economic regeneration in the UK can be applied to the issue of ‘remittances for international development’.




PRESS INFORMATION & NOTES:

REMITTANCE FIGURES: According to the World Bank’s latest report 'Global Development Finance 2005: Mobilising Finance and Managing Vulnerability', "remittances now constitute the second largest flow of external finance, well behind foreign direct investment, but far ahead of official development assistance". The study quotes a 2002 survey that suggests that in 2002 Africa received 15% of the estimated $80 billion of remittances captured by official statistics. However, analysts recognise that most remittances flowing into Africa flow through informal channels that are not recorded. "Informal transfers and formal but unrecorded transfers add another order of magnitude to remittance flows, bringing the estimated total to as much as $200 billion - more than foreign direct investment," according to the Bank’s study.

GIBRIL FAAL: Director of GK Partners, a company specialising in business advice on social enterprise, corporate social responsibility and public enterprise. Former lecturer on MSc programme in Global Development Management. Piloted a DTI-funded programme on social enterprise business support in Central London through Business Link. Written and presented several papers on social enterprise and international development. Mr Faal also sits as a magistrate at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court. Tel: 07951 877 449 / 0870 1904 178.

Gibril Faal highlights “three factors about remittances which makes it a more sustainable form of financing African development. Firstly, unlike Aid and FDI, remittances are based on self-help by Africans rather than a foreign benefactor. Secondly, remittance inflows to Africa are not countered by future outflows through interest, debt and dividend repayments as well as retention and repatriation of funds to donor country expatriates and suppliers. Thirdly, remittances are direct investments on food security, education, health, small business start-up etc, made through ordinarily citizens without the need of mediation by government or corporate bodies.”

ad3: The annual African Diaspora & Development Day or ad3 is organised by the London-based African Foundation for Development (AFFORD). This year’s theme is “Enterprise Africa! Mobilizing the African diaspora’s resources to create enterprises, jobs & wealth in Africa”. The event will take place between 8.30am and 6pm on Saturday 2 July at The Rocket, 166-220 Holloway Road N7 8DB. The event will be followed by an Afro Rhymes & Rhythms session with DJs from the Shakara group from 7.00pm until late.

PROF. MAATHAI: Honourable Professor Wangari Maathai is Assistant Minister for Environment and Natural Resources, Republic of Kenya; Member of Parliament, Tetu Constituency, Nyeri District, Republic of Kenya; Founder and Former Coordinator, the Green Belt Movement. In 2004 Professor Maathai became the first environmentalist and first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Nobel Committee decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2004 to Wangari Maathai for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace. She is also President of the African Union's Interim General Assembly of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC).

OTHER INFORMATION:

According to the Greater London Authority, “black businesses make up 3% of all London’s businesses. 29% of black business owners are women – the highest rate of ownership among women of any ethnic group. Black owned businesses provide over 40,000 jobs and have a total turnover of almost £1.8 billion (and growing).” Some 28 percent of these businesses are owned by black Africans (3,000 businesses) and mixed white and black Africans own 9 percent (900).

A study commissioned in 2004 by the Department for International Development estimated at ₤1.4 billion the total remittances flowing out of the UK toward developing countries, with ₤0.5 billion of this total flowing out through informal mechanisms. (See “Informal remittances from the UK: Values, Flows and Mechanisms - A report to DFID, March 2004, Michael Blackwell & David Seddon, Overseas Development Group, Norwich.)

AFFORD: AFFORD’s recent achievements include
• Supported creation of two leading diaspora networks - African Diaspora Voices for Africa's Development (ADVAD); Connections for Development
• Provided Africa-related careers training for nearly 100 young Africans in London & secured internships in four African countries for young diasporic Africans
• Contributed to & helped shape policy debates around migration/diaspora & development with recommendations helping to influence government & funder policies
• Helped to place & keep the African diaspora's contribution to Africa's development firmly on the policy agenda
• Helped over 100 African diaspora organisations build their capacity as development agencies
• Initiated the UK's first award ceremony for Africans in the diaspora contributing to Africa's development
• Pioneered widely emulated models of mobilising the African diaspora through initiation of the precursor to the African Diaspora & Development Day in 2000
• Developed one of the UK's widest networks of African diaspora organisations & individuals working for Africa's development.

For more information please contact:
Onyekachi Wambu
AFFORD
ad3 2005
31-33 Bondway, Vauxhall Cross, London SW8 1SJ
Tel: +44 (0)20 7587 3905
Fax: +44 (0)20 7587 3919

Burundi: Rebel FNL, government officials begin ceasefire talks

2005-06-13

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47601

Delegates from the Burundian government and the rebel Forces nationales de liberation (FNL) began talks on Friday on how to implement a ceasefire agreement, after almost a week of delays. FNL is Burundi's only rebel group to continue fighting. All other former rebel groups have signed peace agreements with the transitional government and have since joined transitional institutions.

CAR: 8,000 Central Africans flee to southern Chad

2005-06-15

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/0e4793beee27be2c20ff78acb0bed500.htm

More than 8,000 people have fled from the Central African Republic (CAR) into southern Chad over the past fortnight to escape a new outbreak of fighting in the northwest of the country, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Wednesday. The new arrivals joined 30,000 other CAR refugees who have been living in exile in southern Chad for almost three years, UNHCR official Bernard Ntwari told IRIN by telephone from N'Djamena. He said the latest exodus began following clashes between government troops and a rebel group that began on 3 June.

Guinea: Stopping Guinea's slide

2005-06-14

http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?l=1&id=3509

Guinea risks becoming West Africa's next failed state, says a new briefing from the International Crisis Group (ICG). "Its economy is faltering, the government has nearly ceased to provide services, and in 2004, there were isolated uprisings in at least eight towns and cities in all regions of the country. Getting it wrong in Guinea now could have disastrous consequences. Getting it right will require a greater engagement by both the Guinean population and the diplomatic and donor communities, including a focus much more on reforming institutions than on the immediate personnel issues involved in the succession to the ailing and dictatorial president, Lansana Conté."

Ivory Coast: Ethnic War Threatens

2005-06-14

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=29013

The injury of three persons, two seriously, in western Cote d'Ivoire last week reflects the deep-seated animosity between some ethnic groups in this West African country. The fighting, in reprisal for the death of four people, occurred in Duekoue, 400 kilometres west of the commercial capital of Abidjan. Recently more than 100 Gueres, who are indigenous to the region, were cut to pieces with machetes and sprayed with bullets. The incidents occurred at Guitrozon and Petit Duekoue, the villages adjacent to the city of Duekoue.

Sudan: Darfur talks resume after initial delays

2005-06-14

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47620

The Sudanese government resumed face-to-face peace talks with the two main rebel movements in its western Darfur region on Monday after three days of bickering over whether representatives from Chad and Eritrea should be allowed to attend, officials involved in the negotiations said. The latest round of peace talks mediated by the African Union (AU) officially began in the Nigerian capital Abuja on Friday following a six-month break.

"FLOSSWorld" - open source software for development

2005-06-15

http://www.southafrica.info/ess_info/sa_glance/scitech/flossworld.htm

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the University of the Western Cape (UWC) are to participate in a global research project looking into the adoption of free/libre and open source software (FLOSS). FLOSS, an alternative to often expensive proprietary software, is arguably one of the best examples of open, collaborative, internationally distributed production and development that exists today. The open format encourages development and allows software to be tailored to the needs of users.

ICTs and the MDGs: On the Wrong Track?

2005-06-13

http://radio.oneworld.net/article/view/82111/1/6982

The purpose of this article is to prompt some questioning of current "e-development" priorities. We have too readily assumed the Millennium Development Goals must be the priority for application of ICTs. Yet the MDGs themselves can be challenged, as can the relevance of applying ICTs to those goals. This article will argue that we ought at least to be considering some different priorities if we want to make most effective use of the opportunities that new technology affords.

National governments and control of the internet

2005-06-15

http://www.africabookcentre.com/acatalog/index.html?http%3A//www.africabookcentre.com/acatalog/New_Titles_June_9th_2005.html&CatalogBody

This study by Giampiero Giacomello explores and compares why and to what extent national governments decide to control the internet and how this impacts on crucial socioeconomic activities and fundamental civil rights. The author provides detailed studies of US, Germany, Italy and further case studies of South Africa, Switzerland, Brazil, Canada, India and The Netherlands.

Conversation about child labour

2005-06-14

http://www.hrea.org/conversations/child-labour.php

An estimated 246 million children are engaged in child labour. Ensuring access to quality basic education is critical to eliminate the worst forms child labour. Governments have an obligation to provide compulsory and quality elementary education for each child. Join Vernor Muñoz Villalobos, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education, and Human Rights Education Associates staff for a chat about child labour and the right to education on the occasion of the World Day Against Child Labour 2005.

AMMSI Scholarship

2005-06-13

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/fundraising/28549

The African Mathematics Millennium Science Initiative (AMMSI) is a distributed network of mathematics research, training and promotion throughout sub-SaharanAfrica. It has five Regional Offices located in Botswana, Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal. It is a project established by the Millennium Science Initiative (MSI), that is administered by the Science Initiative Group (SIG). Applications are invited for the 2005 AMMSI Postgraduate Scholarships, by sub-Saharan African nationals, for M.Sc and Ph.Dstudies in mathematics to be undertaken at any university in Africa from 1st September 2005.
AMMSI Scholarship

The African Mathematics Millennium Science Initiative (AMMSI) is a distributed network of mathematics research, training and promotion throughout sub-SaharanAfrica. It has five Regional Offices located in Botswana, Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal. It is a project established by the Millennium Science Initiative (MSI), that is administered by the Science Initiative Group (SIG).

One of the main goals of the AMMSI is to strengthen mathematics learning and culture by helping to increase the number of postgraduate students in African institutions, through a number of support mechanisms. Limited funds have been provided for this programme, for the year 2005, by The Mellon Foundation and The International Mathematical Union (IMU).

Applications are invited for the 2005 AMMSI Postgraduate Scholarships, by sub-Saharan African nationals, for M.Sc and Ph.Dstudies in mathematics to be undertaken at any university in Africa from 1st September 2005. Applicants must hold a good Bachelor's degree for M.Sc studies or a Master's degree for Ph.D studies. Successful applicants must take up the offer by 28th February 2006. The maximum award is USD 3,000. Applications for smaller amounts stand a better chance. Applicants must:              
1.               Hold a good Bachelor's degree for M.Sc studies;             
2.               Hold a Master's degree for Ph.D studies;             
3.               Prior to submitting his/her application, obtain the official admission to the host university or be a continuing student at the university.

The completed scholarship application forms and accompanying documents should reach theappropriate Regional Coordinator not later than 30th June 2005

for more details consult the website at

http://www.ammsi-maths.org/Site%20Files/Scholarships.htm

The Main Thread

Handbook on sexuality and personal relationships among young people

2005-06-13

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/fundraising/28545

The Main Thread is an inspiring and stimulating tool for anyone wanting to work effectively and with commitment on preventing HIV, STIs (sexually transmitted infections) and unwanted pregnancy among young people.
The Main Thread
Handbook on sexuality and personal relationships among young people
The handbook
The Main Thread is an inspiring and stimulating tool for anyone wanting to work effectively and with commitment on preventing HIV, STIs (sexually transmitted infections) and unwanted pregnancy among young people.

The Main Thread is aimed at teachers, health and medical services staff, youth leaders and peer educators who work with young people aged 13 to 19 at schools, youth clubs and youth clinics, for instance. Its aim is to facilitate sexuality education by presenting models and methods that pass on knowledge and skills, as well as discussing attitudes and values.

The Main Thread includes over thirty practical methods, value clarification exercises and a number of more in-depth sections. All the texts and exercises have been compiled by people with many years of experience of issues relating to sexuality and personal relationships. The Main Thread is about 200 pages and is divided into 10 chapters. It comes with a system of tabs that makes it clear and easy to use.

see www.lafa.nu for orders

Academic Freedom Conference: "Problems and Challenges in Arab and African Countries"

2005-06-13

http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=39916&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

The UNESCO Forum Regional Scientific Committee for Arab States in cooperation with the Arab and African Research Center in Cairo (AARC), the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), and the Swedish Institute in Alexandria have taken the initiative to organize a Conference on Academic Freedom with particular emphasis on the problems and challenges facing Arab and African countries. The Conference will take place 10-11 September 2005 in Alexandria, Egypt.

North-South Civil Society Conference on Refugee Warehousing

2005-06-13

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/courses/28547

The North-South Civil Society Conference on Refugee Warehousing will gather advocates from refugee hosting and donor countries to learn from one another and to collaborate on tactics and strategies to win the basic rights of refugees elaborated in the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and other human rights instruments to live free, dignified, and productive lives even as they await durable solutions.
North-South Civil Society
Conference on Refugee Warehousing

Announcement and Call for Presentations

When? September 25-26, 2005 (the two days before UNHCR’s Annual NGO Consultation; Proposals for presentations due July 15, 2005)

Where? World Council of Churches
150 Rue de Ferney
Geneva, Switzerland

Sponsors: Dutch Council for Refugees
Frontiers (Lebanon)
Refugee Consortium of Kenya
Refugee Council USA
Thai Catholic Commission on Migration
World Council of Churches

What? The North-South Civil Society Conference on Refugee Warehousing will gather advocates from refugee hosting and donor countries to learn from one another and to collaborate on tactics and strategies to win the basic rights of refugees elaborated in the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and other human rights instruments to live free, dignified, and productive lives even as they await durable solutions. Special focus will be upon their rights to earn livelihoods—including the rights to work, practice professions, run businesses, and own property—and freedom of movement and opportunities for coordinated advocacy on current responsibility-sharing initiatives such as Targeted Development Assistance. The conference will also promote durable solutions as part of a multi-pronged approach to ending warehousing. The rights of women and children, who constitute the majority of the world's refugees, will be highlighted in discussions throughout.

Who should attend? Refugees, refugee and human rights advocates, business and labor leaders, representatives of faith communities, writers and scholars, refugee service providers

Request for presentation proposals Presentations should be action-oriented. If you wish to make one, please send a short proposal to north-south@uscridc.org by July 15. (Selected presenters will be notified July 22.) The best presentations will be derived from actual advocacy experience in winning refugee rights. More academic treatments should be clearly linked to practical implications for policy change. Formal papers are desirable but not required. Some topics to address (others encouraged):

1. Host country strategies and tactics for winning refugee rights:
- domestication of international instruments of refugee protection (drafting, promoting, passing, and implementing legislation);
- identifying constituencies, mobilizing stakeholders, building coalitions;
- the utility of impact studies;
- using the media to cultivate popular support;
- collaboration with refugees and donor country counterparts;

2. Donor country responsibility-sharing
- pressing for equitable responsibility-sharing rather than subsidizing warehousing;
- development aid as leverage for rights (MCA, TDA, DAR, DLI, etc.);
- Good Humanitarian Donorship as an instrument of refugee protection;
- redirecting aid to rights-friendly modes rather than allowing it to be cut off on the pretext that rights alone should suffice;
- collaboration with refugees and host country counterparts;

3. Durable solutions and refugee rights
- refugee rights as preparation for durable solutions;
- strategic use of durable solutions (e.g. resettlement, local integration, or voluntary repatriation) to win rights for the refugees who remain in exile;
- strategic use of anti-warehousing advocacy to get durable solutions on track;
- pitfalls: the pursuit of durable solutions as alibi for neglecting rights in exile; framing rights as contingent upon availability of durable solutions.

4. Refugees
- from the camps to the web: using the internet to mobilize the immobile to advocate on their own behalves;
- Convention Travel Documents as tools of regional economic integration;
- demonstrating refugees’ potential as agents of development;
- collaboration with national and international civil society.

5. The commercial sector
- how do business and/or labor interests coincide (and/or conflict) with refugee rights?
- making the economic case for refugee rights.

6. Faith communities: bringing moral force to bear, locally and internationally, for refugee rights advocacy.

7. UNHCR: restoring the protection mandate. As an instrument of states, what can UNHCR do for refugee rights and how can it be held accountable to do it? What is its role as an advocate for refugees and custodian of international refugee law?


To register and/or submit a presentation proposal, please go to: www.refugees.org/warehousing

Training Workshops on Child Abuse

Cairo, Egypt 30 June - 1 July 2005

2005-06-15

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/courses/28604

The objectives of the workshop are to understand the role of a multidisciplinary team, including the roles of law enforcement, child protective services, and the legal system in the evaluation of abuse cases; address relevant factors in detecting, reporting and managing child physical and sexual abuse; tackle problems facing inter-agency cooperation; highlight the importance of policies and procedures, in the detection and management of child abuse.
Training Workshops on Child Abuse
Cairo, Egypt 30 June - 1 July 2005
Arab Professionals Network for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect
(APNPCAN)

OVERVIEW

Day One: 30 June 2005
Interdisciplinary TRAINING - All Professionals
Introduction to Arab Regional Handbook on Child Abuse and
Neglect
Day Two: 1 July 2005 (Advanced)
1. Medical Evaluation of Child Abuse Cases
2. Medical Evaluation and Management of Victims of Sexual Violence
3. Mental Health & Interdisciplinary Training


DAY ONE

Interdisciplinary Training Workshop on Detection and Management of Child
Abuse Cases

Coordinators: Marcellina Mian, MD, Hani Jahshan, MD

Trainers:
Marcellina Mian, MD
Hani Jahshan, MD
Reem Abu Hassan, JD

Attendance: 75-100 Professionals representing:
1. Medical Sector,
2. Mental Health Sector,
3. Social Services,
4. Law Enforcement Agencies,
5. NGOs

Objectives of the workshop:
1. Understand the role of a multidisciplinary team, including the
roles of law enforcement, child protective services, and the legal
system in the evaluation of abuse cases.
2. Address relevant factors in detecting, reporting and managing
child physical and sexual abuse.
3. Tackle problems facing inter-agency cooperation.
4. Highlight the importance of policies and procedures, in the
detection and management of child abuse.

Program
9-9:20am Opening and Program Introduction
9:20-10:15am Ambassador Moushira Khattab, Presentation on the NCCM -
and Efforts of the CRC Committee.
10:15-10:40am Tea Break
10:40-12:15pm Session: A) Global Overview of Child Abuse and Neglect
B) Child Development & Impact of Child Abuse and
Neglect Speakers M.Mian & B.Bonner
12:15-1:30pm Lunch
1:45-3:30pm Session: HANDBOOK - Introduction & Training
3:30-3:50pm Tea Break
3:50-5:30pm Session: HANDBOOK - Case Study Exercises
5:45-7pm Medical Curriculum Task Force Meeting (H.Dubowitz &
R.Youssef) (by invitation only)
7pm Dinner


DAY TWO: Track 1-MEDICAL (Advanced Training)

Part I. Medical Evaluation of Child Abuse Cases.

Coordinators: Howard Dubowitz, MD, Fadheela Al-Mahroos, MD

Trainers:
Howard Dubowitz, MD
Hani Jashan, MD
Fadheela Al-Mahroos, MD

Attendance: 40-50 physicians and nurses

Objectives of the workshop are to:
1. Provide health care workers with the knowledge and skills
required to manage abused clients.
2. Identify the risk factors of abuse.
3. Recognize the relationship between patient age, and abuse.
4. Understand the role of a multidisciplinary team, including the
roles of law enforcement, child protective services, and the legal
system in the evaluation of abuse cases.
5. Increase Knowledge of the short and long-term consequences of
violence.
6. Identify different resources, including child abuse
professionals and child advocacy centres, textbooks, journal articles,
and audiovisual aids, that will be useful references in the evaluation

Part II. Medical Evaluation and Management of Victims of Sexual
Violence
Coordinators: Hani Jahshan, WHO nominated expert

Trainers:
Hani Jahshan, MD
Marcellina Mian, MD
WHO nominated expert

Attendance: 30-40 forensic physicians and nurses.

Objectives of the workshop:
1. Provide health care workers with the knowledge and skills
required to manage victims of sexual violence.
2. Provide standards for integrated health and forensic response to
sexual violence.
3. Encourage the use of "WHO Guidelines for Medico-Legal Care for
Victims of Sexual Violence" as a main professional reference.

Program
9:00-9:15am Opening and Program Introduction
9:15-10:30am Defining and Recognizing Child Abuse
10:30-10:45am Tea Break
10:45-1pm Dealing with Disclosure, Allegation and
Suspicion of Abuse
1:00-2:00pm Lunch (small curriculum task force continues
meeting)
2:00-3:30pm Sexual Violence, session 1
3:30-3:50pm Tea Break
3:50-5:30pm Sexual Violence, session 2
5:45-7pm APNPCAN Organizational Meeting (Country Reps
Invited)
7pm Dinner


DAY TWO: Track 2-MENTAL HEALTH (Advanced Training)

Training for Mental Health Professionals

Coordinators: Barbara Bonner, PhD, Adib Essali, PhD

Trainers: Barbara Bonner, PhD
John Fayyed, PhD
Adib Essali, PhD
Sana Bizri

Attendance: 35-50 Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Social workers

Objectives of the workshop:
1. Understand the differences and similarities among the effects of
different forms of child maltreatment at different developmental stages
2. Have an overview of current programs that have known
effectiveness to reduce the reoccurrence of child maltreatment
3. Understand the symptoms and diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD) in children and adolescents
4. Apply best techniques to intervene with children and adolescents
experiencing PTSD
5. Identify different resources available.

Program
9:00-9:15am Opening and Program Introduction
9:15-10:30am Session: Child Abuse - Mental Health Issues and
Therapeutic Responses (B. Bonner with Regional
Commentary by John Fayyad and Adib Essali)
10:30-10:45am Tea Break
10:45-1pm Session: CONTINUATION: Finalize TOPICS /
Speakers
1:00-2:00pm Lunch (new small curriculum task force continues
meeting)
2:00-3:30pm Part 1: Mrs Sana Bizri, Positive Discipline -
Alternatives to Corporal Punishment (Save the
Children Fund-Sweden)
3:30-3:45pm Tea Break
3:45-5:15pm Part 2: Mrs. Sana Bizri, Positive Discipline -
Alternatives to Corporal Punishment -
Workshop (Save the Children Fund-Sweden)
5:15-5:35pm Open Discussion for Recommendations for Mental
Health Responses to Child Abuse and Neglect Regionally
5:45-7pm APNPCAN Organizational Meeting (Country Reps
Invited)
7pm Dinner


Further information and application forms can be found at:
http://www.arabispcan.org/

Training: Promoting gender and human rights in reproductive health and HIV/AIDS

2005-06-15

http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC18706

The Center for African Family Studies (CAFS), in collaboration with the World Health Organization Secretariat, Women's Health Project of the University of Witwatersrand and the Harvard School of Public Health, is offering a three-week course on gender and rights in reproductive health and HIV and AIDS. This will be held from 24 October to 11 November 2005 in Nairobi, Kenya. The course will highlight regional priorities and current controversies in relation to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and Beijing Programmes of Action,
particularly in the context of HIV and AIDS.

Topics to be covered include: the gender concept and reproductive health, gender analysis, gender policy approaches, gender mainstreaming in reproductive health and HIV and AIDS programmes, the social determinants of health, health systems analysis, sexual and reproductive rights, and gender and HIV and AIDS. The course is suitable for senior and middle-level managers, planners and policymakers from both the public and NGO sectors, who are directly responsible for influencing or making policy to implement
the MDGs and the Cairo and Beijing Programmes of Action. For further information, contact Centre for African Family Studies (CAFS), P.O. Box 60054, 00200 Nairobi, Kenya; tel.: 254-20-444 86 18, fax: 254-20-444 86 21 or e-mail: info@cafs.org

Workshop: “Supporting the Rights of Rural Women in Participation”

2005-06-13

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/courses/28551

The workshop will present the reasons behind the abstention of women in Egypt, especially the abstention of rural women from participating in the political life. The workshop agenda will include identifying the different sides of the political and social participation to deepen the understanding of the political participation issues, especially for women.
Land Centre for Human Rights
Supporting the Rights of Rural Women in Participation

LCHR will hold a workshop entitled
“Supporting the Rights of Rural Women in Participation”
On the 9th of July 2005 in Caritas Misr Association

The world has witnessed rapid international political changes and events during the last few years, a lot of people talked about the importance of reforming the political and social systems in many areas of the world to follow up these changes.
In this context, and on the local and regional level, international, American and European initiatives have been made for reform, Arabian governments and NGOs have made other initiatives and programs for political reform, and the Egyptian government has responded by making a slight modification on clause no. 76 of the constitution that allow elections between more than one candidate on the presidency of the republic, but the difficult and maybe impossible conditions included in this modification, made a lot of the political forces refuse it and boycott the plebiscite on accepting or refusing the modification, these events come under the weakness of the political parties and forces because of the imposed binds on their activities in Egypt, but that didn’t prevent these forces, parties and NGOs from declaring their demands for the necessity of democratic and social change and reform, and reinforcing the political participation of women.
In this context, comes the importance of the LCHR workshop, especially under two events that Egypt will witness during the second half of the current year:
1. The presidency elections.
2. The people’s council elections.
Which impose us as NGOs to reinforce and support the right in participation with the aim of supporting the democratic development in our country.
The workshop tries to identify the purport of the right in political and social participation and other forms of participation, the workshop will also present the reasons behind the abstention of women in Egypt, especially the abstention of rural women from participating in the political life.
The workshop agenda will include identifying the different sides of the political and social participation to deepen the understanding of the political participation issues, especially for women.
The workshop will also show the importance of the role of the parties, political forces and NGOs in reinforcing the values of participation and the democratic development of our country.
The workshop will work on reinforcing cooperation and joint work between the civil society foundations for a free and democratic country, and to support citizen rights in Egypt in developing their participation, improving their conditions and guaranteeing their rights in a better world.


?????????????????????????????????????????
Address: 122 el Gala’a st-Ramsis Tower-Cairo
Tel/Fax: 02-5750470
E-mail: lchr@thewayout.net - lchr@lchr-eg.org
Website: www.lchr-eg.org

Malawi: Deputy Field Office Director

Save the Children

2005-06-15

http://www.comminit.com/vacancy2300.html

Save the Children, a leading U.S. and international child-focused relief and development agency seeks a Deputy Field Office Director for Finance and Administration (DFOD/F&A) to ensure efficient and effective operation of the Finance and Administrative functions of the Malawi Field Office (including sub offices) and ensure compliance with SC/US and donor accounting and financial reporting requirements and SC policies and procedures.

Uganda: Coordinator

Center for Domestic Violence Prevention

2005-06-14

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/jobs/28576

CEDOVIP is a vibrant NGO working to prevent domestic violence in Uganda. We are looking for an experienced and committed professional for the post of Coordinator. The Coordinator is responsible for the day-to-day management of CEDOVIP including staff supervision, fundraising and donor relations, program development and monitoring. The successful candidate will be an articulate and dynamic individual with demonstrated commitment to promote women's rights.
Job Opportunity
Coordinator, Center for Domestic Violence Prevention

CEDOVIP is a vibrant NGO working to prevent domestic violence in Uganda.
We are looking for an experienced and committed professional for the post
of Coordinator. The Coordinator is responsible for the day-to-day
management of CEDOVIP including staff supervision, fundraising and donor
relations, program development and monitoring. The successful candidate
will be an articulate and dynamic individual with demonstrated commitment
to promote women’s rights.

Specific Responsibilities include:
• Provide leadership for the Center on a day-to-day basis.
• Develop the programmatic vision of the Center in collaboration with the
staff of the center.
• Develop proposals and fundraise for the Center with local and
international donors.
• Establish and maintain effective and orderly administrative systems.
• Monitor and evaluate staff performance on a regular basis as specified
in the staff policy.
• Implement a solid and transparent financial management system.
• Support and supervise staff in planning, documentation, and monitoring
of activities.
• Develop all project documentation, including monitoring and evaluation
reports.
• Able to represent the project in national and international forums.

Experience and Background
• At least three years NGO experience, preferably in human rights
programming.
• At least three years management experience.
• University degree in related discipline. A masters degree will be an
added advantage
• Experience working on women’s rights, particularly violence against women.
• Program planning and management skills.
• At least 30 years of age and above.

Qualities
• Knowledgeable about community mobilization and social justice movements.
• Able to work constructively in a team environment.
• Able to develop capacity building opportunities for project implementers
and partners.
• Able to think critically about the development of programs and the
progress of the Center.
• Able to write concise and engaging regular reports on the progress of
the project.
• Able to manage a variety of activities at the same time.
• Disciplined and self-motivator.
• Trustworthy.
• Computer literate

Interested candidates who meet the requirements should submit application
letters by 30th June 2005. A detailed CV, including a current telephone
number and names and contacts of three referees should accompany the
letter. Every applicant must also include a writing sample of not more
than 1 page discussing the most critical issues in NGO management.

All application should be sent to:
CEDOVIP
PO Box 6770
Kampala, Uganda
cedovip@raisingvoices.org

Incomplete applications will NOT be accepted. Only short-listed candidates
will be contacted within two weeks of the deadline. No phone calls please!

* SMS Website Now Live!

GCAPSMS.ORG

2005-06-16

http://www.gcapsms.org/

To keep in touch with the Global Call to Action Against Poverty in Africa visit the www.GCAPSMS.org website. Sign up for SMS alerts about concerts, meetings and mobilisations in Africa against poverty, debt and unfair trade rules. Keep visiting the site to find out the latest on events in your country and read the latest SMS messages received.

If you want to sign up for action alerts direct to your mobile phone send an SMS/text message with the word 'subscribe' followed by your full name to +27 82 904 3425.

* THUMBS DOWN 2 POVERTY

African campaigners launch major advertising campaign to fight poverty

2005-06-16

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/gcap/28613

Across Africa today, the Day of the African Child, anti-poverty campaigners, representing over 100 organisations and coalitions working in over 26 countries in Africa, launched a major publicity campaign to mobilise support for the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP): the biggest anti-poverty campaign in history. At press conferences in Nairobi, Johannesburg and Accra, the GCAP coalition launched Africa Snaps - a series of TV adverts featuring Africa's top celebrities and civil society leaders - and the Say No 2 Poverty SMS mobile campaign in 15 African countries. In Nairobi, Kenyan celebrities gathered at Moi Avenue Primary School, Moi Ave to launch the advert and to celebrate Kenyan children's access to affordable and quality education under the Universal Primary Education programme. "This is an exciting opportunity for African artistes to show solidarity with our people and join this critical campaign against poverty in Africa", said Youssour N'dour, one of Africa's leading musicians appearing in the Africa Snaps advertisements. "I support the call to action against poverty a hundred percent", said John Shabala, leader of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the Grammy Award winners from South Africa.
THUMBS DOWN 2 POVERTY


PRESS RELEASE

Embargoed until 12 noon Thursday 16 June 2005

African campaigners launch major advertising campaign to fight poverty


Across Africa today, the Day of the African Child, anti-poverty campaigners, representing over 100 organisations and coalitions working in over 26 countries in Africa, launched a major publicity campaign to mobilise support for the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP): the biggest anti-poverty campaign in history.

At press conferences in Nairobi, Johannesburg and Accra, the GCAP coalition launched Africa Snaps - a series of TV adverts featuring Africa’s top celebrities and civil society leaders - and the Say No 2 Poverty SMS mobile campaign in 15 African countries. In Nairobi, Kenyan celebrities gathered at Moi Avenue Primary School, Moi Ave to launch the advert and to celebrate Kenyan children’s access to affordable and quality education under the Universal Primary Education programme.

Andiwo Obondoh of ANCEFA/Elimu Yetu said: “Africa is sending out a clear message to the leaders of the world’s richest countries that 2005 is the year when we strike a meaningful blow against poverty in Africa. It is the year that rich countries take decisive action to increase their aid budgets, reform the rules of global trade and finally end Africa’s debt burden that is destroying the livelihoods of millions".

Traditional mannequins dancing on 6 foot stilts, brandishing giant mobile phones received the first SMS messages sent in support of the campaign. “The SMS campaign lets people from all walks of life across Africa speak directly to their leaders and the world’s richest countries about poverty” said Eve Odete from Oxfam.

In the Africa Snaps advert, celebrities snap their fingers to remind us that every 3 seconds, a child dies from extreme poverty. All messages from this mobile phone campaign will be displayed on the website www.gcapsms.org and presented to African leaders at the Africa Union Ministerial Summit in Tripoli, Libya and leaders of the G8 meeting in Gleneagles Scotland in July.

“This is an exciting opportunity for African artistes to show solidarity with our people and join this critical campaign against poverty in Africa”, said Youssour N’dour, one of Africa’s leading musicians appearing in the Africa Snaps advertisements. “I support the call to action against poverty a hundred percent”, said John Shabala, leader of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the Grammy Award winners from South Africa.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:


About the launch contact:
Rebecca Wabwoba on tel: 444 0440 or mobile 0722 311 089, rebecca.wabwoba@actionaid.org OR
Caroline Kariuki on Tel: 2820159/155 or mobile 0722228820 Email: waggzie@yahoo.com

About the GCAP campaign in Kenya contact: Faith Waweru at GCAP Kenya Secretariat, Kenya Youth CEP Tel: 254-02-241915 or 254-02-311196 Email: htombo@kyecdp.co.ke,

About the African Snaps adverts contact:
Creative Storm Multimedia based in Ghana. +233 21 775 072. Email: creativestorm@4u.com.gh Contact them for regional and country versions, including special musical clips. These are available as DVD, Beta and CD.

About the Say No 2 Poverty SMS campaign contact:
FAHAMU Tel +44 845 456 2442 or +44 1865 727006 Email: Firoze@fahamu.org

About the Standing Tall Against Poverty live concerts contact:
Creative Storm Multimedia based in Ghana. +233 21 775 072. Email: creativestorm@4u.com.gh


Notes for the Editors

An international version of the Africa Snaps - featuring Bono of U2, Brad Pitt, P. Diddy amongst others - can be viewed at www.makepovertyhistory.org The Africa Snaps will be shown in French, English and Swahili and be seen by 20 million people in 15 African countries. They will also be screened at live concerts in Johannesburg, Accra and Nairobi.

Global Call to Action Against Poverty is a coalition of over 100 organisations, faith groups and celebrities working Africa. Its is part of the wider Global Call to Action against Poverty, an alliance of over a hundred national coalitions representing over 150 million people from 60 different countries.

In addition to sending a text message to Say No 2 Poverty, people can support the Global Call to Action Against Poverty by wearing a white band around their wrist or attending one of the Standing Tall Against Poverty live concerts to be held in Nairobi, Johannesburg and Accra later this year.


www.whiteband.org • www.gcapsms.org

Africa Calling

2005-06-16

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/gcap/28615

There has been much written in the British press about Live 8 and the fact that Little or NO African artists are represented at the concerts at Hyde Park, Paris, Berlin, Rome and Philadelphia. There is obviously a strong African cast at the concert in South Africa as you would expect. The Eden concert in Cornwall, UK, - “AFRICA CALLING” - will give an authentic undiluted African contribution to “Make Poverty History”, Live 8 and the Global call to Action against Poverty by the Africans, about Africa for the world. Visit www.edenproject.com
AFRICA CALLING

There has been much written in the British press about Live 8 and the fact that Little or NO African artists are represented at the concerts at Hyde Park, Paris, Berlin, Rome and Philadelphia. There is obviously a strong African cast at the concert in South Africa as you would expect.

Eden’s concert “AFRICA CALLING” will give an authentic undiluted African contribution to “Make Poverty History”, Live 8 and the Global call to Action against Poverty by the Africans, about Africa for the world. This is a good and important thing because so often the VOICE of AFRICA is lost to those who make more noise.

Africa is sending a clear message to the leaders of the world’s richest countries that 2005 is a year when they strike a meaningful blow against poverty in Africa. It is the year that rich countries take a decisive action to increase their aid budgets, reform the rules of global trade and finally end African debt burden that is destroying the livelihoods of millions of Africans
The aim of having the African concert is to send a clear message to the G8 leadership that Africa will no longer silently wait for others to fight for it.

Africa launches anti-poverty drive

2005-06-16

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/gcap/28616

On June 16, the day of the African Child, civil society and the public around Africa will join hands with the rest of the continent and the world to give a “Thumbs Down to Poverty” as part of a global anti-poverty campaign. The various African events are being held two weeks prior to the G8 Summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, and will signal the launch of the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) campaign in Africa. This will be Africa’s first ‘White Band Day’, in which everyone is asked to where a simple white band to show their solidarity with the campaign. The aim is to send a clear message to G8 leadership that Africa will no longer silently wait for others to fight for it.
Africa launches first global anti-poverty
‘White Band Day’ on June 16

On June 16, the day of the African Child, civil society and the public around Africa will join hands with the rest of the continent and the world to give a “Thumbs Down to Poverty” as part of a global anti-poverty campaign.

The various African events are being held two weeks prior to the G8 Summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, and will signal the launch of the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) campaign in Africa. This will be Africa’s first ‘White Band Day’, in which everyone is asked to where a simple white band to show their solidarity with the campaign. The aim is to send a clear message to G8 leadership that Africa will no longer silently wait for others to fight for it.

The GCAP or ‘White Band’ campaign is an international network of civil society organisations and citizens that is campaigning to end poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Rich country campaigns are focusing on quality of aid, debt cancellation and trade justice, while national campaigns in poor countries are focusing on eliminating poverty and achieving the MDGs in a way that is sustainable and implemented in a way that is democratic, transparent, and accountable to citizens.

The South African events will include a full-day of presentations on education, aid, trade and debt and of soccer matches, music, dance poetry, at Hector Pietersen Memorial and Museum and Chiawelo, Soweto. They will be hosted by South African Non-Governmental Organisation Coalition (SANGOCO), the Soweto Mountain of Hope (SOMOHO), the South African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC), Oxfam SA and the Environmental Justice Networking Forum (EGNF)

“As long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest,” said Nelson R. Mandela, a patron of the GCAP campaign at the campaign launch in London in February 2005.

The Soweto events will be followed by a media cocktail party to officially launch the SMS Say to 2 Poverty campaign and the ‘Snap-ad’ of African celebrities showing their support for GCAP.

ENDS
For more information please contact:
• Soweto Mountain of Hope, Tel: 011 984 8396
• South African NGO Coalition, Tel: 011 403 7746 www.sangoco.org.za
• Environmental Justice Networking Forum - Tel: 011 - 403 8978
• CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, Tel: 011 833 59 59 www.civicus.org

• Global Call to Action Against Poverty website www.whiteband.org

Africa: Repudiate Foreign Debt, CSOs Urge AU

2005-06-15

http://allafrica.com/stories/200506150258.html

African civil society organisations have called on the African Union to be prepared to repudiate Africa's multilateral debts, should the G8 summit scheduled for July fail to agree on a 100 per cent debt cancellation for the continent without conditions. The CSOs said that the continent spends US$15 billion to service debt in a year, and that Africa's debt stock, which currently stands at US$330, had been paid many times over.

Africans on the campaign trail

Plans, events and activities building up to June 16-July 01

2005-06-16

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/gcap/28614

In Africa, the Global Call for Action against Poverty (GCAP) meeting in Nairobi at the end of March 2005 developed a calendar of events for the regions to include:

May 28 The Africa Day
June 16 The Day of the African Child

To be added to:
July 1(2) The 1st White Band Day
September The 2nd White Band Day
December The 3rd White Band Day

In preparation for the sub-regional coordinators and partners in GCAP embarked the following:
i) Mobilising the National and sub-regional Coalitions in each of their regions
ii) Developing a list of activities for each of the events
iii) Developing media strategies to catalyze awareness building as well for lobbying and publicity
iv) Developing specific asks/demands or messages for each of the key areas or goals
v) Fund raising.
AFRICANS ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL!
PLANS, EVENTS & ACTIVITIES BUILDING UP TO JUNE 16- JULY 1

OVERVIEW
In Africa, the Global Call for Action against Poverty (GCAP) meeting in Nairobi at the end of March 2005 developed a calendar of events for the regions to include:

May 28 The Africa Day
June 16 The Day of the African Child
To be added to:
July 1(2) The 1st White Band Day
September The 2nd White Band Day
December The 3rd White Band Day

In preparation for the sub-regional coordinators and partners in GCAP embarked the following:
i) Mobilising the National and sub-regional Coalitions in each of their regions
ii) Developing a list of activities for each of the events
iii) Developing media strategies to catalyze awareness building as well for lobbying and publicity
iv) Developing specific asks/demands or messages for each of the key areas or goals
v) Fund raising.

June 16 First African White Band Day
On June 16, GCAP coalitions across Africa are organising joint actions to mark the day of the African Child. GCAP coalitions have chosen this date to have an African White Band Day and to make a regional plea for leaders to take immediate action to end extreme poverty that leads to a child dying every 3 seconds.

The African version of the original celebrity “click-ad” will also be launched on June 16, with a Press Conference being held in Nairobi, involving most of the 15 celebrities in the “click-ad”

In South Africa, children and adults will come to Soweto to demand action by African leaders on orphans and vulnerable children. Loise Bwambale (from Uganda), member of the Pan- African Parliament, will lead proceedings.

In Kenya, a huge rally, with approximately 5000 children, will be held in Thika. The event will take place in Kiandutu slum, which has the highest percentage of orphaned children. The Vice-President will be in attending, but the chief guest will be a child.

In Senegal, a huge demonstration involving 500 children is planned. A huge lobby meeting with the president of Senegal and children is planned during the event. Celebrities such as Youssou Ndour, Baaba Maal, Coumba Gawlo, Viviane Ndour, Mada Ba, Oumar Pene, Abdou Djite have all been invited too.

In Tanzania, the Day of the African Child will be marked with mobilizations and a press conference.

SPECIFIC PLANS BY COALITIONS

The National Coalition or Task Force of Zimbabwe chose to focus on the Day of The African Child in commemoration and recognition of the importance of the African Child.

Girl Child Network of Zimbabwe is a member GCAP International Taskforce on the Day of the African Child organizing committee that comprise of: ANPCCAN, Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Gender and Community Development, Zimbabwe National Council for the Welfare and Children (ZNCWC), Chipawo, UNICEF, NANGO, Child Protection Society (CPS), Streets Ahead, National Association of Societies of the Handicapped and Zimbabwe coalition on debt and development and MWENGO will this year actively participate in organizing the Day of the African Child in line with the Millennium Development Goals.

Below are proposed activities of the Zimbabwe working group that will serve to sensitize people about the day prior to its commemoration.

Media Coverage
Adverts to be placed in the weekly and daily newspapers.
• On Monday 23 May there will be a press release on the Day of the African Child focusing on the poverty theme.
• On 29 May there will be another press release focusing on Governance
• On Wednesday 8 June another press release on HIV and AIDS
• On Sunday 12 June there will be the last final release on Debt and Aid
• Conferences on the day with the rest of Africa on the day are already in progress and will be ongoing up until the day. These are done by a local radio station.
• Organised press conferences with donors and embassies on poverty and quality Aid. Street kids will be the interviewers.

Securing of white bands
• Orphans will be identified before the day including children living and working on the streets and white bands will be secured for them to wear on the day so as to carry the message home. The white bands are to be secured by the 9th of June AND these will carry the following four messages:

Our messages in Zimbabwe include
1) Break the code, it’s choking us (Debt cancellation)
2) Empty stomach, empty brain (Food and education)
3) Who ate what I am paying for
4) Why do I have to suffer for decisions made by others (governance, parents culture and religion)

• The white bands will be distributed to several schools around the country before the day.
• There will be the lobbying of all MPs to wear the bands on the day beginning of June 2005.
• White bands will be tied around national monuments, parliaments, law courts, UN agencies on the 15th of June.

A high placed person will speak on the day
• A highly placed person will speak on the day

Youth Concerts
• Songs, poems and drama from children and a local theatre group are already underway in Machipisa and Chitungwiza tackling issues to do with the importance of children to the development of the nation.
• On the day events will take place in Harare with marches organized from Mbare Musika and involve all street kids
• Children will present petitions to all donors and embassies on quality aid and debt cancellation ‘debt and poverty bring insanity, even my father rapes me’, What remains is to brainstorm on the above issues and agree on the most effective way of marking the day in close partnership with the rest of Africa.

Let us all be part of the process to see that the African Child is not caught up in the cycle of poverty. We can make poverty history.

SOUTH AFRICA

Preparations for the June 16 and July 2 White Band Days
It was agreed that two speakers from all the eight South African provincial legislatures be mobilized to convey GCAP messages on June 16.

SANGOCO and EJNF agreed to shelve the idea of having two separate events in Soweto and instead work on merging their initial programmes. Tentatively, the first white band day programme in Soweto on June 16 will constitute 8 hours of activities that will include meetings at Chiawelo and or Orlando West, Museum Tour, Workshops/debates, Lunch, Cultural events, Music and possibly a movie.

SANGOCO will bring Daniel Molokele on board to liaise with EJNF on the harmonization of activities for the day and help in facilitating the preparations. He will follow up on the issue of guest speakers for the day.

Melanie will aim to make possible an international conference in Soweto involving Mandela just before the start of the day’s programme.

GCAP National Launch is also programmed to coincide with the Regional commemoration of the Day of the African Child. These plans are being led by the Environmental Justice Network Forum, a member of a National Coalition.

The original plan was to hold three sub-regional events on June 16: one in Accra Ghana for West Africa, one in Nairobi and a third in Ethiopia. Given the Ethiopian political situation, the event was moved to South Africa and the coalition there was asked to combine it with their National Celebration.

Prior to June 16, there will be African snap ads and announcements of the launch in the media on either Monday or Tuesday 14th; there will be a media release for June 16 events and a media breakfast.

There will also be pamphlets produced for June 16 also announcing July 1 plans. These pamphlets will have messages on Aid, Trade and Debt and the back page shall have a paragraph on Gender concerns/positions.

June 16 will see the mobilised groups in South Africa in SOWETO first at the graveyard where they will hold a memorial. The group will then move to another venue where different public activities shall be held.

There will also be three soccer matches: two semifinals and one final at which the GCAP will be widely publicized.

On July 1, in the Soweto township of Johannesburg, a group of shacks will be wrapped in a white band, to symbolize perpetuating poverty in Africa.

The GCAP coalition is planning a concert on July 2 to coincide with the planned live 8 concerts.

Second White Band Day- July 2
Given Bob Geldof scheduled five concerts in Europe and U.S, there was a strong feeling that Africa needs to take an active role in promoting its own activities during the second White Band day. The concert to mark this day will be held in Thembisa. Suggestions included that the day starts with a link up with the global media networks such as the CNN and BBC. Then there will be performances b various African artists. Melanie will look into the possibility of incorporating both established and upcoming artists.

As a start, the concert organizers require 400000 ZAR to take care of basic arrangements and facilities such as sound instruments. Two people (Daniel Molokele and Hazel) will be added to the SANGOCO team to help with preparations. Meanwhile, SANGOCO requested for office space and facilities at CIVICUS to accommodate the two organizers and possible volunteers.

EASTERN AFRICA SUB-REGION ACTIVITY PROGRAMME FOR JUNE-JULY
Overview
The voice from the people of East Africa points out that for the MDG campaign to make meaning, then it requires that Africans who demand and work to secure progress should be involved and have a voice in this campaign. There should be a campaign in Kenya, for example with its results fed into the UK campaigns and directly to the G8 and Millennium Summit meetings.

Already the idea is building momentum in Africa, The Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) a component born out of “Make poverty history” coalition has seen the Bishops led by Bishop Ireri of Kenya, hold peaceful demonstrations and show of solidarity in the week of action, has seen Action Aid and its partners meet in South Africa in September, 2004 to deliberate on GCAP mobilization, collectively plan for the global days of white band mobilization (16th June, 1st July, 10th September and 10th December) and is the origin of “Get on Board” epic journey transporting messages of people from the south to the north.

Neither the idea nor its outcome belongs to anybody other than the poor. After the recent Tsunami disaster, the whole world spontaneously took part in uniquely united action. The crisis was larger than any component of ownership in the response. Poverty is no less a crisis, it deserves no less a response. It needs no attribution. It should just “happen”

Coordinating agency (AWEPON)
As the coordinating institution, the following has been planned for this period:
• Policy analysis-Taxation advocacy work with CEEWA Uganda, EPAS- Ministry of Trade and the Trade thematic group
• Water campaign- dissemination of policy briefs, public dialogue
• HIV/AIDS campaign- two meetings to be held in Tanzania and Swaziland
• ESCR approach on MDGs- training and awareness workshop (Regional)
• Media campaign- newspaper supplements
• Support to national coalitions
• Networking with sub-regional processes- visit to Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya (develop a sub-regional youth campaign coalition)
• E-Campaign and websites
• Participation in networking events (national and international)
• Meetings with media to enhance message dissemination.

ETHIOPIA
The Ethiopian campaign has been greatly affected by the government decision to delay the launch of GCAP by the Ethiopian coalition. Nonetheless, the coalition has been proactive and has sought other ways of responding to the challenges posed by government. They have continued mobilizing around issues rather than around the upcoming June 16 and very likely July 1 as well. The Coalition has however continued with enhancing the knowledge base of the coalition in the terms of articulating the campaign agenda. That not withstanding, the following activities have been planned:
• Media campaign
• Development of messages
• Seeking accountability with government ministries
• In the last week, there has been civil unrest and demonstrations. Twenty-four people are reported dead. The status of the campaign therefore continues to be uncertain.

KENYA
The Kenyan campaign has the following general objectives:
• To generate debate on poverty alleviation and open up opportunities for new initiatives that will assist gain more action on the ground to alleviate poverty
• To provide the material statement on the needs and the actions required to feed into the UK campaign, the G8 and Millennium Summit.
• To show that individuals, companies etc. are able to mobilize and raise money for focused action to alleviate poverty.

Activities include
The Media Campaign
To this end, all the media houses in Kenya have agreed to commit and combine, with unprecedented unity, to ask and help answer the question: “What will really work”
For the week of June 19, the media will give a voice to all Kenyans on this question, to the people who make the policy, to those who are governed by it, to those who oppose it, to technical specialists, donors, project leaders, captains of industries, investors, factory workers, small-holder farmers, the man-in the street, the mother of a hungry child.

What will really work? What actions will have the most direct, rapid, and lasting effect on the greatest number of people? In addition, what is needed not just to enable those actions, but also to drive them with real purpose and result?

To focus opinion and debate, each day of the campaign has a subject theme, led by panelists at a live day forum/press conference, by special reports, and by comment and talk- back on television, radio and in the print media.

The fullest possible cross- section of opinion will be sought and aired, with only two self- imposed rules to signal a change of heart and a change of method: no personalities and no jargon. Real solutions can and must be above politics (Kenyans take note), and can and must be expressed in plain language (theorists take note).

All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC): THE INTERFAITH GROUP IN KENYA
A second planning meeting for July was convened by the AACC to include all the major Faith-based organisations in Kenya, plus other civil society organisations. The plan is a roll of prayers starting with 23rd in all the mosques, 24th in all the Seventh Day Adventist Churches, 25th for the rest of the Christian denominations. At all the other services, the same message will be ‘preached.’ This message is collectively being developed by the Worship sub- committee of the Inter- faith committee.

A press conference shall be held before July 1 to both announce and publicize the activities for July 1. This day start with an Inter- faith service at Uhuru Park that starts at 10:00am. A circle of people all inter-laced by a white band shall be the shape of this Inter- faith service.

The key issues were 1st- to create a close- to- the- people’s understanding of the symbolic use of the White Band before wrapping it around a building.

The second key issue was “There is more to July 1.” As a result, a sub-committee shall be putting together a conceptual framework of “July and Beyond” out of which all forms of activities, responses and plans will roll- out.

UGANDA
• Media campaign-public dialogue
• District outreach activities
• Launch of GCAP in Soroti district
Concerts are being planned for July 1 and July 2, respectively to coincide with the white Band Day actions.

TANZANIA
• Reaching out to embassies
• Policy briefs to selected sectors
• Thematic groups- developing specific messages for G8 and Tanzania government.
A reception with donors and the government will follow on from G8 embassy lobbying.
The CSOs GCAP/MDGs campaign coalition in Tanzania is now at 50 and growing daily. TANGO is continuing to serve as the secretariat.

WLAC/ Sustainability Watch project participated in a meeting in Canada and a few others in a “African Women with MDGs” meeting convened by AWOMI in Nairobi recently. Back home, Sustainability Watch Campaign and TENMET were busy planning for events/ activities that take place this month (June 2005) and beyond. Soon we will be in a position to share and circulate widely the information/reports once they become available.


Coordination and financial update
A democratic process of electing a Steering Committee for the campaign is underway and in its final stages. The SC is scheduled to hold its first meeting on 20th June 2005.
Among the duties, roles and responsibilities of the SC include:
• Approving and become the final authority regarding campaign proposal, implementation of activities, use of coalition funds and may from time to time delegate authority to working groups when necessary;
• Offer policy direction to the campaign, become the campaign’s spokesperson(s) and help create linkage between the campaign and interested stakeholders/ alliances.
• Support the campaign secretariat in fund raising and other operational support that may be required from time to time; and
• Animate, motivate and seek the active participation/ support of existing and potential coalition members.
Funding has not yet been obtained even the long awaited funds from the UN Millennium campaign. The local financial support for coordinators salary and related admin costs dried up- end of May 2005. NOVIB have informed the coalition that they are aware of the current processes going on in terms of putting in place a structure for the coalition. Hopefully, with the proposed steering committee in place, the question of adequately funding the campaign shall become the least of their worries.

Campaign’s guiding policy
Following on with our theme of “Acha Mizengwe” discussions took place to identify a unifying vision of the campaign. A unifying theme around: Every Tanzanian has the right to better social services was tentatively adopted. A draft of the policy guideline has been widely circulated for further inputs and adaptations.

Within it a proposal ha also been put forward to narrow the focus to three thematic areas from the previous/ agreed five as follows:
• Education- linked to goal number 2 and 3 of the MDGs
• Health- goals number 4 through 7 of the Millennium Declaration
• Governance and Accountability- goal number 1 and 8
We are still receiving comments, kindly please share yours to collectively share and own the contents of the policy guidelines.

Campaign activities
An MDG awareness workshop for district/regional NGO networks was held in Iringa on 28th May 2005. The workshop is part of a project to build the capacity of civil society organisations at sub-national level to effectively engage with PRS/MDG process. The project, co- funded by UNDP and SNV, is jointly being implemented by TANGO and ALAT with close cooperation by partner agencies. Main recommendations and issues emanating from the Iringa workshop will be shared as soon as possible.

Get involved! Once again we expect the ideas and proposals to hold events/ activities to be undertaken or supported by the coalition to come from you- the members. If you are organizing an event/activity or planning to, please let us know. Together we achieve more!
Some of the planned events are:
• Throughout 2005-media advocacy
• June- July- Advocacy meetings with government and international embassies prior to AU/G8 meetings
• June- September- Input to government report to the UN Millennium Summit
• July 2005-Women’s dialogue/ testimonials with presidential nominees and Members of Parliament.
• September 6-9- Gender festival that will be organized by TGNP that could help us by offering the continuity towards our launch date
• September 10, 2005- Campaign launch (tentative date)
• Film festival (date to be announced)
• Petition signing (date to be announced)
• Public forum with government officials (date to be announced)


Working Groups
Urgently looking for members? Do you want to be part of making things happen? We have three working groups in formation: media, popular mobilization and advocacy.

Apart from the media team that has taken some physical shape, the popular mobilization- working group is also in place. Deus Kibamba of TGNP has agreed to lead the group and you might have read a message fro him through this mailing list a few hours ago. The popular mobilization group will hold its first meeting on Thursday 9th June 2005 at TGNP, Mabibo Dar es Salaam.

Zaa Twalangete of TANGO, James Sangoro and Jamillah Mwanjisi of PACT Tanzania have joined the media- working group to provide the much- needed advertising expertise.
There is still plenty of space/ opportunity to join any of the above groups so if you are interested please let me know.

The third group on advocacy is yet to be formed. Ms. Pamela Young of OXFAM GB has volunteered and is temporarily scouting for possible members to form the working group. The advocacy group will be needed to lobby the government and international donors.

We will be working with leaders of the various sectoral areas to further define how to take this work forward without duplication of efforts. If your organisation is involved in one of the areas, let us know!

Coalition membership commitment form/ questionnaire was designed for organisations to sign up on.

MOZAMBIQUE
The GCAP campaign in Mozambique is on track. Last Wednesday- 1st of June, we launched the campaign through a public forum about the issue of poverty and MDGs progress in Africa and Mozambique in particular. About 100 people from different organisations, students, academics attended the event led by Graça Machel. The event had the participation of senior members of the Mozambican government; UNDP and prominent Mozambican activists. We’re planning to bring president Chissano to the campaign.

After the meeting, we had a well participated press conference and the GCAP launch was first page news in some of the biggest Mozambican newspapers such as “Noticias” and in the national television and radio stations.

Media are open to spread the message around GCAP. All we need is to explore this opportunities, there’re also the possibilities to explore the communities radios around the world.

JUNE 16 Plans
For June 16, we’re planning mass mobilization activities such as a march as well as public discussion around the very issue: African orphan- our collective responsibility.
Of course there is a need to improve national coordination and bring more organization for the movement and we hope to do it before the second White Band day, assuming that the first White Band day was the 1st of June.

SIERRA LEONE
“Give Sierra Leone opportunities to develop.”
In Sierra Leone, a campaign has been launched under the title “Give Sierra Leone opportunities to develop.”

A national meeting that was held on the 11th of March 2005 which led to the formation of a new platform in Sierra Leone. 19 civil Society organisations/groups have indicated their willingness to be involved in the GCAP in Sierra Leone. Regional committees have been formed with some CSOs opting to coordinate the campaign in regions in which they feel they have very strong presence/following (Northern region- CARITAS, Makeni, SLTU, NFHR, NAFSL; Southern region- NMJD, SLTU, NAFSL, NFHR, CSAP-SL; Eastern region- MRD, CCSHRA-SL, CSAP-SL, NFHR; Western area-SLLC, TUCSL, CCYA, CCSHRA. NFHR).

It was resolved that a national GCAP coordinating/organising committee will be set up after the regional meetings (in 2-3 weeks time, before the end of March) and representatives in this national committee will be drawn from the regional committees and the national committee will comprise; Youths/ Youth groups, National Union of Sierra Leone Students (NUSS), SLLC, NMJD, NFHR, NAFSL, SLTU, CSAP-SL, MRD, CCSHRA-SL, CARITAS, and Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE).

In addition to the three main issues of the GCAP (Aid, Debt Cancellation and Trade Justice), local issues have also bee identified to be incorporated into the campaign- corruption, illiteracy, unemployment and laws relating to employment, mining policies, trade policies in Sierra Leone, environmental sanitation, access to information, quality of service, use of loans and debts. The group agreed to launch GCAP formally in Sierra Leone in April.

The famous cotton tree, planted by freed slaves when the nation was founded, will be draped in a white band. The coalition so far is made up of the following groups:
• Mohamed Sillah, Action Aid International Sierra Leone, mohamed@actionaidsierraleone.org, mohsillah@yahoo.com
• Festus E. Minah, President-Sierra Leone Teachers Union, festmyson@yahoo.co.uk, fetmyson@hotmail.com
• Ansu Rashid Kallon, Secretary General- Sierra Leone Labor Congress, healthservicesunion@yahoo.com

Gender Campaign
Recent initiatives relating to the women’s rights and gender equality aspects of the global GCAP mobilization and the poverty eradication agenda. Please see the attached document for a full update in French, Spanish and Englisc.

Contact:
• Alison Symington at AWID, asymington@awid.org

MALI
Concert to launch the GCAP campaign on June 16 2005
This concert will have the following objectives:
• Launch the GCAP campaign and explain its objectives
• Announce the People’s Forum 2005 that will take place in Fana in Mali in July 2oo5 as a counter summit of the G8
This concert will give the campaign a national coverage thanks to the media (radio, newspaper and TV)
This launching concert will have three steps:
• A press conference on the campaign themes
• Before the concert, the CAD Mali will present the objectives of the GCAP campaign and announce the People’s Forum
• The concert will be given by 8 Malian musicians. In between the different performances, the CAD will launch messages on the campaign. White bands will be distributed to the participants as a support for the campaign.
The 62 members organizations will be actively implicated for the organization of the concert and all Malian social movements will be invited to the concert. Posters will permit to communicate more globally to the Malian population. The concert will be free, which will enable attraction of a large number of participants.

ZAMBIA
• Huge marches to G8 embassies will take place on July 1.
• Concerts are planned for July 1 and July2, respectively to coincide with the White Band day actions.

GHANA
• On July 1, a beach party with farmers groups is planned to highlight the plight of rice farmers, caused by unfair trade rules.

SENEGAL
• The slavery archway will be wrapped in a white band.

Kenya: African Snaps advert and SMS campaign launch

2005-06-16

http://www.gcapsms.org/

800 school children, 20 Kenyan celebrities and GCAP campaigners launched the African snaps and SMS campaign in Moi Avenue Primary School in downtown Nairobi. Wearing white bands, girls and boys listened to Kora award winner Achieng Abura, Kisima award winner Abbi speak about the importance of the fight against poverty and the Day of the African child.

Achieng declared at the press conference, "We do care about poverty. We are concerned about the growing gap between the rich and the poor in Kenya and very happy to be associated with the Global Call to Action against Poverty campaign." Abbi said, "We are a small representation of numerous African artists that link their music, poetry and theatre to social issues such as HIV/AIDS, poverty and children". They were among prominant musicians, sportspeople, actresses and film-makers. The event was very well attended by the international and Kenyan press. Millions of Kenyans will see the advert as it goes on national television over the next few weeks leading upto the AU and G8 Summits in July. A leading television station, the Kenyan Television Network has offered free air time to the campaign.

William Kassina of Moi Avenue Primary School recited a powerful poem that called on the African adult to stop conflict, end poverty and violence against girls. He said, "although the African child goes barehanded and barefooted, I shall not mourn. We must bring this to an end". The boys and girls were treated to acrobatics, songs and speeches by the artists in front of two three-feet mobile-phones held by mannequins walking on six feet high stilts. The launch took place alongside other GCAP Kenya events in Kiandutu, Thika and Homa Bay that also celebrated the Day of the African Child.

Observing GCAP in Zambia

2005-06-16

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/gcap/28618

June 16: Day of the African Child: The following events will be held between the 14th and the 16th of June, 2005. There will be two radio programmes, one on radio phoenix and another on radio two, there will be an evening launch at Pamodzi Hotel. The climax of the launch will be marked by an open concert that will be held at Matero grounds on June 16 from 12:00hours to 15:00hours. The National Civil Society MDG campaign would like to invite you to the launch of the Africa White Band Campaign that will take place on 16th June, 2005 at Matero Shoprite. Three activities have been lined up for the launch, the first will be two radio programmes that will be on ZNBC radio two and radio Phoenix. The second activity will be an evening discussion that will held at Pamodzi Hotel on the eve of June 16. The 16th of June marks the day of the African Child. It is commonly known to many as the Soweto uprising or the Sarafina story (movie). The evening launch will include a discussion that will provide interventions to following question, ‘When do leaders fail voters, from political independence to Economic independence, where is the missing link between the young and the old in the fight against poverty?
Observing GCAP in Zambia

National Slogan: ‘You promised – Act Now’

1. June 16: Day of the African Child: The following events will be held between the 14th and the 16th of June, 2005. There will be two radio programmes, one on radio phoenix and another on radio two, there will be an evening launch at Pamodzi Hotel. The climax of the launch will be marked by an open concert that will be held at Matero grounds on June 16 from 12:00hours to 15:00hours. The National Civil Society MDG campaign would like to invite you to the launch of the Africa White Band Campaign that will take place on 16th June, 2005 at Matero Shoprite. Three activities have been lined up for the launch, the first will be two radio programmes that will be on ZNBC radio two and radio Phoenix. The second activity will be an evening discussion that will held at Pamodzi Hotel on the eve of June 16. The 16th of June marks the day of the African Child. It is commonly known to many as the Soweto uprising or the Sarafina story (movie). The evening launch will include a discussion that will provide interventions to following question, ‘When do leaders fail voters, from political independence to Economic independence, where is the missing link between the young and the old in the fight against poverty?


2. AU and G8: Close to 500 citizens will be mobilized to march in front of the G8 embassies, advocating for total debt cancellation, advocating for trade justice, for more quality aid. We will leave a petition at each of the embassies, the petition has already been done. We will then hold a concert where we shall also call on African leaders meeting in Libya to commit themselves to the fight by delivering on the promises made. To give a clear demonstration of the needed urgency in eradicating poverty.

3. UN MDG+5: We have planned for two consultations, the first will be among civil society players while the second will be a joint civil society and government consultation. The purpose of the consultation is to share the UN MDG+5 Zambia position. We will further be part of the people who will send off the Zambian delegation to the UN MDG+5 summit at the airport, we will further assure them of our solidarity in championing poverty eradication. We intend to welcome them with a view of hearing the outcome and the benefits for Zambia



4. W.T.O: We also intend to hold three consultations, the first will be a civil society driven consultation, and the last will be government and civil society driven. We intend to engage and produce a document that shall have the Zambian perspective from both the government and the civil society. We hope to start these consultations in October of 2005. We will also give a send off to the Zambian delegation at the airport and we also intend to receive them.

By

Henry Malumo


Phone: 260 1 266234
Mobile: 260 97 656832
Email: hsmcstnz@coppernet.zm , hsmalumo@yahoo.com

Paper presented by Girl Child Network on behalf of the Zimbabwe Child Movement Working Group on the 1st White Band –Day of the African Child

2005-06-16

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/gcap/28617

It is exactly now 29 years after the massacre of thousands of children who marched against the compulsory teaching of Africans and many injustices perpetrated against children in schools in Soweto, South Africa during the Apartheid Era. 16 June 1976 marked a new era for the African child, an era of deep thoughts, feelings, emotions and vision. An era that made the world over sympathise with the African child more – a child born and bred in a continent not only plagued by poverty but by disease and both natural and man made disasters. What comes into my mind about the African Child today is a deep sense of deprivation – a child born in a rich continent with abundant human and material resources, a child whose legs are in a deep pool of water but whose presence does not mean much as the same child dies from thirst.
Girl Child Network



Presents



Paper presented by Girl Child Network on behalf of the Zimbabwe Child Movement Working Group on the 1st White Band –Day of the African Child launch –13 June 2005 Harare Gardens ,Zimbabwe







Girl Child Network Fax no 070-31132 Contact person
131 Duri Road Email gcn@zol.co.zw Betty Hazviperi Makoni(Director)
nyamapfene@zol.co.zw
Tel 070-21509/ 31132 Cell 091288251 091 977 725, 091 288253









Introduction

It is exactly now 29 years after the massacre of thousands of children who marched against the compulsory teaching of Africans and many injustices perpetrated against children in schools in Soweto, South Africa during the Apartheid Era. 16 June 1976 marked a new era for the African child, an era of deep thoughts, feelings, emotions and vision. An era that made the world over sympathise with the African child more – a child born and bred in a continent not only plagued by poverty but by disease and both natural and man made disasters. What comes into my mind about the African Child today is a deep sense of deprivation – a child born in a rich continent with abundant human and material resources, a child whose legs are in a deep pool of water but whose presence does not mean much as the same child dies from thirst.

Just two months ago non governmental organisations including Zimbabwe’s MWENGO and Girl Child Network representing 79 countries converged in Nairobi – Kenya and unanimously agreed that the Global call for Action Against Poverty (GCAP) would use 16 June of 2005 to mobilise for the first white band. It was generally agreed that ‘debt’ remains one hurdle for Africa

1st White Band campaign that GCAP agreed on;

• Campaign for debt cancellation
• Quality Aid
• That the Day of the African Child today presents an opportunity to articulate how debt and Quality of Aid continues to undermine the development of the African Child.

It is against this background that Zimbabwe joins the rest of the world in;
• Global Call for Action Against Poverty
• Emergency Call on the part of G8 countries to intervene in the plight of the African Child by cancellation of debt as well as increasing Quality Aid for Africa hence our theme is ‘Orphans and Vulnerable Children - Our Collective Responsibility’

By this launch today we also join the major event which is being coordinated and convened in Soweto, South Africa from today until 16 June 2005 on the day of the African child . What we are doing today is to also join the African Children’s Movement for Global Call for Action Against Poverty. Beginning May 2005 the Zimbabwe Child Movement Working Group which is a coalition of organisations that work with children and include Girl Child Network (GCAP member) ANPCAN, UNICEF, Streets Ahead, Child Protection Society, Zimbabwe National Council for the Welfare of Children, Just Children Foundation, Bhengiwerks Theatre Productions, Youth Round Table, NANGO, MDG’S National Taskforce, Chipawo, New Hope Zimbabwe came up with a programme of action which we present that marks celebrations to mark the day of the African Child. It is commendable that the Zimbabwe Child Movement has also joined government and other efforts to speak with one voice on issues pertaining to children. It is greatly appreciated that media from today will give this working group more coverage so that a cross section of Zimbabwean society educates and sensitises the wider community on the African in general and the Zimbabwean child in particular.

Reflection on the plight of the Zimbabwean girl child
As I reflect on the Day of the African Child, on the theme, on Africa and Zimbabwe and events unfolding on a daily basis I thought it best to dig deep into my archives of creative writing and I retrieved a I wrote that brings out very pertinent and urgent issues on the plight of the orphaned girl child, the issues on the child we all meet, look and sometimes just say ‘Oh shame’, and move on wherever our next step takes us. Eight months ago my husband took me to his usual drinking place, a peri urban growth point, where beer drinking is a basic entertainment and of course braai and meat an added basic. After I had made some observations I wrote the following poem

A POEM DEDICATED TO THE ORPHANED GIRL I SAW AT ZIKO SHOPPING CENTRE SELLING SOME SALADS AT A BRAAI PLACE

The last time I saw her
Yes indeed I do recall
The very last time I saw her
She was in tattered clothes
She had her rough feet in cold sand
Her eyes were tearful
So was everything round her
Tears of sorrow, having lost both father and mother

She looked at me and I looked at her
She stared at me, I stared at her
We both almost dropped tears
The girl was a vendor
A vendor on the most risky places
Braai place by the pub
She sold some salads
In the middle of the night
Risky, very risky, indeed very very risky

I looked at all those drunk men
She is easy prey, I thought
How on earth would she resist sexual slavery
I cursed mother earth for being so cruel
An innocent orphaned girl turned vendor
Grandma and Aunt said unless she fends
For her siblings, two brothers and sisters
Then she should not come home



I asked everything, she told me everything
She asked me everything, I told her everything
I looked at her, she looked at me
I stared at her, she stared at me
Poor, disadvantaged vulnerable girl
No shelter from rain, no warmth from cold
I whispered to myself, future woman of tomorrow
I will follow up with her so that she too
Walks in the full potential of her life

I vividly recall the last time I saw her
She was tearful, I became tearful
I would see her again, I bade farewell
Which is reason we are in existence
I will see her again, I am greatly inspired by her
The last time I saw her

(By Hazviperi Betty Makoni, founder and Director of Girl Child Network)

Today 18 of the world’s poorest countries are considered for debt cancellation and quality aid. But my question as I track down to Ziko Growth point and 90% of Zimbabwe`s remote areas I asked whether we are not one of the poorest countries. As I reflect today on the Day of the African Child I present that poverty is all round us and our children and equally calls that we prioritise a holistic approach to eliminating poverty once and for all. As an activist I am appalled with the daily statistics of children living in abject poverty that call for an intervention like debt cancellation and increased quality aid for these are the major setbacks to meaningful development.
• 1,1 million orphaned children in Zimbabwe
• Over 3000 people dying of HIV and AIDS and adding to the numbers of orphans though from January to December we announce the same 1,1 million figure on orphans
• 6 girls report rape in Zimbabwe daily to our organisation and most of the girls are from child headed families. To add to that at least 6000 girls report rape annually in Zimbabwe and 3 times this number do not report due to lack of quality service delivery
• 20% of young girls are out of school due to poverty and only 50% of girls who complete grade 7 proceed to form 1. A lot more girls are in school as a formality as it apparent that they are without basics such as books and writing material. Besides long distances to school has made them give up .The girl who walks the longest distance to school covers a total of 30 kilometres per day
• 50% of rural girls miss 5 days of school per month due to lack of sanitary towels as a result of menstruation, a biological occurrence and due to lack of food, uniforms and shoes
• At every growth point, market place, roadside, flea market, street at least 3 out of 10 people who sell different wares are young girls aged 7 – 15
• Due to gender and age girls are more vulnerable to HIV and AIDS and most of the girls get infected as a result of poverty where they resort to commercial sex work, forced marriages and other risky income generating activities
• 93% girls get raped compared to 7% boys in Zimbabwe
• Out of the 100 girls whose club I launched in Gokwe recently, 80 had no jerseys, 20 had no panties, 60 no jerseys in this cold winter, all of them use old rags or leaves or newspapers if they are lucky to get it during menstruation
• In yet another girls club in rural Mutasa district in Manicaland in a club of 8 girls 10 were HIV with no medication and having not seen a doctor,1 had recently died ,twenty had no single meal since morning, 60 had no shoes on during winter, all uniforms were in tatters and none of them were sure they would have a proper meal that very day or any other day

When I reflect on the girl I saw at Ziko and all the above numbers I have personally interacted with on a daily basis it would appear as if though the plight of children is an emergency in practical terms other events, issues and priorities override it. So many National Action plans, Taskforces, organisations, strategic plans, policies, frameworks, World days for this and that, International conferences International and Regional Legal Statutes and conventions, Campaigns Against this and that, so on and so forth are all around us but for the African Child these have not built the Wall of Greatness that enable our own children to visualise this country of ours –Zimbabwe and the wider continent Africa as a basic need, a home and safe net to be. We just continue putting together statistics of the many suffering children and present them in a pathetic way to donors and other international parties without really reflecting how each and every child we sincerely commit to develop in our family, community , village , district ,province, country and continent is indeed a genuine investment. In commemorative days such as these it makes much more sense to present those children we have assisted and allow those children we have not to come out in full force and say it and make certain their expectations. Equally the Global Call for Action Against Poverty manifests itself more meaningfully at family and village level.





The urgent need to ask Powerful Questions chats the best way forward

Sometimes when we do certain actions or say certain words we seem not to ask very powerful questions. Today the powerful questions are directed to G8 countries, our government, NGO’s in the Zimbabwe Child Movement and many others, donors, the children themselves, African leaders, child rights activists and these seek to address issues on poverty, disease, deprivation, building Africa’s Wall of Greatness for the African child, abuse and homelessness. Note well that my questions never ask why but how as we urgently need to move forward which worry us most as this is where our children will spend the rest of their lives. Get me right that we should not discard of our past at all. Wherever I put why and go back I take any parts of our history that are best for this is where we seek to draw strength. Not much has been learnt by reflecting only on what is negative and I am sure being a continent plagued by many mishaps we should dwell more on the how question and instilling this in the African child brings hope and peace of mind.


Poverty
How best can we put together a more effective way of addressing poverty especially joining Global Campaign Against Poverty with the African Child in mind?

Disease
HIV and AIDS is like a genocide that has left even more children orphaned and more vulnerable, how can we help African children to be in full combat against the disease?

Deprivation
If I reflect on my own actions and words how possibly can I improve the condition of the African child?

Building Africa’s Wall of Greatness

Africa is a very rich continent with so many resources (both human and material) that can be used to the best advantage of our children, how can we build Africa’s Wall of Greatness with our children?

Abuse
Abuse is a very huge chain, perpetrated by virtually everyone at every level of society, how can we totally eliminate all forms of abuse against our children?



Homelessness
A home is a basic need and how many of our children need this basic need right now as we mark the Day of the African Child?

I have had the experience of counselling parents going through divorce and have divorced with life threatening disputes, conflicts, misunderstandings and differences on children. Sometimes these are parents who do not see eye to eye, who vow that they will never join hands, who bang my doors as they leave my office and vow never to come back. I am always patient and of course failure is never an option for me as well and then I make follow up calls and plead that the same parents come back to the talking table. As a country sometimes we find ourselves as complete opposites in our various groupings as government, politicians and political parties NGO’s, parliamentarians,donor communities, churches, G8 countries, AU, Comesa etc. There are so many differing political and economic views and opinions the world over and the magic of difference needs reflection , passion and commitment. We may differ and disagree on whatever issues but on matters to do with children we simply have to put our heads together, ask the powerful questions and give constructive responses and then move on. As long we prolong conflicts and sanctions as well many other man made disasters like wars ,civil unrest etc we prolong the suffering of the African Child. Remember ‘Orphans – Our Collective Responsibility’ Let’s always Walk the Talk.

Conclusion
I just reflected on how best I should conclude on the theme of the Day ‘Orphans- Our Collective Responsibility and I feel the following poem throws us in rethinking, remaking, revitalising and revival of the African Child.

NHERERA INOGUTA MUSI WAFA MAI

Nhaka vatoti dzawira mutswanda
Mabhoyi, varanda vawanda ivo vagere zvavo tekeshere
Vokwenya mhuno nekasiyanwa
Hunzi nherera fira fufu segonzo
Vakuru vakazviona vakati nherer inonhuwa
Inomimwa senhunzi, kuna vose itsvina
Heyo nemadziro papata, misodzi nematama mokoto mokoto
Yakatodeuka kare,mvura yeguchu haidyorwi
Neko vaberekivo kwamutsiganebwe
Nherera inoguta musi wafe mai

Zvandibaya, neyanguwo misodzi mokoto mokoto
Kuchemawo vabereki, dzangove shungu chete
Ha, ha, ha, mhani, yuwi maihwe
Yopambara, yodzungaira, yotandadza nherera
Zvoyonge tsangamumvura, kubvunda
Nhaka vanoponda zvavo
Inotoguta musi wafe mai nherera

Aripano hunzi, ‘AIDS orphans,’ chirungu icho
Ari papo hunzi, ‘Nherera dzomukondombera’
Uyuwo, ‘ Nherera dzechirwere,’ vabereki hunzi vakafa naichocho
Zvochenge chipuka, zvochenge chisionekwe
Ko zvavanoti nherera mwana, mwanai inherera?
Mazita yava nhakayo yomuturikidzwa
Hunzi ‘Children Orphaned by AIDS’,
Hunzi, ‘Child whose parents died of AIDS,’
Chirungu, chizezuru, chiiko? Haiwa nhaka vakachiwana vapwerevo
Kuvapwereyo AIDS kufirwa, kufa, kuchema ku-----
Ha! Mhani chwi – i –I kutsamwa

Pavanodya nherera inonzi guta
Pavanorara nherera inonzi muka
Pavanopfeka nherera inonzi shama
Pavanoseka nherera inonzi chema
Pavanotamba nherera inonzi shanda
Inoguta musi wafe mai nherera
Heyo yodzomba yodzungaira nherera
‘Enda kumakuwa ndiko kuna mai vako
Uzvitaure ndakakubhinya, bakatwa hero
Vasina kubhadhara mafees budai izvozvi
‘Ma AIDS Orphans ose mirai nepapa
Kana usina ‘death certificte’ haupihwe fees
Utipe umbowo vako vabreki vakafa ne AIDS
Zimwanaro rakabva kuhohwa harinzwi
Ndini ndati vabereki vako vafe ne AIDS?’
Mudzimbamo muzvikoromo, mutwusangotwomo
Nherera chituko chavose, nherera mvemve
Nherra mushandi, mukadzi muranda muzvose, ha mhani!!
Ha ha ha mhani imi vanhu, mandibaya kuti dyu-u-u
Vanhu ndati ha- shemu, chwi-I ndoridza ngani tsamwa?
Shemu naihwo utsinye, hubhinya kunherera
Makazoti ngaigute musi wafa mai nhai?
Zvakawanda zvituko, gomo risikwiriki
Nherera inoguta musi wafe mai

Nherera panorangwa vavo vana newewo udziteye nzeve
Chimwe nechimwe chine nguva yacho
Pane yavo nguva, pane yakowo nguva
Paneyo nguva yako yekuchema
Paneyo yavo nguva yekufara
Paneyo nguva yekukohwa nekuguta
Paneyo nguva yako yekuziya nenzara
Paneyo nguva yokufa neyowo yokurarama
Rarama chete madzivawo achava mazambuko, dzavewo nherera maziso wundundu
Nyangwe ukati mhoro nherera, newewo uchava nherera
Simuka, shanda, inochema uchipukuta nayo misodzi
Kare haagari ari kare, chisingaperi chinoshura
Uzive nherera inoguta musi wafe mai


Havazive, seka urema wafa
Chinokanganwa idemo, muti bodo kwete
Chinokanganwa mushungurudzi, mushungurudzwi bodo kwete
Kare haagari ari kare
Nawo ma ‘ AIDS orphans’ achava shwigwiti, vachazova vanhu
Nadzo nherera dzichava vanhu, vapenyu kwete ‘AIDS orphans’
Chisingaperi chinoshura, nhasi ndezvenyuwo, ehe sekai, tsvinyai
Heka nherera inoguta musi wafa mai
Vanoti chadyiwa chawora, zvenyuwo zvichaora chete
Narowo shoko imhakwa, ranguwo ndakanda
Muzive nherera mwana, chenga ose

(Detembo iri rakanyorwa na Betty Makoni Director we Girl Child Network)


I made this presentation in solidarity with Zimbabwean and African children ,GCAP 1st White Band Committee , the Zimbabwe Child Movement Working Group made up of Girl Child Network(GCAP member), ANPCAN, UNICEF, Streets Ahead, Child Protection Society, Zimbabwe National Council for the Welfare of Children, Just Children Foundation, Bhengiwerks Theatre Productions, Youth Round Table, NANGO, MDG’S National Taskforce, Chipawo and New Hope Zimbabwe, Chipawo and many others who join the rest of the continent to mark the Day of the African Child In Soweto ,South Africa on 16 June 2005.

Tanzania celebrates the Day of the African Child

2005-06-16

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/gcap/28627

Today several thousand children, parents, teachers, civil society organizations and government officials gathered in Shinyanga to celebrate the Day of the African Child through the voices of children. The day started with a march from Jomo primary school in the center of town. Led by a brass band, over a thousand children wearing white headbands with messages asking for more books, teachers, desks and the full $10 per child capitation grant to be paid to schools on time made their way to Kambarage Stadium. Here they were welcomed by the District Commissioner Mrs. Mansweta Sanka and entertained by classmates performing traditional dances, songs, poems, and a drama production. Especially moving was the testimony of two orphans struggling to get an education. The participants sent messages to the Government of Tanzania and members of the G8 joining with others throughout Africa in the Global Call to Action Against Poverty. In doing so, a specific call went out to the Government to meet targets set by the Millennium Development Goals and MKUKUTA. Also on the occasion a press release was issued by a group of national and international organizations calling on the government and donors to improve education.
Tanzania celebrates the Day of the African Child

Today several thousand children, parents, teachers, civil society organizations and government officials gathered in Shinyanga to celebrate the Day of the African Child through the voices of children. The day started with a march from Jomo primary school in the center of town. Led by a brass band, over a thousand children wearing white headbands with messages asking for more books, teachers, desks and the full $10 per child capitation grant to be paid to schools on time made their way to Kambarage Stadium. Here they were welcomed by the District Commissioner Mrs. Mansweta Sanka and entertained by classmates performing traditional dances, songs, poems, and a drama production. Especially moving was the testimony of two orphans struggling to get an education. The participants sent messages to the Government of Tanzania and members of the G8 joining with others throughout Africa in the Global Call to Action Against Poverty. In doing so, a specific call went out to the Government to meet targets set by the Millennium Development Goals and MKUKUTA. Also on the occasion a press release was issued by a group of national and international organizations calling on the government and donors to improve education.

News release
GOVERNMENT AND DONORS URGED TO IMPROVE EDUCATION

A group of national and international development organizations are today celebrating the Day of the African Child. On the occasion they are renewing a calling to the Government of Tanzania and international donors to focus on improving the quality of education by ensuring all primary schools have enough classrooms, textbooks, desks and toilets to meet student demands as well as supporting in-service teacher training.

"There are so many more children in primary school now than 5 years ago” says Joseph Kisanji, Coordinator of the Tanzania Education Network. “However, we must make the school a place where children can learn. They desperately need more textbooks and desks and their teachers need adequate training in interactive teaching approaches and effective use of teaching/learning materials.”

Teachers play such a crucial role in improving the quality of the education system but receive little professional development and support. Recruiting a sufficient number of teachers and retaining them, especially in rural areas, is a problem that must be addressed if education is to be effective.

“As educationalists, we are very concerned about challenges teachers face especially in rural areas. Teacher housing is a problem and there is so little training. The Government and donors must work together to make sure these needs are addressed so children get a decent education.”

One way to start addressing these needs is for the Government and donors to ensure the budget reflects full funding of the $10 per child capitation grant and that there is a clear and predictable timeline by which these monies are dispersed to schools.

A recent Public Expenditure Tracking Survey has found that 40% of the grant money has not reached schools. This money will make a vital difference in helping headteachers and school committees to effectively plan and implement quality improvements, keeping children in school and getting an education.

These organizations are making the following recommendations:

· The Government and donors to invest in equipment and learning materials for all primary schools by lowering the textbook ratio to 2:1, desk ratio to 3:1, and opening libraries in all schools.
· The Government introduces an incentive package for teachers to help improve living conditions, particularly for those in rural areas, and provides material and financial support in ensuring consistent in-service training and continuous professional development for all teachers.
· Government and donors ensures the budget reflects full funding of the $10 per child capitation grant and there is a clear and predictable timeline by which these monies are disbursed to schools.

TEN/MET members supporting the activities and recommendations include Action Aid, CARE, FAWETZ, HakiElimu, Kivulini, Oxfam GB and Save the Children.

Fahamu