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Featured this week

2006-07-20

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/highlights/36061

FEATURED: With days to go to the DRC elections, Yav Katshung Joseph assesses the threat to elections
COMMENT AND ANALYSIS:
- Onyango Oloo on showing solidarity with women in the run up to the World Social Forum 2007
- The rush to bio-fuel obscures a more sinister agenda, argues Mariam Mayet
- An update on the Solidarity for African Women’s Rights campaign
LETTERS: On preserving disorder, pressuring Mugabe and rejoicing Somalia
PAN-AFRICAN POSTCARD: Tajudeen Abdul Raheem asks: Who is the West to lecture Africa on China?
BLOGGING AFRICA: Sokari Ekine rounds up the African blogosphere
AFRICAN UNION MONITOR: Final statement from Banjul civil society meet
CONFLICT AND EMERGENCIES: Despite global outrage, Israel proceeds to flatten Lebanon
HUMAN RIGHTS: ICC inquiries jeopardized
WOMEN AND GENDER: Women in Ghana launch campaign against domestic violence
REFUGEES AND FORCED MIGRATION: The politics of displacement to urban areas in Sudan
ELECTIONS AND GOVERNANCE: Links to material from DRC, Nigeria, Somalia
DEVELOPMENT: Alternative G8 forum takes place in Mali
CORRUPTION: UK government launches anti-corruption fund
HEALTH AND HIV/AIDS: DRC faces forgotten illnesses
EDUCATION: Child support grants increase enrolment in South Africa
MEDIA AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: Amnesty launches campaign against internet repression
INTERNET AND TECHNOLOGY: Why internet governance matters
PLUS: e-Newsletters and Mailings Lists; Fundraising and Useful Resources; Courses, Seminars and Workshops; Jobs.

Peace, security and elections in the DRC

Joseph Yav Katshung

2006-07-20

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/36054

Strides have been made in securing peace and security for the DRC, writes Yav Katshung Joseph ahead of crucial July 30 elections, the first in 40 years. But threats remain to the electoral process from vested interested and rogue militia.


Violence and conflict have plagued the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since its independence from Belgium in 1960. Forty-six years later, could we attempt to say that violence and conflict are no longer the normal state of affairs in the DRC? The DRC has travelled a long and difficult way. It has faced thirty-two years of authoritarian regime with Mobutu, followed by the 1996-1997 war led by Kabila and then the 1998-2003 war, with its international and regional aspects.

While the dynamics of conflict and violence in the DRC are complex, we should recognise that the country has made - with the assistance of the international community - considerable progress in consolidating the peace process. Warring factions signed a peace-accord in 2003 with the “famous” 1 + 4 power sharing formula, with mandate, among others, to organise elections, to promote peace, stability and security and, to integrate the former warring parties into a single national army. At this moment, significant strides have been made in achieving the above mandate, but several threats remain.

Currently in the DRC, there is an overwhelming commitment to peace and security on the part of all the stakeholders, including those who will not be participating in the electoral process such as Etienne Tshisekedi. All stakeholders agree that the Congolese have endured instability and violent conflict for far too long and therefore peace and stability are inevitable for sustainable development, not only for the DRC but for the region and the continent as a whole.

However, there is concern firstly with regard to insecurity in some parts of the country, particularly North and South Kivu as well as Northern Katanga; and secondly with regards the electoral climate, as the transition period that began with the establishment of transitional national institutions in July 2003 is moving towards its conclusion. The elections will lead to the end of the negotiated transition by setting up an elected government. Thirdly, there is concern about the re-integration of the former warring parties (yet to be completed) into a unified national army. There is the existence of armed combatants that are loyal to and under the control of some of the political contestants. In sum, the ghost of violence and conflict continues to haunt the DRC.

Postponed for the third time, the first round of presidential and parliamentary elections is scheduled for 30 July 2006. However, as the DRC prepares for its first nationwide elections in 40 years, several obstacles are undermining prospects for a successful poll. In order words, although necessary for peace following years of brutal warfare, these elections could create more instability. Currently on the ground these are some of the threats:

1. High levels of insecurity and human rights abuse continue in the eastern part of the country and there is a heightened risk of violence in the approach to national elections in July, as well as in the immediate post-election period;

2. Some armed factions appear to favour a continuation of violence as a means of achieving their political and economic objectives ;

3. Some leaders of political parties and presidential candidates are seen to be linked with the area’s bloody past, and therefore, are not willing to give up power;

4. In the unstable eastern Kivu, fearing to lose the elections, some leaders are rousing hatred against their communities or encouraging violence against rival ethnic groups in an attempt to derail the polls;

5. Some opposition groups (round 50 political parties and associations in the DRC) demand political talks to be held before elections.

The army unification process was considered an essential precondition to the staging of national elections. As part of the process of transition, the integration of the various armed factions into the new national military, the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC), referred to as brassage, was initiated early in 2005, and was intended to result in the creation of a unified, non-partisan, disciplined and efficient Congolese army that would address internal security problems, including the presence of foreign armed groups. The brassage process is complemented by the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration programme which aims to demobilise those unfit or unable to join the new army and support their return to civilian life. For children under 18, a special programme has been put in place. However, we should note that, currently, this integration of the army is incomplete. It will (the army unification process) only be partly complete by the time of national elections scheduled for July, posing major questions for the security of the elections.

Moreover, a number of armed groups continue to resist unification, encouraged by leaders who fear losing control of the ethnically-configured armed groups which form the basis of their power. Some political and military leaders continue to show extreme reluctance to dismantle their military structures in favour of a unified national army, because these structures are the foundation of their power. In areas like the Ituri district, the Kivus and Katanga, some of the most notorious groups known for abuses against civilian population still refuse to join the army integration process and the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme. (Large parts of Katanga, especially the northern and central areas, are still under the control of various Mai-Mai groups who have remained outside the official disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration programme. On 12 May 2006, however, an important breakthrough was made when Kyungu Mutanga, a Mai-Mai leader also known as Gédéon, operating in Katanga Province, surrendered in Mitwaba. He was accompanied by more than 150 combatants, 76 of whom were children.) These dissident and non-aligned groups constitute a serious threat to stability and may obstruct the electoral process. Also, some communities, manipulated by their leaders, remain deeply suspicious of the army unification process - fearing the loss of protection by local armed groups.

Conclusion

Significant strides have been made in the DRC in achieving peace and security. However, more needs to be done for sustainable peace and security. There is still the danger of wider insecurity present in the country after elections. That is true because it has been established that one third of all civil wars in Africa are restarts. This will impact negatively on the precarious human security situation in the country. But the DRC will see democratic elections being held on 30 July 2006. The hope is to see peace and security prevailing in the country. The people of this country have suffered for far too long.

* Yav Katshung Joseph is a Lecturer in Law, at the Faculty of Law, University of Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo. He is also the Executive Director of CERDH (Centre d’Etudes et de Recherche en Droits de l’Homme, Democratie et Justice Transitionnelle/Centre for Human Rights, Democracy and Transitional Justice Studies), and Coordinator of the UNESCO Chair for Human Rights, Peace, Conflict resolution and Good Governance/University of Lubumbashi. He holds an LL.B and LL.M from the University of Lubumbashi; another LL.M from University of Pretoria, South Africa, and a Diploma in Transitional Justice from the Transitional Justice Fellowship Programme (ICTJ & IJR joint programme), South Africa. He is also an Advocate of the Court of Appeal of Lubumbashi. For contact: joyav22@yahoo.fr or joseyav@justice.com Phone: +243 9 970 21 758 Fax:+1 501 638 4935

* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

Update on the Solidarity for African Women's Rights campaign

2006-07-20

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/36053

Below is the latest quarterly update (April to June 2006) that Equality Now received from SOAWR members who are working on the campaign for ratification, domestication and popularization of the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa. Also included is information on the status of ratifications, meetings attended by SOAWR members and upcoming events which may be of interest to SOAWR members.

During this quarter the Steering Committee approved one more membership application received from the Centre for Justice Studies and Innovations (CJSI) in Uganda. This brings the total of SOAWR members to 22. Two additional applications from Liberia and Somalia are being reviewed.

Country Level Campaigns

Burkina Faso

Voix de Femmes reported that the Chief of State of Burkina Faso signed the Decree of Promulgation of the law authorizing ratification of the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa on March 31, 2006. The only step that remains is depositing the instrument of ratification with the African Union. The deposit document has been prepared and was sent to the Secretariat of the Government and was signed by the Chief of State on June 16, 2006. Currently, the document is with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which is responsible for sending it to the African Union Commission through Burkina Faso’s Embassy in Addis Ababa.

Meanwhile, Voix de Femmes continues with activities to raise awareness about the Protocol and they have integrated these activities within the scope of their program regarding women’s rights and violence against women. They hold 2-hour educational sessions three times a month on Thursday afternoons for women who have domestic issues including marriage, divorce and inheritance. Youth and students also benefit from these sessions.

Ethiopia

IAC is planning two workshops, the first in September 2006 for legislators and parliamentarians on the domestication of the Protocol and other legal instruments. IAC anticipates there will be 56 participates from IAC’s 28 member countries. The objective is to train the participants on advocacy for ratification or enforcement in their respective countries of the Protocol and other legal instruments which protect women and children. The second conference is a regional youth forum which will be held during 21-25 November 2006, and will include 56 youths from the 28 IAC countries. The objective is to reinforce youth networks which were established in 2000 to campaign against female genital mutilation, and to train them on communication and validate a youth training manual developed by IAC. A specific session on the Protocol and its application is also on the conference agenda.

The Gambia

In April, the African Center for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS) reported that the Gambia has removed the reservations that it has earlier place on four articles of the Protocol. The African Union Commission has, however, not officially received this revision from the Gambian Government. ACDHRS is following up on this.

The ACDHRS organized and hosted the NGO forum during the 39th Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR). The Forum, which brought about 135 participants and facilitators together, noted that this year is the 25th Anniversary of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The Forum addressed several themes including new developments in the human rights and democracy situation in Africa. While Africa has seen significant and positive developments in human rights and democracy in this time, improvement is necessary with respect to human rights, good governance, and the rule of law. The Forum commended the participation of civil society organizations working throughout Africa to encourage the African Union to take responsibility for the enhancement and promotion of human rights. It noted the significance of the entry into force of the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, congratulated the countries which have ratified it, and urged those who have not yet done so to ratify without delay. Strategies for the ratification and implementation of the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women in Africa were exchanged as a basis for future collaboration. The NGOs attending the Forum expressed need to collaborate on efforts to advocate for ratification, domestication, and implementation. In a statement read by Hannah Forster on behalf of the NGO’s, attending the Forum, at the opening of the ACHPR, the NGO’s congratulated The Gambia for lifting its reservations to the Protocol. The NGO statement urged States to implement the African Union’s Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa at the national level.

The First Meeting of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights - The office of the African Union Commission Legal Counsel convened a meeting during the African Union Summit for the purpose of swearing in the newly elected judges and to brief them on the African Union Commission’s work especially on its working relations with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The court has not elected a president yet which was deferred to September 2006 in Addis Ababa.

Guinea Conakry

Though Guinea was among the first countries whose Parliament approved ratification of the Protocol, thanks to the strong mobilization efforts led by CPTAFE and its partners on the ground, to date Guinea has not yet officially deposited its instrument of ratification with the African Union Commission. The delay is attributed to the current political crisis where the President has been ill for several months now.

Convinced that the Protocol must first be fully accepted by the community in general and women in particular, CPTAFE engaged in an immense sensitization campaign. It identified 30 young women, 30 young men, 30 older women and 30 older men throughout the country. These 120 people underwent a full day of training on the Protocol. Upon return to their communities, these trained people undertook a vast education campaign on the Protocol focusing on the following components: origin and genesis, contents, achievement in the field of women’s human rights, regional character, and necessity of personal engagement of women in the fight for their rights. Interactive broadcasts on community radio were organized in four regions of Guinea.

CPTAFE succeeded in including the popularization of the Protocol in all its social projects in Guinea. Parallel to this work in the field, staff and volunteers went door to door to the decision-makers and advocated for the deposit of the instrument of ratification. In the past year, Guinea has changed government three times and the Minster of Foreign Affairs, who is specifically responsible for the Protocol, has changed four times. CPTAFE met with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Health, Interior and Social Affairs and sensitized them all on the necessity to support the domestication of the Protocol.

On 12 May 2006, Guinean Radio and Television organized a large debate on the subject of the ratification and application of the Protocol in Guinea and Africa. This program, which brought together Guinean specialists from government and civil society, allowed for wide scale dissemination of information to the public on the progress that has been achieved for human rights in general and women’s rights in particular. Following the last meeting of the Board of CPTAFE and their partners held on 29 June 2006, it was proposed that CPTAFE would use theatre, a method of popularization which has had a lot of success in the fight against FGM, to popularize the Protocol in the public domain.

* Please click on the link below to read the full update.
Update on the Campaign on Ratification, Domestication and Popularization of the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa
By Equality Now, April to June 2006

Introduction

Below is the latest quarterly update (April to June 2006) that Equality Now received from SOAWR members who are working on the campaign for ratification, domestication and popularization of the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa. Also included is information on the status of ratifications, meetings attended by SOAWR members and upcoming events which may be of interest to SOAWR members.

During this quarter the Steering Committee approved one more membership application received from the Centre for Justice Studies and Innovations (CJSI) in Uganda. This brings the total of SOAWR members to 22. Two additional applications from Liberia and Somalia are being reviewed.

Country Level Campaigns

Burkina Faso
Voix de Femmes reported that the Chief of State of Burkina Faso signed the Decree of Promulgation of the law authorizing ratification of the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa on March 31, 2006. The only step that remains is depositing the instrument of ratification with the African Union. The deposit document has been prepared and was sent to the Secretariat of the Government and was signed by the Chief of State on June 16, 2006. Currently, the document is with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which is responsible for sending it to the African Union Commission through Burkina Faso’s Embassy in Addis Ababa.

Meanwhile, Voix de Femmes continues with activities to raise awareness about the Protocol and they have integrated these activities within the scope of their program regarding women’s rights and violence against women. They hold 2-hour educational sessions three times a month on Thursday afternoons for women who have domestic issues including marriage, divorce and inheritance. Youth and students also benefit from these sessions.

Ethiopia
IAC is planning two workshops, the first in September 2006 for legislators and parliamentarians on the domestication of the Protocol and other legal instruments. IAC anticipates there will be 56 participates from IAC’s 28 member countries. The objective is to train the participants on advocacy for ratification or enforcement in their respective countries of the Protocol and other legal instruments which protect women and children. The second conference is a regional youth forum which will be held during 21-25 November 2006, and will include 56 youths from the 28 IAC countries. The objective is to reinforce youth networks which were established in 2000 to campaign against female genital mutilation, and to train them on communication and validate a youth training manual developed by IAC. A specific session on the Protocol and its application is also on the conference agenda.

The Gambia
In April, the African Center for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS) reported that the Gambia has removed the reservations that it has earlier place on four articles of the Protocol. The African Union Commission has, however, not officially received this revision from the Gambian Government. ACDHRS is following up on this.

The ACDHRS organized and hosted the NGO forum during the 39th Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR). The Forum, which brought about 135 participants and facilitators together, noted that this year is the 25th Anniversary of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The Forum addressed several themes including new developments in the human rights and democracy situation in Africa. While Africa has seen significant and positive developments in human rights and democracy in this time, improvement is necessary with respect to human rights, good governance, and the rule of law. The Forum commended the participation of civil society organizations working throughout Africa to encourage the African Union to take responsibility for the enhancement and promotion of human rights. It noted the significance of the entry into force of the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, congratulated the countries which have ratified it, and urged those who have not yet done so to ratify without delay. Strategies for the ratification and implementation of the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women in Africa were exchanged as a basis for future collaboration. The NGOs attending the Forum expressed need to collaborate on efforts to advocate for ratification, domestication, and implementation. In a statement read by Hannah Forster on behalf of the NGO’s, attending the Forum, at the opening of the ACHPR, the NGO’s congratulated The Gambia for lifting its reservations to the Protocol. The NGO statement urged States to implement the African Union’s Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa at the national level.

The First Meeting of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights - The office of the African Union Commission Legal Counsel convened a meeting during the African Union Summit for the purpose of swearing in the newly elected judges and to brief them on the African Union Commission’s work especially on its working relations with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The court has not elected a president yet which was deferred to September 2006 in Addis Ababa.

Guinea Conakry
Though Guinea was among the first countries whose Parliament approved ratification of the Protocol, thanks to the strong mobilization efforts led by CPTAFE and its partners on the ground, to date Guinea has not yet officially deposited its instrument of ratification with the African Union Commission. The delay is attributed to the current political crisis where the President has been ill for several months now.

Convinced that the Protocol must first be fully accepted by the community in general and women in particular, CPTAFE engaged in an immense sensitization campaign. It identified 30 young women, 30 young men, 30 older women and 30 older men throughout the country. These 120 people underwent a full day of training on the Protocol. Upon return to their communities, these trained people undertook a vast education campaign on the Protocol focusing on the following components: origin and genesis, contents, achievement in the field of women’s human rights, regional character, and necessity of personal engagement of women in the fight for their rights. Interactive broadcasts on community radio were organized in four regions of Guinea.

CPTAFE succeeded in including the popularization of the Protocol in all its social projects in Guinea. Parallel to this work in the field, staff and volunteers went door to door to the decision-makers and advocated for the deposit of the instrument of ratification. In the past year, Guinea has changed government three times and the Minster of Foreign Affairs, who is specifically responsible for the Protocol, has changed four times. CPTAFE met with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Health, Interior and Social Affairs and sensitized them all on the necessity to support the domestication of the Protocol.

On 12 May 2006, Guinean Radio and Television organized a large debate on the subject of the ratification and application of the Protocol in Guinea and Africa. This program, which brought together Guinean specialists from government and civil society, allowed for wide scale dissemination of information to the public on the progress that has been achieved for human rights in general and women’s rights in particular.
Following the last meeting of the Board of CPTAFE and their partners held on 29 June 2006, it was proposed that CPTAFE would use theatre, a method of popularization which has had a lot of success in the fight against FGM, to popularize the Protocol in the public domain.

Kenya
COVAW, together with the new members of SOAWR in Kenya, FIDA Kenya and Women Direct, has been following up the process for ratification with the Ministry of Gender. Information received from the Ministry of Gender and the Ministry of Foreign affairs indicates that the Ministry of Gender presented a memo to the Cabinet advocating ratification of the Protocol. The Cabinet approved the memo, but apparently the Ministry of Gender had proposed reservations on Article 10 on the right to development and peace, and Article 14 on reproductive and sexual rights. However, the Ministry of Foreign affairs, which is responsible for depositing the instrument with the African Union Commission, referred the whole process back to the Ministry of Gender citing the reservations to be in contradiction with existing government policies.

Though it is indeed very unfortunate that the process of ratification is at a slow pace, there is at least some positive indication that when the process goes through, it will happen without reservations. At the time of publication, it is not clear how far along the process has gone. Nevertheless, recently the Minister for Gender cited the ratification of the Protocol as one of the deliverables of his Ministry. There is goodwill from policy and key decision-makers. Members of SOAWR in Kenya will continue to encourage the Ministry of Gender to accelerate the process and deliver the ratification instrument to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and subsequently to the African Union Commission.

COVAW had an inaugural meeting with the new members of SOAWR in Kenya - FIDA and Women Direct. An output of the meeting was the formulation of joint activities for the popularization of the Protocol and the first joint activity will be held on 6 July 2006, which will be a civil society half-day forum to disseminate information on the Protocol’s provisions. COVAW has produced a publication entitled “A new Era for Women’s Rights in Africa” which is a simplified version of the Protocol. It is hoped that the implementation of these joint strategies will go a long way in popularizing the Protocol in Kenya.

Aside from its participation with COVAW and Women Direct in the group activities, FIDA-Kenya is consulting with the Law Society of Kenya on the possibility of disseminating the Protocol during its annual conference in August to create awareness within the legal fraternity. FIDA Kenya is also preparing a summary sheet, "Highlights on the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa," which it will share at the 6 July 2006 civil society half-day forum.

The Women Direct Service Centre is presently developing an advocacy brochure entitled Ratify the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa. Appreciating the language diversity in each of the countries in its network and the need for all stakeholders to understand the multi-level advocacy interventions that need to be made, the brochure has been translated into Kiswahili, French, and Amharic and will be disseminated widely throughout its partner countries which include: Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.

During the Women Direct mid-year review meeting held from 29-30 May 2006 in Nairobi, the Women Direct collaborating partners from the six countries held a session on work around the Protocol. In the meeting, partners had an opportunity to:
• Review the work that had been done in their countries surrounding the Protocol by their own and other organizations,
• Determine how they can combine their efforts with other SOAWR coalition members to demand the ratification and domestication of the Protocol.
• Share different strategies and interventions that can be employed in their countries.
• Formalize their engagement as Women Direct partners in the Coalition and
• Develop a petition letter to use for advocacy at national level (addressed to relevant ministries and members of parliament) and regional level.

Mali
The Association des Juristes Maliennes (AJM) held two training sessions in Bamako on the Protocol. In December 2005 the training included 60 lawyers and 60 magistrates, because although the Protocol has been adopted, many lawyers and judges do not know about it or its entry into force. AJM distributed copies of the Protocol to all the participants. In April 2006, AJM held a workshop for members of civil society including traditional communicators, religious leaders, and members of parliament. Currently there is a case being tried in the Court of Bamako using the Protocol as a mechanism to help secure equal distribution of assets between a man and woman after divorce. The case has not yet been decided, but AJM is waiting to see how judges respond to the use of provisions of the Protocol in civil courts. AJM hopes to continue to train lawyers and judges in other regions throughout Mali once they have secured funding.

With regard to the domestication of the provisions of the Protocol into local law, through the workshop and training of parliamentarians AJM has begun urging parliamentarians to vote for a bill of the Family Code whose contents conform to the Protocol.

Namibia
Sister Namibia continues to popularize the Protocol through its monthly publication entitled “Sister Namibia.” Copies are available on request. Write to Sister Namibia: sister@iafrica.com.na

Sister Namibia participated in a ten-day training session in Banjul, Gambia, organized by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, and introduced the Protocol to the participants. The training was designed to enable participants to engage with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights during its 39th Session, as well as with fellow human rights activists at the NGO Forum preceding the Session.

The participants, which included LGBT activists and partners from other human rights organizations from nine African countries, considered the following questions during the training session: How inclusive is the Charter of the rights of sexual minorities in Africa? What role can the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights play in protecting and promoting the equal rights of LGBT people in Africa?

Sister Namibia also introduced the African Charter and the Protocol to the participants of the Second Lesbian Leadership Institute held by the Coalition of African Lesbians in Johannesburg from June 12-16, 2006, which was attended by women representing lesbian or LGBT organizations from 10 African countries.

Niger
On June 3, 2006, Niger’s parliament voted down the ratification of the Protocol. Government spokesman Mohamed Ben Omar told the state daily newspaper, The Sahel: “The rejection of the motion is a serious setback for Niger, but this is a proper application of democratic principles.” The government of Niger approved the Protocol in January, but lawmakers rejected it in June by 42 votes to 31, with four abstentions. Many Members of Parliament expressed concerns about the Protocol on issues of reproductive rights, the freedom for women to choose how many children to have, abortion rights and inheritance rights. Niger is the first African country to refuse to ratify the Protocol in its entirety.

During a launch of SOAWR/AUC book and at a Press Conference held at the African Union Summit meeting in Banjul, SOAWR members expressed regret that members of the National Assembly of Niger rejected the Protocol in its entirety. On behalf of SOAWR, Hawa Ba of Fahamu stated, “The decision sets a dangerous precedent for the countries that are yet to sign or ratify the Protocol and undermines the commitment made by the heads of the states of the AU to guarantee gender equality in all spheres of life.” SOAWR members also approached the Gambian Vice President to assist in bringing this concern to the Head of State of Niger. The Vice President undertook to speak to her counterpart. In addition, SOAWR discussed the matter with the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women, Commissioner Angela Melo, who said she would plan a mission to Niger after two months when elections in the country would have ended. Oxfam GB also invited an activist from Niger who took part in the advocacy interventions held during the summit and she undertook that her organization would advocate to reverse the current decision and she will team up with Commissioner Melo when she goes there.

Nigeria
Human Rights Law Service (HURILAWS) has done some media advocacy this quarter relating to the Protocol and has submitted a proposal to the African Women’s Development Fund for a sensitization program on the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa.

In June 2006, HURILAWS received approval for funding from the European Union to carry out a project on women’s inheritance rights in southeast Nigeria, which will also address the need for the Nigerian government to domesticate the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa.

Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA) reported that domestication advocacy was delayed because Executive and Legislative activities in Nigeria were stalled from February to May due to ongoing constitutional debates. The implication of this in relation to WRAPA’s project is that there was little focus on or willingness to address any issue, either at Executive and Legislative levels, unless the issue was related to the subject of the constitutional amendment. WRAPA will start the sensitization activities in the first week of July 2006 ensuring continued engagement and linkage at all levels to achieve sustainable impact in the domestication process. WRAPA has secured a commitment for additional financial support from Action Aid International in Nigeria to offset some of the costs of its activities in Kaduna and Lokoja.

Senegal
The Inter-African Network for Women, Media, Gender Equity and Development (FAMEDEV) carried out a presentation on gender and women’s rights and sensitized journalists on the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa at the Congress of West African Journalists Association (WAJA) on 4-5 May 2006. FAMEDEV is undertaking a gender and rights audit of journalist unions, associations, media NGOs, and schools of journalism in the 16 WAJA member states in collaboration with the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). FAMEDEV also participated in the African Women’s Groups Consultative Meeting in Banjul from 7-8 May 2006. It used the occasion to discuss the Protocol with its network members in Banjul.
Additionally, FAMEDEV has hosted visits by young American and French interns interested in developments in Africa and women’s rights issues. FAMEDEV gives them orientation in these issues as well as exposes them to work done by SOAWR towards the ratification and the implementation of the Protocol.
Uganda
Akina Mama wa Afrika continued with its popularization campaign on the Protocol. It plans to focus its campaign on four districts in Uganda and is currently in the process of developing a CD-ROM containing a simplified version of the Protocol which it plans to use as a communication and education tool for the campaign in these four districts.

United Kingdom
Fahamu has continued to support the Solidarity for African Women’s Rights Campaign (SOAWR) through the production of electronic and print materials related to the campaign and the continuation of an SMS alerts service that distributes information about the Protocol to a subscriber list of over 1000 people.

A major area of work over the last quarter has been the completion and publishing of the book, Breathing Life into the African Union Protocol on Women’s Rights in Africa. This book has been published in both English and French and is available for purchase at
http:// www.africanbookscollective.com/index.html

Fahamu’s electronic newsletter, Pambazuka News (www.pambazuka.org), has continued to distribute commentary and analysis related to the Protocol and women's rights. This has taken the form of special issues or the inclusion of articles in the usual weekly newsletter.

Two SMS alerts have been sent in the last quarter:

1. “Protocol on African Women's Rts: Gambia ratifies with no reservations. To stop SMS alerts reply with 'stop'. More information on women's rts @ www.pambazuka.org" - 2006-05-08

2. “Seychelles ratifies women's rts protocol. 18 African countries now ratified. Views on Zuma trial? Send Messages 2 this number 4 posting at www.pambazuka.org” - 2006-05-12

These alerts were distributed to the 1038 mobile phone users in Africa who have signed up for this service.

Regional Level Advocacy

SOAWR steering committee members African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS), FEMNET, Equality Now, Fahamu, FAMEDEV, and member FIDA Kenya under the leadership of the ACDHRS participated in the AU pre-Summit Women’s Forum as well as organized advocacy interventions of various natures which are described below. The URL for SOAWR activities available also on the AU - Gambia website http://www.bjlausummit2006.gm/press/releases/soawr.htm

Public Forum, 24 June 2006
The Public Forum was hosted by the African Center for Democracy and Human Rights Studies, a member of SOAWR, during the latest African Union Summit. The theme of the Forum was The Effect of cultural and traditional practices in the implementation of instruments promoting women’s rights. There was a discussion on eradication of harmful traditional practices as a strategy to achieve one of the Millennium Development Goals. The Forum also addressed issues of HIV and AIDS. The Forum saw the participation of dozens of Gambian rural women, mobilized and brought by the Gambian Committee on Traditional Practices Harmful to Women and Children (GAMCOTRAP) to participate in the forum, who spoke of the challenges that they faced with regard to culture and tradition. They were however hopeful that the removal of reservations to the Protocol by the Gambia would herald a new era and that the Protocol would be translated into national law as soon as possible to enable them to claim the rights espoused in the Protocol. Presentations were made by personalities from the health and civil society sector with vast experience in addressing these issues. SOAWR shared its strategies for advocacy for ratification, domestication and implementation of the Protocol.

Symposium and Book Launch, 25 June 2006
SOAWR members organized a day long Symposium which included a panel discussion entitled- Does the Protocol compliment the tenets of religion? An evangelical pastor gave a Christian perspective to issues of women’s rights noting that there is nowhere in the Bible where the subjugation of women by men is sanctioned. He noted, citing examples, that the Bible uplifts the status of women instead. The relevance of the Protocol for rural women was revisited. The Symposium ended with a report on the emerging strategies towards the ratification, domestication and implementation of the Protocol.

The SOAWR book, “Breathing Life into the African Union Protocol on Women’s Rights in Africa” was launched by the Vice President of the Republic of the Gambia that evening after the Symposium. During the launch, SOAWR congratulated the Gambia for removing the reservations that it had previously placed on the Protocol. The launch was moderated by the Director of the AUC’s Women, Gender and Development Directorate, Ms Winnie Byanyima, who spoke of her recent fact finding mission to Darfur. She acknowledged the good partnership between the Gender Directorate and SOAWR and urged SOAWR to continue with its endeavors. In her speech, the vice president committed to take a lead role in support of SOAWR’s campaign and said will start engaging her peers on the topic during the summit and post- summit with a view to accelerating the ratification and domestication of the Protocol. In response to a request from SOAWR, she also undertook to speak with her counterpart from Niger in an effort to influence Niger’s decision to reject the Protocol. The African Union Chairman was represented by Commissioner Djinnit Said, Commissioner for Peace and Security, who reaffirmed his firm belief in the rights of women and gender equality. Copies of the book will be sent to SOAWR members soon.

Courtesy call on the Vice President of the Republic of the Gambia, 26 June 2006
Members of SOAWR paid a courtesy call on the Vice President in her office. SOAWR reiterated its requests to the Vice President of the previous day and presented the Vice President with a green card in recognition of the removal of the reservations, while also requesting her to ensure that the African Union Commission is officially informed about the removal of the Gambia’s reservations. She undertook to follow-up on that.

Press Conference, 27 June 2006
The activities of SOAWR concluded with a press conference, which was well attended by the media. The BBC and the Pan African News Agency then interviewed members of SOAWR. The SOAWR events were covered by the local and international media and were aired on prime time by Gambia Radio and Television Service (GRTS). The press statement released by SOAWR is attached.

Status of Ratifications
The following is the status of signatures and ratification with two additional ratifications by Sychelles and Zambia and one signatory (The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic). Total signatories are now 41 and there are 19 ratifications – 3 more signatories and 8 more ratifications than a year ago. The Protocol entered into force on 25 November 2005.
Status of signatures and ratification At June 2005 At June 2006
Total signatures 38 41
Total ratifications 11 19

RED-CARDED COUNTRIES (9)
01) Angola
02) Botswana
03) Cameroon
04) Central Africa Republic
05) Egypt 06) Eritrea
07) Sao Tome & Principe
08) Sudan
09) Tunisia
YELLOW-CARDED COUNTRIES (26)
01) Algeria
02) Burkina Faso
03) Burundi
04) Chad
05) Congo
06) Cote d’Ivoire
07) Democratic Rep. of Congo
08) Equatorial Guinea
09) Ethiopia
10) Gabon
11) Ghana
12) Guinea
13) Guinea-Bissau
14) Kenya 15) Liberia
16) Madagascar
17) Mauritius
18) Niger
19) Seychelles
20) Somalia
21) Sierra Leone
22) Swaziland
23) Tanzania
24) Uganda
25) Zimbabwe
26) Sahrawi Arab Democratic
Republic

GREEN-CARDED COUNTRIES (19)
01) Benin
02) Cape Verde
03) The Comoros
04) Djibouti
05) The Gambia
06) Lesotho
07) Libya
08) Malawi
09) Mali
10) Mauritania 11) Mozambique
12) Namibia
13) Nigeria
14) Rwanda
15) Senegal
16) South Africa
17) Togo
18) Seychelles
19) Zambia


Meetings
Below are some of the meetings that SOAWR members attended.

• Africa Women’s Round Table on HIV and AIDS, 6 -7 April 2006 – Action Aid International, in partnership with three other organizations, organized the African Women’s Regional Consultation on Women’s Rights and HIV/AIDS in Africa, in Johannesburg, South Africa. The meeting, attended by members of at least 40 women’s rights NGOs including several SOAWR members, concluded that African women are profoundly concerned and aggrieved that it has taken so long for governments to fully appreciate the centrality of African women’s rights and voices in dealing with HIV/AIDS, which is one of the greatest threats to our collective existence as a people and the continent. The group acknowledged that there is a need for renewed urgent actions, at all levels and in all sectors, to promote and protect the human rights of African women and girls especially those living with HIV and AIDS. There is a critical need to move from rhetoric to action if Africa is to see a major change in the spread of the HIV and AIDS pandemic and its increasing and alarming feminisation. The group urged all African heads of state and government to take full responsibility for the commitments they have made to women’s human rights as signatories to various national, continental and global women’s and girls’ human rights and HIV and AIDS agreements. The meeting urged African government heads to carry out initiatives on prevention strategies, treatment tailored to the needs of women and girls, reducing the burden of care on women, and committing resources to public health care and the protection and promotion of the rights of women and girls.

• Campaigning in Africa: Experiences and New Frontiers – Organized by Oxfam GB on 19-22 April in Nairobi, 26 participants involved in women’s rights, national and international trade reform, and policy research came together to share experiences and lessons on campaigning in Africa. The workshop took place within an external environment of global commitments to Africa, shifting global power relations and an assertive state and non-state continental agenda. The workshop provided an opportunity for these campaigners, media officers and policy analysts to share experiences, theories and strategies for influencing public policy, engaging the media and establishing coalitions. Some of the suggested strategies included avoiding developing campaigns in a vacuum; working to involve those organizations working on the issue at the many levels; starting with a clear goal and making sure it is shared by all collaborating partners; to be clear, planned and strategic in engaging with the media; to look for commonalities and ways of working together; to involve those who will be affected by the campaign; and link popular mobilization to engagement with the government and other key targets. The campaign around the Protocol was one of the successful models shared and discussed at the meeting.

• OXFAM/SOAWR Workshop, 22 -24 May 2006 – Oxfam GB convened a workshop entitled Accelerating the Ratification of the AU Protocol in Africa in Pretoria during 22-24 May in collaboration with SOAWR bringing together its partners from 10 countries (Angola, Burkina Faso, DRC, Ethiopia, Liberia, Ghana, Niger, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia) with a view to accelerate the ratification of the Protocol in these countries and also expand the number of coalition members. The meeting discussed the relationship between the Protocol, CEDAW and the African Court, the content of the Protocol and its meaning to the women of Africa, the Gambia experience regarding the reservations, the Kenyan experience and the political play that has kept the ratification process in limbo. The participants developed action plans along regional lines based on a matrix presented by Eve Odete of Oxfam. The matrix contained the objectives, strategies, activities, targets and allies. There was a public debate with lively discussion of work in ending gender-based violence, and engaging the regional court systems to bring issues of gender-based violence to the fore. SOAWR was showcased under the theme of coalition building. Ms. Ndashe from the Women’s Legal Centre proposed that litigation can facilitate the domestication of the Protocol when legislature remains slack in domestication. ACDHRS of The Gambia spoke about its work in encouraging domestication which included:
➢ Sending a delegation to key ministries,
➢ Organising a series of workshops, firstly to introduce the Protocol and secondly to compare the provisions of the Protocol in relation to the national constitution
➢ Identifying key stakeholders, sharing their experiences and outlining their roles in relation to the Protocol, this included the traditional leaders.
➢ Parliamentarians were identified as key sector - to this end consultations were held with parliamentarians
➢ It was important to harness support at the high level, in this case in the form of the Vice President
➢ Be aware that some of the provisions of the Protocol can be viewed as contentious at the national level
➢ The NGOs also engaged parliamentarians in a workshop to discuss national legislation which would have to be reviewed to enable domestication of the Protocol
➢ Important to understand the stance of various key stakeholders and be able to address their concerns in order to transform them into advocates
➢ Identify effective key informants - so that the issues are better understood - e.g.- human rights, traditional practices, religious practice; women’s health.

• AU Pre Summit Women’s Forum 22nd – 23rd June 2006 The Forum was organized by the AU Women Gender and Development Directorate in collaboration with the African Center for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS) and ISIS Women International Cross Cultural Exchange (ISIS-WICCE). Participants to the Forum were drawn from organizations across Africa working in the areas of conflict and peace building. The theme of the Forum was Promoting Gender–Responsive Governance in Countries Emerging From Conflict. The Forum discussed the impact of conflicts on the lives of women and what this translated to in terms of governance and the development of the continent. The Forum discussed the impact of conflicts on the lives of women and what this translated to in terms of governance and the development of the continent. The Forum discussed ways of strengthening women’s participation in peace processes based on the Darfur experience and building gender responsive governance in post-conflict countries, including gender concerns in political and electoral processes. The Forum underscored the relevance of the implementation of Article 10 of the Protocol in this regard. The Forum adopted a resolution to be presented to the Heads of States and Governments under the broad themes of gender parity principles, the Protocol on the Rights of Women, Human Security and Monitoring and Evaluation. In the resolution, the Women’s Forum called on all States to ensure the universal ratification and implementation of the Protocol without further delay.

Upcoming Events

• Nairobi + 21 Conference – On July 28, 2006, the Nairobi +21 Conference will take place at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi, Kenya. The Conference, being a joint initiative of several organizations including SOAWR member FEMNET , will mark the 21st anniversary of the 3rd UN Women’s Conference, which was hosted by the Government of Kenya and held in Nairobi in 1985. The Conference will celebrate the various victories that have been won since then, and will reflect on the challenges that remain, with the focus on creating inter-generational linkages. Over 1,000 participants are expected to attend, with presentations by women leaders from Africa, Europe, Asia and Latin America. This will be an opportunity for SOAWR members to push in forward their agenda for popular support for the Protocol and urging its application.

• World Social Forum 2007 will be hosted in Nairobi, Kenya during 20-25 January. Aside from the main forum there will be a Feminist Dialogue that will precede the WSF, in which FEMNET and Akina Mama Wa Afrika (both SOAWR members) are part of the organizing committee. SOAWR plans to organize events during the WSF.

New Publications

• Breathing Life into the African Union Protocol on Women's Rights in Africa: Edited by Roselynn Musa, Faiza Mohamed, and Firoze Manji. This book is the fruit of the labors of SOAWR and is published with the full endorsement and support of the African Union Commission’s Women, Gender and Development Directorate. The Protocol, which grew out of a recognition that the African Union’s Charter does not adequately address issues that affect women, is arguably one of Africa’s most ground-breaking and progressive rights instruments for gender equality. The papers in this book are the product of a conference jointly convened by the African Union Women, Gender, and Development Directorate and SOAWR that was held in Addis Ababa in September 2005. The primary aim of the conference was to shift the focus from the ratification of the Protocol to ensuring the meaningful implementation of its provisions. Some examples of topics covered are: the campaign for ratification, a report of the Addis Ababa meeting, SADC and the Protocol, NEPAD and women’s rights, HIV/AIDS: a challenge to implementation; and challenge of harmonizing the Protocol with national laws. One should be able to order copies online at http:// www.africanbookscollective.com/index.html

• Gender, Development, and Advocacy: by Oxfam, December 2005. Advocacy for gender equality occurs at all levels of society - from grassroots women demanding community-level change, to coalition-building to promote change to international trade laws. Articles in this collection chart the experience and successes of gender equality advocates from contexts including Pakistan, Australia, and southern Africa. The publication also includes a section on “The African Women's Protocol: a new dimension for women's rights in Africa.” (http://www.oxfam.org.uk/what_we_do/resources/downloads/gda_6.pdf). The full publication can be accessed at: http://publications.oxfam.org.uk/oxfam/add_info_026.asp

Equality Now Africa Regional Office
June 2006

Gendering WSF Nairobi 2007

Onyango Oloo

2006-07-20

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/36055

Despite making some progress towards developing an inclusive process for women within the World Social Forum (WSF) movement, profound problems remain that are likely to manifest themselves in the lead up to the WSF meeting in Nairobi in 2007, says Onyango Oloo, in this paper presented at a public forum on “Gendering the WSF Process”. It’s not a lost battle, however. Oloo suggests that action can still be taken through which men can show solidarity with their women comrades.


Conceptual Underpinnings

First things first:

In talking about gendering the World Social Forum process, it is crucial for my readers to grasp what I am NOT talking about.

I am NOT talking about “women’s issues” nor am I trying to “solve” or “resolve” “The Woman Question”.

Rather, I am trying to explore the problematics thrown up by the age-old power dynamics between men and women and contextualizing this within the history of planning and organizing for successive WSF events.

And I have embarked on this task for reasons that are far from “academic”; I am not driven solely by theoretical and intellectual preoccupations about the subject of gender.

I happen to be right in the middle of the logistical, programmatic and other aspects of social mobilization, fund-raising, outreach and publicity for the next edition of the World Social Forum taking place in Nairobi, Kenya from January 20th to January 25th 2007.

As a man, I am keenly aware of the baggage of male privilege that I was born with growing up in a world defined by patriarchy, misogyny and other forms of oppression against and domination over women. As a Kenyan, I am also cognizant of the inescapable fact of the world capitalist economy buttressing these age-old oppressions by punctuating every thing with class and confining historically determined societies within an overall imperialist vortex which in the Kenyan and African context manifests itself as neo-colonialism.

Over the last quarter century or so, neo-liberal policies downloaded to Kenya and other African and Southern countries via multilateral agencies such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Trade Organisation (WTO) etc etc have worsened the already lopsided power dynamics between men and women in the spheres of the economy, political representation, social and cultural relations, not forgetting the ideological imperatives of the day.

As humankind struggles to realize and implement the vision of an alternative, more egalitarian and social justice oriented world, one is quite conscious that we are doing so within the context of class struggles and gender tensions which define our everyday existence. Progressive women and men continue the fight to build a better world even as we explore the stark reminders of persistent sexism, pervasive patriarchy and rampant misogyny that seep into our work despite our subjective commitments and best, sincere and earnest intentions against these manifestations of oppression, marginalization and even outright contempt and hatred towards women.

It should therefore surprise no one that the World Social Forum process, unfolding against the complex tapestry of real and concrete social conditions cannot be hermetically sealed and insulated from all the troubling manifestations of inequality between men and women and other aspects of the lopsided power dynamics between the two genders.

Before proceeding further, let me pause and share some capsules capturing various testimonies, perspectives and experiences from the World Social Forum process itself:

Testimonies and Critiques Regarding Gender and the WSF Process

1. …even while trying to build another world based on principles of participatory democracy and social justice, internal contradictions remain in the WSF. One of the most notable are weaknesses in maintaining gender inclusiveness. The majority of participants in the WSF are women, but most of the presenters on panels are men, continuing the stereotype that men are the producers of knowledge. The raises the question of what the WSF will do to assure more participatory democracy in terms of gender balance? - Marc Becker, April 12, 2006 (http://www.yachana.org/writings/beautyqueens.html)

2. Other aspects of the forum were more problematic. "One huge issue at the WSF was gender dynamics," Nadja Millner-Larsen, a recent graduate from New York’s Bard College, said. "There was an enormous lack of women on the panels at the social forum. I attended this one panel on the anti globalization movement and at the end of it a lot of women stood up and said "how can we create another world when we don’t have healthy gender dynamics in these panels?"

"Some of the men said, ‘Okay, we should pay attention to this.’ But others on the panel had this age-old response that been going on in the left since the sixties. They said, well, classes aren’t equally represented, nor race, therefore you shouldn’t be so outraged by the underrepresentation of women."

"This is skirting around the issue," Millner-Larsen continued. "If a black person in a white audience asked why there aren’t black people on a panel, the speakers wouldn’t say, ‘Relax there aren’t any women either.’ Here we are thirty years later and we are still arguing class and gender against women…it’s shocking. To allow this unequal gender distribution to be sanctioned within the official forum obviously has this kind of trickle down effect in the youth camp."

In addition to hundreds of robberies and numerous fights in the Youth Camp, rapes were reported there as well. "There was a high level of violence in the Youth Camp, Millner-Larsen explained. I felt more scared there than I really have traveling anywhere else. I got the sense that being alone in the camp was a really dangerous thing." - Benjamin Dangl, commenting on the WSF in Porto Allegre (http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/177/63/)

3. However, it was felt that the women's movement still rests on the margins of the WSF. In his testimony, Candido Grzybowski, Sociologist, Director of IBASE, and member of the WSF organizing committee, states that "women were just 43 percent of WSF delegates, although they make up over 50 percent of the world's population! It is sad to acknowledge, but WSF was still limited in terms of its social female face". He continues: "In the WSF, I'm learning something fundamental, that will certainly change my role in the Forum and at IBASE. Women are a 'minority' created by ourselves within civil society. With respect to that, there is no point in blaming capitalism, neoliberalism, globalization, exclusionary states, etc. This is a major problem that is engendered, developed, and maintained in the culture of civil society itself." -(http://www.dawn.org.fj/publications/docs/cardosawsf.doc).

4. Trains are a good example. Seldom have I been so scared as when I took the train to the forum one morning and did not go on the women’s wagon. There was no space there, I thought – before discovering that the space given to me in a wagon full of men was a form of hell.

In this appalling, everyday situation women struggle to find space for themselves, and somehow they succeed. The WSF is the same; neither women nor the gender issue in general was better represented in the official programme this year as compared to previous years. The same men dominated the ‘star’ panels; some, who clearly think too highly of themselves, participated in several seminars at the same time. Who (to name just one) did not see Walden Bello deliver a speech and then say: “excuse me, I have to go”, and run off to the next seminar?

Many panels consisted entirely of men. Some trendy activists, who think that they are super-feminists because they know a bit of gender theory, agreed to sit on panels without a single woman. Everywhere you could see “homosocial” relations: men preferring to talk to men, men favouring men when organising a seminar or editing a book. Women being forgotten and given the same proportion in a space as Indian women will get in the train. All of this has been there since the forum process started and was still there in Mumbai – but somehow it was challenged and overtaken by women who decided to occupy more space than they had been given.

I’ve heard so many people say: “something must happen to this WSF process. It can’t go on like this.” But, this year, something did happen.
A “new” issue – women’s rights – has moved into the centre.

Many “old” problems remain. The approach to solving them may be through proposals that some will find uncomfortable. It’s like the women’s wagons. I’m sure that many would oppose the idea of separating men and women travelers. Well, before judging you should be a woman traveling in a train in India. The wagons “for everybody” consist only of men, who will harass and molest any woman who ventures aboard. It was women themselves who fought to have the women’s wagons.

If the WSF panels “for everybody” consist only of men, who talk about and analyse everything, and the women-only panels speak solely of women’s issues – and that continues regardless of how many think it’s wrong – then maybe we have to make rules. One rule we could make for the WSF is that all-male panels are allowed only to talk about men’s issues.

If people refuse to understand the obvious, perhaps we need to make rules until they do? I’m not suggesting that that would be a positive thing, but the success of the women this year will have an impact that will mark the forum process for more than just a few days in Mumbai.

But this World Social Forum (Mumbai 2004) should not primarily be remembered as an event where we started to make rules, but as a beautiful political festival dominated by women. According to gender research, women are perceived as “many” or “in majority” when we occupy 30% of a space. At this forum, women were approximately represented in accordance with our proportion of the world’s population: around 51%. I think that is why many observers perceived women to be everywhere at this forum. - America Vera Savala (http://www.zmag.org/content/print_article.cfm?itemID=4910&sectionID=1)

Prevailing Gender Dynamics Within the Eastern African Context

Eastern African Women have played and are playing a crucial role in planning and organizing for the upcoming WSF 2007 event. In the host country of Kenya for example, the only member from Kenya of the International Council is a woman; two of the four Kenyan representatives to the African Social Forum Council are Kenyan women. The main representative of the Ethiopian Social Forum to the ASF/WSF gatherings is a woman; in Tanzania at least five of the leading WSF organizers in that country are women; in Uganda almost half of the representatives to the WSF Nairobi 2007 Organizing Committee are women.

At the inaugural WSF Nairobi 2007 Organizing Committee held in Nairobi from April 22nd to April 23rd 2006 half of the chairs of the plenary session were women. At the same meeting, 27.5% (22 out of 80) of the participants were women. Women are also very well-represented in the overall Organizing Committee itself. Prior to and following that pivotal meeting, FEMNET, one of the leading African women’s civil society organizations (and represented in 3 Commissions for WSF 2007) initiated a series of meetings to bring together women involved in the WSF process.

At the same time, out of the 7 Commissions of the WSF Organizing Committee, only 1 is convened by a woman despite the fact that women constitute nearly half of the membership in those commissions. In one of the key decision bodies - the Nairobi Local Committee - 2 of the 5 members are women. The WSF Nairobi 2007 Secretariat is still very much male-dominated. At the inaugural WSF Nairobi 2007 Organizing Committee women called for the setting up of a Women’s Commission - although this issue was never resolved or decided upon.

From the above it is clear that Eastern African women are right in the thick of things when it comes to planning, organizing and mobilizing for WSF Nairobi 2007. Simultaneously the process to the 2007 Nairobi event remains male driven and centred. One can safely assume that the testimonies and perspectives shared in the preceding section will find their equivalents within our regional context. Most of the population in the Eastern African region remains rural-based. Over half of that population is female. Yet the organizing and planning for Nairobi 2007 is centred in the major urban centres like Nairobi, Kampala, Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar town, Mogadishu and Addis Ababa. This has direct implications when it comes to ensuring effective participation of ordinary Eastern African working class and peasant women in the planning and execution for WSF Nairobi 2007. Young adult women (not just in Eastern Africa) have been complaining that there is an assumption that “Youth” = “Young Male” thus marginalizing female youth who in our local context outnumber their male counterparts. One could cite other examples, but suffice to say that the issue of women remaining at the margins of the WSF process is a reality within Eastern Africa as well.

At the end of the day, this reality of women’s marginalization should not be an earth-shattering shock to anyone. The WSF process is a microcosm of concrete conditions in the world today. The gender dynamics within the World Social Forum are a reflection of the actually existing power relations between women and men all over the world.

Just confining ourselves to the Kenyan situation for a few minutes, it is not contested that the prevailing grinding poverty in this country has a greater impact on Kenyan women - even though women are the primary producers of food, the main engines in the unpaid household economy, the chief child care providers, the ones who bear the brunt of taking care of the elderly, the HIV infected and AIDS orphans. There are only a handful of female cabinet ministers and their assistants in the bloated Kenya government.

Every single day there are literally dozens of stories in the local print and electronic media of women being killed, raped, defiled, battered, brutalized and otherwise assaulted by their spouses, fathers, uncles, brothers, sons and other men in their immediate lives as well as total strangers who see females (from babies under a year old to grandmothers pushing a century in existence) as vulnerable, “weaker” targets for their violence prone male power trips.

Recently there was a huge national furor when a Kenyan woman MP introduced a bill to legislate against a huge array of sexual offences including marital rape. Male Kenyan MPs led the charge in ridiculing and rubbishing the Bill with one notorious MP quipping that African women mean “Yes” when they say “No” to uninvited sexual advances. The newspaper columns were full of commentaries and letters to editors from battalions and garrisons of Kenyan men feeling threatened in their bastions of male privilege and therefore unwilling and/or unable to appreciate the terror of rising rape incidents and manifestations of violence against Kenyan women; radio stations were bombarded with phone- calls and mobile text messages from across the country as the male backlash against the Njoki Ndung’u Sexual Offences Bill intensified with gusto.

Notwithstanding the fact that sections of the bill were poorly drafted (as in the startling shifting of the burden of proof from the accuser to the accused) Kenyan male MPs managed to weed out many of the path-breaking recommendations of the bill. For instance, these male MPs and their non-parliamentary brothers in arms across the country considered it a huge “triumph” when the clause criminalizing marital rape was excised from the final, hugely diluted Act of Parliament.

A couple months ago this writer was horrified at the way the crowd at a certain Mombasa night club approvingly cheered when a stand up comic gleefully made fun of a Kenyan woman who had been viciously gang-raped just the previous week. Listening to the sports commentaries on the radio or browsing through certain weekly columns by male writers, it is evident that sexism and misogyny in Kenya cuts across age, class, tribe, race, religion, creed, urban/rural divides and other cleavages in society.

One should therefore not be surprised to see manifestations of these unequal power dynamics between men and women in the actual WSF process itself. If anything, the situation as far as the planning and organizing for Nairobi 2007 seems to reflect a reality that stands a cut above the day to day interactions between men and women in Kenya and the rest of the Eastern African region.

Towards WSF Nairobi 2007: Learning from Past WSF Gender Pitfalls

When one looks at the gender dynamics informing the WSF 2007 process, one is filled with optimism and left brimming with hope. This despite the parlous panorama painted in the preceding section; this despite the unflattering global audit of power relations between women and men around the world.

Why then the optimism? From which spring gushes the hope?

The optimism comes after taking stock of how women around the globe involved in the WSF process have been successfully challenging the bastions and assumptions of male privilege; the optimism is inspired by the fact that an increasing number of men in the WSF family are self-critically re-examining their own roles and seeing how these roles keep women marginalized. The hope emanates from Dennis Brutus’ (a WSF veteran in his own right) poetically dubbed “stubborn hope”: the stubborn hope of the oppressed and marginalized to reclaim centre stage through determined collective struggles. On the Eastern African plane, the optimism and hope comes from the presence of many strong feminists who have helped to build the Social Forums in Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia and a core of progressive men who realized early in the process that the active participation of women and interrogating assumptions of male domination and female marginalization are key indicators of the growth and maturity of the Social Forums in this part of Africa.

Despite these plaudits, the path ahead is rocky; it is hilly and it is thorny.

Speaking as a man anxious to contribute towards a reconfiguration of this lopsided gender equation, I strongly feel that it is about time Eastern African men started a deeper process of questioning ourselves.

One of the places to begin this reflection and rectification has to do with the question of taking up space. One of the mantras of the World Social Forum is for people to claim their space. But in doing so, as men, suck up all the oxygen? Do we stifle others? Do we silence others? Do we literally take up TOO MUCH space? How often do we speak? How long do we speak? In speaking often and loudly, do we perhaps silence others - especially our sister comrades in struggle for a better, more alternative world?

When women speak, do we men listen? How often do we fidget, start side conversations with “our brothers” or interrupt our sisters when they are speaking? When women are through with their presentations do we as men acknowledge what they are saying or were we waiting for OUR chance to speak without bothering to switch on our active listening ears? Do we question the socially determined gender roles at such meetings (as in who takes the minutes, prepares the tea and cleans up)?

It is not once when I have heard concerns raised by women in the WSF process dismissed by otherwise very progressive men as yet one more instance of the often derided “Western bourgeois feminist” contagion - a charge that often silences even the most articulate of African women.

By making that anti-feminist charge, even some of the most overtly “progressive, radical, anti-imperialist ” Eastern African men are often guilty of consciously or unconsciously participating in a covertly sexist attempt to belittle the concerns and demands of women.

The F-word – FEMINISM - is surprisingly dreaded even by dyed in the wool “socialists” “Pan Africanists” and self-declared “revolutionaries” - which is a pity because in my opinion one CANNOT be a socialist, a Pan Africanist or a self-declared revolutionary and hold as anathema the straightforward credo of feminism: equality between women and men.

Sadly, sometimes the most implacable foes of the feminist idea in the Eastern African region are some African WOMEN who in a weird sense of bonding with their African BROTHERS rush to take up cudgels against their OWN SISTERS IN STRUGGLE who insist on pointing out gaps and flaws in the gender dynamics of a given process like the WSF.

Being part of the WSF 2007 Secretariat I am confronted with the practical task of practicing what I preach.

In other words, what concretely can Eastern African men involved in the WSF process do in re-gendering the planning process in order to engender more equal and equitable relations between women and men?

One take off point I believe, is in more and more Eastern African MEN supporting the calls of sisters like Roselynn Musa of FEMNET who have called for the establishment of a Women’s Commission as one of the sub-structures of the WSF Nairobi 2007 Organizing Committee. The arguments I have heard AGAINST the notion of a Women’s Commission with regards that women are represented in ALL of the Commissions and that gender is a cross-cutting concern in the whole planning process is an argument that can NOT be sustained upon further reflection. Youth too, are represented across the board and youth issues are cross-cutting as well. Yet, there is in fact not just a Youth Commission but a whole process of setting up and running a Youth Camp.

Another place to begin taking action is in devising strategies, policies, instruments and structures that will help reduce the level of violence against women attending the WSF event in Nairobi next year. I am zeroing in on the incidents of rape at past WSF events and how we can all work together to turn around this situation. We must go beyond treating Rape as a law and order problem that can be ameliorated by deploying more cops to the WSF site. To do so is to betray an insufficient understanding about the complexity of rape and other instances of violence against women because it reduces the issue to a one –dimensional phenomena of women being accosted and ambushed by “strange men” prowling the Kenyatta International Conference Centre and Uhuru Park for foreign and local female victims.

If we were to adopt this blinkered approach for next year’s WSF event, we would be letting off the hook other potential and actual assailants of WSF- attending women. I am talking about the scientifically proven and documented reality that more often than not, women are raped and assaulted by men they know, men they work with, men they are familiar with. How do women guard against fellow WSF male participants or even fellow delegates from the same organization and the same country. Rape is the extreme, but how about under-reported cases of sexual harassment, unwarranted touching and groping, offensive sexist jokes and exposure to pornography?

These are not problems that are easily amenable to mechanical legislation or a reductionist resort to more police presence - forgetting that all over the world police forces are often implicated in rapes and other forms of violence and harassment against women.

I suggest that in combating rape and other manifestations of violence against women during the next edition of the WSF scheduled for Nairobi in January 2007, men and women can work together, in first sensitizing ALL delegates about rape and violence against women as a manifestation of sexism, misogyny and patriarchy - concepts that are totally alien to the WSF Charter.

Beyond the sensitization should be put in place enforceable sanctions for people who are caught in perpetrating these outrages. In addition to this, the Program, Methodology and Content Commission can send out a specific call for workshops, panels, seminars and teach-ins that address questions of rape, sexual harassment and violence against women. The Logistics Commission could set up banners, stickers, brochures, leaflets and banners campaigning against rape and sexual harassment within and among the WSF delegates.

The Youth Commission could organize an orientation session with the same themes heavily represented. The Culture Commission can organize screenings or performances that highlight the experiences of rape survivors and women who have been through wife battery and similar forms of violence.

The Social Mobilization Commission can carry out a campaign to identify and recruit women and men who have worked in rape crisis centres and counseled victims of violence so as to set up such centres within the sites of WSF Nairobi 2007. The Media and Publicity Commission can come up with special pamphlets or produce short video documentaries campaigning against rape and violence against women.

The Resource Mobilization Commission can try and mobilize funds to recruit and train in house security organized to deal with incidents of rape and violence against women. Perhaps there should be special provisions for women who are survivors of rape and sexual violence to get housing and accommodation that lowers their fears of a repeat occurrence - by opting for billeting (solidarity accommodation) with other women, living in secure female only hostels etc. And yes, deploying more police and other regular security personnel can help reduce the number of rapes and incidents of violence against women during the WSF event next year.

In doing all this, the WSF Nairobi 2007 Organizing Committee should and must work with organizations like the Coalition on Violence Against Women, FEMNET, FIDA, Equality Now, AWEPON, Sahiba Sisters Foundation, TAMWA, Five Centuries Theatre Group, WIPPET, ENDA-Ethiopia, Kenya Human Rights Commission, OXFAM, Action Aid, MS Kenya, Heinrich Boll Foundation and other civil society bodies that have a proven track record in these areas.

What else can Eastern African men do in terms of changing the gender dynamics of the WSF process for the better?

Perhaps I will pause here.

I fervently urge everyone reading this to get hold of Roselynn Musa’s presentation on the same subject during the recently convened Heinrich Boll Foundation supported forum on “Gendering the WSF Process” held at the Ufungumano House on Thursday, May 25, 2006.

* This paper was first presented at a public forum on “Gendering the WSF Process” held at Ufungamano House in Nairobi on Thursday, May 25, 2006 and financially supported by the Heinrich Boell Foundation. Onyango Oloo is the National Coordinator, Kenya Social Forum

* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

The hidden agenda behind biofuel

Mariam Mayet

2006-07-20

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/36056

With higher petrol prices, biofuel has been touted as a possible answer to the world’s energy needs. But Mariam Mayet explains how the argument for biofuels can also be used to mask the introduction of genetically modified crops. In reality, biofuel would require massive state support – support that could be spent on other socio-economic priorities.


On the 12th May, Syngenta South Africa (Pty) Ltd, a subsidiary of Swiss Agrochemical giant, Syngenta, notified the South African public of its intention to seek commodity clearance for its genetically modified (GM) maize, Event 3272, for use in the production of ethanol. [1] This precedent setting application, the first GM application for commercial approval in the world for a non-feed, non-food GM crop, (using a food crop), has simultaneously also been launched in the US, the EU and China.

The application by Syngenta illustrates its expediency and desperation: Syngenta hopes to cash in on a potentially lucrative burgeoning global bioethanol market, riding on the back of escalating oil prices and supply fluctuations, while at the same time, securing new markets for its GM products where there is little risk of consumer rejection.

However, Syngenta’s application is also mysterious, for two reasons. The application made to South Africa is for clearance to expedite imports and not for growing. It is a guarded secret as to where Syngenta hopes to grow the GM maize. South Africa does not import GM maize from the US, for several reasons, including the fact that the US has approved many more GM events (varieties) than has South Africa and contamination by unapproved GMOs cannot be ruled out or avoided. [2] In any case, the US will rely on its own domestic market to sustain the demand for ethanol from maize in that country. South Africa, does, however, import huge amounts of GM maize from Argentina. Will Argentina become the factory farm or will it be another developing country?

Second, the application seems to be superfluous in the light that Diversa Corporation, well known to anti-biopiracy activists, recently brought to the market, the same enzyme alpha-amylases, used in Syngenta’s GM maize. The enzyme is derived from a deep-sea micro-organism [3] and is meant to convert the starch present in maize into sugars for processing into ethanol. This same rationale is being given by Syngenta to the South African authorities as motivation to grant approval for the GM maize! What makes it all the more curious is that Syngenta owns substantial shares in Diversa.

Interest in ethanol as a biofuel is not new. It began during the oil crisis of the 1970s at that time when several countries, led by the US, began to phase out lead from gasoline. In 1978, the US Congress approved the National Energy Act, which included a Federal tax exemption on gasoline blended with 10% alcohol. Federal subsidies also reduced the cost of ethanol to around the wholesale price of gasoline. [4] Thus, in the US, ethanol relies heavily on subsidies to remain economically viable as a gasoline- blending component. The current Federal subsidy of 51-cents-a-gallon makes it possible for ethanol to compete as a gasoline additive. The US also imposes a 54-cent-a-gallon tariff on imported ethanol, thus promoting its domestic ethanol production.

However, gleaning from the literature, the ethanol subsidy is due to expire in 2007/8, and it is not clear whether ethanol will continue to receive political support.

In the US, ethanol is derived mainly from maize and is blended in quantities up to 10% in gasoline (also called E10 or low-blend). In terms of the Energy Bill passed called “EPAct 2005”, the volume of ethanol will be increased from the current 4 billion gallons/year to 7.5 billion. It is reported that a booming ethanol industry will consume 20% of the 2006 US maize crop, cutting the maize surplus in half by 2007, or 1.14 billion bushels. Some 54 million tonnes of the 2006 maize crop is projected to go to ethanol plants, up 34% from 40.6 million tonnes). [5]

There are 97 ethanol plants in the US with a capacity of 4.5 billion gallons (17 billion litres) a year. There are 44 projects under way that will add 1.4 billion gallons of capacity this year. By early 2007, the US it is expected to be producing at a rate of 24.6 billion litres of ethanol, requiring 2.15 billion bushels of maize. [6] This implies an increase in maize production in the US to sustain the demand for maize. Currently, the US is the world’s largest maize derived ethanol producer, accounting for 33% of the global market. Brazil is the world leader in ethanol production, derived from sugarcane, accounting for 37% of the global market. [7]

At the beginning of 2006, South Africa phased out the use of lead, which created a boon to the ethanol industry, as ethanol can be used as an additive to boost the octane number of unleaded fuel. In addition, and following on from the lead of the US, at the launch of the National Energy Regulator of South Africa in November 2005, Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said that the South African Cabinet had approved a proposal by the Departments of Minerals and Energy (DME), Agriculture and Land Affairs, and Science and Technology, to explore biofuels as an important component of South Africa’s energy mix.

Touted as a cleaner, greener fuel, by reducing CO2 emissions by 60%, ethanol is said to bring huge socio-economic benefits through especially job creation. According to Busi Nxumalo, South Africa’s Energy Development Corporation’s (EDC) business and market analyst, a strong local biofuels industry will also make a significant contribution to South Africa’s GDP. According to him, if a 10% blended bioethanol is achieved, it will add 0,25% to the country’s GDP. In addition, a 10% blending ratio will enable South Africa to save R2.5-billion a year in imports, which equates to a reduction of 1% in overall national foreign expenditure. [8]

Industry lobby groups are feverishly pushing the South African government to create the economic regulatory framework to do two things: to make the blending of ethanol into petrol mandatory for oil companies, and to allow a 30% reduction in the fuel levy to be extended to bioethanol industry, as it currently does, the biodiesel industry. Indeed, Ngubane has said very recently that the EDC was investigating the viability of adding a 10% ethanol blend to petrol. [9]

However, once maize is harvested, three energy expenditures in ethanol production raise the total costs. These include energy to the transport of maize grain to the ethanol plant, energy expended to provide the capital equipment requirements for the plant, and energy expanded in the plant operations for the fermentation and distillation processes. The effective energy balance of ethanol as a biofuels is therefore in doubt.

A study by Pimental and Patzek shows that turning plants such as maize, soyabeans and sunflowers into fuel uses more energy than the resulting ethanol or biodiesal generate. [10] Ethanol for example can’t be transported via pipeline - it has to be carried from distillation plants via truck and railraod, which creates additional energy costs. Thus, bio-ethanol from maize has a much worse energy balance and does not have environmental benefits.

Using maize for ethanol production is costly in terms of land use, fossil energy, and most importantly it subverts valued human food and animal feed from direct use. The fact that ethanol production has a negative energy balance further precludes its place as an alternative liquid fuel for the future. It must also be borne in mind that maize prices are the dominant cost factor in ethanol production, and ethanol supply is extremely sensitive to maize prices. Ethanol production will drop when maize is in short supply and prices are higher.

It is therefore apparent that bioethanol production for a fuel blend will require enormous government assistance and subsidies to be viable for the bioethanol industry as a whole, subsidies that can be more appropriately allocated to other pressing socio-economic priorities for South Africa.

* Mariam Mayet from the African Centre for Biodiversity. This article is based on a briefing document produced by the African Centre for Biosafety entitled “South Africa, Bioethanol and GMOs: A heady muxture”

* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

References:
[1] Such clearance would be given by the Executive Council, Genetically Modified Organisms Act, and will therefore serve as a blank cheque, for the international grain traders, to ship the GM maize into South Africa in huge quantities.

[2] Personal Communication, National Department of Agriculture, February 2006.

[3] “It came from beneath the sea” Nature Biotechnology, Vol. 23, No.10, Oct. 2005, pp. 119-1201.

[4] Joseph DiPardo Outlook for Biomass Ethanol Production and Demand, Energy Information Administration.

[5] Ethanol, Biodiesel eats into Corn Stockpiles, 15 May 2006 http://www.planetarket.com/dailynewstory.cfm/newsid/36348/story.htm

[6] According to the United States Department of Agriculture’s chief economist, Keith Collins. Ethanol, Biodiesel eats into Corn Stockpiles, 15 May 2006 http://www.planetarket.com/dailynewstory.cfm/newsid/36348/story.htm

[7] Worldwatch: State of the World 2006, Chapter 4, Endnote 13.

[8] South Africa Sows Crops-to-Energy Seeds, Engineering News 5 December 2005.

[9] Energy body probes ethanol-mixed petrol, 17 May 2006 http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/economy .aspx?ID=BD4A201198

[10] “Cornell ecologis’s study finds that producing ethanol and biodiesel from corn and other crops isnot worth the energy”, Cornell University News Service, 5 July 2005, http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/July05/ethanol.toocostly.ssl.html

Between colonialists and China: Africa needs to forge a new path

Tajudeen Abdul Raheem

2006-07-20

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/panafrican/36045

Governments, research and policy centres, NGOs and the private sector are abuzz with speculation over China’s influence in Africa. The tone of much Western discourse has been to warn Africa about China, with much emphasis placed on China’s poor human rights record, its disregard for the environment and its tendency to act only in its own interests. But aren’t these the very attributes of Western engagement with Africa? Who is the West to lecture Africa on the dangers represented by China? Tajudeen Abdul Raheem addresses the challenge of how to engage the Chinese.


Who is Afraid of China? It is difficult to read western papers these days or watch their televisions and listen to their radios without some Chinese feature, news, information, disinformation and mis information. Western policy makers are training future generations to learn Mandarin. Chinese studies is booming. Intelligence services are in a frenzy recruiting anyone who can help decipher the Chinese mind. Even retired old China hands are being recalled from their retirement back into active service.

China is being discussed in the West as a threat. A threat to Western hegemony across the world mostly in economic terms. Nowhere is this threat more orchestrated than in Africa. If China is a threat to the West, should we worry when the West has always been a threat to our very existence for centuries?

I was at one of those conferences on China in the United Kingdom a few weeks ago. It was organised by the highbrow New Labour policy think tank, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). The theme of the Conference was 'China and Africa'. I went to the conference with mixed feelings. I would have had no problem if the theme had been ' Britain and China'. But why would a British institution be concerned about China in Africa?

Should we not be having such meetings in Africa under the auspices of our own governments, research centres, NGOs and even the private sector?

Of course this question is very rhetorical on my part. I cannot plead naivety in these matters but still I cannot help asking the question even if I know the answers. Such is the ideological incapacitation (both structurally induced and by complacency and irresponsible leadership) of Africa these days that even the poverty that the majority of our peoples suffer from have their experts in the West and advocates in Western NGOs and other Western Do-Gooders who put our pictures in the background of their appeals. So bad is the situation that some African countries even have Western donor advisers to help them negotiate in forums like the WTO, where our countries 'negotiate' with Western governments. It is like the person whacking you also offering you a handkerchief to wipe your tears! Oh Africa! Can turkeys really vote for an early Christmas?

That puts the IPPR conference in context. The West has arrogated to itself the right to act, talk, interpret and define African realities. Slavery, colonialism, neo-colonialism / cold war and the current recolonisation via globalisation provide the historical template from which these attitudes are drawn. They even define for us who are our enemies and who are our friends!

But at every stage they have had willing collaborators, apologists and active agents not only at the highest level of our political society but also civil society. Without African agency these inequities could not have lasted this long. China is an example of a country and peoples who have refused to give up shaping their own destiny. Not that various imperialist forces have not tried several times. But China has remained Chinese.

The current discourse in the West about China is very much reminiscent of the Cold war days where the West thought, acted and behaved as though Africa was its exclusive preserve for exploitation and domination. It's like a vulture scaring off other vultures from its perch.

So the West is now warning Africa to be wary of China. The alarm bells are sounded about many issues on which China is vulnerable. One, China is after Africa's energy and other resources needed for its vastly growing economy. Two, It does not respect human rights at home and therefore will not give a damn about it in Africa. Just check the list of China's new best friends in Africa! Three, it does not care about the cost to the environment of its energy and growth needs. Four, in international affairs China only seeks the protection of Chinese interests no matter whose ox is gored. For instance, China continuously either abstains from or prevents any vote of censure in the UN Security Council and General Assembly against governments it is doing business with, whether it is the killer regime in Khartoum killing its own peoples in Darfur or the illegitimate government of Idris Deby in neighbouring Chad.

There are many other reasons why the West thinks Africa should be wary of China. The interesting thing is that all of these charges and many more are true of China's foreign policy. But the bigger question is this: Are they not also true of Africa's relations with the West? Do we need Westerners to tell us about these when our physical body and body politic are still suffering from similar forced encounters with the West? How can the blackened Western pot really call the Chinese porcelain kettle black?

Does this mean that there are no legitimate issues that should concern Africans about China's deepening engagement with Africa? There are many but we do not need our former and current colonisers to give us lectures on them. They are serial re- offenders when it comes to exploiting Africa.

Africa can and should choose its own friends and enemies, though some enemies and friends may decide to choose you.

There are many concerns that we must address. The first one is China's bilateralism in relation to Africa. While this may suit the short-term needs of individual leaders, it undermines our sub regional and Pan African institutions and commitments. It replays the colonialist divide and conquer tactics. Most of our countries have no chance negotiating with China alone. They will be gobbled up one by one. Two, the influx of Chinese goods, services (including criminal gangs) and migrants, is undermining our local economies and attempts at regional integration. While the goods are much cheaper than those from the West they are also killing our nascent industries. Even areas where we have had much progress in the past like textiles are being killed off from the dumping of cheaper Chinese products. As a Funtua man I should know about this because the Chinese have taken over our biggest industry, Funtua Textiles. Three, in the cold war days China, like other Socialist states, used to have three principles governing their international relations. These were: People to People, Party-to-Party and Government-to-Government. These days China does only Business to Government and Government to Government. Where it has any links with parties they are not necessarily communist parties (since China is also any thing but communist in name only) but ruling parties that can facilitate access for their businesses.

This is where the biggest challenge is, both for African CSOs, NGOs, other pro-people forces and China itself: How do we engage with the Chinese and how can the Chinese engage with us outside of the framework of Government and Business, given the lack of institutional and historical knowledge on both sides on that type of engagement?

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

* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

Global: Support pack on small arms awareness

2006-07-17

http://www.comminit.com/materials/ma2006/materials-2716.html

This support pack was developed to address low levels of knowledge, skills and resources available to undertake small arms and light weapons (SALW) awareness. The package includes an operational handbook with a set of logically structured guidelines for those conducting SALW awareness programmes, illustrated with examples from the field.

Global: Say STOP to Israeli war on Lebanon

2006-07-19

http://www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/informes/4632.html

"The Arab NGO Network for Development calls upon the international community to immediately intervene in order to protect civilians and to end Israeli aggression against Lebanon. ANND joins the call of the Lebanese prime minister to an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire under the support of a strong UN Peacekeeping Mission supervision."

Comrade Brother Chachage

Horace Campbell

2006-07-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/35964

I was in Brazil last week for the second meeting of African Intellectuals when I heard the news of Comrade Brother Chachage from one of our brothers on Tuesday morning. His passing was noted by many of the brothers and sisters at this meeting. It was in settings such as these where one could view the measure of the contribution of Chachage to the African liberation struggle, indeed the struggles against capitalism and imperialism.

I last saw the brother at the Walter Rodney commemoration event in January in Dar es Salaam. His presentation at this fora exposed his continued interest in the intersections of the struggles of the peoples of Africa at home and abroad.

I first met Chachage in 1981 when he was still a young editor at the Tanzania Publishing House in Dar es Salaam. I followed his career closely and remember working with him as a colleague on the sixth floor of the Arts and Sciences building. He was one of the pillars of UDASA (the trade union for academics) and he never compromised with the social science of imperialism. He was impatient with the chauvinism of the South African academic environment and returned to Dar after a short sojourn at the University of Cape Town.

Comrade brother Chachage has left a legacy that should be emulated by many young scholars. I am hoping that the present leadership of CODESRIA will seek to put together many of his unpublished papers so that they will be available to scholars internationally.

To his family I send our deepest condolences.

New website news

Begona Inarra

2006-07-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/35966

First of all, thank you for the great information you offer in Pambazuka News. I am a faithful reader of your publication. Now I am writing because I am the webmaster of Exodus-Kutoka Network, a network of parishes working in the Nairobi slums and informal settlements. We are launching the website http://www.kutokanet.org/ where you can find all kinds of information on the Nairobi slums. Not only the work done by the different parishes, but also a compilation of many studies, information and papers on the situation of the slums and the slum dwellers, as well as the campaigns done against the forced evictions, for the upgrading of slums, etc. I would be grateful if you could publish it in Pambazuka News. Thanking you for your collaboration.

Pambazuka News a revelation

Langa Mtshali

2006-07-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/35971

Thank you for sending me the Pambazuka newsletter. This has been a revelation, I have spent more than two hours online reading the articles and linking to related sites. This is life-changing material - my life will never be the same again.

Preserving disorder

Fred Foldvary

2006-07-19

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/36009

It is not clear to me why IMF policy is called "free trade." (http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/34800) The IMF is an agency of governments. It is not an organization of private enterprise. If IMF policies are bad, why did the government of Kenya agree to the conditions? The government of Kenya should be blamed for causing poverty and borrowing from the IMF and agreeing to IMF policy. There is no free market or free trade in Kenya. If Kenya had true free trade, there would be no need for the government to borrow money. Private investment would employ people at good wages, and extirpate poverty. Hong Kong is a good example.

Pressuring Mugabe

N Tembo

2006-07-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/35965

Yes, history is full of the powerful change that grassroots activists can bring about. Enough people, enough ideas and anything is possible. For a full thrashing out of non-violent possibilities for change, with no particular political agenda, come to the UK Forum for Non-Violence in London 21-23rd July. Hear Kofi Klu (Chair of Pan African task force for Internationalist Dialogue) speak on the history of Non-Violence and what this means in today’s world. Details at www.ukforum4non-violence.org Be part of an exciting debate!

Rejoicing Somalia?

John Katunga

2006-07-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/35967

I have great respect for Tajudeen and always admire his immense analytical capacities. I thank him for this reflection and pertinent questions on Somalia. (http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/panafrican/35322) I also rejoice the kicking out of harmful bandits of bad taste known as warlords.

However, I would like to caution our enthusiasm. We must wait and see the behaviour of these new dynamics in the Somalia crisis. Tajudeen manifested the same euphoria when Kagame, Museveni and Kabila came to power.

I will insist we watch these new dynamics as they are still unfolding in Somalia, before any significant support for one or the other group is formulated and joyfully advocated for.

If Africa needs a rebirth, it should be on principled foundations and not on momentous military victories.

Hakuna Matata

Shailja Patel

2006-07-16

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/books/35884

If I could hang, draw and quarter a song, I would do it to this one.

If I could tie a 50 pound weight around a song and drop it off into the murkiest, most sewage-laden depths of the Indian Ocean, it would be this one.

If I could put a song through a shredder, and put the shreddings through a meat grinder, and put the paste through a blender, and put the result in an incinerator, I would do it, three times over, to Hakuna Matata .

Every gifted African musician who's ever been forced to churn out this festering putrefaction of a lyric, to a bunch of grinning tourists, on a hotel terrace, deserves compensation for psychological damage.

Everyone who's ever lived the reality, the complexity, the day-to-day humanity of East Africa, as opposed to the tourist hotel fantasy package, and then had the tinny simplistic sugary crap of Hakuna Matata forced on their eardrums, deserves a free detox treatment at the spas of the same hotels.

Shailja Patel is currently performing at the Zanzibar International Film Festival. She is suffering an acute case of Hakuna Matata - overload. Visit her at www.shailja.com

NEXT APPEARANCES
Zanzibar International Film Festival: July 14-23
ABN-America TV, Talking Drum Current Affairs Show, July 20th, 8pm, CST
Dish Network Channel 749, Super Dish required

Point last seen

Ricky Hunter

2006-07-19

http://www.geocities.com/pointlastseen/

All too often we hear or read horrific stories of children being abducted by pedophiles and shudder at the thought of what these innocent victims must have experienced. Rarely, if ever, do we hear how the terrifying experiences affect these victims as they journey through their lives. Ricky Hunter tells her story of being abducted at age five and how this terrifying ordeal shaped her life from childhood through to early womanhood and beyond.

Africa: Call for poetry

2006-07-19

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/books/36020

Agenda requests poetry contributions that explore the outcomes of the Nairobi+21 conference, their impact on women’s rights today, 21 years later, and where to from now. As the first international women’s conference on African soil, the Nairobi Conference in 1985 discussed ways to fend for women’s rights and gender equality that would, for the first time, be informed by the agendas of women from the South.
Contributions should reflect the contradictions, complexities, challenges and successes for African women two decades after the Nairobi conference in one or more of the following key areas:
• Poverty
• Education
• Health
• Violence against women
• Media
• Environment
• Human rights
• Political power and decision-making


Length of poetry contributions: Poems to fit on ¼, ½ or full page of Agenda
Journal.
Deadline: 8 July 2006

Submission requirements:
All submissions must be emailed to editor@agenda.org.za
All submitted poems must come with a picture and bio of the author.
If you would like to publish anonymously please state so clearly in your
submission.

Articles that have not been selected for the Journal will be published onto
the Agenda website.

If you do not want your poem published on our website please state so
clearly in your submission.

Only successful applications will be contacted.

Global: Short Story Writing Contest

2006-07-19

http://www.penknifepress.com

Penknife Press is announcing its first annual Short Story Writing Contest. From the entries received, we will be creating an anthology of contemporary short stories that say something insightful about contemporary society. Compelling characters wanted, but compelling situations are required.

The African Blogosphere

Sokari Ekine

2006-07-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/blog/35968

African in America - African in America (http://youngandreal.blogspot.com/2006/07/my-take-on-race.html) writes about being made to feel guilty by Africans and African Americans because he “does not hate white people”.

“I mean seriously! I resent being made to feel guilty for embracing those White people that are not in denial, or are trying to get out of their denial. I am tired of having to defend some of my White friends, from a blanket rejection by my family members, and black friends, because of the color of their skin. There are enough bigoted and racist White people, governments, and institutions in this World, for us to oppose, and try to bring down. There are lots of pretty ignorant White people that need educating. There are lots of White people out there that deserve our resentment. But we do not live in a vacuum. We cannot take the attitude that EVERY SINGLE WHITE PERSON is out to get us. Not only is it untrue, but it is very counter-productive. It diverts our efforts and our focus, and simply leaves us weaker in our fight, IMHO.”

I think the word “hate” is the problem. No thinking rational person engages in collective hatred. It is more a question of mistrust based on past experiences that make most Black people wary of whites, particularly white liberals that claim not to be racist.

Cry Beloved Zimbabwe - Cry Beloved Zimbabwe (http://crybelovedzimbabwe.blogspot.com/2006/07/one-in-three-zimbabweans-is-spy.html) comments on the “infiltration of Zimbabwean society by ZANU-PF secret police (the CIO). He claims that one in three Zimbabweans are actually spies.

“The infiltration has gone unnoticed especially for activists in the diaspora though many were aware that CIO operates here in UK. The attitude has always been that as we have sought refugee in a democratic country where the rule of law is upheld therefore we are immune from physical threat. The title of this article is not a wild guess, just after the March congress of Tsvangirai's MDC (Our MDC), Rev Pius Ncube was asked his opinion on the plans for peaceful demonstrations which the MDC had announced. He gave a chilling warning that the logistics of the demonstrations will be leaked to the CIO therefore pre-emptying the demonstrations…”

Aba Boy - Aba Boy (http://ababoy.blogspot.com/2006/07/remembering-jean-charles-de-menezes.html) remembers Jean Charles de Menezes who was suspected by the British police of being a terrorist in the London bombings of 7/7 2005 and subsequently murdered at Stockwell police station. Aba Boy had met Jean Charles who had fixed an electrical problem in the loft of his house. His wrongful death had a personal meaning to Aba Boy and his wife. Here he writes about how they both felt on hearing that he had been wrongfully shot by the police.

“A day later, when the identity of the suspect became clearer, and when it appeared that the wrong guy had been shot, wifey called from work sobbing. The guy that had been shot was the one that came to have a look at our loft a few months ago. I ran straight to a TV near me to see if she was just jiving. The photo they had in the news bulletins didn’t really look like him. But there was some resemblance. I went back to my desk, not sure whether to share this news with the folks at work. I decided not to. I had stored his number on my phone, and I was tempted to call. As the day passed it was obvious that it was Charles.”

On Monday 17th July, it was decided that no police would be prosecuted over his killing, leaving his family bitter and angry about the death of their son. “Justice will not be served.”

Nigerian Music blog, Soul on Ice - Soul on Ice (http://obifromsouthlondon.blogspot.com/2006/07/nation-of-cynics.html) comments on the on going Israeli attack on Lebanon and the wanton destruction of the country and it’s people. He questions the disproportional response and collective punishment typical of Israel in Palestine but now extended to Lebanon.

“The Israeli government is being extremely cynical. So how does this go? Someone takes two of your people, note keyword ‘take’ not ‘kill’. And what do you do? You blow up their airport, destroy their roads, kill their civilians, blow up their government buildings, destabilize their whole nation and still categorically state you are targeting ‘terrorists’? Hmmm, remind me to detonate a nuclear bomb in your backyard next time we have a fight. Indiscriminate warfare. And at the same moment in time lay the same kind of siege in the Gaza strip area. This is the one reason I can understand the Palestinian suicide bombing. You can show your American-backed might all you want but they will strike back with anything they have even their very lives. There can never be peace in a stolen land.”

Egyptian Chronicles - Egyptian Chronicles (http://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/2006/07/lebanese-spear-head.html) also comments on the Israel invasion.

“Today it will be the sixth day in the on going open war Israel declared on the Lebanese people and land, already yesterday the death toll in Lebanon reached to over the hundred, the south is completely destroyed as well as the southern suburb in Beirut the capital, the financial loss of Lebanon in those few days reached to 4 billion dollars and the number is escalating. It is the 6th day and Israel seems to have more then teaching HazbAllah a lesson in its agenda, it seems to me that the Hebrew state wants to send Lebanon back to the stone age.”

The question on everyone’s mind is whether there is a wider agenda here and if so what is it? Egyptian Chronicle believes it to be Iran with Syria as a bridge between HazbAllah and Iran. I believe she is probably right in her assessment.

“I believe the Syrian role in this on going war is to be just a bridge between Iran and HazbAllah, already Lebanon is blockaded from the air , the sea and two land borders from the original three land borders, the only remaining way is Syria and regardless of the destruction of the high ways between Damascus and Beirut there are still for sure more hidden places.”

White African - White African (http://whiteafrican.com/?p=263">White African) discusses Africa’s potential “on the web and mobile space”.

“We have all seen how the phone has changed communications in Africa drastically. The Web is set to do the same, especially when married up with the mobile phone. Those who labor now to create products that start winning mindshare on the African continent will reap the rewards in the coming years.”

White African has himself acted as an innovator and catalyst of web development in Africa with the Africa Network project, the African Gadget blog and Zangu Africa’s web.

New Cameroonian blogger - Ekosso.com by Rosemary Ekosso is an excellent addition to the African Women’s blogosphere. In her most recent posts she addresses the issue of over population in Africa. She points out the reality that in fact Africa is not over populated and has an abundance in natural resources so the problem is not over population.

“I refuse to go around feeling guilty about coming from the ‘overpopulated’ developing world. I refuse to believe the guff we are fed to the effect that there are too many of us. Too many for whom? For what?”

The reality is the Western nations consume the majority of the world’s resources and it is this imbalance that needs to be addressed, not the mythical over population of Africa.

Black Looks - Black Looks (http://www.blacklooks.org/2006/07/4_rare_slave_trade_photos_from_1868.html#comment-2363) publishes some rare photographs of slaves on a ship captured by the Dutch Navy in 1868 some 100 years after the Transatlantic slave trade officially ended. The photographs are thought to be of Arab slaver traders operating in the Indian Ocean. Neither the original source of the photographs nor the background to the photographs is known.

“These photographs dated 1868 reveals a very little of the terrible suffering caused to millions of people by the slave trade. This group of severely emaciated boys and young men on the lower deck of a Royal Naval ship apparently have been taken from what was a slave vessel trading illegally off the African coast headed to the Americas. The captain of the Royal Naval ship had instructions not to return the rescued slaves to the place on the coast where they had been put on the slave ship (presumably because they were in danger of being recaptured by traders) but it is not clear from the available documentation what happened to them afterwards.”

* Sokari Ekine produces the blog Black Looks, www.blacklooks.org

* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org

Blogs for African Women

Sokari Ekine

2006-07-18

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/blog/35973

This week the BAWo (Blogs for African Women) project came to an end. The project begun as an idea in January this year with the aim of introducing young African women to blogging. 15 girls aged between 11 and 13 were selected together with 23 mentors. Each week two mentors would introduce a topic and the girls would blog on that topic. The actual blogging began in early May with some initial unanticipated difficulties.

1. The school’s Internet access is dial-up and the phone used to connect to the Internet is stored in the principal’s office for safe-keeping. Logging-on therefore means having to first go and get the phone from his office, then plug it in and dial-up. Having to do all this usually deterred the girls from blogging outside of the Computer Club time. In addition, it turned out that only one computer (in a lab of about eleven computers) could connect to the Internet.

2. One Computer Club period a week was usually not enough for all the girls to blog. Since this period also fell at the end of the week, blogging only at this time would not give much time for interaction between the mentors and the mentees.

3. The girls needed close supervision and direction by the computer teacher or from me. Since the computer teacher was often busy with his own work, this would usually fall on me and I was limited by the amount of time that I could go to the school.

4. Junior Secondary School exams started soon after the project began. Four of the mentees were taking this exam and so could not participate in the project.

Nonetheless solutions were found by increasing the Computer Club time to twice a week and the connections sorted out prior to the beginning of the Club time. Because of the lack of computers the girls began to write up their posts and then take turns to transfer them to the blog. The mentors were an essential aspect of the project coming up with appropriate topics and blogging even when the girls were unable to respond or participate due to technical problems.

In her interim report, one of the organisers, Ore Somolu wrote:

“So far, the BAWo project for me has been an interesting study of how lack of Internet access can be surmounted with sufficient motivation. However, these problems still mean that the mentees are not as engaged with the process as they could be otherwise. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see how the project progresses and how many of the objectives are achieved in the short or long run.”

As the project has now come to an end it is clear that the issue of lack of infrastructure in many African cities (power cuts, poor telecommunications and dial up internet) is a major obstacle to maintaining an online presence. In addition, although there are a large number of cyber cafes in Lagos, Nigeria, they are not easily accessible to younger girls and boys plus the cost are also prohibitive.

Overall, the first BAWo project has been a tremendous success. We have learned that young girls are enthusiastic about blogging, which has given them a space to write their thoughts and opinions on a range of topics. We have also learned that in future, local infrastructures will have to be considered more carefully and ways around related problems found. On behalf of the project organisers, Ore Somolu and myself, I would like to thank the teachers and pupils of Laureates College, Lagos; the mentors for their contribution and enthusiasm; and the team at Fahamu for their support of the project not only in providing a hosting site and domain but for believing in the value of such a project as BAWo.

It is hoped that another project will run from January 2006 if a venue can be found either in Nigeria or any other African country.

Details of the project can be found at the Wiki site - Wiki Site (http://africablogmentor.wikispaces.com/CONTENTS). BAWo Blog - BAWo (http://www.pambazuka.org/blogs/bawo)

The BAWo Project was supported by Fahamu.

Conference of Intellectuals from Africa and the Diaspora

2006-07-20

http://www.pambazuka.org/aumonitor/

The second Conference of Intellectuals from Africa and the Diaspora (CIAD II) was held in Salvador-Bahia, Brazil, from 12 to 14 July 2006.

The conference, under the theme “The Diaspora and African Renaissance”, was officially opened by the President of the Republic of Brazil, Mr. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Alpha Omar Konare, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, and several African and Caribbean Heads of State and Government attended the opening.

Four round tables and twenty-four thematic parallel sessions allowed some 1000 academics, artists, civil society activists and political leaders to discuss thoroughly key issues related to African political, economic and cultural Renaissance and the effective participation of African from within and outside Africa in this mission.

West African Correspondent for Pambazuka News, Hawa Ba, attended the conference last week. Her reports are available at the AU Monitor website.

Africa: Final Communique from Civil Society workshop in Banjul

2006-07-19

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/aumonitor/36019

Civil society organisations from 19 African countries met in Banjul, the Gambia, 26-28 June 2006, in advance of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government, to discuss ways of improving compliance with commitments made under African Union treaties, with particular reference to the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).
Civil society organisations from 19 African countries met in Banjul, the Gambia, 26-28 June 2006, in advance of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government, to discuss ways of improving compliance with commitments made under African Union treaties, with particular reference to the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).

The workshop, which was a follow-up to a similar meeting held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in January 2006, discussed presentations from organisations that have engaged with the APRM in countries where the process has been undertaken, and from organisations working on independent civil society efforts to monitor compliance with African and other international standards. The workshop was addressed by Dr Bernard Kouassi, CEO of the APRM Secretariat, during its opening session.

The meeting was hosted by the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (Banjul), in collaboration with Partnership Africa Canada, the Africa Governance Monitoring and Advocacy Project (AfriMAP) and the Open Society Justice Initiative.

The participants at the workshop reached the following conclusions and recommendations:

In relation to the APRM
The workshop welcomed the APRM as a useful new process to monitor states’ compliance with their obligations under African treaties and to provide a space for national dialogue on democracy, human rights and the rule of law. In order to strengthen the contribution that the APRM reviews can make, participants recommended that:
• Those responsible for national APRM processes should improve the quality of civil society participation in APRM self-assessment reports in particular by:
o Ensuring that national APRM governing councils represent the broadest spectrum of civil society
o Making draft APRM reports available for public comment as soon as they are completed, well before they are adopted by the heads of state APR forum
o Encouraging rather than discouraging independent civil society efforts to contribute complementary or shadow reports to the APRM self-assessments
o Increasing efforts to inform and involve the media and grassroots organisations in the self-assessments
• The APRM process should be regularly reviewed to evaluate its success in improving governance and to ensure that it is not simply duplicating other processes. It should go beyond simply assessing effectiveness and efficiency of government. Thus, as part of an early review process, the APRM questionnaire should be amended to focus on additional critical issues, in particular:
o Freedom of expression and of the media
o Citizenship and discrimination
• Access to information about the APRM must be improved at both continental and national level. The APRM secretariat should have its own regularly updated website, with detailed progress reports, and appoint a person to act as a focal point for civil society. National APRM focal points should provide much wider access to information about the self-assessment reports and the data collected to complete them.

In relation to ensuring compliance with African standards more generally
The challenges faced by the APRM highlight the difficulty of ensuring compliance with African standards more generally. Workshop participants recommended that:
• The African Union should ensure that there are sanctions if African states do not comply with their obligations under African treaties, especially in the case of gross abuses of the rights of African citizens.
• The AU and its institutions should enforce reporting obligations under African treaties and ensure that states adopt national laws to give detailed effect to treaties.
• The AU should work towards the consolidation of reporting processes under international treaties, to reduce the number of reports states need to prepare

In relation to civil society organisations’ own activities
Civil society organisations (CSOs) at the workshop discussed their own strengths and weaknesses, taking cognisance of the challenges they face, and recommended that:
• CSOs must develop their own capacity to engage more effectively with efforts by the AU, APRM and other African institutions to monitor compliance with international standards
• CSOs should develop improved coordination and networking, especially to share information and strategies relating to the APRM
• CSOs should ensure greater respect for their own internal democracy and transparency
• Urban-based groups must reach out more effectively to rural and grassroots organisations and mobilise their leadership to take part in national political processes
• Human rights and pro-democracy organisations should also reach out to the media, to strengthen journalists’ ability to report on monitoring efforts such as the APRM
• CSOs should organise to engage the state and non-state actors on their own initiative in order to contribute pro-actively to the definition of the national agenda

Access to information
A key theme that emerged from the workshop’s various discussions was that of access to information. Independent civil society monitoring of government performance is impossible without access to good quality, up to date information. Yet information about government activities is often poor and hard to obtain – even by other government departments and even when such information is required to be made public by law. Accordingly:
• Participants called on African governments to enact freedom of information laws on an urgent basis, and ensure their effective implementation, but also noted that such laws are not sufficient.
• African states should change their existing laws and policies to create a presumption that official information is public, unless there are specific and justifiable reasons why it should not be.
• African states should strengthen their officials’ own capacity to produce and make available information to their citizens, including through electronic media.

Citizenship, Discrimination and Participation
Another substantive theme discussed was the effect of discrimination in citizenship rights on political participation. The denial of legal citizenship marginalizes specific groups, and the existence of different categories of citizenship entrenches discrimination. The situation in each country is different and many countries were discussed. Several areas were identified where state practice should be changed. Specifically:
• States should ensure that discrimination in access to citizenship and proof of citizenship does not deprive specific groups of their rights to economic and political participation
• Different local and regional ‘citizenships’ within a single state that are based on ethnicity or origin should not create barriers to political participation
• Patterns of public expenditure should not discriminate against certain social groups and regions
• States should bring their nationality laws into conformity with international human rights standards and should comply with the decisions of human rights mechanisms in citizenship cases
• The African Union should develop a new treaty to strengthen the rights of Africans to citizenship and nationality on a non-discriminatory basis.

AU-civil society relations
Finally, the workshop welcomed the fact that the AU Commission has held a civil society forum in advance of the current AU summit, after the absence of such a forum at the last two summits. However, it expressed its disappointment that the Coordinating Committee set up by the Gambian government to oversee the summit had blocked the organisation of a forum on freedom of expression. Civil society organisations should be free to organise their own events, without the need for permission from the African Union or the host country of a summit.

Sudan: New aid for AU peace force

2006-07-19

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5189880.stm

Major donors have pledged to increase aid for peacekeeping in Sudan's Darfur region, responding to warnings that the delicate peace process is in danger. The 7,000-strong African Union force in Darfur is running short of funds. At a donor conference in Brussels, the US pledged an extra $116m (£64m), while the EU offered $30m (£16m).

Senegal: Free treatment for obstetric fistula

2006-07-20

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54685

President Abdoulaye Wade has ordered his government to allow free treatment for women suffering from obstetric fistula - often a result of early childbirth that leaves young women incontinent and sometimes shunned by their communities. In a meeting with women in the northern region of Saint-Louis earlier this month, Wade likened early marriage to rape.

Africa: GBV Prevention Network

2006-07-19

http://www.preventgbvafrica.org/home.html

The Gender Based Violence (GBV) Prevention Network has launched the 1st supra-regional website focusing on the prevention of GBV in Africa. The website is filled with the experiences, innovations and knowledge of over 100 member organizations throughout the Horn, East and Southern Africa.

Global: Using gender research in development

2006-07-17

http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/fspractice/sp2.asp

While gender equality is a basic human right, and closing the gender gap is key to achieving many development objectives, development practitioners and advocates concerned with achieving gender equality are often constrained by the lack of information to justify targeting limited resources toward closing the gender gap.

Global: UN Reform - Women's concerns and spaces

2006-07-17

http://tinyurl.com/mwe6r

As the UN Reform process proceeds, poverty has grown rather than lessened in much of the developing world, and as AIDS spreads, it is becoming a “women's disease”. These and many other pressing global issues are women's concerns. In this context, women need more space, not less, and more influence in the UN. What “architecture” must be designed or reinforced within the complex system that is the United Nations if we are to reach our agreed goal - both institutional and individual space - to effectively promote women's opportunities worldwide for greater freedom and wellbeing, side by side with men?

Ghana: Cashing in on abortions

2006-07-19

http://allafrica.com/stories/200607171255.html

A Medical Officer at the Eastern Regional Health Directorate, Dr. Joe Taylor has described the pelvis of women as a 'goldmine' where quack healthcare providers are busily making huge sums of money through galamsey (illegal mining) or unsafe abortion. Dr. Taylor, a Gynaecologist by profession, said some qualified doctors and male nurses are increasingly getting involved in the abortion business.

Ghana: Women launch campaign against domestic violence

2006-07-19

http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=9770

Women in Ghana have launched a campaign against domestic violence in support of a bill addressing domestic violence introduced in parliament. The Foundation of Female Photojournalists (FFP) developed a documentary addressing domestic and gender-based violence in order to “motivate viewers to support initiatives that would assist victims of gender violence and the quest to build a society of equal rights to all,” Ghana News Agency reports. The documentary provides information regarding gender and domestic violence, as well as strategies to address these issues.

Kenya: Booming tourism boosts juvenile sex trade

2006-07-17

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54633

Sixteen-year-old Judy (not her real name) sits in a nightclub sipping beer with two other girls in this coastal resort town popular with foreign tourists thanks to its numerous beach hotels and villas. She is one of a rising number of under-age girls who have taken to commercial sex due to poverty or the allure of easy money from tourists.

Nigeria: CEDAW panel position denied

2006-07-19

http://www.tribune.com.ng/18072006/news/news2.html

Citing a poor human rights record against Nigeria, the country has been denied a seat on a United Nations’ committee/Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Nigerian Mrs. Saudatu Mahdi was stopped as one of the 12 experts elected to serve on the CEDAW Committee, which holds the mandate to monitor countries’ compliance with the Convention.

Kenya: Help urged for prisoners

2006-07-20

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=33976

A call has been made in Kenya for initiatives to ease the re-entry of prisoners into society - this after government's July 13 announcement that almost 8,000 inmates will be freed to reduce overcrowding in jails. "A lot of civic education needs to be done to inform the public that people who go to prison are members of our society," said Samwel Mohochi, acting executive director of the Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU).

Africa: ICC Inquiries Jeopardized

2006-07-17

http://www.globalpolicy.org/intljustice/general/2006/0706jeopardized.htm

With no police force of its own, the International Criminal Court (ICC) relies on local law enforcement agencies to protect individuals involved in the court's investigations in Uganda, Darfur and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The ICC has set up the Victims and Witnesses Unit, a team of trauma experts, to foster an environment of security and some degree of anonymity for those who voluntarily participate in investigations.

Africa: Countries meet to battle human trafficking

2006-07-17

http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/viewpoints/vp512072006.html

Amina Atiku, the wife of Nigeria's vice president, led a continental conference in Abuja, Nigeria to discuss trafficking of women and children. The child trafficking problem in West and Central Africa is believed to be caused by the vulnerability of parents and children, as well as the lack of consequences, and UNICEF officials say the problem is growing.

Global: Combating torture - a manual for action

2006-07-17

http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC22314

This manual describes the ideas, the techniques, the achievements, the standards of governmental behaviour and the means of implementing those standards that have emerged from the efforts of anti-torture activists around the world over the past 25 years and more.

Global: Human rights abuses undermine efforts to fight HIV/AIDS

2006-07-19

http://hrea.org

Ongoing rights abuses are undermining efforts to fight the HIV pandemic and threatening the few, hard-won successes, Human Rights Watch said, a month before the XVI International AIDS Conference opens in Toronto. "Twenty-five years into the epidemic, people living with HIV or AIDS are still feared and stigmatized," said Joe Amon, director of the HIV/AIDS program at Human Rights Watch.

Algeria: Evidence of persistent torture by Military Security

2006-07-17

http://amnesty-news.c.topica.com/maaeYEMabrUItcjjaD3b/

Beatings, electric shocks and the forced ingestion of dirty water, urine and or chemicals are just some of the methods that continue to be used by Algeria's security forces with systematic impunity, Amnesty International revealed in a report published today, (July 13).

Côte d’Ivoire: The price of continuing impunity

2006-07-17

http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC22332

This report describes human rights abuses against civilians by state security forces, militia forces and by the New Forces during the period of November 2005 to March 2006, and serves to illustrate the human cost of the failure to address impunity and lawlessness in Cote d'Ivoire.

DRC: Diamonds, children and witchcraft

2006-07-17

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54634

Diamonds, the top export in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), are mostly extracted from the middle of the country at Kasai Oriental Province. Yet people there are among the poorest in the DRC and diamonds seem to be tearing apart their society. Children do much of the work and many are killed in accidents or in fighting over diamonds. Distrust is feeding superstition and causing a strange and terrible phenomenon: thousands of children are being accused of witchcraft.

Egypt: Concern over judicial reforms bill

2006-07-17

http://tinyurl.com/rkkao

Leandro Despouy, the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights' Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, on Friday expressed "serious concern" over a recently passed Egyptian judicial reforms bill. Despouy urged Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak not to sign the law, but instead to send the bill back to parliament for "re-discussion ... with the full participation of the Judges' Club and experts in constitutional law, in order to allow the Parliament to adopt a considerably improved version of the law which guarantees the proper functioning of an independent judiciary."

Nigeria: Justice Initiative condemns crackdown

2006-07-17

http://www.justiceinitiative.org/db/resource2?res_id=103294

The Open Society Justice Initiative today (13 July) denounced a police crackdown on a meeting of human rights activists in Abuja and the threatened arrest of meeting organizers. The meeting, termed a "People's Tribunal," was organized by Nigerian human rights NGOs to protest the recent removal of Bukhari Bello as head of Nigeria's National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)—a move interpreted by the NGOs as a direct assault on the independence of that body.

Global: Civil society input crucial to global talks on migration

2006-07-17

http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2006/dsgsm291.doc.htm

As delegates from non-governmental organisations (NGOs), civil society and the private sector gathered at United Nations Headquarters in New York on international migration and development, Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown hailed their input as crucial to the intergovernmental approach to the issue. “The role of civil society is to warn us, and to make sure that we don’t overlook, the real risks of international migration, particularly in the area of human rights,” he told participants.

Angola: Funding shortfall threatens food aid

2006-07-17

http://www.oneworld.net/link/gotoarticle/addhit/136309/8/91390

Efforts to assist more than 700,000 Angolans – mostly young children and returning refugees – will come to a halt unless new donations are received by the end of July, the World Food Programme warns.

EU: Plan to create emergency border squads

2006-07-19

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5193116.stm

A plan to create rapid reaction teams of border guards to deal with a European Union immigration crises has been unveiled by the European Commission. The teams would be assembled by the EU border security agency, Frontex, from lists of experts in member states.

Sudan: Dying Deal in Darfur

2006-07-17

http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/sanction/nkorea/2006/0713hoge.htm

Sudan's refusal to disarm the Janjaweed militias leaves many of the 2.5 million displaced Darfurians strongly opposed to their own peace process. While they greatly desire an end to the violence and the chance to return home, the refugees remain fearful of provisions in the Abuja agreement that would leave them vulnerable to Janjaweed attacks.

Sudan: The political potential of displacement to urban areas

2006-07-19

http://www.review.upeace.org/article.cfm

Using the events of recent decades in the Sudan, this paper argues that localised as well as regional mass population displacement has caused enormous cultural and political transformation that is often overlooked in scholarship about the Sudan. This reality of bringing intact rural communities to the heart of urban Sudan with increased numbers of community-based organisations, has contributed to displacing the state’s (modernist) development discourse and giving muscles and blood to the “religious” - or the “religiously-cloaked ethnic discourse” - on which the state, since 1983, started to lean as means of acquiring legitimacy.

Zimbabwe: Football team banned over illegal migration fear

2006-07-19

http://www.zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=14792

An African under-14s football team has been banned from taking part in an international tournament in Scotland on the orders of the Foreign Office, which claimed the young players might abscond. The 24-strong squad of players from Bulawayo in Zimbabwe had been due to take part in the Aberdeen International Football Festival, which opened in the city yesterday (17 July). But the squad has been refused access to the UK amid fears that they posed a flight risk.

Chad: Parliament votes to end strike

2006-07-20

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54709

The Chadian parliament voted late on Wednesday to meet a demand by the country’s main union for a five percent wage hike, putting in sight an end to the strike which has closed down government offices and healthcare facilities in the capital since early June. “The ministry of finance, sharing the concerns of the finance commission and taking into account the unhealthy social environment, has agreed to a five percent wage increase, backdated to January 2005,” the parliament’s president, Nassour Guelengdouksia, said in a statement.

Nigeria: Want in the Midst of Plenty

2006-07-20

http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?l=1&id=4274

A new background report from the International Crisis Group, the first in a new series on Nigeria, states that: "Nigeria is Africa's most populous nation and perhaps also its most poorly understood. It has endured six successful and numerous failed military coups, a civil war that cost well over a million lives, three inconclusive transitions to democracy and recurrent factional violence. Despite more than $400 billion in oil revenue since the early 1970s, the economy under performs, and the great majority of citizens have benefited little. More effective institution building is imperative."

Côte d’Ivoire: Youths threaten key pre-election ID handout

2006-07-17

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54658

Youths loyal to President Laurent Gbagbo threw up barricades and burned tires in a crowded, poor suburb of Cote d’Ivoire’s largest city on Monday (17 July) as a crucial effort to identify some 3.5 million undocumented Ivorians failed to unfold as planned. The youths, known as Young Patriots, prevented vehicles from circulating in the Abobo neighbourhood and said no hearings to establish citizenship should take place until northern rebels disarmed.

DRC: Rebel chiefs to disarm

2006-07-17

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5187148.stm

A Congolese rebel leader who kidnapped seven Nepalese United Nations peacekeepers in May has agreed to lay down his weapons, the UN says. Peter Karim and 60 of his fighters have agreed to end their war against the government, a UN spokesman said.

DRC: Deaths at election rally

2006-07-19

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5195380.stm

Several people have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo after gunmen fired on an election rally. At the same time, the UN-backed committee overseeing the elections has called for the army to be confined to barracks during the poll on 30 July.

Gambia: Anger at poll head sacking

2006-07-19

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5193916.stm

The Gambia's opposition has criticised the government's decision to sack the independent electoral commission head. No reason has been given for the dismissal, weeks before elections. Opposition leader Halifa Sallah told the BBC that the move confirmed what he called the commission's lack of independence and impartiality.

Somalia: President in talks U-turn

2006-07-17

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5186830.stm

Somalia's interim President Abdullahi Yusuf has dropped his opposition to talks in Sudan with Islamist leaders who control the capital, Mogadishu. He boycotted talks with the Union of Islamic Courts, accusing them of breaking a previously agreed ceasefire.

Africa: Unclear policies blamed for donor aid misuse

2006-07-17

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54556

African countries misuse development aid from donors because of "unclear" policies, Burundi 's first vice-president, Martin Nduwimana, said at an ongoing regional conference on gender and development in Bujumbura. “If we [African governments] set up clear policies, which would put an end to mismanagement, corruption and embezzlement, we will for sure give a chance to the integration of women in all sectors," Nduwimana said in his opening address at the four-day conference organised by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and Burundi's ministry of national solidarity, human rights and gender equality.

Global: Transparency International urges action from G8 chair

2006-07-17

http://www.ipsterraviva.net/Europe/article.aspx?id=3593

Transparency International Chair Huguette Labelle and other civil society leaders including the Secretary General of CIVICUS met on 4 July with Russian President Vladimir Putin to make recommendations on what he and the other G8 nations can do to promote accountability and fight corruption.

Kenya: State Targeting Ministers' Lifestyle

2006-07-17

http://ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=33905

The Kenyan government's directive to have senior officials return luxury cars to cut costs may have been good news to tax payers, but lack of transparency and accountability could undermine the exercise. The government is expected to save about 17 million dollars in running costs, which will be channelled to development projects, from the exercise.

Swaziland: A leisurely pace in tackling corruption

2006-07-17

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=5461

King Mswati III, Swaziland's executive monarch, has finally signed a law empowering the government's Anti-Corruption Unit, 10 years after the body was established. "Corruption remains a challenge for this government. We will rely on the full cooperation of the public, business and the media," Prime Minister Themba Dlamini told a group of local newspaper editors as he announced royal assent to the long-deferred legislation.

UK: Government to launch anti-corruption fund

2006-07-17

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5177410.stm

The UK government wants to boost its foreign aid policy with a £100m fund to tackle developing world corruption. The plans are in a new White Paper, which comes after last year's G8 summit of industrial nations pledged help for African and other developing nations. The £100m Governance Transparency Fund will be used to boost accountability, partly through the media and unions, as well as tackling corruption.

Zimbabwe: Board fined for currency breaches

2006-07-19

http://www.zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=14801

Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) has been fined Z$130 million (£700) after using an offshore account to pay for the purchase of cricket balls from Pakistan. A magistrates court in Harare was told that the board paid £12,000 to Ishan Sports in breach of the country's Exchange Control Regulations. The board pleaded guilty to the charge.

Mali: Alternative forum on G8 takes place

2006-07-20

http://za.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2006-07-16T160310Z_01_ALL657785_RTRIDST_0_OZABS-GROUP-AFRICA-MALI-20060716.XML

Anti-globalisation activists gathered in Mali on Sunday to condemn rich countries' trade and migration policies and call on G8 leaders meeting in Russia to do more to excuse Africa's crippling debt. The three-day meeting, due to conclude on Monday as Group of Eight leaders end their discussions, drew hundreds of people from non-governmental groups from across West Africa, the world's poorest region.

Africa: Expert discusses undelivered G8 promises

2006-07-17

http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,426621,00.html

With the job of implementing promises made at the G8 summit in Gleneagles last year, Peter Eigen, a member of the Africa Progress Panel, discusses his role in ensuring aid promises are fulfilled and corruption in Africa is reduced. "I don't think it will be possible to ignore Africa or North-South relations in general at any future G8 summit," he concluded.

Africa: World Bank asked to abolish lending conditionalities

2006-07-17

http://www.andnetwork.com/index?service=direct/0/Home/recent.titleStory&sp=l44754

The Tanzania Gender Networking Programme has called upon the World Bank President, Paul Wolfowitz to spearhead immediate debt cancellation for Tanzania and all African countries. The call, which also urged the World Bank president to abolish all forms of conditional ties attached to its lending to Africa in general and Tanzania in particular, was made by the Tanzania Gender Networking Programme (TGNP). The appeal by TGNP comes at a time of the visit to the country by the World Bank chief.

Global: Dangerous Mix - Religion & Development Aid

2006-07-17

http://www.comminit.com/strategicthinking/st2005/thinking-1340.html

In this article, the author argues that combining proselytising with humanitarian aid has led to several negative consequences. As a result of these impacts, she believes that the public needs to consider the question "Should faith-based organizations be allowed to proselytise while providing development and humanitarian aid?" These negative impacts are felt not only in the sphere of international opinion, according to the author, but also in the local communities in which these groups work.

Global: Buffet, Gates or Government?

2006-07-17

http://www.oneworld.net/link/gotoarticle/addhit/136246/8/91390

Warren Buffett donates three-quarters of his fortune to the Gates foundation. But aren't states, rather than individuals, a better bet for delivering a fair and just world and reconciling differing interests?

Global: MDG Report 2006

2006-07-17

http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Resources/Static/Products/Progress2006/MDGReport2006.pdf

Six years ago, leaders from every country agreed on a vision for the future – a world with less poverty, hunger and disease, greater survival prospects for mothers and their infants, better educated children, equal opportunities for women, and a healthier environment; a world in which developed and developing countries worked in partnership for the betterment of all. This report shows where the Millennium Development Goals stand in 2006 in achieving these goals.

Southern Africa: The China factor

2006-07-19

http://www.zimbabwejournalists.com/story.php?art_id=696&cat=2

At a recent Democracy and Governance review conference in Pretoria, attended by researchers and policy analysts from Southern Africa, one issue that dominated the discussions of all presenters was the new role of China in Africa. Examples were generally drawn from the very visible role of China in Africa’s economy. This discussion is relevant because only in January 2006, China announced its desire to increase co-operation with African countries by issuing China’s African Policy, a paper intended to guide relations with the continent by continuing what it calls a “non interventionist and non ideological strategy.”
* Related Link
China, Africa and the G8: the missing link
http://www.opendemocracy.net/globalization-institutions_government/china_africa_g8_3725.jsp

Tanzania: Country in precarious position over trade pact

2006-07-17

http://www.bilaterals.org/article.php3?id_article=5223

Tanzania is lagging behind in preparing to sign a deal that will determine how it trades with Europe for a long time to come. Only a few months remain before the end of negotiations for a new Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries and the European Union. As a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Tanzania’s interests are being negotiated within the South Africa-based economic grouping.

DRC: Forgotten killer is back

2006-07-20

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54690

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is experiencing a deluge of forgotten diseases. The collapsing health system, wars and ensuing movements of people created fertile ground for their revival. The most feared disease is African trypanosomiasis or sleeping sickness: it leads to the graveyard if left untreated.

Africa: Six New TB Vaccines in Trials

2006-07-17

http://allafrica.com/stories/200607120161.html

Six new tuberculosis (TB) vaccines are in phase one trials in Gambia, Mali, Tanzania, Ethiopia and South Africa under the supervision of World Health Organisation’s Initiative for Vaccine Research and Stop TB Programme. According to MedScape, many of the vaccines are using replicas of the bacteria. Others are recombinant vaccines where the bacteria are reproduced by genetic engineering.

Global: Quest for the cure

2006-07-17

http://foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3494

More than a third of the world’s population doesn’t have access to essential medications. Greedy drug companies, government bureaucracies, and apathy all get in the way. Some brave scientists have had enough of the high costs and red tape. They’re frustrated, they’re mad, and now they’re finding ways to buck the system.

Ethiopia: Clinton launches AIDS program

2006-07-17

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060716/hl_afp/healthaidsethiopia_060716212704

Former US president Bill Clinton launched a program to help children suffering from AIDS in Ethiopia, where close to 3 million people are estimated to be infected with the deadly virus. Under the program, the Clinton Foundation will fund the program at a cost of 250,000 dollars (200,000 euros) and provide 23 medical experts from Yale University to work in 13 hospitals across the country for one year.

Kenya: Battling malaria in western region

2006-07-17

http://tinyurl.com/ohrhg

One-year-old Cosmas Wambua lies unconscious on the bare hospital mattress with IV tubes draining into his weak body. He is in a critical condition following a severe attack of malaria. He is also malnourished. His mother watches over him, barely moving from her seat, afraid of the worst, but hoping and praying for her son's recovery, reports Alertnet

Nigeria: Country will meet December target to eradicate polio

2006-07-17

http://tinyurl.com/gmsw3

Health officials in northern Nigeria, supported by UN health agencies, have declared a five-day polio immunisation campaign a success and expressed confidence they can meet a December 2006 deadline to eradicate the disease among 10 million children. "I wish to reiterate the commitment of the federal government of Nigeria to the interruption of the wide polio virus transmission by the end of 2006," Health Minister Eyitayo Lambo told a meeting of international health and donor agencies as well as health officials from the region.

Zimbabwe: Doctors vow to stay away until demands met

2006-07-19

http://www.zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=14796

Zimbabwean state doctors entered the fifth day of a strike on Tuesday (18 July) that has crippled public health services and they have vowed to stay away from work until demands for better salaries and working conditions are met. Zimbabwe's health workers have staged a series of strikes in recent years to press for increases in salaries they said have failed to keep up with rising living costs amid an economic crisis widely blamed on President Robert Mugabe's 26-year rule.

Africa: Achieving quality distance learning

2006-07-17

http://www.id21.org/education/e3jg2g1.html

Distance education and open learning can be flexible and cost effective. It is particularly important for women and others unable to attend full-time education in rural areas. However, while South Africa has around fifty providers, the rest of sub-Saharan Africa has very few.

Global: Role playing in online education

2006-07-17

http://www.comminit.com/materials/ma2005/materials-2256.html

This article advocates for online role playing as an educational tool that engages and promotes sustained learning. The author suggests that role playing connects students to the course material - and to each other - more intimately and successfully than a traditional lecture can. She provides technical tips for establishing an online "theatre", describes three role-playing assignment models, and evaluates those models.

Global: Scaling up good practices in girls' education

2006-07-17

http://tinyurl.com/lnrbj

Now available in Spanish and Arabic, this UNESCO publication focuses on strategies for meeting international targets and national goals for universalizing girls’ access to, retention in and completion of quality education. Published within the framework of the United Nations Girls' Education Initiative (UNGEI), the Education For All flagship for girls' education and the principal movement to narrow the gender gap in primary and secondary education.

Global: Are PRSPs changing education policy making?

2006-07-17

http://www.id21.org/education/e1fc1g1.html

Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs), now operational in sixty least-developed countries, open access to debt relief and are the basis for concessional lending by international financial institutions. Most PRSPs stress education and refer to Education for All (EFA) objectives. However, the strategy and the financing required to achieve them are unspecified.

Global: Analysis casts doubt on donations for education

2006-07-19

http://tinyurl.com/fl7z8

Education often has inspired governments and donor agencies to promise dates by which all children worldwide will be in primary school, but such promises have yet to be realized, The Economist writes in this analysis. Twelve billion dollars already has been donated by the World Bank, and more has been promised, but a recent Independent Evaluation Group study found that despite increased enrollment rates and student incentives, school construction tends to be more successful than the quality of education.

Global: Women for science

2006-07-19

http://topics.developmentgateway.org/gender/rc/ItemDetail.do?itemId=1066641

The low representation of women in science and engineering is a major hindrance to global capacity building in science and technology. This report presents recommendations and action items grouped around three themes: * Academies advocating and promoting the education and careers of women; * Academies acting, both individually and jointly, to engage women in global capacity building; * Academies building inclusive institutional climates and advising governments and other principal players on specific actions toward similar ends.

South Africa: Child support grants increase school enrolment

2006-07-17

http://www.id21.org/society/s5cac1g1.html

Cash benefits for children are reducing the impact of poverty on school enrolment in South Africa. In KwaZulu-Natal, child support grants are helping children, particularly from the poorest families, to be educated. Families receiving such grants are more likely to send their children to school at earlier ages than other equally poor households.

Africa: Threat of global warming

2006-07-17

http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article1174080.ece

Climate change could have a devastating impact on Africa, wiping out all the benefits from the measures to help the continent agreed by the world's richest nations last year. The warning will be issued by the British Government today (July 13) when it announces plans to bring poor countries into the next round of international discussions to combat global warming.

Africa: Helping to light up the continent

2006-07-17

http://www.id21.org/rural/r6ad1g2.html

Africa produces seven percent of the world’s commercial energy but consumes only three percent. Only 23 percent of people in sub-Saharan Africa have access to electricity. In rural areas 92 percent of the population live without electricity. A study from Practical Action, UK asserts that this lack of access to energy is significantly contributing to poverty.

Global: ICTs and the environment

2006-07-17

http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5038550

A working group of members of the Association for Progressive Communication (APC) aims to bring environment higher on the ICT policy priorities of global civil society. Information and communication technologies are a powerful tool for civil society protecting environment. But more is needed to streamline ICT work of different groups and communities, and offer them access to the ICTs they need to secure environmental sustainability, a BlueLink/APC survey shows.

Darfur: Peace must address water crisis

2006-07-19

http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=10888

There is no chance of peace in Darfur unless the region's dire water shortages are tackled as part of a settlement between rebels and the Sudanese government, a top international economist said.

DRC: Big Win for Conservation

2006-07-19

http://www.enn.com/net.html?id=1576

About 15 years after a process was initiated to create a Protected Area for the conservation of one of the world's best studied bonobo populations, the Ministry of Environment and Conservation of Nature, Waters and Forests has announced today (17 July) the gazettement of the Faunal Reserve of Lomako-Yokokala.

Zimbabwe: Mugabe to discuss power

2006-07-19

http://www.irn.org

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe will discuss three hydropower projects with a Russian company known as TurboEngineering, ZimOnline said, citing government officials and a letter from the Russians.

Africa: Lessons from agricultural reform

2006-07-17

http://www.id21.org/society/s7bad1g1.html

Small scale farming is critical to many people’s livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa, yet there has been little or no growth in food crop productivity over the past 30 years. This failure leads us to questions about the effectiveness of agricultural liberalisation policies in reducing poverty.

Zimbabwe: Matonga kicks out Mugabe ally

2006-07-17

http://www.zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=14787

Prominent Zanu PF financier in Mashonaland West province, Tom Beattie, is on the verge of losing his citrus-exporting Chigwell Estate near Chegutu as government has resolved to subdivide his land to resettle farmers. Documents in the possession of the Zimbabwe Independent show that Zanu PF has turned its back on Beattie for his "intransigence" and subdivided Chigwell into 16 plots as punishment.

Egypt: Journalists challenge press law

2006-07-20

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=33955

Many journalists and opposition leaders are opposing a new law approved by parliament this week. They say the law fails to protect editors and reporters from imprisonment for so-called press violations. "The passage of this law actually represents a slight deterioration (of press freedom)," Hisham Kassem, vice-chairman of the leading independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm told IPS.

Global: Amnesty International launches global campaign against Internet repression

2006-07-20

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/media/36051

Following the success of the launch of its internet freedom campaign in the UK, Amnesty International is today going global with irrepressible.info. The campaign aims to claim back the web as a force for change in the face of an increasing willingness on the part of technology companies to aid censorship and repression.
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE
AI Index: ACT 30/016/2006
20 July 2006

Following the success of the launch of its internet freedom campaign in the UK, Amnesty International is today going global with irrepressible.info. The campaign aims to claim back the web as a force for change in the face of an increasing willingness on the part of technology companies to aid censorship and repression.

From Iran to the Maldives and Cuba to Vietnam, governments are both cracking down on those who use the internet to communicate their views and denying their citizens access to its wealth of information. Web users are locked up, internet cafes are shut down, chat rooms are policed and blogs deleted. Websites are blocked, foreign news banned, and search engines filter out sensitive results.

"The internet can be a great tool for the promotion of human rights -- activists can tell the world about abuses in their country at the click of a mouse. People have unprecendented access to information from the widest range of sources," said Amnesty International.

"But the internet's potential for change is being undermined -- by governments unwilling to tolerate this free media outlet, and by companies willing to help them repress free speech."

Sun Microsystems, Nortel Networks, Cisco Systems, Yahoo! and Google are among those companies implicated in helping governments censor the internet or track down individual users. In 2004, Microsoft released information about nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu to the Israeli authorities without his knowledge or consent. The data was initially used to prosecute Vanunu for having contact with foreign media.

"We are calling on internet users across the world to go to http://irrepressible.info and sign a pledge calling on all governments and companies to respect internet freedom," said Amnesty International. "Internet companies often claim to be ethically responsible -- these pledges will highlight how their cooperation in repression risks making them complicit in human rights abuses and damages their credibility."

The online pledges will be collected and presented to a key UN meeting on the future of the internet in November 2006.

To coincide with the launch of the international campaign, Amnesty International is releasing a report about the role of Yahoo!, Microsoft and Google in internet repression in China. The apparatus of internet repression is considered to be more advanced in China than in any other country and companies are particularly willing to cooperate with the Chinese government.

The report, Undermining freedom of expression in China, can be found at http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGPOL300262006

Global: Mad Mundo

2006-07-17

http://www.articlez.fr

Produced by Article Z, an electronic media agency, Mad Mundo uses journalism and storytelling techniques to explore the impact of globalisation on individual lives. Investigations by journalists into personal stories help to introduce wider issues of globalisation, and are combined with interactive online discussions.

DRC: Trio in military court over journalist's murder

2006-07-17

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54589

Three suspects have appeared before a military tribunal in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, facing murder charges over the death of a journalist and his wife eight months ago. The suspects are two policemen and a soldier. They allegedly murdered Franck Ngyke and his wife on 3 November at their Kinshasa residence.

Gambia: Daily Observer journalist still in detention

2006-07-17

http://www.civicus.org/new/media/MalickMboob.doc

Malick Mboob, a former "Daily Observer" journalist, is still in National Intelligence Agency (NIA) custody, 42 days after his arrest by the Gambian police force. He has been in arbitrary detention without trial far in excess of the 72 hours that the Gambian 1997 constitution stipulates, since his arrest on 26 May 2006.

South Africa: Young in Prison Project

2006-07-17

http://www.comminit.com/africa/experiences/pds12005/experiences-2885.html

This is a media training initiative operating inside the youth section of Cape Town's Pollsmoor Prison, South Africa. The project works with 12 incarcerated males from the ages of 16 to 18, who meet weekly to co-produce radio stories about various aspects of prison life. Using radio production and training as both a means of building communication skills and as a forum for group dialogue, the Young in Prison Radio Project aims to provide a space for the young inmates to collectively dialogue about issues that are important to their personal development and rehabilitation, and to share their experiences with the outside world.

Zambia: Government under pressure over freedom of information bill

2006-07-17

http://africa.oneworld.net/link/gotoarticle/addhit/134849/611/91064

Zambia's approaching general elections have increased pressure on the government to enact the Freedom of Information bill, more than three years after it was withheld for "wider consultation".

Zimbabwe: Government accused of radio jamming

2006-07-17

http://africa.oneworld.net/link/gotoarticle/addhit/136053/611/91064

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on the Zimbabwean government to stop the alleged jamming of news broadcasts by radio stations based in the United States and Britain.

Brazil: Lula calls for cooperation

2006-07-17

http://english.people.com.cn/200607/13/eng20060713_282685.html

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called for greater ties between Africa and Brazil, as well as greater reform efforts at the United Nations, at the Second Conference of Intellectuals from Africa and the Diaspora. The conference, held in northeastern Brazil, seeks to promote greater cooperation between African countries and the African Diaspora in bringing about social development.

Global: Lawyers call for end to attack on Lebanon

2006-07-20

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/conflict/36052

The National Association of Democratic Lawyers of South Africa has condemned the "flagrant breaches of international humanitarian law and the violations of the human rights of Palestinians further exacerbated by the latest attack by Israel on the residents of Gaza in Palestine". The group has called on the South African government to immediately recall the South African ambassador from Tel Aviv and to begin the process of ending diplomatic relations with Israel.
Related Links:
- Lebanon Diary
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=107&ItemID=10598
- "Open War" in the Middle East
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=107&ItemID=10594
- Blogs
http://lebanonupdates.blogspot.com/
http://siegeoflebanon.blogspot.com/
http://www.fromisraeltolebanon.org/
NADEL CONDEMNS ISRAEL S FLAGRANT BREACH OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW

Press Release

The National Association of Democratic Lawyers of South Africa condemns the
flagrant breaches of international humanitarian law and the violations of
the human rights of Palestinians further exacerbated by the latest attack by
Israel on the residents of Gaza in Palestine.

We must never forget that Israel was created by the United Nations in 1948
at a time when it consisted primarily of colonising countries and when most
of the present day developing world was still under the yoke of colonialism.
It was the atonement for the West s guilt for the Holocaust that two thirds
of Palestine was given to the one third that followed the Jewish faith.
Hundreds of thousands of Arab residents of Palestine (Moslems, Christians
and atheists) were ethnically cleansed from their lands and made into
refugees. Respect for human rights knows no geographic boundaries, ethnic
exclusions or religious bias.

The hollow justification of the capture of one Israeli soldier does not
legitimise the destruction of electricity generation plants, water
purification facilities, the bombing of schools and universities and the
imprisonment of half of the elected members of the Palestine Legislative
Assembly. Gaza is a huge refugee camp consisting of approximately 1.2
million people cramped into an area 45 km long, 5-12 km in width. Since
Israel s so called withdrawal from Gaza, it has been converted into a huge
open air prison with Israel controlling all its borders and airspace.
Israel has fired hundreds of artillery shells into the Gaza strip. It is an
uneven struggle of F16 jets, attack helicopters and tanks against persons
armed with AK 47s , RPGs and crude missiles. The captured Israeli soldier
was a serving member of an occupying army. Israel has imprisoned thousands
of Palestinians, including women and children. Some of them sentenced by so
called military courts and many in administrative detention.

We associate ourselves with the views expressed by our allies in the
struggle against apartheid, the South African Council of Churches and the
Congress of South African Trade Unions. We recognise the support of the
National Lawyers Guild during our struggle and applaud their continued fight
against oppression in Palestine. We remember that it was Israel that
welcomed the apartheid prime minister, John Vorster, on an official state
visit. Israel supplied arms to apartheid South Africa, sent military
advisers to occupied Namibia to assist the then SADF and collaborated with
the apartheid regime in the development of the nuclear bomb. It was the
Palestinian people who were our allies in the struggle. Our triumph over
apartheid gave them renewed hope for their own struggle. Atrocities are
being committed daily in Gaza, the continued building of the apartheid wall
has been condemned as illegal by the International Court of Justice,
marriages between Palestinians in the occupied territories and within Israel
are prohibited, (which brings back memories of our Prohibition of Mixed
Marriages Act), which prohibition was upheld by the Israeli Supreme Court
and the continued theft of Palestinian land. It is estimated that Israel
wants to annex over fifty percent of the remaining rump of Palestine. There
are roads in the occupied territories, which are reserved for Israelis only.
The Palestinians have different coloured number plates and their vehicles
are not permitted to use these roads or enter Israeli occupied areas such as
Jerusalem. Permits are required, and mostly denied, for travel between
towns in the occupied territories. Bethlehem, the birthplace of Christ, is a
fifteen-minute drive from Jerusalem. Yet there are residents of Bethlehem
who have never been to Jerusalem because they have been denied permits.
Bethlehem is completely hemmed in by the apartheid wall and Jewish
settlements. The last remaining forest has been replaced by an Israeli
settlement.

Israeli apologists are very sensitive to comparisons with apartheid South
Africa, largely because the truth hurts. The present policy being applied in
the occupied territories is akin to our Bantustans. This is only a misnomer
in the sense that our Bantustans , believe it or not, were larger pieces of
contiguous territory. The Israelis have divided the occupied West Bank into
areas akin to our Black townships. Entrance and exit from these areas are at
the whim of teenage Israeli soldiers. This results in daily humiliation at
these checkpoints with children being stopped from going to school, students
to university, ill persons to hospital and the blocking of transport of
fresh produce to markets. Palestinians from the occupied territories are not
allowed to use the airport in Tel Aviv. The Israelis have destroyed the
airport in Gaza. Instead, provided they receive the requisite permits, they
must travel to Jordan, which involves a full days journey and an overnight
stay, and even then they may be denied permission to leave at the border.
This against a forty-five minute journey from Jerusalem. This daily
oppression and humiliation is combined with the daily killing of
Palestinians. Approximately 3000 civilians, not combatants, have been killed
in the last five years. A 2004 field study published in the British Medical
Journal reported that, in the previous four years, Two-thirds of the 621
children ... killed [by the Israelis] at checkpoints ... on the way to
school, in their homes, died from small arms fire, directed in over half the
cases to the head, neck and chest the sniper s wound .

Yet our national airline, SAA, has an agreement with El Al whereby you book
with SAA but EL Al flies you to the apartheid Tel Aviv airport. Our
democratic government has entered into business agreements and other deals
with Israel. How can this be ever justified? We must applaud the stance
taken by Minister Ronnie Kasrils and many other South Africans, including
persons of the Jewish faith. They remain true to the ideals we fought for.
The striving for justice for all is much more important than a retreat to a
tribal identity.

People who say that both sides are equally to blame are simply wrong.
Unlike South Africa, where we demanded, fought for and eventually won a
unitary state, under the rule of law with constitutionally entrenched human
rights, the Palestinians are willing to settle for much less: The Oslo
Accords which the Israelis have sabotaged, and the two principal political
parties, Fatah and now Hamas (which has indicated a willingness) accept the
creation of a Palestinian state in the remaining one third of historic
Palestine which encompasses all the occupied territories along the 1967
border, a resolution of the issue of Palestinian refugees, preferably a
right to return as is guaranteed by international humanitarian law and the
sharing of Jerusalem. Distortions about offers made by Barak or that
Palestinians willingly left their homes are neither borne out by facts nor
do anything to take the process further. The Palestinians have the right to
basic human rights of statehood and sovereignty in a contiguous territory
like any other peoples. Either Israel should allow the creation of the
Palestinian state, or forego the two state approach for one democratic state
of Palestine/Israel. It cannot have it both ways. Forget about the
hypocrisy of the governments of the USA and the EU states. By virtue of our
history, we have an obligation to support the just struggle of the
Palestinian peoples right to self-determination.

Accordingly we support the following:

* The call on the South African government to immediately recall the
South African ambassador from Tel Aviv and to begin the process of ending
diplomatic relations with Israel.
* The call on all South Africans to establish a strong, forceful and
determined boycott and sanctions campaign against the Israeli apartheid
state until the end of the occupation.
* The call on South Africans to identify a national day of action in
solidarity with the Palestinian people and to observe it with rolling mass
action around the country.
* The call on the South African government to ensure that no South
African serves in any capacity in the Israeli Occupation Forces and that any
South African citizen doing so will be prosecuted under the Regulation of
Foreign Military Assistance Act;
* The demand that Israel immediately withdraws all Israeli Occupation
Forces from Gaza and ends the occupation of Palestinian lands;
* The demand that Israel abides by the provisions of international
humanitarian law and human rights law, and refrains from imposing collective
punishment on Palestinian civilians (as per the UN Human Rights Council
declaration issued on 6 July 2006);
* The call on Israel to release all detained Palestinian ministers and
legislators and to release all political prisoners including hundreds of
women and children;
* The call on the EU and the USA to stop the severe sanctions imposed
on the Palestinian Authority as a penalty for exercising their democratic
right and electing a government of their choice. This by itself is a brutal
intervention on behalf of the occupation
* The call on the United Nations to implement the advisory opinion of
the International Court of Justice on Israel s Apartheid wall;
* The call on the United Nations to ensure that Israel fulfils its
obligations in terms of international law.
* The demand that Israel immediately cease all military attacks and
lift the economic embargo imposed on Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza
Strip.

* Strongly condemns Israel's actions designed to achieve its threat
that it "will not allow the Palestinian government to survive."

* The calls upon the international community to join in our strong
condemnation of Israel's belligerent crimes against humanity and gross
violations of international law, including Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva
Convention prohibiting collective punishment and Article 48 forbidding
military actions against civilian populations and infrastructure.

* Emphasizes the international community must continue to insist
Israel immediately implement other international laws including U.N.
Resolution 194.

* Stress that while condemnation of Israel's most recent crimes
against humanity is critical, the international community must look as a
whole at Israel's gross violations of international law since its inception.
Israel's unbroken pattern of crimes against humanity plainly uncovers the
following reality: for nearly six decades Israel has been engaged in well-
planned, systematic, and continuous campaign intended to destroy the
Palestinian people, culture, civil society and the infrastructure of life
itself.

* The call upon the international community to expose the myth that
Israel has "disengaged" from Gaza despite Israel's continued control of
Gaza's airspace, sea space, land borders, public services (including water,
sewage, electricity, and telecommunication networks).

* The call upon the international community to send immediate aid to
Palestinians, including food, water, and medicine.

* Urge the international community to step-up its efforts to

boycott, sanction, and disinvest from Israel.



We further call for an urgent dialogue with the South African Government to
determine a common approach between government and civil society on the
resolution of the Israel/Palestinian crisis.


ISSUED BY:

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF DEMOCRATIC LAWYERS
(NADEL)
JULY 2006

Côte d’Ivoire: President slams UN bias

2006-07-17

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5187210.stm

President Laurent Gbagbo has strongly criticised the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast. He says it is biased in favour of rebels who have been in control of the north since 2002. Some 10,000 French and United Nations peacekeepers monitor a buffer zone between the rebels in the north and the government-held south.

Global: Youth and violent conflict

2006-07-17

http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC22373

This review explores the intersection between youth and violent conflict, with a view to enhancing policy and offering programming guidance. The review identifies key issues related to youth and violent conflict, explores how the issue of youth and violent conflict is currently address in key policy frameworks, and offers an overview of current programmes put in place by UNDP and other key international actors.

Global: UN world conference on small arms collapses

2006-07-17

http://www.amnesty.org

The UN world conference on small arms has collapsed without agreement, despite the majority of governments, including the European Union, and many African and Latin American governments, backing tougher controls on the international trade in small arms and light weapons. The conference, which ended on Friday 7 July, collapsed after a small number of states, most prominently the United States, blocked key issues so consistently that no agreement was possible.

Burundi: Rebels attack civilians as ceasefire talks continue

2006-07-19

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54693

The Forces nationales de libération (FNL), Burundi's remaining active rebel group, has continued to attack civilians even as it continues ceasefire negotiations with the government in Dar es Salaam, the commercial capital of Tanzania.

Sudan: Tension in southern town after soldiers rampage

2006-07-19

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54688

Four soldiers and seven civilians were killed in the southern Sudanese town of Rubkona after soldiers of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the southern Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) opened fire in the middle of town, according to residents.

Uganda: Turning Karamoja away from guns

2006-07-19

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54675

The fall of the infamous dictator Idi Amin heralded a new era for Uganda. Unfortunately for the northeastern region of Karamoja it also heralded the era of the gun. Fleeing soldiers abandoned their arsenal of automatic weapons and local pastoralist Karamojong quickly found that the Kalashnikov was more effective than the spear. Cattle raiding would never be the same again.

Uganda: We Need Oil Wealth Like a Hole in the Head

2006-07-17

http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/uganda/2006/0711oil.htm

With a nation that has been struggling under "poverty, a huge debt and general deprivation," Ugandans might be expected to rejoice at the discovery of oil fields in their country. However, a post independence history of corruption, mismanagement and violence over the control of natural resources has left Ugandan's people skeptical whether they will see any benefit of the country's new wealth. This East African opinion piece highlights the potential for conflict within Uganda over the oil found in the Bunyoro region where a separatist movement still exists.

Western Sahara: Conflict and the role of natural resources

2006-07-17

http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC22017

This collection of articles looks at the role of natural resources in Western Sahara and outlines the framework for Western Sahara's independence from Morocco. There is no doubt that the question of the natural resources of Western Sahara such as fish, oil and phosphates has been the main reason for the interest in the area in question. As in so many places all over the globe the exploitation of natural resources including the job opportunities it creates for the occupiers makes states and people react selfishly and in conflict with international law.

Uganda: Rebels refused ceasefire

2006-07-19

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5194436.stm

Ugandan government negotiators at peace talks in Sudan have refused to sign a ceasefire agreement with the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels. The government delegation left the talks early on Tuesday (17 July), saying the rest of the agenda must be dealt with first.

Africa: Beating the big guys

2006-07-20

http://whiteafrican.com/?p=263

There’s a window of opportunity in Africa right now, says the blog White African. "Many of the 'big' web companies don’t realize the potential that Africa represents in the web and mobile space, so they ignore it. Those who act now have a chance to own that market and take advantage of Africa being an afterthought."

Global: The challenge of internet governance

2006-07-20

http://www.cdt.org/publications/policyposts/2006/13

As the Internet becomes increasingly essential to politics, commerce and daily life, the debate over Internet governance has evolved from a niche discussion among technologists into a global controversy over who should set the rules for one of the world's most vital resources. As the US Government plots its path forward and reconsiders its special role in overseeing the Internet's addressing system, it is important to determine how the shifting global environment is likely to affect the outcome of any US decision about the future of Internet governance.

Africa: How to Help Technology Help Entrepreneurs?

2006-07-17

http://topics.developmentgateway.org/ict/rc/ItemDetail.do?itemId=1066925

Many are raving about the impressive upswing in African cell phone usage, and the positive effects this might have on the continent's development. But what next? For Africa to fully reap the benefits of information and communication technologies (ICT), investment in broadband Internet and other technology is also necessary.

Africa: Prospects for fiber optic technology

2006-07-17

http://topics.developmentgateway.org/ict/rc/ItemDetail.do?itemId=1066932

In Africa, the channels of communication are underdeveloped or inappropriate due to numerous factors. This paper outlines the prospects for fiber optic technology in Africa and looks at some fiber optic networks in Africa, examining how fiber optics applications are being used to enhance technological and economic development.

Global: Steps to successful e-governance

2006-07-17

http://topics.developmentgateway.org/ict/rc/ItemDetail.do?itemId=1067070

Many e-Governance projects are not succeeding or are facing bottlenecks. There is resistance to change or duplication of efforts in many initiatives. There are local language issues in some cases and lack of planning in others. Lack of infrastructure is a bottleneck in some countries while in others Universal Access is an issue.

Global: Wireless technology and development

2006-07-17

http://www.panos.org.uk/files/wsistoolkit4.pdf

Going the last mile: what’s stopping a wireless revolution? For many people in the world, communication facilities are unreliable, slow and costly. The use of wireless technology is one way in which this situation could be transformed. So why are some governments restricting its wider use?

Ethiopia: Activists promote FOSS

2006-07-17

http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?id=1054&s=news

NGOs APC and Catia have joined forces with the Ethiopian Free and Open Source Network to host a series of workshops over the next 10 days (July 13-23) to promote the use of free and open source software in that country. The series of three workshops will range from FOSS policy discussions to advanced systems administrator training.

Malawi: ICT - a necessity in rural areas?

2006-07-17

http://topics.developmentgateway.org/ict/rc/ItemDetail.do?itemId=1066192

In her opening address to this year’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) fair in Blantyre in February, Information and Tourism Minister Patricia Kaliati challenged companies involved in the ICT sector to take technology to people on the ground. "As government, we would like ICT products to be enjoyed by many. We would like to see people in Limbuli, Makanjira and Mkando having access to ICT products. We would like to see the local tomato grower in the village using the internet to access markets for his or her products,” said Kaliati.

Morocco: Move to free software

2006-07-17

http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?id=1055&s=news

One of Morocco's first government departments to start the move to free software has chosen to switch its servers to Mandriva Linux and is looking at switching desktops to Linux in the near future in a move that could save them as much as 80% of their acquisition and support costs.

South Africa: Thetha - The SANGONeT ICT Discussion Forum

2006-07-17

http://tinyurl.com/e5tps

The theme of this event is "Corporate Social Investment (CSI) and the IT Sector - Strategies for Engagement with the NGO Sector". The objective of the event is to create an opportunity for dialogue and interaction between IT companies and NGOs, highlighting different CSI strategies and approaches that are being implemented by IT companies, and how these interventions relate to the needs and expectations of NGOs and the communities they serve.

Global: Special offer for Pambazuka News readers

2006-07-19

http://www.quickguidesonline.com

QuickGuides are 24 page books, readable in an hour, covering the fundraising and management needs of both large and small organisations. QuickGuides are the perfect way to learn about a subject quickly and easily, and because they are written and reviewed by knowledgeable professionals from all around the world they will be useful wherever you operate as they are not country specific. And with 6 new titles to add to our current 22 and more planned for 2007 - from sources of funding to events planning, motivating staff to marketing – it’s all there. At £8 or US$14 per book, QuickGuides are accessible to all, and you can build your own library of expertise. And as a reader of Pambazuka News, you can take advantage of a special promotion of 3 books for the price of 2 until the end of October 2006. Or for £125 you can buy an entire library of all 28 titles. QuickGuides are a resource you can’t afford not to have. Quote ref: pambazuka and order online now at our online bookshop.

Global: Call for Proposals

2006-07-19

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/fundraising/36021

This is an open call for proposals to collaborate on an issue of id21 insights - published by id21 (www.id21.org/insights) at the UK Institute of Development Studies. We are inviting potential 'guest editors' from the international development research community to propose a topic for an issue of id21 insights due out in early 2007.
This is an open call for proposals to collaborate on an issue of id21 insights - published by id21 at the UK Institute of Development Studies (www.ids.ac.uk). We are inviting potential 'guest editors' from the international development research community to propose a topic for an issue of id21 insights due out in early 2007. We are looking for submissions on research topics we haven't covered before (see back issues at: www.id21.org/insights)

Submissions need to have a strong policy focus and can be offered jointly. They should also include the best most recent research on the chosen topic and should not be related to just one research programme or institution's work. Submissions should consist of the following:
* A 500-word outline of the proposed theme, with an
explanation of its relevance to id21's target readership of policymakers and development practitioners in developing countries.
* A list of up to 10 possible articles and who would write them, with a brief description of subject matter, research findings and policy recommendations the articles would cover.

If your proposal is accepted you will collaborate with id21 on this issue of id21 insights and with an Academic Advisor chosen for his/her expertise on the topic. You would also write the editorial.

For more information on id21 insights please see
www.id21.org/insights Before submitting an outline we urge you to familiarise yourself with the format and editorial style by viewing previous issues of id21 insights on the website or we can send you print copies by post.

Please submit proposals of no more 1000 words by 1st September 2006
to: Shanti Mahendra id21
Institute of Development Studies,
University of Sussex,
Brighton BN1 9RE, UK
Fax: +44 (0) 1273 877335
Email: id21societyeconomy@ids.ac.uk

Global: Preventing unsafe abortion and its consequences

2006-07-17

http://www.guttmacher.org/sections/abortion.php?pub=reports

This book is a collection of contributions by participants of the meeting on Priorities and Needs in the Area of Unsafe Abortion, organized by the UNDP, UNFPA, WHO and the World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction (HRP) in August 2000.

Australia: Call for papers - new racisms, new anti-racisms

2006-07-17

http://www.civicus.org/new/media/new-racismsnewant-racisms.doc

The Research Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences and the Department of Anthropology at University of Sydney, along with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission invite your participation in New Racisms: New Anti-Racisms on 3 - 5 November 2006 at the University of Sydney.

Southern Africa: MISA Press Freedom Awards

2006-07-17

http://www.misa.org/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?category=6&id=1152640787

The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) is inviting nominations for its annual Press Freedom Award. The award, with a cash prize of US$1,000, is given to honor excellence in journalism. Excellence in journalism may be described as the upholding of ethics of the profession at all costs and the relentless pursuit of truth behind the bare facts.

Global: Gender-inclusive decision making

2006-07-17

http://peace.sandiego.edu/reports/ConferenceReports/WhoIsMakingPolicy.html

International resolutions and agreements call for women to be at all policy-making tables. This is an international working conference on the shaping of peacemaking, peacekeeping, and peacebuilding policies when women are more engaged. Experts will present signs of influence on policy direction as women and men work jointly on peace and human security issues.

Global: Education International Congress

2006-07-17

http://www.ei-ie.org/congress5/en/

Education International will be holding its 5th triennial World Congress in Berlin, Germany from 22nd to 26th July, 2007. The World Congress meets every three years to adopt policies and approve programmes and financial and other reports. It provides an opportunity for representatives of member organisations from all over the world to meet and consider the major issues affecting their organisations. The EI Executive Board has decided that the theme of the 5th Congress should be "Educators - Joining Together for Quality Education and Social Justice".

Global: AMARC Community Radio Conference

2006-07-17

http://amarc9.amarc.org/

Hundreds of community radio practitioners and experts from around the world will be meeting in Amman, Jordan, on 11-17 November 2006 to discuss ways of enabling community radio to play a more effective role in reducing poverty, supporting marginalised groups and increasing access to information for isolated communities. The occasion is the 9th conference of the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC).

Senegal: Conflict resolution in Africa

2006-07-19

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/courses/36034

The Non-Governmental Organization, Femmes Africa Solidarité (F.A.S), and the regional branch of the University of Peace (Upeace) in Costa Rica, are organizing an intensive short-course on Gender, Peace and Development, from 16 to 22 July 2006, at Laguna Beach in Mbodiène, in the department of Mbour in Senegal. The opening ceremony will be presided over by the Minister of Education, Sunday 16 July at 4pm, and will be attended by a number of important academics and researchers in the field of gender and peace.
CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN AFRICA
A Masters in Gender and Peacebuilding in Dakar

The Non-Governmental Organization, Femmes Africa Solidarité (F.A.S), and the regional branch of the University of Peace (Upeace) in Costa Rica, are organizing an intensive short-course on Gender, Peace and Development, from 16 to 22 July 2006, at Laguna Beach in Mbodiène, in the department of Mbour in Senegal. The opening ceremony will be presided over by the Minister of Education, Sunday 16 July at 4pm, and will be attended by a number of important academics and researchers in the field of gender and peace.

Participants from over thirty different countries in Africa and around the world are coming together for this short course, which will be taught by a number of specialists in gender, peace and development. The course will be based on curriculum developed for the Masters in Gender, Peace and Development, one of the programs of the Panafrican Centre for Gender, Peace and Development.

This Centre is an initiative launched by Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS) May 1-2 2005, on the occasion of the Forum on Dialogue between Arab Women on Economic and Political Issues and the African Gender Award, presented to Abdoulaye Wade of Sénégal and Thabo Mbeki of South Africa.

The training courses of the Centre will focus on three programmatic areas: “Gender and Peace Building”; “Leadership and Governance”; and “Economic Empowerment of Women and Development”. The first concept will be developed with the support of the University for Peace (UPEACE) of Costa Rica with whom FAS signed a Memorandum of Understanding in November 2005.

At the same time, FAS is in the process of collaborating with the Instituto de Empresa in Madrid with the view of jointly developing the programme of the Centre on “Economic Empowerment of Women and Development.”

In addition, FAS envisions a cooperative agreement with the Centre Carmel of Israel in the area of Leadership and Governance

A harmonization seminar took place March 10-11 2006 at Notovel Hotel in Dakar, under the presence of the Minister of Women Affairs, Family and Social Development and the Deputy Minister of Education in charge of curriculum development, to permit the harmonization of programmes by FAS and UPEACE before the launching of the Centre’s courses.

F.A.S, which has just launched a study of 10 years of Peacebuilding in Africa, works in partnership with several international institutions and United Nations agencies.



For more information, contact the Communications Officer at the Regional Office of FAS, located in Dakar at 221 860-20-48 or at 221 550-52-47 or go to the website : WWW.fasngo.org

International Secretariat
8, Rue du Vieux-Billard,
P.O. Box 5037,
CH-1211 Geneva 11, Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 328 80 50
Fax: +41 22 328 80 52
Email: info@fasngo.org

Office in New York
Church Center;
777 United Nations Plaza,5th Floor
New York,New York 10017-3521
Tel:(1212)687-1369
Fax:(1212)661-4188
Email : infony@fasngo.org

Website : www.fasngo.org

South Africa: Coalition for Peace in Africa training

2006-07-17

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/courses/35949

Coalition For Peace in Africa (COPA), an organization specializing in capacity building of practitioners in conflict transformation and peace building will from 25th September to 27th October 2006 conduct a five week Advanced Training in Conflict Transformation. The training will take place in Johannesburg, South Africa at the Elijah Barayi Memorial Training Institute.
Coalition for Peace in Africa - COPA

ADVANCED CONFLICT TRANSFORMATION COURSE

Duration: 25th September to 27th October 2006
Location: Elijah Barayi Training Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa

Language of facilitation: English, with translation into French and Portuguese

The Coalition for Peace in Africa (COPA) is a membership network of individuals and organisations working for sustainable peace in Africa. It aims to be a resource for African wisdom and expertise able to respond effectively to the conflicts besetting different parts of Africa. It connects people working for peace and development, human rights and related goals, in Anglophone, Lusophone and Francophone countries throughout Africa.

Twice a year, COPA holds a 5-week training workshop. This course covers diverse aspects of conflict transformation and peace building, and is aimed at building the capacity of participants, mostly from the African continent, working for development, human rights, peace, justice and related fields. The purposes of this course are to:

• Explore why and how people and organisations organise and to share strategies for building networks and coordinating the programmes of different stakeholders
• Introduce tools and skills for analysing conflicts that can assist in identifying intervention strategies to reduce and prevent violence.
• Identify the origins and causes of new and ongoing conflicts in Africa and their links to continental and global factors
• Support and strengthen skills for facilitating dialogue, including communication and facilitation skills, negotiation, mediation and arbitration.
• Explore ways of providing support between practitioners and policy makers active in the field of Conflict transformation and Development
• Develop strategies to train other people working for development, human rights and reconciliation in methods of transforming conflict and preventing violence as well as the monitoring and evaluation of these initiatives.
• Develop capacity within organizations for conflict sensitive planning and implementation of development, humanitarian and peace building programmes.
• Develop a vision for Africa that reflects African values and capacities for peace

The course has been designed specifically for people who want to focus on conflict in Africa. Although it will include an analysis of global events and their impact on Africa, emphasis will be placed on culturally sensitive and sustainable responses to regional and community conflicts in Africa. Participants should bring to the course case studies and examples of conflict transformation from their own experience and research. Throughout the course there is a strong focus on personal development and the need for individuals and organizations to form networks, coalitions and alliances with others working in similar fields. By the end of the course each participant is expected to have designed an action strategy, which is developed further and implemented on his or her return.

Programme:

Module One: Organising for change
Observations and Perception
Bringing about organisational change: Why and how we organise
Networking, coalitions and alliances
Perspectives on world peace
Understanding concepts: Peace, conflict, violence and development
Developing a relationship model between these concepts

Module Two: The dynamics of conflict
Why and how we analyse
Approaches to analysis
Tools for conflict analysis and solving problems
Situation analysis
Developing case studies and intervention opportunities
Processing trauma
Faith, values and religion in Africa
Facilitating dialogue, mediation, negotiation and arbitration
Advocacy, lobbying and campaigning
Reconciliation and reintegration

Module Three: Conflict Intervention in Africa
Changing environments and political systems in Africa
Demilitarisation
Culture and tradition
African renaissance, NEPAD and the AU
Building an African Vision
Human rights and African values

Module Four: The way forward for peace
Conflict and sustainable development
‘Do no Harm’
Impact and effectiveness
Monitoring and Evaluation
Mainstreaming conflict sensitivity in project planning
Developing context specific action strategies

The course includes tours to local places of interest as well as opportunities to make contacts with local organisations.

For organisations:

This course is particularly concerned with strengthening people’s capacities to improve their organisations’ effectiveness in responding to conflicts they encounter in their work. We would particularly encourage organisations to send participants whose knowledge and experiences will be easily shared with the rest of the organisation.

COPA strongly requests organisations wishing to enrol their staff for this course to prepare the participants in the following ways:

• Identify the organisation’s expectations of the course.
• Identify the participant’s objectives for the course.
• How will the participant use the learning obtained from this course in the organisation?
• How does the organisation propose to integrate the participant’s learning and experience?

Facilitators:

Four COPA members from the African continent will facilitate the course. COPA facilitators take a participatory approach, emphasising experiential learning. They have experience of living and working on the continent and internationally. The course process and content will be developed by the facilitators in-line with participants needs.

In addition to the full-time tutors, resource specialists from external institutions will conduct sessions on particular topics.

Participants:

The course is aimed particularly at:
• Development and relief workers operating in contexts of conflict and violence in Africa.
• NGOs wanting to develop their programme beyond development and emergency relief to include advocacy, lobbying, peace building and reconciliation.
• Peace and justice workers from religious institutions
• Human rights workers interested in Conflict Transformation.
• Those wanting to explore African cultural mechanisms for peace making.

We encourage people from Francophone and Lusophone countries to apply. While the course in conducted in English care will be taken not to disadvantage any language groups. Women are particularly encouraged to apply.

If you have special needs that you fear may affect your participation please let us know. Every effort will be made to accommodate these needs.

Numbers on each course are restricted. It is advisable to apply as soon as possible.

Course Fees:

Tuition fee: $1,500
Accommodation, extra curricular activities and medical insurance: $2,000
Total fee: $3,500

A non-refundable deposit of $500 is required to secure a place upon acceptance.

Participants will need about $300 to cover personal expenses within South Africa.

It is the applicants’ responsibility to ensure they have all necessary funds before travelling to South Africa. Funds are transferable to any of the the following accounts:

(1)
BANK : CONSOLIDATED BANK OF KENYA
SWIFT : CONKKENA
A/C NO: 36010446

CORRESPONDENT BANK:
BANK : CITIBANK N.A
NEW YORK
SWIFT : CITIUS33

FOR THE CREDIT TO :
A/C NAME : COALITION FOR PEACE IN AFRICA
A/C NO: 0220050492700
BRANCH: KOINANGE STREET

(2)
Account name: Coalition for Peace in Africa.
Bank Name: First National Bank.
Branch Name: Carlton Centre
Branch code: 250205
Account number: 62109188525

SWIFT CODE: FIRNZAJJ 760

Scholarships:

Limited funds are available to support those unable to raise the full fees. Scholarships will be awarded primarily on the basis of the context in which the applicant is working and their need for such training. Other factors taken into account include, prior experience, diversity of applicants (age, gender, nationality, experience etc) and the demonstrated commitment and motivation of applicants. Applicants for scholarships should complete section 4 of the application form as early as possible. This should include an explanation of why they require a partial scholarship and should list the other sources of funds they have approached. Participants should first seek funding from their employer, partner organisations or donors already familiar with their work. COPA can offer advice to applicants on how to find alternative sources of funding.

For further information on COPA and the ACT Course please contact:

The Programme Officer
COPA Continental Secretariat
P.O. Box 61753-00200 City Square, Nairobi, Kenya
Telefax:254-020 2736565
Tel: 254 020 2726044
Email: copa@copafrica.org
Web: www.copafrica.org

or

The Regional Coordinator
COPA Southern Africa
Postnet Suite no 145
Private Bag
X9 Melville Code 2109
Tel: 27 11 3342444/5
Fax: 27 11 3342458
Email: copa@actionsupport.co.za

South Africa: Preventing violence against women and children

2006-07-19

http://www.unisa.ac.za

The UNISA Institute for Social and Health Sciences (ISHS) takes great pleasure in inviting you to participate in a workshop entitled Preventing Violence against Woman and Children: A Data to Action Workshop to be held from the 27th to the 29th June 2006. Violence against women and children infringes on the human rights of these vulnerable groups and is therefore a real threat to the development and sustainability of a human rights culture that guarantees safety in South Africa.

Chad: Camp Community Development Coordinator

International Rescue Committee (IRC)

2006-07-17

http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC22380

The Camp Community Development Coordinator's main responsibility will be to develop and oversee all IRC social services in Oure Cassoni refugee camp, with a heavy focus on the areas of protection, child and youth protection and development, and education. This position will be responsible for overseeing protection activities in the camp and for providing technical and capacity building assistance to IRC staff undertaking an initiative to mainstream protection throughout all sectors.

Ghana: Budget and Governance Advisor

2006-07-19

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/jobs/36026

The Parliamentary Centre, an International NGO working in Parliamentary Development, seeks a Budget and Governance Advisor to join its Poverty Reduction team.
The Parliamentary Centre, an International NGO working in Parliamentary Development, seeks a Budget and Governance Advisor to join its Poverty Reduction team.

Summary of functions
Under the supervision of the Director for Africa programs, the bilingual (English/French)Budget and Governance Advisor is responsible for the Africa Poverty Reduction Office (APRO) Learning Centre activities which include developing/delivering training programs for Parliaments and CSOs and producing research and training material as well as contributing to the overall program activities of the African Parliamentary Poverty Reduction Network (APRN) and the PC Africa Team in order to achieve results identified in Parliamentary Centre plans and agreements.

Primary responsibilities
The Budget and Governance Advisor main responsibilities are to:

Advisory (35%)
• Establish and manage the Learning Centre facilities at APRO;
• Plan, develop and coordinate training programs on governance issues such as budget analysis, gender budgeting and committee oversight for African MPs, parliamentary staff and CSOs;
• Develop and deliver training modules as well as training material that reflect the need of target groups;
• Contribute program advice and training inputs to designated projects and program components;
• Participate fully in decisions and planning by the Africa Team;

Management (25%)
• Manage designated project components including elements of results-based management, and report to the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and other external agencies, in conjunction with the Program Director and other Africa team members;
• Manage the coordination of logistics involved with project implementation (including training programs, study tours, workshops, research attachments);
• Work on financial management of designated projects and program components, including budget preparation, cash-flow management and reporting in liaison with the Program Coordinator (Finance and Organization);
• Regularly monitor the provision of training, evaluate quality, and develop training in response to evaluation;
• Report on all program matters to the Program Director.
• Travel in Africa and abroad as required in support of the program’s outreach work;

Research and publications (15%)
• Conduct, publish and disseminate research or briefs on poverty and governance related issues;
• Contribute to website updates, publications such as newsletters and project bulletins;
• Conduct needs assessments of parliaments’ training needs or capacity gaps that will inform the Learning Centre and APRN activities;

Representation (15%)
• Interact with external stakeholders and agencies as required;
• Liaise with African Parliaments and other stakeholders and strengthen relationships between these organizations and PC;


Centre-wide collaboration (10%)
• Participate in regular PC staff meetings, and when required in other committees;
• Collaborate with the Director, the regional office program staff, and with colleagues in Ottawa in the identification and evaluation of emerging and key development trends and priorities in a particular region;

This position is based in Accra, Ghana. The candidate must be available to travel in Africa and abroad as required in support of the program’s outreach work and to work irregular hours if needed.
The Budget and Governance Advisor will interact with various stakeholders including African parliamentarians and parliamentary staff, donors, local CSOs and policy institutes.

Qualifications and skills required

The Advisor will have skills and understanding of the training cycle, planning, developing, delivering and evaluating training, together with knowledge of parliamentary systems and the budget cycle process.

The ideal candidate will have:

• A post graduate degree from a recognized university in a discipline related to political science such as international relations, international development, political economy, or related subject;
• Minimum 5-years professional experience in Africa in the field of governance with some expertise in training development and delivery;
• Knowledge of parliamentary systems and legislative institutions in Africa or elsewhere;
• Sensitivity to the importance of gender equity and related issues;
• Experience in project implementation and financial management of development projects;
• Ability to work both independently as well as in a multi-disciplinary team environment;
• Ability to work under short deadlines, resource limitations and balance multiple project activities;
• Excellent communication and organizational skills;
• Proficiency in MS software applications (Word, Excel, Outlook, Power Point) and Internet use;
• Knowledge of Results-Based Management (RBM);
• Excellent English language skills;
• Good knowledge of written and spoken French.


Please e-mail a cover letter and your CV by end of day Wednesday, 26 July 06 to dramar@parl.gc.ca
or demous@parl.gc.ca The subject line should read Budget and Governance Advisor and your name.

For more information on the Parliamentary Centre please visit www.parlcent.ca

Kenya: Resident Journalism Advisor HIV/AIDS Reporting

2006-07-19

http://www.scidev.net/jobs/index.cfm?fuseaction=readjob&itemid=621&language=1

Internews Network is currently seeking a Resident Advisor to lead our Local Voices health reporting project in Kenya; Local Voices is designed to support professional television and radio broadcasters in creating high-quality, locally relevant coverage of HIV/AIDS issues for their audiences.

Nigeria: Case study researcher

2006-07-19

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/jobs/36022

Res Publica (www.therespublica.org) is hiring a short-term, country-specific, case-study researcher for a project exploring e-advocacy and technology use by civil society in Nigeria. This is a 4-6 week project.
Res Publica (www.therespublica.org) is hiring a short-term, country-specific, case-study researcher for a project exploring e-advocacy and technology use by civil society in Nigeria. This is a 4-6 week project. To apply, submit (via email) a resume and cover letter, indicating your country of interest, to:

Alan Rosenblatt
alan@joemocracy.com

Dates: 4-6 week project
Salary: $2,500
Application Deadline: ASAP
Start Date: ASAP

Primary duties include:

• Conducting research on the status of technology use for advocacy purposes by civil society in the specific country;
• Mapping out key scholars, activists, and organizations working in the e-advocacy field in the specific country;
• Conducting primary source interviews with intermediary organizations, scholars, activists, and leading figures in the ICT field;
• Submitting a case-study of the specific country

Qualifications:

• Language-specific skills for the country;
• Habitation in the specific country is beneficial, but not essential;
• Relevant experience, background, and general knowledge of the technology and ICT field, especially e-advocacy use by civil society in developing countries, is useful but not essential;
• Research experience;
• Excellent writing and editing skills;
• Ability to work well under pressure and deadline

Sierra Leone: Country Director

Centre for Victims of Torture

2006-07-17

http://tinyurl.com/obetn

The Center for Victims of Torture is seeking a Country Director to oversee a psychosocial mental health project in Sierra Leone for individuals who have suffered torture and war trauma. The position has a one-year, renewable agreement.

Fahamu