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Callout to African musicians

Pambazuka News Editors

2006-10-04

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/highlights/37515

Do you want to reach a whole new audience with your original music? Would you like us to help promote your music? We're looking for artists to share their work with Pambazuka News to use in our new Podcasts - and we'll credit your work. Your work will be exposed to the 100,000 people who read Pambazuka News every week... Whether you're an up and coming musicians or an established artist, get in touch with our multimedia coordinator Heidi Bachram at multimedia@pambazuka.org

Featured This Week

Pambazuka News Editors

2006-10-05

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/highlights/37616

FEATURE:
- As in many communities in Nigeria’s oil rich Delta region, most people of Yenagoa live in mud huts. They have no hospitals, no running water, no schools. And there is unemployment too, writes Emira Woods.
COMMENT AND ANALYSIS:
-Aaron Tesfaye argues that the situation in Darfur is a grim reminder “of the after-effects of colonialism.
- Glenn Brigaldino describes Somalia as a state that only exists on paper, including maps
- Mouhamadou Tidiane KASSE argues that the implementation of neo-liberal policies and strategies in Africa, which have culminated today in globalisation, resulted in the feminisation of poverty on the continent.
LETTERS: Disarmament Programme in Mozambique
PAN AFRICAN POSTCARD: Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem despairs at the Latin Americanization of Nigerian politics
BLOGGING AFRICA: This week, Sokari Ekine focuses on Kenyan blogging community.
BOOKS: Robtel Pailey interviews Tsitsi Dangarembga
CONFLICT AND EMERGENCIES: Links to news on Sudan, Nigeria, Uganda and Angola
HUMAN RIGHTS: A call on the UN Assembly to approve Indigenous Declaration
WOMEN AND GENDER: Renewed efforts to outlaw Female Genital Mutilation
REFUGEES AND FORCED MIGRATION: Risk of polio amongst Somali refugees
ELECTIONS AND GOVERNANCE: EISA Regional Observer Mission To The Zambia 2006
DEVELOPMENT: Making trade work for the poor
CORRUPTION: Corruption is rampant in relief work
HEALTH AND HIV/AIDS: HIV/AIDS, A threat to national development
EDUCATION: World Teachers’ Day
ENVIRONMENT: Download A new book on Carbon Trading
LAND AND LAND RIGHTS: Land reform a tricky issue in South Africa
MEDIA AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: Campaign of intimidation against Burundi radio stations
DIASPORA: Black women and stress
INTERNET AND TECHNOLOGY: Lack of consensus threatens EASSY cable
FAHAMU Announces free online course: Introduction to human rights
PLUS: e-Newsletters and Mailings Lists; Fundraising and Useful Resources; Courses, Seminars and Workshops; Jobs.

The Politics of Oil and Poverty

Emira Woods

2006-10-05

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/37612

Emira Woods points out that “Yet as in many communities in Nigeria’s oil rich Delta region, most people of Yenagoa live in mud huts. Some reside only a few feet away from the oil wells. But they lack electricity and indoor toilets. They have no hospitals, no running water, no schools. And there is unemployment too. Oil companies like Royal Dutch Shell, BP, Chevron, and Exxon Mobil bring in foreign workers for even the most menial jobs. ... Like many Africans, I fear that oil companies look to Africa for its resource wealth without seeing the people. Resource-rich communities are dehumanized and the color-line is ever present as the greatest profits flow steadily to wealthy white men who already control enormous wealth and power.”


It is almost impossible to imagine, as we sit in a well lit, fully functioning gas station on Main Street, USA, that a community blessed with oil riches under its soil could look as impoverished as Yenagoa in the Nigerian state of Bayelsa.

Yenagoa is the site of one of Nigeria 's first oil wells, built in pre-independence 1956. Yet as in many communities in Nigeria’s oil rich Delta region, most people of Yenagoa live in mud huts. Some reside only a few feet away from the oil wells. But they lack electricity and indoor toilets. They have no hospitals, no running water, no schools. And there is unemployment too. Oil companies like Royal Dutch Shell, BP, Chevron, and Exxon Mobil bring in foreign workers for even the most menial jobs.

I recently took a trip to Yenagoa as part of a tour of three African countries--Nigeria, Chad, and Liberia-- that may well fuel future U.S. energy needs. Historically, the United States has gotten two-thirds of its oil from other countries. Most U.S. oil imports come from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Mexico, and Canada. Increasingly, as the United States, China, and other nations expand their thirst for oil, and instability deepens in the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa is becoming a more attractive source for crude. The U.S. National Intelligence Council estimates that Africa could supply 25% of U.S. oil by 2015.

The three countries I visited could well play a role in meeting that goal. Each is at different stages of oil production. In Nigeria, oil exploration dates back to 1956. In Chad, extraction started just three years ago. In Liberia, where I spent much of my childhood, the potential of oil off its expansive coastline holds hope for the future.

In each of these countries, a complex web of geo-political actors, from oil company executives and government officials to military agents, makes decisions that impact the lives in the communities that produce the oil that flows straight to consumers in the United States.

Nigerian Injustice

The residents of Yenagoa lack jobs and basic social services. What they do have in abundance is environmental damage from decades of oil spills, compounded by the constant burning of gas flares necessary to extract the crude. Farmland is rendered useless while rivers and waterways, once well populated with marine life, are now barren. One local chief explained that he received from Shell oil 150 Naira ($1.15) for each acre of land used by the company. I was astonished when he went on to say, “150 Naira, once every four years.” With oil prices at historic highs, how could the compensation to communities long suffering the health impacts of oil spills and gas flares be such a pittance?

Military and security personnel blanket the area around Yenagoa to protect oil interests. The communities are under siege.

In Odi, a community adjacent to a well built in1958, villagers are demanding basic services like clean running water, electricity, and schools. The response from security agents has been severe. Our delegation watched in horror as one young man after another came forward to show fresh wounds from 5 days earlier. They told us that uniformed military men had grabbed 15 youths as they walked home from an adjacent village in the middle of the afternoon. The young men were beaten, tortured, and imprisoned, as a warning to others in the village. For almost a week, the youths languished in a prison miles away. Their family members were forced to walk for a day and a half to see them or bring them food in that decrepit prison. Their crime? Clamoring for basic rights.

As oil companies celebrate record profits and the price of oil hovers close to $65 per barrel, African communities ostensibly blessed with the curse of oil languish in squalor. In fact, with no useable farmland or waterways, many in Nigeria say that they are worse off than their grandparents were before the discovery of oil.

Hope in Chad?

Recognizing the plight of their neighbors in Nigeria, communities in Chad’s oil producing areas worked hard, even before the onset of oil production in 2003, to minimize environmental damage and maximize the benefits to communities from which the oil flows.

The 650-mile Chad-Cameroon pipeline (Africa’s biggest investment project) links landlocked Chad to world export markets through Cameroon’s port city of Douala. It was funded through loans and other support from the World Bank. Heroic measures initiated by activist, civil society, human rights, and religious community leaders led to a forward-looking revenue management law to manage the flow of oil revenues in a transparent way, ensuring resources for future generations.

However, the Chadian government has subverted its own revenue management law. It has diverted spending away from the original priorities of agriculture, health, and education and toward “security.” As a result, money that only now is beginning to flow from oil production is spent on weapons and other military equipment, instead of poverty reduction and the interests of future generations.

The oil wells in Chad are newer, so its oil-producing areas haven’t yet experienced the damage caused by decades of oil spills. However, gas flaring, with its related health and environmental damage, is an integral part of the production cycle. When the wind blows, the smell of the burning gas blankets villages miles away.

In a community near Doba, with gas flares as a backdrop, villagers told us about increased death and dying in the past few years from respiratory ailments and contaminated water supplies.

Meanwhile, in Chad’s fertile agricultural zone, mangoes, cotton, gum Arabic and cattle are abundant. Yet there is not one factory transforming the raw produce into goods for domestic or international markets.

In spite of these challenges, Chadians maintain that their vigilance will minimize negative social and environmental impacts of oil and secure poverty reduction. Chad could easily feed itself and its neighbors if productive capacity were built in the agricultural sector. Oil revenue directed at building an education system, providing healthcare, as well as basic electricity, running water, and roads, could go a long way toward improving the condition of people’s lives.

Throughout the country, in spite of a recent coup attempt and the elections in April that the majority of people boycotted, Chadians remain hopeful. From the capital city to the Southern oil fields, everyone seemed confident that future generations will experience a better life.

Liberian Alternatives

Liberia, the third country I visited, has recently emerged from 25 years of war. People there are hopeful too, despite the 85% unemployment rate and the complete lack of functioning schools or healthcare.

Liberians hope that concessions now being granted for off-shore oil exploration will lead down the road to a new source of revenue. Liberia’s National Oil Company negotiated two contracts with the Nigeria-based Oranto Petroleum Limited and British-based Broadway Consolidated PLC. With exploration already underway, few in Liberia think that leaving the resource untouched is a viable option.

The key question is, whether and how Liberia can escape the oil curse that so clearly has hurt Nigeria, Angola, and other countries in Africa’s richly endowed Gulf of Guinea region.

One possibility is for countries like Liberia to consider alternative models for oil development. What, for example, can Liberia learn from Venezuela’s example of 61% national control of oil revenue and management? Or from Norway’s use of oil revenue to diversify the economy while advancing social services?

Like many Africans, I fear that oil companies look to Africa for its resource wealth without seeing the people. Resource-rich communities are dehumanized and the color-line is ever present as the greatest profits flow steadily to wealthy white men who already control enormous wealth and power.

The price of oil nearly tripled since President George W. Bush took office in 2001, yet the majority of the people who live in the countries from which the fuel flows still experience grinding poverty. Taken together, the $10 billion quarterly profits of Exxon Mobil, Chevron, BP, or Shell and the $1.15 per acre compensation paid (every four years) to some farmers in oil producing zones, show just how unfair the global oil industry has become.

The next time you pull up to the pump, stop a moment and remember that the thick black crude is extracted from the earth’s crust at great social, political, and environmental cost. Then do whatever it is in your power to demand dignity and proper compensation for those whose land or sea may be cursed with the blessing of this natural resource.

* Emira Woods is co-director of Foreign Policy In Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

Darfur: Rwanda Next time?

Aaron Tesfaye

2006-10-05

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/37613

About two million people have been driven from their homes in three years of fighting in Darfur. Aaron Tesfaye argues that the situation in Darfur is a grim reminder “of the after-effects of colonialism and hastily cobbled, post-colonial states in Africa that cannot deliver political and economic goods to their people.”


The Darfur tragedy refuses to leave our consciousness, even when newer atrocities in the world present themselves. As the genocide unfolds - more viciously now that the Peace Agreements have collapsed - the world is aware of the failures of the African Union to resolve the conflict between the central government of Sudan led by Omar el-Bashir, the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) faction led by Mr. Abdul Wahid el-Nur, and its close ally the Justice Equality Movement (JEM) led by Dr. Khalil Ibrahim.

Today the Bush administration seems to have opted for merely providing humanitarian assistance, making lots of "noise" at the UN, and a policy of benign neglect of the people of Darfur. It has refused to use its political and economic might to persuade Sudan to either cut a genuine deal with the rebels or invite the UN peacekeeping forces to safeguard the lives of innocent civilians. The current US stance is an indication of the closeness between Washington and Khartoum in the complex politics of oil and the War on Terror and seems to say, as in the Rwandan case, that African lives don't matter because Darfur is not Kosovo -- a European enclave.

Roots of the Conflict

The Darfur insurrection is connected to the conflict between state and society in southern Sudan. The insurrection and genocide has its roots in the complex milieu of inter-ethnic relations where ecological niches of the Fur, Zagawa, Massalit farmers, and Baqqara pastoralists were stressed due to famine and competition over space and water. But this connection between scarce resources and conflict must be understood through a glimpse of the past.

Modern Sudan is the creation of two imperialisms: Egyptian and British. Darfur was an important independent kingdom that was tacked onto Sudan by the British in 1916. Eventually, neglect by the Nile riverine elite of Khartoum led to the emergence of political protest in the 1960s and eventually to the current conflict. But two important factors added fuel to the fire. First was the venture of Libyan leader Muammar al Gaddafi into Chad in the 1980s with the resultant conflict over the Aouzou strip, rich in gas and other resources, and the mobilizing and arming of an "Islamic Legion" of the Sahelian "Arabs" and Turegs in his expansionist ambitions.[1]

Second was the 1986 decision of the prime minister of Sudan, Sadiq al-Mahdi, an important leader of the Umma Party, to launch an offensive to crush the secessionist Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in the south led by the late Dr. John Garang. This decision exacerbated the situation in the west because the Sudanese state armed with modern weapons the Baqqara and Ben Habla Fursan, "Arabs" (Janjaweed) including mercenaries from former Libyan Islamic Legionnaires of the failed Libyan expansionist war. As noted by an astute observer of Sudanese politics, it was "counterinsurgency on the cheap."[2]

These groups - along with the regular Sudanese Army - caused considerable destruction and spread terror amongst the Dinka and others in Bahr–El-Ghazal in the south. Eventually, the Baqqara and the Fursan used state-sponsorship to turn their full fury against their old neighbors in Darfur, with whom they had past conflicts. The consequence of such repression in the west was the formation of a self-defense force, the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), in the Jabal Marra Mountains of Darfur in 2003, which was later joined by the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). The ensuing conflict has resulted in immense suffering, killing, and displacement of hundreds of thousands of Darfurians, raising deep concerns in Africa and elsewhere in the world.

On April 8, 2004, due to the mediation of the African Union (AU), the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A), and the Sudanese government signed a ceasefire agreement in N'djamena, Chad. This was followed by a signed protocol in Abuja, Nigeria, on November 9, 2004, by which the parties agreed to avoid a humanitarian crisis by seeking a peaceful solution to the conflict.[3] The leaders in these agreements were Minni Arkou Minnawi for the SLM/A, Ahmed Mohammed Tougod Lissan for JEM, and Magzoub El-Khalifa for the government of the Sudan. In October 2004, substantive discussions and a framework for addressing the contentious issues of power and wealth sharing were fleshed out, leading to the deployment of some African Union military personnel from Nigeria and Rwanda.[4]

The African Union presence was strengthened when the parties to the conflict convened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in May 2004 to cut a deal on conditions towards a political settlement, which culminated in the signing of an agreement on a ceasefire and the deployment of observers in Darfur. This was to be followed by the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement in Nigeria in May 2006, after enabling the leading members of the SLM/A and JEM to express their support for and adherence to the provisions. But the Darfur political leaders Abdul Wahid el-Nur and Dr. Khalil Ibrahim of the SLM/A and JEM respectively, failed to show up for the signing. As a result, the agreement was signed by Minni Arkou Minnawi, a leader of the majority faction of the SLM/A, who are mostly Zagawa. This set the stage for internecine conflict.

Failure of the Darfur Peace Agreement

What were the reasons for the Darfur leaders and the government of the Sudan not signing the agreement? And what were its highlights? The answers are to be found in the practical calculations of the Sudanese state, the confluence of ethnic politics, as well as the demands of the SLM/A and the JEM. At first glance, it would seem that the Sudanese government had made substantive concessions towards peace in terms of political and wealth sharing.[5] However, in practical terms the government dragged its feet on key demands. The JEM and SLM/A leadership had a joint stand and had several demands. First, that their grievances be given full national coverage; that is, national access and dissemination of information about past atrocities via the media similar in spirit to what took place in South Africa under the "Truth and Reconciliation Committee." Second, that Khartoum provide a timetable and process by which displaced Darfurians would be able to immediately return to their homeland, be integrated, and be compensated. Third, that the supremacist Janjaweed be disarmed and demobilized.

In making these demands, the Darfur liberation movements did not represent a solid united political front, but were rife with past quarrels and mistrusts. They had different origins and varying connections with state leaders of Sudanese politics. The Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and its armed wing, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), which was founded in 1989, did not acquire its present nome de guerre until 2003 when its founder, Abdul Wahid El-Nur, emerged from his exile and base in Eritrea. The SLA is not a separatist movement. Its political declaration clearly states "Sudan's unity must be anchored on a new basis that is predicated on full acknowledgement of [its] ethnic, cultural, social and political diversity . . . [and will] work with all political forces that ascribe to this view."[6] But such a platform does not preclude self-determination if the economic and political disparities continue to grow between Darfur and the riverine elite who commanded the state's resources. The SLA's position regarding the role of the mosque and state is also very clear. Its manifesto states: "Religion and politics belongs to two different domains . . . with religion belonging to the personal domain and the state in the public domain."[7]

On the other hand, the other main rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) has a different origin because it was established under the sponsorship of the National Islamic front (NIF) in the late 1980s. It is heavily influenced by and very close to the prominent Muslim scholar and Sorbonne-educated Ph.D. Dr. Sheik Hassan Al-Turabi and his Islamist supporters. Like the SLA, the JEM is not separatist, but it shares the objectives of the SPL/A and pursues the creation of a just society. But whereas the SPL/A's views on the role of religion and the state are clearly stated in its manifesto, the JEM's views are very ambiguous. Also, the JEM envisions a federal political structure for the Sudan similar to the one proposed by the National Islamic Front (NIF), allowing perhaps non-Muslim regions to opt out of Sharia law.

In any case, despite the solidarity between the SLM/A and the JEM, the astute brokers of the Sudanese state observed political and, above all, age-old competition and differences between the mostly Zagawa SPL/A and the Fur (JEM) and decided to exploit the differences. Thus as time passed and per the modalities of the agreement, Khartoum hesitated and then decided not to disarm the Janjaweed. Instead, sensing a weakened SLM/A and with the tacit indifference if not direct approval of the Minni Arkou Minnawi faction, the government decided on a military solution, attacking also the mostly Fur JEM led by Dr. Khalil Ibrahim. As for the stance of the JEM, it may have opted out of the peace agreement, in part, because it did not get a green light from one of its most influential spiritual and political leaders, Hassan Al-Turabi. The regime in Khartoum also may have been motivated to scuttle the agreement because it wanted to destroy the support of the SLM/A and the JEM, particularly of the Umma Party, by creating support institutions for Omar al-Bashir's National Congress Party. In such conflict, the troops of the African Union, numbering some 7000, were unable to defend civilians in the vast hinterland of Darfur because they were caught in spiralling violence between the armed might of the Sudanese state and its plural societies. The failure of the AU has emboldened the Sudanese state, which has launched a major offensive, committing tens of thousands of troops including bombers and helicopter gun ships to the region.


Failures of the UN and US: Rwanda and Darfur

On Sept. 1, 2006, the U.S. and Britain helped pass a resolution in the UN Security Council calling for over 20,000 UN troops to be sent to Sudan to take over from the AU forces. But Sudan is rejecting such a move, insisting on its sovereignty. For its part, the AU had threatened to pull its troops out by September 30 2006, unless Sudan acquiesced to the deployment of a UN peacekeeping force. On September 11, 2006, Sudan made a counter threat that the AU force could remain in the country only if they accepted Arab League and Sudanese funding.[9] The US has been quick to point out that the unfolding disaster needs a well-funded, well-staffed, and well-equipped force for peacekeeping purposes. Sudan has so far been firm in its demands. It is able to remain firm because it has powerful allies on the UN Security Council, namely China and Russia as well as the oil-producing nation of Qatar.[10] There are economic and political considerations behind the support of Russia and China, who insist on Sudanese sovereignty. Russia is now a major arms supplier to Sudan and indirectly responsible also for the tragedy in Darfur.[11] As far as China is concerned, it is a major investor in oil field exploration and development in the Sudan, and its increasing presence in Africa has to do with its insatiable demand for resources.[12]

The UN Secretary General not only clearly stated that the wholesale genocide of civilians is illegal under international law, but also expressed his fear that Darfur could be a Rwanda in the making.[13] But the Secretary General’s pronouncements rang hollow as the UN, the US, and the world were silent while 800,000 Africans were massacred in Rwanda in 1994. In fact, the US under the Clinton and Bush Jr. administrations seemed to have a consistent policy in terms of responding to genocide in Africa. In 1994, after the plane of Rwandan President Habyarimana was shot down, sowing the seeds of the crisis, the Clinton administration evacuated American citizens and left extremist Hutus to carry out their genocide of the Tutsis. The administration sat still while the bloodbath took place, with its state department spokesperson quibbling over the precise language regarding whether the killings constituted "genocide."[14]

It is widely believed that the reluctance of the US to intervene in Rwanda was the result of the shock experienced at the American causalities in Somalia in 1993, which led to a humiliating withdrawal. But Africa has no public lobbyists or public activists in the US. As a result, Rwanda was easy for the Clinton administration to ignore. Thus, while Washington insisted on a ceasefire in Rwanda and later crafted an arms embargo against the Hutu-dominated government, for all practical purposes it left the Tutsis to their fate, feigning ignorance until the genocide was over. In 1998, during a state visit to Africa, President Clinton did a mea culpa, apologizing for US inaction. The apology has been criticized as insincere as it cost nothing and Rwanda was regarded as some far-away country in Africa.

The UN was also impotent, doing nothing to stop the tragedy in Rwanda. Although the UN had peacekeeping troops in Rwanda as the genocide unfolded, its mandate was strictly limited to monitoring ceasefire violations. In fact, its force was reduced because the US feared increases in UN peacekeeping would eventually require some US troop commitment. In time, the US actively supported a UN peacekeeper withdrawal from Rwanda as the genocide was underway.[15]

The Bush Jr. administration's response in the Sudan has been no better. Although in 2004, then Secretary of State General Collin Powell acknowledged that what was happening in Darfur was genocide, no action was taken by the government. Subsequently, in an address to the UN General Assembly, President George Bush Jr. explained the US position on the genocide but had not suggested any new plans on how to stop the violence, more than a year later. In several instances between 2005 and 2006, US officials ranging from Vice President Dick Cheney to Assistant Secretary of African Affairs Jendayzi Frazer have made statements that seemed to show concern over the Darfur tragedy, but the concern has been all talk. On the other hand, the US has contributed close to $1 billion dollars in humanitarian efforts since the conflict began in the 1980s and has facilitated the Darfur peace talks in Abuja, Nigeria. However, the US has not taken "steps to directly address the worsening security situation or to protect civilians and humanitarian operations on the ground."[16]

The US response to the Darfur crisis is conditioned by its national interest in a rapprochement between Washington and Khartoum that began soon after September 11, 2001. The US ended its isolation of Sudan, which began in the 1990s due to the latter's role in hosting Al Qaeda, and the Sudan is now sharing intelligence in the Bush administration's War on Terror. The US position was given expression in July 2006, when President Bush, asked about the immediacy of Darfur, replied that the US strategy was to help "African Union forces to be complemented and blue-helmeted."[17] That is, the UN should be invited in.

But so far the Bush administration has not been willing to commit its substantial diplomatic and political muscle - essential to securing an invitation for UN deployment by Sudan. A main reason for the soft-peddling by the US may be that Sudan is a member of the conservative Arab League and usually acquiesces to its policy. The US may not want to exacerbate already strained relations in the Muslim world by forcing an Islamic state to do its bidding. In a recent "compromise," the el-Bashir government, after referring to the proposed presence of UN troops in Darfur as a "Zionist" plot to weaken states in the region, indicated its willingness to allow AU troops to stay as peacekeepers with "non-African advisers." [18]Whether the UN and the AU accept such a racist fig leaf will determine the lives of millions in Darfur.

Meanwhile Darfur has also generated internal cleavages in the el-Bashir government among "African" members of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, (SPLM) of the late Dr. John Garang, who support the plan to bring the UN to Darfur. But the SPLM is also preoccupied with other serious matters in South Sudan. The Machako Agreement between Khartoum and the SPLM of South Sudan also seems to be faltering. For example, the agreement on wealth sharing, essential for the re-settlement of some 3 million southerners who live in the north, has not as yet been fully implemented, leading to some grumbling by southern leaders. The government that has been set up in Juba, the capital, under the terms of the agreement is fragile, underfunded, and at times looking towards the World Bank and donors to underwrite some projects. Finally, there has been no movement or discernable preparations, such as voter registrations, towards the national elections that are to take place in July 2007.[19]

Conclusion

The Darfur insurrection, crisis, and genocide are grim reminders of the after-effects of colonialism and hastily cobbled, post-colonial states in Africa that cannot deliver political and economic goods to their people. In this kind of struggle between the modern African state and its plural societies over the command of power and resources, Darfur is not alone. In the east in 2005, centered in Port Sudan, capital of the Red Sea State, the Beja Congress recently went on strike, demanding more power and wealth sharing. In the south, while the Machako Agreement between the state and the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) seems to be holding - with the South having significant autonomy - for all practical purposes the peace is tenuous, dependent partially on the politics of the region, especially of Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Uganda. As for Darfur, as the historian R.S. O'Fahay has noted, "I believe Darfur's future lies with the Sudan - I prefer with rather than in - but it has to be with Sudan that is ruled very differently than the present Sudan."[20] How differently Sudan is ruled and how to constitutionally engineer and above all implement a new arrangement, including wealth sharing, that will augur peace and development is a challenge to all Sudanese and their friends in Africa and the world. Such a challenge begins with the acceptance of UN peacekeeping forces that will put a stop to the slaughter of the innocents.


•Aaron Tesfaye, is author of Political Power and Ethnic Federalism: the Struggle for Democracy in Ethiopia, (Lanham: MD: 2002).
•Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at www.pambazuka.org


Notes

1.Alex de Waal, "Counter-insurgency on the Cheap," London Review of Books, August 2004, p. 2. http://www.lrb.co.uk/v26/n15/waal01_.html
2.De Waal, 2004, op. cit.

3."Protocol between the Government of the Sudan (GoS), the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army and the Justice Equality Movement (JEM) on the Enhancement of the Security Situation In Darfur In Accordance with the N’Djamena Agreement Abuja, Nigeria. November 9, 2004. http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/darfur/uploads/protocol/The%20Security%20Situation%20Protocol.doc

4. "The Discussions on the Substantive Issues Commence today with Plenary Session Followed by the Meeting of the First Commission on Power Sharing," Press Release No 12, African Union, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Oct. 3, 2005.

5. See highlights of the Darfur Peace Agreement.

6. Political Declaration of SLA/SLM, March 14, 2003, pp.1-2.

7. Ibid. p. 3.

8. Alex de Waal, "Darfur Violence Intensifies as Deadline for the Withdrawal of AU Peacekeepers Looms," September 7, 2006, Democracy Now!.

9. Robert O.Collins, "Darfur and the Arab League," The Washington Institute for Near-East Policy, Policy Watch No. 1141.

10. Eric Reeves, "China in Sudan: Underwriting Genocide" Testimony by Eric Reeves before the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission: "China's Role in the World: Is China a Responsible Stakeholder?" Aug 3, 2006.

11. See Amnesty International, "Sudan: Arming the Perpetrators of Grave Abuses in Darfur," Nov. 16, 2004.

12. Simon Henderson, "China and Oil: the Middle Eastern Dimension," The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Policy watch 898, September 15, 2004.

13. Lydia Polgreen, "Darfur Trembles as Peacekeepers' Exit Looms," New York Times, Sept. 10, 2006. Also see Kofi Annan's speech.

14. See Linda Melvern, A People Betrayed: The Role of the West in the Rwandan Genocide, (London: Zed Books, 2000).

15. See, Africa Action, Tale of Two Genocides: The Failed US Response to Rwanda and Darfur. Sept 9, 2006.

16. Ibid.

17. Eric Reeves, "Security in Darfur: Donors' Conference in Brussels Fails to Take Action," Africa Focus, July 23, 2006.

18. BBC, "Decision for Darfur Peacekeepers," Sept. 20, 2006.

19. See Human Rights Watch News, "Southern Sudan: Khartoum Reneges on Promises" March 8, 2006.

20. R.S. O. Fahey, "Does Darfur Have a Future in the Sudan?" The Fletcher Forum in World Affairs, Vol. 30; 1 winter 2006.

Somalia – better off as an island?

Glenn Brigaldino

2006-10-05

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/37614

The Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) has aggressively extended its authority beyond Mogadishu to vast areas of southern Somalia. One consequence has been a sharp increase in the number of refugees entering Kenya. Glenn Brigaldino describes Somalia as a state that only exists on paper, including maps. “It is most favourably described as a desolate and impoverished place, where a traditional society wildly fragmented along clan allegiances struggles to secure a livelihood.”


One evening in early 1988, my Ugandan friend Samuel Opondo and I were sitting on the porch of my house in Hargeisa, Somalia. “You know what...” he started, “…this place is not Africa. I will cut it off from my map of Africa and push it into the ocean.” It hardly seemed like an odd idea. African expatriates in Somalia are frequently irritated at being called “African” by average Somalis, who seem to consider themselves above non-Muslim Africans, especially if those who are noticeably dark-skinned. It struck me as ignorant behaviour, given that so many Somalis are illiterate, can perhaps recite but hardly read the Koran and in their daily lives, often appeared to be Muslim only in name. Today, Sam’s outlandish idea may well have genuine merit as an analytical insight, notably his reflective after-thought that “…by the time Somalis are ready for this century, we will be well into the 21st.”

We all know that Somalia in 2006 is a state only on paper, including maps. It is most favourably described as a desolate and impoverished place, where a traditional society wildly fragmented along clan allegiances struggles to secure a livelihood. To most political observers, it is a violent and unwelcoming semi-desert zone, of obscure “strategic interest” where perpetual clan disputes and warlordism reign on the remnants of a failed state.

At the best of times, life in Somalia was hard and troublesome. As these times slipped into decades of misrule and anarchy, an entire generation grew up with no exposure to notions of social order and development. Instead, they became embedded and often actively engaged in the break-up of whatever social order existed. Sadly, most Somalis today are accustomed to a seemingly natural state of perpetual clan rivalries, political violence, human tragedy and socioeconomic collapse.

In a recent article for Towardfreedom, an independent online source for democratic debate, I have explored in some detail the current political context in Somalia from an international perspective.[1] The situation remains in flux. Although the US-backed warlords are no longer “calling the shots”, the quest for political control is far from resolved. It seems only a question of time until the now dominant Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), led by Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, and the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), based in the town of Baidoa of interim President Abdullahi Yusuf begin to battle it out for sole control. External players continue to sponsor their preferred Somali ally.

Eritrea and Arab countries are siding with and delivering weapons to the UIC, while the authoritarian Ethiopian regime of Meles Zenawi backs the TFG, including with troop deployments into Somalia, with unofficial, tacit support of its US pay-master.

More players are about to enter the scene as an African Union endorsed plan for an African peace-keeping force of some 8000 is being seriously considered, with the first contingent of Ugandan troops reportedly already in Baidoa. [2] It seems only a matter of time until outright war breaks out between the two opposite factions, regardless of periodic peace-talks in Sudan and the involvement the African Union.

While the prospect of such a conflict is deeply troubling, most analysts would be at a loss to formulate any peaceful and democratic scenario in a country that is no more, perhaps never was and in any case, consists of an entire population marred by decades of political violence, poverty and social erosion. At best, it is only possible to make a half-informed guess as to what future lays ahead for the young generation in Somalia.

From an early age, Somali children face hardships and disadvantages in terms of health and nutrition. In addition, kids in Somalia have little opportunity for carefree play and when they do play, they do so without many toys. While in most countries, the importance of play and stimulating toys is acknowledged as an important factor in child development, Somali children tend to have few such toys available to them. There are of course creatively assembled self-made toys, as made by children around the world. But apart from sporadic attention to specific children’s’ needs, investment in kids tends to be an alien concept in Somalia, at best thought of as a secondary need. [3]

In the Somali context, successive generations of parents have grown up in similar conditions, where attention to early-childhood development is virtually non-existent. In the absence of the necessary social stability to allow for continuous years of formal education and under conditions of protracted gender inequality, investment into the future well-being of children becomes an afterthought.

It should come as little surprise that kids emerging as youths from such circumstances, are readily available to be recruited into the omnipresent clan, gang, or militia-groupings and associations that have flourished in Somalia. It is hard to imagine many ordinary Somalis making a decent living from farming, handicrafts, trading or animal herding.

The take over of Mogadishu by the hardliner Islamists of the UIC has perhaps had one major effect upon the population living under their rule: for the first time in living memory, social and political order seems a realistic proposition. It would seem that not all has been bad since the UIC has taken over. Indeed they have moved in remarkable ways to re-establish a degree of normality that is a new experience for many, if not most Somalis. Random acts of robbery; extortion and petty crimes have decreased. The once infamous piracy business off the Somali coast, that repeatedly caught international attention, has been quelled.[4] In late August the first commercial ship in over a decade called port in Mogadishu. The airport has been re-opened: another vital supply route for a starved country and a new regime in need of links to foreign supporters (although at least two of the arriving planes were unmarked, most likely carrying weapons for the UIC from Eritrea).

Environmentalists would be pleased to learn that the export of charcoal has been forbidden and there is now a ban on capturing and selling birds of prey to Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

Reportedly, wealthy expatriate Somali businessmen (probably not many women though) have descended on Nairobi, Kenya, where they hope to set up and conduct new business deals with merchants in Mogadishu. Of course, a surge of inflows of external supplies, notably food-aid relief can quickly rekindle a “refugee economy” as during the 1980s.

At that time, Somali received aid for a highly inflated number of refugees, easily 40% above actual numbers. In a country of only 7 million people, that aid translated into a sizeable portion of GDI, and combined with “regular” aid, it accounted perhaps for half of Somalia’s entire GDI. In the cold war context of that time, donors knew this but chose not to ask too much.

But if only there were not that infamous “price to pay”, which has already taken its toll on many. Several public executions have been carried out, also open for kids to attend. Suspicion of foreigners is deep-rooted and the shooting to death of a catholic nun and an international journalist are unlikely to be the last. The ban on Khat chewing, the narcotic drug so many Somali men seem to be unable to do without, has been banned, at least during the Ramadan period (a hard to enforce measure that has already sparked some protests).

Women are now being further relegated to the stone ages (some are already all veiled-up, apparently quite willingly so), and working for foreign NGOs is heavily frowned upon. Political violence has certainly not ceased, but is now far less rampant and visible. Then there is the repeated claim that in the UIC controlled parts of Somalia, training camps for Jihad recruits are being established. This is a hard to verify claim, and difficult to distinguish from planted US propaganda. But it does seem to be true that many of the defeated former militia members are being “re-educated” in camps outside of Mogadishu.

Who can tell how far such re-education goes? The most fervent “graduates” may well be those who raise their hands first when presented with the option to join obscure groupings that may or may not be linked to Al-Qaeda. Who knows?
It is suggested that the current situation in Somalia is in large part the result of US-efforts to supposedly quell the rise exactly of this kind of situation. A “CIA coup in Somalia” is said to have occurred, in the sense that “a major policy blunder by the United States opened the way for the UIC to seize power…(as) the CIA saw Somalia as a potential Afghanistan.” [5]

Thus, it should come as little surprise then that support for the UIC has deepened, not least as the scores of mostly young and idle Somali men with no recollection of living in a peaceful and productive society are readily enticed to fight for anything that resembles a meaningful cause. To them, joining militias is the only livelihood that provides any sense of security and income. The last engineer to graduate from what was once called the university of Mogadishu, must have done so nearly 20 years ago, and if not dead or in a militia himself (female Somali engineers would have been most unusual then) he lives and works now in Europe or maybe the US. The only thing usual in Somalia in living memory is the fragility of life and the constant risk of and submersion into repeated and ongoing humanitarian crises. In a recent interview, UNICEF Somalia representative Christian Balslev-Olesen noted that Somalia has become the "optimum" breeding ground for extremism because levels of malnutrition and education are among the worst in the world. He went on to say "If you have generations and generations out of school...we should not be surprised there is extremism in Somalia...”. [6]

As the internally driven and externally fuelled violence in Somalia continues to prevent any semblance of normality from taking hold, a new generation of Somalis is growing up in the midst of the previous social and political rubble.

When reading the International Crisis Groups’ well-researched and detailed account of the Somali political crisis with its countless clan facets and regional dimensions, I cannot help thinking that the report’s title “Can the Somali Crisis be Contained?” is merely a rhetorical question. [7] Sometimes I wonder what would have happened to Somalia, had it been somehow possible to implement Samuel Opondo’s idea of cutting it off the Africa map and letting it drift into the Indian Ocean. Once freed of the Siad Barre dictatorship, would Somalis have had the time and firmness of mind to find their own path to stability and peace? Perhaps Somalia today would be an agreeable island in a calm sea where adults share poems and kids run and play along the beach after school? Too good to be true, I know.

* Glenn Brigaldino is a Canada-based political analyst and commentator on international affairs. As a specialist in development cooperation, he is associated with www.epo.de in Germany and www.APKconsultancy.com of South Africa. Previously he has been a contributing writer for www.newtopiamagazine.net and more recently started writing for www.towardfreedom.com

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


References:
[1] Somalia, the Horn of Africa and US Troops in Odd Places, 20 July 2006, online at:
http://towardfreedom.com/home/content/view/858/63

[2] Uganda seems the keenest to get troops into Somalia and
“has even signed a team of British army veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to give peacekeeping training to the 1,000 troops it has reserved for Somalia.”, see:
Somalia’s stony path, Harun Hassan, Opendemocracy, Oct. 5, 2006,
http://www.opendemocracy.net/democracy-africa_democracy/somalia_path_3968.jsp

Quoting Uganda’s “Daily Monitor”, Allafrica (27 Sept.’06) reports that the recent visit to Uganda by Ethiopian dictator Meles Zenawi “…had been disguised as a trip on matters of ‘trade,’ was to draw a war plan for the already troubled Horn of Africa country.”

[3] While there is a good and valid case to be made that “Western” approaches to and ideas on childhood development and education should not be mechanically transplanted to other societies, I would add that there can be not retracting form demanding that children are especially vulnerable in impoverished, in turmoil societies. Securing children’s’ basic human rights are a minimum requirement for any developmental progress; a society or nation state that pays increased attention to children’s’ needs has an immeasurably greater chance to develop in peace than places where children needs are ignored or violated.
For a discussion on the context for child development in a globalized world, see:
Unequal Childhoods – Young children’s lives in poor countries, by Helen Penn, Routledge, London, 2005
[4] see: Somalia: Reported incidents of pirate attacks and hijackings off the coast of Somalia (January 2005 - March 2006) http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/JOPA-6NMBBN?OpenDocument&rc=1&emid=ACOS-635PL7

[5] CIA coup in Somalia, G. Prunier, Le Monde diplomatique, September 2006, p.7

[6] Alertnet (Reuters), 21 Sept. 2006, Poverty & Extremism, http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L21391236.htm
[7] Can the Somali Crisis Be Contained?, International Crisis Group, Africa Report N°116, 10 August 2006
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=4333&l=1

Women and Globalisation

Tidiane Kassé

2006-10-05

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/37615

Mouhamadou Tidiane KASSE argues that the implementation of neo-liberal policies and strategies in Africa, which have culminated today in globalisation, resulted in the feminisation of poverty on the continent. “Liberalisation began by hitting social services. Women were to suffer the most from the effects, due to tradition and their social position.”


Today, two concepts stand together. They work in parallel, but also together, since, inevitably, the two situations they encompass feed off one another. Since the beginning of the 1980s and the implementation of neo-liberal policies and strategies in Africa, which culminated today in globalisation, the feminisation of poverty has become an irreversible, downward spiral. Among other consequences of this situation, the 1990s saw the spread of Aids in Africa begin to take on a feminine character.

Just as poverty becomes more feminine, Aids also takes hold of it. In the first decade after its appearance, the disease was mainly rife among men, but now it has seen its distribution reversed to the detriment of women. Of the 25 million people living with HIV in Africa (out of 37.8 million globally), 58% are women. The proportions are the same for the 9,000 people who contract the virus every day in Africa.

The feminisation of poverty and its effects on women’s health are preventable. Neo-liberal policies paved the way for this when they began taking control in Africa from the 1980s onwards. The Economic and Financial Recovery Plan (EFRP) of the 1970s was followed by Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) in the 1980s, and Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) in the 1990s. This semantic shift shows the successive failures of these policies that were set up by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, which both locked Africa in an endless spiral of poverty. All these policies have today resulted in globalisation, which has moved the continent’s fragility up one level, with the same disastrous effects. What previously happened merely at a local level, within States, now takes place on a global scale, transcending borders and state sovereignty.

The template for today’s tragedy was drawn in the 1980s. Liberalisation began by hitting social services. Women were to suffer the most from the effects, due to tradition and their social position. The decision to make access to education more and more expensive led to girls falling behind. Twenty years later, millions had to be invested to provide them with an education to make up for the effects of this disaster. At the same time, mortality rates among mothers and children went well beyond being scandalous and the reduction of these rates is today one of the development goals of the new millennium. All this is happening in such a way that it looks like one is emptying a barrel in order to refill it again. And this is serious when human lives are at stake.

Survival strategies

The findings of a study entitled “Les familles dakaroises face à la crise” (“Families in Dakar confronting the crisis”) were worrying for the years following the implementation of liberal policies: “It is in fact wage earners in the private sector who are most acutely affected by the crisis of the 1980s. Among men, the unemployed make up 13.7% of industry. In construction, the figure is 14.3%, it is 4.6% in the private service sector and production and 9.1% in business. The agricultural and fishing industries have been hit the hardest by unemployment (18.8%).

“But the situation is all the more tragic for women, whose level of unemployment is 21.6% in industry, 15.0% in the service sector and production and 19.2% in business. The higher levels of unemployment among women are so acute that many have had to state that they are housewives after looking for work in vain. The figures given for women are therefore low estimates for female unemployment.” (Cf. Les familles dakaroises face à la crise – Ifan, Orstom, Ceped - 1995)

The continued process of world trade liberalisation has created a context of economic and social disintegration, with women suffering the most in Africa. In the two-tier societies that are being set up, the effects are piling up at the end of the line. Here, women are the final – and weakest – link. Girls are being deprived of an education, ruining their futures through teenage pregnancy, and wives are experiencing all manner of marital violence (latent or visible, codified or not by society), which is exacerbated by poverty and the absence of life’s basic necessities.

The survival strategies women have employed, through becoming involved as workers in production or industry, do not stand up to new deprotection laws. Factories close or streamline their staff and imports kill off whole sections of production they invest in. Today, female traders in Africa have to go ever further to compete with Asian products that are flooding into markets. As one Senegalese woman put it, “In the 1980s, I used to go to Gambia. When the 1990s came, I had to go as far as Nouakchott and Las Palmas to develop my business. Today, you have to go to Dubai, Taiwan and Hong Kong to compete with the markets that have been established where we are. Especially with the Chinese. Investment is more expensive, journeys are longer and difficulties are greater when it comes to reconciling our role as pillars of the family and our economic functions. In the group of women with whom I organise alternate trips and shared purchasing, we spend hundreds of millions of francs on business each year. But because we work informally, because we do not offer the guarantees deemed necessary, the State will not support us and banks will no longer offer us credit.”

So, laws do not work in women’s favour and the social environment even less so. Natalie Domeisen, of the ITC International Trade Forum, is quoted as saying: “Do women encounter added difficulties when trying to expand their trade through exports because they are women? This is precisely the fundamental question societies should be asking themselves and should be agreeing upon in order to speed up change. For small businesses, access to finances, market information and training is essential. Women who are involved in exports have, however, fewer opportunities to access the support networks that a good number of their male counterparts have. The type of assistance they need is also different. Most businesses belonging to women are part of the service industry, and the main way of developing these businesses is by setting up networks with a view to creating a client base.”

Life and health

The great majority of women, however, are far from these concerns of market dominance. Instead, daily concerns revolve around health and survival strategies. One major concern today is that millions of women do not have access to healthcare during pregnancy and childbirth that could save their lives. For example, only 53% of births in developing countries take place with the assistance of a qualified person (a doctor, midwife or nurse). With the poor nutritional condition of women before pregnancy, due to healthcare that is inadequate, inaccessible or too expensive, not to mention the lack of hygiene and care during labour, there has been a huge increase in dangerous pregnancies.

Beyond the failures of national policies, globalisation has turned healthcare into a market area, and drugs into a market good. The debate and conflict between countries in the South and the North in relation to the Agreements on Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), under the framework of the World Trade Organisation, have been instructive in this regard. Supported by the patents they hold, drug multinationals have been opposed to certain products being made in countries in the South, where local industry could do this job in order to reduce accessibility costs and improve the health of populations. The issue made the headlines in 2000, when thirty-nine drugs companies undertook legal proceedings against South Africa for allowing its population access to low-cost drugs, particularly anti-retrovirals. In April 2001, they withdrew their action when African States raised their shields by sticking to safeguards. The agreement on TRIPS requires WTO member governments to ensure, over a period of twenty years, copyright and patent protection for various new products, including pharmaceutical products. Without the consent of the inventor, no one can use, make or sell a particular product during this period. In the meantime, Aids is killing people – and particularly more and more women. The 2005 UNAIDS data for sub-Saharan Africa shows that 58% of infected adults are women.

To end this pandemic and slow down its effects, anti-retroviral treatment required, at one point, 600,000 CFA francs per month (around 1,000 dollars; the costs have been reduced since then and the drugs are even free in certain countries thanks to public spending). Yet it would have been possible to produce generic drugs locally, thus reducing costs. In India, a pharmaceutical group set the price of ARV’s at 600 dollars (per person, per year) for African governments. However, between the rights of patent holders and the right to life for millions and millions of people, it was necessary to reach a contentious legal decision. Brazil had to face attacks from America for adopting a law that authorised local production of anti-retroviral drugs such as AZT, which helps to prevent transmission from mother to child.

With the mobilisation of countries in the South, ethics took precedence over profit. And after threatening South Africa with sanctions at a point when the country was wrestling with American pharmaceutical companies, President Bill Clinton signed a decree to change American intellectual property laws applying to the distribution of drugs to counter HIV/Aids in sub-Saharan Africa. This decree forbade anyone from lodging a complaint to the WTO in order to block the wishes of sub-Saharan African countries to produce or obtain drugs to fight Aids.

The market logic that is taking hold of healthcare relates to the fact that this sector is an enormous source of revenue, in terms of drugs, the provision of healthcare, laboratory materials, etc. And up until now under the WTO, the precedence of the right to healthcare over patent rights has not yet become a reality. Even if small gains have been made, the United States remains tied to the idea that a wider agreement on property rights could tomorrow be extended to the diseases that generate much higher profits for laboratories.

In effect, even if the debate has focused on diseases like tuberculosis, malaria and Aids, medical research on these three most deadly pandemics comes to less than 5% of the total budget for research at the ten largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. But to make concessions in this domain is seen as a threat to making a tidy profit. A case in point is the sale of drugs that are threatened by the arrival of generic drugs between now and 2007, which is valued at 50 billion dollars – 17.8 billion of which go to the American companies Merck and Pfizer.

This is how some people’s billions are the source of other people’s misfortune. According to the current logic of globalisation, world trade rules control national policy. We are witnessing the loss of sovereignty and international agreements are directly influencing public policy. In social services such as healthcare and education, finance ministers determine what is invested and what is undertaken according to the standards of international financial markets. The wild logic of economic gain thus takes precedence over the necessities of social well-being.

In Mali, for example, the fight against malaria has at its disposal neither the necessary financial means nor an adequate institutional policy. The national programme is only one of the areas of the Prevention Division of the National Health Directorate, and has a budget of 1.5 billion CFA francs per year. And to put to work even the slightest of action, many steps need to be taken to move it along (cf. Panos News, forthcoming). Yet, according to the United Nations’ 2005 report on the Millennium Development Goals, malaria destroys a million lives each year, mainly women and young children – consequently slowing down economic growth by 1.3% per year. And 90% of these deaths take place in sub-Saharan Africa, where more than 2,000 children are lost to this disease every day. Mali is among those countries where this disease is still endemic, and requires prevention and constant funding.

Since the 1980s, African countries have done nothing but put up with this. But do they have the means to resist? The partial failure of the last WTO ministerial summit in Hong Kong in December 2005, which was supposed to close the Doha Round after the Cancun stage in September 2003 (which also failed), was due to the mobilisation of countries in the South against a process that places them in an endless trap. But the resistance over cotton, where the reserves of countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa, on top of other issues, are not enough to stop the machine called globalisation. The WTO is but one structural framework to have ended in failure. Meanwhile, the process continues according to its own dynamics, led by multinationals.

Resistance from civil society, through the mobilisation of the anti-globalisation movement, remains a very weak obstacle, whose consequences have struggled to take root in wider society. And in this movement, the proportion of women remains very slight. In the demonstrations of the African Social Forum, the female component is still very marginal. It is less a vehicle for reflection on resistance and alternatives to globalisation than an appendix to the changes that a being sought. We continue to debate what we put up with (physical violence, mental violence and so on) rather than the solutions women hold and the tools to give them impetus to act.

In the current climate of the feminisation of poverty and the feminisation of disease, the vicious circle is growing and affecting more and more women, and at the same time is closing in them as part of a continued process that is making precariousness more widespread. Page (2000) writes: “The subordination of women in African society, in the face of the HIV/Aids pandemic, is leading to premature deaths and the break-up of millions of families across the whole of the [African] continent. The fact that this in turn is creating a generation of rootless and traumatised children will have grave consequences for the future stability of many countries in Africa. While we concentrate solely on preventing infection and caring for those who are dying, we are neglecting the opportunity to prolong the healthy and productive lives of Africans who are HIV-positive, particularly mothers with children of a young age.” The logic of globalisation does not want this process to end.


•Mouhamadou Tidiane Kasse is Coordinator of Flamme d’Afrique, a daily newspaper published by IPAO and ENDA on occasions of meetings of social movements.
•Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

Welcome to the Latin Americanisation of Nigerian politics

Tajudeen Abdul Raheem

2006-10-05

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/panafrican/37606

I have maintained an unusual silence over the past few weeks about the exposures and counter exposures between the President of Nigeria, retired General Olusegun Obasanjo and his estranged Deputy, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku. My initial reaction was dismissive because it is a case of the kettle calling the pot black. However, while I was neither fazed nor dazed by the gutter level to which their internecine warfare had descended, I must confess that I did not know that they could sink even lower and do so openly.

But like many concerned Nigerians I had recoiled into an embarrassed indifference, consequently feigning lack of interest and convincing myself that I could not care less. Dog eats dog or vulture ogling vulture - why should I care? But that was just a defensive front. What the President and Vice President of any country do affects the citizens. Government machinery is virtually paralyzed by the war between the two who seem locked in a loveless cohabitation from which they are unable to disengage.

Neither of them is catholic therefore divorce should have been easier! But Atiku has refused to jump and Obasanjo's people have been inept at pushing him. So the cohabitation falters on.

The tragic death of many Senior Army Officers in yet another air crash a few weeks ago forced a temporary truce between the two warring factions in Aso Rock, but they have now resumed public hostilities. One gets a feeling that this is some kind of Nigerian bastardized form of truth without justice. We have heard, and will hear more gory details of officials looting, squandering, comprador activities, and betrayal of public trust, but may not see the perpetrators punished or even showing any remorse.

The general public discussions seem to suggest that many people believe that the revelations are prompted not by any wish for corruption to be rooted out but by a political vendetta against political opponents. While this may be true and has a bearing on how the public perceives the official war against corruption, it smacks of public complacency.

All looters may not be caught but it is baffling to suggest that those exposed, who can be proven guilty should not be tried. Even if Obasanjo is trying only his real and imagined enemies I have no problem with their trial if they actually are guilty. However, when another administration comes to power, Obasanjo and his cronies can and should be tried too.

It is very strange that the supporters of his Deputy are not actively pleading the innocence of their Godfather but rather saying he is not alone and that his boss, the President, is also guilty. It is an unprincipled defence based on a warped logic suggesting that unless all thieves are caught, the few should not be tried. This cannot be a plea for discharge, though it could be a plea bargain in some cases if the accused fully cooperates with the court.
We need to separate the hypocrisy of those prosecuting and pointing fingers at corrupt politicians from the possible guilt of those being targeted.

If all Obasanjo’s enemies happen to be thieves they should pay for their crimes. It does not excuse Obasanjo, but since he may not be tried while he is still in power his day in court may be postponed. If we look at Latin America (in the 70s) the Generals initially got away with impunity but more than twenty years later some of them faced justice.

The other argument in support of Atiku is that he is supposed to be a very popular politician. This similar argument is used in favour of Jacob Zuma, who has populist appeal in South Africa. But should popularity be a reason for the law not to take its course? Readers may ask how these questions relate to my article (which a few critics believe to be too ‘understanding’ or even ‘adulatory’) on Winnie Mandela last week? My support of Winnie was not an endorsement of the acts for which she was convicted but rather pointing out the disproportionate attention paid to her while others were left to go scot-free. If she had not been Winnie Mandela it is doubtful she would have been treated this way. However because she is Winnie it is reasonable to expect higher standards from her. Understanding how things went ‘horribly wrong’ is not the same as conferring impunity on her. One could still admire her, not because, but despite these convictions.

Atiku is in no way a Winnie Mandela but closer to a Zuma. But if he is as popular as his supporters claim why should his conviction make a difference? Zuma has remained a serious challenger to the South African presidency in spite all kinds of acrimonious litigations and despite being fired from his post. He has survived rape charges and only had his corruption case struck off the court roll.

Atiku’s supporters are not so sure about the legal process in Nigeria. They are even more uncertain about their own party. This says a lot about the rule of law and democracy in the country. They fear that the timing of his corruption trials may prevent him from contesting for nomination for the presidency and contesting the election itself next year.

Obasanjo can try Atiku, but Atiku cannot put Obasanjo on trial, at least not in any court other than that of public opinion. Obasanjo’s crude tactics against his deputy have certainly made Atiku more popular and created a false hero for democracy to some people. His supporters are milking the goodwill claiming that his travails happened because he was opposed to Obasanjo’s third term. So great is the public disenchantment with Obasanjo’s lacklustre, arrogant government that not many people are asking what his opponents really stand for.

Obasanjo may get his pound of flesh by denying Atiku the chance to run but as he himself knows too painfully well: no condition is permanent. He has travelled full circle from presidency to prison to presidency. And he could restart the journey all over again in the near future.

The revelations have also exposed the Nigerian ruling elite as not only rotten to the core, but rotten from the core. For Obasanjo and his apologists his holier-than-thou, I- know-best messianic politics have been exposed for what they are: empty. In days gone by these revelations would have triggered a coup. But coups are out of fashion not only because of the fundamental shift in international opinion but also because internal power dynamics (unlike those recently seen in Thailand) have changed.

In any case the generals control the levers of the economy and political machineries (including even important sections of the traditional aristocracies) undisguised across Nigeria. They are able to use their looted monies to buy criminal infrastructures and therefore do not need the traditional military coup anymore. They have elected to resolve their secondary contradictions through the current democracy without democrats, a civilian regime, only in name with the generals imposing their will on the society. Welcome to the Latin Americanisation of Nigerian politics. All power to the generals!

* 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

Darfur: Voices Calling for International Intervention in Darfur

Africa Action

2006-10-05

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/37597

As the crisis in Darfur continues to deepen, Africa Action stands with the people of Darfur and with African leaders from across the continent who are calling for an international peacekeeping force that can stop the violence and protect civilians in western Sudan.
"Africa Action Stands with African Voices Calling for International Intervention in Darfur"

Statement released October 4, 2006 Contact: Ann-Louise Colgan, 202-546-7961 As the crisis in Darfur continues to deepen, Africa Action stands with the people of Darfur and with African leaders from across the continent who are calling for an international peacekeeping force that can stop the violence and protect civilians in western Sudan.

In recent weeks, reports have confirmed a sharp deterioration in the security situation on the ground in Darfur, and international discussions at the United Nations (UN), the African Union (AU) and elsewhere have focused on how to protect civilians from the worsening violence. While the AU continues to provide a measure of security in some parts of Darfur, and while it has extended the mandate of its mission until December 31, the need for a more robust international intervention in Darfur is clear. In a significant step, the UN Security Council authorized such a peacekeeping force in Resolution 1706, passed at the end of August.

With the implementation of Resolution 1706 now stalled in the face of Khartoum’s opposition, African voices have emerged prominently in the discourse on Darfur, asserting the need and the obligation for new international action on this crisis. Leadership figures from across the continent have spoken out powerfully in the past several weeks, questioning the failure of the world community to act more quickly and assertively to save lives in Darfur. They have injected moral clarity into the debate and affirmed the legitimacy of the United Nations and its member states to pursue the action necessary to stop the genocide in Darfur.

Africa Action continues to elevate Darfuri voices in the U.S. discourse on this crisis, and works with Darfuri organizations across the U.S., calling for an urgent international intervention that can provide protection and security to the people of Darfur. Fatima Haroun of the Sudan Peace Advocates Network joined Africa Action’s rally outside the White House on September 9, 2006, and repeated her longstanding call for a United Nations peacekeeping force for Darfur. She emphasized, “The people of Darfur have suffered more than enough already, and the situation is getting worse. It is time for international action to stop the violence and bring relief and peace to this region.” The following week, on September 14, 2006, Archbishop Desmond Tutu emphasized, “The world can’t keep saying 'Never again'.” He chastised the international community for its slow response to the Darfur crisis, saying in a BBC interview, “The harsh truth is that some lives are slightly more important than others... If you are swarthy, of a darker hue, almost always you are going to end up at the bottom of the pile.” Archbishop Tutu asserted that the international community should make clear to the Sudanese government that it must accept UN peacekeepers or face serious consequences.

At an Arria-style meeting of the UN Security Council on September 14,2006, H.E. Nana Effah-Apenteng, Ambassador of Ghana to the United Nations, invoked Article 4 of the Constitutive Act of the African Union, which asserts the right to intervene in a member state in cases where crimes against humanity are taking place. He expressed his concern about the urgency of the situation in Darfur, and asserted that the international community could not allow Khartoum to delay action endlessly, but must move forward to protect the people of Darfur.

One day later, First Vice President in the Government of National Unity in Khartoum, Salva Kiir, offered his support for an international peacekeeping mission in Darfur, stating, “The aggravation of the humanitarian and security situation in Darfur necessitates intervention of international forces to protect civilians from the atrocities of the Janjaweed militias so long as the government is not capable of protecting them.” On September 17, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan told reporters, "I have urged the Security Council to act…without delay, and to be united as possible in the face of the crisis.” He added, “It is urgent to act now.
Civilians are still being attacked and fleeing their villages as we speak.” Africa’s first woman president, Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, addressed the General Assembly the following week on September 19, saying, “The world must not allow a second Rwanda to happen.” She added, “My government therefore calls on this General Assembly and the Security Council to exercise the Chapter VII authority to restore peace, security and stability to Darfur.” The following day, Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka was quoted in the South African newspaper Business Day challenging the legitimacy of Khartoum’s opposition to a UN force for Darfur, saying, “When a deviant branch of that family of nations flouts, indeed revels in the abandonment of, the most basic norms of human decency, is there really justification in evoking the excuse that protocol requires the permission [for UN deployment of force] of that same arrogant and defiant entity?” These and other statements from African leaders in the past month have shaped the debate on the necessary next steps to stop the genocide in Darfur. They join the chorus of voices from within and outside the continent urging an international intervention that can protect the people of Darfur.

Africa Action values the leadership role that the African Union has played and continues to play in Darfur. Africa Action also respects the AU’s numerous requests for a transition to a larger UN peacekeeping force. Such a transition is consistent with the international “Responsibility to Protect” doctrine, and it is the necessary and appropriate response to this crime against humanity.

Africa Action urges the U.S. and other members of the Security Council to support African leadership on Darfur by implementing Resolution 1706 and deploying an international peacekeeping mission to reinforce the AU and provide effective protection to the people of Darfur. As the situation in Darfur deteriorates still further, the international community must act now. The Security Council must take every step necessary to overcome remaining obstacles and to achieve this deployment, before countless more lives are lost in Darfur.

Global: Joint NGO Statement on girls in armed conflict

2006-10-05

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/37595

We would like to draw the attention of this Council to strengthen measures to ensure comprehensive protection of rights of the girl child in armed conflict. Today, in every continent, wherever there is conflict, children are disproportionately affected. Among them, the girl child is especially vulnerable to sexual violence.
World YWCA
World Alliance of YMCAs
World Organisation Against Torture
Federation of American Women’s Clubs Overseas
UN Watch International

2nd session of the 1st Human Rights Council, 18 September – 6 October 2006

Joint NGO Statement on girls in armed conflict

Delivered by Yuriko Fukushima, 29 September 2006



Mr. Chairperson,

We would like to draw the attention of this Council to strengthen measures to ensure comprehensive protection of rights of the girl child in armed conflict.

Today, in every continent, wherever there is conflict, children are disproportionately affected. Among them, the girl child is especially vulnerable to sexual violence.

In situations of armed conflict, the girl child is especially vulnerable to sexual violence as they are targeted for rape, abduction into sexual slavery and prostitution. In many cases, girls face forced pregnancy, forced sterilization and murder as a consequence.

Sexual violence during armed conflict also accelerates the spread of HIV and AIDS. According to the UNAIDS, the rate of HIV infections among combatants are three to five times higher than those among local populations. Where rape is used as a weapon of war, the girl child is at a high risk of being infected with HIV.

The end of an armed conflict does not make the situation of the girl child less vulnerable. Inadequate health services, education and legal support do not ensure their physical and psychological healing. Furthermore, the social stigma attached to victims of rape and sexual violence often makes them reluctant to seek treatment and support.

Therefore, we call on this Council to take comprehensive and long-term action to ensure the rights, protection and well being of the girl child before, during and post armed conflicts.

We urge the Governments and the Human Rights Council:

•To integrate human rights standards articulated in conventions and protocols into the national legal framework so as to put an end to impunity for war crimes against the girl child and bring those responsible to justice.

•To allocate financial resources for post-conflict reconstruction to ensure the adequate provision of social services to the girl child who has suffered sexual violence, including health and medical services, counselling and education.
•To develop adequate resources which would ensure full access to social and legal support.
•To integrate HIV prevention, care and treatment into conflict prevention programmes and support the girl child who has contracted HIV as a result of sexual assault in armed conflict situations.

Thank you, Mr, Chairperson.

Global: STAND UP!

2006-10-04

http://www.millenniumcampaign.org/standup

There are less than 3 weeks to join the world on October 15-16 and STAND UP Against Poverty! From schools in Kathmandu to churches in Texas , the world will STAND UP to remind their governments that promises to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and help the billions living in extreme poverty, must be kept.

Disarmament programme in Mozambique

Barbara Murray

2006-10-03

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/37460

Following the civil war in Mozambique a very effective programme was started in which people with weapons could negotiate to exchange their weapons for an item which they themselves nominated and which would enable them to earn a living, for example, a plough, a sewing machine, a bicycle, a typewriter. In some cases a community that had a cache of hidden weapons would hand them over in exchange for a water pump or solar electricity generator for the community.

In this way people were not simply giving up what little they had but were getting something concrete in exchange.

The weapons were collected and cut up by a group of artists who then made the pieces of guns into artworks that are now sold and exhibited throughout the world. One work, "The Throne of Weapons" was bought by the British Museum who also commissioned "The Tree of Life" as part of their 2005 Africa show. Other methods of destroying the guns could be melting and reuse in equipment such as carts and ploughs.

It might be useful for people in Sierra Leone to contact the Mozambicans. See [url]=http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/international/mozam.html[/url]

Katshung’s article

Grevisse Fyles, Leuven

2006-10-05

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/37610

Regarding Joseph Yav Katshung’s article (http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/37403), can I suggest that Mr Katshung expand his article to a book in order for all of us to understand and know better the intricacies of the Ugandan politics?

Thank you Pambazuka for making this profound analysis accessible to the general public.

An interview with Tsitsi Dangarembga

Robtel Neajai Pailey

2006-10-05

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/books/37608

Eating disorders seem to be a rarity in the issues raised by contemporary African writers. That’s most likely why Tsitsi Dangarembga’s 1988 classic “Nervous Conditions” became an immediate modern African classic. It was a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story about the affects of patriarchy and colonialism on a female protagonist, Tambudzai. Nyasha, Tambudzai’s cousin, suffers from an acute case of bulimia. In many respects, she attempts to regurgitate centuries of societal repression of African women’s bodies, livelihoods, and intellectual capacities.

Like Nyasha, Dangarembga has been regurgitating historical tyranny with creative genius. She is a Zimbabwean playwright, novelist, and filmmaker who tackles head-on the oppression wrought by patriarchy and colonialism on African women. Her most recent novel, “The Book of Not,” is a sequel to “Nervous Conditions.”

Dangarembga could be called a feminist, but she shies away from the loaded term, opting for something more holistic, humanist. The Informer interviewed Dangarembga recently about writing, African women’s empowerment, and continental development.


Robtel Neajai Pailey (RP): Your large body of work shows that in the grand scheme of things, gender matters to you. How did you become so interested in the convergence of gender, oppression, and Africa?

Tsitsi Dangarembga (TD): Gender matters to me because I am a woman and experience firsthand the oppressive consequences of gender discrimination. I spend a lot of my considerable energy fighting that, and I think, why do I have to waste so much on this fight? I am sure most women all over the world ask themselves that question daily. Think how much energy is dissipated in this useless manner. It is energy that could be harnessed for the good of all people in a world free of gender oppression. I experience similar oppression as an African person. Naturally, I see similarities, but then again, also differences in these two systems of oppression. I spend a lot more time and energy trying to tease out which oppression fits so I can combat it appropriately, win and move on. I think that kind of intellectual work can be a legacy for others, hopefully shortening and easing their struggles.

RP: “The condition of the native is a nervous condition” seems to be the hallmark of your 1988 novel, “Nervous Conditions.” Was this one line in “Nervous Conditions” some type of tribute to Frantz Fanon and his book “Wretched of the Earth?”

TD: It was not a tribute in the sense that I wanted to draw attention to the greatness of “Wretched of the Earth.” It is, however, a tribute in the sense that that quotation affirms the truth that Fanon wrote, whose essence was captured so aptly and so succinctly by [Jean-Paul] Sartre in his introduction to Fanon’s work.*

RP: How are African women and girls today still victims of White supremacy and patriarchy?

TD: My new novel “The Book of Not” deals with this theme. The relationships are too complex to reduce to a few sentences, I think. When we do that, we miss essentials that need to be looked at. So I have taken many years to work this out to my satisfaction and also depict it to my satisfaction in “The Book of Not.” Personally, I feel both systems still work to victimize me. I think it is not an accident at all that most strong African women find they can only move forward in the company of other strong African women. Thank goodness for the sisterhood! Having said that, of course I do not want to portray the rest of the world as a homogenous monstrous lot! Neither could I as an African woman manage without the support from allies who have institutional access to institutionalized power and resources. Such people have kept me and my work—both my personal work and the work that I do as part of the African women’s movement—alive.

RP: I understand that you studied medicine and psychology at Cambridge University in England. Can you describe the psychological manifestations of patriarchy and neo-colonialism on African women and girls (besides eating disorders)?

TD: Low self-esteem; under performance; anti-social behavior; role modeling on anti-social hitherto traditionally masculine behaviors; negative energy; learned helplessness; rage; addiction; alienation; psychological disturbances from neuroses to psychoses; lethargy; dysfunctional attitudes; suicide; self immolation…to name a few.

RP: You’ve become increasingly aware of the difficult conditions and oppressive attitudes endured by Black women in Zimbabwe. I dare say you’ve been increasingly aware of the difficulty endured by African women all over the continent. What are some of the contemporary challenges African women face? What do you believe are some solutions to these challenges?

TD: Economic conditions in our global capitalist world are the main challenge. This translates practically into challenges of food security, health, shelter, education…again, the list goes on. There is also the challenge of how to make sure your voice is heard to voice these issues, both by those who want to hear you and by those who do not. This also at the end of the day translates into a challenge of financial resources. Few African women have the financial security to write the novels they want to write, make the films they want to in order to be heard, make the radio programs they see as crucial to their development and well being. We do not have the resources to ensure that these programs are aired even if we are able to make them. We often do not have the time to write the newspaper article we want to because they often will not be published in our newspapers and so we will not be paid, or if the articles are published often again a male chauvinist spin is put on them. Nor do we have our own newspapers. Again, it is not a monolithic African woman-hating world out there, but the opportunities are too few to sustain us at the level we have reached, let alone sustain our continued well-being and development in the face of our challenges.

RP: Please comment on how the tenuous political and economic conditions in Zimbabwe have affected women in the country.

TD: The political situation has affected most women badly in every sense. As in all crises situations there are some who exploit the suffering of others to benefit from it, and some of these exploiters who benefit are women. However, on the whole, women have seen the gains they made since independence in 1980 whittled away over the last few years. There is less food security. Girl children are less likely to be educated. Shortages of basic commodities make a mother’s life a nightmare. Biologically, women are challenged again. How are women to afford to buy the sanitary wear they need to soak up menstrual blood? As men are affected by the difficult conditions, they take out their frustrations on the often physically weaker sex. Sexual crimes and other violent crimes against women and children are accelerating at an unspeakable rate. The HIV pandemic multiplies the horrific implications of this situation a million times. Because of international sanctions, amongst other things, there are no medicines, little food, and what is there is hardly healthy. Only vestigial sanitation in most areas, almost no clean water in others. Even the cities go for days without water, to say nothing of fuel. I do not understand the logic that believes Zimbabweans will suffer these deprivations and become better, more democratic peoples. In my reading of history, a democratic nation has never been a hungry, suffering nation. Democracy seems to me to have been positively correlated with comfort. I do not think I am the only person who has read history, and so I wonder about the diverse agendas that are destroying my country in the name of democracy and human rights. There may as well be other factors at play which are destroying Zimbabwe, such as avarice, corruption and lack of accountability, but I do not think we must study all the factors and their impacts if we truly desire a solution, and not be selective about which truths we will face and which we will not.

RP: Over 15 African countries have ratified the Protocol on the Rights of the African Woman, which stipulates a series of recommendations for women’s rights on the continent to be adopted by the African Union. Are you familiar with this Protocol? If not, what recommendations would you include?

TD: Over the years there have been so many protocols and statements on human rights and women’s rights that I have lost track. I have not seen that these do a great deal to benefit the lives of women and the people close to women on the ground, beyond the NGOs and others involved in the drafting, funding, and implementation. Again, that is not to say that these actions have achieved zero impact, but I do not think that isolating women’s rights without addressing the larger picture of Africa and globalization will yield positive results. At the end of the day, African women and men have to live together in peace and harmony. This will not be achieved by looking only at the needs of one group.

RP: What would you say are some of the major contributions women in the developing world have contributed? What have African women contributed?

TD: I think African women who have made their mark in the world have shown what degrees of human strength are possible. They have shown us how to persevere, never give up, and simply never ever take NO for an answer, if the answer should be YES.

RP: Perhaps African American women writers such as bell hooks, Angela Davis, Toni Morrison, and Zora Neale Hurston are your counterparts in terms of writing from a particular ethnic and gender lens. Have these women at all influenced your work?

TD: Absolutely! All of them have. I remember being so impressed by Angela Davis’ Afro and the fact that she had been in jail! I thought, how can a woman in America have to go to jail? Then I read and found out why. It was good to realize that what I was beginning to notice going on around me was not my own little secret shame because I was not good enough at a personal level. I love bell hooks for writing about the rage that makes you want to kill, but then having to not kill and do something else instead that is life affirming, and, I imagine, infinitely more rewarding even if it seems at first to be infinitely more difficult than murder! Zora Neale Hurston simply stunned me by saying out, just like that, what she had to say. As for Toni Morrison, she is my ultimate literary role model. I remember telling my publisher how at first I was perplexed that each of Morrison’s novels were in a different voice. As a reader who had enjoyed one of her works, I craved a continuation in the next one. But then as I continued to read, I found that that was one of the marks of genius.

RP: In tandem with African women writers such as Buchi Emecheta, Ama Atta Aidoo, and Mariama Ba, you’ve managed to reconstruct the experiences of African women through the literary medium. What do you see as the role of African women writers today?

TD: Well, I write to tell a story. I think people like stories because they serve such a variety of purposes ranging from entertainment to information, to role modeling to catharsis.

RP: What is your latest novel about? How has publishing abroad been a challenge and a boon simultaneously?

TD: “The Book of Not” continues the story of Tambudzai Siguake, the narrator of “Nervous Conditions,” and her quest towards becoming herself. This journey almost comes to a premature end at the Catholic Convent School she attends in Rhodesia [now Zimbabwe]. I like to think, however, that she survives. Publishing abroad is useful because you reach a wider audience. Books published first in Zimbabwe are not automatically picked up by international publishers. I am still looking for a Zimbabwean publisher, though. I love touching the people around me, and stirring them to something.

RP: What would you say are your greatest accomplishments?

TD: Staying alive, healthy and happy. Loving my family and finding compassion.

*The title of “Nervous Conditions” is borrowed from Jean-Paul Sartre’s introduction to Franz Fanon’s “Wretched of the Earth.” The ‘nervous condition’ of the native is, according to Sartre, a function of mutually reinforcing attitudes between colonizer and colonized that condemn the colonized to what amounts to a psychological disorder.

•This article first appeared in The Washington Informer [url]=http://www.washingtoninformer.com[/url] and is reproduced here with permission. Robtel Neajai Pailey is the Washington Informer Assistant Editor.
•Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

Review of African blogs - Focus on Kenya and East Africa

Sokari Ekine

2006-10-04

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/blog/37489

The Kenyan blogging community is one of the largest in Africa. 18 months ago the Kenyan Unlimited online community was created for Kenyans and friends of Kenya. It consists of a webring and an aggregator of all members’ blogs. Earlier this year the KU community held their first Kaybees Blog Awards under 13 categories.

One of the most innovative Kenyan sites is Mzalendo, set up to monitor and report on the activities of the Kenyan parliament. The site content includes Bills, Committees, Constituencies, Ministries, Motions, MPs, Political Parties, Provinces and Districts. The site is also a forum for discussion by Kenyans and in future could well form the basis of a platform for citizens to interrogate and call ministers to account for their actions.

The Kenyan Democracy Project is a blog that has just recently returned from a long hiatus. As well as some very good political commentary the site is full of interesting links on social justice and gender issues. This week KDP writes on “How the other Kenyan half subsists”. While discussions on corruption continue to be the mainstream focus, the concerns of Kenya’s marginalised groups go unnoticed.

“For instance over the last seven days, I have seen on Kenyan national television, countless stories featuring the demolition and eviction of hundreds of slum dwellers in the Embakasi neighbourhood of Nairobi. A couple of nights ago (Friday, September 22, 2006) I watched as a group of evictees, featuring a sixty something Akorino man, a forty something woman among others, complain bitterly how they were now rendered homeless despite the fact that they had spent up to 200,000 Kenya shillings (representing, in the case of the Akorino man, his entire life savings) on setting up and maintaining their structures only to be thwarted by the violent attacks instigated by a private developer...The sickening thing was that these vicious acts of inhuman vandalism were being supervised by uniformed members of the state employed and tax-payer bankrolled police force.”

Steve Ntwiga is an excellent resource for African music. Steve manages to dig out forgotten artists and music from the 60’s and 70’s as well as contemporary artists.

White African is the creator of the African Network project which is a “centralised web portal for information important to Africans, customized for their location, their tastes and their needs. It consists of: a vertical search engine, news portal and community site.”

The community site Zangu, as well as being online, hopes to enable access via mobile phone technology. White African also writes about the latest in “Web2” technology and how bloggers can use these to improve their blogs.

Soyapi Mumba's Blog is also a technology blog. Soyapi writes on technological developments in Malawi, East and Southern Africa. This week he reports that Mozambique may be in the picture to assemble Chinese computers.

"Indeed, it has been reported that negotiations are underway to build a plant to assemble Chinese computers in Mozambique...I haven't seen any report or news article about the negotiations. Have you? If it is true, this is good news for Mozambique and its neighbouring land-locked countries of southern Africa like Malawi, which is almost surrounded by Mozambique.”

Bankelele like the name suggests, is a blog on banking, finance and business news in Kenya. Bankelele,along with Kenyan Pundit, is also behind the Kenyan parliamentary blog mentioned earlier, Mzalendo. Bankelele also has a weekly job spot where he posts the latest job opportunities in the sectors he covers.

Finally Mental Acrobatics is a general blog by a Kenyan man who has just recently left rainy Manchester for sunny Nairobi. This week he comments on the state of Kenya’s breakfast radio which he says should be “safe” for children but instead is crazy and in fact pornographic.

“Take this example from last week. A lady wrote into a station asking for advice as a foreign man she had met on the internet had just sent her a plane ticket to go visit him. For the next half hour we were subjected to a discussion on penis size and which countries you should travel to for some good loving. A few days later another show was discussing a couple who had not had sex for 6 months and what sex advice we could collectively give to get them at it like rabbits again. Now these are all valid topics for discussion I agree, but I am just not sure why these discussions are taking place when the nation is having its morning uji [porridge consumed for breakfast in Kenya].”

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

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

Africa: Culture, Integration and African Renaissance

2006-10-03

http://www.africa-union.org/root/au/Conferences/Past/2006/November/SA/Pan_African/NOte_Verbale.doc

The Commission of the African Union (AU) presents its compliments to the Ministries of Foreign Affairs/External Relations and Permanent Missions of all Member States of the African Union, and has the honor to refer to the decision of the 1st Session of AU Conference of Ministers of Culture held in Nairobi, Kenya in December 2005 (and as adopted by the January 2006 Summit held in Khartoum, Sudan), to convene the 1st Pan African Cultural Congress during 2006.

Africa: Women want prominence without tokenism

2006-10-03

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55773

Women's organisations are calling on government to pick up the pace of gender reform in Namibia, demanding that the ruling South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) field an equal number of women candidates in the 2009 general elections. Ahead of the organisation's congress in December, the SWAPO women's wing, the Women's Council, resolved at a central committee meeting this month that there should be a 50 percent representation in the party hierarchy and in parliament.

East Africa: Women Traders Lose Out Despite Customs Union

2006-10-04

http://allafrica.com/stories/200610030640.html

Small-scale women traders in East Africa are losing colossal sums of money because of lack of adequate market information. A report, entitled The East African Customs Union: Women and Cross-border Trade in East Africa, released last month, outlines opportunities for smallscale cross-border businesswomen trading under the East African Customs Union.

Eritrea: Renewed Efforts to Outlaw Female Genital Mutilation

2006-10-04

http://allafrica.com/stories/200610040014.html

Women in Eritrea have joined a nationwide campaign to try to eradicate female genital mutilation (FGM) by lobbying for a law to ban the practice and raise mass awareness among the population, an official at the National Union of Eritrean Women (NUEW) said on Wednesday.

Ethiopia: Women Return to Fight a New War

2006-10-04

http://allafrica.com/stories/200610020577.html

Belaynesh Adugna was 12 when she joined Tigrayan guerillas to escape a child marriage. Pledged to her husband at the age of seven, Adugna's wedding took place in a small town in Tigray, the northern Ethiopian province that was the theatre of a fierce 17-year-conflict between government soldiers loyal to the dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam and the rebel Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).

Ghana: Women's rights a priority for Judge

2006-10-04

http://www.iwpr.net/?p=acr&s=f&o=323517&apc_state=henpacr

Judge Akua Kuenyehia's office, on the top floor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, is filled with Africa. There are maps of the continent, African art on the walls and a shelf of beautiful African carvings. Judge Kuenyehia, one of three female African judges at the ICC, is first vice-president of the court. And because all the cases currently at the ICC are African, the Ghanaian judge feels that her knowledge of her home continent serves her well.

Namibia: Study on masculinity and adolescence

2006-10-04

http://www.africafiles.org/article.asp?ID=12997

A school in Katima Mulilo made headlines recently by suspending 19 pregnant girls from grades 8 to 12, together with a boy who had apparently impregnated five of them. Thus, while the Namibian government and NGOs have made efforts to combat the high number of adolescent pregnancies and HIV infections, these problems stubbornly remain.

Somalia: Women feel power slipping as Islamic law takes hold

2006-10-04

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06246/718328-82.stm

Her face is soft and round, cocooned in a loose blue cotton hijab. Her eyes, black onyx full of mystery. But Maryam Mohammed covers her smile with hennaed fingers, casts her gaze downward, a picture of shy anxiety -- not the image of someone who has done the most dangerous job in one of the most dangerous cities on Earth.

Tanzania: Activists castigate First Lady for endorsing reed dance

2006-10-04

http://allafrica.com/stories/200609181461.html

Gender activists have condemned Tanzania's First Lady, Mrs Salma Kikwete, for supporting the Swazi cultural ritual, umhlanga (reed dance). "The reed dance encourages girls to abstain from sex because they know if they are not virgins they will not be allowed to participate. This prevents them from contracting HIV/Aids," said Mrs Kikwete in her address to an audience in Mbabane.

Africa: Forced evictions reach crisis levels

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE

Amnesty International

2006-10-04

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/rights/37509

Research conducted by Amnesty International and the Geneva-based Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) reveals that the practice of forced evictions has reached epidemic proportions in Africa, with more than three million Africans forcibly evicted from their homes since 2000. The two organizations have called on African governments to halt forced evictions and abide by their international human rights obligations.
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
PRESS RELEASE


AI Index: AFR 01/009/2006 (Public)
News Service No: 255
4 October 2006

Embargo Date: 4 October 2006 00:01 GMT


Africa: Forced evictions reach crisis levels
Research conducted by Amnesty International and the Geneva-based Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) reveals that the practice of forced evictions has reached epidemic proportions in Africa, with more than three million Africans forcibly evicted from their homes since 2000. The two organizations today called on African governments to halt forced evictions and abide by their international human rights obligations.

"The figures are truly staggering and clearly indicate that forced evictions are one of the most widespread and unrecognised human rights violations in Africa," said Kolawole Olaniyan, Director of Amnesty International's Africa Programme.

Although the practice of forced eviction has been recognised as a gross violation of human rights under international law and, in particular, by the African Commission, governments throughout Africa continue to forcibly evict hundreds of thousands of people from their homes each year. Many of these evictions are often accompanied by further rights violations, including the use of excessive force by those carrying out the evictions, such as arbitrary arrests, beatings, rape, torture and even killings.

Jean du Plessis, Executive Director (Acting Interim) of COHRE, said, "Many African governments justify forced evictions on the grounds that they are essential for 'development' and therefore, in the interests of the general public good. However, development that leads to forced evictions is fundamentally counterproductive because forced evictions create homelessness, destroy property and productive assets, and obstruct access to potable water, sanitation, healthcare, livelihood opportunities and education. By carrying out forced evictions, African governments are pushing people into poverty -- not pulling them out of it."

Kolawole Olaniyan of Amnesty International said, "By failing to bring an end to the practice of forced evictions, African leaders are violating their obligations to protect human rights and undermining their expressed commitments to development imperatives such as the Millennium Development Goals and NEPAD."

Examples of forced evictions from across the continent are as numerous as they are distressing. Some recent examples include:
An estimated two million people have been forcibly evicted from their homes and many thousands have been made homeless since 2000 in Nigeria.
More than 12,000 people were forcibly evicted from Dar Assalaam camp in Sudan in August 2006. The majority of the evictees had been previously displaced through conflict in Sudan and settled in camps in or around the capital Khartoum. Authorities have forcibly evicted thousands of people from these camps, resettling them in desert areas without access to clean water, food and other essentials. Currently, there are over four million internally displaced persons in Sudan.
The government of Zimbabwe staggered the international community in 2005 when, in a military style operation, it forced an estimated 700,000 people from their homes, their businesses or both. To date, the government has not taken any effective action to address the plight of those displaced.
In Luanda, the capital of Angola, at least 6,000 families have been forcibly evicted and had their homes demolished since 2001. Many of these families, who have received no compensation, had their property stolen by those carrying out the forced evictions and remain homeless.
In Kenya approximately 70,000 people have been forcibly evicted from their homes in forest areas since 2005, while at least 20,000 people have been forcibly evicted from neighbourhoods in or around Nairobi since 2000.
In Ghana over 7,000 people were made homeless when they were forcibly evicted by the Game and Wildlife Division from the Digya National Park in March and April 2006. The eviction was halted in April only after a boat carrying over 150 evictees capsized, causing the death of at least 10 people. Those remaining in the park still live under threat of forced eviction. Some 800 people also had their homes destroyed in Legion Village, Accra in May 2006, while approximately 30,000 people in the Agbogbloshie community of Accra have been threatened with forcible eviction since 2002.
At least 300 families in Equatorial Guinea have been forcibly evicted from their homes since 2004, when the government embarked on a programme of urban regeneration in Malabo and Bata. These families had title to their property. Thousands more remain at risk.

Background
The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (African Commission), in a landmark decision on forced evictions in Nigeria in October 2001, found that the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights guaranteed the right to adequate housing, including the prohibition on forced eviction (see SERAC and CESR v. Nigeria, ACHRP 2002). In this case, the African Commission incorporated the substance and jurisprudence of international human rights law on the prohibition of forced eviction into the implied right to adequate housing in the African Charter. However, this important decision has not yet been reflected in the jurisprudence throughout the continent nor in governments' practices.

Under international human rights law, including the African Charter, which has been ratified by member states of the African Union, evictions can only be considered as lawful if they are deemed necessary in the most "exceptional circumstances". If such "exceptional circumstances" exist, then certain procedural protections and due process requirements have to be adhered to, including that States must ensure, prior to any planned evictions, and particularly those involving large groups, that all feasible alternatives are explored in consultation with affected persons. Furthermore, and in any event, eviction shall not result in rendering individuals homeless or vulnerable to the violation of other human rights. Governments are legally obligated to ensure that adequate alternative housing and compensation for all losses is made available to affected persons.

The Millennium Development Goals, as set out in the United Nations Millennium Declaration, were adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 18 September 2000. Goal 7, Target 11 calls for governments to "[h]ave achieved by 2020 a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers".

The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) is a vision and strategic framework for Africa's development. Its stated primary objectives include, among others: "to eradicate poverty" and "to place African countries, both individually and collectively, on a path of sustainable growth and development". One of its stated principles is: "Ensuring that all Partnerships with NEPAD are linked to the Millennium Development Goals and other agreed development goals and targets".

For interviews or additional information please contact:
Deanna Fowler Eliane Drakopoulos
COHRE Amnesty International
Tel: +41 22 734 1028 Tel: +44 20 7413 5564
Email: deanna@cohre.org Email: edrakopoulos@amnesty.org

Global: ICJ and Survival call on UN General Assembly to approve indigenous declaration

2006-10-03

http://survival-international.org/news.php?id=1900

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and Survival International today called on the UN General Assembly to adopt the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, at its current session in New York. Representatives of indigenous peoples across the world, Survival and many other NGOs, lobbied over the past two decades for the text of the Declaration to be finalized.

South Africa: By-Law Relating To Streets and Public Places

Cape Town Anti-War Coalition

2006-10-03

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/rights/37478

The Cape Town Anti-War Coalition notes that the City has made much in the media of the fact that it intends to house homeless people in shelters, and "rehabilitate" jobless people who take the initiative to work outdoors, such measures are not contained anywhere in the By-Law itself, which instead sets out a system of heavy fines, unaffordable for unemployed and homeless people and casual workers.
BY-LAW RELATING TO STREETS, PUBLIC PLACES AND THE PREVENTION OF NUISANCES

Submission by the Cape Town Anti-War Coalition Community House, 41 Salt River Road, Salt River, Cape Town Tel: 082 2020617 The Cape Town Anti-War Coalition is an umbrella organisation born in 2002.

We work closely with many of Cape Town's Social Movements, such as the Mandela Park Anti-Eviction Campaign, Gympie Street Residents Committee, Ogoni Peoples Solidarity Forum, Site C Youth With Vision, Newfields Village Housing Association, Vrygrond Action Committee and others. Because we view war very broadly, and due to the nature of community struggles in the City around access to decent housing and basic services, much of our work is taken up with supporting local struggles and being part of mobilisations. OBJECTION TO CLAUSE 11 (2 - 5)
Clause 11 (2 - 5) states:

"Subject to the Regulation of Gatherings Act, 1993 (Act No. 205 of 1993), no person shall (a) hold, organise, initiate, control or actively participate in a procession, demonstration or gathering in a public place; (2) Any person who intends to perform or carry out any one or more of the actions described in subsection (1) in any public place shall submit a written application for permission thereto, which shall reach the City at least thirty days before the date upon which any one or more of such actions is or are intended to be performed or carried out; provided that persons who intend participating actively in a procession, demonstration or gathering in any public place need not apply to the City for permission thereto and that it shall not be illegal for such persons to participate actively in such procession, demonstration or gathering if the organiser, promoter or controller thereof has obtained the permission of the City. An application made in terms hereof shall contain the following: (a) full details of the name, address and occupation of the applicant; (b) full details of the public place where or route along which any one or more of the actions prescribed in subsection (1) is or are intended to be performed or carried out, proposed starting and finishing times or any one or more of the aforesaid actions and, in the case of processions, demonstrations and gatherings, the number of persons expected to attend; and (c) general details of the purpose of any one or more of the aforesaid actions intended to be performed or carried out.

(3) Any application submitted in accordance with subsection (2) shall be considered by the City, and if any one or more of the actions to be performed or carried out as proposed in such application is or are not, in the opinion of the City, likely to be in conflict with the interests of public peace, good order or safety, the City, shall issue a certificate granting permission and authorisation for the performance or carrying out of any one or more of such actions, subject to such conditions as the City may deem necessary to uphold public peace, good order and safety. (4) The City may refuse to grant permission for the performance or carrying out of any one or more of the actions described in subsection (1), if the performance or carrying out of such action or actions will, in the opinion of the City, be in conflict with the interests of public peace, good order or safety. (5) The City may withdraw any permission granted in terms of subsection (3), if, as a result of further information, it is of the opinion that the performance or carrying out of the action or actions in question will be in conflict with the interests of public peace, good order or safety. It is the Cape Town Anti-War Coalition's contention that these draconian provisions severely limit our constitutional rights to freedom of expression.
In addition, these provisions are thoroughly unworkable. Mobilisation around urgent issues often happens at very short notice, with communities needing to arrange protests within 24 hours on issues related to them being issued with eviction orders, or their water being cut off.

This is in the very nature of the urgent protest action allowed for in our Constitution. The Cape Town Anti-War Coalition also notes that this year, we have held about five peaceful protests in the City Centre, none of which were planned more than two weeks in advance. This was due to the urgent nature of the issue: a demand for Home Affairs to provide information on the illegally renditioned Pakistani national Khalid Rashid, a protest against the AAD Weapons Expo, and a protest outside Parliament against the massacres in the Gaza Strip. We note that the City has traditionally granted permission for marches even on 24 hours notice and has engaged with organisers around marshalling and crowd control. However, lately, a number of applications for march permits have been turned down. The Cape Town Anti-War Coalition views this as an unconstitutional implementation of the as yet un-enacted By-Law and urges the City to cease and desist from this approach. The Cape Town Anti-War Coalition hereby thoroughly objects to Clause 11 (2 - 5) and calls for it to be removed.

CLAUSE 2: PROHIBITED BEHAVIOUR Many members of the working class and poor communities we work with are formerly employed permanent workers who lost their jobs since the manufacturing, textile and other Western Cape industries began shedding jobs rapidly a few years ago. These workers were already impoverished by the many years of working for extremely low wages under apartheid. They are now unemployed and destitute, or mostly employed in informal, unregulated trading in various parts of the city. Due to the number of times that members of these communities have applied for jobs and not been successful, it is clear that work in the informal sector is the only way for many thousands of members of Cape Town's working class and poor communities to earn any kind of income, even though this is usually a poverty wage.

With this in mind, the Cape Town Anti-War Coalition calls for the complete deletion of Clause 2: Prohibited Behaviour. Most of the "behaviour" that is prohibited and deemed by City decision makers to be "a nuisance" (living outdoors, making fires to keep warm, washing persons and clothing at public taps, car guarding, roadside mechanics, hawking in non-designated areas, sex work) is in fact not "nuisance behaviour" at all but a desperate attempt by poor and working class people to survive, in the context of them living in a City which has failed consistently to implement any measures to create jobs and housing and deliver basic services.

The Cape Town Anti-War Coalition notes that the City has made much in the media of the fact that it intends to house homeless people in shelters, and "rehabilitate" jobless people who take the initiative to work outdoors, such measures are not contained anywhere in the By-Law itself, which instead sets out a system of heavy fines, unaffordable for unemployed and homeless people and casual workers. We object to the City's dishonesty around these issues. We further object to the notion that the poor and working class need to be rehabilitated and split up as families, and forced into single gender, overcrowded homeless shelters. The City has a duty to work with other spheres of government to ensure decent family housing is delivered to the poor. It is not only the rich who need to live in normal houses. It is our contention that ample evidence exists to support the claim that the City has abysmally failed to work on housing delivery, and is instead promoting gentrification of poor areas and million rand property developments which render even more people homeless than ever before.

The promotion of gentrification, for example of Woodstock, has been speeded up by the current City Administration and the current Councillor in the area who both propose to house evicted, poor Woodstock residents in a remote area somewhere between Mfuleni and Blackheath where they will not be able to access schools and hospitals, or afford to travel to their low paid jobs in the Woodstock areas. This pattern is seen in many other Cape Town communities. The City's current policies are in fact contributing greatly to the impoverishment of Cape Town residents, who the City then seeks to criminalise through draconian behaviour laws. The Cape Town Anti-War Coalition hereby thoroughly objects to Clause 2 and calls for it to be removed. We align ourselves with other organisations calling for the scrapping of Clause 2. The Cape Town Anti-War Coalition does not believe in criminalising the poor, and is prepared to take legal action against the City if it persists with these unconstitutional clauses in the By-Law. For more information contact the Cape Town Anti-War Coalition Co-ordinator on 082 2020617.

Zimbabwe: WOZA Statement

Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA)

2006-10-03

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/rights/37474

Thirteen members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), arrested in Bulawayo on separate incidents in June 2004, will stand trial at the Western Commonage and Tredgold Provincial Magistrates Courts on 3 and 4 October 2006 respectively at 8:30am.The first trial on 3 October concerns four women arrested at Matshobana Hall on June 16 2004 while conducting meeting on Self-Help Projects. They face charges under the Public Order and Security Act.
WOZA Statement THIRTEEN members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), arrested in Bulawayo on separate incidents in June 2004, will stand trial at the Western Commonage and Tredgold Provincial Magistrates Courts on 3 and 4 October 2006 respectively at 8:30am.

The first trial on 3 October concerns four women arrested at Matshobana Hall on June 16 2004 while conducting meeting on Self-Help Projects. They face charges under the Public Order and Security Act.

The second trial on 4 October involves nine other women arrested on 19 June 2004 during a peaceful demonstration. They are charged under the Miscellaneous Offences Act. The trial is taking place in one of the courtrooms on the second floor of Tredgold Provincial Magistrates Court.

Advocate Perpetua Dube, a member of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, will defend the women in both trials.
WOZA invites anybody who wishes to show solidarity with the women to attend the proceedings.

As well as these two trials taking place on 3rd and
4th October, WOZA members will also be in remand court on 5th and 10th in Harare and Bulawayo respectively.
Details of the allegations and names of those on trial are listed below. For more information please contact Jenni Williams by email [url]=wozazimbabwe@yahoo.com[/url]

Africa: 'Severe' Violence Forces Almost 250,000 to Flee - UN

2006-10-04

http://allafrica.com/stories/200610010035.html

Almost a quarter of a million people in northern parts of the Central African Republic (CAR) have been forced to flee their homes in recent months because of "severe levels of violence" perpetrated by armed groups, including Government soldiers, the top United Nations aid official in the impoverished country said, warning of the regional impact of this unrest.

Global: France urges EU immigration curbs

2006-10-03

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5391920.stm

French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy has called for EU nations to adopt a common, tough standard in dealing with illegal immigration. "We can't all continue to have our own immigration policies," Mr Sarkozy said, ahead of talks in Madrid with EU members from southern Europe. Mr Sarkozy has accused Spain of causing a surge in illegal immigration by offering migrants an amnesty.

Global: Women on the Move

2006-10-04

http://www.unfpa.org/publications/detail.cfm?ID=314

An expert group meeting on "Female Migrants: Bridging the gaps throughout the life cycle" was organized in May 2006 by UNFPA and IOM in light of the opportunity to highlight the issue of female migrants at the High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development organized in September 2006. The brochure gives a summary of the recommendations and conclusions from the meeting.

Guinea: Stranded migrants return home

2006-10-04

http://www.iom.int/jahia/Jahia/pbnAS/cache/offonce?entryId=11061

A group of 17 Guinean migrants intercepted by the Moroccan navy as they attempted to reach the Canary Islands in small open boats, have been helped to return home voluntarily by IOM. The group, who had begun their sea journey to Europe from the Senegalese coast before being intercepted towards the end of August, had been stranded in the coastal town of Dhakla until their government asked IOM to provide voluntary return assistance for the group.

Kenya: New Manuals To Help Immigration Officials

2006-10-04

http://www.iom.int/jahia/Jahia/pbnAF/cache/offonce?entryId=11089

IOM, in collaboration with Kenya’s Department of Immigration, has developed a manual on border procedures to help immigration officers, particularly in remote border stations, deal with procedural challenges in situations where they need to act promptly. IOM has also developed a manual on procedures for examining passports.

Kenya: Risk of Polio amongst Somali Refugees

2006-10-04

http://allafrica.com/stories/200609290920.html

Kenya risks a polio outbreak following the influx of Somalia refugees, the World Health Organisation has said. WHO Diseases Surveillance Coordinator, Dr John Ogange, said the organisation's surveillance report on Somalia shows that Polio cases increased from 21 to 30 between May and August.

Sudan: "Hear Our Voices" - Our biggest problem is getting medicine - displaced woman

2006-10-03

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55782

Efforts to resettle internally displaced people (IDPs) in southern Sudan are continuing as the region recovers from a 19-year war that ended in 2005 when the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M) signed an agreement with the government of Sudan. Most of those displaced are women and children, some of whom have known no other life apart from IDP camps.

Uganda: IDP's Resettlement Packages a Waste -Teso

2006-10-04

http://allafrica.com/stories/200610020654.html

Two years down the road the defeat of the Lords Resistance Army rebels in Teso, time seems to have come for the internally displaced persons to bid farewell to camp life. When the rebels invaded the region on July 15, 2003 through Obalanga Sub-county, little did we know that the attack would culminate into massive displacement.

Zambia: Mwanawasa retains presidency amid protests

2006-10-03

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55797

Presidential incumbent Levy Mwanawasa is to be sworn in on Tuesday (October 3) after winning a second and final term in office with 42 percent of the vote, with his nearest rival conceding defeat and calling for an end to election protests.

Africa: EISA Regional Observer Mission to the Zambia 2006

2006-10-03

http://www.eisa.org.za/WEP/zam2006is.htm

The EISA Observer Mission to the Zambian Tripartite Elections has made its assessment of the poll and its preliminary findings and recommendations are presented in this interim statement. Our observations and views regarding the electoral process in Zambia are based on the guidelines enshrined in the Principles for Election Management, Monitoring and Observation in the SADC Region (PEMMO).

Angola: Voter-education programme launched

2006-10-03

http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=285672

Angola on Tuesday (October 3) launched a voter-education programme ahead of its first post-war polls due next year with the prime minister warning against foreigners being registered for the key election. "We have to be careful that those who do not fulfil the conditions required by law to vote are not registered," Prime Minister Fernando da Piedade Dias Dos Santos said, kicking off the campaign in the oil-rich nation.

DRC: Securing Congo's elections

2006-10-04

http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=4412&l=1&m=1

The Congolese government and the international community must move quickly to secure the run-off presidential election between Joseph Kabila and Jean-Pierre Bemba on 29 October 2006. “Securing Congo’s Elections: Lessons from the Kinshasa Showdown”, the latest briefing from the International Crisis Group, analyses especially the situation on the ground in the capital, which events after the first round demonstrated is the most sensitive point in the country.

Nigeria: A spectre looms over Nigeria’s democracy

2006-10-03

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/elections/37484

A spectre looms over Nigeria’s democracy. It is the political instrumentalisation of security agencies to carry out the regime’s agenda. It is the frightening use and abuse of security agencies and executive bodies to intimidate, silence, cow, harass and demonize real and perceived opposition to the present administration.
SCREENING OF CONTESTANTS BY SECURITY AGENCIES IS DANGEROUS AND UNACCEPTABLE.

A spectre looms over Nigeria’s democracy. It is the political instrumentalisation of security agencies to carry out the regime’s agenda. It is the frightening use and abuse of security agencies and executive bodies to intimidate, silence, cow, harass and demonize real and perceived opposition to the present administration. Of late, we have received with consternation reported statements credited to the leaders of some of the agencies, notoriously EFCC, SSS and INEC, to the effect that they would screen all persons wishing to participate in the forthcoming 2007 general elections as contestants.

But for the frenzy and impunity with which this intention has been repeated in the popular media we might have readily dismissed it as the idle and confused commentaries of overzealous public officials. But this is a serious and fundamental issue, one that touches the very root of our attempts at deepening our democracy. Thus it cannot be ignored; it must be combated with every ounce of energy at the disposal of all the progressive forces in Nigeria.

To be sure, corruption is one vice that requires to be collectively confronted. Indeed, the recent sordid revelations concerning the mismanagement of public funds by the Presidency is a pointer to the need for a relentless and firm war on the monster. It follows therefore that no serious-minded and sane Nigerian can condone corruption. We as members of the civil society who have been championing the struggle for openness and transparency are certainly opposed to corruption and corrupt officials. It is on record that we have insisted, against ferocious hostility by some leading members of the present administration, that unless we pass speedily the Freedom of Information Bill and the Fiscal Responsibility Bill, the anti-corruption train would continue to move at its snail pace. Our pedigree as enemies of corruption and its supporters cannot be questioned or impugned by any latter-day hypocritical anti corruption crusader.

Nevertheless, Nigeria is a country under the rule of law and not a banana fiefdom where whims and caprices of lords are law. There are adequate laws in our statute books on how to deal with corrupt persons. None of these expressly or implicitly permit the security agencies and INEC to screen candidates with a view to determining their suitability for contesting as candidates in any election. Every institution created by law must act within the confines of the law creating it. This is a key principle of our legal system that we are embarrassed that public officers who are either lawyers themselves or are serviced by full-fledged legal departments, paid for at public expense, can conceive the atrocious subversion of constitutional principles implied by their intention to screen contestants. The plain incontrovertible point we make here is that screening of candidates by security outfits is illegal, unconstitutional and unacceptable.

Many Nigerians who remember vividly the inglorious attempt to elongate the tenure of the present administration and the role that the EFCC played in hounding some of the notable opposition to what is commonly known as the ‘third term agenda’ cannot but express the fear that the plot to screen candidates by security agencies is a continuation of that discredited project. We will mobilize Nigerians to resist any misuse or abuse of the security forces for partisan agenda. For the avoidance of any doubts our position is that anyone suspected of having enriched himself or herself should be dealt with according to law. Such persons should be arrested, prosecuted, made to restitute and jailed if found guilty. There is no place under our laws for the adoption of Gestapo tactics by our security agencies. To permit that is to surrender our sovereignty to them. That is nothing but societal suicide. We will resist it vehemently and comprehensively.

We call on the security agencies and INEC not to truncate our efforts at building a democracy by any reckless and unlawful comments and on the politicians not to demean themselves by submitting to unconstitutional screenings.God bless Nigeria

1.Bamidele Aturu - Democratic Alternative
2.Prof Aaron Gana - African Centre for Democratic Governance
3.Clement Nwankwo - LawRight Associates
4.Abubakar Momoh - University of Lagos
5.Adele Jinadu Centre for Advance Social Science
6.Festus Okoye - Human Rights Monitor
7.Priscilla Achakpa - Women Environmental Project
8.Abiodun Aremu - United Action for Democracy
9.Y. Z. Ya’u - CITAD
10.Terfa Tsefin - Centre for Development and Health Research
11.Mma Odi - Rural Women Empowerment and Development Network
12.Pastor Femi Israel - Centre for Free and Fair Elections
13.Dr.Jibrin Ibrahim - Centre for Democracy and Development
14.Ndubuisi Obiorah - Centre for Law and Social Action
15.Innocent Chukwuma - Transition Monitoring Group
16.Titus Mann - Civil Liberties Organisation
17.Ibrahim Muazzam - Centre for Research and Documentation
18.Mohammed G. Wuyo - Borno Coalition for Dev. And Progress
29.Uchenna Emelonye - Constitutional Rights Project
30.Prof. Sam Egwu - Citizens Forum for Constitutional Reform Issued: 25 September, 2006 Lagos and Abuja, Nigeria Statement by Human Rights Activists and Representatives of Civil Society On the threat to use security agencies to screen candidates at the forthcoming elections

Zambia: Mwanawasa praises rivals to restore calm

2006-10-04

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55816

Zambia's newly elected president, Levy Mwanawasa, pledged to improve the lives of the country's millions of poor, and extended an olive branch to his rivals as he took the oath of office after an abrasive and bitter general election campaign. His two closest contenders for the presidency, Michael Sata of the Patriotic Front (PF) and Hakainde Hichilema of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), were conspicuous by their absence at the presidential inauguration ceremony, held in the more secluded grounds of parliament after a last minute change from the traditional venue of the High Court.

Global: Corruption is rampant in relief work, report claims

2006-10-04

http://admin.corisweb.org/index.php?fuseaction=news.view&id=123134&src=pub

Corruption in relief work is undermining the distribution of aid in developing countries. A report presented at a summit bringing together stakeholders in the sector, reveals how graft is frustrating efforts by donor agencies to provide humanitarian assistance to victims of calamities. "Its effects include the diversion of relief supplies away from affected communities, inequitable distribution of aid and sub-standard infrastructure," says the report by Transparency International.

Kenya: Anti-graft body targets former ministers

2006-10-04

http://admin.corisweb.org/index.php?fuseaction=news.view&id=123135&src=pub

Four former Kenyan ministers should be prosecuted for their part in one of the country's biggest corruption scandals involving about $300-million, Kenya's anti-graft body said on Monday (October 2). It did not name names in the statement, which was issued amid mounting political pressure over the slow pace of investigations into the so-called Anglo Leasing affair, which involved state tenders awarded to fictitious firms.

Mozambique: Donor confidence continues despite corruption

2006-10-04

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55783

Donors have again pledged massive support to Mozambique's state budget but lack of progress in implementing the anti-corruption strategy remains a concern. At a recent press conference Deputy Finance Minister Pedro Couto said progress had been made in implementing "some elements" of the strategy, and the government was strengthening the Criminal Investigative Police (PIC) and the Anti-Corruption Unit of the attorney-general's office, the Mozambican news agency, AIM, reported.

Nigeria: Vice-President suspended over "corruption"

2006-10-04

http://www.afrol.com/articles/21606

Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is a candidate for next year's elections, was last week suspended from his party functions for three months over wide-ranging corruption allegations. Meanwhile, Nigeria's anti-graft agency has announced that almost all of the country's 36 state governors are being investigated over corruption suspicions.

Zimbabwe: Officials said to be implicated in "Steelgate" scandal

2006-10-04

http://www.voanews.com/english/Africa/Zimbabwe/2006-10-03-voa61.cfm

A Finance Ministry report on the alleged looting of the Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company has been pulled out of circulation, government sources said, thickening the plot in the "Steelgate" scandal that some say is the biggest since independence. Sources in the Finance Ministry said President Robert Mugabe's office had recalled the report from the handful of officials who had received copies, apparently to keep it from being leaked.

Africa: Africa's aid billions wasted

2006-10-03

http://www.mg.co.za/articledirect.aspx?area&articleid=285591

More than 120-million Africans face starvation because much of the £3-billion ($5,6-billion) in aid spent each year to help them is wasted, an aid organisation said on Tuesday. International aid arrives too late, is targeted at the wrong things and is usually only a short term measure that doesn't tackle the root cause of hunger, humanitarian aid organisation Care International UK says in a new report.

Africa: The Netherlands boosts African Development Bank's water initiative

2006-10-04

http://www.afdb.org/portal/page?_pageid=293,174339

The Netherlands today granted the African Development Bank a grant of US$ 25 million to finance the Bank’s operations in the water sector. This contribution comes on the heels of the successful visit to the Bank and discussions held with President Donald Kaberuka by Netherlands Minister for Development Cooperation Mrs A. van Ardenne van der Hoeven in February 2006.

Africa: Making Trade Work for the Poor - What's Stopping Us?

2006-10-04

http://allafrica.com/stories/200609280931.html

The following is the opening address from the Executive Director of the International Trade Centre to the ITC Executive Forum on 27 September 2006: Madame Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany; Madame Deputy Director General, World Trade Organization; distinguished ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon.I would like to extend a warm welcome to ITC's 8th annual Executive Forum global debate.

Africa: Response from CSOs on EPA Draft

2006-10-04

http://www.igtn.org/page/704/1

Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) region urge Ministers to thoroughly review the proposed form of an Economic Partnership Programme (EPA) and to seriously consider and propose alternatives to solve the problem of retaining preferential trading arrangements with the European Union.

Global: Billions without basic sanitation

2006-10-04

http://www.unicef.org/wes/index_36021.html

Less than 50% of people living in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Niger, Equatorial Guinea and Chad have access to adequate water sources, UNICEF warns in a new report. More than 2 billion people across the globe are at increased risk for diarrhea and other diseases due to a lack of access to basic sanitation, with Africa and Asia hardest hit, the agency said.

Nigeria: Govt Still Owes $17 Billion After Paris Club Exit

2006-10-04

http://allafrica.com/stories/200610040023.html

Creditors wrote-off $18 billion, while Nigeria paid-off the balance of $12.1 billion to exit the club, but the federal government still faces a heavy debt burden of US$16,926.billion. The debt stock according to Debt Management Office, (DMO) data, comprised of an external debt figure of $4. 847 billion and a domestic component of $12. 078 billion, as at the end of June.

Zambia: The Fiscal Conservative or the Firebrand?

2006-10-04

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=34908

Elimination of double-digit inflation, economic growth in the region of five percent last year, a reduction of foreign debt from some seven billion dollars to 500 million: these are figures guaranteed to earn the president of a developing country another term in office, not so? Maybe yes, Maybe no.

Africa: ARV Side Effect Cause for Concern - Experts

2006-10-04

http://allafrica.com/stories/200609220767.html

The dangerous side effects of an anti-AIDS drug commonly used in South Africa have forced medical experts to re-evaluate the limited treatment options available in developing countries. Stavudine (also known as Zerit or d4T), used in South Africa's free antiretroviral (ARV) rollout programme, could cause lactic acidosis in some people, particularly overweight women.

Global: Experts Oppose Chemical War on Malaria

2006-10-02

http://ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=34928

A coalition of health experts have staged a protest parallel to the Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety, expressing concern over a recent policy turn by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that calls for fighting malaria by spraying the controversial DDT chemical. The conference, which took place in Budapest in Hungary, brought together representatives from government bodies, industry groups, scientific associations and non-governmental organisations in an attempt to reach consensus over issues of global chemical safety.

Gambia: HIV/Aids, a Threat to National Development

2006-10-04

http://allafrica.com/stories/200610040457.html

Fatou Lamin Faye, Secretary of State for Education, has described HIV/AIDS, as the biggest threat to development in many countries. Speaking at the opening of a five day HIV/AIDS national workshop held at the Kairaba Beach Hotel Monday, SoS Faye said the pandemic is also a major concern for our collective security in consideration of the fact that the most vulnerable group to this deadly disease are the women and youths who form the larger part of the workforce of African countries including the Gambia.

Namibia: Drug-Resistant HIV Problematic

2006-10-04

http://allafrica.com/stories/200609260073.html

The gains of anti-retroviral treatment for people living with HIV-AIDS are being eroded by resistance the virus is building up against some of the drugs, a local doctor has warned. Dr Ismael Katjitae informed delegates at a medical congress in Windhoek on Friday that about 19 000 AIDS patients had received anti-retroviral treatment (ART) at Government hospitals and clinics over the last three years, but cases of resistance to some drugs had been spotted.

South Africa: HIV/AIDS and water privatisation - the human Impact

2006-10-03

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55793

“Water, gathered and stored since the beginning of time in layers of granite and rock, in the embrace of dams and the ribbons of rivers - will one day, unheralded, modestly, easily and simply flow out to every South African who turns a tap. That is my dream.” These were the words of poet Antjie Krog on the promulgation of South Africa’s post-apartheid national water policy in April 1997.

West Africa: Unquenched thirst for safe drinking water

2006-10-03

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55792

West Africa has the lowest coverage of drinking water and sanitation in the world, and the numbers are rising not falling, according to the United Nations children’s agency (UNICEF). As populations have boomed throughout the region, the absolute number of people without drinking water increased from 124 million in 1990 to 157 million in 2004, and the number without sanitation from 173 million to 225 million, according to a UNICEF report released on Friday.

Zimbabwe: Anti-Retroviral Drugs Price Up

2006-10-04

http://allafrica.com/stories/200609260132.html

The price of anti-retroviral drugs has gone up again, further pushing the life-prolonging drugs beyond the reach of many. A survey revealed that the drugs had gone up by between 50 and 65 percent in the last three months. The price of a monthly course of imported ARV's at pharmacies went up from $10 000 to $12 000 in July while in August they rose to $16 000. The price went up to between $18 000 and $20 000.

Burkina Faso: Girls test scientific knowledge

2006-10-04

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55799

Sadio Toure didn’t have a typical summer vacation. Even though the 18-year-old was on her school break, she delighted in finding herself in a classroom setting, learning to use a computer and attempting science experiments in a laboratory for the first time. “We didn’t have any [laboratory] practice sessions in our school,” said Toure.

Liberia: Orphan Children Appeal to President Sirleaf

2006-10-04

http://allafrica.com/stories/200610040352.html

Over 500 orphans of the Frauenshuh International Christian Orphanage Center located in Palm Community in Barnesville are appealing to President Ellen Johnson- Sirleaf and the authority of the Ministry of Health to ensure that the center remains in operation as anything contrary would hamper their educational endeavor.

Senegal: Making the grade

2006-10-04

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55785

Kewe Thiam is the exception to the rule that most Senegalese girls don’t make it to high school. Sitting with a group of her peers, Thiam’s is the only female hand that shoots up, along with those of a dozen boys, when asked who among them goes to school. “The girls here want to go to school, but their parents don’t have the means. They can’t afford the inscription fees or the supplies,” says Thiam, 20, speaking for the girls around her who haven’t had the opportunity to learn French, the language of instruction in Senegal.

Sierra Leone: World Teachers' Day a time for reflection on challenges

2006-10-04

http://allafrica.com/stories/200610040442.html

Teachers all over the country will celebrate World Teachers Day Wednesday (October 5). Mohamed Swaray, a senior teacher at the Prince of Wales Secondary School Tuesday said his challenges, as a teacher is to ensure that the pupils should understand what he is teaching.

Global: the humanitarian impact of the global water crisis

2006-10-03

http://www.irinnews.org/webspecials/runningdry/default.asp

Our demand for water has turned us into vampires, draining the world of its lifeblood. What can we do to prevent mass global drought and starvation?" Released today: IRIN's new In-Depth, Running Dry? The humanitarian impact of the world water crisis, offers analysis and a wide range of articles and interviews on the critical water issues facing the world today.

Global: New Book Exposes Scandal of Carbon Trading

2006-10-04

http://www.dhf.uu.se/

The growing debate over what to do about climate change promises to heat up further with the publication of an exhaustively-documented new book that says that the dominant “carbon trading” approach to the problem followed by the Kyoto Protocol and the EU Emissions Trading Scheme is both ineffective and unjust.
The growing debate over what to do about climate change promises to heat up further this week with the publication of an exhaustively-documented new book that says that the dominant “carbon trading” approach to the problem followed by the Kyoto Protocol and the EU Emissions Trading Scheme is both ineffective and unjust.

The book, published by Sweden’s Dag Hammarskjold Foundation together with the international Durban Group for Climate Justice and the UK-based NGO The Corner House, argues that carbon trading slows the social and technological change needed to cope with global warming by unnecessarily prolonging the world’s dependence on oil, coal and gas.

Carbon trading “dispossesses ordinary people in the South of their lands and futures without resulting in appreciable progress toward alternative energy systems,” said Larry Lohmann of the Corner House, the book’s editor. “Tradable rights to pollute are handed out to Northern industry, allowing them to continue to profit from business as usual.1 At the same time, Northern polluters are encouraged to invest in supposedly carbon-saving projects in the South, very few of which promote clean energy at all.”2

Most of the carbon credits being sold to industrialized countries, Lohmann explained, come from polluting projects that do nothing to reduce fossil fuel use, such as schemes that burn methane from coal mines or waste dumps. The bulk of fossil fuels must be left in the ground if climate chaos is to be avoided, the book warns.

Carbon credits, added Jutta Kill of Sinks Watch, another contributor to the book, can’t be verified to be mitigating climate change. Carbon trading, she said, “impedes the further development of already-existing positive approaches such as conventional regulation, public investment in energy alternatives, taxes, and movements against subsidies for fossil fuel extraction.”

“This is the most absurd and impossible market human civilization has ever seen,” said Indian activist and researcher Soumitra Ghosh, a contributing author of one of the book’s nine detailed case studies on carbon projects in the South. “Carbon trading is bad for the South, bad for the North, and bad for the climate.”

Carbon Trading: A Critical Conversation on Climate Change, Privatisation and Power is available for download at http://www.dhf.uu.se A paper edition will be available from the Dag Hammarskjold Foundation in November.



For further information or interviews:

Larry Lohmann (UK): +44 (0)1258 821218, +44 (0)1258 473795, larrylohmann@gn.apc.org
Soumitra Ghosh (India): +91 353 266 1915, soumitrag@gmail.com
Jutta Kill (Germany): +44 7931 576538, jutta@fern.org
Daphne Wysham (US): +1 301 573 2468 or +1 202 234 9382, ext. 208, dwysham@seen.org
Esperanza Martinez (Ecuador): tegantai@oilwatch.org
Anna Pinto (India): anarchive.anon@gmail.com
Dr. Michael K. Dorsey (US): +1 734 945 6424, Michael.K.Dorsey@Dartmouth.EDU
Roy Laifungbam (India): roy.laifungbam@gmail.com
Patrick Bond (South Africa): pbond@mail.ngo.za
Tom Goldtooth (US): +1 218 751 4967, ien@igc.org
Ricardo Carrere (Uruguay): +598 2 413 2989, rcarrere@wrm.org.uy
Wally Menne (South Africa): plantnet@iafrica.com
Anne Petermann or Orin Langelle (US): +1 802 482 2689, globalecology@gmavt.net
Graham Erion (Canada): +1 416 7958044, graham@erion.ca
Trusha Reddy (South Africa): trusha.reddy@gmail.com
Tamra Gilbertson (Spain): +34 685 35 66 59, tamra@tni.org
Olle Nordberg or Niclas Hallstrom (Sweden): +46 18 10 27 72, olle.nordberg@dhf.uu.se, niclas.hallstrom@dhf.uu.se
Javier Baltodano (Costa Rica): licania@racsa.co.cr
Timothy Byakola (Uganda): +256 41 342 685, acs@starcom.co.ug
Marcelo Calazans (Brazil): marcelo.fase@terra.com.br
Adam Ma’anit (UK): adam@carbontradewatch.org



NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. Carbon trading was made the centrepiece of the Kyoto Protocol at the insistence of the US, which claimed that its trading scheme to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions had been a great success, and remained in place after the US pulled out of the treaty. Carbon Trading demonstrates, however, that the US’s sulphur dioxide scheme was radically different from the Kyoto Protocol’s trading arrangements and dealt with a radically different problem.

2. Carbon trading has two parts. First, governments hand out free tradable rights to emit carbon dioxide to big industrial polluters, as under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. Second, companies buy additional pollution credits from projects in the South that claim to be emitting less greenhouse gas than they would have without the carbon market investment.

Burkina Faso: Tents sent to help flood victims

2006-10-03

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55794

United Nations agencies in Burkina Faso have provided the government with 1,000 tents to house victims of flooding from seasonal heavy rains. Some 11,170 people have sought shelter in schools and government buildings. Officials had feared that school would be disrupted because classes are set to resume in early October.

Côte d'Ivoire: Deadly Toxic Waste Dumping Clearly a Crime

2006-10-04

http://allafrica.com/stories/200609290811.html

The dumping of toxic chemical waste in Côte d'Ivoire that has already killed eight people and led nearly 78,000 others to seek medical care is clearly a crime although who was responsible and the actual nature of the crime has yet to be determined, the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) said.

Namibia: Pressing on with Epupa dam power plan

2006-10-04

http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/world.aspx?ID=BD4A279418

Namibia has announced new plans and set targets for the completion of another power project in the country's all-out drive to curb the regional power shortage. The country's power utility, NamPower, said in its latest announcement the 500MW Baynes hydropower project on the Kunene River, west of the scenic Epupa Falls, would go ahead. A new feasibility study would start this year.

Nigeria: Niger Delta... Need for Better Environment

2006-10-04

http://allafrica.com/stories/200610030343.html

Key stakeholders in the Niger Delta region are set to converge on November 16 and 17 in Port Harcourt , the Rivers State capital under the auspices of Niger Delta Environmental Roundtable. There is little doubt that it is the first independent effort initiated by the people of the Niger Delta to engage the oil exploring and gas firms on how to secure the environment of the region for the present and the future.

Nigeria: Collapsed dam sweeps away 500 houses

2006-10-03

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55796

Hundreds of people were homeless in Nigeria’s northwestern Zamfara state on Monday (October 2) after a dam collapsed at the weekend, washing away more than 500 houses, officials and residents said. The Barrage Dam located outside the state capital, Gusau, gave way on Saturday afternoon following more than 24 hours of heavy rain, Zamfara governor Sani Yerimah told reporters on Sunday. “The water came with excessive force and caused so much destruction,” he said.

Uganda: Forest Authority Members Resign Over Land Give Aways

2006-10-04

http://allafrica.com/stories/200610040152.html

Two out of seven National Forestry Authority board members have resigned after refusing to respect the Cabinet 's directive that Bidco Palm Oil takes over Kalangala forests. The resignations have been followed by that of the forest conservation organisation's legal counsel, Ms Georgina Kugonza.

South Africa: Land reform a tricky issue

2006-10-04

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=34952

In transferring land to black ownership as part of government efforts to right apartheid wrongs, South African officials have to balance the country's interests, IPS reports. In Zimbabwe, transfers away from thousands of white commercial farmers decimated the economy. South African officials hope to transfer 30% of land by 2014.

Zimbabwe: Minister Mutasa takes white farmers to court for defying eviction orders

2006-10-04

http://www.swradioafrica.com/news041006/mutasatheft041006.htm

Two white commercial farmers have become the first to be tried for defying eviction orders after they appeared in a Karoi magistrates’ court. Although Izak Daniel Nel and Gert Cornelius Terblanche, who are brothers-in-law, won an interim order three months ago to stay on their farms, State Security Minister Didymus Mutasa is reported to have personally issued them with a 90 day eviction order. The order was handed to them four days after winning the temporary reprieve by the High Court.

Burundi: Continuing Campaign of Intimidation Against Radio Stations

2006-10-04

http://allafrica.com/stories/200610040052.html

The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the ongoing campaign of intimidation by the authorities in Burundi against radio stations that have cast doubt on a government claim to have uncovered a coup plot. The State Prosecutor questioned three journalists from three independent stations about their sources for a story broadcast at the end of August, according to local journalists.

Kenya: Kenyan reporter charges dropped

2006-10-03

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/5393414.stm

Prosecutors in Kenya have dropped charges against three journalists accused of publishing false information with the aim of causing alarm. The men were arrested in February over a story alleging that President Mwai Kibaki had secretly met a key opponent. Armed police later raided the premises of their newspaper, the Standard, and its sister television station, KTN.

Libya: "You can criticize Allah but not Gaddafi"

2006-10-04

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/77819/

On 4 October 2006, Reporters Without Borders published the full report of the fact-finding visit it made to Libya from 13 to 17 September. It was first time the press freedom organisation has been able to go to Libya in 20 years. This in itself is one of the signs of the changes taking place under the "Brother Leader," Muammar Gaddafi.

Africa: Newspaper editor freed, charged with "unlawful assembly"

2006-10-04

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/77817/

Roger Mancienne, editor of the privately-owned weekly "Regar" and Secretary-general of the opposition Seychelles National Party (SNP), told Reporters Without Borders he was released on the morning of 4 October 2006, after being held for nearly 24 hours in the central police barracks in Victoria.

South Africa: Watchdogs Say SA's Press Freedom Threatened

2006-10-04

http://allafrica.com/stories/200610020546.html

The public were being misled about the true intentions of the censorship provisions of the Film and Publication Amendment Bill, critics said on Friday. Public hearings on the amendment bill have been taking place countrywide under the auspices of Parliament's home affairs portfolio committee. An avalanche of opposition to the bill was unleashed by media houses and watchdog organisations when the censorship provisions became public.

South Africa: Outside the Lines

2006-10-04

http://www.cmfd.org

'Outside the Lines' is a radio drama about gay and lesbian lives in South Africa. The radio drama is available for broadcast. The drama may be used in its entirety, or in part as a segment in a programme about LGBTI issues or as a lead in to a call in show.

Africa: African Monitor Launch

2006-10-03

http://www.africanmonitor.org/

Set against the backdrop of the UN High-Level meeting on International Migration and Development in September 2006 and in commemoration of the October celebrations of “Black History Month” in the UK, leaders of African Diaspora organisations in the UK, wider Europe and the US will gather in London at the first ever African Diaspora Leadership Forum. The forum will culminate in an evening reception launching the ‘African Monitor’ - an African-owned civil society mechanism for monitoring and advocacy in relation to G8 commitments to Africa.
Centre for African Policy & Peace Strategy Press Release

Set against the backdrop of the UN High-Level meeting on International Migration and Development in September 2006 and in commemoration of the October celebrations of “Black History Month” in the UK, leaders of African Diaspora organisations in the UK, wider Europe and the US will gather in London at the first ever African Diaspora Leadership Forum. The forum will culminate in an evening reception launching the ‘African Monitor’ - an African-owned civil society mechanism for monitoring and advocacy in relation to G8 commitments to Africa. The African Monitor was founded by the Archbishop of Cape Town, the Most Reverend Njongonkulu Ndungane, in order to mobilse African civil society to advocate for urgent and effective implementation of commitments to Africa in ways that deliver tangible development at grassroots level. Hilary Benn, UK Secretary of State for International Development, will deliver a speech at this reception.

The one-day event, organised by the London-based Centre for African Policy & Peace Strategy (CAPPS) and the Cape Town-based African Monitor, will take place at Glaziers Hall, London Bridge, London, UK on the 3rd of October 2006 from 9am onwards. This pioneering conference will help to set a policy framework and a coordinated mechanism through which the skills, resources and capacities of the African diaspora can be effectively deployed in accelerating development in Africa. Key speakers at this high-level forum include Baroness Valerie Amos, Leader of the House of Lords, United Kingdom; H.E. Amb. Legwaila J. Legwaila, UN Under-Secretary-General & Special Adviser on Africa; Dr Hesphina Rukato, Deputy Chief Executive, NEPAD Secretariat; Dr K.Y. Amoako, Former Executive Secretary, UN Economic Commission for Africa/ CAPPS Patron & Dr Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem, Deputy Director (Africa), UN Millennium Campaign.

The speakers above will also be available for a press conference at 5.30pm at the conference venue on 3rd October 2006. Commenting on the importance of the forum, ’Dapo Oyewole, the Executive Director of CAPPS said “this forum provides a platform for Africans in the diaspora to engage in a constructive discussion on how they can work better together to contribute to development in Africa and also in their host countries. The collective social, economic and political capital of the global African diaspora can be harnessed as a major force for development in Africa and across the world.

However, for this to happen in a coherent and effective manner, diaspora organisations and their international partners must engage in open and strategic dialogue to chart a common way forward and join forces for in the fight against poverty and underdevelopment in Africa and other parts of the world.”

Note to Editors:

To attend the press conference at Glaziers Hall, 9 Montague Close, London Bridge London SE1 9DD, please e-mail Ms Xenia Ngwenya at xenia@thinkafrica.org <mailto:xenia@thinkafrica.org>. or phone +44 (0) 776616285. The press conference commences at 5.30pm and concludes at 6.30pm. All members of the press are welcome to attend. • CAPPS is an independent nongovernmental organisation that provides information and analysis on African policy issues. Through research, advocacy, capacity building and by promoting dialogue, CAPPS facilitates the development of policy strategies that enhance human security, socio-economic development & good governance in Africa.

For more information about CAPPS please see www.thinkafrica.org <http://www.thinkafrica.org> or phone +44 (0) 207 242 0780 • The African Monitor is an independent body, acting as a catalyst within Africa’s civil society, to bring a strong African voice to the development debate, and to raise key questions from an African perspective. African Monitor will advocate for urgent and effective implementation of commitments to Africa in ways that deliver tangible development at grassroots level. For more information about the African Monitor, please see www.africanmonitor.org <http://www.africanmonitor.org> or phone +44 (0) 27 21 6833 659

Global: Black Women and Stress

2006-10-03

http://www.blackcommentator.com/199/199_cover_no_woman_no_cry_walter.html

It has been described as the silent killer, North America's epidemic, affecting all who fall in the path of its sometimes lethal sword. It wreaks havoc with our immune systems, causes coronary heart disease, gastrointestinal problems, hastening cancers and psychological illnesses. Statistics show more women fall victim to this modern-day scourge known as stress than do men. But North American black women face an even bleaker picture.

Angola: Concern As Luanda Pushes Through Cabinda Peace Deal

2006-10-04

http://allafrica.com/stories/200610040003.html

Human rights organisations have become increasingly concerned that Angolan government pressure to enforce a peace deal it brokered with oil-rich Cabinda's splintered secessionist movement may stoke political tensions. According to Vegard Bye, Head of the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) in the capital, Luanda, "the government has made it clear that it would crack down on those who don't accept the peace deal."

Nigeria: Fuelling the Delta Crisis

2006-10-04

http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=4394

Militant groups in the Niger Delta are proliferating, and the country’s security situation will degenerate further unless President Obasanjo and his administration urgently address the region’s grievances.

Nigeria: N/Delta - Militants Kill 5 Soldiers

2006-10-04

http://allafrica.com/stories/200610030017.html

A fresh offensive by Niger-Delta militants on an oil installation in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has left five soldiers dead. Military sources in Port Harcourt told Daily Champion that about 70 unidentified gunmen stormed Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) oil facility at Cawthorne Channel in Kalabari area of Rivers State being guarded by soldiers from 2nd Amphibious Brigade, Bori camp.

Sudan: European Commission warning on Darfur

2006-10-04

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55810

José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, has called on Sudan's president to allow African Union peacekeepers in the troubled Darfur region to transfer to a stronger United Nations mission by the end of the year. He also pledged more in European food and other aid. "What we want first of all is to avoid ... a Rwanda syndrome where the international community does not fulfil its responsibilities," Barroso warned on Monday in Addis Ababa, referring to the Rwanda genocide in 1994. "We support a stronger humanitarian and security presence in Darfur to avoid a tragedy," he said.

Sudan: We Saved Europeans, Why Not Africans?

2006-10-04

http://allafrica.com/stories/200610030864.html

With Darfur set to be hit by a second wave of genocide, world leaders are shifting into diplomatic high gear. The government of Sudan flatly rejects deployment of a 22,000-strong U.N. force, knowing it would be much more effective than the African Union's, even if augmented by additional personnel as is now planned. Some 450,000 innocent human beings are already dead, and more than 2.5 million have fled their homes.

Uganda: Museveni Asks U.S. to Back Plan B Against LRA

2006-10-04

http://allafrica.com/stories/200610021428.html

President Yoweri Museveni has said Uganda will expect Washington's support to hunt down the LRA's top leadership if the Juba peace talks do not yield a comprehensive peace agreement. At a State House meeting with Mr John Edwards, the North Carolina Senator, who was candidate John Kerry's running mate in the 2004 US presidential race, Mr Museveni hinted that with the peace talks mired in a circus of generic proposals between the parties, Plan B may already be in motion.

Uganda: Government troops resume operations in the north

2006-10-04

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55822

The Ugandan military has resumed operations in areas of war-affected northern Uganda, despite ongoing talks with the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in Juba, southern Sudan, an army spokesman said. "We have sent squads to areas we withdrew from to make sure there are no [LRA] elements there that can cause trouble and these will establish whether there are still some LRA elements in the region," said Lt. Chris Magezi, the army spokesman for northern Uganda.

Africa: Steps needed to ensure Africa's role in IGF

2006-10-04

http://africa.rights.apc.org/?apc=he_1&x=5041108

African civil society organisations have asked the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) to help it participate in forum meetings. In an open letter to the IGF, organisations represented by the African Civil Society for the Information Society Network on ICT4D say they can't afford to be in Athens in October for the first meeting of the IGF.

Africa: Lack of consensus threatens EASSy cable

2006-10-04

http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?id=1185

The 31 telecommunications companies involved in developing and implementing the East African Submarine system (EASSy) cable system have said that the 23-nation protocol to build the under-sea cable is unacceptable to them and could lead to them abandoning the project.

Global: Human rights in the Global Information Society

2006-10-04

http://www.comminit.com/materials/ma2006/materials-3015.html

In this book, a number of scholars, human rights activists and practitioners examine the links between information and communication technology (ICT) and human rights, exploring the ways in which the information society can either advance human rights around the world or threaten them.

Global: ICTs transforming agricultural extension

2006-10-04

http://www.eldis.org/cf/search/disp/DocDisplay.cfm?Doc=DOC22706&Resource=f1ict

This summary report provides an outline of the main issues and trends in agricultural extension, as they relate to ICTs, with a special emphasis on improving rural livelihoods. The report draws on the presentations, case studies and discussions from the CTA Observatory.

Nigeria: Internet exchange set to come on stream

2006-10-04

http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?id=1184&s=news

Nigeria will spend about 30 million naira on the construction of a national Internet Exchange Point. The exchange point, which is expected to be commissioned by Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo within days, will make it possible to keep local internet traffic within the country.

South Africa: Cell Groups Await Icasa Nod On Roll-Out for Poor

2006-10-04

http://allafrica.com/stories/200609210374.html

Cellphone operator MTN had not yet been able to meet its obligations to give away 2,5-million SIM cards and 125000 handsets to poor people, or to roll out internet access to 8000 schools, the company said recently. The social upliftment obligations were imposed as licence conditions when the cellular networks were awarded the 1800MHz spectrum and the high-speed third generation (3G) spectrum to boost their coverage.

Africa: CODESRIA: The African Woman

2006-10-05

http://www.codesria.org/Links/Publications/contents_bulletin/current_issue.htm

Many an observer has recognised the positive contribution of the UN Decade for women that culminated in the 1985 Nairobi 3rd World Congress on Women where over 300 resolutions were passed on forward-looking strategies for the advancement of women globally, strategies that were complemented by the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

Global: Women, Ink, Catalogue

2006-10-04

http://www.womenink.org

The new Women, Ink. catalogue will be available in late October. Featuring over 70 new books from women's organizations and mainstream, university and small presses worldwide, the catalogue is a "must have" for academics and activists who want to keep current on new thinking in the field of women, gender and development. To receive a copy, send an e-mail with your mailing address to joey@iwtc.org or write to: Women, Ink., c/o International Women’s Tribune Centre, 777 UN Plaza, flr 3, New York, NY 10017.

Global: International charitable non-profit subsector

2006-10-04

http://www.urban.org/publications/311360.html

This policy brief provides a snapshot of the international subsector through an analysis of trends in size, resources, and scope from FY 2001 to FY 2003 in three major areas of operation: international development and relief assistance, international understanding (e.g., educational exchanges), and international affairs.

Global: Equator Prize

2006-10-04

http://www.equatorinitiative.org

The Equator Prize recognises five community-based projects that demonstrate extraordinary achievement in reducing poverty through the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in the equatorial belt. Prize winners receive international recognition for their work and an opportunity to help shape international policy and practice in the field, as well as a monetary award of US$30,000 each.

Global: Awards for Action on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights

2006-10-04

http://www.aidslaw.ca/awards

The Awards for Action on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights were established in 2002 by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and Human Rights Watch. The Awards highlight outstanding contributions that decrease vulnerability to HIV/AIDS and protect the rights and dignity of those infected and affected.

Africa: Call for applicants: The Regional Network for Equity in Health

2006-10-05

http://www.equinetafrica.org/

The Regional Network for Equity in Health in east and southern Africa (EQUINET) promotes policies for equity in health and supports research, training, analysis and dialogue to strengthen knowledge and to support policy engagement on the implementation of comprehensive, universal, national health systems in the region, centred on the role of the people and of the public sector.

Global: Free human rights training available online

2006-10-05

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/courses/37611

Top quality training on human rights is now available for free online, thanks to a partnership between Fahamu and the OpenCourseWare Consortium. Through the partnership, the Oxford University accredited course 'An Introduction to Human Rights' has been made available on the Fahamu website. The course is designed to provide users with a comprehensive definition of human rights and how these rights are monitored and enforced.
Free human rights training available online
Fahamu Press Release

Top quality training on human rights is now available for free online, thanks to a partnership between Fahamu and the OpenCourseWare Consortium.

Through the partnership, the Oxford University accredited course 'An Introduction to Human Rights' has been made available on the Fahamu website. The course is designed to provide users with a comprehensive definition of human rights and how these rights are monitored and enforced.

“Some 600 organisations and individuals have completed this course since 2003,” said Fahamu Director Firoze Manji, “and we are making the material available for free online so that anyone, anywhere can have the benefit of training in human rights issues.”

Fahamu has specialized in developing a range of distance-learning courses aimed at strengthening the capacity of human rights and civil society organisations in Africa and around the world. The topics covered by the courses are the result of extensive research conducted in Africa into the training needs of such organisations.

Fahamu’s distance-learning methodology, involving CDROMs, email-based facilitation and workshops, has been widely adopted by institutions such as the University of Oxford, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Article 19, the UN-affiliated University for Peace and others.

Previously these courses were only available to those participating in courses organised by Fahamu, but making these courses available on the web through OpenCourseware will allow anyone with access to the internet to benefit from Fahamu’s unique human rights training materials. 'An Introduction to Human Rights' is the first course to be published which will be followed by 'Campaigning for Access to Information' in November.

The OpenCourseWare Consortium is a collaboration of more than 100 higher education institutions and associated organizations from around the world creating a broad and deep body of open educational content using a shared model. The mission of the OpenCourseWare Consortium is to advance education and empower people worldwide through opencourseware. http://ocwconsortium.org/index.html

The courses can be viewed online http://rightstraining.fahamu.org/
To learn more about Fahamu please visit http://www.fahamu.org

Africa: Training Centre for Development Cooperation

2006-10-03

http://www.mstcdc.or.tz/

MS-TCDC is a Training Centre for Development Cooperation in Eastern and Southern Africa. We are situated close to Arusha in Northern Tanzania. Throughout the year different courses and workshops run concurrently in a lively international atmosphere promoting sharing of experience and cross cultural discussions.

Ethiopia: Fourth Congress Of The Association Of African Historians

2006-10-03

http://www.fssethiopia.org.et/Call_2.doc

The issue of identity has been one of the most central in human society. Africa has been no exception to this global phenomenon. Particularly since independence in the 1960s, the Continent has been rocked by both intra-state and inter-state conflicts, many of them concerned with the issue of identity.

Gambia: Forum on the participation of NGOs in the ACHPR

2006-10-04

http://www/acdhrs.org

The Forum on the Participation of NGOs in the Ordinary Sessions of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights is one of the main advocacy tools that the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies uses to promote networking among Human Rights NGOs for the promotion and protection of human rights in Africa.

Nigeria: Really independent?

2006-10-03

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/courses/37463

This year's Nigeria independence lecture will take place at the School of Oriental and African Studies on Saturday 7 October 2006 at 2pm. Organised by the SOAS student society Friends of Africa, the presentation will focus on the relationships between Nigeria's independence struggle, pan-Africanism, and the Zikist movement - which took its name from Nigeria's first president Nnamadi Azikiwe. The lecture will be followed by a discussion and performance poetry.
Friends of Africa SOAS Student Society Press Release
2 October 2006 Is Nigeria really independent?

This year's Nigeria independence lecture will take place at the School of Oriental and African Studies on Saturday 7 October 2006 at 2pm. Organised by the SOAS student society Friends of Africa, the presentation will focus on the relationships between Nigeria's independence struggle, pan-Africanism, and the Zikist movement - which took its name from Nigeria's first president Nnamadi Azikiwe. The lecture will be followed by a discussion and performance poetry.

On 1 October, Nigeria will be 46. In spite of its immense oil wealth the government is unable to provide basic social amenities such as affordable health care and education for the majority of the population. "85% of [Nigerian] oil revenues accrue to 1% of the population: of $400 billion in revenues, perhaps $100 billion has simply gone missing since 1970. In 2003, 70% of the nations oil wealth was wasted or stolen, in 2005 it was only 40%. Over the period 1965-2004, income per capita fell from $250 to $212, between 1970 and 2000, the number of people subsisting on a dollar a day or less grew from 36% of the population to 70%, from 19 million to a staggering 90 million people." (Monthly Review, September 2006)

For the elite that currently misgovern Nigeria, life has never been so good. The Nigerian body politic is more of a "Lootocracy" than a democracy, with the looting and privatisation of state resources by elected officials reaching the highest pinnacle of government. Last December, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, at the time the governor of Bayelsa State, was arrested on charges of money laundering. In the investigation that followed seven London bank accounts were traced to him.

This state of affairs raises questions about the quality of Nigerian independence. What role does the legacy of colonisation play? To what extent are the local elite responsible for the present chaos? Do next year's elections offer any hope of change? How can radical transformation of Nigeria's political economy in favour of the poor and oppressed occur?

The 7 October event will consider these issues, the Pan African scale of them, and celebrate the memory of patriots like Mokwugo Okoye, Raji Abdullahi and Osita Agwuna of the Zikist Movement, who tried to orient the independence struggle such that it would lead to a Nigeria whose resources would be used for the benefit of all.

The School of Oriental and African Studies is on Thornhaugh Street, WC1, nearest tube Russell Sqaure.

Contact Tokunbo Oke 07950 28 65 65

South Africa: National Poverty Conference - International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

2006-10-03

http://sangonet.org.za/portal/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5454&Itemid=1

SANGONeT and the National Development Agency (NDA) will host a national conference on 17 October 2006 in Johannesburg to coincide with the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. The theme of the conference is "Partnerships for Development - A Strategic Mechanism for Accelerated Progress towards Eradicating Poverty in South Africa".

Africa: Policy analyst / Editor

AU Monitor

2006-10-05

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/jobs/37617

Fahamu is seeking a Policy Analyst / Editor to work with its AU-Monitor project. The main purpose of the post is to strengthen the ability of African CSOs to engage constructively with the AU and its organs in the interest of promoting justice, equity and accountability.
MAIN PURPOSE OF THE JOB

The main aim of the job is to strengthen the ability of African CSOs to engage constructively with the AU and its organs in the interests of promoting justice, equity and accountability.

RESPONSIBLITIES

Reporting to the Director of Fahamu, you will be responsible for:

• Researching, compiling, analysing, summarising and disseminating strategic information from the AU and its organs of relevance to the main purpose of the job.
• Ensuring strategic flow of information from CSOs, alliances and coalitions to the AU and its organs that will contribute to the AU realising its own vision of a ‘people driven African Union’.
• Disseminating information about upcoming summits, forums and events of relevance to CSOs, trade unions, interest groups, academics, diaspora groups, state officials and parliamentarians.
• Facilitating joint advocacy by CSOs trade unions, interest groups and African citizens, around the Pan-African Parliament, the Economic and Social Council, the Peace and Security Council, protocols, instruments and other relevant bodies or instruments.
• Ensuring cooperation and support for continental, regional and national initiatives by other CSOs that have broadly similar aims.
• Encouraging African CSOs, trade unions, coalitions and alliances to make use of the facilities of AU-Monitor, and ensuring that different CSO groupings know of each others initiatives, and where possible, encouraging cooperation
• Preparing and disseminating relevant media briefings, developing relations with the media.
• Contributing to the development of relevant multimedia materials for dissemination via mainstream and other media outlets and via the internet.
• Developing content for the AU-Monitor section of Pambazuka News, writing, commissioning and editing editorial content for Pambazuka News.
• Developing content for the AU-Monitor website, and make recommendations for improving its structure, content, usability and accessibility.
• Recommending and oversee the commissioning of special thematic issues of Pambazuka News and/or AU-Monitor website
• Recommending and leading on the production of printed materials in the form of leaflets, pamphlets or books.
• Production of a daily ‘Summit blog’ on CSO activities during AU Summits.
• Assisting in the establishment of a geographically diverse and gender balanced Advisory Panel of key to provide advice and help develop strategy and to ensure that the AU-Monitor facility retains, and is perceived to retain, independence.
• Identifying and developing funding sources, including the preparation of proposals, including developing collaborative initiatives with African CSOs, coalitions and alliances and submitting joint proposals for funding.
• Representing Fahamu and the AU-Monitor initiative at appropriate forums.
• Undertaking such other duties as are required and are mutually agreed upon to meet the requirements of Fahamu and the AU Monitor initiative.

As part of the team, you will contribute to the development of Fahamu’s strategy and the nurturing of new initiatives in all of Fahamu’s programmes.

The person will be based either in Addis Ababa or Nairobi,

Please send your CV, a covering letter explaining why you are interested in the postion and the name of three relevant referees to fahamujobs@gmail.com. Closing date for applications 1 January 2007

Horn of Africa: Analysts

The International Crisis Group

2006-10-05

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/jobs/37598

The International Crisis Group (Crisis Group) is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organisation, with nearly 120 staff members on five continents, working through field-based analysis and high-level advocacy to prevent and resolve deadly conflict. We are currently looking for highly motivated staff who will be working for our Horn of Africa project. These analyst positions are for positions focusing on Eritrea and Ethiopia; and Sudan. Please click on the link below to view the adverts.
Crisis Group
AFRICA program
The International Crisis Group (Crisis Group) is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organisation, with nearly 120 staff members on five continents, working through field-based analysis and high-level advocacy to prevent and resolve deadly conflict. We are currently looking for a highly motivated staff member who will be working for our Horn of Africa project as:

ANALYST – ETHIOPIA – ERITREA

Role:
You will be working in close cooperation with the Horn of Africa Project Director (located in Nairobi) to research and produce reports on security, political, governance and social issues in the Horn of Africa Region in particular with issues related to Ethiopia and Eritrea. You will be based in Nairobi but extensive travel and extended field research missions within the region under sometimes demanding conditions are required.

Responsibilities:
•Conducting extensive field research into prevailing security, social, governance and political issues in the Horn of Africa specifically related to Ethiopia and Eritrea;
•Providing analysis and advice on security, social, governance and political issues.
•Proposing policy initiatives for the relevant governmental, intergovernmental, political, and nongovernmental actors to address and resolve sources of conflict.
•Writing detailed reports and briefing papers setting out relevant research findings and provide policy recommendations.

Candidate profile:
•Deep knowledge of the Horn of Africa region and more specifically extensive knowledge and understanding of the political issues in Ethiopia and Eritrea;
•Having gained field experience in Ethiopia and Eritrea;
•2+ years of professional experience in conflict analysis, journalism, NGO, IGO, or government work related to Horn of Africa more specifically related to Ethiopia and Eritrea issues.
•Excellent writing and analytical skills, ability to summarize vast amounts of written material. (Applicants will be required to take a writing and editing test).
•Fluency in English, knowledge of any other languages or local dialects highly appreciated; and
•Masters degree in international relations, political science, sociology or equivalent through experience.

Applications should be submitted in English and include a CV, cover letter, and contact details of at least 3 referees. In the cover letter (of no more than two pages in length) the candidate should briefly describe his/her motivation and experience related to the Ethiopia/Eritrea Analyst posting. Please refer to Crisis Group's website for further information about the organisation: http://www.crisisgroup.org

Please send applications by email to open_positions@crisisgroup.org to the attention of Johanna van der Hoeven, HR Director, including "Analyst Ethiopia - Eritrea" in the subject line.

The job, based in our Nairobi, offers a good salary, accommodation allowance, medical insurance and a friendly and highly professional team to work with.

The closing date for applications is 11 October 2006.

Crisis Group
AFRICA program
The International Crisis Group (Crisis Group) is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organisation, with nearly 120 staff members on five continents, working through field-based analysis and high-level advocacy to prevent and resolve deadly conflict. We are currently looking for a highly motivated staff member who will be working for our Horn of Africa project as:

ANALYST - SUDAN

Role:
You will be working in close cooperation with the Horn of Africa Project Director and analyst to research and produce reports on security, political, governance and social issues related to Sudan and neighboring countries. The location of the position has not been determined but will depend on the applicant and convenience for the analyst to carry out research and analysis for Crisis Group.
Extensive travel and extended field research missions within the Horn of Africa region under sometimes demanding conditions are required.

Responsibilities:
• Conducting extensive field research into prevailing security, social, governance and political issues in the Sudan.
• Providing analysis and advice on security, social, governance and political issues.
• Proposing policy initiatives for the relevant governmental, intergovernmental, political, and nongovernmental actors to address and resolve sources of conflict.
• Writing detailed reports and briefing papers setting out relevant research findings and provide policy recommendations.

Candidate profile:
• Deep knowledge and understanding of the political issues in Sudan.
• Having had at least 3 years of field experience in Sudan or neighboring countries
• 3 up to 5+ years of professional experience in conflict analysis, journalism, NGO or government work related to Horn of Africa.
• Excellent writing and analytical skills, good in summarizing fast amounts of written material. (applicants will be required to take a writing and editing test).
• Fluency in English and Arabic, knowledge of any other languages or local dialects highly appreciated;
• Masters degree in international relations, political science, sociology or equivalent through experience.

Applications should be submitted in English and include a CV, cover letter, and contact details of at least 3 referees. In the cover letter (of no more than two pages in length) the candidate should briefly describe his/her motivation and experience related to the Sudan Analyst posting. Please refer to Crisis Group's website for further information about the organisation: http://www.crisisgroup.org

Please send applications by email to open_positions@crisisgroup.org to the attention of Johanna van der Hoeven, HR Director, including "Analyst Sudan" in the subject line.

The job offers a good salary, accommodation allowance, medical insurance and a friendly and highly professional team to work with.

The closing date for applications is 20 October 2006.

Africa: Director - Ford IFP Program

Institute of International Education

2006-10-03

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/jobs/37464

The Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program (IFP) was started in 2000 with a mission of achieving greater economic and social justice in local communities and worldwide by providing advanced educational opportunities to talented individuals from marginalized and excluded social groups who have historically lacked access to higher education.
INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION

Position Description Job Title: Director for Africa and the Middle East Grade: 89 Incumbent: Open Reports to: IFF Executive Director Division: 530 Department: International Fellowships Fund Purpose of Position: The Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program (IFP) was started in 2000 with a mission of achieving greater economic and social justice in local communities and worldwide by providing advanced educational opportunities to talented individuals from marginalized and excluded social groups who have historically lacked access to higher education. The program has selected over 2400 Fellows from 22 countries and territories in Asia, Africa and Latin America, plus Russia, and has enrolled more than 1,800 Fellows in approximately 400 universities in nearly 40 countries. Nearly 700 alumni have completed their academic programs.

The Director for Africa and the Middle East will work closely with the IFF Director for Asia/Russia and the IFF Executive Director on activities related to the design, oversight, and implementation of the program in ten countries of Africa and the Middle East. These include: Ghana, Senegal, and Nigeria in West Africa; South Africa and Mozambique in Southern Africa; Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania in East Africa; and Egypt and thePalestinian Territories (West Bank and Gaza) in the Middle East. Specifically, the Director will work closely with IFP’s international partner organizations (IPs) based in the Africa and Middle East region on outreach and recruitment, selection, post-selection educational advising and placement, and monitoring of the IFP Fellows. The Director will work closely with other IFP Secretariat staff on fellowship policies, budget planning, and program-wide activities including evaluation, communications, IFP university partnerships, and cohort and community-building among IFP Fellows and alumni.

RESPONSIBILITIES The Director for Africa and the Middle East will be responsible for the following duties:

Oversee IFP in 10 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East Work closely with IFP staff on global program activities Contribute to policy impact of IFP on international higher education field REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS To be considered a candidate for the position, an applicant must have:

A PhD, preferably in international education, international development, or a related field, or equivalent experience At least 8-10 years of field experience in Africa or the Middle East region Work experience in international fellowship programs or related project design and evaluation Superior written and oral communications skills Availability for extended international travel Ability to work independently and be self-motivated Cultural sensitivity and the ability to work with diverse organizations PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS • Fluency in Arabic, French or other languages of the region • Significant publications on topics related to African development issues • Work experience with foundations or international development agencies Supervision Received: Reports directly to IFF Executive Director To apply contact:

Joan Dassin Executive Director Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program
809 UN Plaza New York, NY 10017 jdassin-fordifp@iie.org <mailto:jdassin-fordifp@iie.org>

Africa: Programme Specialists

UNFPA

2006-10-04

http://www.unfpa.org/about/employment/documents/p-11_002.doc

Under the guidance and supervision of the UNFPA Country Representative, the HIV/AIDS programme specialist will work with the UNFPA team, national counterparts, UN system agencies, multi and bilateral development agencies, civil society and communities to contribute to the development and implementation of national HIV/AIDS-related plans, policies and programmes within UNFPA's priority areas of work.

Africa: GBV Coordinator

Christian Children's Fund

2006-10-04

http://www.christianchildrensfund.org/content.aspx?id=3543

The GBV Coordinators in Africa and Asia will be responsible for managing and implementing grant-funded GBV projects and for integrating GBV into CCF's overall program strategy. The GBV Coordinator must have experience, comfort, and confidence working with children and adults in emergency and post-conflict situations. The GBV Coordinator must be able to work closely with other CCF Program Coordinators.

Ethiopia: Technical Advisor in Reproductive Health

UNFPA

2006-10-04

http://www.unfpa.org/about/employment/va-fpa-097-2006.htm

The overall responsibility of the Technical Specialist is to provide technical assistance to the Federal Ministry of Health in the implementation of the Government Reproductive Health Programme within the context of the Health Sector Development Programme (HSDP).

Morocco: Deputy Director

APA CEELI

2006-10-04

http://www.abanet.org/ceeli/program/staffpositions.html

The ABA seeks a Deputy Director of its Morocco Program, with primary responsibility for management of a gender- and human rights-focused curriculm development project. The Deputy will also assist with the management of a human rights legal clinic at a university near Rabat, and with selected aspects of the overall management of the Morocco program.

Fahamu