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DEMOCRACY, WOMEN'S RIGHTS AND SHARIA LAW IN NIGERIA

Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi

2003-01-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/12816

The emergence of a more democratic polity in Nigeria demands a redefinition of the relationship between citizens and the state. While the essence of military or indeed any other dictatorship is the denial of fundamental rights in one guise or another, the essence of democratic governance rests on the respect for, defence and advancement of human, civil, political, economic and cultural rights of all without distinction. At least, this is the way it ought to be.

However efforts to promote civil and democratic rights and institutions in Nigeria are facing significant challenges and generating social and political conflict. Amongst the numerous social, political and economic crises undermining Nigeria's nascent democracy, a key issue has been the recent implementation of the Sharia Criminal Penal Code in northern Nigeria.

Sharia law is as old as Nigeria itself. Historically the 19th century holy war, which was led by Shehu Usman Dan Fodio in the Hausa kingdom, had as one of its major aims the need to improve the standards of living of Muslim women. However, after his death, and with time, the kingdom returned to its patriarchal structures.

In present-day Nigeria, the concern of human rights campaigners and millions of Nigerians, both Muslim and Christian, is the extension of sharia law to criminal matters as against personal and civil matters, which it had been regulating before 1999. This has led to the introduction of flagellation (whipping), lapidation (stoning) and amputation into the penal code. These punishments have stimulated national and international debate on the law as it relates to gender. Between 1999 and today, ten northern states have ratified the implementation of the Sharia Penal Code. These state authorities have argued that by virtue of section 6(5) (K), the 1999 constitution gives power to Nigeria's component states to establish courts, and may be authorized by law to exercise jurisdiction at first instance or on appeal matters with respect to which a state House of Assembly may make laws. Rights campaigners on the other hand, have argued that the constitution of Nigeria defines it as a secular state.

The implementation of Sharia Penal Codes in northern Nigeria is flawed in several respects. Firstly, it does not adequately protect the rights of women. Therefore abuse, violence and discrimination against women go unpunished as they are wrongly considered to be socially acceptable. In addition, the testimony of women is devalued and treated as that of a minor or person without necessary legal capacity. Often, these biases and attitudes also affect judges and therefore the judgment of the Sharia Courts.

As a result the implementation of sharia in Nigeria has placed some restrictions on the rights of women in northern Nigeria. In the last two years three major cases that have violated women's rights have attracted international and public condemnation.

In Safiya Tungartudu Hussein's case for instance, the question of gender bias has been raised on the following grounds:

1. Her pregnancy constituted the main evidence against her, but no scientific efforts were made to establish or disprove the paternity of the child.

2. The onus of pivot of adultery was just pregnancy.

3. The man named in the case was allowed to go free after denying responsibility for the pregnancy.

These points alone suggest that the thinking of the court and supporters of sharia is that only women can be guilty of the 'offences' of adultery or fornication. What happens then, in the case of seduction of minors, or rape? This suggests that men living under shaira have been given a license to rape women and seduce or assault minors, or even impregnate them in the course of a relationship and then deny responsibility and watch them face a death sentence.

Democratically minded Muslim activists have also adjudged the pronouncement as a misapplication of sharia law, as a result of ignorance on the part of the women, the judge and those that supported the sentence.

Some Islamic scholars go further and believe that under the sharia law every person irrespective of country of origin, religion, race, sex, status, age or colour has basic human rights that should be respected. These rights include: the rights to life, right to justice, right to equality, right to be free from discrimination, right to freedom from slavery, respect for the chastity of women, right to freedom from want, right to security of life and property, right to personal liberty, right to freedom of expression, and equality before the law.

Dr. M. T. Ladan has argued for example, that there are some specific rights to women because of their “special responsibilities and status in the eye of Islam”. These rights are the right to equality in status, worth and value, right to education, right to own and dispose of property, right to inheritance and dower i.e. a dead mans estate or part of his estate inherited by his widow, right to maintenance, right to custody of children and right to obtain divorce.

Nevertheless, rights campaigners, Islamic modernists and feminists believe that there are two important principles in the Quran which clearly establish gender differences:

1. Notion of quwama (the authority or guardianship that men can exercise individually or collectively over women).

2. Notion relegating women to private spheres of life.

The notion of quwama is reflected in several verses of Surah 4.34 (Al Wisa). It is also worthy of note that this surah deals with several issue's regarding family law, especially marriage, repudiation and inheritance.

For instance it is argued that polygamy is forbidden for women (Al wisa verse 33) while it is allowed for men. Even though this has taken a new dimension in some countries, the verse endorsing polygamy (Quran 4.3) has been read by modern scholars as being applicable only to the man who believes that he will be able to love and relate to more than one wife equitably, including financial maintenance if applicable. This is however subject to the conscience of the man. As we know, ethics, morality and the law in all countries and all religions have established that many men and women have no conscience. In certain countries, modern legal reforms have positively insisted that a man must prove to the court his ability to maintain several wives equitably before entering into a second marriage.

Be that as it may, the critics of this notion still feel that women are not given the same opportunities i.e. to have as many husbands as two, three or four even if they claim they can love, relate to and maintain them equitably. This suggests that men are believed to be superior to women, or in some way more powerful beings. On the second notion of exclusion of women from political participation, Abu Bakra's has read a hadith to mean or to have an effect that “a nation which places its affairs in the hands of a woman shall never prosper”, Al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 4425. Some scholars have argued however that some of these criticisms are a product of custom and have no relationship to the law. Several Muslim countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia have elected women leaders.

One of the issues regarding gender bias is that of women as witnesses. Quran 2: 282 appears to allow the testimony of women in only civil matters and even then, two women are considered the equivalent of a single male witness. However in criminal procedure, certain interpretations believe that women are not acceptable as credible witnesses.

Discrimination against women has also manifested in policy and law making. For instance women in Zamfara State in northern Nigeria were, for a period, prevented from travelling in public transport. The stated reason was that women are not to be seen in public spheres of life and certainly not in the company of unrelated men. Some women's organisations protested, and the law was amended, but in practice women are mostly provided with “women only” public transport.

In another instance in Tarata Mafara local government, single women were given a three month ultimatum to get married or face being sacked from jobs in the civil service. Some financial inducements were provided to encourage women to become married. These examples constitute rights violations under Nigerian law. These and other similar policies also mask a greater problem of growing unemployment, lack of amenities and recreational facilities etc. The criminalization of women and their rights diverts attention from the real causes of crime, lack of adequate transport and housing and so forth. Such discriminatory policies are applicable to mostly ordinary everyday people as the rich and powerful find ways around them.

The Nigeria constitution is supreme by virtue of the provision of Section 1 (1). Section 3 states that any other law which is inconsistent with the provisions of the constitution, shall be null and void. Chapter 4 of the 1999 constitution dwells on fundamental human rights, which include rights to freedom of thought, conscience and religion (Section 38, 1999). However, federal legislation does not specifically uphold the rights of women in areas where custom or religion violate their constitutional rights. Police officers for example routinely deny women the right to post bail in both Christian and Muslim parts of the country even though posters in many police stations state, “men and women have the right to post bail”. Like other laws, specific punishments need to be stipulated for the violations of women's rights.

Existing inconsistencies and ambiguities create the space for the violation of women's rights. In conclusion, rights campaigners, women's organisations in Nigeria and internationally need to work towards law reform, and the domestic enforcement of international norms and standard for the observance of women's human rights such as the Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Elections are not equal to democracy. The real test of democracy is a nation's capacity to uphold the constitutional, democratic and human rights of all its citizens regardless of ethnicity, race, age, economic and social status, and of course gender.

*Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi is a human rights lawyer. She is also Coordinator of Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC), which has campaigned extensively on Sharia and other women's rights issues in Nigeria. WARDC can be reached at info@womenadvocates.org

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM – ANOTHER WORLD IS POSSIBLE!

2003-01-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/12733

The southern Brazilian city of Porto Alegre will serve as the venue for the third World Social Forum from January 23-28, with organisers expecting attendance to top 100 000 in the gathering of social movements, non-governmental organisations, intellectuals and leftist groups from around the world - all striving under the banner of "A better world is possible". The WSF was inaugurated in January 2001 as a counterweight to the World Economic Forum, which brings together corporate executives, political leaders, economists and financiers in Davos, a Swiss city. Even more promising than the growth of the event, writes Michael Albert in a www.zmag.org commentary ( http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=41&ItemID=2793 ), is that the forum has transcended its single event persona, with local forums for continents - Asia, Africa and Europe - countries, states within countries, cities and towns. The recent African Social Forum held in Addis Ababa was intended as preparation for African inputs to the World Social Forum.

LINKS:
* African Social Forum Second Edition
Details on the African Social Forum held in early January and its relevance to the World Social Forum.
http://www.enda.sn/Forum%20social/english/index.htm
* Statements from the African Social Forum
- FORUM CONDEMNS US AGGRESSION
http://www.pambauzka.org/en/category/conflict/12705
- ANOTHER AFRICA IS POSSIBLE
http://www.pambauzka.org/en/category/rights/12669
- DESCRIBING AFRICA'S DEBT - ILLEGITIMATE, ODIOUS AND IMMORAL
http://www.pambauzka.org/en/category/development/12702
* Porto Alegre 2003
A full listing of themes, central issues, preparatory forums, participating movements, news, feature articles and more...
http://www.portoalegre2003.org/publique/
* Choike - A Portal on Southern Civil Societies
http://www.choike.org/

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Actions endanger millions with AIDS

A call to divest GSK stock

2003-01-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/12689

The AIDS Therapeutic Treatment Now (ATTN) International Coalition asks you to sign-on in support of the campaign to urge major investors to divest GSK stock. Help stop corporate greed at the expense of human lives! Because of GSK's excessive HIV drug pricing, which set the standard for all HIV drugs, millions have died due to lack of accessibility to affordable drugs.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Actions endanger millions with AIDS
A call to divest GSK stock

Dear Colleagues:

The AIDS Therapeutic Treatment Now (ATTN) International Coalition asks you to sign-on in support of the campaign to urge major investors to divest GSK stock. This strategy has been effectively used against apartheid in South Africa and tobacco companies. Major pension funds such as California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS), and large mutual funds will be pressed to divest themselves of GSK stock.

London-based GSK claims ownership of the drug, which was initially created in 1964 in the United States as a possible cancer drug, and first shown to be effective against HIV by National Institutes of Health (NIH) researchers in the mid 1980's. The lawsuit was filed after the discovery that Burroughs Wellcome (now GlaxoSmithKline) lied to the United States Department of Commerce Patent and Trademark Office in 1986 in order to secure the patent on AZT.

Join ACT UP founder, Larry Kramer, in supporting the effort to bring GSK to accountability for billions of dollars in stolen profits at the expense of HIV/AIDS patients. Kramer says, “It is evil to possess a drug that you don't own and which can save lives and then deny it to the very dying people who need it. That is evil and that is murder”.

Help stop corporate greed at the expense of human lives! Because of GSK's excessive HIV drug pricing, which set the standard for all HIV drugs, millions have died due to lack of accessibility to affordable drugs.

STOP THE GREED!!

Help make HIV drugs accessible around the world.

We need your help now.

Please sign on TODAY to the form below: (Either hit Reply and send back the completed form or email your support to Terriford@attnnews.org)
Sign on here:

I/We support the efforts to stop GlaxoSmithKline from profiting from AZT (and drugs comprised of AZT).

We join in asking major investors to DIVEST GSK STOCK!!

Name:

Organization:

Email:

Mailing Address:
(including country)

Phone:

Fax:

Endorsement is:

( ) Individual ( ) Organizational ( ) Both I/my organization would like to get more involved in the fight to stop GSK's corporate greed.

Thank you!

Terri M. Ford ATTN Coordinator Terriford@attnnews.org Swazi Mlaba ATTN/South Africa ATTNSouthAfrica@attnnews.org

Join the anti-war referendum

2003-01-23

http://www.internationalanswer.org/

Vote No to War! Hundreds of thousands of people around the world have marched to protest against a planned US-led war on Iraq. Make your voice heard by signing up against war.

Stop Arbitrary Arrests and Torture in Sudan

2003-01-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/12746

The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) requests you to write to the Sudanese authorities requesting the release of Mr. Abdallah Fadl Alla Abdalla, who was arrested on January 18 and, according to the OMCT, is at risk of torture.
Case SDN 210103
Arbitrary and incommunicado detention / Risk of torture / Freedom of
religion or belief

The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT
intervention in the following situation in Sudan.

Brief description of the situation

The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the
Sudanese Organisation against Torture, a member of the OMCT network,
of the incommunicado detention and corresponding risk of torture of
Mr. Abdallah Fadl Alla Abdalla in Sudan.

According to the information received, on the evening of Saturday 18
January 2003, a group of armed security officers arrested Abdallah
Fadl Alla Abdalla, an engineer and member of Al Ukhwan Aljamhoryeen
(republican brother), after raiding his house in Wad Albakhiet in
Omdurman. Abdallah has been taken to an unknown location by security
forces, giving rise to fears that he may be subjected to ill-
treatment or torture during his detention.

Mr. Abdallah was first arrested by the police on the evening of 16
January 2003. The reason given for the arrest was that Mr. Abdalla
was organising a book exhibition at his house in commemoration of the
anniversary of the death of Uztaz Mahmoud Mohamed Taha, a Sudanese
scholar who was executed in 1985 for the crime of apostasy by Jaafar
Numeiri, the dictator who ruled Sudan between 1969 and 1985.
According to the information received, Ustaz Mahmoud Mohamed Taha's
methodology of Islamic reform is premised on the view that the Qur'an
and traditions of the prophet Mohamed can only be understood in
specific historical context. Abdallah was a student of Uztaz Mahmoud
Mohamed Taha. The police confiscated all the books, photos and
posters at the exhibition, and charged Mr. Abdalla with the offence
of insulting the religious creed of Islam under article 125 of the
1991 penal code.

After Abdualah's initial arrest on 16 January 2003, he was released
on bail on the afternoon of 18 January 2003. The security forces
then re-arrested him three hours later, took him to an unknown
location and refused to disclose his whereabouts to either his family
or his lawyer.

The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned for the
personal integrity of Mr. Abdallah Fadl Alla Abdalla notably given
that he is being detained incommunicado and therefore is at a
heightened risk of being subjected to ill-treatment or torture. OMCT
calls on the Sudanese authorities to guarantee his physical and
psychological integrity and order his immediate and unconditional
release.

Action requested

Please write to the authorities in Sudan urging them to:

i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and
psychological integrity of Abdallah Fadl Alla Abdalla;
ii. immediately locate his whereabouts;
iii. intervene with the appropriate authorities in order to secure
that he is allowed to meet with his relatives and legal
representation;
iv. order his immediate and unconditional release;
v. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms
throughout Sudan in accordance with international human rights
standards.

Addresses

· His Excellency Lieutenant General Omar Hassan al-Bashir, President
of the Republic of Sudan, President's Palace, PO Box 281, Khartoum,
Sudan. Fax: + 249 11
771651/ 787676 / 783223
· Mr. Ali Mohamed Osman Yassin, Minister of Justice and Attorney
General, Ministry of Justice, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: + + 249 11 774842
/ 774906 / 788941
· Major General Abdul Rahim Muhammed Hussein, Minister of Foreign
Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, PO Box 873, Khartoum, Sudan.
Fax: + 249 11 774339 /
773046 / 770186 / 777900 / 779383
· Mr. Yasir Sid Ahmed, Advisory Council for Human Rights, PO Box 302,
Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: + 249 11 779173 / 770883
· His Excellency Ambassador Mr Ibrahim Mirghani Ibrahim, Permanent
Mission of Sudan to the United Nations in Geneva, PO Box 335, 1211
Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: + 4122 7312656. E-mail:
mission.sudan@ties.itu.int

Please also write to the embassies of Sudan in your respective
country.

Geneva, January 21st, 2003

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this
appeal in your reply.
Organisation Mondiale Contre la Torture (OMCT)
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
Organización Mundial Contra la Tortura (OMCT)
8 rue du Vieux-Billard
Case postale 21
CH-1211 Geneve 8
Suisse/Switzerland
Tel. : 0041 22 809 49 39
Fax : 0041 22 809 49 29
E-mail : omct@omct.org
http://www.omct.org

Four-wheel drives, mosquitoes and giant black sables

Judy Connors, Phaphama Initiatives, South Africa

2003-01-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/12731

Luanda is the kind of city that, at once, depresses and lifts your spirits. It is also more than a city; spending a while in it is an experience, the memory of which, instead of fading over time, lingers on only to strangely intensify, as more insights prod the mind, and deeper emotions fill the heart. The blessing of peace in Angola is accompanied by an almost tangible sense of urgency among the people we worked with, that not a day should be lost now in the awesome task of looking ahead and rebuilding a nation crippled by thirty years of civil war. One NGO poised to do this is Angola 2000, who with Open Society funding, entered into a collaborative partnership with the Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) from South Africa. Angola 2000’s vision is to nurture the fragile but oh so longed for peace, by sharing among all Angolans, AVP’s practical skills of authentic communication that builds respect for self and others, and the effective non-violent resolution of interpersonal conflict.
Luanda is the kind of city that, at once, depresses and lifts your spirits. It is also more than a city; spending a while in it is an experience, the memory of which, instead of fading over time, lingers on only to strangely intensify, as more insights prod the mind, and deeper emotions fill the heart.

The blessing of peace in Angola is accompanied by an almost tangible sense of urgency among the people we worked with, that not a day should be lost now in the awesome task of looking ahead and rebuilding a nation crippled by thirty years of civil war. One NGO poised to do this is Angola 2000, who with Open Society funding, entered into a collaborative partnership with the Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) from South Africa. Angola 2000’s vision is to nurture the fragile but oh so longed for peace, by sharing among all Angolans, AVP’s practical skills of authentic communication that builds respect for self and others, and the effective non-violent resolution of interpersonal conflict.

In the space of ten days in November 2002, eighteen Angolans keenly and actively participated in the three-phase AVP programme, enabling them to become AVP facilitators; no mean feat in a context where every English word had to be translated into Portuguese (a task which the able participants in the group took upon themselves for the benefit of all), and every Portuguese word translated into English for the sake of the three facilitators from South Africa. The group comprised mostly of young people, all of whom carried horrific memories; be it of detention without trial, political indoctrination, torture, witnessing maiming, starvation or death, or having at too young an age to take on overwhelming responsibilities in a camp for displaced people. Despite all this pain, they held an enthusiastic resolve, a heart-warming resilience to be the generation that would build the kind of country they would be proud to pass on to their children. And never once did they forget to show respect to the two older participants in the group; one from the War Veterans’ Association and the other, a man involved in war trauma work.

What images remain with us from our brief stay in Luanda? The absolutely incredible number of four-wheel drives in the city.... true, the state of the roads makes a sturdy vehicle a necessity, and true, they do in some way capture a spirit of robustness that was so clearly visible in the young people we came to know. But with the price of vehicles in line with other exorbitant prices ($3 - $5 for bottled water and $80 per person for a night in a B&B), one is left with nagging and seriously uncomfortable thoughts. Thoughts of wide-scale corruption (Angola is the third-highest on the world corruption index, after Bangladesh and another we cannot remember), as the government uses four-wheel drives to pay civil servants, and thoughts of gross injustice as some fat-cat businessmen (very often from outside Angola, including too many from South Africa) draw extortionate profits from a few in a country where so many are hopelessly impoverished. Sadly, like the pools of fetid rain or sewage water breeding malaria mosquitoes in every pothole (and there are many), this greed spreads its deadliness even to the most impoverished, as larger-than-life CUCA (the local beer) billboards beckon alluringly, creating vicious cycles of alcoholism, domestic violence and ruined lives. Add to this a frightening number of small arms in a total population of 12 million people (mostly provided by first-world countries, as well as, again, by South Africa during the years of apartheid), and you have a potentially lethal cocktail that simmers right now under the veneer of peace. It is with foresight, therefore, that Angola 2000 has also chosen to work with an NGO, Safer Africa, that deals with disarmament issues throughout Africa.

The hope for AVP and Angola 2000 now is that we will go back and support the newly-trained core of facilitators in running their first workshops, which will gradually radiate out to all the provinces of Angola. While it would be naive to think that the debilitating scars of war do not run wide and deep across the psyche of this land and its people, it would be cynical not to feel the new spirit of hope that breathes like a gentle, healing breeze across the landscape. Even during the ten days of our stay, the participants were beginning to put their empowerment in non-violence into practise; one young man gently defused a conflict over seating on the bus he took into town. Small beginnings perhaps, but in a climate where mistrust and violence were the order of the day, such events deserve every recognition. So, even though a huge political and social overhaul needs to be undertaken in the country, we know that the small peace-filled seeds that ordinary Angolans begin to sow in the soil of their everyday interactions will quickly grow to fruition and beauty.

It was therefore, no surprise to us on our return to discover in a local newspaper that the long-thought-extinct national animal, Palancas Negras (giant black sable antelope), had been spotted in Malanje Province for the first time in twenty years – what more convincing sign could there be that harmony and dignity and grace and strength will return to Angola. And we, as fellow Africans, are proud to be a small part of this.

The South African AVP team.
http://www.phaphama.org

Mbwoge Daniel Mbong, Cameroon

2003-01-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/12750

Navaya ole Ndaskoi

Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

2003-01-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/12799

Indigenous Rights for Survival International P.O. Box 13357Dar Es Salaam.E-mail: ndaskoi@uccmail.co.tzAlternative E-mail: fighters@bushlink.com
23.01.2003Mr. Benjamin MkapaThe President The United Republic of TanzaniaP.O. Box 9120Dar Es Salaam. Ref. No.L/32.pipex.02.If it pleases the Honourable President Benjamin Mkapa,Re: Stop the killing fields of LoliondoI am a Tanzanian citizen, a strong believer in social justice. Under the same spirit I am the Co-coordinator of an informal group called Indigenous Rights for Survival International (IRSI). IRSI is a loose network of young people with an interest in public policy issues in Africa. We mainly discuss policy issues through emails communications and ultimately write articles in the press. IRSI as an entity takes no position on any of the discussed issues instead it simply stimulates, steers, and co-ordinates discussions and debates on public policy issues of members’ interest. Mr. President, I have all along believed that you can stop the crime against humanity being inflicted upon the people of Loliondo, Ngorongoro District of Arusha Region by a no less authority than the Government of Tanzania.Mr. President, Loliondo Division is located in Maasai ancestral lands in the northern part of Tanzania along the common border with Kenya. It borders the Ngorongoro highlands to the south, Serengeti National Park to the west, and the Maasai Mara Game Reserve in Kenya to the north. The Loliondo Game Controlled Area (LCGA) encompasses an estimated 4,000 sq km. There is no physical barrier separating the LGCA from other protected areas. It is a continuous ecosystem. LGCA was initially established in 1959 as a Game Reserve by the British colonialists under the then Fauna Conservation Ordinance, Section 302, a legal instrument the colonial authorities used to set aside portions of land for wildlife conservation. The legal status of the reserve was later changed to that of a Game Controlled Area to allow for commercial hunting, a status that defines LGCA today and haunts its wildlife. Mr. President, Loliondo forms an important part of the semi-annual migratory route of millions of wildebeests and other ungulates northward into the Maasai Mara Game Reserve and Amboseli National Park in Kenya between April and June, and returning southward later in the year. The survival of the Ngorongoro-Serengeti-Maasai Mara ecosystem and the wildlife it supports is linked to the existence of Loliondo and other surrounding communal Maasai lands in Tanzania and Kenya. Similarly, the survival of the Maasai people is dependent entirely upon the protection of their ancestral land for economic viability and cultural reproduction. Land to the Maasai is the foundation for their spirituality and the base for identity.Mr. President, the people of Ngorongoro District in general and Loliondo Division in particular have suffered for a long time various established pains such as irrational grabbing of their ancestral land for “development”, tourism (consumptive and non-consumptive) and cultivation. While the people of Loliondo have lost much of their ancestral land to cultivation, the Government is evidently supporting private investors to further put Maasai pastoralists of Loliondo at a very awkward corner. In 1992, the administration of the former president Ali Hassan Mwinyi granted the entire Loliondo Game Controlled Area (LGCA) as a hunting concession to the Otterlo Business Corporation Ltd (OBC), a game-hunting firm based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Government issued a 10-year hunting permit, under the controversial agreement, to the Brigadier Mohammed Abdulrahim Al-Ali, believed to be a member of the royal family of the UAE, of Abu Dhabi in the UAE who owns (OBC). The grabbed land is a birthright land of thousands of villagers of Arash, Soitsambu, Oloipiri, Ololosokwan, Loosoito and Oloirien villages of Loliondo. Mr. President, a Parliamentary Committee was formed to probe the Loliondo Gate saga. It revoked the dirty agreement. Strangely, a similar agreement was established. In January 2000, OBC was granted another 5-year hunting permit in the said area. As usual, without the villagers’ consent. OBC constructed an airstrip. The villagers have been witnessing live animals being exported through the airstrip. OBC constructed structures near water sources. Hearing of the new permit, the Maasai sent a 13-men protest delegation to Dar Es Salaam in April 2000. The intention was to sort out the matter with you Mr. President. Unfortunately, they did not see you. However, the delegation managed to hold a press conference at MAELEZO, National Information Corporation Centre. The Maasai contemplated a number of actions to be taken against both your Government and the Arab in connection with the plunder of the resources. The Maasai said that before a mass exodus of the Maasai to Kenya the first thing was to eliminate wild animals. Thereafter, the delegation retreated to Loliondo, as gravely frustrated as before. The general election was scheduled for 2000, so the saga had to be explained away. The official statement was that power hungry opposition politicians were pushing the elders and that all the claims by the Maasai were “unfounded” and “baseless.” To its credit, The Guardian went to Loliondo. It reported the following:Maasai elders in Loliondo, Arusha Region, who recently declared a land dispute against OBC Ltd, a foreign game-hunting firm, have accused some top Government officials of corrupt practices, saying the conflict is not political. The Arusha Regional Commissioner, Daniel ole Njoolay, recently described the simmering land dispute between the Maasai pastoralists and OBC, as a political issue. Francis Shomet [the former Chairman for Ngorongoro District Council] claimed that Njoolay had misled Tanzanians to believe that the allegations recently raised by Maasai elders were unfounded and baseless. Fidelis Kashe, Ngorongoro District Council Chairman maintained, “We cannot stand idle to see our land being taken away by Arabs. We will kill all the animals in the area as these are the ones attracting the Arabs into our land” (The Guardian May 30, 2000). The next morning Government officials were reported to have said the following:The Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Zakia Meghji, yesterday assured Ngorongoro residents that no land has been sold or grabbed by Arabs in Loliondo. Flanked by the Arusha Regional Commissioner, Daniel ole Njoolay and the Director of Wildlife, Emanuel Severre, Meghji commented, “There is no clause on the sale of land in the contract signed between OBC and the six villages of Ololosokwan, Arash, Maaloni, Oloirien, Oloipiri and Soitsambu.” However an inquiry conducted by The Guardian in Loliondo last week established that the Maasai elders were not involved in the re-lease of the hunting block to the company. According to Megji, her probe established that the building has been constructed about 400 metres from the water source, 200 metres more than the distance recommended by law. But The Guardian investigation shows that the structures are less than 50 metres from a spring. And another spring has dried up (The Guardian May 31, 2000). Mr. President, underline two points. First, the Minister said the building has been constructed 400 metres from the water source. Second, “The Guardian investigation shows that the structures are less than 50 metres from a spring.” Now unless one’s mathematics teacher at school was daft, there is a huge different between 50 and 400! When did 50 metric metres turn to mean 400 metric metres? Can it be claimed that the Maasai were party to this so-called agreement? I am at a loss why this-well known-Minister has not been made to face the full force of the law. In the proposal, Brigadier Al Ali outlined the benefits of his operations in Loliondo to the Government, local communities, and wildlife conservation in the Serengeti-Maasai Mara-Ngorongoro ecosystem. Among its important objectives were:· To conserve an area contiguous to the Serengeti National Park, which is essential to the long-term survival of the ecosystem and its migration. · To develop a new role and image for the Arab world as regards wildlife conservation, management, and human development. · To improve locals’ revenue, development facilities, and create employment. · To generate revenues for the Central and District Governments. The OBC now stands accused of self-contradiction and violation of legal and moral obligations in virtually all the above areas, resulting instead in environmental destruction; unfulfilled promises and exploitation of the local communities; and direct undermining of the stability of the region’s wildlife and natural habitats.It has become evident that OBC had a long-term agenda for exploiting the high concentration of wildlife in Loliondo. Its hunting operations are guaranteed by the continuous flow of wildlife from the Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Maasai Mara, and other areas. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, OBC "was taking advantage of migratory patterns of wildlife coming out of Serengeti."Mr. President, be informed that the villages in and adjacent to protected areas in Tanzania have no Government-supported infrastructures. Take Ngorongoro District for instance. There is no Government hospital in Ngorongoro. It may take a week to travel from Arusha to Loliondo, just less than 400 km, depending on weather, for there is no road. There is no even a single Government advanced level secondary education school in six (repeat six) Districts in the Greater Serengeti Region. This situation brings to question the legitimacy of wildlife conservation vis-à-vis the right of rural people to lead a decent life given nature endowment in their localities.Mr. President, the Maasai of Loliondo have for a long time accused OBC of grave human rights abuses. They have described acts of intimidation, harassment, arbitrary arrest and detention, and even torture by OBC staff, Tanzanian police and military in the name of OBC; brazen violations of grazing and land rights; and wanton environmental destruction and imminent extermination of wildlife. They have seen leaders who once opposed OBC’s practices corrupted and bought-off. The OBC operates like a separate arm of the Government. Many people in Loliondo believe that OBC is even more powerful than the Government. The Maa word for "the Arab", Olarrabui, is often used to refer Brigadier Al Ali, and by extension OBC. The word Olarrabui has become synonymous with power, authority, brutality, fear, and entities larger than life.Mr. President, you do not need to be a rocket scientist to comprehend that this is the clearest case of abuse of office. It is suggested, for those willing to avert disaster, the Tanzania Government included, that immediate steps be taken to put to an end the violation of fundamental human rights in Ngorongoro. As to lands lost in Loliondo, the Government is advised to return this to its owners. Land should not be grabbed senselessly. The Government, should at once, re-look into the whole matter.Regards,Navaya ole Ndaskoi.CC- The International Court of Justice- The United Nations High Commission for Human Rights- The United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations- Human Rights Groups around the World - Faculty of Law of the University of Dar Es Salaam- Local and International Conservation Agencies- Ministry of Tourism and Natural Resources- The Attorney General - The Chief Justice- The Speaker of the United Republic of Tanzania Parliament - The Press, print and electronic- Political parties in Tanzania- Tanganyika Law Society- Other interested parties.

Sydney Jacobs, South Africa

2003-01-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/12717

COMBATING AIDS: COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES IN ACTION

Arvind Singhal, Ph.D.

2003-01-23

http://www.arvind-singhal.com/books/combating-aids.html

As governments and health officials look for ways to control the spread of HIV/AIDS in developing countries, they should not overlook the influence of communication, according to the authors of a new book, "Combating AIDS: Communication Strategies in Action."

Earning a Life: working children in Zimbabwe

edited by Michael Bourdillon

2003-01-23

http://www.weaverpresszimbabwe.com/dev/devframeset.htm

Child labour has received much international attention in recent years, as a form of child abuse that needs urgently to be brought to an end. It is perceived to hinder the rightful development of children, and particularly their education. In Zimbabwe, formalised child labour is not common. Nevertheless, children in a variety of situations have to work for their livelihood. In many cases families, and the children themselves, depend partly on it. Often the schooling of the children depends on the income they earn.

Sharing Knowledge Handbook

Kingo J. Mchombu

2003-01-23

http://www.oxfam.ca/publications/SharingKnowledge.htm

Information is an important resource for human development. Limited access to information and knowledge prevents the full use and potential growth of intelligence in rural people. Sharing Knowledge is a handbook written by Dr. Kingo Mchombu for men and women working in villages, towns and rural areas who wish to transform their communities through information sharing. The author is the Head of the Department of Information and Communication Studies at the University of Namibia and a leading scholar on information and rural development. Sharing Knowledge is published by the Oxfam Horn of Africa Capacity Building Program with the support of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

Trade and Environment

Edited by Shahrukh Rafi Khan

2003-01-23

http://www.zedbooks.demon.co.uk/home.htm

International trade and environmental protection are issues that continually arise on the global policy agenda, including the ongoing World Trade Organization negotiations. But as this volume illustrates, there are often profound differences of perspective, even clashes of interest, between the rich industrialized and developing countries. This book seeks to clarify the issues, detailing how trade impacts on the environment, and the effects that environmental concerns can have on trade.

UK LAUNCH OF AFRICA'S 100 BEST BOOKS

2003-01-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/books/12672

The Southern African Book Development Education Trust, SABDET, has announced that it is partnering the British Council in the UK launch of Africa's 100 Best Books on 30 January 2003. Reading Africa, a briefing and networking event on the 100 Best Books initiative for reading promotion organisations, educationists, booktrade, press and media will be held at the British Council's London headquarters at Spring Gardens.
UK LAUNCH OF AFRICA'S 100 BEST BOOKS, 30 JANUARY 2003

The Southern African Book Development Education Trust, SABDET, is
delighted to announce that it is partnering the British Council in
the UK launch of Africa's 100 Best Books on 30 January 2003. Reading
Africa, a briefing and networking event on the 100 Best Books
initiative for reading promotion organisations, educationists,
booktrade, press and media will be held at the British Council's
London headquarters at Spring Gardens. Contributors include 100 Best
Books award-winning writer Veronique Tadjo and a number of members of
the international jury. The event will be followed by a reception
hosted by British Council Board Member Gerard Lemos, with readings by
poet Patience Agbabi and 100 Best Books award-winning writer Buchi
Emecheta.

The Reading Africa initiative is supported by the Arts Council of
England and forms part of an international campaign to promote the
Africa's 100 Best Books list, following their announcement in Ghana
in February 2002 and a gala awards ceremony in Cape Town in August
attended by Nelson Mandela - whose own book No Easy Walk to Freedom
appears in the list - and Bishop Desmond Tutu. The titles listed
were selected by an international jury from more than 1,500
nominations, covering children's writing, non-fiction/scholarship and
creative writing, written in Afrikaans, Arabic, English, French,
Gikuyu, Portuguese, Sesotho, Shona, Swahili, IsiXhosa, Yoruba and
IsiZulu.

The Africa's 100 Best Books list is an initiative of the Zimbabwe
International Book Fair, inspired by Professor Ali Mazrui and
organised in association with the African publishing industry and
book development organisations. It aims to celebrate the achievements
of African writers, stimulate debate and analysis of African writing,
promote publishing and the book trade and increase awareness and
knowledge of African writing around the world.


More information about the initiative can be found on the British
Council website:
http://www.britishcouncil.org/100bestafricanbooks/index.htm


For more information on Reading Africa, contact the coordinator:


Melanie Abrahams
Renaissance One
Email : mail@renaissanceone.com
Tel/fax + 44 (0) 207 326 0048
Address: PO Box 22004 London SW2 5ZS England


___________________________


SABDET seeks to communicate, inform and educate about publishing in
Africa
Southern African Book Development Education Trust
Registered Charity No: 1037977
www.homepages.poptel.org.uk/sabdet


Administrator/Treasurer: Paul Westlake 26b Bewdley Street London N1
1HB Tel/fax +44 (0)20 7607 1993 sabdet@impz.demon.co.uk


Secretary: Margaret Ling 25 Endymion Road London N4 1EE Tel +44
(0)20 8348 8463 Fax +44 (0)20 8348 4403
margaret.ling@geo2.poptel.org.uk


Chair of Trustees: Alastair Niven
Trustees: Sulaiman Adebowale Adotey Bing Kadija George Mary Jay
Mpalive-Hangson Msiska Anthony Olden Terence Ranger Kelvin
Smith Veronique Tadjo

africa/global: empowering women with knowledge

2003-01-23

http://www.peacewomen.org/resources/resindex.html

The website of Peace Women - the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom - has a section that aims to provide a user-friendly, comprehensive annotated bibliography of books, articles and analyses on women's peace theory and activities, as well as NGO position papers, reports, speeches, statements and tools for organisational building.

africa: $100 Million hiv/aids relief not enough for women

2003-01-23

http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=7446

The US Africa Famine Relief Act proposes an amount of $900 million for emergency relief in Africa, of which $100 million will be directed towards HIV/AIDS programs. But while $100 million is a step in the right direction to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic, it is not nearly enough to address the massive increase in the number of AIDS cases as well as the increase in women contracting the virus in Africa, points out the Feminist Majority Foundation.

africa: Gender, power and identity in African contexts

2003-01-23

http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=848

The idea of identity is an interesting one to most Africans, largely because it has remained so vexed. The author claims that not only is there no all-encompassing concept for identity in much of Africa, but that there is no substantive apparatus for the production of the kind of singularity which the term seemed to require. The implication of history for an Africans' sense of 'who we are' is complicated, and extends far beyond the scope of academic theorisations of identity.

africa: Prize for Women's Creativity in Rural Life

2003-01-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/wgender/12801

The Women's World Summit Foundation (WWSF) cordially invites you to submit nominations for the tenth annual 'Prize for Women's Creativity in Rural Life' Award, honoring creative and courageous women and women's organisations working to improve the quality of life in rural communities around the world.
SOURCE: http://www.wougnet.org

10th Anniversary - Prize for Women's Creativity in Rural Life - 2003

Dear Friends,

The Women's World Summit Foundation WWSF cordially invites you to submit
nominations for the tenth annual 'Prize for Women's Creativity in Rural
Life' Award, honoring creative and courageous women and women's
organizations working to improve the quality of life in rural communities
around the world.

Since inception of the prize program in 1994, 247 Laureates have been
honored with a cash donation of US$ 500 each. Names and profiles are posted
on our website: http://www.woman.ch

Given your experience, interest and perspective with regard to issues of
development, human rights, micro-credit and empowerment of women, we would
greatly appreciate your participation in this initiative and thank you in
advance for sending us your candidates. Thirty or more Laureates will again
be selected in 2003, and several of them will be invited to Geneva to
personally present their work.

Your nomination, using the guidelines below, should arrive by mail by 1
March 2003.

I can send you this e-mail in French or Spanish upon request.

Should you have any question, please do not hesitate to contact me.


Yours sincerely,
Nadège Tissot
Consultant - Prize Program coordinator
Email: prize@vtxnet.ch


____________________________________________________________________________

Prize for women's creativity in rural life

annually awarded by the Women's World Summit Foundation WWSF since 1994


Nomination Form to be returned no later than 1 March 2003


Nominee

Family Name

First Name

Age

Address

Country

Tel/Fax/email

NOMINATOR

Last name

First name

Relation to the candidate

Organisation

Address

Country

Tel
Fax:
email:


List of supporting materials

Endorsement letter(s)

Newspaper articles

Publications

Other


THE NOMINATION MATERIALS SHOULD ARRIVE BY 1 MARCH 2003 THROUGH THE POST AT:
Women's World Summit Foundation WWSF
P.O.BOX 2001, 1211 GENEVA 1, SWITZERLAND

or by DHL at/soit par DHL au/o por DHL a:
WWSF, Hotel Beau Rivage, 13 Quai du Mt Blanc, 1211 Genève Suisse

___________________________________________________________________________
PRIZE FOR WOMEN'S CREATIVITY IN RURAL LIFE

NOMINATION GUIDELINES 2003

Awarded since 1995 by the Women's World Summit Foundation (WWSF) - an
international NGO for the empowerment of women and children - the Prize
($500 each) annually honours women and women's groups exhibiting
exceptional creativity, courage and commitment in improving the quality of
life in rural communities. The Prize aims to draw international attention to
the laureates' contributions to sustainable development, household food
security and peace, thus generating more recognition and support for their
projects. While rural women are vital in providing examples of sound
practice in rural communities, they still do not have to full access tools
needed for development, such as education, credit, land rights and
participation in decision-making. By highlighting creative development
models, innovations and experiences enhancing the quality of life in rural
areas, WWSF hopes to participate in addressing the eradication of extreme
poverty and help arrest the drift to urban areas.

ELIGIBILITY

Nominees should be women, or groups of women, currently active in rural life
whose efforts have not yet been acknowledged by other awards. They may not
nominate themselves.

The nominating organisation or individual must have direct experience of the
nominee's work. The nominator may not nominate a family member, be a member
of the nominated organisation, nor can an organisation nominate its senior
officer (i.e. founder, president etc.). No more than 3 nominees may be
presented by the same person/organisation in a given year. The nominator
commits to organising an award ceremony if its nominee is selected and to
invite the media.

NOMINATIONS MUST INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING ITEMS:

1. The original signed letter of nomination indicating how the nominator
knows the nominee and for how long.
2. Biographical data on the nominee (full name, age, education, place of
work, background) and a detailed history of the nominee's creative project
(written by the nominator) including her motivation, innovative aspects, any
obstacles overcome, and the impact in the community. Nominations must
specify whether the nominee has received or is currently being nominated for
other awards.
3. One or two original signed endorsement letters from organisations or
individuals other than the nominator and, if possible, additional supporting
materials such as newspaper articles or publications.
4. A few good labeled photographs clearly showing the nominee(s) (for
possible publication).

CRITERIA

The long-term impact of the Prize will depend on the integrity of the
nominators and the quality of their nominations. The Prize is an award for
successful accomplishments rather than a fund for future projects. The
nominee's history (2-3 pages) should demonstrate the creativity, courage and
sometimes sacrifice of the nominee in her efforts at the grass roots level
to improve life in rural communities. Descriptions should be as specific as
possible. Any of the following elements should be emphasised:
* Exceptional courage and perseverance in improving rural life
* Creativity in the approach
* Preservation of and respect for the environment
* Continuing impact on the community

Laureates are selected by an international jury composed of WWSF Board of
directors and announced officially each year on 15 July, and celebrated on
October 15 - World Rural Women's Day - at a special award ceremony in
Geneva. Several prize winners are invited to attend the celebration
personally. The Women's World Summit Foundation has a commitment to
annually award 30 or more creative rural women or women's groups around the
world. To read about the laureates, visit our web site www.woman.ch





PLEASE SEND ALL NOMINATION DOCUMENTS BY MAIL BEFORE 1 MARCH 2003 TO:

Prize Administrator
Women's World Summit Foundation (WWSF)
P.O. Box 2001
1211 Geneva 1, Switzerland

Address to be used For DHL only:
WWSF
Hotel Beau Rivage
13 Quai du Mt Blanc
1201 Genève Suisse

Tel.: (41 22) 738 66 19
Fax: (41 22) 738 82 48
Web site: www.woman.ch
Email: prize@vtxnet.ch

Documents should be written preferably in English, French or Spanish.

International Prize Jury: Filomina Chioma Steady (USA/Sierra Leone);
Munira N.A. Al-Nahed (Saudi Arabia); Ela Bhatt (India); Saïda Benhabyles
(Algeria); Gulzar Samji (Canada); Asha Kambon (Trinidad & Tobago);
Elly Pradervand (Switzerland/Germany); Wu Qing (China)

africa: Stronger roles for women in peace process and refugee camps, urges High Commissioner for Refugees

2003-01-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/wgender/12818

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers has called on women to do more to influence "political priorities", urging them to speak out against political agendas that do not take into account what is important to them. Speaking in Geneva at the launch of an assessment report on the impact of armed conflict on women and their role in peace-building, Lubbers said women can play a stronger role in conflict resolution as they tend to approach conflict resolution in a practical way.
GENEVA, Jan 22 (UNHCR) - UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers
today called on women to do more to influence "political priorities",
urging them to speak out against political agendas that do not take into
account what is important to them.

Speaking in Geneva at the launch of an assessment report on the impact of
armed conflict on women and their role in peace-building, Lubbers said
women can play a stronger role in conflict resolution as they tend to
approach conflict resolution in a practical way.

"The way women address conflict is different because women find a practical
way to resolve conflicts," said Lubbers.

The report, "The Independent Experts' Assessment on the Impact of Armed
Conflict on Women and the Role of Women in Peace Building", was
commissioned by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) in
close collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and UNHCR.

Launching the report, UNIFEM Executive Director Noeleen Heyzer, who also
gave the opening statement, described the experts' assessment as an
"important tool for change" that provides a useful opportunity for people
working with women to "move rhetoric into action".

Heyzer lamented the fact that although the nature of war had changed, with
belligerents using women as "weapons of war", the humanitarian community
had not adequately modified the protection and delivery of assistance to
meet the changing needs of those affected by war.

"We need to understand that the nature of war has changed and is taking its
toll on civilian populations, mainly women and children," said Heyzer.
"Given this change, the way we deliver protection and assistance has to
change because the environment has changed. Yet, delivery has not changed
in the same way."

Summarising the experts' recommendations, the UNIFEM chief called for more
efforts at conflict prevention and early warning, as well as better
protection of women and the establishment of justice systems - including
witness protection - to counter a culture of impunity. She also noted the
experts' recommendation for the inclusion of women at the peace table and
for more gender-sensitive reconstruction programmes. Panelist Bineta Diop,
however, pointed out that "only those with guns were allowed at the peace
table".

On refugee women, the report's authors urged organisations to ensure that
refugee and internally displaced women play a key role in camp planning,
management and decision-making so that gender issues are taken into account
in all aspects, especially resource distribution, security and protection.

Lubbers said UNHCR is already taking steps to ensure that refugee women are
treated as partners and that more places are allocated to them in camp
management committees.

"Two years ago, we had a global dialogue with women about policies and
strategies. One of the key points I remember from the women was that they
did not want to be considered just as beneficiaries but also as partners,"
said Lubbers.

He added that UNHCR offices worldwide had until June this year to report
back on the implementation of five commitments he made in 2001 to improve
the situation of refugee women. One of these was a pledge to increase to 50
per cent the representation of refugee women in camp management committees.

The meeting's participants called on the UN, including the refugee agency,
to also increase the number of women in senior positions so as to
strengthen its own position when pressing for the inclusion of women at
peace tables or in refugee camp management committees.

africa: what the world bank has done for women

2003-01-23

http://www.whirledbank.org/development/gender.html

World Bank loans and International Monetary Fund-imposed Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) have stripped many women of what meager health and education benefits were once available to them. Women's formal sector unemployment has increased due to IMF-induced recessions, privitizations, and government cutbacks. Food production and other activities that provide income and sustenance to households have been undermined, as in Africa where incentives that switch land and labor to export crop production have forced women to reduce time tending farm plots that are the basis of food security and spend more time as unpaid labourers.

burundi: Women's Perspectives on the Arusha Peace Initiative

2003-01-23

http://www.eamwa.org/

The involvement of women in the on-going Burundi peace talks is a reflection of their general position in society. The initial battle for women's inclusion by mainly the urban based, educated women, enabled them to enter the peace talks, albeit long after they had started. But even today women are primarily observers of the process. They can participate directly in the discussions but have no right to vote on any motion. Read about the experiences of African women at the East Africa Media Women's Website.

east/southern africa: GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE FIELD REVIEW

2003-01-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/wgender/12687

Raising Voices (www.raisingvoices.org) and UN-Habitat (www.unhabitat.org/safercities) are undertaking a field review of organisations and institutions working to prevent gender-based violence (GBV) in East and Southern Africa. The aim is to create networks and alliances between those working to prevent GBV through conferences and partnerships and to produce a publication that highlights successful approaches to preventing GBV in the region. All NGOs, government agencies, local authorities and other groups working on the prevention of gender-based violence are warmly invited to share experiences. Please contact Lori Michau for further information at lori.michau@raisingvoices.org or follow the link www.raisingvoices.org/fieldreview to complete a simple questionnaire.

kenya: Female Genital Mutilation Cases Have Declined Says Report

2003-01-23

http://allafrica.com/stories/200301220047.html

One hundred and fifty five under-age girls underwent female genital mutilation (FGM) in Marakwet District last month, a human rights report indicates. The report released by the Eldoret based Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (CHRD) shows Kipyego division led with 58 girls reported to have undergone the rite.

kenya: hopes that new government will end discrimination

2003-01-23

http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/view01/89FC2AFCFE151C17C1256CB0002E73E7?opendocument

Experts on the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women have expressed optimism that the newly elected Government of Kenya would commit itself to countering the traditional forms of discrimination that persisted in that country, as the Committee considered Kenya's reports on compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

tanzania: Tanzania tries to attract more girls to science

2003-01-23

http://www.scidev.net/frame3.asp?id=1701200311521713&t=N&authors=Deodatus%20Balile&posted=17%20Jan%202003&c=1&r=1

Tanzania has launched an initiative to raise the performance of girls in science examinations and to encourage more girls to study science subjects at school. The project involves holding intensive science-training camps for girls, and also training science teachers how to encourage girls to learn about science.

uganda: Domestic violence levels high in rural Uganda

2003-01-23

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-01/jhub-dvl012203.php

Male to female domestic violence levels in rural Uganda are high and associated with both alcohol consumption and the male partner's perceived risk of HIV, according to a study conducted by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The study found that approximately one in three women living in rural Uganda reported being physically threatened or assaulted by their current partner.

africa: another africa is possible

2003-01-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/rights/12669

Past and present economic policies implemented by African governments have failed to improve the lives of ordinary Africans, says the final statement of the Second African Social Forum (ASF), held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in early January. The Forum concluded that only a dynamic civil society organised in strong and active social movements "can and must challenge the neo-liberal political economy of globalization. The consensus was that we need to build a new African state and society, where public institutions and policies will guarantee cultural, economic, political and social rights for all citizens." Over 200 African women, men and young people from 40 countries participated. They represented social movements, trade unions, peasants' organisations, NGOs and research institutions.


AFRICAN SOCIAL FORUM ADDIS ABABA CONSENSUS

ANOTHER AFRICA IS POSSIBLE!!

The Second African Social Forum (ASF) was held in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), from January 5-9, 2003. Over 200 African women, men and young people from 40 countries participated. They represented social movements, trade unions, peasants' organizations, NGOs and research institutions.

We reaffirmed our opposition to and rejection of the global neo-liberal system, its institutions and clubs, namely, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organisation, the G 8 and the World Economic Forum.

Presentations were made on various thematic issues, including international trade, privatization, debt, the African Union, wars and conflicts, agriculture, the question of food security; health; African cultures, etc.

Following the discussions and debates on these issues we reaffirmed our strong conviction, contained in the Declaration made by the first African Social Forum(ASF), held in Bamako (Mali), that "Another Africa is possible".

We also reviewed our practice as social movements in Africa since the Bamako meeting. Much progress has been made to develop and strengthen the ASF, to consolidate its place within the world anti-neoliberal movement, and to build popular struggles for economic justice on the ground. These include our participation in the Second World Social Forum held in Porto Alegre (Brazil), the establishment of national Social Forums in some African countries, and the march against neo-liberalism during the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg (South Africa).

The Forum observed that past and present economic policies implemented by African governments have failed to improve the lives of ordinary Africans.
We concluded that only a dynamic civil society organized in strong and active social movements can and must challenge the neo-liberal political economy of globalization. The consensus was that we need to build a new African state and society, where public institutions and policies will guarantee cultural, economic, political and social rights for all citizens.

There was also a consensus that African unity and social integration are fundamental aspirations of the African Social Forum. Unity has to be organized and achieved through democratic mechanisms and institutions built with the popular participation of the African masses. This is why the ASF expressed deep concern and dissatisfaction with the neo-liberal orientation of the African Union through its adoption of NEPAD as the paradigm of Africa 's development.

The ASF challenges national, regional and global institutions that continue to undermine our efforts to build a democratic society based on gender equality and social and economic justice. In that perspective, the African Social Forum commits itself to developing, promoting and popularizing, in a participatory manner, an alternative development paradigm, based on fundamental principles of democracy, human rights, gender equality and social justice. A development process designed and controlled by the African people and based on their historical experiences. That paradigm will therefore be built on the following principles:

- The maximum participation of the African working classes, peasants, women and youth in decision-making processes, at local, national and regional levels in matters that affect their lives.

- The use of African cultures, not only as means of resistance to foreign domination, but also as a tool for building the economic, social and political framework for the Other Africa.

- The rejection of privatization of basic social services in Africa. We demand of our governments that they not relinquish their responsibility of providing basic social services such as water, energy, health and education to the people. To subject these to the demands of profits of the private sector is a violation of the citizens' basic human rights.

- The rejection of Africa's illegitimate external debt. That debt has been paid many times over. It is used to undermine Africa's self-reliant development and is the main cause for the continent's continued poverty.
Therefore, the African Social Forum renews its call for the unconditional cancellation of that debt. It also calls for mass action for a collective repudiation of the continent's debt. In addition, the ASF demands the repatriation of all stolen wealth kept in American and Euopean countries.
Moreover, we demand reparations for the past and present damages caused to Africa by an unjust and unequal global system and its institutions.

- The rejection of the processes of decision-making and dispute settlement of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and the manipulation of our political leadership by the Quad countries to impose on Africa forced trade liberalization. In particular, we oppose the four Singapore issues (investment, competition policy, government procurement and trade facilitation). We call for a moratorium on GATS negotiations. We also call for the removal of TRIPS from the WTO altogether. We demand of our governments that they defend Africa's interests in the WTO and call for a rollback of the powers and controls of that organization.

- The development of the ASF based on the participation of grassroots social movements, supported by NGOs, institutions and professionals who act in line with the principles of the ASF.

- The development and use of methods of struggle which allow the maximum participation of the grassroots, through mobilization, education and action.

African farmers, most of whom are women, do not benefit from AGOA/Cotonou type of agreements. Women are especially disadvantaged, because of their unequal access to development opportunities. The ASF challenges African governments to remove agriculture from the WTO so that Africans are in control of agricultural production and food security.

On the issue of information and communication, it was observed that the marginalisation of women is due to poor access arising from poverty, illiteracy and other gender discriminatory barriers. The neoliberal political economy of globalisation has deepened gender inequalities and reduced opportunities for women.

Africa is weakened by division and internal strife. These arise out of Africa's colonial past, foreign intervention, and the continuing poor African leadership that thrives on tribal and ethnic divisions. The ASF demands of African governments that they resolve differences among African peoples by peaceful and constructive means based on using Africa's indigenous resources and institutions.

The Empire has declared a permanent war on the peoples of the world. The ASF resolves to support all peoples under threat from imperialist aggression and wars which endanger the lives of millions of innocents in Palestine, Iraq, North Korea, Colombia, Cuba, Indonesia, the Philippines and in other countries.

The ASF in Addis Ababa reiterated its commitment to strengthening alliances with other regional Social Forums, such as the Asian, European and Latin American Forums, and to work within the World Social Forum to challenge neoliberal globalization and build the foundations of the Other Possible World. Thus, the ASF serves as the space for convergence between the various components of the African civil society to strengthen and deepen national, regional and continental unity. The ASF also serves as a space for the democratic expression of views and alternatives to neoliberalism for the transformation of the state and society in the interests of the well-being of all African peoples.

The Addis Forum has adopted the Charter of Principles and Values, which will be the philosophical and moral basis of our movement. It has also proposed a number of organizational mechanisms with the view to building a more democratic African social movement.

Africa is a continent, rich of its natural resources, its cultures and the creativity of its people. It is by relying on this tremendous richness that we will build Another Africa, that is independent, self-reliant and prosperous. It is this unwavering faith that guides us in our struggle.

The ASF reaffirms that globalization from below, thought out, owned and implemented by people's organizations, is both necessary and possible.

ANOTHER AFRICA IS POSSIBLE!
ANOTHER WORLD IS POSSIBLE!

Addis Ababa, January 9, 2003.

africa: Gaddafi's 'United States of Africa' rejected

2003-01-23

http://iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=68&art_id=vn20030122055032468C764910&set_id=1

Foreign ministers from across Africa on Tuesday rejected Libya's controversial proposal for a "United States of Africa", saying the vast continent was not ready to merge into one country with a centralised administration.

ANGOLA: NGOs urge UN to investigate abuses in Cabinda

2003-01-23

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31820

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Sergio Vieira de Mello, has promised a continued role for the UN in the promotion of human rights in Angola. However, the Brazilian diplomat has rejected calls for the UN to play a more forceful role in the investigation of alleged human rights abuses.

drc: Grave concern over plight of Twa pygmies in Eastern Congo

2003-01-23

http://www.minorityrights.org/news_detail.asp?ID=68

As a major UN investigation confirmed the commission of widespread atrocities against Twa 'pygmy' communities in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Minority Rights Group International (MRG) called for neighbouring states and the UN Security Council to take urgent diplomatic and humanitarian action to protect Twa and other communities from violations including mass rape, kidnapping, executions and cannibalism carried out against them by rebel factions.

DRC: Imprisoned human rights activist on hunger strike

2003-01-23

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31827

A prominent human rights activist imprisoned for the past nine months in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been on a hunger strike for one week in protest against the lack of medical care being made available to him.

ghana: rights committee hears tales of torture

2003-01-23

http://iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=68&art_id=vn20030122053430277C393542&set_id=1

Ghana's reconciliation commission has begun its second week of public hearings of horrific rights abuses and torture allegedly committed by past regimes, especially military governments.

KENYA: Review of 2002 election result

2003-01-23

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31830

The 27 December 2002 elections and the smooth handover of power that followed was historical in many ways, and was praised globally as an example of democratic maturity in an African country.

liberia: Exiled Politician returns, hoping for elections

2003-01-23

http://allafrica.com/stories/200301210656.html

Former president pro-tem of the Liberian Senate, Cllr. Charles W. Brumskine returned to his country last week after many years in exile in the United States. He fled Liberia in 1998 after he broke away from the regime of President Charles Taylor. Brumskine is planning to run for president in elections scheduled for October this year but the government of Charles Taylor has been cracking down on dissent and is battling an armed rebellion in the Northern part of Liberia.

LIBERIA: Security Council concerned about rights

2003-01-23

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31805

The UN Security Council has urged the government and the rebel Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) to ensure free access for humanitarian aid workers to displaced civilians and refugees, saying it was concerned about human rights in Liberia.

libya: Libya's Human Rights Record in Spotlight

2003-01-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/rights/12680

The likely election of Libya to a key United Nations post on Monday will put a spotlight on its human rights record and on efforts by abusive governments to undermine the international human rights system, Human Rights Watch says.

Libya's Human Rights Record in Spotlight
U.N. Commission Needs Membership Criteria

(Geneva, January 17, 2003) - The likely election of Libya to a key
United Nations post on Monday will put a spotlight on its human rights
record and on efforts by abusive governments to undermine the
international human rights system, Human Rights Watch said today.

Libya looks certain to be elected chairman of the U.N. Commission on
Human Rights, the world's top human rights forum whose annual six-week
session will take place in Geneva in March and April. The Africa
regional group has nominated Libya to chair the commission on a
rotational basis. Some governments, including the United States, have
opposed Libya's nomination and may call for a vote to signal their
indignation, but no alternative candidate is likely to emerge by January
20, when the commission holds its preparatory meeting in Geneva.

The commission, which "names and shames" abusive governments, has grown
more timid in recent years as countries with poor human rights records
have vied to become members so they can block their own censure.

"Libya's election poses a real test for the commission," said Joanna
Weschler, U.N. representative of Human Rights Watch. "Repressive
governments must not be allowed to hijack the U.N. human rights system."

Weschler urged that countries seeking election to the commission should
meet the following minimum criteria:

* ratify the main human rights treaties,
* fulfill obligations to provide reports on their compliance with
conventions already ratified,
* issue a standing invitation to U.N. investigators, and
* not have been condemned by the commission in the recent past.

"No country has a perfect human rights record," said Weschler, "but
every member should at least show a real commitment to cooperating with
United Nations on human rights."

Over the past three decades, Libya's human rights record has been
appalling. It has included the abduction, forced disappearance or
assassination of political opponents; torture and mistreatment of
detainees; and long-term detention without charge or trial or after
grossly unfair trials. Today hundreds of people remain arbitrarily
detained, some for over a decade, and there are serious concerns about
treatment in detention and the fairness of procedures in several
on-going high profile trials before the Peoples' Courts. Libya has been
a closed country for United Nations and non-governmental human rights
investigators.

Since its nomination by the African Union, Libya has indicated that it
would invite U.N. investigators and international human rights groups to
visit Libya. It has declared its intention to review the role of the
grossly unfair Peoples' Courts, with a view to abolishing them, and
announced several amnesties for prisoners.

While welcoming those initiatives as important indicators of Libya's
intentions, Human Rights Watch called on Libya to formally issue a
standing invitation to all the U.N. human rights monitoring bodies,
following in the footsteps of forty member states that have done so
already, and to promptly submit its outstanding reports to the U.N.
treaty bodies.

"The Libyans have made some positive commitments in their election bid,
but these should be put into practice before they take over the
chairmanship," Weschler said.

Critical issues at this year's session will include the impact of the
war against terrorism on human rights and the continuing grave human
rights situations in Chechnya, China, Israel and the Occupied
Territories, and Iran.

More Human Rights Watch analysis of this issue is available at:
http://www.hrw.org/mideast/libya.php

nigeria/zimbabwe: envoy to deliver Obasanjo's Message to Mugabe

2003-01-23

http://allafrica.com/stories/200301200692.html

Efforts by Nigeria to mediate in resloving the political and economic crises engulfing Zimbabwe may get a boost as Foreign Affairs Minister, Alhaji Sule Lamido, travels to Harare to deliver a letter from President Olusegun Obasanjo to his Zimbabwean counterpart President Robert Mugabe.

Nigeria: Big parties pick former military rulers to run the country

2003-01-23

http://www.ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=15261

Former military rulers, who are blamed for much of Nigeria's woes, are back on the political stage - this time running as civilians in the April presidential election. And, no one is happy. "Unless a miracle happens, or less known parties form an alliance - none of them will pose a serious challenge to the big four parties which have nominated ex-military rulers as their presidential candidates," says Ronke Damilola, a political scientist in Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital.

NIGERIA: Obasanjo’s nomination challenged

2003-01-23

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31841

President Olusegun Obasanjo’s main challenger for Nigeria’s ruling party presidential ticket on Monday filed a suit in court to invalidate the incumbent President's nomination. Alex Ekwueme, a former civilian vice president, in his court papers said Obasanjo’s election at the 5 January People’s Democratic Party (PDP) primaries was in violation of party regulations.

nigeria: police foil electoral fraud plan

2003-01-23

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2668391.stm

Nigerian police have arrested three men allegedly contracted to print as many as five million fake voters' cards ahead of April's presidential and parliamentary elections. The operation, in which police also seized 500,000 faked voting documents, took place in Lagos following a tip-off a week ago but was only announced on Friday.

SOUTH AFRICA: KENSINGTON 87 DUE IN COURT

2003-01-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/rights/12661

Activists known as the Kensington 87, who were arrested in April 2002 for protesting water and electricity cut-offs in their communities that were linked to the ANC government's programme of privatisation, were due to appear in the Jeppe Magistrate's Court in Johannesburg for the fifth time on Wednesday. The Anti-Privatisation Forum (APF) notes in a press release that the case has dragged on for over a year, during which time hundreds of activists from the APF, the Anti-Eviction Campaign and other social movement organisations have been harassed, arrested and detained for various lengths of time as a result of their struggles for basic people's rights and needs.

ANTI-PRIVATISATION FORUM
PRESS STATEMENT (Monday 20th January 2003)
Kensington 87 to appear in court for the fifth time!
South African government continues its campaign of harassing community activists and criminalising legitimate democratic struggles !
On Wednesday, 22nd January (from 9am), the 87 members of the Soweto Electricity Crisis Committee & the Anti-Privatisation Forum (APF) who were arrested on 6th April 2002 will be making their fifth appearance in the Jeppe Magistrate’s Court in Johannesburg. Popularly known as the ‘Kensington 87’, these activists were arrested for protesting water and electricity cut-offs in their communities, linked to the ANC government’s programme of privatisation of basic services, outside the house of ANC Johannesburg Mayor, Amos Masondo.
As is now well known, Masondo’s bodyguard (who has never been charged), without provocation, fired live rounds at the activists who had gathered peacefully outside the Mayor’s house. Consistent with the ANC government’s policy of trying to ‘kill’ the messenger instead of listening to the message, the activists were subsequently rounded-up, arrested and charged with public violence, malicious damage to property and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm. Despite the fact that there was/is no basis in fact for such ludicrous charges, ANC politicians have continued to place behind-the-scenes pressure to pursue the charges for clearly political purposes.
The case against the Kensington 87 has now dragged on for almost a year. During this time, hundreds of such activists from the APF, the Anti-Eviction Campaign and other social movement organisations have been harassed, arrested and detained for various lengths of time as a result of their struggles for basic people’s rights and needs. None of the charges levelled against these activists have held up in court, a clear indication that the ANC government is simply engaged in a systematic drive to intimidate, harass and delegitimise the activities of those South Africans who would dare take democracy seriously.
Their supposed crime? Exercising their rights to freedom of expression, assembly and dissent aimed at exposing and halting the implementation of ANC government policies that are devastating the lives of the majority of South Africans, the poor. For the ANC government, the presence and activity of well-informed, organised and critically-minded social movements that seek fundamental changes to the capitalist socio-economic relations and policies that are ruining their lives, is seen and treated as a political threat that must be smashed.
While ANC and government leaders speak loudly and proudly about democracy, people’s rights, the elimination of poverty and sustainable development, they continue to criminalise (both individually and collectively) those who actively seek to give concrete meaning to these key challenges facing the vast majority of South Africans. They do so because they are afraid of what might happen to their historic support base if the majority of workers and poor begin to act in their own class interests. They do so because they are committed to a capitalist system in which basic human rights and needs have become the privilege of the few.
On Wednesday, the Kensington 87 will, once again, go to court in the knowledge that they are part of legitimate and popular struggles, both here in South Africa and internationally. Those struggles will continue with increased intensity and commitment. The voices of the people will not be silenced!
For further information contact:
Dale McKinley on 072 429-4086
Visit the updated APF website at http://www.apf.org.za

South Africa: KwaZulu-Natal government accused of starving its citizens

2003-01-23

http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=840

The political controversy in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province is continuing, even if the "political crisis" has been called off. The Inkatha Freedom Party, which governs the province, is blamed by the local ANC opposition of blocking food distribution to communities that are being ravaged by hunger and poverty.

zimbabwe: Amani Trust - threats and allegations are cause for concern

2003-01-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/rights/12798

The Amani Trust has strongly denied involvement in a petrol bomb attack in Zimbabwe on Monday night after the state news media had claimed that an Amani vehicle had been identified as one of the vehicles ferrying the alleged attackers. "These allegations are wholly unfounded, but consistent with the continuous attacks that have been mounted against the Trust over the past year...There must therefore be concern for the safety of the staff and Trustees of the Amani Trust, and we hope that calls will be made upon the government of Zimbabwe to protect its citizens against unlawful attack."
Further developments in the attacks on the Amani Trust
Mr A.P. Reeler,Former Director of the Amani Trust
January 22, 2003


Following on last night’s alert on the latest campaign against the Amani Trust, there have been a series of new and very disturbing developments. As I reported last night, the state news media had claimed that an Amani vehicle had been identified as one of the vehicles ferrying the alleged attackers into Kuwadzana on Monday night. This allegation was repeated in the Herald this morning where the state-owned newspaper claimed the following:


At least three vehicles linked to the attack have also been impounded and one of them is believed to belong to Amani Trust, which kept safe houses in various high density suburbs, housing opposition youths on the Police wanted list.

These allegations are being repeated regularly by the state-controlled radio.

The Trust has also been informed by a friendly source that there are plans to firebomb the Amani offices tonight.

These allegations are wholly unfounded, but consistent with the continuous attacks that have been mounted against the Trust over the past year. The threat to actually firebomb the offices must be taken very seriously in view of the attacks in the past on the Daily News and the Voice of the People radio station.


There must therefore be concern for the safety of the staff and Trustees of the Amani Trust, and we hope that calls will be made upon the government of Zimbabwe to protect its citizens against unlawful attack. The Trust unreservedly denies that it would have any part in violent action of any kind, and has always stressed its non-partisan position as a human rights organization.

For more information:
Email: tony@idasa.org.za
Tel: +27-(0)84-764 6995



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Victimisation of Amani Trust Continues
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition
January 22, 2003


The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition regrets Monday night’s petrol bomb attack in Kuwadzana and sends its deepest condolences to the family of those killed and injured in the attack.


However the Coalition unreservedly condemns efforts by the government to try and place blame for the attack on the Amani Trust. The Coalition has it on sound authority that Amani Trust vehicles are grounded without fuel and were therefore nowhere near Kuwadzana on the fateful night.


In the past government has used similar contrived allegations to manipulate public opinion and create a smoke screen in advance of a so-called “retaliatory” attack on legitimate organisations who are seeking creative solutions to Zimbabwe’s current crises.


In particular the Coalition notes with grave concern the government’s sustained attack against media and other groups involved in the documentation of human rights abuses.


The Coalition hopes that recent media attacks on the Amani Trust are not setting the stage for a similar action against the organisation or its members.

For more information:
Tel/Fax +263-(0)4-747817


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


keeping you informed
the kubatana team

kubatana.net and the NGO Network Alliance Project
Tel: +263-(0)4-495484/480435
Fax: +263-(0)4-495169
email: nnap@kubatana.org.zw

Visit www.kubatana.net - Zimbabwe's civic and human rights web site
incorporating an online directory for the non-profit sector.

zimbabwe: Centre for Human Rights student arrested in Zimbabwe

2003-01-23

http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=845

A student from the University of Pretoria's Centre for Human Rights has been arrested in Zimbabwe, for allegedly being involved in a plot to overthrow the government.

ZIMBABWE: One killed, seven injured in pre-election clash

2003-01-23

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31857

One man died and seven people were injured - two critically - in an attack on a ZANU-PF meeting in Kuwadzana, a suburb of Harare which is preparing for a local election.

zimbabwe: Police tortured Nkala murder suspects, say defence lawyers

2003-01-23

http://zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=6003

Four suspects in the murder of Bulawayo war veterans' chief, Cain Nkala, were tortured during interrogation by the police in Bulawayo and forced to sign confessions which were dictated to them by their torturers, the High Court has heard.

AFRICA: AMNESTY CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION INTO FRENCH DEATHS OF FOREIGN NATIONALS

2003-01-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/refugees/12800

The recent deaths of two undocumented foreign nationals must be fully and impartially investigated, says Amnesty International. Before receiving news of the death of Somalian national Mariame Getu Hagos on 16 January, Amnesty International had written to the French Minister of the Interior about the death, on 30 December 2002, of Ricardo Barrientos, an Argentinian national, on an aircraft bound for Buenos Aires.
News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty International

AI Index: EUR 21/001/2003 22 January 2003

France: Deaths during forcible deportations from Roissy must be fully and
impartially investigated


The recent deaths of two undocumented foreign nationals must be fully and
impartially investigated, urged Amnesty International.

"These deaths which happened within two weeks of one another, are the first
to have occurred on an aircraft during forcible deportation from French
territory since 1991, and for that reason alone require urgent in-depth
examination. The number of deaths in other European countries make it yet
more imperative for these instances to be fully investigated."

Before receiving news of the death of Somalian national Mariame Getu Hagos
on 16 January, Amnesty International had written to the Minister of the
Interior about the death, on 30 December 2002, of Ricardo Barrientos, an
Argentinian national, on an aircraft bound for Buenos Aires.

Both deaths appear to have occurred after the deportees were placed at the
rear of the aircraft and their hands cuffed behind their back. Ricardo
Barrientos was held in a "doubled over" position, with pressure applied to
his shoulder blades.

"Existing expert advice on postural asphyxia has proved that handcuffing a
person behind their back can restrict their ability to breathe, while any
weight applied to the back in this position -- such as pressure applied by
a police officer -- can increase breathing difficulty further," Amnesty
International said.

Consequently, the organization urged that the deaths are examined fully and
impartially by a body such as the Commission nationale de déontologie de la
sécurité, which should investigate whether international human rights
principles were followed. The conclusions of the current inquiry into
Ricardo Barrientos' death by the public prosecutor of Bobigny should be
made public, particularly considering the disputed versions about the exact
circumstances and time of his death.

In its letter Amnesty International is asking the French authorities for
clarification of the procedures in place for forcible deportation and
whether these are fully in line with international recommendations or
principles. Such recommendations include those issued by the European
Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment or the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.


Background

On 16 January Mariame Getu Hagos, a 25-year-old undocumented Somalian
national, died after being taken ill on board an aircraft awaiting
departure to Johannesburg from Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport. According
to reports, Mariame Getu Hagos had arrived in France five days earlier from
South Africa, and was placed in the waiting area at Roissy. After his
application for asylum was rejected, he resisted attempts to deport him
and, after apparently becoming ill on two separate occasions, was examined
by a doctor on emergency call. Deemed, nevertheless, fit to leave, he was
accompanied onto the aircraft by three frontier (PAF) police officers,
placed at the rear and handcuffed. Before take-off he reportedly again made
efforts to resist departure and, according to the Interior Ministry, was
restrained by the "customary techniques" ("techniques habituelles"). It is
not, however, clear at this stage what these techniques involved. Shortly
afterwards he collapsed and was taken to Villepinte hospital, where he died
two days later. According to the PAF Mariame Getu Hagos had simulated the
first two attacks of illness. However, a doctor attached to the emergency
medical services (SMU) reportedly stated that the Somalian's condition
should have been taken seriously.


Want to know more? Visit http://click.topica.com/maaaM8QaaVvKEbb0imPb/

View all documents on France http://click.topica.com/maaaM8QaaVvKFbb0imPb/


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africa: Research Reveals Scary Statistics On Landmines, IDPs

2003-01-23

http://allafrica.com/stories/200301210672.html

A global report just released on internally displaced persons (IDPs) has described the abundance of land mines in numerous African countries as a major impediment to the ability of displaced persons to reclaim their lands. The report has cited Angola as one of the most heavily mined countries in the world, with an estimated 8 to10 million land mines.

BURUNDI: IMC asks for greater involvement in refugee and IDP inquiries

2003-01-23

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31835

The Implementation Monitoring Committee of the Arusha peace accord has urged the transitional government of Burundi and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to include it in visits to the interior aimed at identifying and resolving the major difficulties of repatriated and internally displaced people.

BURUNDI: Thousands flee fresh fighting

2003-01-23

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31801

Thousands of civilians have fled fresh fighting between government troops and Hutu rebels in Gitega Province, the spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Burundi, Nicholas McGowan, reported.

GUINEA: NRC update on displaced Guineans

2003-01-23

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31777

Encouraged by the overall improvements in the security situation in the country, thousands of internally displaced Guineans returned to their home areas during 2002, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said on Thursday in its updated background information on the situation of displaced Guineans.

ivory coast: Liberians repatriated from Ivory Coast

2003-01-23

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2666455.stm

The first of some 40,000 Liberian refugees are being repatriated from Ivory Coast. Hundreds of Liberian refugees have been cramming onto ramshackle buses in the southern town of Tabou in a desperate bid to go home, says the BBC's Tom McKinley.

ivory coast: UN envoy appeals for protection of refugees

2003-01-23

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31813

The UN Humanitarian Envoy for Cote d'Ivoire, Carolyn McAskie, at the weekend appealed to the Ivorian government to exercise its obligations with regards to humanitarian law and provide protection to refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs).

KENYA-UGANDA: IOM assists Ugandan rebels to get amnesty

2003-01-23

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31851

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) office in Kenya launched a programme on Monday to screen former Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army rebels who wish to apply for an amnesty and return to Uganda.

kenya/somalia: Kenya's 10,000 Somalia Refugees Set for US

2003-01-23

http://allafrica.com/stories/200301200843.html

About 10,000 Somalia refugees in Kenya are to be resettled in the US. They will be airlifted from the Kakuma and Dadaab camps in Turkana and Garissa districts from next month, the NGO facilitating the relocation programme said.

LIBERIA: Flow of returnees and refugees increasing, says UNICEF

2003-01-23

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31807

Over 26,000 Liberian returnees and refugees from Cote d'Ivoire require urgent assistance after fleeing recent military activities in the rebel-held western Ivorian cities of Danane and Man, UNICEF reported on Monday.

liberia: Norwegian Refugee Council opens aid project in Liberia

2003-01-23

http://www.nrc.no/engindex.htm

The Norwegian Refugee Council is starting up aid projects for the internally displaced in Liberia. Increased actions of war in Liberia and its neighbouring country the Ivory Coast, has worsened the situation for civilians. There are presently approximately 200 000 internally displaced refugees in Liberia.

RWANDA-ZAMBIA: 5,000 refugees to be repatriated from Zambia

2003-01-23

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31800

A tripartite agreement has been signed with the governments of Rwanda and Zambia to begin the voluntary return by air of more than 5,000 Rwandan refugees in Zambia, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported last Friday.

africa: Africa starves as rulers reap profits

2003-01-23

http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?a=37&o=14560

As millions go hungry, some African leaders have splashed out on jets and fleets of cars. Paul Harris reports from Eritrea and Malawi on a natural disaster compounded by war and corruption.

kenya: 'Eastafrican' Writer is New Anti-Corruption Czar

2003-01-23

http://allafrica.com/stories/200301220170.html

President Mwai Kibaki last week restructured his government, trimming the functions of his office and naming a special official to spearhead the war on corruption. A department has been set up in the Office of the President to deal specifically with the fight against corruption and advise the president on the cleanup campaign. Its head will be the Permanent Secretary in charge of Governance and Ethics. John Githongo, long-time columnist for The EastAfrican and executive director of Transparency International (Kenya Chapter), was appointed first holder of the office.

kenya: Environment Minister Kulundu Sacks 10 Forest Officers for Corruption

2003-01-23

http://allafrica.com/stories/200301200016.html

Ten forest officers have been sent packing as the Narc government intensifies war on corruption. Environment, Natural Resources and Wildlife Minister Newton Kulundu said the suspended officers have been "destroying the very resource they are supposed to guard".

kenya: Nairobi in the running again for foreign loans

2003-01-23

http://www.transparency.org/cgi-bin/dcn-read.pl?citID=51332

The International Monetary Fund could resume lending to Kenya from July - almost three years after it suspended support to the country over concerns about corruption. Abdoulaye Bio-Tchane, director of the fund's Africa Department, said last Friday that he was confident the new government of President Mwai Kibaki would take measures to combat official graft.

lesotho: Lesotho in brave fight against graft

2003-01-23

http://www.transparency.org/cgi-bin/dcn-read.pl?citID=51366

The multibillion-rand Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), which transfers huge quantities of water from the rugged peaks of the Mountain Kingdom to the industrial heartland of South Africa, has always fitted the current stereotype of large dams – that they are massive, expensive and, environmental campaigners would say, destructive. The conviction on bribery charges last year of former Lesotho Highlands Water Authority (LHWA) CEO Masupha Sole and Canadian engineering firm Acres International added another dimension – corruption.

south africa: Scorpions to probe Saambou

2003-01-23

http://www.transparency.org/cgi-bin/dcn-read.pl?citID=51317

Justice Minister Penuell Maduna has asked the Scorpions to probe the demise of the Saambou banking group last year on the basis of an independent report implicating executives in "suspicious" transactions, insider-trading and mismanagement, Business Day reported on Friday.

africa/global: assessing economic justice

50 Years is Enough Network/ New Voices on Globalization

2003-01-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/development/12676

It has become clear that World Bank privatisation schemes are slated to be the new emphasis for that institution, says this article from The 50 Years Is Enough Network's Economic Justice News, which reviews three years of the global justice movement since large demonstrations and the meltdown in official negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial meeting in Seattle, November 30 - December 3, 1999. The privatisation agenda is bad news for economic democracy, says the article, with essential services facing a sell off to the highest bidders.
2002: Assessing a Pivotal Year
By Soren Ambrose

50 Years is Enough Network/ New Voices on Globalization

Seattle, Three Years After

We find ourselves writing this piece during the third anniversary of
"Seattle." Once simply a name for a pleasant city in the Pacific Northwest,
"Seattle" now carries an almost mythical significance: it symbolizes to this
day the turning point in public awareness of the Global Justice Movement in
the U.S., as the large demonstrations and the meltdown in official
negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial meeting in
Seattle, November 30 - December 3, 1999 captured the U.S. media's and
public's imaginations.

In assessing the impact of Seattle after the passage of three years, we
see a mixed picture, and of course it's not always easy to determine what
is cause and what is effect. There has been a virtual stalemate in the
progress of corporate globalization through formal channels since the
spectacular failure of the attempt to open a new round of trade negotiations
in Seattle. In this issue of Economic Justice News, Sarah Anderson reviews
the lack of progress in trade negotiations despite the nominal victory that
wealthy countries claimed last November in Doha, Qatar in opening a
"development round" -- so named because they promised to prioritize the
needs of the most impoverished countries. Even President Bush's victory in
getting "fast track" trade authority approved -- by one vote! -- in Congress
hinged on his exploitation of the "war on terrorism."

The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have, of course, come in
for more scrutiny since Seattle, thanks to successful large mobilizations in
April 2000 and September 2002 in Washington, and in September 2000 in
Prague. We continue to pressure the institutions, and have seen their
influence slip as a result of our continued, unified opposition and their
own incompetence.

Just before Seattle, the institutions launched their most concrete response
to years of protests against structural adjustment -- the "poverty reduction
strategy" (PRS) process, which calls for governments and civil societies in
borrowing countries to come up with their own development plans. Most civil
society organizations now agree with our original prediction that the
institutions would not countenance real participation in mapping the
policies that matter most to them -- the "macro" issues of trade,
investment, subsidies, currency values, etc. -- and that the resulting
programs would therefore differ little from the old structural adjustment
programs. Fortunately, the determination of civil society organizations to
monitor and critique the PRS process has prevented the institutions from
getting much mileage out of this transparent attempt to create the illusion
of "participation" and "ownership" where little or none exists.

Latin America, Crucible of Resistance

As Stasy McDougall writes in this issue, the policies demanded by the IMF
and World Bank have been further discredited by the catastrophic economic
collapse in Argentina over the last year. In the East Asian financial
crisis of 1997-98, the IMF could claim that they were not in charge when
things began to slip, but in Argentina, the government had been perhaps the
most eager student of the IMF, with Finance Minister Domingo Cavallo racing
to outdo his mentors in Washington since 1990. The government and political
system of Argentina certainly deserve a good deal of blame for the
catastrophe, but its terms were made possible by the IMF, and then greatly
intensified by the IMF's demands for further austerity in a time of virtual
bankruptcy. Although Argentina has slipped from the front pages of U.S.
newspapers, the crisis there has not receded, and IMF officials are aware
that every day of suffering there increases the damage done to the IMF's
reputation worldwide.

Argentina has been a bellwether for the entire continent of South America.
It was, after all, the most affluent country in the region for decades, and
its recent humiliation after a decade of applause from the IMF has fanned
the flames of suspicion and discontent that were already heating up in other
countries. Uruguay, with its economic dependence on Argentina, has seen its
economy bottom out despite its own policy moderation. Ecuador has just
elected Lucio Guttierez, the army general who served briefly as nominal head
of an indigenous-led coup against IMF policies in 2000. In Bolivia, the
popular movements that rose up in Cochabamba against World Bank-mandated
water privatization and in the southern regions against U.S. incursions on
agriculture in the name of the "war on drugs" led to the surprising success
of Evo Morales, the first indigenous candidate to vie seriously for the
presidency, and who now controls an influential bloc in the national
parliament. In Chile, often considered the most stable and contented
country on the continent, protests against policies of "labor flexibility"
have sprung up. Paraguay is now facing its own economic crisis; the central
bank governor and finance minister resigned at the end of November when the
legislature refused to approve austerity policies demanded by the IMF.
Venezuela and Colombia, of course, have their unique crises going on, both
of which are at least partly rooted in discontent with "free market"
economics and its resulting gross disparities.

Most encouraging of all has been Brazil, by far the largest country, and
one of the ten largest economies in the world. There Luiz Inacio "Lula" da
Silva was elected President, as the Workers Party (PT) swept to a massive
victory which also gave it more seats in the federal legislature than any
other party. Lula won for many reasons, but prominent in every analysis has
been his opposition to the standard IMF/World Bank policies. While it is
not clear how much leeway Lula will have in unchaining Brazil from
conditions attached to a massive $30 billion loan arranged a few months
before the election to offset market panic in the wake of Argentina's
collapse and the prospect of a PT victory, he clearly offers the best hope
of creating and implementing new alternatives that will re-assert Brazilian
sovereignty. Lula has done much to try to soothe establishment concerns
about radical economic policy change, and his much-deflated rhetoric in the
last year has caused concern among many long-time supporters. His one-time
condemnation of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), for example, has
softened to a willingness to negotiate, albeit with a firm promise to
re-structure the talks to preserve Brazil's interests. But there is ample
reason to hope that once he is inaugurated on January 1, he will not only
feel freer to voice his true opinions, but that he will also have enough
support and creativity to chart a new course for the country, one that could
plausibly be adopted by the other countries of South America. With Lula and
his fellow progressive and radical leaders on the continent coming to the
fore, we may well have witnessed in 2002 the culmination of not just the
decisive resistance to 20 years of harsh neo-liberal rule, but the birth of
a new, justice-based vision of the global economy.

IMF Steals Idea, Mucks It Up (what else is new?)

The biggest news coming out of the September meetings of the IMF and World
Bank was the proposal from Anne Krueger, the second-ranking (and top U.S.)
official at the IMF to create a body empowered to stem crises in countries
facing default. Argentina has been the inspiration for her "sovereign debt
restructuring mechanism," which, in her conception, would be used primarily
for "middle-income" countries facing an imminent crises with international
repercussions.

The original idea for such a panel comes from Jubilee campaigns in Germany
and Austria. They proposed a wholly-independent body of experts which would
have the power to order a debt "standstill" for troubled countries and to
impose solutions on crisis situations which would strike a balance of the
interests of both creditors and debtors, whose claims would be considered in
the context of the specific situation. These proposals purposely left room
for a determination that the debts should be comprehensively cancelled or
judged illegitimate because of their origin (corruption, failed projects,
etc.). The panel would also be available to all indebted countries, and not
restricted to monumental crises.

The IMF proposal, not surprisingly, is more tame. In addition to the
limits on its use, the creditors would maintain ultimate control over the
mechanism, and the IMF itself would be exempt from its determinations. The
IMF would also play a key role in determining which countries qualify for
consideration by the panel. Creditors would also be under no formal
obligation to accept the findings of the panel

Even this exceedingly moderate proposal has been strongly opposed by
private banks. The progress made in September was in the U.S. Treasury
Department's unambiguous announcement that it supported Krueger's proposal,
about which it had earlier sent very mixed signals. The proposal is now
supposed to be developed and formally presented at the April meetings of the
IMF and World Bank boards.

Civil society organizations from Europe and North America will be working
to prevent the boards from approving, or, if possible, even considering the
IMF proposal. We will be arguing for a truly independent body, with
appropriate scope and power to make responsible judgments about the
legitimacy and cancellation of debts. Our struggle in this case will be an
uphill battle, but we believe that public (and Congressional) support for a
broader consideration of the continuing debt crisis can be mobilized.

The Privatization Agenda

It has become clearer in recent months that the World Bank's privatization
schemes, whose outlines have been described in past issues of Economic
Justice News by Nancy Alexander, are indeed slated to be the new emphasis
for that institution. This is very bad news both for economic democracy --
people will have little voice in determining how national assets are valued
and handled -- and basic survival -- essential services like water
provision, health care, education, etc. will be sold off to the highest
bidders with little guarantee that the most vulnerable people will continue
to have access.

The process of inviting corporations and "operational" non-governmental
organizations (relief agencies and other contractors) to take over provision
of basic services by choosing the most profitable sectors and customers is
underway. As subsidy programs for impoverished people are eliminated, these
private actors will be subsidized by grants from the World Bank and wealthy
governments, so that they can promise to serve the general population and be
guaranteed a profit.

It appears more plausible now than ever to say that the Bank, after working
with the IMF to devastate governments through structural adjustment, is now
insisting that to get any further assistance, the government's last
responsibilities and assets must be turned over to private actors, often
foreign. Does the Bank's private sector development strategy represent the
next phase in dispossessing citizens of poor countries? Stay tuned . . . .

"What Should We Do About The United States?"

-slogan emerging from Bali Preparatory conference for the World Summit on
Sustainable Development

The legacy of Seattle is a positive one, which people in the U.S. will
probably, at the next turn of the century, cite as a defining historical
moment (along with September 11, 2001). But the determination of those
behind the corporate globalization agenda continues to challenge our
capacity to resist it. We are doing well, but we will need to intensify our
own struggle and stand in solidarity with others in the months and years to
come.

It is particularly hard to be sanguine in the face of the most reactionary
regime to control Washington for many decades. As the Bush regime prepares
itself for a war best explained by commercial motivations and old-fashioned
imperialism, it is also crafting new and more sinister ways of subverting
foreign aid, the United Nations, and the very notion of international
relations. Opposing this government will be among the most important tasks
for U.S. global justice activists over the next two years. Finding a
realistic alternative to the Democratic Party, and/or fighting for real
campaign finance reform will be necessary components of that struggle.
European governments, like the U.S. Democratic Party, must also be
encouraged to act with increased force and determination to resist the Bush
Administration's impulse to launch the planet into rapid ecological and
political chaos.

In the new world that we have come to face in the U.S. since September 11th
and in the Bush Administration's decision to aggressively pursue the secret
longings of the imperialist right wing, we find that the World Bank is being
used quite plainly to reward those countries that support U.S. goals.
Pakistan has won unprecedented levels of generosity in debt relief from the
Bank, and Turkey, facing a crisis similar to Argentina's, has been allowed
to take out loans far in excess of the quota a member country would normally
be limited to. Cowed by the erratic support and condemnation from the U.S.
Treasury Department, the World Bank has apparently chosen to play to some of
Secretary Paul O'Neill's obsessions by emphasizing results and standards,
and is consciously avoiding controversy with opponents like ourselves.
Instead of confidently lecturing borrowing governments on their problems,
the Bank has tried to adopt the role of advocate for the Global South. Its
main messages now focus on the need for wealthy governments to open their
markets to Southern exports, provide more development assistance, and
eliminate agricultural subsidies (the latter being a U.S. policy that). Its
criticism, often explicit, of U.S. policy is tempered by the fact that O'
Neill is obviously uncomfortable with U.S. agricultural subsidies, and has
even publicly disagreed with the Bush steel tariffs. The more open
disagreements on development policy between the U.S. and Europe have also
provided space for the Bank to fill this new role, one which conveniently
obscures the Bank's own role in creating the vulnerabilities and dependency
that magnify the impact of such polices.

There are nonetheless persistent rumors that World Bank President James
Wolfensohn, a Democrat appointed by President Clinton in 1995, will be asked
to step down by President Bush. Rumored replacements include James Baker
and Paul O'Neill. While this whole guessing game remains very uncertain,
and Wolfensohn should not be underestimated as a politician, it is clear
that the Baker/O'Neill threat strengthens the U.S. hand in insisting that
the Bank limit its involvement outside programs which offer tangible
advantages for U.S. business.

At the IMF, meanwhile, the arrogance which was once its hallmark has been
worn down by the series of crises it now faces in long-time client
countries. Instead of advancing positive arguments on behalf of their
policies, IMF officials now spend more time acknowledging mistakes and
making vague promises of change.

For the second half of Bush's term, much will be determined by how much the
Administration focuses on using the international financial institutions to
advance U.S. interests, or how much success ideologues like Allan Meltzer,
now advising the Administration, can have in reducing the scope and size of
the institutions. The 50 Years Is Enough Network does find points of
overlap between the critiques of the Congressional committee, known as the
Meltzer Commission, which eviscerated the institutions. But while taking
some pleasure in seeing the institutions weakened, we also find ourselves
fearful that the power to control the economies of Southern and transition
countries will be increasingly turned over to the private sector and to U.S.
government ideologues, both less accountable and less concerned with
fairness than even the World Bank.

It's a complex world we face now. Our guiding principle continues to be
acting in solidarity with the Global South to restore economic democracy.
We hope to see you on the barricades and in the church basements, community
meetings, and affinity group convergences where the education and
strategizing necessary to propel the Global Justice Movement forward happen.

africa/global: Linking land and property rights to poverty

2003-01-23

http://www.eldis.org/poverty/povertylanddoc/index.htm

The UK's Department for International Development (DFID) has just published a revised draft consultation paper on the role of land policy in providing better livelihoods for poor people. The paper examines the importance of land, land rights and land reform in developing countries, and considers how land policies can contribute to poverty reduction and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. It advocates a rights-based approach to land through advocacy and representation of the poor in land management.

africa: describing Africa's debt - illegitimate, odious and immoral

2003-01-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/development/12702

Africa's debt was illegitimate, odious and immoral, and had been paid many times over; it was Africa that was owed an immense historical debt for failed IMF/WB projects; debt was used as an instrument of domination and plunder of Africa's resources and the only solution to the debt crisis was its cancellation without external conditions. These were some of the conclusions of a workshop on debt help at the Africa Social Forum, which took place in Addis Ababa on January 6-7, 2003.
AFRICAN SOCIAL FORUM DEBT WORKSHOP

Addis Ababa, January 6 & 7, 2003


The debt workshop was held on the afternoon of the 6th of January
and the morning of the 7th. It was attended by more than 40 people
on the 6th and more than 60 on the 7th. There was enthusiastic
participation as well as a high level of consensus on the issues
discussed. This reflected a renewed feeling of the importance of
the issues of debt and reparations.

People identified a certain sense in which action around debt and
reparations had decreased in the last year or two, due to, amongst
other reasons, a conceptualisation held by some that the Jubilee
campaign would only run to the year 2000 and a diversion of the
energies of many involved in debt issues into participation in the
World Bank and International Monetary Fund Poverty Reduction
Strategy Papers (PRSPs).

There was agreement that we need to make every effort in putting
debt and reparations firmly back on the agenda. Central to this is
the need to build the movement against debt and for reparations
from the grassroots up. It is only on the basis of the strength of the
movement on the ground that we will be able to generate the
pressure to attain our demands.

The workshop adopted a methodology of building on the debt
workshop held in Bamako, Mali, in 2002 and, as such, this report
should be read in conjunction with the 2002 report.

It was structured as follows:
* An update on the current situation, particularly developments
since the Bamako workshop
* Discussion on our alternatives and consideration of proposals
put forward by other debt groups
* Strategies to implement our alternatives at the national,
regional, continental and international levels


* I. DEBT ANALYSIS.

* The workshop endorsed the analysis of debt and the call for
unconditional cancellation and reparations developed in Bamako
(Mali), last year.


* A) The illetimacy of debt:
* The general consensus is that the external debt of Third World
countries is odious, illegitimate and immoral. The illegitimacy of
debt is based on its historical roots and its structural causes. It is
also based on its use by the World Bank, the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) and G8 countries as an instrument to
perpetuate their control and domination of the economies and
countries of the South. The debt is a tool they are not prepared to
relinquish.

* B) The racist dimension of debt:
* In addition, several participants spoke to the racist dimension of
debt. Its impact on the people of Africa and the South more
generally is of such a devastating nature that every day an
estimated 19. 000 children die of preventable diseases. This is a
direct a consequence of the the deterioration of the health systems
for lack of public investments crowded out by debt service. A
catastrophe of such proportions would never be tolerated in Europe
or North America, but the lives of people in Africa and the South
are clearly considered to be less important than those in the North.

* C) The Gender dimension of debt:
* The debt burden has particularly harsh consequences for women.
Debt repayments and the implementation of conditionalities
attached to loans have a severe impact on the provision of
government services so desperately needed by women and their
households. In addition, structural adjustment programs have
destroyed the African agricultural sector, with a devastating impact
on women, who are the majority of African farmers. This has led to
what many call the "feminization of poverty" in Africa.
* Women suffer not only from national debt, but also from individual
and household debt. Microcredit models imposed by financial and
other institutions from the North have had significant impacts on
women in the South. They have contributed to the collapse of
traditional forms of credit, entailed the handing over of personal
possessions as collateral for credit and resulted in women and their
households becoming increasingly trapped in a vicious circle of
indebtedness and poverty.

* Given the severe impact of the debt on women, it was agreed that
much more work needs to be done to integrate gender into our
alternatives and strategies.

* D) HIPC and PRSPs:
* The workshop reiterated the decision taken in Bamako to reject the
Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative and the Poverty
Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) in that they represent a
perpetuation of indebtedness and structural adjustment. The HIPC
Initiative has already failed, despite claims to the contrary by the
IMF and the World Bank. As for PRSPs, they are the disatrous
SAPs under a new name.

* There were two significant additions made with regard to PRSPs.
First, the promise of some "debt relief" on the completion of PRSPs
is being used as a further tool of control in that the "debt relief" is
made contingent on countries agreeing to additional conditions.

* Secondly, despite the rejection of PRSPs by Jubilee South, the
African Social Forum and other social movements in the South,
many Northern donors and NGOs have continued to make funding
available to organizations in the South on condition that they use
these funds to participate in PRSPs. The workshop resolved to
inform Northern donors and NGOs of the decision to reject PRSPs
and to encourage them to respect this decision.

* Moreover, it was stressed that the solutions to the African debt
crisis are to be developed in Africa and that donors should support
efforts in this regard.


* II. ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS:

* The Workshop stressed the fact that the solutions to the African
debt crisis are in Africa and Northern partners should support this
view. The workshop stressed that the building of the debt and
reparations movement from the grassroots up entails an
intensification of our efforts at circulating information and educating
people on debt and reparations. It also requires further research
and the continual development of our analysis.

* A) Debt cancellation:
* The Workshop reiterated the call for debt cancellation without
conditions imposed by the World Bank, the IMF or G8 countries.
This call is based on the historical origins of debt and the need to
address its structural causes. In addition, cancellation is the only
solution that addresses debt from a human development
perspective, contrary to failed conventional "solutions", including
the HIPC Initiative, that tend to focus on narrow economic and
financial criteria, such as "debt sustaianability".

* However, we need to ensure that resources released by any such
cancellation are used to address people's needs and not misused
by the governments in our countries.

* B) Debt repudiation:
* Given that the G 8 countries, the World Bank and the IMF are not
going to relinquish debt as an instrument of domination of their own
accord, the Workshop recommended that we increase our efforts to
persuade our countries to move toward a collective repudiation
Africa's debt.

* This entails taking the necessary steps toward getting the
governments of our countries to stop debt service payments.
Repudiation will only be successful if it is done collectively. We
must therefore develop the momentum toward repudiation across
the continent and together with our partners in the Global South
(Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia, etc.)
* However, caution was expressed that we should take care that our
approach to governments to repudiate debt does not get misused
by undemocratic governments as a means to gain false legitimacy.
* Reparations:

* The workshop forcefully reiterated the position expresed in the
Bamako Declaration that the debt represents a Crime Against
Humanity and argued that the "creditors" be taken to task for their
crimes. We must step up our demand for reparations for all the
past and present damages caused by debt. In addition, we must
fight for reparations for damage caused by structural adjustment
policies and megaprojects, such as large dams, mining activity and
oil extraction. We must also demand reparations for the plundering
of our natural resources and the destruction of our environment.

* We need to look at the option of sueing the "creditors" for this
damage. In this regard, it was agreed to support the court case in
which Jubilee South Africa and the Khulumani Support Group are
demanding reparations from Northern banks and corporations for
their support for the Apartheid regime.

* C) Repatration of stolen wealth:
* The Workshop emphasized that the return of wealth stolen from our
countries by corrupt leaders and stashed in Northern banks is an
important aspect of f the overall solution to the debt crisis. Another
recommendation was that we should call on the people of our
continent who have developed skills and expertise and settled in
the North to return and avail their skills to the development of our
continent.

* D) Debt and neoliberalism:
* The workshop stressed the importance of locating our approach to
debt and reparations within a broader challenge to values, policies
and institutions of the neoliberal paradigm.

* It was noted that the World Bank, IMF and World Trade
Organisation (WTO) have adopted a policy of coherence between
their activities. We should also develop increased coordination in
our struggles against these institutions. This entails working more
closely with organizations and networks focusing either on broad
trade issues or exclusively on the WTO. In our opinion, these three
institutions, especially the IMF and the WTO, are illegitimate and
should be abolished.

* It was noted that one reason that the governments of our countries
continue to repay the debt is that they want to be seen as being
"responsible" and pursuing "sound policies" so as to attract foreign
direct investment (FDI). We need to enhance awareness of the
dangers associated with FDI and insist that solutions to Africa's
indebtedness should not be held hostage by misguided attempts to
attract FDI.

* We need to ensure that our information and education activities
include critiques of the neoliberal paradigm. The Workshop
recommended supporting campaigns and efforts to introduce taxes
on wealth, increase aid flows from the North to the South, with no
strings attached, renationalize privatized assets and reverse the
negative terms of trade and financial flows that are crippling the
African continent.

* Another major recommendation is the need to step up our efforts to
develop an alternative development paradigm to the neoliberal
global system. In that perspective, the Lagos Plan of Action (1980);
the African Alternative Framework to Structural Adjustement
Programs (AAF-SAPs, 1989); the Arusha Declaration (1990) and
other key documents can be the basis for developing a genuine
alternative development. These documents must be enriched by
the works of African researchers and institutions as well as the
experiences of the African people in their struggles for debt
cancellation; against the policies imposed by the IMF, the World
Bank, the WTO and the G 8 countries.


* III. STRATEGIES

* The workshop identified strategies towards implementing our
alternative solutions to the debt crisis at each of the national,
regional, continental and international levels.

* A) National level:
* Build the movement against debt and for reparations on the
ground
* Engage in a concerted drive to enhance literacy on economic
and debt issues
* Embark on signature campaigns, pamphleteering, debt
caravans and related cultural activities
* Develop alliances with other anti-neoliberal campaigns,
organizations and movements
* Support national campaigns in other countries

* There was extensive discussion on how we relate to the
governments in our countries. The workshop characterized the
governments on the continent as all too often being illiterate on
debt and related issues and as being "subcontractors" for the G 8,
the World Bank and the IMF.

* Various approaches were identified, with each being influenced by
the nature of each government:
* Find ways of working with the governments to influence their
policies
* Educate them on issues of debt, reparations and the neoliberal
paradigm
* Demand information from them on loans and debt
* Find ways to challenge them, protest and take other
appropriate forms of action
* Change undemocratic and dictatorial leaders and governments

* B) Regional and continental level:
* The workshop endorsed the need for coordinated regional and
continental action. It was agreed that we should work towards
common action on significant days:
* the 25th of May - African Liberation Day
* the 16th of June - Youth/Childrens Day (to commemorate the
Soweto Uprising, in 1976)
* the 16th of December (Zulu Victory over invading Boers, in
South Africa)

In addition, each country can choose a specific Day of Action.
Furthermore, recommendation was made to strengthening existing
national and sub-regional debt coalitions and set up others in
countries where they do not exist yet.


C) International level:
The Workshop recommended that more work be done to popularize
the findings and verdict of the International Debt Tribunal, held in
Porto Alegre in 2002, as a means of strengthening the campaigns
in our countries. It was also agreed that we must share the
conclusions from this workshop at the World Social Forum in Porto
Alegre, later this month.

Particular mention was made of strengthening our relationships
with our counterparts in Latin America given the depth of the debt
crisis in their countries and the need to work together to implement
our solutions.

There was also agreement to strengthen interaction with our
counterparts in the North. Particular mention was made of our
support for a drive to educate people in the United States on debt
issues. The drive is initiated by the African Friends Service
Committee (AFSC), whose representative exposed an action plan
during the Workshop.

There was discussion on other proposals regarding solutions to the
debt crisis, such as an international arbitration mechanism and an
international debt/development fund. Different points of view were
expressed on those proposals. The consensus was that these
issues need further debate before reaching any conclusions.

It was recognized that, in the time available, it was not possible to
develop a more detailed strategy, and that the commitment
expressed to put debt and reparations firmly back on the agenda
requires this to be done. It was agreed that we should look for the
means to hold a more in-depth continental Strategy Workshop or,
if this proves not to be feasible, Strategy Workshops in each of our
regions.

In conclusion, the Workshop recommendations can be summarized
as follows:

* In addition to being illegitimate, odious and immoral,
Africa's debt has been paid many times over
* It is Africa that is owed an immense historical debt as well
as a debt for failed IMF/WB projects
* Debt is used as an instrument of domination and plunder of
Africa's resources
* The only solution to the debt crisis is its cancellation
without external conditions
* The need to mobilize for a collective repudiation of debt
* The total rejection of the HIPC Initiative, PRSPs and all
other IMF/WB policies
* The need to put the debt issue in the broader context of the
neoliberal global system
* The solutions to Africa's debt and development problems
are in Africa and nowhere else
* The formulation of an alternative development paradigm
should rely on some key documents that should be updated
and enriched by research and struggles of the past two
decades
* The need to strengthen our solidarity with our partners of
the South and our cooperation with Northern partners on
the basis of our vision and priorities.

africa: External debt management in heavily indebted poor countries

2003-01-23

http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=850

Debt management policy plays an important role in ensuring and maintaining long-term debt sustainability. This document assesses the current status of external debt management in heavily indebted poor countries.

africa: FAIR AND TRANSPARENT ARBITRATION PROCESSEs

2003-01-23

http://www.blue21.de/FTAP_english.pdf

The debt crisis of developing countries has not yet been solved by current international debt management as designed by the Paris Club, International Financial Institutions (IFIs) including the IMF and World Bank, the London Club, and the G7. This paper presents the specific framework of an international insolvency procedure that relies on Fair and Transparent Arbitration Processes (FTAPs) to solve debt crises.

Africa: Improving global economic governance

2003-01-23

http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=849

Global economic governance refers to the institutions, norms, practices and decision-making processes from which rules, guidelines, standards, and codes arise in order to manage the global economy. This paper from the South Centre looks at suggestions for ways of bringing about the reform of international institutions and therefore the global economic system.

africa: nepad's market access plans blasted

2003-01-23

http://allafrica.com/stories/200301100199.html

Though the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) stresses the importance of increased investment in order to strengthen Africa's external trade, its proposals to achieve the intended objectives remain far from achieved as market access from Africa continues facing exceptions and postponements, said Dot Keet, a Research Associate of the Alternative Information and Development Center (AIDC), South Africa, at the recently held Africa Social Forum.

africa: Recruiting Africans Abroad

2003-01-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/development/12749

The underdevelopment of Africa through the much talked about brain drain dates back to the period of the slave trade when a substantial part of Africa's able bodied labour force were carted to Europe and America. In his award winning book ''How Europe underdeveloped Africa'' the late Patrick Wilmot stated that the lack of economic progress by African countries stems from the age long problem of brain drain. Today, that phenomenon is a fatal cancer eating deep into the tissues of the African soul. But as we are made to understand, help is not too far away.
Recruiting Africans Abroad for the Continent's Multinationals
By George Noah
http://www.africarecruit.com/

The underdevelopment of Africa through the much talked about brain drain dates back to the period of the slave trade when a substantial part of Africa's able bodied labour force were carted to Europe and America. In his award winning book ''How Europe underdeveloped Africa'' the late Patrick Wilmot stated that the lack of economic progress by African countries stems from the age long problem of brain drain.

Today, that phenomenon is a fatal cancer eating deep into the tissues of the African soul. But as we are made to understand, help is not too far away. But first some shocking analysis and statistics.

The executive secretary of African Capacity Building Foundation (ABCF), Soumana Sako says ''The brain drain represents a major challenge for sustained growth and development''. Sako said ''Unless it is effectively addressed, the flight of skilled professionals and academics from Africa will severely undermine the prospects of successful transformation of the continent in the 21st century''. The key concern for Sako was that the magnitude of the outflow of African skilled professionals and academics to developing countries had become more or less a pandemic. Last year, a United Nations conference held in Ethiopia considered the issue. Experts there had called for the improvement in working conditions and more value given to their work.

According to a United Nations Development Programme Human Development Report for 1998, there were more than 21,000 Nigerian doctors practising in the United States alone while Nigeria's health system suffered from a severe lack of medical practitioners! The Nigerian government has since set up a database to keep track of Nigerian professionals abroad. But like all government initiatives, the enthusiasm is always suspect.

Zimbabwe has equally suffered massive brain drain to western countries, especially the United Kingdom where nurses, teachers and social workers have been flocking to. In Ghana, the UN reckoned that
60 per cent of that country's citizens trained locally in the 1980s had left the country. In Sudan, 17 per cent of doctors and dentists,
20 per cent of university lecturers, 30 per cent of engineers and 45 per cent of surveyors had gone to work abroad.

In 1999, it was estimated that 39,000 South Africans left the country to join the 1.6m already living abroad. Officially, 10,262 people emigrated in the first 10 months of last year, according to the South African government's data agency, Statistics South Africa. The Financial Times of London reports that in 2002, more than 30,000 South African professionals with skills in great demand in the West, such as engineering, medicine, accounting and banking left the country for Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the US and the United Kingdom. The South African Government says the UK is the number one accuse when it looks at countries raiding its labour market. The UK has been relentless in poaching the country's best teachers. British education authorities are currently experiencing a teacher shortage and are looking abroad for talent. South African teaching unions have said that they understand the desire of many to go abroad as there are better salaries and better working conditions on offer. There are no official statistics about the number of teachers who have left South Africa, but estimates put the figure at about 8,000. The "brain drain" has not only had an impact on South Africa's teaching profession, the country has also lost a large number of doctors and nurses.

Last year, an east London head teacher travelled to Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth in South Africa with supply agency TimePlan to interview 150 potential recruits. Mr Lucas is head teacher of Essex Primary School in the London Borough of Newham - and like many other schools, he is struggling to find enough staff. "If it wasn't for the Australian, New Zealand, South African and Canadian teachers, half the schools in London would have to shut," said Lucas.

Whatever the UK government says to play down the teacher shortage, Lucas is unequivocal that it is a real problem and is not going to go away in a hurry. And like many other schools, Essex primary has become more and more dependent on overseas teachers, usually hired through supply agencies, who spend a couple of years in Europe before returning home. Last year President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa called for a reversal of the situation that regularly see scientists and engineers emigrate to the west.

To reverse the brain drain, The Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) a membership-based organisation for the promotion of economic growth through international trade and investment, set up AfricaRecruit to help Africans residing abroad to take up jobs home. The 54 Commonwealth nations make up 40% of the World Trade Organisation and comprise more than 17,000 listed companies.

The CBC has set up a sophisticated database system to help track graduate, professional and executives who are interested in working in Africa. Part of its strategy is working with Africa's multinationals who have job openings and organising recruitment fairs and head hunting exercises. The first of such events takes place between March
12-13 at the Business Design Centre, 52 Upper Street, Islington Green, London, N1 0QH, United Kingdom. Similar events will be held in Paris in June, in New York in November, and in Africa at a time and location to be decided.

CBC Chief Executive Dr Mohan Kaul said reversing the Africa brain drain fits in perfectly with the aims and objectives of his organisation. "We have been surprised and gratified to see how much pent-up desire there is among Africans to 'go home'," says Dr. Titilola Banjoko, co-founder and managing director of the CBC's Find a Job in Africa.com. "People think employment in Africa is based on nepotism - not so," says Banjoko.

"I have done the research. I am Nigerian, and I made a field trip to Nigeria and South Africa to assess the market. All I had to do was look at the classified adverts in the newspapers. Employers are desperate for trained staff - and they love it when they find applicants trained abroad. When I got back I wrote a proper business plan, looking at all the angles of a focused human resource strategy."

Funto Akinkugbe, head of the CBC's AfricaRecruit scheme said "There is a significant interest among young professionals of African origin to return to live and work in Africa. What has been lacking is a practical mechanism to find and connect with these people. Africa's economic development requires that the historical brain drain from the African continent be reversed and turned into a brain gain. We must make use of the scientific and managerial skills of Africans in the diaspora."

Akinkugbe says Africa's multinationals taking part in the March job fair have commenced preselection interviews and are prepared to hire ahead of the event so long as the right candidates are found. ''We are appealing to candidates to register and take advantage of the preselection exercise''. For more information about the CBC Africa Recruit event 2003, please Tel:(+44) 20 7930 4920, Tel:(+44) 1959 700 205 , Fax:(+44) 207930
3944, Fax:(+44) 1959 570 484 or visit the website;http://www.africarecruit.com/.

George Noah

About the CBC I

NTRODUCTION

The Commonwealth Business Council was established in 1997 at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Edinburgh, UK, to act as a bridge for co-operation between business and government to promote policies that enhance trade and investment within the Commonwealth. It is a membership-based organisation with currently over 170 corporate members directing and funding its work.

The CBC is led by a management board of business leaders drawn from all regions of the Commonwealth. The CBC has already attracted private sector membership of about 150 leading corporations from 24 Commonwealth countries and has undertaken a range of activities to encourage partnership, development and growth of trade and investment in the Commonwealth With over 20 per cent of world trade originating in Commonwealth countries and with the increased mobility of capital, the comparative advantages which the world-wide network of Commonwealth nations brings to business are considerable. The CBC’s close relationship with governments and institutions enables it to present policy recommendations directly to leading decision-makers; promote public-private and business-to-business dialogue; and create substantial networking opportunities for Commonwealth countries.

Through its members, the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) aims to reflect and actively promote the views and insights of the private sector in the Commonwealth.

VOICE OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR

The Commonwealth Business Council is a membership-based organisation, with corporate members directing and funding its work. Led by 12 business leaders drawn from all Commonwealth regions, membership is open to a limited number of leading companies based in Commonwealth countries and doing business in other member states, represented at the level of Chairman, Chief Executive Officer or board member. All members pay an annual subscription, and can draw on a range of services and participate in all CBC activities.

Membership of the CBC is important for any company wishing to broaden its presence in other regions and markets of the Commonwealth and beyond; which seeks productive relationships with government leaders; which wants direct input into the development of trade, investment and economic policy; and which is looking for opportunities to establish and build relationships with other business people around the world.

AGENDA FOR ACTION

Providing opportunities for dialogue between governments and the private sector. Facilitating business-to-business networking across the Commonwealth. Promoting a good business environment in Commonwealth countries, and encouraging best practice in corporate governance, business development, investment promotion and public-private sector partnerships. Enhancing the participation of developing countries in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and engaging the private sector more directly in international trade negotiations. Strengthening private sector institutions, such as chambers of commerce and industry associations. Providing a source of reliable and relevant information about trade, investment and business opportunities in the Commonwealth.

AFRICA: TRADE MATTERS

2003-01-23

http://www1.worldbank.org/wbiep/trade/

In today’s economically integrated world, trade matters more than ever before. This website has been created as a research, training, and outreach tool for people interested in trade policy and developing countries.

africa: West blamed for 'shameful' global poverty

2003-01-23

http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?a=13&o=14555

The west's attitude to developing countries when it came to trade was akin to a football team improving its position on the log only to find that the number one team had changed the rules and said three goals had to be scored to count as one, according to a United Kingdom committee of peers, who accused the west of "unjustifiable and objectionable" protectionism in its dealings with developing countries, in a report attacking the "shameful" level of global poverty.

Namibia: CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF GLOBALISATION

2003-01-23

http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=856

What has the impact of recent advances in technology and movements towards trade liberalization been in Namibia? This paper attempts to extend the debate on globalisation and labour markets to Namibia, as the authors suggest the current debate lacks theoretical and empirical rigour.

Namibia: Land reform and poverty alleviation: Experiences

2003-01-23

http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=831

Redistributive land reform in Namibia is widely regarded as a precondition for sustainable rural development and poverty alleviation. This document briefly discusses the development of thinking on land reform and the development of land reform models prior to Independence. It refers to progress on land redistribution since 1990 and discusses some of the problems experienced.

Southern Africa: Year-ender 2002 - New thinking needed on food security

2003-01-23

http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=846

Southern Africa's food crisis is not a short-term transitory phenomenon that will be over when this year's harvest is gathered. It points, instead, to a failure of development policies and the impact of HIV/Aids, for which there are no easy solutions, humanitarian officials acknowledge.

africa/global: Deadline passes as Doha declaration negotiations stall

2003-01-23

http://www.eldis.org/ipr/news/2003january07.htm

Back in 2001 the Doha declaration set the TRIPS council a deadline to find a solution to the issue of how developing countries - with limited or no production capacity - can take advantage of access to compulsory licences to respond to health emergencies. That deadline has now passed with no solution agreed and the post-Doha mood of optimism all but forgotten. This web page sifts through the political fallout of this failure to bring you analysis of how this situation came about and background to the declaration and the issues it aimed to address.

africa: Mocumbi in Final Phase of WHO Election

2003-01-23

http://allafrica.com/stories/200301210944.html

Mozambican Prime Minister Pascoal Mocumbi has made it through to the final phase of the election of the next general director of the World Health Organisation (WHO). The others who have passed into the final stage are the Belgian Peter Piot, who heads the UNAIDS programme, the South Korean Jong Woo Ook, who heads the WHO programme against tuberculosis, the Mexican health minister Julio Frank Mora, and the former Egyptian health minister, Ismaial Salam.

africa: un calls for prompt action on hiv/aids

2003-01-23

http://allafrica.com/stories/200301220413.html

Around 12 million of Southern Africa's 60-million people may die prematurely of AIDS alone unless prompt and decisive action is taken to respond to the region's humanitarian crisis, United Nations agencies have warned.

Africa: Year-ender 2002 - HIV/Aids funding fails to make the leap

2003-01-23

http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=842

Hailed as a "quantum leap" in the fight against the HIV/Aids pandemic, the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria has become a focal point for funding efforts to bring the epidemic to heal.

BURUNDI: UN response to anticipated malnutrition crisis

2003-01-23

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31848

The UN has prepared a coordinated multi-sectoral response to a malnutrition crisis it says is "likely to occur" in the country due to a poor harvest.

drc: flu kills 2000

2003-01-23

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31854

Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Health Minister Mashako Mamba told IRIN on Tuesday that "more than" 2,000 people had died as the result of an influenza epidemic that had been sweeping across parts of the country for one-and-a-half months.

ghana: Nurses Exodus

2003-01-23

http://allafrica.com/stories/200301210993.html

Last Year alone, about 3,000 nurses left the country to seek greener pastures in other countries. This is the picture given by the President of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), Dr. Jacob Plange-Rhule. Ten years ago, there were 20,000 nurses. Today there are 9,000, in spite of the increase in population and the growing number of health facilities.

nigeria: HIV/Aids Cases Rise in Nyanya

2003-01-23

http://allafrica.com/stories/200301210536.html

The network of people living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWHAN), has expressed concern over the increasing rate of HIV infections and number of deaths due to HIV/AIDS in Nyanya, an Abuja suburb. The rise in the rate of infected persons is despite current interventions at prevention, care and support for people living with the disease.

south africa: aids vaccine trials expected

2003-01-23

http://www.health-e.org.za/view.php3?id=20030101

Despite delays caused by protocol, preparations for the AIDS vaccine trials in South Africa are still underway and clinical researchers and scientists are hopeful that the Phase One tests will start early next year. This sense of optimism follows months of discussion and debate amongst the Medicines Control Council, the government as well as the vaccines' developers. It is hoped that the extensive consultations will help accelerate the onset of the vaccines trials - the search for the ultimate hope in HIV prevention. Khopotso Bodibe from Health-E News Service went out to seek clarity on the outstanding issues.

south africa: Manto supports my claims, says Aids dissident

2003-01-23

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=13&art_id=vn20030122054915776C718155&set_id=1

Aids dissident Roberto Giraldo, in South Africa for the second time in two months to talk to health officials, says Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang agrees with his controversial views. But the minister of health denies this. Giraldo, who has given a talk on HIV and nutrition to the health ministers from the 14 Southern African Development Community countries during his latest visit, also claimed that the 14 ministers believed correct diet could cure Aids.

south africa: Non-Disclosure of STD to Sex Partner is Rape, says law group

2003-01-23

http://allafrica.com/stories/200301210980.html

Any person infected by a life-threatening sexually transmissible disease who failed to disclose that to his or her partner before having sex is guilty of rape, the SA Law Commission (SALC) said on Tuesday. "Intentional non-disclosure by a person that he or she is infected by a life-threatening sexually transmissible infection in circumstances in which there is a significant risk of transmission of such infection to that person prior to sexual relations with another (consenting) person amounts to sexual relations by false pretences and would therefore constitute rape," it said in a statement.

South Africa: Understanding youth culture is key to HIV/Aids infections

2003-01-23

http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=828

Over 60 percent of HIV/Aids infections in South Africa occur before the age of 25, a recent report from the South African University of Cape Town has revealed. The report focuses on "high risk" sexual activity among the youth and makes particular reference to South Africa.

zimbabwe: Doctors' Association to Meet Over Strike Threat

2003-01-23

http://allafrica.com/stories/200301211023.html

The Hospital Doctors' Association (HDA) met this week to discuss whether doctors should down stethoscopes once again to press the government for an 80 percent pay rise promised to all civil servants.

Africa: Aids, public policy and child well-being

2003-01-23

http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=843

The author argues that while the health challenges posed by HIV/Aids are widely recognized, the specific impact of HIV/Aids on children remains poorly documented, analysed and addressed. Much debate has focused on adult prevalence, death rates and ways to control the epidemic in the short-term. This study calls for a new focus on the wider impact of HIV/Aids on children's lives, including falling school enrolment, increased malnutrition and rising poverty.

car: Teachers extend their strike

2003-01-23

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31856

Primary and secondary school teachers in the Central African Republic (CAR) have decided to indefinitely extend their strike for the immediate payment of their salary arrears. "Eighty percent of the teachers are observing the strike," Malachie Mbokane, the chairman of the Interfederale des enseignants de Centrafrique, a umbrella confederation of five teachers' trade unions, told IRIN on Tuesday.

ethiopia: Empowered Communities Learn the Value of Their Daughters

2003-01-23

http://www.basiced.org/stories/ethiopia1.php

Among the daunting humanitarian challenges facing Ethiopia is the need to improve and strengthen basic education. The national gross enrollment rate, while on the rise, was 51 percent in 1999/2000, while girls' enrollment stood at 41 percent.

nigeria: Nigerian Immunisation Programme Sees Results

2003-01-23

http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/326/7381/121/a

The National Programme on Immunisation (NPI) has just released a report that shows a continuing and dramatic decline in the incidence of fatal childhood diseases in Nigeria. Diseases covered by the report include tetanus, poliomyelitis, diphtheria, measles, tuberculosis, yellow fever, and cerebrospinal meningitis, which have been responsible for high infant mortality in the country.

nigeria: urgent action needed on education

2003-01-23

http://allafrica.com/stories/200301220231.html

Once more attention is on education following the recent High Level Group on Education for All (EFA) meeting held in Abuja by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in conjunction with the Federal Government and other related international agencies. UNESCO has classified Nigeria among countries that may miss the 2015 deadline for the provision of Education for All if urgent action is not taken.

somalia: children in exodus to Europe

2003-01-23

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Refugees_in_Britain/Story/0,2763,877215,00.html

Thousands of children are being smuggled into Europe from war-ravaged Somalia every year, with Britain the most popular destination, according to a UN report. "Child smuggling from Somali territories is now so widespread that it has become a critical informal institution," the UN information agency report says.

SOMALIA: The experience of separated Somali children

2003-01-23

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31752

Somali parents are paying smugglers up to US $10,000 to take their children abroad, as part of a lucrative and exploitative international child-smuggling business. Faced with desperate choices, many parents who see no future in their own country allow their children to be abandoned by "agents" at airports and railway stations in European and North American countries.

SOMALIA: UN calls for respect of child rights

2003-01-23

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31787

UN agencies working in Somalia have called on Somali leaders and all parties to the conflict to take immediate measures to ensure that children are protected from violence. In a statement issued last Friday, Maxwell Gaylard, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, expressed deep concern at the recent killings, kidnappings and attacks targeting children.

south africa: Woman's Arm Crosses Racist Boundaries

2003-01-23

http://allafrica.com/stories/200301210928.html

Jeanne Nolte was sleeping fitfully in her hospital bed while waiting to undergo major head surgery, when a blood-soaked woman was brought into the ward. She told Nolte that three Afrikaans men had beaten her until she lost an eye. Three days later Nolte decided not to undergo the operation at Garankuwa Hospital to remove an aneurism on her brain, because it would cause her to lose her memory. Instead, she wanted all her faculties so that she could establish and run the Anti Racist Movement (ARM) in the city of her birth, Polokwane, in Limpopo. Today, if you drive through Polokwane, you'll find business and government offices displaying bold stickers declaring: "Right of Admission Reserved, No Racists Allowed."

africa/global: BUSINESS BREAKS PROMISE TO CLEAN-UP ACT

2003-01-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/environment/12698

Business leaders, politicians and the rich converge on the Swiss ski resort of Davos from 23 January for the World Economic Forum (WEF) - the annual gathering of the powerful which plays an important role in discussions of world economic and social policy. But the meeting takes place amidst growing criticism of corporate greenwash. Despite a high profile pledge made a year ago at the WEF in New York, WEF corporations have already demonstrated their unwillingness to embrace sustainability if it gets in the way of more profits. Friends of the Earth is highlighting cases of bad practices in the year since WEF 2002.

Web version:
http://www.foe.co.uk/pubsinfo/infoteam/pressrel/2003/20030117100025.html

Immediate release: Friday 17th January
BUSINESS BREAKS PROMISE TO CLEAN-UP ACT
Multinationals to share fondue with w orld leaders at World
Economic Forum in Davos

Business leaders, politicians and the rich converge on the Swiss
ski resort of Davos next week (23 January) for the World Economic
Forum (WEF) - the annual gathering of the powerful which plays an
important role in discussions of world economic and social policy.

But the meeting takes place amidst growing criticism of corporate
greenwash. Despite a high profile pledge made a year ago at the
WEF in New York, WEF corporations have already demonstrated their
unwillingness to embrace sustainability if it gets in the way of
more profits. Friends of the Earth is highlighting cases of bad
practices in the year since WEF 2002 [1].

The international environmental network will call on world leaders
attending the WEF to act to establish rules for big business and
rights for citizens affected by bad business practice, rather than
accept more greenwash promises. Friends of the Earth and a
coalition of organisations is holding a counter-conference called
the Public Eye on Davos, which will cast a critical eye on the WEF
agenda [2].

Last year the WEF moved abruptly to New York - reportedly because
of security concerns in the Alpine location. The Swiss government
has attracted the Forum back to Davos, but security is expected to
be intense. In previous years, attendees have been enclosed in a
ring of steel, with all access to Davos cut off. This year for
the first time in Swiss history airspace is to be closed over
Davos during the WEF and the Swiss military will be there in
force. But following criticism of the unsubtle clampdown on
protests in 2001, there is a permitted public protest expected on
Saturday 25th January.

Friends of the Earth will be seeking out politicians at the WEF to
ask them for new international commitments on rights for citizens
and communities to protect them from bad practices.

The invited " community of top decision makers " - including
senior business leaders from corporations such as Nestle; Shell,
Vivendi Universal, British American Tobacco, BP, Nike and Tyumen
Oil (involved in the Prestige disaster) - will benefit from " a
unique club atmosphere " [3] to talk to world leaders about the
way forward for the world.

Previous WEF meetings have paved the way for the creation of the
World Trade Organisation (WTO) and North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA) - both of which have been severely criticised
for contributing to global inequality through their damaging
impacts on poor communities.

While the WEF guests hold private discussions, representatives
from non-governmental organisations, including Friends of the
Earth International, and representatives from developing and
developed countries will present an alternative vision in a public
forum, just a few blocks away. The Public Eye on Davos
International Conference takes place from Thursday 23rd January
until Monday 27th January - with all sessions open to the public
and the press.

The WEF, which is funded by contributions from the world's
foremost 1000 companies, used its 2002 appearance in New York to
exploit the memory of the September 11 tragedy while promoting its
usual agenda: that the "alliance between the world's largest
trading partners today is more important than ever". It called
for an end to political posturing and regulatory divergence, which
stand as a barrier to free trade [4].

Friends of the Earth challenged the corporations at last year's
Forum to support civil society calls for binding international
rules on multinationals under the UN. The issue was a major
feature of the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable
Development in August 2002. Friends of the Earth wrote to all the
chief executives at the Forum and will reveal their responses
during this year's event.

Tony Juniper, vice chair of Friends of the Earth International,
said:

"The World Economic Forum's slogan this year is ' Building Trust'
yet many of its participants are chief executives of the companies
responsible for the very worst ravages of corporate globalisation.
It is a bitter irony that many people cannot swallow. How can
Galician fisherfolk trust the corporations wh ich participate
in the WEF that have damaged their environment and livelihoods?

"If politicians at the World Economic Forum are serious about
improving the state of the world, they should accept Friends of
the Earth International's challenge and support a global regime to
curb corporate power, with guaranteed rights for citizens and
communities, and protection for the environment where we all
live. We will also ask politicians to call the bluff on corporate
greenwash."

Friends of the Earth International will have spokespeople
available in Davos throughout the meeting.

Updates will also be available at
www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/corporates/

ends

NOTES:
[1] Last year WEF leaders made a high profile statement on
corporate social responsibility. For example, Taizo Nishimuro,
Chairman of the Board or Toshiba Corporation, Japan said: We are
moving towards global environmental standards and we have to be
responsible as we help governments establish those standards ,
(see:
http://www.weforum.org/site/knowledgenavigator.nsf/Content/Fro
m%20Business%20Leaders%20to%20Global%20Leaders?opentopic_id=200
115000theme_id=200)

Examples of WEF corporations not acting in the interests of
sustainable development since these statements were made in the
last year include:

WestLB [WEF member ]
The German bank Westdeutsche Landesbank (WestLB) is leading a
group of international banks providing $900m million to construct
of a new crude oil pipeline across the Ecuadorian Mindo-Nambillo
cloudforest. The project is expected to result in irreversible
damage to large areas of pristine tropical rainforest full of
endangered species. The indigenous population (who have been
excluded from decision making over the pipeline) fear for their
future as their local culture, social networks and communities are
threatened. Protests have been met with gunfire and people shot
dead during demonstrations. WestLB argued the project would match
the World Bank's environmental principles. When independent
studies revealed the contrary, the World Bank publicly expressed
serious doubts about the pipeline project. Disregarding such
concerns, the pipeline ploughed through the rainforests of Ecuador
last year.

Alfa Group [includes Tyumen Oil a WEF member and Crown
Resources]
Mikhail Fridman, head of the group that owns Crown Resources and
Tyumen Oil, attended last year's WEF. The oil that spilt off the
Galician coast was from an ageing tanker chartered by wholly-owned
subsidiary Crown Resources. Representatives from Alfa companies
are expected at this year's WEF. Crown Resources operates under a
Swiss flag of convenience (it is listed as a company in Zug)
although its directors are mostly British and Russian and its
largest office is in London. The company chartered the Prestige
to carry Tyumen's oil from St Petersburg to the Far East and the
wreck of the Prestige which subsequently sunk continues to leak
oil from the seabed off Galicia today. The corporation has been
criticised for continuing to charter rustbuckets to carry
dangerous cargoes around the World despite the history of major
oil spill incidents such as TotalFinaElf's Erika spill of 1999.

BP [WEF member]
In 2002 BP pressed ahead with its plans to build a pipeline from
the Caspian Sea in the East to the Mediterranean in the West.
Every year it will transport oil equivalent to nearly a third of
the UK's yearly carbon dioxide output. BP has signed so called
host government agreements with Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey
which make it exempt from laws, including environmental and
labour, that may affect the profitability of the pipeline. The
needs of BP, such as its demand for water, will be put above those
of local communities.

Nestle [WEF member]
At the end of 2002 Nestle was exposed for demanding $6m in
compensation from the famine struck Ethiopian government. The
compensation was for the nationalisation of a subsidiary company
many years before under a previous Ethiopian government. Following
media attention Nestle has made it clear that it will still demand
the compensation, but redirect it towards famine relief in the
country. Furthermore Nestle threatened that the failure of
Ethiopia to pay up over this issue would be looked on badly by
multinationals who may hold back from future investment.

Shell [WEF member]
Shell's South Durban refinery was established under South Africa's
apartheid regime and is sited directly next to poor black
communities. Shell has allowed the refinery to deteriorate and it
has been at the centre of 23 serious pollution incidents and
operation problems since 1998. The most serious being when a
Shell fuel pipeline leaked more than a million litres of petrol
below people's residential homes. In 2002 faced with the threat
of a legal challenge by the local authority, Shell broke off all
dialogue with officials and lobbied Durban's mayor, who then
called for the reconsideration of legal action. Shell has,
through its first public environmental report for their refinery
in 2002, misinformed the public of the historical pollution. By
using apartheid law still in operation, Shell refuses the local
community access to information.

Petronas [WEF member]
The Burmese military government has been at the heart of human
rights controversy for many years. The Burmese Democracy Movement
has called for multinationals to stop operating in Burma because
they fear resulting profits help keep the military in power as
well as lending the regime credibility. This year Petronas took
over Premier Oil's entire Burmese operation when the company was
split up. The UK Government had asked Premier to pull out of
Burma. Petronas has given no indication of its intention to do
so.

[2] http://www.evb.ch/index.cfm?page_id=1772archive=none
[3] World Economic Forum on-line - www.weforum.com
[4] "Charting a new course for transatlantic relations"
www.weforum.com




$$


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central africa: CONGO BASIN FOREST PARTNERS HOLD INITIAL MEETING

2003-01-23

http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2003/2003-01-17-01.asp

The first international meeting of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership, an economic development and conservation program for six Central African countries, is set to open in Paris on Tuesday. Under pressure from population growth, poverty, unsustainable resource use, and political instability, the Congo Basin forests are the focus of a new initiative by a partnership of 29 governments, international organisations, environmental and business interests - the Congo Basin Forest Partnership.

drc: Group Raises Alarm on Marine Turtle Poaching

2003-01-23

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=15328

An animal rights group has appealed to the Congolese authorities to revise the existing endangered species law to include marine turtles among the country's protected animals. ''Despite the benefits that sea turtles bring, they are being massacred by coastal residents for food or for economic reasons,'' says Alexis Mayet, president of the Congolese Educational Association for the Environment and Nature, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), with the French acronym ACEN.

kenya: Electric Fence to Encircle Kenyan Forest Reserve

2003-01-23

http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2003/2003-01-16-01.asp

A fund has been launched in Kenya to put an electric fence around one of the east African nation's largest forest reserves to protect it from illegal loggers, poachers and general human encroachment.

Namibia/south Africa: OCEAN MYSTERIES TO BE STUDIED

2003-01-23

http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=851

A strange phenomenon in the shallow waters of South-western Africa - regular eruptions of toxic hydrogen sulphide - is about to be mapped and studied. These gas discharges change the ocean's blue colour into turquoise and result in extensive fish deaths. The research vessel (Meteor) has left Cape Town to find out why.

Swaziland: Failure of agriculture leads to rise in aid dependency

2003-01-23

http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=839

Virva Hautala and Sanna Simonen lend a hand at a pump, manually extracting life-preserving water from a borehole beneath the parched earth. The Finnish aid volunteers urge the children queued with plastic containers not to waste the precious fluid, as they pump and carry their water rations on their heads back to homesteads, up to 10 km away.

uganda: Census finds 5 000 chimpanzees in Uganda

2003-01-23

http://iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=136&art_id=qw1043153280353B225&set_id=1

There are nearly 5 000 chimpanzees living in Uganda, according to a recently completed census. But continued hunting and human encroachment on their habitat could reduce that number, said scientists on Tuesday.

Zambia: Tough harvest year ahead

2003-01-23

http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=837

Zambia faces a "daunting outlook" for 2003 with expectations of another poor harvest, says a report from the office of the UN Resident Coordinator. The food crisis was brought about by a consecutive drop in food production in 2002 (down 40 percent on the previous five year average), due to drought. By the middle of 2002 inflation was at 23.7 percent and the national currency, the kwacha, had depreciated by 14 percent.

ethiopia: New government proposals threaten press freedom and EFJA

Ethiopian Free Press Journalists' Association (EFJA) statement

2003-01-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/media/12747

The right of citizens to freedom of expression has, for ages, been brutally suppressed in countries like Ethiopia, where democratic systems have not been established. After the EPRDF (Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front) put the entire country under its control and usurped state power, it accepted and ratified the UN Declaration of Human Rights, approved the charter during the transition period and promulgated the press proclamation. Ever since then, numerous free press publications have been rendering services as alternative sources of information.
IFEX- News from the international freedom of expression community
_________________________________________________________________

PRESS RELEASE/ACTION ALERT - ETHIOPIA

21 January 2003

New government proposals threaten press freedom and EFJA

SOURCE: Ethiopian Free Press Journalists' Association (EFJA), Addis Ababa

(EFJA/IFEX) - The following is a 17 January 2003 EFJA statement:

The very existence of EFJA is at a risk!

The right of citizens to freedom of expression has, for ages, been brutally
suppressed in countries like Ethiopia, where democratic systems have not
been established.

After the EPRDF (Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front) put the
entire country under its control and usurped state power, it accepted and
ratified the UN Declaration of Human Rights, approved the charter during the
transition period and promulgated the press proclamation. Ever since then,
numerous free press publications have been rendering services as alternative
sources of information.

The free press publications that emerged in our country, which had no
previous experience in terms of exercising the right to freedom of the
press, are only ten years old. It is therefore believed that the free press
publications may have shortcomings due to a lack of sufficient knowledge and
training.

EFJA and counterpart international associations and human rights
organizations have maintained that it is possible to avoid problems and
mistakes that arise from a lack of sufficient practical experience through
training for practicing journalists and not through subjecting them to
various forms of punishment, including imprisonment, harassment,
intimidation and enforcing new laws.

The Ethiopian government, through the Ministry of Information, conducted a
three-day national symposium (from January 15 to 17) to address the
following theme: "The Ethiopian government wants to come closer to, and
discuss issues with, the free press to enable it to play the constructive
role expected of it in the national development process."

The government's purpose in organising the symposium is clear: it is a
propaganda stunt designed to show to the world that the government is
democratic. It is also a measure calculated to win the hearts and sympathies
of donors and creditors.

The symposium was originally scheduled to be held from February 8 to 10.
EFJA was invited to present a paper to the symposium entitled, "Problems
Faced by the Free Press and their Solutions". In accordance with the
invitation, EFJA had prepared the paper, but for unknown reasons, the
Ministry of Information announced that the programme was cancelled. One
month after the announcement of the cancellation, the entire event was held
in secret, and then, the objectives of the symposium were only revealed
through a telephone message.

The agenda items of the symposium focused on the new press law being drafted
exclusively by the Ministry of Information, the draft journalists' and
publishers' code of ethics and regulations for the establishment of a press
council.

The agenda item on the problems facing the free press and their solutions
was totally dropped.

The issues being discussed by the symposium are well known to EFJA,
international counterpart associations, human rights organizations and
activists since February 2001. These organizations have repeatedly commented
on the issues faced by the free press.

EFJA had requested that the authorities give it a copy of the draft press
law and see to it that the draft law is developed with the participation of
citizens, professional lawyers and EFJA members. Unfortunately, however, the
pertinent offices did not give EFJA a satisfactory response to its request.

EFJA and counterpart international associations have repeatedly stated that
the matters of a journalists' professional code of ethics and a press
council should be addressed by those parties that are directly concerned,
and not by the government.

EFJA had expressed its willingness to jointly organize the symposium and
enable it to come up with fruitful results. Yet the government has sidelined
the repeated calls made by EFJA and counterpart international institutions,
and decided instead to conduct the symposium through the Ministry of
Information, with the support of the British Embassy, to discuss the new
press law, which is designed to undermine the existence of the free press.
Members of the free press did not participate in the symposium.

EFJA and its members were present at the symposium but withdrew after the
opening because they were invited as mere guests and promises that were made
to them at the outset were broken.

EFJA and its entire membership have been disappointed by the fact that the
British government, which does not itself have a press law and has given
recognition to organizations such as Article 19 and human rights
originations such as Amnesty International, has extended financial support
for the running of the symposium, in which journalists of government media
services, employees of regional information bureaus and public relations
professionals are participating and various department heads are presenting
study papers.

Members of the Ethiopian free press have undergone great suffering under the
repressive press law and civil and criminal laws that have been in force for
the past 40 years. Heavy fines have been imposed on them. They have been
thrown in prison. In spite of all these and other repressive measures
against them, they have been in a position to withstand the measures and
maintain their existence. Other additional pressures imposed on free press
publications include the occasional increase of printing costs, income tax
increases and lately, the imposition of a value-added tax (VAT). These
measures have greatly threatened the very existence and survival of the free
press.

These events come at a time when the value-added tax is on the verge of
throwing many of the free press publications out of business. Requests are
also being made at the international level for the repeal of the existing
press law, because it is not in tune with the constitution and contains many
ambiguous provisions. There has been a call for its replacement with a new
law that would involve broad participation. The government has made public a
draft proclamation that will end the existence of the free press.

If the government enforces a professional code of ethics and regulations for
the establishment of a press council (which should be put in effect by those
directly concerned), it will serve as a clear indication that democratic
rights are being trampled upon and that dictatorship is gaining the upper
hand in this country.

EFJA and its members have played a vanguard role in exercising the right to
freedom of expression. However, inasmuch as the right to freedom of
expression is the right of all human beings, the Ethiopian people, our
international allies and supporters and human rights organizations are asked
to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Ethiopian free press and make their
voices heard.

EFJA also calls on Ethiopia media professionals and friends of the free
press to fulfil their obligations and prevent this danger facing the free
press.

EFJA strongly protests the activities of the Ministry of Information, which
are aimed at promulgating a press law that restricts freedom of expression
and information exchange and exposes Ethiopian free press journalists to
imprisonment and fines under the guise of a code of ethics.

EFJA will keep you all informed of the latest developments on this matter.

Kifle Mulat
President, EFJA
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Send appeals to authorities:
- protesting the government's drafting of a new press law, a journalists'
code of ethics and regulations for the establishment of a press council
without broad consultation within Ethiopian civil society
- expressing concern that Ethiopian free press journalists may face
harassment, imprisonment and fines under the proposed code of ethics

APPEALS TO:

H.E. Ato Meles Zenawi
Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Fax: +251 1 552 020

H.E. Ato Bereket Simon
Minister of Information
Fax: +251 1 533 510
E-mail: Minoi@telecom.net.et

Please copy appeals to the source if possible.

For further information, contact Kifle Mulat, President, EFJA, P.O. Box
31317 / 33232, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, tel/fax: +251 1 55 50 21, mobile: +251
1 (09) 222 939, e-mail: efja@telecom.net.et, efjakifle@hotmail.com

The information contained in this press release/action alert is the sole
responsibility of EFJA. In citing this material for broadcast or
publication, please credit EFJA.
_________________________________________________________________
DISTRIBUTED BY THE INTERNATIONAL FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
EXCHANGE (IFEX) CLEARING HOUSE
489 College Street, Suite 403,Toronto (ON) M6G 1A5 CANADA
tel: +1 416 515 9622 fax: +1 416 515 7879
alerts e-mail: alerts@ifex.org general e-mail: ifex@ifex.org
Internet site: http://www.ifex.org/
_________________________________________________________________

ivory coast: rsf calls for media freedom

2003-01-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/media/12678

Reporters sans frontières (RSF) has written to all the delegations taking part in the Ivory Coast peace talks being held in Linas-Marcoussis (south of Paris) between 15 and 24 January 2003, asking them to raise the issue of the media in the Ivory Coast. The organisation urges the political parties and rebel movements present to make a real commitment to establishing a freer and more responsible press in the country.
IFEX - News from the international freedom of expression community
_________________________________________________________________

PRESS RELEASE - CÔTE D'IVOIRE

17 January 2003

RSF calls on participants in peace talks to make a commitment to a freer and
more responsible press

SOURCE: Reporters sans frontières (RSF), Paris

(RSF/IFEX) - The following is a 16 January 2003 RSF press release:

RSF has written to all the delegations taking part in the Ivory Coast peace
talks being held in Linas-Marcoussis (south of Paris) between 15 and 24
January 2003, asking them to raise the issue of the media in the Ivory
Coast. The organisation urges the political parties and rebel movements
present to make a real commitment to establishing a freer and more
responsible press in the country. They should, in particular, take measures
to ensure the safety of all journalists - Ivorian or foreign - working in
the Ivory Coast. The fact that journalists are regularly arrested, attacked
or threatened is unacceptable.

In addition, politicians and leaders of the rebel movements should encourage
the press to take a more responsible attitude. Failure to respect any
ethical or professional code is rife in the country. A number of
publications have no hesitation in publishing racist or xenophobic articles,
putting the safety of large numbers of people at risk. Le National, L'oeil
du peuple, and the newspaper of the party in power, Notre Voie, are among
such media organs that constantly stoke the flames of conflict by publishing
inflammatory editorials and articles inciting violence.

The Observatoire de la liberté de la presse, de l'éthique et de la
déontologie (OLPED) can no longer content itself with merely publishing
communiqués calling the press to order. This self-regulatory body must be
given real powers to impose sanctions. For example, it should be able to
force offending newspapers to publish any "right of reply" sent to them, in
line with Articles 9, 28, and 29 of the Press Law. OLPED should also be
consulted before the issuing or withdrawal of press cards.

Finally, the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI, the party in power) and the
Patriotic Movement of Ivory Coast (MPCI, the rebel movement in the north of
the country) should demand that media under their control scrupulously
respect a professional code of ethics. The state radio and television (RTI)
in Abidjan is a public service and should respect a genuine pluralism of
information by allowing all the political tendencies in the country to
express themselves.

The television channel Notre Patrie and the newspaper Liberté, controlled by
the rebel movements in Bouake, should make sure that the Ivorian population
is correctly informed and should seek to calm the situation.

The press in the Ivory Coast is both a victim of the crisis facing the
country today and partly responsible for it. Since the attempted coup on 19
September 2002, numerous reporters - both Ivorian and foreign - have either
been beaten up by members of the state police force or rebel movements.
Media professionals are arrested, attacked or threatened almost every day.
But the press is also playing a pernicious role in this crisis. "We, Ivorian
journalists, have paved the way for war. We have to take responsibility for
that. With our words of hate, our diatribes, we paved the way for war in the
minds of the Ivorian people," admitted a former editor to Reporters Without
Borders during an investigative mission in October 2002.

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

The information contained in this press release is the sole responsibility
of RSF. In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please credit
RSF.
_________________________________________________________________
DISTRIBUTED BY THE INTERNATIONAL FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
EXCHANGE (IFEX) CLEARING HOUSE
489 College Street, Toronto (ON) M6G 1A5 CANADA
tel: +1 416 515 9622 fax: +1 416 515 7879
alerts email: alerts@ifex.org general e-mail: ifex@ifex.org
Internet site: http://www.ifex.org/
_________________________________________________________________

Malawi: Journalist arrested in vampire scare

2003-01-23

http://www.indexonline.org/indexindex/20030121_malawi.shtml

A Malawian radio journalist was arrested this week for broadcasting an interview with a man who claimed to have been attacked by a vampire, the Guardian reports. Southern Malawi has been rife with rumours of blood-sucking vampires, fuelled by the popular belief that the government is colluding with vampires to collect blood for international aid agencies.

nigiera: Isioma Daniel Speaks On Her Ordeal in Hiding

2003-01-23

http://allafrica.com/stories/200301200026.html

Former THISDAY reporter, Miss Isioma Daniel, whose article about the last Miss World pageant allegedly sparked deadly riots in Kaduna says she will probably spend the rest of her life in hiding. In an exclusive interview with the BBC, Isioma Daniel said her initial guilt soon turned to anger that some people could use a newspaper article as an excuse to "unleash their anger, their frustration with other aspects of their life".

SADC: Colonial-era laws used to repress SADC media

2003-01-23

http://www.mediatoolbox.co.za/pebble.asp?relid=3155

A unique gathering of parliamentarians and journalists from 11 Southern African Development Community countries has reached a remarkable decision - to call on their governments to repeal legislation which restricts the freedom of the media and freedom of expression and offends human rights generally.

tunisia: Internet activist goes on hunger strike

2003-01-23

http://www.dfn.org/news/tunisia/hunger.htm

Imprisoned Tunisian Internet activist Zouhair Yahyaoui is in the fifth day of his hunger strike to protest the harsh conditions of his confinement. Zouhair Yahyaoui founded TUNeZine.com soon after he graduated from college. Yahyaoui has been held captive since June, 2002, when he was sentenced to 24 months for posting satirical criticism of the Tunisian government on his Web site, Tunezine.

uganda: Journalist detained since 6 January

2003-01-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/media/12679

Vincent Matovu, managing editor of the local Luganda-language weekly "Mazima", has been held on remand in Luzira prison since 6 January 2003, in connection with the publication of two articles concerning the war between rebel groups and government forces in the north of the country.
La version française suit. The French version follows.

IFEX - News from the international freedom of expression community
_________________________________________________________________

ALERT - UGANDA

17 January 2003

Journalist detained since 6 January

SOURCE: Reporters sans frontières (RSF), Paris

(RSF/IFEX) - Vincent Matovu, managing editor of the local Luganda-language
weekly "Mazima", has been held on remand in Luzira prison since 6 January
2003, in connection with the publication of two articles concerning the war
between rebel groups and government forces in the north of the country.

"This case demonstrates once again that journalists are not free to publish
their analyses of the conflict between the rebel groups and government
forces," RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard noted in a letter to
Information Minister Basoga Nsadhu. The organisation quoted from a report by
United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression Abid Hussain,
published on 18 January 2000, in which he called upon "all governments to
ensure that prison sentences are no longer handed out for media offences,
apart from racist or discriminatory comments or incitement to violence."
Hussain had added, "as punishment for the peaceful expression of an opinion,
a prison sentence constitutes a serious human rights violation." While not
wishing to comment on the facts of the case, RSF asked the minister to do
his utmost to ensure that the journalist be released and granted a fair
trial.

Matovu is accused of sedition for having reported in two articles, published
in October and November 2002, that Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels had
killed thousands of Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF) soldiers and taken
over the Pader and Kapchorwa districts (in the north and the east of the
country). After appearing before a Kampala court, where he denied the
charges brought against him, Matovu was remanded in custody on 6 January. He
is being held in Luzira prison, near Kampala. The measures taken against him
prevented "Mazima"'s publication in the last week of December. Matovu's case
is to be heard on 21 January.

RSF recalls that three journalists from the daily "The Monitor" appeared
before the courts in October, charged with publishing "false information
endangering national security", after the publication of an article on the
conflict between rebel and government forces in the country's northern
region (see IFEX alerts of 18, 16, 15 and 11 October 2002). The police
occupied the newspaper's premises and prevented its publication for one
week.

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

The information contained in this alert is the sole responsibility of RSF.
In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please credit RSF.
_________________________________________________________________
DISTRIBUTED BY THE INTERNATIONAL FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
EXCHANGE (IFEX) CLEARING HOUSE
489 College Street, Toronto (ON) M6G 1A5 CANADA
tel: +1 416 515 9622 fax: +1 416 515 7879
alerts email: alerts@ifex.org general e-mail: ifex@ifex.org
Internet site: http://www.ifex.org/
_________________________________________________________________
IFEX - Nouvelles de la communauté internationale de défense de la liberté
d'expression
_________________________________________________________________

ALERTE - OUGANDA

Le 17 janvier 2003

Un journaliste détenu depuis le 6 janvier

SOURCE: Reporters sans frontières (RSF), Paris

(RSF/IFEX) - Vincent Matovu, directeur de la rédaction de "Mazima", un
hebdomadaire local en langue luganda, est incarcéré à la prison de Luzira
depuis le 6 janvier 2003, suite à la publication de deux articles traitant
de la guerre entre les rebelles et le gouvernement dans le nord du pays.

"Encore une fois, cette affaire montre que les journalistes ne sont pas
libres de publier leurs analyses sur le conflit qui oppose les groupes
rebelles aux forces gouvernementales", a déclaré Robert Ménard, secrétaire
général de RSF, dans un courrier adressé à Basoga Nsadhu, ministre de
l'Information. L'organisation rappelle que, dans un document du 18 janvier
2000, Abid Hussain, le rapporteur spécial des Nations unies sur la promotion
et la protection du droit à la liberté d'opinion et d'expression, a demandé
"à tous les gouvernements de veiller à ce que les délits de presse ne soient
plus passibles de peines d'emprisonnement, sauf pour des délits tels que les
commentaires racistes ou discriminatoires ou les appels à la violence". Il
avait ajouté que "l'emprisonnement en tant que condamnation de l'expression
pacifique d'une opinion constitue une violation grave des droits de
l'homme". Sans se prononcer sur le fond de cette affaire, RSF a demandé au
ministre de tout mettre en oeuvre pour la libération du journaliste et la
tenue d'un procès juste et équitable.

Matovu est accusé de sédition pour avoir affirmé, dans deux articles, en
octobre et novembre 2002, que les rebelles de la LRA (Armée de résistance du
Seigneur) ont tué des milliers de soldats de l'UPDF (Forces de défense
populaire de l'Ouganda) et ont pris possession des districts de Pader et
Kapchorwa (dans le nord et l'est du pays). Après avoir comparu devant un
tribunal de Kampala et nié les accusations retenues contre lui, il a été
placé en détention préventive le 6 janvier à la prison de Luzira, près de
Kampala. Les sanctions prises à l'encontre du journaliste empêchent Mazima
de paraître depuis fin décembre. Matovu doit être jugé le 21 janvier.

RSF rappelle que trois journalistes du quotidien "The Monitor" ont comparu
devant la cour en octobre dernier pour avoir publié de "fausses informations
menaçant la sécurité nationale", suite à la parution d'un article traitant
du conflit entre les rebelles et les forces gouvernementales dans le nord du
pays (consulter des alertes de l'IFEX des 18, 16, 15 et 11 octobre 2002). La
police a occupé les locaux du journal et empêché sa parution pendant une
semaine.

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

RSF est responsable de toute information contenue dans cette alerte. En
citant cette information, prière de bien vouloir l'attribuer à RSF.
_______________________________________________________________
DIFFUSÉ(E) PAR LE SECRÉTARIAT DU RÉSEAU IFEX,
L'ÉCHANGE INTERNATIONAL DE LA LIBERTÉ D'EXPRESSION
489, rue College, bureau 403, Toronto (ON) M6G 1A5 CANADA
tel: +1 416 515 9622 téléc: +1 416 515 7879
courrier électronique: alerts@ifex.org boîte générale: ifex@ifex.org
site Internet: http://www.ifex.org/
_______________________________________________________________

Zimbabwe: Businessman hires thugs to beat journalist

2003-01-23

http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=830

Ernest Mungwari, who runs one of Zimbabwe's biggest transport companies, Tenda Transport Private Limited is reported to have hired thugs to beat up Brian Mangwende, The Daily News bureau chief, in the eastern border city of Mutare.

zimbabwe: information kiosks could limit freedom of expression

2003-01-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/media/12699

The Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ) says it is "imperative" that the private media should be tenacious in investigating seemingly harmless government policies such as the intention to establish information kiosks in rural areas. The MMPZ says the kiosks could curtail citizens' right to access information of their choice, says the MMPZ in its latest Weekly Update, which also deals with wrangles around local government and food shortages.

Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe
January 6th - January 12th, 2003
Weekly update 2003-01


CONTENTS

1. GENERAL COMMENT
2. LOCAL GOVERNMENT WRANGLES
3. FOOD SHORTAGES AND CLASHES


1. General comment

Government recently announced its intention to establish information kiosks
in the rural areas to expand the available sources of information at the
disposal of the rural populace. Although this is laudable, the media should
expose and analyze the underlying intentions of the move.
In fact the Ministry of Information and Publicity Secretary George Charamba
(ZTV, 4/01, 8pm) hinted at the kind of information the kiosks would peddle.
He was quoted: "There is no way we are going to use money from national
coffers to promote material that undermines national interest. That we will
not entertain at all. There is no way that we are going to use money from
national coffers to promote material that offends.community cultural values.
People who are providing content must realize that they are providing it to
Zimbabwean people who wish to remain Zimbabwean. In terms of their politics,
in terms of their culture and in terms of their social being".
In the past, government has narrowly defined issues of 'national interest'
and 'Zimbabwean cultural values' from a ZANU PF point of view, while
dismissing other interpretations as pro-opposition and anti-Zimbabwe.
Sadly, its viewpoint has found currency in the media it controls.
It is therefore imperative that the private media should be tenacious in
investigating such seemingly harmless government policies, which could
severely curtail the citizens' right to access information of their choice.
The free flow of information is the cornerstone upon which democratic
societies are built.
Meanwhile, MMPZ notes with great concern the conflicting figures that the
media records in their reports on certain issues.
For example, readers of both the public and the private Press were confused
as to how many people were arrested following the demonstration by ZANU PF
supporters and war veterans against the distribution of relief food by the
Grain Marketing Board (GMB) in Bulawayo recently.
Initially, The Daily News, The Herald, and Chronicle (7/1) reported that 37
people had been arrested.
However, the following day The Daily News (8/1) and The Financial Gazette
(9/1) reported that 34 people had been arrested.
In another case, both The Sunday Mail and The Standard (12/1) carried
conflicting statistics on the number of people arrested together with Harare
Mayor Elias Mudzuri in Mabvuku on January 11th. While The Sunday Mail
reported that Mudzuri was arrested together with 20 other people, The
Standard recorded 21.
MMPZ urges the media to pay more attention to such detail, as such
tendencies further confuse readers who are already subjected to partisan
media reports in this heavily polarized media environment.


2. Local government wrangles

The public media's role as government's megaphone was exposed when they
unquestioningly endorsed government's decision to appoint governors for
Harare and Bulawayo and its expansion of a commission appointed last year,
ostensibly to assist Harare City Council develop a turn-around plan for the
capital. Furthermore, the government controlled media continued to be used
as conduits for government's relentless campaign to discredit Harare's
council and particularly its mayor, Elias Mudzuri.
For example, out of the 17 stories the public press published on the
conflict between the opposition MDC-led Harare city council and local
government minister, Ignatius Chombo, 15 were in support of government while
the remainder were neutral announcements. ZTV carried seven reports in its
8pm bulletin on the issue. All reports, which occupied 10% of the total time
allocated to 8pm news during the week, portrayed Mudzuri in a bad light. 3FM
carried nine council-related stories in its main news bulletins. And like
ZTV, all were negative depictions of Mudzuri.
Conversely, the private Press carried 19 stories on the conflict: 10 reports
accorded Mudzuri a platform to give his side of the story, eight were
neutral and the remainder favoured government.
The public media's pro-government coverage of the Chombo/Mudzuri wrangle was
basically achieved through simplistic manipulation of popular sentiments
(The Herald (9/1), Demonstration thwarted); propaganda disguised as news
(The Herald (7/1), Mudzuri admits interfering in tenders); and partisan
reports masquerading as public consensus on government policy (Chronicle,
(9/1), Governors' appointment hailed).
In fact, while the bias demonstrated by the public media seemed to stem
purely from its pursuance of government's political agenda, the pro-MDC
standpoint adopted by the private media was seemingly triggered mostly by
its desire to counter distortions carried in the public media in the first
place.
A classic example was The Herald (7/1) and Daily News' (9/1) coverage of
Mudzuri's alleged "interference" in the Harare City Council's refuse
collection tenders.
Whereas The Herald (and ZBC-ZTV & 3FM, 6/01, 8pm) seemed hell-bent on
criminalizing Mudzuri's "interference" in the tender process out of context,
The Daily News on the other hand provided the mayor with the platform to
make "his comments in full", which he alleged The Herald had selectively
used.
Indeed, The Herald story withheld some of the background as to why the mayor
had interfered in the tender. Neither did it adequately avail the
information in the "documents" it said were in its possession.
But The Daily News established that Mudzuri was compelled to query the city
council's tender specification for refuse collection after discovering that
there was a clause "which virtually excluded new players", and in the
process protected the companies that were given contracts by the then ZANU
PF council led by Solomon Tawengwa in August 1997. Most of the companies are
linked to ZANU PF officials.
And contrary to the impression created by The Herald report that Mudzuri did
not consult his officers to have the tender clause changed to accommodate
new players, The Daily News established that Josephine Ncube, the council's
Chamber Secretary, its top legal adviser and Joseph Issa, the council's
audit manager, had agreed that there was merit in Mudzuri's concerns.
Still, The Herald (9/1) continued to malign the mayor whom it accused "of
flouting tender procedures (in order) to give an unfair advantage to some
companies".
To lend credence to its claims, The Daily News (10/1) carried a story in
which it alleged that Highdon, a company owned by Mcdonald Chapfika, brother
to ZANU PF's MP for Mutoko North, had prejudiced the council of more than
$118 million through overcharging.
Highdon is contracted to supply water chemicals to the city council.
However, Mcdonald denied the allegations.
Equally unprofessional was the manner in which The Herald (9/1)
misrepresented facts pertaining to a foiled demonstration by MDC activists
protesting against Chombo's alleged interference in the affairs of the
council.
The paper untruthfully attributed the failure of the protest to poor
attendance, while in reality, the demonstration failed to take off because
it was quashed by the police, SW Radio Africa (8/01), The Daily News,
Financial Gazette and Daily Mirror (9/1).
In fact, the assertion by the paper also contradicted the substance of its
headline, Demonstration thwarted.
Significant too, was the public media's unquestioning acceptance of
government's announcement that it would appoint governors for Harare and
Bulawayo to coordinate development in the cities, The Herald and Chronicle
(6/1).
ZBC (ZTV, 7/01 & Radio Zimbabwe, 8pm) legitimized the move by quoting
Chombo as saying: "This is actually a correction of an anomaly where a
province as big as Harare, .and Bulawayo . is not represented by a governor,
yet smaller provinces like Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South,
Mashonaland Central . have a governor representing them. . So it was a
disservice to those two metropolitan cities not to have governors and
district administrators".
While Chombo was quoted, in the same bulletins, as having said, "the
appointment of governors should not be viewed as a ploy to monitor the
activities of the MDC executive mayors", his subsequent statement (on ZTV)
exposed government's machinations.
He stated: "It is not a political gimmick. It cannot be a political gimmick
to improve the service provision in this town or in Bulawayo. .We want
residents in those said provinces to receive services that they are paying
for. We want government through that system to provide whatever it is (sic)
intends to provide."
However, his statement, which actually confirmed that the governors are set
to encroach into areas of municipal jurisdiction such as providing services
to residents, escaped ZBC's analytical capacity.
The public broadcaster actually attempted to use Mudzuri to endorse the
move. Alleging that he had "refused to speak in front of cameras", ZTV
quoted Mudzuri as having said: "The appointment of a governor for Harare
Province would not in any way affect the operations of the city council
which he said is not bound by any law to obey orders from governors" adding
"Mudzuri's statements are contrary to speculation that the city council is
against the appointment of governors".
ZBC also nonchalantly reported further attempts by government to clip the
powers of the MDC-led municipalities by expanding the committee it appointed
to ostensibly assist in the administration of Harare, (ZTV & 3FM, 8/01, 8pm)
and its appointment of a three-member committee to "bring sanity" into
Chegutu municipality (11/01, 8pm).
So passive and partisan was the public media that their reports on this
government interference in the running of MDC-led councils hinged heavily
either on government or ruling ZANU PF officials. They also failed to come
up with a clear analysis of how duties and responsibilities would be
distributed between the elected mayors, councilors and government-appointed
governors and committees without duplication.
By contrast, the private media challenged Chombo's sincerity in proposing
the appointments considering his uneasy working relationship with Mudzuri.
Its sourcing too was more diverse. It ranged from government officials,
social commentators, to ordinary citizens.
Besides, the private media interpreted the move as government's covert plan
to neutralize the MDC's influence in Zimbabwe's biggest cities, The Daily
Mirror and Zimbabwe Independent of the same day (10/1).
The Daily Mirror quoted Harare residents as querying Chombo's sudden
interest in council business, while The Zimbabwe Independent noted in its
editorial that "the so-called anomaly about Harare and Bulawayo going
without governors for 22 years is ZANU PF's attempt to vitiate the powers of
executive mayors and impose its own pernicious policies on residents of MDC
controlled cities."
Notwithstanding this, both the public and private media were unable to fully
explore the burden the appointments were likely to inflict on the fiscus,
what the would-be governors briefs would be and whether those areas run by
both governors and mayors were indeed better "coordinated" than Harare and
Bulawayo.
Meanwhile, the polarity between the private and the public media in covering
the Harare council issues was further exposed in their reports of the arrest
of Mudzuri in Mabvuku for allegedly "addressing an illegal meeting". While
ZBC (11/1, 8pm) and The Sunday Mail (12/1) presented the arrest as normal
execution of the rule of law, The Standard (12/1) interpreted the arrest as
signaling "the country's slide into a police state". The paper reported
that Mudzuri and 21 other people including councilors, were arrested when
they were explaining to residents "the truth surrounding the crippling water
crisis", a position dismissed by The Sunday Mail. The paper quoted police
Superintendent Brighton Mudzamiri as having said "the gathering was a group
of youths that police strongly suspect to be MDC supporters".


4. Food shortages and clashes

Media reports on the outbreak of Zimbabwe's first serious food disturbances
in Bulawayo and Chitungwiza since food shortages hit the country about a
year ago exposed a disturbing sloppiness in interpretive skills among local
journalists, especially those from the public media.
Except for the feature, Food Riots 'a sign of more to come' by The Financial
Gazette (9/1) and a Reuter story carried in The Daily News (8/1), War
veteran Sibanda linked to food protest, no other paper attempted to
scrutinize fully the underlying causes or implications of the disturbances.
More disturbing was the professional hypocrisy shown by the public media,
which apparently shortchanged its audiences by trying to shield the
identities and political affiliations of the instigators of the violence.
For example, The Herald (7/1) was evasive about the identity of the "youths"
it reported as having clashed with the police "over the control of food
queues at a Supermarket in Chitungwiza", resulting in injuries to four
police officers.
Only The Daily News (6/1 and 7/1), SW Radio Africa (6/1) and The Daily
Mirror (7/1) identified the youths as products of government's National
Youth Service.
The nearest The Herald came to linking the food disturbances to the National
Service Youths was when it quoted an equally guarded police spokesperson,
Wayne Bvudzijena, as saying it was difficult to establish "whether the
youths who clashed with the police were an organized group or not, though
some of them put on uniforms similar to those worn by youths from the
National Youth Service Programme".
Also notable was the paper's failure to ask Bvudzijena whether his timely
warning to "organized groups" against the usurping of the powers of the
police force was, in this instance, an admission to a souring of relations
between the police force and National Youth Service members over the clash
of duties.
The Daily Mirror's story (7/1), 'Gezi youths' not ZRP - Ministry', also
missed this news peg and so did the rest of the Press. However, the paper
cited an unnamed Youth Ministry official - under whose portfolio the
National Youth Service falls - as saying the youths "were not necessarily an
extension of the police force and it was impossible for them to overtake the
police's responsibility".
Added the official: ".These are just young people who were trained to be
patriotic and, of course, they can effect a citizen's arrest just like any
other person."
Again the paper failed to ask the official why, if the youths did not wield
any special powers, they were acting like a terror group that exercised
extreme powers.
If the public Press tried to mask the identity of the group behind the
Chitungwiza food fracas, it also downplayed the political affiliations of 37
people arrested by the police for attempting to storm the state-run GMB
depot in Bulawayo over alleged unfair distribution of relief maize.
Both The Herald and Chronicle of the same day (7/1) carried similar
follow-up stories, on the court appearances of those arrested, but omitted
to inform their readers that the accused were either ZANU PF activists or
war veterans. Also, ZTV (6/01, 8pm) initially masked the political
affiliation of the culprits describing those who besieged the GMB as "some
residents of Bulawayo". It was later (9/01, 8pm) in its follow-up that the
station reported that the accused were ZANU PF supporters and war veterans.
Meanwhile, The Daily News (7/1) report on the court case did not display
such insincerity but observed that "scores of ZANU PF supporters crowded the
Western Commonage Court in solidarity with 37 of their colleagues arrested
after last Friday's food riots".
However, Bvudzijena could not divulge the political identity of the accused
although The Daily News (8/1) quoted him as saying the protesters
demonstrated at the instigation of politicians.
While most of the media appeared content to treat the food disturbances as
piecemeal, one-off events, The Financial Gazette put an interpretive touch
to it. It quoted political and economic commentators as warning that the
food riots could as well herald the beginning of a showdown between
government and a restless population facing unprecedented shortages of many
basic goods.
In fact, the private Press was replete with updates, hard news items and
features on the continued commodity shortages and the ever-increasing
hostile economic conditions in the country, worsened by a corruption
epidemic within the ranks of government's various relief distribution
chains.
Unfortunately, such professional zeal to adequately inform the public about
the true economic picture of the country was not matched by the public
media.
Instead, just like it did in its last year's coverage of the crippling
current fuel shortages, ZBC (6 &9/01, 8pm) narrowly blamed the food
shortages on corruption within the state-run GMB. The National Oil Company
of Zimbabwe, another parastatal, was equally accused of corruption, which
the public media alleged was the main cause of fuel shortages. But of course
they made no effort to inquire from government or the police what they were
doing to put an end to this corruption.

Ends.


The MEDIA UPDATE was produced and circulated by the Media Monitoring Project
Zimbabwe,15 Duthie Avenue, Alexandra Park, Harare, Tel/fax: 263 4 703702,
E-mail: monitors@mweb.co.zw; monitors@mmpz.org.zw

Feel free to write to MMPZ. We may not able to respond to everything but we
will look at each message.
For previous MMPZ reports, and more information about the Project, please
visit our website at http://www.mmpz.org.zw

africa: social forum condemns us aggression

2003-01-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/conflict/12705

The aggressive and militaristic approach to the world at large had little to do with the war on terror and everything to do with United States political domination over the world and its plunder of the world's resources for its own interests, said a resolution on United States aggression issued by the African Social Forum, held in Addis Ababa on January 6-7 2003. The resolution said it was "appalled" by the insistence of the United States to declare war on Iraq and rejected the use of United States military bases in Africa, such as those in Djibouti and Diego Garcia, to carry out this military aggression.

Resolution on United States aggression


The Africa Social Forum notes with grave concern the increasingly
domineering, aggressive and militaristic approach of the United
States towards the world at large.

It conducts this aggression in many ways:
* Frank military aggression, as is currently imminent against Iraq
* Support for oppressive and racist regimes, as in the case of
Israeli oppression of the Palestinian people
* Destabilisation of countries which have governments prepared
to pursue policies that run against its expansionary interests,
such as is happening in Venezuela
* The imposition of neoliberal economic policies so as to plunder
the economies of our countries, as reflected in the Africa
Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)

We note that this aggressive approach has nothing whatsoever to
do with its stated goal of countering terror. On the contrary, it has
everything to do with imposing its political domination over the
world and with plundering the world's resources for its own
interests. In particular, the bombing of Afghanistan, the imminent
war against Iraq, its approach to the Middle East and its
destabilisation of Venezuela are all motivated by its insistence on
gaining global control over oil.

The United States and Britain planned aggression against Iraq

We are appalled by the United States' insistence to declare war on
Iraq, despite the United Nations' investigating team coming up with
no tangible evidence to support United States' claims of the
stockpiling of weapons of mass destruction.

We declare our unqualified opposition to this act of aggression by
the United States government and the support given to the United
States in this regard by other governments, notably that of the
Britain.

We, furthermore, totally reject the use of United States military
bases in Africa, such as those in Djibouti and Diego Garcia, to carry
out this military aggression.

We call on African governments to resist pressure from the United
States, Britain and other governments in this regard and condemn
the use of "debt relief" and other inducements towards obtaining
African government support for or acceptance of their bellicose and
aggressive aims.

In this regard, we support the call of the Mauritius Platform Against
Bush Politics "for the immediate demilitarization of Diego Garcia,
reparations for the people of Chagos, and the closing of the base,
and the re-unification of Mauritius."

The United States and Israel against Palestine

We are totally opposed to the long term and recently intensified
support given by the United States government to the Israeli
regime in its oppression of the Palestinian people in the West
Bank, Gaza and Israel itself.

We support the bravery of the Palestinian people in their struggle
against the Israeli regime and their courage in forming a World
Social Forum on Palestine in Palestine.

We fully endorse the goal of the forum to promote "international
solidarity with the Palestinians. to establish an independent and
viable Palestinian state."

The United States against Venezuela

We object to the central role played by the United States in
fostering instability in Venezuela simply because the government
elected by the people of Venezuela does not serve the United
States government's interests.

We support the efforts by the people of Venezuela in demanding
their right to forge their own way forward in the interests of the
workers and poor of the country without the interference of the
United States.

The United States against Africa in Mauritius

We reject the unilateral imposition by the United States of the
misnamed Africa Growth and Opportunity Act on the continent of
Africa.

We oppose the attempt by the United States in the meeting taking
place in Mauritius this month to extract agreement from African
governments for the implementation of the act.

In this regard, we give our full support to the efforts of our Mauritian
allies and participants in the Africa Social Forum to protest the
United States on the occasion of this meeting. We endorse the
Platform Against Bush Politics and the stand it takes against AGOA
as well as United States interference and military aggression.

Conclusion

We recognise that the aggression against Iraq, Palestine and
Venezuela does not simply represents acts against the people of
these nations alone. They represent a message to the rest of the
peopleof the world that, if we do not bow down to Untied States'
interests, they will come after us as well.

In this regard, we note with concern the general lack of
condemnation by the governments of both the North and the South
of the United States' actions against Iraq, the Palestinian people,
Venezuela and the African continent.

But we will not be cowed into submission by United States
aggression. We will raise our voice against United States
aggression wherever it takes place. We will express our support for
all people struggling against this aggression.

The United States represents by far the most dangerous threat to
world peace and its actions amount to the daily violation of peace.
We are committed to intensifying our challenge to the United
States in the pursuit of world peace, democracy and well-being.

africa: US Senate Democrats Propose $900M in Emergency Relief for Africa

2003-01-23

http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=15555

Senate Democrats on Thursday introduced the Africa Famine Relief Act, which would provide $900 million in emergency relief for Africa, including $600 million in food aid, $200 million in disaster assistance and $100 million in HIV/AIDS-related aid, the Associated Press reports.

africa: World Obsessed with Iraq Must Not Ignore Africa

2003-01-23

http://www.oneworld.net/ips4/2003/01/16-1.shtml

The international community and the news media are paying too much attention to Iraq and too little to the calamities facing Africa, senior U.N. officials said Wednesday. The African continent, they warn, is being threatened by a famine, destabilised by an intense civil war in Ivory Coast and endangered by an AIDS epidemic made worse by a shortage of funds.

angola: Aid trucks reach the end of the earth

2003-01-23

http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?a=37&o=14575

By dawn, the convoy is ploughing through the bush, rolling east into a rising sun with 58 tonnes of emergency food for a settlement camp cut off without aid deep in Angola's famine territory. If these vehicles cannot make it, there is little chance of feeding the tens of thousands of people stranded in the province of Cuando Cubango, a wilderness so desolate it is known as "the land at the end of the earth".

Angola: From crisis to development

2003-01-23

http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=854

With peace seemingly entrenched after nearly three decades of civil war, Angolan society now strives for normalcy. But, warn observers, the end of the war is merely the beginning of a long, hard road to development.

burundi: zuma ends peace mission

2003-01-23

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31755

South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma ended on Thursday a four-day visit to Ethiopia and Burundi to gather support for the deployment of an African mission force in Burundi.

drc: Peace Process Threatened by Uganda and Rwanda Militias, Warns DRC Negotiator

2003-01-23

http://allafrica.com/stories/200301210055.html

Continuing violence backed by Rwanda and Uganda in Ituri and Kivu provinces, as well as in other areas could "derail" the peace process in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), warned representatives of the Congo government last Friday.

ivory coast: new violence hampers peace talks

2003-01-23

http://www.sabcnews.com/africa/west_africa/0,1009,51471,00.html

New violence has flared in Ivory Coast as the army fights rebels near the Liberian border, while rival factions in peace talks near Paris discuss a power-sharing pact aimed at ending civil war. The fighting in the west of the world's top cocoa producer was by far the heaviest since former colonial power France launched talks last week to try to end a four-month conflict it fears could spread through West Africa.

mozambique: nine hunger deaths confirmed

2003-01-23

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31850

Authorities have confirmed nine hunger-related deaths in an isolated area of north-western Mozambique. The country is among six nations in Southern Africa experiencing food shortages due largely to consecutive droughts, failed government policy and the impact of HIV/AIDS. About 15 million people face hunger in the six affected countries.

nigeria: nobel laurete warns of turmoil

2003-01-23

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=515&ncid=723&e=10&u=/ap/20030118/ap_on_re_af/nigeria_elections

Ethnic and political violence are likely to surge ahead of April presidential elections, Nobel laureate author Wole Soyinka said Friday. Soyinka, an outspoken critic of successive military regimes, said Nigeria was in an anarchic state in which normal government functions have been upended.

Sierra Leone: a year of peace but more work is needed

2003-01-23

http://www.christian-aid.org.uk/news/features/0301sierra.htm

A year after the official end of the decade-long war in Sierra Leone, the peace is enduring, but Christian Aid partners believe there is a long way to go before they can enjoy permanent peace. Abu Brima of Christian Aid partner Network Movement for Justice and Development (NMJD) says: "The war can only really be over when we begin to address some of the root causes."

SOMALIA: Humanitarian agencies unable to access Baidoa

2003-01-23

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31817

Ever since the outbreak of fighting in the southwestern town of Baidoa last July, humanitarian agencies have been unable to access the town, humanitarian sources told IRIN on Tuesday.

SOMALIA: Kenyan foreign minister, new mediator arrive in Eldoret

2003-01-23

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31847

Kenyan Foreign Minister Kalonzo Musyoka and the newly-appointed special envoy to Somalia, Ambassador Bethwel Kiplagat, have met Somali delegates gathered in the Kenyan town of Eldoret for peace talks. The minister was also expected to express the new government's commitment to the Somali peace process.
Related Link:
* Aydid opposed to presidential system
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31845

southern africa: 14m people hungry

2003-01-23

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=15305

Poverty and famine have left an estimated 14 million people across Southern Africa hungry, and hunger leaves people weak and vulnerable to disease, including HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. United Nations AIDS Agency (UNAIDS) representative, Bunmi Makinwa, explains that: "A person with HIV needs better nutrition - more calories and more proteins - to stay healthy."

southern africa: Small Arms Flood Southern Africa

2003-01-23

http://www.ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=15249

The 14 member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have a mutual security pact as the centerpiece of their organisation, and if for no other reason than the tide of destabilising illegal arms that passes through their countries. ‘'The traffic in small arms and weapons of war through the region shows how closely linked our nations are in matters of security, and how vulnerable each state is to the security lapses in other countries, particularly neighbouring countries,'' an officer with the South African military told IPS this week.

Southern Africa: The scramble for food

2003-01-23

http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=853

The year 2002 in Southern Africa was marked by a scramble for food by the over 14 million people who face starvation, and by humanitarian agencies begging international donors for the urgent funds needed to buy food and to prevent a catastrophe.

Sudan: Peace Talks to Resume This Week

2003-01-23

http://allafrica.com/stories/200301210054.html

Following a meeting on Thursday between President Omar Hassan el-Bashir and U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan, John Danforth, it has been announced that delayed peace talks between the government and the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement and Army (SPLM/A) will get underway on Wednesday, January 22, according to reports out of Khartoum and Nairobi.

sudan: Sudan's harvests of suffering

2003-01-23

http://www.indexonline.org/news/20030120_sudan.shtml

The US makes no secret of its desire to expand its oil imports from Africa, aware of its present dependence on the unstable Gulf producers. "It is undeniable," said US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Walter Kansteiner last year, "that this (oil) has become of national strategic interest to us." Will US tactics in Sudan duplicate its Iraqi strategy of selective support for undemocratic governments that bolster Washington's regional needs, followed by equally selective sanctions and finally threat of all-out war to secure essential oil reserves?

zimbabwe: IS ZIMBABWE ON THE BRINK OF GENOCIDE?

2003-01-23

http://zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=6007

When reports of killings and mass human rights violations reach the international community, the first response is always cautious. The first demand is for verification, whilst the second is usually conservative under-reaction. The machinery for dealing with mass human rights violations is inherently conservative, and this inevitably produces a significant time lag in responding to such situations, says a report prepared for ZWNEWS.

Zimbabwe: Mugabe exit plot thickens

2003-01-23

http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=836

Despite energetic denials from President Mugabe, speculation surrounding the future of his presidency intensified as more details emerged of an exit deal, put together by his closest associates. The latest initiative has placed Mugabe in a vulnerable position as his government openly admits its failure to cope with food and fuel shortages.

africa: African parliaments 'need science committees'

2003-01-23

http://www.scidev.net/indexts.asp?topsix=y#

A prominent Ugandan politician has urged all parliaments in African countries to set up science and technology committees to increase the effectiveness with which science and technology are integrated into economic and social development. The suggestion was made this week by Amuriat Oboi Patrick, the chair of a science and technology commission set up last year by the parliament of Uganda to do precisely that.

An Introduction to Weblogs

2003-01-23

http://www.techsoup.org/articlepage.cfm?articleid=439&topicid=5

What's a web blog? What do web blogs do? How can I blog? How can blogging benefit my organisation? Learn all you need to know to become a blogger by clicking on the link below.

Exploring the factors that hinder and help the development of Internet access in Africa

2003-01-23

http://www.acm.org/ubiquity/views/f_kofi_1.html

This article looks at the current state of Internet access in the African countries of Ghana, Kenya and South Africa. The different approaches for hooking onto the Internet backbone are discussed with a view to the availability and cost to Internet services for the community at large. This article further examines some causes of the current problems facing African countries and the high cost of Internet access to the ordinary person. Finally some initiatives to bridge the digital divide are presented and analysed in terms of how to maximize their returns.

ICTs and rural development: Interventions and opportunities for action

2003-01-23

http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=858

There is a current discussion on the role that ICTs potentially have to play in rural areas of the developing world. Its stated aim is to look beyond the current 'digital divide' debate, which focuses on information disparities to assess the potential role of ICTs in the context of current rural development paradigms.

NEW SOFTWARE PROVIDES SECURE WORLDWIDE TRACKING AND DOCUMENTATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES

2003-01-23

http://www.martus.org/project_update.html

The Benetech Initiative, a Silicon Valley nonprofit, has announced the release of The Martus Human Rights Bulletin System, an open source technology tool designed to assist human rights organisations in collecting, safeguarding, organising and disseminating information about human rights abuses. Currently, much of the violation and abuse information gathered by grassroots human rights groups is lost to confiscation, destruction, or neglect, making it difficult or impossible for prosecutors, truth commissions and others to use the information as evidence to hold the perpetrators of human rights abuses accountable for many of their crimes. The Martus software enables grassroots NGOs to securely store their records on off-site servers with easy-to-use software, preserving crucial evidence for research, investigation and prosecutions.

WSIS discussion list

2003-01-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/enewsl/12692

The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) NGO Gender Strategies Working Group (WN-GSWG) is pleased to announce the structure and corresponding schedule of the NGOwomen@genderit.org discussion, an electronic mailing list that is one of the group's efforts in strategising and organising women's participation in the WSIS process.

FROM: Wougnet, http://www.wougnet.org

With nearly all of the planned regional preparatory meetings for the World
Summit on the Information Society completed and the Second Preparatory
Committee meeting fast approaching, the WSIS NGO Gender Strategies Working
Group (WN-GSWG)* considers this a most opportune time to begin sharing and
discussing our lobbying points and strategies for the Summit.

The WN-GSWG is pleased to announce the structure and corresponding schedule of
the NGOwomen@genderit.org discussion, an electronic mailing list that is one of
the group's efforts in strategising and organising women's participation in the
WSIS process.

NGOwomen@genderit.org aims to build on the current initiatives on gender and
ICTs and further enrich discussions for the benefit of all women. Specifically,
it will serve as a venue to:

* Share information on the different activities around WSIS including the
regional and Preparatory Committee meetings, the 47th session of the UN
Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), the Asian Social Forum, the World
Social Forum, the 8th International Congress of the World Association of
Community Broadcasters (AMARC) and other discussion spaces on gender and ICT,
particularly those pertaining to NGO women's initiatives;

* Develop women's lobbying positions and strategies around WSIS within the
civil society formations and bring in the civil society inputs to the WSIS
Multi-stakeholder Gender Caucus discussions
(http://www.wougnet.org/WSIS/wsisgc.html)

* Share strategies, resources including documents, researches, and publications
as well as regular updates from civil society organisations to ensure effective
women's participation in civil society activities and NGO women's participation
in the governmental and intergovernmental processes; and

* Create a platform for strategising and organising various forms of women's
participation in the different gender and ICT forums.

The structure and schedule of discussion follows:

=====================
20-26 January -- introduction /orientation on WSIS

27 Jan - 02 February -- Sharing from the regions
-- focusing on the specific outcomes of the regional meetings and the positions
taken by women's groups in the different regional meetings.
-- sharing and discussion on other preparatory events including those taking
place at the national level

03-16 February -- developing the lobbying positions and strategising for the
2nd Preparatory Committee meeting (PrepCom II Geneva, Feb 17-28)

17-28 February - reports from the PrepCom II -- reactions, questions, inputs
from those who are not physically present at the Prep Com

3-14 March - reports from the 47th Session of the UN CSW and other meetings
tackling ICT and gender issues -- reactions, questions, inputs from those who
are not physically present at the CSW

--planning for common/joint actions during the actual summit in December

15-30 March -- Wrap up
=======================

To subscribe to the list:

You can visit the following URL to subscribe:
http://mailman.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/ngowomen
or write to karenb@apcwomen.org

For further inquiries, please write to the facilitators:
Mavic Cabrera-Balleza mavic@isiswomen.org (Isis International-Manila)
Karen Banks karenb@apcwomen.org (Association for Progressive Communication-
Women's Networking Support Programme)
-------

* The WSIS NGO Gender Strategies Group was formed at the first WSIS PrepCom
Meeting in Geneva in July 2002 as one of the sub-committees of the Civil
Society Coordinating Group (CSCG). The groups involved in this effort are: the
African Women's Development and Communications Network (FEMNET), Agencia Latino
Americana de Informacion, Association for Progressive
Communication-Women's Networking Support Programme, International Women's
Tribune Centre, and Isis International-Manila.

_______________________________________________
Apcwomen-meet mailing list
Apcwomen-meet@apcwomen.org
http://mailman.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/apcwomen-meet

wsis prepcom mailing list

FROM: Balancing Act's News Update, http://www.balancingact-africa.com/

2003-01-23

https://ssl.cpsr.org/mailman/listinfo/wsis-prep1/

Concerns are being expressed over the reports that the International Telecommunications Union plans to propose at the WSIS summit in December 2003 the creation of an international cyberspace treaty to set forth basic rules on Internet taxation, copyright protection and crime prevention. Join the WSIS PrepCom 1 Mailing List (https://ssl.cpsr.org/mailman/listinfo/wsis-prep1/) to find out more and discuss the issue.

Djibouti:US to open aid office in Djibouti

2003-01-23

http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,6119,2-11-1447_1310041,00.html

US President George W Bush discussed possible war against Iraq with Djibouti President Ismael Omar Guelleh on Tuesday and said the United States would soon open an aid office in the tiny African nation. During a cordial half-hour meeting, Bush thanked his guest for his help in the war on terrorism and told him that Washington aims to open an office of the US Agency for International Development in Djibouti.

Pan Africa: UK to continue African aid

2003-01-23

http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,6119,2-11-1447_1309417,00.html

Britain will not abandon its development projects in Africa even if war breaks out in Iraq, said British International Development Secretary Clare Short. Britain currently spends £600m ($900m) on development assistance in Africa and plans to increase this number to one billion pounds by 2005-2006.

South Africa: Kids for Africa and Africa Foundation raise funds for rural school

2003-01-23

http://www.thusanang.org.za/index.php?option=news&task=viewarticle&sid=162

The South African-based Africa Foundation and US-based Kids for Africa have struck a partnership to encourage students to raise funds for rural schools. Their "Lights for Learning" initiative is targeting US$10,000 to electrify a rural school near Durban. Other partnership initiatives in the pipeline will fundraise for environmental projects.

South Africa: Mandela SOS music concert called off

2003-01-23

http://www.thusanang.org.za/index.php?option=news&task=viewarticle&sid=161

Latest media reports about the Mandela SOS music concert reveal that it's not "all systems go" for the concert as reported earlier on Thusanang. According to the Sunday Times, the concert was called off on Friday last week due to contractual problems. The Nelson Mandela Foundation's head, John Samuel, cited the inability of US producers to come to a satisfactory agreement with the foundation as the main reason for the cancellation of the concert. Revenue generated from TV rights from around the world was to be donated to the Foundation and the UN for the fight against Aids.

South Africa: Youth campaigners still waiting for funds from the NDA

2003-01-23

http://www.thusanang.org.za/index.php?option=news&task=viewarticle&sid=153

The Whittlesea Anti-Aids Youth Campaigners (WAAYC) are still waiting to receive an NDA grant allocated to them in 2001, reports the Daily Dispatch. The NGO is working with people affected and infected with Aids and it also helps with home-based care to those living with the virus. The organisation was supposed to have received the allocated grant in April last year.

Zambia: State pleads for donor funding

2003-01-23

http://www.zamnet.zm/newsys/news/viewnews.cgi?category=3&id=1043304451

President Levy Mwanawasa says his New Deal Government is unable to complete phase two of a magistrates court complex because of financial constraints and appealed to cooperating partners to assist. Mr Mwanawasa said it was Government’s wish that the project was fully completed as designed, but lacked the capacity to embark on the construction of phase II which required US$2 million dollars.

7th Southern Africa Domestic Resource Mobilisation Workshop

Maseru, Lesotho, 11th to 13th February, 2003

2003-01-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/courses/12686

MWENGO, the Lesotho Council of NGOs are please to confirm that the 7th Domestic Resource Mobilisation Workshop will take place at the National Convention Centre in Maseru, Lesotho from the 11th to 13th February, 2003.
7th Southern Africa Domestic Resource Mobilisation Workshop

MWENGO, the Lesotho Council of NGOs are please to confirm that the 7th
Domestic Resource Mobilisation Workshop will take place at the National
Convention Centre in Maseru, Lesotho from the 11th to 13th February, 2003. 
Objectives
To provide:
. a market place for ideas on local resource mobilisation
. a platform for sharing skills on resource mobilisation and
fundraising
. an opportunity for NGOs to network with each other around
the subject of local resource mobilisation
and to . launch the campaign - "Reviving the Culture of Giving" in
Lesotho
The theme for the 2003 workshop is "Making Local Resources Count".
As in previous ones, the workshop will bring together NGO leaders, senior
staff and board members, donors, representatives of the corporate sector and
of relevant government departments.  Organisations may send any number of
participants to the workshop.
Contact MWENGO (att. T.S. Muyoya)
Tel 263 4 721469/700090 Fax 263 4 738 310
e-mail: mail@mwengo.orh.zw / ts@mwengo.org.zw

International HIV/AIDS Treatment Education and Advocacy Summit

Cape Town, South Africa, 13 - 16 March 2003

2003-01-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/courses/12688

An international coalition of HIV/AIDS organisations and individual advocates are sponsoring a four-day global summit on "treatment preparedness" in March 2003 in Cape Town, South Africa. "Treatment preparedness" is a term used to describe HIV/AIDS treatment education and advocacy efforts that are designed to increase access to and demand for HIV/AIDS treatment and prepare communities for safe and effective use of HIV therapies.
International HIV/AIDS Treatment Education and Advocacy Summit
--------------------------------------------------------------

13 - 16 March 2003
Cape Town, South Africa

Deadline to receive the application: January 31, 2003.

An international coalition of HIV/AIDS organizations and individual
advocates are sponsoring a four-day global summit on "treatment pre-
paredness" in March 2003 in Cape Town, South Africa.

"Treatment preparedness" is a term used to describe HIV/AIDS treat-
ment education and advocacy efforts that are designed to increase ac-
cess to and demand for HIV/AIDS treatment and prepare communities for
safe and effective use of HIV therapies. We are using the term
"HIV/AIDS treatment" to encompass a broad range of treatment and care
interventions, including, but not limited to, treatment of opportun-
istic infections and sexually transmitted infections, palliative
care, and antiretroviral therapy.

The International HIV/AIDS Treatment Education and Advocacy Summit
will be a relatively small gathering of approximately 125 people. The
primary goal of the meeting is to create a framework for the develop-
ment, maintenance and enhancement of local and regional treatment
preparedness efforts around the world.

To our knowledge, this is the first global summit that will be evalu-
ating treatment preparedness efforts worldwide. The summit will also
be the first chance for many people working on treatment education
and advocacy around the world to meet and discuss their work. Fi-
nally, the summit will offer an opportunity to strategize about solu-
tions to systemic challenges that affect treatment advocacy and edu-
cation efforts.

The Summit will have four main sections:

The first section will consist of regional reports about treatment
access and education. Presenters from five regions will answer these
questions:

* What is the state of treatment availability in the region?
* What treatment advocacy efforts are happening in the region?
* What treatment education efforts are happening in the region?

Regional subcommittees of the organizing committee will prepare these
reports in advance of the summit.

The five regions are:
* Eastern Europe and the States of the Former Soviet Union/Central
Asia;
* Africa;
* United States, Canada and Western Europe;
* Latin America and the Caribbean; and
* Asia-Pacific (East Asia and Pacific, South and Southeast Asia, in-
cluding Australia, New Zealand and Japan).

The second section of the meeting is dedicated to identifying needs,
obstacles, and models for strengthening treatment advocacy and educa-
tion, including:

* Identifying models for treatment education materials in various
forms;
* Defining the components of a "minimum" package of treatment educa-
tion services and information;
* Defining treatment advocacy;
* Determining local and regional advocacy needs;
* Discussing how to start and strengthen treatment education and
treatment advocacy programs, and
* Identifying and overcoming challenges to our progress in treatment
education and advocacy.

The third section of the meeting will give participants the opportu-
nity to meet with other advocates and educators from their regions to
discuss:
* specific regional needs;
* how to apply ideas and strategies raised during the meeting in a
local setting;
* how regional networks and information sharing can be built and/or
strengthened, and
* the organization of regional meetings on treatment education and
advocacy.

The fourth section of the meeting will be devoted to systemic issues,
including:
* Identifying and securing funding for local and regional efforts;
* Establishing resource centers for treatment preparedness materials;
* Technical assistance;
* Collaborating and creating linkages with health care providers,
drug treatment and harm reduction providers, NGOs, and others who
provide HIV care and education; and
* Global and regional advocacy efforts.

Airfare, accommodation, meals and a small per diem will be offered to
all applicants that are selected by the ITP working group to attend
the summit.

To learn more about the International HIV/AIDS Treatment Education
and Advocacy Summit, please
mailto:treatmentpreparedness2003@yahoo.com

Reposted from AFRO-NETS, http://www.afronets.org

OXFORD UNIVERSITY ACCREDITED COURSE ON FUNDRAISING AND RESOURCE MOBILISATION

final call for applicants: Adilisha distance learning course for non-profit human rights and advocacy organisations

2003-01-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/courses/12690

Fahamu, in association with the Department for Continuing Education at the University of Oxford, will be offering courses specifically designed to meet the needs of non-profit human rights and advocacy organisations in the SADC region (Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe). Developed together with international and regional experts, seven courses will be run in the course of the next 8 months. Fundraising and resource mobilisation may be a high priority on your list, but in the kind of context you are operating in, the prospects of raising sufficient funds might not be so good. In order to be effective - in order to bring about equity and justice - you need to be able to effectively fundraise and mobilise your resources, and effect change. And yet many of you are not able to do this. That's what this course is for.

FINAL CALL FOR APPLICANTS:
 
OXFORD UNIVERSITY ACCREDITED COURSE ON FUNDRAISING AND RESOURCE MOBILISATION
 
Adilisha distance learning course for non-profit human rights and advocacy organisations
 
This is a final call for applicants for the Adilisha distance learning course, Fundraising and resource mobilisation for non-profit human rights and advocacy organisations in the SADC region.
 
Fahamu, in association with the Department for Continuing Education at the University of Oxford, will be offering courses specifically designed to meet the needs of non-profit human rights and advocacy organisations in the SADC region (Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe). Developed together with international and regional experts, seven courses will be run in the course of the next 8 months.
 
Applications are now opened for:
 
Fundraising and resource mobilization
Fundraising and resource mobilisation may be a high priority on your list, but in the kind of context you are operating in, the prospects of raising sufficient funds might not be so good. In order to be effective - in order to bring about equity and justice - you need to be able to effectively fundraise and mobilise your resources, and effect change. And yet many of you are not able to do this. That's what this course is for.
 
This courses involves distance learning from interactive materials on CDROM with support from a course tutor via email. In addition there will be a workshop in the region and assignments and one major project.
 
The course will comprise three phases:
 
Phase One: You will be supplied with interactive learning materials on CDROM to use at home or at your workplace. You will be supported via email by a course tutor. You will be required to complete a series of assignments over a period of approximately eight weeks.
 
Phase Two: This will involve an intensive workshop in southern Africa lasting for about 5 days depending on the course you are registered for. The workshop is compulsory.
 
Phase Three: This phase will last about eight weeks and will involve you carrying out an assignment within your organisation. You will be supported via email by a course tutor and submit your work for assessment.
 
Those successfully completing this exercise will be awarded with a Certificate of Completion from the University of Oxford.
 
This project is supported by the European Union, the British Department for International Development, and the Canadian International Development Research Centre. Funding is available to cover fees, travel and accommodation for up to 15 persons per course from within the SADC region. Successful applicants would however, be expected to pay a registration fee of USD250.
 
Requests for course information and application forms and procedures may be directed to our website (www.fahamu.org) or email Camille Downes at camille@fahamu.org.za or phone her on +27-31-207 1144/8360. APPLICATIONS CLOSE ON 24 JANUARY 2003. The COURSE STARTS ON 10 FEBRUARY 2003 AND ENDS ON 6 JULY 2003.

The West African Computing, Telecommunications & Broadcasting Conference and Expo

Accra International Conference Centre, 14-16 May 2003

2003-01-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/courses/12664

AITEC WEST AFRICA 2003 is a highly interactive event for senior executives in government and the private sector who are seeking new insights into important strategic issues. Participants will exchange views, network and compare experiences with other key decision-makers and with expert speakers from the Information and Technology industry.


AITEC WEST AFRICA 2003
The West African Computing, Telecommunications & Broadcasting Conference and Expo
Accra International Conference Centre
14-16 May 2003
THEME : HARNESSING THE POTENTIAL AND OPPORTUNITIES OF ICTs FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT : WORDS INTO ACTION
AITEC WEST AFRICA 2003 is highly interactive event for senior executives in government and private sector seeking new insights into important strategic issues. Participants will exchange views, network and compare experiences with other key decision-makers and with experts' speakers from Information and Technology industry.
CALL FOR PAPERS
DAY ONE -WEDNESDAY 14
KEY NOTE:
HARNESSING THE POTENTIAL AND OPPORTUNITIES OF ICTs FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: WORDS INTO ACTION
POLICY
Are ICT Policies in West Africa enabling Innovation?
GOVERNMENT IT
· Participatory Democracy and Development: Role of e-Government and e-Governance

INNOVATION
· Who funds Innovation?

HARNESSING BRAIN POWER
· ICTs in Education: Matching Academic Training with Industry Requirements
· Capacity Building- Training and Coaching your Team
· Methods for Measuring Website Success
· Barrier or Facilitator? How does the Information Technology Teams work hand in hand with other departments?

CONTENT AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
· Creation and Localization of Content using ICTs
· ICTs- the Engine for Knowledge and Information Sharing

INTERNET AND E-COMMERCE
· Privacy Challenges for Internet Users in Ghana
· Harnessing the Potential and Opportunities of The Internet for Sustainable Development

BANKING AND FINANCE
· Towards a Cashless Society: The Role Of Banks and Financial Sector in Ghana
· Transactional Convergence: Opportunities and Challenges

TELECOMMUNICATIONS
· Telecommunications; Building Demand for Broadband
· Avoiding Last Mile Pains: What can Wireless Access Offer
· Towards A Level Playing Field: The Public Interest in Regulating Communications Technologies

Day Two - Thursday May 15

HANDS ON WORKSHOPS
· Linux and Open Source Workshop- Comprehensive demonstrations on most aspects of Linux and Open Source
· Power Leadership Training for Information, Technology and Communication Managers
· VSAT Workshop, in association with the Global VSAT Forum
· Securing the Enterprise: Re-engineering Information Technology Security for your Organization

Day Three - Friday May 16
· Business Partner Forum
· Networking and Exhibition
· National Forum on ICTs ( Public Forum on the past, present and future of ICTs in Ghana)

PRESENTATION PROPOSALS
We hereby invite Organizations and individuals to propose presentations or papers for the conference. Presentation outline and biographical note on the presenter should be e-mail to kwami@aitecafrica.com

Closing Date: 28th February 2003

AITEC GHANA
Kwami Ahiabenu,II
Tel: +233-21-7012137
kwami@aitecafrica.com

AITEC UK
Sean Moroney
Tel: +44-1480-831300
sean@aitecafrica.com

drc: programme director

International Human Rights Law Group

2003-01-23

http://www.reliefweb.int/w/res.nsf/wDocs/64D58477B2A31EC8C1256CAE007F3902

The International Human Rights Law Group is a non-profit organisation of human rights and legal professionals and activists engaged in advocacy, training and litigation around the world. The Law Group's mission is to empower human rights advocates and defenders at the national level to expand the scope of human rights protection for men and women, and to promote broad participation in building human rights standards at the national, regional and international levels.

mozambique: managing director

World Relief

2003-01-23

http://www.reliefweb.int/w/res.nsf/wDocs/3313757081662FC9C1256CA90068BCF1

The purpose of this job is to guide the development of Fundo de Credíto Comunitário as it becomes a regulated financial institution which promotes sustainable growth among the economically active poor in Mozambique.

rwanda: country director

Internews Network

2003-01-23

http://www.comminit.com/vacancy1161.html

An experienced video journalist and project manager to serve in Kigali as Country Director, providing technical advise and training to Internews staff in Rwanda as they continue to produce bi-monthly video newsreels on the justice process for Rwanda is needed. In addition, the Country Director manages the programme budget and coordinates development of budgets for continued programme activities. French language skills, report and proposal writing ability required.

Sierra Leone: Investigators

Sierra Leone TRC

2003-01-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/jobs/12817

The Sierra Leone TRC is currently looking for up to six investigators to work on a one year contract pursuing the objectives of the TRC, that is, the investigation of violations of human rights and international humanitarian law during the conflict in Sierra Leone from 1991 to 1999. The positions are rated at approximately the P4-P5 level, and salary can run up to about $7,000 per month. Please send c.v.s and other relevant information to zoedugal@hotmail.com

tanzania: Country Director

CORD (Christian Outreach - Relief and Development)

2003-01-23

http://www.reliefweb.int/w/res.nsf/wDocs/D348B649497EEA03C1256CAD00429DB5

Urgently required to manage a large operation which provides community service and health programmes for over 130,000 Congolese refugees in three camps, and a community development programme in western Tanzania.

uganda: DIRECTOR

Path/African Youth Alliance

2003-01-23

http://www.comminit.com/vacancy1149.html

The Director of the PATH/AYA Uganda project office provides day-to-day management of the Kampala office and its staff, representing PATH/AYA at partner meetings and is accountable to the Adolescent Health Strategic Programme Leader and senior PATH management for ensuring that project deliverables and timelines are met. Ideal candidate will have experience living and working in Anglophone Africa with demonstrated cross-cultural skills.

zimbabwe: head of mission

Action Against Hunger

2003-01-23

http://www.reliefweb.int/w/res.nsf/wDocs/769BB75137315BB5C1256CAD0048C36B

The Head of Mission is in overall charge of all aspects of the Mission in the field. The HoM coordinates the programmes and represents Action Against Hunger in meetings with local authorities, other agencies and donors. He/she also manages the expatriate team, oversees the budgets, administration and local staff. The HoM is the link person between the Desk Officer in HQ and the field team for all aspects of the mission's running and for development of the mission strategy.

Fahamu