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peace
Libya, Africa and the new world order: An open letter
To the peoples of Africa and the world from concerned Africans
2011-08-09, Issue 544
cc M PWe, the undersigned, are ordinary citizens of Africa who are immensely pained and angered that fellow Africans are and have been subjected to the fury of war by foreign powers which have clearly repudiated the noble and very relevant vision enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.
Human rights, livelihoods and Ubuntu for the 21st century
Horace Campbell
2010-12-09, Issue 509
cc B JWe cannot separate ‘the question of human rights and Ubuntu – our linked humanity and our peaceful coexistence with planet earth’ in the pursuit of ‘international peace and security’, writes Horace Campbell.
Insanity and robotisation: Militarisation and US society
Horace Campbell
2010-11-18, Issue 505
cc ghbrettOn the strength of the ‘psychological warfare and mind control’ inflicted on its citizens, US society’s increasing militarisation should be treated with acute concern, writes Horace Campbell.
Peace more in Kenyan hands than the ICC’s
Leigh Brownhill and Kiama Kaara
2010-11-10, Issue 504
cc DemoshWhile the ICC (International Criminal Court) may do its part in ending an entrenched culture of impunity in Kenya, write Leigh Brownhill and Kiama Kaara, it is the Kenyan people, not the ICC, that will play the bigger part in achieving the noble but elusive goal of peace.
MDGs, women and peace: Towards uMunthu
Steve Sharra
2010-09-23, Issue 497
cc A JAs New York hosts the 2010 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) summit this week, Steve Sharra considers the problems behind advancing gender equality and the absence of peace education from the goals.
Teaching uMunthu for global peace
Reflections on International Day of Peace
Steve Sharra
2010-09-23, Issue 497
cc ILRIWith youth and development as the thematic focus of this year’s International Day of Peace, Steve Sharra shares insights from the country’s primary school classrooms into how to define and understand peace from a Malawian perspective.
Global: Is the G8 fit for purpose?
2009-07-17, Issue 442
Many commentators and development professionals echoed this refrain during the G8 2009 summit held in Italy from July 8 - 10. The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, added his voice to the veritable cascade of dissension by declaring that the G8 “will...
Kenya's civil society needs a new vision
Zaya Yeebo
2009-07-02, Issue 440
cc MothersFightingForOthersWhile acknowledging that Kenya's Grand Coalition Government (GCG) has given rise to much debate and commentary, Zaya Yeebo argues that civil society's ability to influence change without violence is often ignored. Though other African countries see their people's voices expressed through groups such as trade unions and youth organisations, Kenyans' voices are muted by the noisy contestations of the country's political elites. The tendency of the last few years to 'franchise' the role of civil society out to international NGOs must be challenged, Yeebo contends, and Kenyans must look to the recent examples provided by Ghana, Sierra Leone and South Africa of how people power can bring about change. But while Kenyan civil society can draw inspiration and even support from outside, it alone must work to stoke popular pressure if effective and lasting political reform is to be achieved, Yeebo concludes.
Promoting women's land rights at the 13th AU summit
Lyn Ossome
2009-06-25, Issue 439
cc MaristellaWith Sirte, Lybia, hosting the 13th African Union summit this week, Lyn Ossome of Solidarity for African Women's Rights (SOAWR) challenges African heads of state to keep women's land rights on the developmental agenda. At a time of marked global economic difficulty, women remain acutely vulnerable to unstable food prices and restricted access to land, meaning that African governments must now more than ever challenge discriminatory laws and customs, Ossome argues. If the AU's summit is offer progress, Ossome contends, African heads of state must make strong commitments to policies favourable to women's empowerment such as subsidising non-industrial agriculture and securing women's land tenure.
Unfinished business: Moving Kenya forward
Korir Sing’Oei
2009-06-18, Issue 438
cc wikimedia.orgWith Kenya still in the throes of an entrenched crisis, Korir Sing’Oei considers the broader history behind the deficiencies of the country's political system. Arguing that there are clear similarities to be drawn between events such as the state's response to the 1963 Shifta War and today's military crackdowns at Mt. Elgon, Sing’Oei stresses that the government continues to have a single method of conflict resolution, that of state-sponsored violence. But if Kenya's dream of a new constitution is to come to fruition, Sing’Oei concludes, there must be firm resolve to see accountability for its leadership, beginning on the first day of the country's truth commission with an apology from President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga for the post-election violence.
Sierra Leone: Wave of violence or wake-up call?
Lisa Denney
2009-06-18, Issue 438
cc Radio Nederland WereldomroepRecent rioting and violence in Freetown and the east of Sierra Leone has brought into focus the fragility of the post-conflict peace, held in place since 2002, writes Lisa Denney. At first glance, says Denney, it points to a new breed of trouble in the West African nation, a harbinger of the party political and ethnic violence that some predict will be the next great challenge faced by the country. Not just the work of criminal elements, the riots belie the potential for a new wave of violence that requires serious prevention efforts, Denney cautions. But events since the violence have taken a surprising turn, with inter-party tensions prompting youth cooperation, rather than escalating conflict. Thus a seemingly low-point in party politics may prove to be a necessary wake up call that quells rising tensions, rather than fuelling them, Denney suggests.
Obama in Cairo: Equivalences and silences
Paul T Zeleza
2009-06-11, Issue 437
cc Soldiers Media CenterPresident Obama’s speech to the Muslim world delivered on 4 June was ‘powerful’ and ‘smart’, but PT Zeleza finds himself most interested in its ‘equivalences and silences’. With reference to media reactions and commentary from different parts of the world, Zeleza looks at Obama’s framing of the relationship between the US and Islam, the parallels Obama draws between the civil rights movement in the United States and Palestinian resistance, and Obama’s failure to ‘fully address one of the fundamental reasons for the estrangement of the so-called Muslim world from the United States: The latter's support for authoritarian regimes’. The United States ‘would do itself a lot of good if it curtailed its propensities for destructive interventions around the world’, says Zeleza, while ‘the so-called Muslim world’ would benefit from building ‘truly democratic developmental states’.
What the US wants from Ghana
Asare Otchere-Darko
2009-06-11, Issue 437
cc flickr.comAn understanding of US interests is crucial for Ghana if it is to capitalise on the immense opportunity provided by the President Obama's July visit, writes Asare Otchere-Darko. Following a deepwater oil find in 2007, Ghana's pending oil-rich status has made it the subject of strategic US energy and military interests, and raising the stakes of Ghana–US relations, Otchere-Darko argues. As the US's preferred physical location for the US African Command (AFRICOM) headquarters and with the superpower concerned not to cede strategic ground to China in the region, Ghana has an unprecedented hand to play in this round of international diplomacy. The task of Ghanaians, says Otchere-Darko, is to ensure that Ghana comes away with concrete deliverables that help meet its own strategic goals, rather than simply being the honoured recipients of President Obama's first visit to Africa.
Zapiro: ‘Zapping’ for democracy
Annar Cassam
2009-06-04, Issue 436
cc G RohrigAs South African President Jacob Zuma starts legal proceedings against renowned cartoonist Zapiro, for sketches based on Zuma’s appearances in court on rape and corruption charges in 2008, Annar Cassam writes that she isn’t a fan of some of Zapiro’s work either. Cassam comments on two of Zapiro’s cartoons, one which depicts his own personal angst after having ‘lost faith’ in the ANC, and the other which shows what he thinks lies ahead for the majority of voters who voted for the ANC because of what the leadership promised them. Quoting Nelson Mandela, Cassam speaks of the need for South Africans to combine their ‘collective wisdom’ and the ‘talents and energies’ to address the glaring inequalities together. Cassam argues that Zapiro’s cartoons make a mockery of the aspirations of impoversished voters, and encourages citizens to switch parties rather than work with the ANC, which she argues, ‘remains the most important and the most inclusive organisation for the average South African’.
Kenya: An unprecedented state of violence
ACHPR urged to take action on human rights violations
Kenya Human Rights Commission
2009-05-21, Issue 433
cc flickr.comThe Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) has urged the ACHPR to adopt a resolution to address the Kenyan government on its obligations to protect and promote the rights of all people and its duty to hold violators to account through criminal prosecution. The criminalisation of peaceful demonstrations and the rise in extra-judicial killings are evidence of the government’s failure to act on recommendations made by commissions of inquiry into the presidential elections and post election violence, say KHRC. The body also wants ACHPR to send a fact-finding mission to Kenya including special rapporteurs on human rights and human rights defenders, women, freedom of information and refugees; and to ‘address and inform the AU summit on the factual situation and risks in Kenya’.
Kenya: One year on
Shailja Patel
2009-01-29, Issue 417
2008 began for Kenyans with the murder of Kenya’s democracy. It ended with the son of a Kenyan migrant winning the US presidential race. In editing this special issue of Pambazuka News, ‘Kenya – one year on’, our guest editor, Shailja Patel, says the questions that arise apply to both these historic events.
How the Kenyan Left pulled Kenya back from the brink
Internal energy and external fire
Shailja Patel
2009-01-29, Issue 417
On the strength of her ‘Kenya Bulletin’ delivered at South Africa’s ‘Time of the Writer Festival’in March 2008, Shailja Patel discusses the pivotal influence of the Kenyan Left in pulling Kenya back from the brink. Patel stresses the necessity of telling, recording and perpetuating this narrative as a tale of seemingly insurmountable odds, the triumph of civil society organisation, and the instrumental role of Kenyans for Peace, Truth and Justice (KPTJ).
Unfinished business from Kriegler’s IREC
Kenyans for Peace with Truth and Justice (KPTJ)
2009-01-29, Issue 417
Highlighting the severe limitations of the IREC’s (Independent Review of Election Commission) Kriegler report, Kenyans for Peace, Truth and Justice (KPTJ) offers a damning analysis of the commission’s full report on the Kenyan electoral process. Noting the IREC’s inability to corroborate its primary evidence and testimonies, KPTJ argues that the commission effectively did everything possible to avoid getting to the truth. Concluding that the Kriegler report has manifestly failed to provide Kenya with a roadmap for adequately analysing the action of the ECK (Electoral Commission of Kenya), KPTJ contends that a key opportunity to restore Kenyans’ faith in the power of the ballot box has been lost.
Ending impunity
Kenyans for Peace with Truth and Justice (KPTJ)
2009-01-29, Issue 417
In this article, Kenyans For Peace, Truth and Justice (KPTJ) look in great detail at the Waki Report. “The setting up of a Special Tribunal to seek accountability from persons bearing the greatest responsibility for serious violations relating to the 2007 elections” is the most important call by the report. But also constructively criticising the report, KPTJ argues the Waki report stresses reform over a complete overhaul of some of the governnment agencies responsible for the gross crimes against the Kenyan people.
Obama and US policy towards Africa
Horace Campbell
2009-01-15, Issue 415
As Obama takes over the presidency of the United States, Horace Campbell contextualizes an Obama presidency in the realities of Africa and the ongoing global finance crisis. He argues that “capitalism should not be reconstituted and rebuilt on the backs and bodies of Africans." For Campbell, the crisis is not simply a cyclical crisis of capitalism; it is a fundamental shift in the global political and economic order. In light of this fast changing world, Campbell is also interested in the possibilities and our responsibilities in bringing about change in and for Africa.
Amnesties and the International Criminal Court?
Jegede Ademola Oluborode
2008-09-10, Issue 396
(We) are unable to forgive what (we) cannot punish and (we) are unable to punish what has turned out to be unforgivable - Hannah Arendt [1] INTRODUCTION The granting of amnesty [2] is by no means new in history. Religious testaments, notably th...
Post 9/11 aid, security agenda and the African state
Shastry Njeru
2008-08-26, Issue 394
The nexus between aid, security and development is now beyond doubt. In fact, security is a precondition for development. The often cited ‘no development without security, no security without development’ captures this interconnectivity (Dochas 2007)...
Ten years after the Nairobi bomb blast
Catherine Cutcher
2008-08-12, Issue 393
It was August 7, 1998. Suicide bombers exploded 700 kilos of TNT in a truck outside of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. The bomb blast ended the lives of 257 people, injured 6,000, and destroyed a fragile peace in a bustling city. At the same time, another explosion rocked the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. A little-known terrorist network named al Qaeda organized the attacks, led by Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden....
Obama and Palestine
Sameh A. Habeeb
2008-08-11, Issue 393
We, Palestinians, are aspiring to any glimpse of hope to establishing our promising country of Palestine. Originally, that glimpse of hope grew when Israelis realized in the nineties that a real peace will not be achieved apart from an Independent Palestinian state. That time, the world agreed on that concept and peace deal (Oslo) was held in Washington D.C, after the first Bush had left office....
Invoking Mandela: How do we make democracy work for the poor?
Fazila Farouk
2008-07-30, Issue 391
It's just been a few weeks since Nelson Mandela was taken off the United States terrorism watch list. No doubt so that they too could join in the celebrations of this living icon, without the embarrassment of hoisting up a revolutionary....
Africa and the fate of MDGs
Mildred K Barya
2008-07-30, Issue 391
When I was young and impressionable I had this grand vision of saving the world. It was so easy to dream up a free and fair world where sanity, justice and good health prevailed. It was even easier to engage in activities that could quicken the comin...
AU Summit and G8 Review
Rotimi Sankore
2008-07-30, Issue 391
1. AU MEMBER STATES MUST STRENGTHEN CAPACITY OF THE AU COMMISSION AND ASSEMBLY OF HEADS OF STATES TO COPE SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH LONG-TERM DEVELOPMENT GOALS, AND ‘EMERGENCY’ ISSUES SUCH AS ZIMBABWE:...
Statement on the ICC
Communist Party of Sudan
2008-07-30, Issue 391
Statement of the Communist Party of Sudan The inclusion of the name of the President of the Republic of the Sudan among those wanted for justice by the International Criminal Court, increases the complications engulfing the crisis prevailing in th...
What Palestine is to me
An interview with Fatima Hassan
Mukoma Wa Ngugi
2008-07-23, Issue 390
Fatima Hassan, is a prominent South African human rights lawyer who was part of a South African Human Rights Delegation that in early July visited the Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. ...
Lost in the Horn
Stephen Marks
2008-07-09, Issue 390
Human security should come first in seeking conflict resolution in the Horn of Africa. Favour should be shown to partners that protect their people - whether they are state or non-state actors - and not just to those who claim to protect western interests. And all states in the region should be required to conform to “the normal conventions of international conduct.” These are the main conclusions of a new Chatham House report by Sally Healey in ‘Lost Opportunities in the Horn of Africa: How Conflicts Connect and Peace Agreements Unravel.’ The conclusions, despite their diplomatic wording, amount to a clear criticism of outside and especially Western policy in the region. But the underlying analysis provides a valuable conceptual tool-kit for challenging the concepts used more widely for understanding conflict.
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