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International Center and Liberia Institute of Journalism WEST AFRICA NEWSLETTER
Reporting on Human Rights, Democracy & Development Vol. 1 No. 14 March 30, 2001.

International Center and Liberia Institute of Journalism
WEST AFRICA NEWSLETTER
Reporting on Human Rights, Democracy & Development
Vol. 1 No. 14 March 30, 2001

Please send this newsletter to anyone who would be interested!

CONTENTS

1. EDITOR’S COMMENTS
2. RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY
3. REFUGEES
4. HEALTH/ENVIRONMENT
5. DEVELOPMENT
6. ELECTIONS WATCH/WEST AFRICA
7. MEDIA/TECHNOLOGY
8. GRANTS
9. NEWS AROUND LIBERIA
10.WORLD BANK PIPELINE PROJECTS
11. ANNOUNCEMENTS
12. ABOUT US
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX1. EDITOR’S COMMENTS

This week we are featuring two stories that were written by our subscribers.
The
first story deals with appalling conditions for African Prisoners in
Thailand and
from Nigeria, A Report on Gender Prosecutions. Next week we will feature a
report
on the American Elections, written by Dr. Patrick Sayon of Boston College in
the
United States.

By: Marco de Innocentis
African Prisoners in Thailand

I am the Vice-President of The Friends of Bangkwang Association, an
international organization which tries to help foreigner prisoners in
Thailand. The great majority of these foreigners come from African
countries: some of them are serving life sentences for possession of
drugs, others are first imprisoned for petty crimes, but subsequent to
their release are transferred to the Immigration Detention Center (IDC)
in Bangkok, where they are held indefinitely until someone is able to
pay for their air fare home.

Conditions in all Thai prisons are appalling. In Bangkwang Central
Prison, for example, inmates have to share cells with at least 30 other
inmates, all of them sleeping on concrete slabs on the floor, with
scarcely any room to move. They receive only one meal per day, which
typically comprises either unmilled rice or fish head soup. Troughs of
untreated river water are provided for drinking, washing and shaving,
and must be shared by all inmates in the same block. As a result, food
poisoning is a regular occurrence. There is no medical care whatsoever,
and serious illnesses such as AIDS or TB are widespread in the prisons.

We are asking you to help us put pressure on some African governments
to get involved in this problem, by means of letters, e-mails or faxes.
So far the only African country which has really become involved is
Nigeria.
Last year a Nigerian Embassy in Bangkok was opened, and Nigeria is
currently negotiating a Prisoner Transfer Exchange Treaty (PTET), which
will allow most of its citizens incarcerated in Thailand to be
repatriated by the end of next year. So far only European countries
(plus the USA and Canada) have implemented PTETs with Thailand, even
though their total number of citizens imprisoned there accounts for much
less than those coming from African countries. It is therefore
imperative to make other African governments aware of this problem and
to become involved to help their citizens too.

If you are interested, I would be very happy to give you more
information on this problem, as well as a few contact addresses and
fax numbers of Liberian governments and embassies. The Embassy in
Tokyo is specifically responsible for Thailand.

Please address all enquiries to:
Marco de Innocentis
40A Marshall Terrace
Gilesgate Moor
Durham DH1 2HX
United Kingdom

====================================

REPORT ON GENDER PERSECUTION IN NIGERIA - OUR
EXPERIENCE BY: MRS. NOGI IMOUKHUEDE,

Nigeria is traditionally a male dominated society
though women make up half of our estimated 120 million
population. In spite of the advances in education,
women still lag behind in all areas of national
development. Nigerian, women face barriers to full
enjoyment of their rights because of ethnicity,
culture, religion or lack of education, many Nigerian
women encounter specific obstacles related to their
family status as single women or junior wives or to
their socio-economic situation living in rural,
isolated or impoverished areas. The traditions in
Nigeria can be characterized as a system of beliefs
and practices which put women in a position of
inferiority. This inferior status of women is
protected in the name of tradition, culture and
religion and have deprived women of their rights as
human beings.
Under Nigerian Law all citizens are guaranteed equal
rights and there is no law that blatantly
discriminates against women. The Constitution of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 in chapter 4
enshrines the following Fundamental Human Rights:
Right to life, Right to dignity of the human person,
Right to personal liberty, Right to fair hearing,
Right to private and family life, Right to freedom of
thought, conscience and religion, Right to freedom of
expression and the press, Right to peaceful assembly,
Right to freedom of movement, Right to freedom from
discrimination, Right against compulsory acquisition
of property.
In reality violations of womenÆs rights in Nigeria are
numerous and fall under the following broad
categories- violence in the home, sexual harassment at
school and work, rape and defilement, harsh and
punitive widowhood rites, Female Genital Mutilation,
(FGM) forced childhood marriages, sexual violence in
conflict situations and during execution of armed
robbery, enforcement of gender biased laws,
discrimination against the girl child, disinheritance
of wives and daughters, harmful traditional
practices.
The following news headlines speak for themselves:
'Girl sets self ablaze to protest forced marriage' -
The Punch Tuesday April, 6, 2000
Rapists invade female hostels as ABU workers, students
protest - Guardian 16th February, 2001.
Obasanjo ranks women trafficking third largest illegal
business - The Punch February, 20 2001.
Sgt. eight others paraded for robbery à..eight ladies
raped in Abuja - The Punch Feb. 22, 2001.
Police turn back female reporter for wearing trousers
- Sunday Punch Feb. 25, 2001.
Raped girl, 16, jumps into river - Saturday punch
July, 5 1997.
Police kills daughter after raping her - Sunday
Concord Times.

2. RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY

SENEGAL’S BARS CHARGES AGAINST Ex-CHAD DICTATOR
http://www.hrw.org/africa/
Senegal’s highest court ruled that Chad exiled President Hissene, could not
stand
trail on torture charges, since it was not committed in Senegal.

End Global Caste Discrimination
http://www.hrw.org/press/2001/index.htm
Marking the International Day for the elimination of Racial Discrimination,
Human
Rights Watch called for an end to Caste-based discrimination around the
world.

Special Tribunal in Sierra Leone
http://www.amnesty.org
Amnesty International wants creation of a special tribunal in Sierra Leone.

Time to Turn Principles into practice
http://www.amnesty.org
A group of NGOs called on the International community to turn principles
into
practice, when UNHCR’s boss Mary Robinson, was highlighting the case of Togo
’s
torture practices.

Children’s Aid Direct Summary update: 29 March 2001
http://www.relief.org
Children’s Aid Direct makes immediate and lasting improvements in lives of
children
and their carers who are affected by conflict, poverty or disaster.

Rebels, government forces clash despite peace accord
http://www.relief.org
A Senegalese soldier was wounded on Tuesday following a clash between
government
and rebel forces near the Gambian border.

NGOs set-up inquiry commission
http://www.relief.org
Political activists and human rights advocates, including Cameroon’s Roman
Catholic
Clergy have created an independent commission to investigate the
disappearance of
nine youth who are now feared dead.

Police banned seminar on Islamic law
http://www.relief.org
Armed mobile police were drafted to enforce a ban on a seminar on Islamic
law that
was to have been held Thursday, in the northern city of Zaria.

3. REFUGEES

Refugees on the move
http://www.relief.org
With fighting intensifying along the Guinea-Liberia border, the United
Nations will
move refugees further away from Guinea war zone.

ECOWAS moves to resolve Guinea crisis
http://www.relief.org
As part of a continuing efforts to resolve the festering crisis along the
Guinea
borders with Liberia and Sierra Leone, ECOWAS has schedule two high-level
meetings
for the second week of April in Abuja.

Military arrest, then release hundreds of Refugees
http://www.relief.org
UNHCR obtained the release on Wednesday of 499 refugees arrested on
suspicions that
insurgents might have infiltrated the group at a camp in southern Guinea,
official
told IRIN.

4. HEALTH/ENVIRONMENT

Stop Tuberculosis
http://www.who.org
March 24, was celebrated as TB day. Worldbank, WHO and others work to
develop
tuberculosis control solutions at National and Global levels.

Meningitis on Return in Africa
http://www.afrol.com/ms_index.htm
A new memingitis epidemic is developing in large parts of Africa. In Burkina
faso
the epidemic has already claimed 600 lives this year and the government
appealed
for International Aid.

West African Nations to ban EU fishing fleets
http://www.afrol.com/ms_index.htm
Mauritania, Senegal and Guinea Bissau were expected this week to announce
drastic
action to save one of the world’s richest marine environment from over
fishing.

Conservationists scepitical about watchdog for Chad-Cameroon pipeline
http://www.afrol.com
The Worldbank is appointing a special committee to oversee a controversial
oil
pipeline project in Chad-Cameroon. This is in response to critics who warn
that the
project will harm rain forest.

5. ELECTIONS WATCH/WEST AFRICA

Ivorian Opposition Scores Election Victory

http://www.cnn.com/world/africa
Ivory Coast’s main opposition claimed victory on Thursday in local elections
that
saw President Laurent Gbagbo’s party beaten in third place, saying the
result put
the legitimacy in further doubt.

6. MEDIA/TECHNOLOGY

Panel to probe brutality at University Campus
http://www.allafrica.com
Authorities at the State-run University of Liberia have appointed an
eight-member
committee to probe brutality by security forces who flogged students and
professors
on the Monrovia campus.

Authorities seize copies of the weekly “Le Regard”
http://www.allafrica.com
In a letter to the Minister of Interior and security, General Sising Walla,
RSF
protested the seizures of copies of the weekly “Le Regard”, a newspaper
which has
close ties to the opposition.

7. GRANTS

In search of grants to implement your projects? The below listed foundations
could
help if you contact them and met there requirements.

The James R. Dougherty, Jr. Foundation, P. O. Box 640, Beeville, TX.
78104-0640
Telephone: (512) 358-3560

The Barbara Delano Foundation, INC., 116 New Montgomery St., Ste. 528, San
Francisco, Ca.94105, Telephone: (415) 974-0463, E-mail: [email protected]
www.bdfoundation.org

Debley, INC., P. O. Box 427, St. Marys City, MD. 20686, Telephone: (202)
986-2419

William Dauch Foundation, 1570 Dutch Hollow Rd., Elida, OH 45807-1803,
Tel:41933944

8. WORLD BANK PIPELINE PROJECTS

Benin Public Expenditure reform adjustment project
http://www.worldbank.org/html/extdr/newproject
The project will improve the impact of government expenditures on poverty
reduction, economic and social development. The credit amount: IDA-US$10m.

World Bank helps Burkina Faso Increase water supply

Low-income households in Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou, will benefit
from the
US$70m Ouagadougou water supply project that will help address the city’s
acute
water shortages.

9. ABOUT US
This is the WEST AFRICA NEWSLETTER, a new source for reporting on human
rights,
democracy and development news and networking. Produced and distributed free
of
charge by the International Center, 731-8th Street, SE, Washington, DC.
20003, and
Liberia Institute of Journalism, Kashouh Building, 2nd Fl., Corner of Broad
and
Johnson Streets, P. O. Box 2314, Monrovia, Liberia, West Africa. This
project is
funded by the International Center.

To subscribe or unsubscribe, please place “subscribe or unsubscribe WEST AFR
ICA
NEWSLETTER”, in the subject heading and e-mail to the editor Vinnie Hodges
at
[email protected]. We welcome information or articles for publication. Please
visit
our website at: http://www.kabissa.org/lij