Pambazuka News 224: The Changing Development Discourse in Africa

Belgium's world-renowned chocolate could be linked to the murky world of child labour and slavery, according to a leading consumer watchdog. Belgium's Test-Achats warned that it was often unclear where chocolate-makers got their cocoa beans from and whether their suppliers treated their workers ethically.

The dual mechanism to establish crimes and responsibilities in Burundi will take longer to put into place than first announced, the International Justice Tribune reports (IJT). IJT has learnt that on 30 September, Kofi Annan will not be submitting his report to the UN Security Council on the creation of the special chamber to try those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity, and in parallel, a truth commission.

The October issue of the newsletter of the Centre for Justice and Reconciliation is now available at www.cjr.nl. It includes:
* Update about the Manual for African Faith-Based Community Leaders
* Highlights from the International Criminal Court
* More information on CJRs new staff members

"Reports in the month of July were considerably fewer due to the continuation of Operation Murambatsvina as most NGOs are involved in relief work for the victims of the Operation. As the Operation continued, perennial victims, Porta Farm residents, were again targeted for eviction. Reports are that the residents were evicted and asked to go where they wanted to, but many of them had nowhere to go. Others were reportedly taken to Hopley Farm but before they could settle down, the Minister of L...read more

The Ugandan military and the rebel Lord's Resistance Army continue to kill, rape and uproot civilians in northern Uganda with brazen impunity, Human Rights Watch said in a report released in September. A brutal rebel group responsible for countless atrocities, the Lord's Resistance Army continues to wage war against the Ugandan government, whose undisciplined army has committed crimes against civilians, the very people they are supposed to protect, with near-total impunity.

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