In March, 44 countries called on the Government of Eritrea to end its use of arbitrary detention and torture of its citizens. Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Human Rights Concern - Eritrea and the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project welcomed this long overdue attention paid to the widespread and systematic human rights violations continuing in Eritrea for over a decade. In a statement to the UN Human Rights Council, states from Africa, Asia, Caribbean, Europe, Latin America and North America expressed their concerns about the government’s refusal to hold national elections or allow opposition parties, independent media or international non-governmental organisations to operate.

The Globe and Mail has an article about Bill Gates and his advocacy of technology in the agriculture sector. 'Relying on genetically modified (GM) crops and chemicals to push up output per acre may help Monsanto (which was one of the stocks in the Gates Foundation’s investment portfolio), Syngenta and other tech-driven food biggies, but won’t necessarily support those who need the most help-poor smallholder farmers and underdeveloped countries. Making them part of Big Ag’s global supply chain might not help either.'

Madagascan security forces Saturday fired tear-gas to disperse a crowd of opposition supporters who attempted to gather in the capital Antananarivo. The meeting had been organised by deposed President Marc Ravalomanana allies to discuss development issues. About three people were arrested and about forty injured during the fracas.

Ghana has become the first country in Africa to start protecting children against two of the continent's deadliest infant diseases with simultaneous vaccinations. The diseases targeted are rotavirus, which causes diarrhoea, and pneumococcal, both of which kill more than 2.7 million children worldwide each year. The project is backed by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation.

A top Moroccan newspaper editor, convicted and jailed under the penal code for his writings, has been freed after serving a year in prison. 'I denounce my imprisonment and conviction under the penal code, and I hope I am the last journalist to be tried under it,' said Rachid Nini, editor of the country's most popular daily, al-Massae, on Saturday.

President Alassane Ouattara of Côte d’Ivoire promised paved roads, an end to power cuts and water shortages, better mobile phone coverage, and a new university in the country’s west as part of an 'emergency plan' to develop a region that has been steeped in violence and insecurity for a decade. But for some displaced Ivoirians still unable to return to their homes, the promises ring hollow.

Only a fraction of the millions of people worldwide with blood and autoimmune disorders survive - especially those in poorer countries - partly due to the lack of bone marrow stem cell transplants. A recently established Nigerian bone marrow registry hopes to boost matches between donors and patients, and survival chances. Some 200,000 babies are born annually in sub-Saharan Africa with sickle cell disease, a blood disorder in which mutated red blood cells can clump and block blood vessels, causing pain, infection and organ damage. Nigeria has up to two million sickle cell patients, many of whom can benefit from stem cell transplants.

Malawi will devalue its currency, the kwacha, by 40 per cent to unlock blocked aid by meeting conditions set by the International Monetary Fund, President Joyce Banda said. The government has resumed relations with the UK and held talks with the IMF, World Bank and U.S. after the death of Bingu wa Mutharika, the leader who clashed with western donors, Banda said. She was sworn-in as president of the southern African nation this month after Mutharika died of a heart attack on April 5.

Sudan has declared a state of emergency in areas bordering South Sudan, giving authorities wide powers of arrest a day after they detained three foreigners in a flashpoint town along the frontier. The detentions and Sunday's state of emergency declaration heightened tensions even further along the border between the old rivals, who in the past month came to the brink of an all-out war because of renewed fighting in disputed areas.

Fahamu is commissioning an evaluation of its pilot Pan African Fellowship Program. The evaluation will establish the extent to which the initiative contributed to the strengthening of social justice activism in Kenya by developing the knowledge and experiences of fellows who are community based activists, their affiliate organisations and movements, the host organisations and others who were involved in the program. Interested individuals are requested to send in their applications for consideration as Consultants by close of business on Wednesday May 2, 2012.

PEN American Center has named Eskinder Nega, a journalist and dissident blogger in Ethiopia, as the recipient of its 2012 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award. Nega, a leading advocate for press freedom and freedom of expression in Ethiopia, was arrested on September 14, 2011, and is currently being tried under the country’s sweeping anti-terror legislation, which criminalizes any reporting deemed to 'encourage' or 'provide moral support' to groups and causes which the government considers to be 'terrorist'. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

The April 2012 issue of the Fahamu Refugee Legal Aid Newsletter is now available on our .

In this issue:

- ‘We are in hell’: Legal aid needed for detained asylum seekers in Romania
- Legal aid battles in the Lords: a report from the United Kingdom
- Country of Origin specialists: engaging at what cost?
- ‘Experts’ in the asylum process: are good intentions good enough?
- Court injunction forbids Israel from deporting South Sudanese
- Update: Syrian refugees in Turkey
- Syrian men barred from leaving country without military approval
- More resettlement places in Europe?
- Court rules conditions in Dadaab to be ‘inhuman and degrading’
- Canadian government to include Mexico on ‘Safe Country of Origin’ list
- Mock trial for Europe aims to shed light on human rights
- Petition: Support Refugee Action’s ‘Access to Justice’ initiative
- Petition: Campaign to save North Korean refugees in China from refoulement

Also in this issue: Announcements; Country of Origin and legal news; Deportation news; Requests; Resources; Publications; Vacancies & Opportunities; Calls for papers; Conferences and courses.

A documentary on the life of Prof Neville Alexander, 'Glimpses of a Life: Neville Alexander', by local filmmaker Nicki Westcott was launched in March. His work and life's legacy is widely celebrated, but who's the man behind UCT's Professor Neville Alexander? Few knew the inner workings of this acclaimed linguist and anti-apartheid struggle veteran - he's fiercely private and humble - until now.

Global foreign direct investment (FDI) outflows rose by 16 per cent in 2011 to an estimated US$1.66 trillion, surpassing the pre-crisis levels of 2007, UNCTAD’s latest Global Investment Trends Monitor reports. This growth was due in large part to cross-border mergers and acquisitions and to increased amounts of cash reserves kept in foreign affiliates, the Monitor, No. 9, says. The report notes that much-needed direct investment in new productive assets through greenfield investment projects or capital expenditures in existing foreign affiliates appeared to be limited.

The April edition of the Peace and Security Council Report from the Institute of Security Studies has an article which focuses on the situation in Madagascar. 'Against the backdrop of serious obstacles in the process of implementing the Roadmap, the Malagasy military staged protests in March 2012 to air their grievances about poor living and working conditions,' notes the report. 'SADC’s failure to resolutely monitor and guarantee the implementation of the fragile Roadmap risks a relapse into violence in Madagascar,' it says later.

Join more than 500 policymakers, activists and practitioners, including young persons, people living with HIV & AIDS, with disabilities, and LGBQTI persons from Africa and around the world at the 5th Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights. The conference will will take stock of responses to sexual health and rights on the continent since ICPD, and interrogate the status of sexual health and rights, with particular focus on women, girls, adolescents and youth.

Basile Mahan Gahé, general secretary of the Ivory Coast national trade union center Dignité remains imprisoned in the remote town of Boundiali - some 700 kilometers from the capital Abidjan - together with common criminals. The United Nations' ILO has now formally added its voice to the international protests calling for his release. Use the form available through the link to send a message to President Ouattara (with copies to Ivory Coast embassies in France, Belgium and around the world as well as embassies in Abidjan) calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Basile Mahan Gahé.

A coalition of pressure groups has unveiled a new campaign against three controversial sponsors of the London Olympics, accusing them of using the Games to 'greenwash' unethical corporate activities. With the growing prospect of protests at the Games by groups seeking to highlight the activities of its corporate backers and others planning to use it as a broader canvas to protest against capitalism, the Greenwash Gold campaign marks a new level of co-ordination.

China’s economic transformation over three decades has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. But impressive economic growth rates in the world’s largest country have come with heavy environmental costs. The air in many of China’s major cities is the most polluted in the world. The water in many major Chinese rivers is unfit for irrigation. Soils in key agricultural regions are contaminated by heavy metals. Scarce arable land and water resources and important biodiversity are being lost. China’s carbon and nitrous oxide emissions are having serious impacts both in China and at a global scale.

Julius Malema will continue to perform his duties as president of the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) despite his suspension by the ANC, the league has said. A previous meeting of the NEC resulted in a 'mandate to protect and defend the autonomy of the ANCYL by not agreeing with the removal or release of any of the elected leaders of the ANC Youth League until 2014'. The ANC’s national disciplinary committee suspended Malema for calling President Jacob Zuma a dictator.

Shares in Cobalt International Energy fell as much as 11 per cent after news that three of the most powerful officials in Angola have held concealed interests in the Goldman Sachs-backed group’s oil venture in the African country. The fall, which wiped $900m off Cobalt’s market capitalisation, came after a Financial Times report detailed the interests.

Lawyers for Zambia's ex-president Rupiah Banda accused prosecutors Thursday of pursuing his son on politically motivated charges of corruption in the sale of the national telecom firm to Libya's LAP Green. Henry Banda is living in South Africa. After his father lost elections in September 2011 the elite Government Investigative Wing announced that he was wanted for questioning over the $257-million sale of fixed-line operator Zamtel to the Libyan firm.

Swazi riot police detained at least seven activists Saturday on their way to a pro-democracy church service in the central city of Manzini, one of the activists said. Wandile Dludlu from the Swaziland United Democratic Front (SUDF) and head of the banned Pudemo opposition Mario Masuku were among those held, Dludlu told AFP.

Water privatisation has been proven not to help the poor, yet a quarter of all World Bank funding goes directly to corporations and the private sector, bypassing both governments and its own standards and transparency requirements in order to do so, says a new report. Corporate Accountability International, the US-based non-governmental organisation that published the report, has called on the World Bank to stop funding the private water sector and start redirecting its money to public and democratically accountable institutions.

'Birthing Justice: Women Creating Economic and Social Alternatives' is a series featuring 12 alternative social and economic models which expand the possibilities for justice, equity, and strong community. In the third narrative, Deborah James, a leader in the global movement for economic justice, speaks about how international financial institutions hinder countries’ efforts at poverty alleviation, instead prioritizing corporate interests. She also describes citizens’ efforts to oppose the power of these institutions, and tells of the countries that have made strides toward freeing themselves from the economic chains, providing inspiration to us all.

The latest issue of the Mozambique Political Process Bulletin is available and deals with anti-corruption legislation.
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Lawrence Ozelle pushes aside his tool box and steps forward to confront us as we photograph Kyapaloni market - a trading centre in Kabaale parish, Buseruka sub-county, some twenty kilometre west of Hoima town. 'Who are you people?' he demands. 'Do you want to steal our land?' Ever since oil was discovered nearby, the locals say, they have had no peace. Strangers come to Kabaale on a daily basis. Some promise development, while others come and go quietly.

An ecological disaster of massive proportions is imminent in the Vaal River system because of the decision years ago not to implement the mining industry's proposal for the treatment of acid mine drainage. Government's own emergency plan to treat the acid water has resulted in the equivalent of 140 tonnes of salts being discharged into these rivers each day because of the decision to dump neutralised but sulphate-rich water into the rivers of the Western Basin.

Government has confirmed Malawi will go ahead to host the African Union summit in June in Lilongwe this year. Information Minister Moses Kunkuyu told Zodiak Radio that hosting the summit would be an honour to late President Bingu wa Mutharika who wanted Malawi to host the summit. Before President Mutharika's death, President Joyce Banda opposed the idea of Malawi hosting the summit due to what she called poor economic situation.

Uganda’s dismal employment prospects have left more than 12 per cent of the population unemployed or underemployed. New college graduates say they can’t find long-term work or any work at all. In the face of unemployment and underemployment, many are sticking with jobs that underpay or conflict with personal values.

65 Egyptian prisoners in Israeli jails began a open-ended hunger strike, according to a report by the Israeli Yedioth Ahronot, quoted by Egypt’s state-owned news agency MENA. The Israeli Prisons Authority also on announced that three Egyptian detainees began a hunger strike to demand their release. The 65 Egyptians are held in various prisons in the Negev Desert in the South of Israel, according to statements by Ibrahim El-Darawi, head of the Palestinian Studies Center in Cairo.

Poor sanitation is not only a menace to public health, but also a roadblock to sustainable development and a huge strain on financial resources, according to a new World Bank study. A report by the Bank's Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) finds that poor sanitation is causing a loss of US$5.5 billion every year to 18 African countries. That estimated loss in turn adds up to annual economic damages between 1 per cent and 2.5 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Thirty years ago, on March 31 1982, prisoner number 466/64 of Robben Island was transferred to Pollsmoor maximum security prison (Cape Town), thus ending two decades of banishment to the worst outpost of the South African penal system. During these years, The UNESCO Courier brought regularly news and ideas from the five continents to Nelson Mandela. In November 1983, The Courier published an issue on Racism with a portrait of Nelson Mandela on the cover.

Attorney Bruce Afran's appeal of parole-denial and 10 year hit resulted in the New Jersey Appellate Court's remand to the NJ Parole Board that its 10 year hit be cut to 2 years. It was done and Sundiata has become immediately eligible for a parole hearing again.

This is a letter Human Rights Watch sent to all 15 members of the UN Security Council on human rights monitoring in Western Sahara and in camps in Tindouf, Algeria.

BAMILEKE:

I am a Mod Ngam
Man of spiders
Often called a diviner.
I am Bamileke
Born in Cameroon
Observing the Earth Spider.

VOICES:

He lives underground
With the nature spirits
Our ancestral messenger.

BAMILEKE:

Earth Spider takes his pick
Movement of leaf and stick.

VOICES (chanting):

He knows the ancient ones.
Earth Spider, tell us what you see;
We await your diplomacy.

DOGON:

I am a Hogan
Diagnosing for the Dogan,
Sands of the Bandiagara.
Come, Sand Fox
There are sticks in the sand
There is drought in the land.
I invoke your presence;
I am the Sunset Chanter.

VOICES (chanting);

Bandiagara
Mountain of freedom
For the Dogon of Mali.

DOGON:

Tell us Sand Fox
Our precious visitor;
Have we offended our ancestry?

BAULE:

I am called Komien
Within the Baule
My special pot called Gbekre.
Once upon a time
The mouse could speak
Of that the Baule toast.
Now he talks
Through the movement of sticks
For us in the Ivory Coast.

KARANGA:

I am an Nganga
Throwing dice called Hakata;
Made of wood
Bone or seed.
Between Ancestor and Karanga,
I endeavour to intercede.
Trusted and respected
I divine, I pray;
For the Karanga of Zimbabwe.

VOICES (chanting):

Ancestor, ancestor
The Healer wants to talk with you.
Whether with mice
Or the use of dice
Diviner wants to talk with you.

ZULU:

Being a Sangoma
I also use bones.
I am Nguni.
That is the Zulu, the Xhosa
The Ndebele and the Swazi.

VOICES (chanting):

Come with the bones, Sangoma
Come as quick as you can
Tell us of Unkulunkulu
Are we drifting from his plan?

ZULU:

From Unkulunkula
I received a special duty.
Having done my training,
Knowing herbs and animals;
I can make the sacred Muti.

I was possessed
I did not choose this profession.
Unkulunkulu called me,
Through my ancestor,
To be a healer of this nation.

VOICES:

Blessed Babalawo
It’s not time for you to go.
Here comes another someone
With troubles in his head;
I think he’s sinking in the flow.

YORUBA:

I am Babalawo
With the gift of Ifa
Giving to my people the Yoruba.
A gift from Olodumare
Through his servant Orunmila
To me, here in Nigeria.

VOICES:

You with great knowledge of Ifa
We beg you, do not go.
Her illness moves fast
Her days grow slow.

YORUBA:

I am a busy Babalawo.

ZANDE:

To raise them from their woes
To reach the spiritual height
I use what God has given us;
Divination by the termite
Two branches in one termite hill.
One from one tree
One from another.
And in their eating
Knowledge begins to gather.
You’ll find us in the D.R.C
The C.A.R. and Sudan-
Those who are called the Zande.
You will see us by the Congo
As well as by the Nile,
Praising the one called Onyame.

POKOT:

I am a Pokot elder
From the land of Kenya,
But just like Dogon in Mali
Our divination,
Whether by goat or by shoe,
Is performed for us by an elder
The elder of the older.
Shoes of he who is missing are thrown.
Like the Zulu bone
The Yoruba palm nut
The Maasai stone.
We continue to interpret the unknown.

VOICES:

The longer you live you get closer to the Shrine
Attracted by the Crucial Flame.
We get closer to Creator,
Called by this and that,
God of a thousand names.

Bamileke: Si
Dogon: Amma
Baule: Nyamien
Zande: Onyame
Zulu: Unkulunkulu
Yoruba: Oludumare
Pokot: Torontot
Karanga: Mwari

VOICES (chanting):

Ancestor, Ancestor
The healer wants to talk with you.
Whether by mice
Or whether by dice,
Diviner needs to talk with you.

©Natty Mark Samuels, 2010

Residents of Nairobi’s numerous slums live in constant fear of demolition of their homes. Yet there is no government plan to solve the problem of housing. The residents need to organise and demand their rights.

It is high time the US foregoes its sense of entitlement at the World Bank and allows a merit-based and transparent contest for the presidency to allow non-American candidates a genuine chance of winning.