Pambazuka News 442: Obama in Ghana: The speech he might have made
Pambazuka News 442: Obama in Ghana: The speech he might have made
cc The internet and wires have been burning with anger and disappointment at the speech made by Obama this week at the start of his visit to Ghana. With several articles commenting on the speech in this issue, Firoze Manji provides a perspective on what Obama might have, or should have, said during his second visit to the continent in the space of a few weeks.
cc Asking the majority of people around the world what they know about Swaziland, writes Jan Sithole, is likely to draw a blank stare. But Swaziland is a country with a strong history of political struggle against formidable odds. Despite the determined suppression of democratic expression by the country's government, the last few years have seen a resurgence in civil society's drive for greater freedom, something which Sithole hopes will pave the way for progressively greater interest from the international community in coming years.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities ASUU began a total and indefinite strike after it became obvious that the government was not ready to sign agreements it jointly reached with ASUU through its Technical committee. Really, what does ASUU want? Why is the government acting up? Is there hope for this country?
The military operations launched against the FDLR since early 2009 have been presented as a bid for the unity (Umoja Wetu) and peace (Kimia II) that have so long eluded eastern DRC. In that light they have received considerable international acclaim and support, particularly through the UN peacekeeping force, MONUC. Warnings of potentially devastating consequences for civilian protection over recent months have repeatedly met with the response that this is 'the price to pay for peace.' In May 2009, Oxfam and a number of its partners interviewed residents in some of the areas of North and South Kivu where that price is being exacted.
Pambazuka News 441: The 'change we need'? Obama in Ghana
Pambazuka News 441: The 'change we need'? Obama in Ghana
The and Cutting Edge Art & Culture Works is presenting 'Blue Tales, Other Narratives and Beyond: The Art of Khalid Kodi, New Works of Story Telling', on Saturday 11 July in New York.
With the 2009 Forum for China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit approaching, Pambazuka News's China–Africa Watch editorial team invites views and opinions on the event from readers.
The two fat cats sat reading on the mat.
A Persian rug actually, but we won't go into that.
The Stock Market's up, they saw. Oh, what fun,
As their sleek black coats gleamed in the afternoon sun.
'Lyric, my mate', said cat one with a purr,
'scratch my back, just there, under the fur.
It's lasted a while, since 1994, this constant itch,
Which coincides incidentally with me getting rich, rich, rich.'
'You're wearing your diamond studded collar,
I see', said Kyoto. Did you perhaps pay top dollar?
'It was a bargain', said Lyric looking shifty,
'In the current financial climate you have to be nifty.'
'I rang my mate, old Nacker de Beer.
He said 'Look Lyric, everything's not as it may appear.
There's a storm brewing, the markets might tumble,
Don't cash in your shares yet, be ready to rumble.'
Kyoto's whiskers twitched, and he asked with a frown,
'Should we let them know the market's going down?'
'Who's them', meowed Lyric. 'You mean the unwashed?
Why, they're too stupid, they'll never have us sussed.
'Look at them, stretch your neck and you will see,
Those starving masses, they've never heard of BEE*
We've been out in the cold, in exile, for ever so long,
Now our financial masters are playing our song.'
A sound at the door made them prick up their ears.
They got up and stretched, exposing their rears.
'I think it's the boss, he's home early today.'
Said Lyric to Kyoto, 'Get ready to play.'
'Hello little pussies.' He enters the room.
'Had a good day boys?' his voice a loud boom.
He scratches their chins, his fat white hand lingers,
As he waves under their noses some golden fish fingers.
Now Lyric and Kyoto being nobody's fools knew,
That this was the moment, this was their cue.
They had to perform, to sing for their dinner,
Else their bank balances would surely get thinner.
They cleared their throats and puffed out their chests,
And prepared themselves for what they do best.
'Who wants to be a millionaire, we do.
'Who wants to be a billionaire, you do'.
* Marion Grammer was born in Cape Town, South Africa. She is an accountant and works for a Human Rights Advocacy Centre in Sydney, Australia. She writes fiction and occasional social commentary.
* Black Economic Empowerment.
* Please send comments to or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/.
cc Dissatisfied with donors' unwillingness to promote disabled people's rights in their dealings with Kenyan organisations, Phitalis Were Masakhwe calls on international funders to show greater scrutiny when it comes giving financial assistance. From women's rights to promoting multi-party democracy, carrot-and-stick policies have been central in forcing Kenya to reform, Were Masakhwe notes, arguing that they should occupy an equally central role in cementing equality for disabled people.
cc Surveying the Solidarity for African Women’s Rights (SOAWR) campaign around the Protocol on Women’s Rights to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, Karoline Kemp discusses the role of ICTs (information and communication technologies) in engaging civil society and facilitating the campaign. Highlighting SOAWR's ability to nurture productive relationships with African Union (AU) departments in promoting the protocol, Kemp stresses that despite the success of communication tools like Pambazuka News, the real challenge will be to promote the protocol at the grassroots level through more traditional media.
http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/441/57579_Rustum_Kozain_tmb.jpgIn an interview with , the South African poet Rustum Kozain discusses his prize-winning collection of poems 'This Carting Life', material support for poets and the place of swearing in poetry.
Nigeria’s E.C. Osondu has won the 2009 , described as Africa’s leading literary award, for ‘Waiting’ from Guernicamag.com, October 2008. The chair of judges, New Statesman Chief Sub-Editor Nana Yaa Mensah, announced E.C. as the winner of the £10,000 prize at a dinner held on Monday 6 July at the Bodleian Library in Oxford. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the prize.
In the wake of Michael Jackson's death, Greg Tate discusses the entertainer's place in the pantheon of black American musical greats. Considering his immense cultural significance within American political and cultural life, Tate stresses that Jackson 'came to rank as one of the great storytellers and soothsayers of the last 100 years'. Regardless of his alienation from the black America of his origins, Tate argues, Jackson remained a devoted student of black music, dance and style, taking and giving back in unparalleled ways.
With a 40-day period of mourning having elapsed following the untimely death of Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem on Africa Liberation Day, Kayode Fayemi looks back on the life and work of the great Pan-Africanist activist and scholar. Highlighting his extraordinary energy and compassion for ordinary people, Fayemi salutes Tajudeen's unfaltering commitment to speaking truth to power. Looking back on an array of institutional, activist and scholarly achievements, Fayemi points out that while Africa may have lost one its brightest gems, Tajudeen will forever remain a symbol and inspiration for ongoing struggles.
cc Alarmed at the fondness for neoliberal solutions to the global financial crisis among the Nobel Prize Winners Muhammad Yunus and Joseph Stiglitz, Patrick Bond suspects that the two economists are simply aiding rather than challenging the global capitalist system. With Yunus and Stiglitz both set to give talks in Johannesburg this week, Bond fears that civil society's calls for social and environmental justice will continue to remain overlooked.
cc Following the death of Michael Jackson, Sokari Ekine considers the motivation and meaning behind the pop icon's changing features within the context of the politics of 'pigment-ocracy'. While unconvinced by the idea that Jackson needed to change his features to become more 'marketable', Ekine concludes that the entertainer made a personal choice, one which ultimately did not change him from being anything but a black man.
cc As US President Barack Obama heads to Accra, Ghana, this week, Charles Abugre hopes a new 'wind for change' is blowing. Coming from a 'son of Africa' held with pride and esteem by Africans across the continent, Obama's speech will have major influence on the way the world regards Africa. For all the anticipated talk about 'good governance' and 'democracy', Abugre stresses, the US president should first acknowledge his country's historical role in undermining African countries' stability and progress. If Obama is to spark a new beginning in US–Africa relations based on genuinely mutual interests and respect, he must actively allay fears around US militarisation and seek to review US economic relations with the continent. Through building trust and commending Ghana's democratic successes, who better, asks Abugre, to understand the wind of change than Barack Obama?
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A coalition of Nigerian and International civil society organisations and churches have strongly condemned the recent campaign of terror that has been inflicted upon the so-called ‘child witches’ at the Child Rights and Rehabilitation Network Centre (CRARN) in Eket, Akwa Ibom State by Lagos-based police officers.
On Sunday 28th June President José Manuel Zelaya, who was constitutionally and democratically elected by the Honduran people, was taken hostage by soldiers led by groups belonging to the country's oligarchies. The Organisations of La Via Campesina of Central America issued a statement in response to this.
Today, almost 15 years after Nelson Mandela took office in South Africa, the U.S. requires a comprehensive new Africa policy that builds upon affirmative general principles and fosters multilateral African-led solutions to create a stronger foundation for a mutually beneficial relationship.
The Campaign for Democratic and Workers’ Rights (CDWR), Osun State hereby call for the immediate implementation of the long-awaited Teacher’s Salary Scale by the Oyinlola government.
The Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM) hereby solidarise with workers in Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife in their current struggle to end illegal deduction from their salaries by the Prof. Michael Faborode-led university management running to over N400 million.
The purchase of huge swathes of African farmland by rich countries, Obama's visit to Ghana, women's official dress in Buganda and the proliferation of new political parties in Zambia are among the topics covered in this week's round-up of the African blogosphere, by Dibussi Tande.
Chambi Chachage pays tribute to Professor Haroub Othman, a man passionate about the Pan-African ideals of peace, justice and unity, who was ready to be among 'what is left of the leftists'. Chachage writes that while his encounters with Professor Othman were 'brief, albeit memorable', they were 'filled with lasting humane impressions'.
cc Chambi Chachage explores when and how ‘subjects' become ‘citizens’, in the second part of 
cc The Left finds it hard to condemn torture when it is carried out by 'progressive' governments rather than imperialists, writes Bill Fletcher Jr, and often attempts to deny its existence or downplay its significance. Speaking with reference to acts of torture perpetrated by the Mugabe government – some against people he knows – Fletcher argues that if 'the Left is to hold the moral high ground, it must mean that it is prepared to engage in criticism – including constructive criticism – when crimes are uncovered'.
What is the true wealth of nations? Do GDP statistics provide an accurate pointer to economic progress? Why are resource-rich countries, particularly in Africa, poor, while resource-poor countries in the North are prosperous? How does one assess the value of the ecology? Khadija Sharife analyses a startling report from the World Bank that sets out to answer some of these questions.
Portrait artist and social justice activist, Gabrielle Le Roux is seeking an intern / volunteer to coordinate as well as assist with fundraising for the Living Ancestors exhibition to travel further internationally. The Living Ancestors exhibition is a tribute in portraits and stories to the world’s oldest woman, Ma Pampo, 126 years old and nine other women over the age of 100 in the Caribbean Island of Dominica. Living Ancestors has been exhibited in the Caribbean, South Africa, Uganda, Amsterdam and is currently at the Museum of London Docklands [http://tinyurl.com/lbbb65]
cc The Presidential Standards Task Force, the Ugandan government's web-based service for engaging with citizens, sent the following letter to human rights activist Vincent Nuwagaba. The letter, apparently signed by President Museveni, responds to comments Nuwagaba submitted to the website, covering issues from corruption to unemployment.
As a matter of substance, SAIFAC and Constitutional Law of South Africa (CLOSA), the Centre for Human Rights hope to push the boundaries for legal debate within South Africa. One way to accomplish this end is by having lawyers, judges, legal academics, and academics from other disciplines engage in meaningful discourse about subjects that do not – for better or worse – engage the majority of public lawyers in this country.
cc Ugandan human rights activist Vincent Nuwagaba responds to Presidential Standards Task Force, apparently signed by President Museveni. Nuwagaba received the letter after submitting comments on issues from corruption to unemployment to the Ugandan government's web-based service for engaging with citizens.
The Darfur Rehabilitation Project and Cutting Edge Art & Culture Works presents Blue Tales, Other Narratives and Beyond: The Art of Khalid Kodi, New Works of Story Telling, Saturday July 11, 2009 from 3-7PM at the Church of the Covenant, 310 East 42 Street, NY (between 1st and 2nd, next to Tudor Hotel). The exhibition is open to the public and features small and large scale paintings, drawings, and mixed media on paper. Sudanese food and music will be shared for this very special inaugural benefit /art sale. A portion of the proceeds will support the Darfur Rehabilitation Project and Cutting Edge Art & Culture Works.
"You are sick and it is the weekend. You have a fever and you're sweating and vomiting so you fear you have malaria. You need medical attention. All the money you have is what is in your pocket, a total of $3.59. You never went to school so you do not know how to read or write. You live in the Kibera slums."This was one scenario played out on a leafy Washington campus, as students in the summer program at the Washington International School struggled to understand life on the edge for children in Nairobi's notorious slums.
cc Cynthia McKinney, human rights advocate and former US congresswoman was arrested and forcibly abducted to Israel, while attempting to take humanitarian and reconstruction supplies to Gaza on 30 June. Speaking from the jail in which she and other activists were detained until July 5, McKinney said she wants 'the people of the world to see how we have been treated just because we wanted to deliver humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza.' Questioning how she could be imprisoned 'for collecting crayons to kids', McKinney added that 'if Israel fears for its security because Gaza's children have crayons then not only has Israel lost its last shred of legitimacy, but Israel must be declared a failed state'.
Francis Kornegay fears for the future of South-South co-operation, following South Africa's exclusion from June's of major emerging economic powers, Brazil, Russia, India and China. South Africa may be a smallish middle-income country by comparison, says Kornegay, but it is still the strategic gateway to and dominant player in Africa's economy, which all four BRIC countries are interested in accessing. South Africa's marginalisation raises issues about how the continent is managing a ‘new scramble’ for Africa, says Kornegay, and suggests that President Zuma will have to readjust his foreign policy to focus as much attention on North-South bridging as on the global South.
cc Israel is practising both colonialism and apartheid in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), an interim report released by the Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa (HSRC) suggests. Based on 15 months of research, the report reviews Israel’s practices in the OPT according to definitions of colonialism and apartheid in international law. Violations of international prohibitions on colonialism cited include Israel’s policy to fragment the West Bank and annex part of it permanently and its appropriation of land and water in the OPT. Laws that give privileges to Jewish settlers and disadvantage Palestinians in the same territory based on their identities are among the examples of apartheid highlighted in the study.
The Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa (HSRC) has released a study indicating that Israel is practicing both colonialism and apartheid in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). The interim report, which will form part of a discussion at an upcoming HSRC conference on the subject, titled Re-envisioning Israel/Palestine, on 13 and 14 June in Cape Town, serves as a document to be finalised later this year.
Irish Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire speaks from her jail cell in Israel. She was taken into custody along with twenty others, including former US Congress member Cynthia McKinney, when the Israeli military boarded their ship in international waters as it tried to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza
In this book, gender justice activists from Men for Gender Equality Now (MEGEN Kenya) share their personal experiences as individuals and as Changemakers. Besides personal stories told by activists, this publication also includes short briefs on the work of MEGEN Kenya, highlighting the challenges, successes and lessons learned in different program areas.
The seven members arrested in Bulawayo on Wednesday 17th June appeared on remand in Bulawayo Magistrate’s Court on July 3. The state was not prepared with either the docket or state witnesses. They have been further remanded out of custody until 22nd July.
cc The South African government will have to bail out private companies as the global financial crisis begins to bite the national economy, writes William Gumede. But which companies should the government nationalise? Moreover, given its 'depressing record' thus far, is it actually capable of running a complex organisation without making the headlines for mismanagement and corruption? Dismissive of BEE consortiums or majority foreign ownership as an alternative, Gumede calls for ‘a stress test’ to prioritise which companies to rescue, based on what the country would lose if they were to close.
Google has unveiled a new service designed to provide information via SMS to cellphone users in Africa, where mobile handsets are prevalent but Internet penetration is low. The Internet search and advertising giant noted that Africa has the world's highest mobile phone growth rate and that mobile use on the
continent is six times higher than Internet penetration.
In October 2008, several refugee and Kenyan journalists met in Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya, to discuss the development of a press in Kakuma using the Kanere Free Press. In previous years, they had been involved in a camp newsletter, produced by the refugee journalists, but edited by humanitarian agency staff and only intended for local in-camp circulation. That newsletter had eventually collapsed, but the journalists had continued to meet together and analyze the news events in their local milieu.
Mwalimu Nyerere professor of Pan-African Studies at the University of Dar es Salaam, interviews Bereket Habte Selassie, an observer and participant in African politics for almost five decades. From the first All Africa People’s Conference in 1958, to the ‘doubt’ and ‘desperation’ of the current African reality, Selassie provides a thoughtful perspective on the history Pan-Africanism, as well as advice for the future of the African Union. This interview first appeared in Pan-African journal Chemchemi.
While there have been reports of an increase in the number of Zimbabweans entering and leaving South Africa legally because of the recent introduction of the 90 day visa waiver for Zimbabweans by the Department of Home Affairs in March, refugee service providers have observed that illegal entry into South Africa by Zimbabwean economic migrants has continued to escalate, with many Zimbabwean asylum seekers still opting to jump the border and apply for asylum once already in the South Africa, rather than entering the legitimate way.
A group of forty-one (41) Congolese refugees and asylum seekers (men, women and children) have this morning finally fled Namibia for their lives to an undisclosed destination through the neighboring Republic of Botswana. The group includes 23 children between the ages 1 and 17. According to NSHR’s latest information, the group is stranded, without food, in ‘no[wo]man’s’ land between Namibia and Botswana, some 300 kilometers east of the Namibian capital of Windhoek. NSHR has appealed to the Government of the Republic of Botswana to “accord them all the necessary assistance on humanitarian grounds”.
Anne Khaminwa acknowledges to her thoughts on what Kenya can learn from Haiti.
A group of forty-one (41) Congolese refugees and asylum seekers (men, women and children) have this morning finally fled Namibia for their lives to an undisclosed destination through the neighboring Republic of Botswana. The group includes 23 children between the ages 1 and 17. According to NSHR’s latest information, the group is stranded, without food, in ‘no[wo]man’s’ land between Namibia and Botswana, some 300 kilometers east of the Namibian capital of Windhoek. NSHR has appealed to the Government of the Republic of Botswana to “accord them all the necessary assistance on humanitarian grounds”.
‘Six villagers were shot, two fatally, by security guards at the North Mara Gold Mine in Tarime district. The incident happened this afternoon in circumstances that remain unclear. It brings to 11 the number of villagers who have been shot dead at the Mine since July 2005. No one has ever been held accountable for these deaths and no investigations ever carried out. Meantime over forty villagers and hundreds of livestock are reported dead after drinking water from River Thigithe that flows through the Mine. The allegations of deadly poisons causing deaths have largely been conformed by official delegations that have visited the areas this week.’
This guide presents advocates with a collection of popular online services that can be used for advocacy quickly with little to no technical support. There are services for publishing photographs and video, for setting up a campaign blog or for using mobiles to communicate in a group. An amazing amount of functionality and tools are available simply by connecting to the Internet and opening up a web-browser. You don't need to have a lot of technical expertise to try some of these. You also don't need much money, these services are offered at low- to no-cost.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Community Court, hearing the case of torture brought by Gambian journalist Musa Saidykhan against operatives of the Gambia's notorious National Intelligence Agency (NIA), dismissed preliminary objections raised by the Gambian government, the defendant in the case. According to the Community Court, Saidykhan is a citizen of West Africa and the court is mandated by the ECOWAS protocol to hear human rights violation cases brought before it.
Meeting donor requirements can come at the expense of effective collaboration with grassroots organisations, writes Simon Kikoyo, in response to .
In Kenyan history, the land issue has been an emotive issue. To address this problem, the government embarked on the formation of a national land Policy through a widely consultative process with the aim of producing a policy whose vision was to guide the country towards efficient, sustainable and equitable use of land for prosperity and posterity.
Cikiah Thomas responds to Horace Campbell’s article, .
Responding to , Ife Kilimanjaro says actions speak louder than words when it comes to defining the future.
As the rich Group of 8 (G8) nations convene in L'Aquila, Italy this week, world hunger will once again take center stage. The United States will likely announce a "significant" increase in funding for agricultural development aid, along with multi-year commitments from other G8 countries. This follows the G8's admission of failure in tackling hunger at its first-ever farm conference in Treviso, Italy in April 2009.
Much attention has been focused on China’s growing presence in Africa. But Iran too has been seeking expanded ties on the continent. Just this month, Iran’s President Ahmadinejad expressed Tehran’s readiness to expand all-out relations with African countries. “The Islamic Republic of Iran sees no limits for the expansion of ties with African countries,” and sharing its experiences with them, Ahmadinejad told his Kenyan counterpart in New York. “Iran has always sought to boost ties with African countries in all arenas,” Ahmadinejad added.
Urban Voices International Arts Festival 2009 promises again to deliver the most original, diverse and cutting edge spoken word for the South African aficionados of the arts. “As always, the Southern African Arts Exchange has scouted far and wide across the world, searching for the most talented and relevant poets for the South African audiences”, says Roshnie Moonsammy, executive director and founder of Urban Voices and its mother body the Southern African Arts Exchange (SAAE). The Urban Voices Poetry Festival takes place in three cities, Joburg, Cape Town and Durban.
The Special Nigerian edition of the methodological workshops that is on offer for 2009 is designed for doctoral students and young, mid-career African researchers based in Nigeria. The working language to be employed during the workshop will be English. The session will be led by a director who will be assisted by a team of three lecturers, all with an acknowledged expertise in the application of social science research methods.
The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) is pleased to announce its 2009 Fellowship in Transitional Justice: a three-week professional development course on transitional justice based in Cape Town, South Africa. This course will be held from November 2nd, 2009 to November 20th, 2009 in Cape Town, South Africa.
Counsel for seven journalists including Gambian Press Union (GPU) executives, accused of defaming President Yahya Jammeh on July 8, 2009 asked the Banjul High court hearing the case to free their clients because the charges preferred against them were “invalid” and “defective”.
Nominations are now being accepted for the 2009 Human Rights Defenders Tulip award. Anyone can submit a nomination. The nomination form can be found on this page. Nominations must be received by 23 August 2009. Established in 2008, the Human Rights Defenders Tulip Award is an initiative of the Dutch government. It is awarded to acknowledge “persons who have shown exceptional moral courage in protecting and promoting the rights of fellow human beings.”
Leaders of churches in West Africa have cautioned the political authorities in the sub-region against signing the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) by African, Caribbean and Pacific countries in its present form. The leaders said the EPA in its current form was not beneficial and would not give member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) enough political and economic leeway to improve production of staple foods.
Leaders of eight African countries -- Angola, South Africa, Nigeria, Senegal, Ethiopia, Egypt, Algeria and Libya -- will take part in the G-8 Summit that opened Wednesday in l'Aquilla, Italy, a European spokesperso n announced in Brussels. The African leaders will Friday participate in a working session on food security. According to a report of the European NGO Action Aid, countries should devote at least US$ 23 billion per year by 2012 to food crisis in order to reduce by half, hunger in the world by 2015.
Niger's controversial referendum aimed at changing the country's Constitution to allow President Mamadou Tandja to run for a third term will be held 4 Aug., according to the chair of Niger's National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI), Moumouni Hamidou. The holding of the referendum will coincide with a meeting between President Tandja and the electoral body.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) has ended marathon hearings into atrocities committed during the Liberian civil war, recommending stiff penalties, in a final report, likely to affect some 150 Liberians, including President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. The report recommended that 50 Liberians, including Johnson-Sirleaf, be barred for 30 years from contesting and occupying political office in the country.
Zimbabwe's power-sharing cabinet issued an ultimatum Wednesday to the three principals in the national unity government to resolve numerous issues that have been straining relations between the Movement for Democratic Change and ZANU-PF sides of the government.
The names of key suspects involved in violence after the 2007 Kenyan election have been handed to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Mediator Kofi Annan said he had handed the names in a sealed envelope to the prosecutor in The Hague.
The Congolese military has promised to punish any soldiers found guilty of rights abuses, after activists claimed troops were carrying out mass rape. Military spokesman Colonel Leon Richard Kasonga said commanders must ensure the safety of civilians.
There are a few high profile labour disputes currently taking place in South Africa. The public have entered the fray, influencing the labour debates by engaging with them via newspapers and talk radio programmes. At the same time, public sentiment is being influenced by the manner in which the media is presenting the various labour disputes.
The government of Equatorial Guinea has set new low standards of political and economic malfeasance in handling its billions of dollars in oil revenue instead of improving the lives of its citizens, Human Rights Watch has said in a report. The 107-page report, "Well Oiled: Oil and Human Rights in Equatorial Guinea," details how the dictatorship under President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has used an oil boom to entrench and enrich itself further at the expense of the country's people.
United States President Barack Obama should use his visit to Ghana on July 10 and 11, 2009 to encourage its new president, John Atta Mills, to take a leadership position in Africa on issues of democracy and justice, Human Rights Watch has said.
A new article by Dr. Korinna Horta of the Environmental Defense Fund outlines the World Bank's commitment to human rights to date and advocates that the institution integrate a human rights approach into its own policies and programs.
This latest report from the International Crisis Group examines the failed attempts of the past to dismantle the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), an insurgency with roots that go back to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. It recommends a new approach to help end great civilian suffering and restore state authority in the eastern Congo. Clear division of labour and better coordination are needed to capitalise on recently improved Congo-Rwanda relations.
United Nations humanitarian agencies operating in Benin are conducting rapid assessments to determine how they can best assist the thousands of people caught up in the heavy floods that have struck the West African country. At least 20,000 people are estimated to have been displaced or otherwise affected by the floods, with the area around Cotonou, the commercial capital, and along the entire southern coastline among the hardest hit regions.
More than 200,000 people have now been forced to flee the Somali capital Mogadishu since fighting broke out between the Government and opposition groups in early May, in the biggest exodus from the troubled city since Ethiopian forces intervened in the Horn of Africa nation in 2007, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has said. By July 6, the eight-week offensive led by the Al-Shabab and Hisb-ul-Islam militia against the Government had driven a “staggering” 204,000 people from the capital, agency spokesperson Ron Redmond said.
The precarious security situation in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where rebel fighters are continuing attacks against several villages, is a major obstacle to assistance programmes in the area, the United Nations humanitarian arm has said.
An acute shortage of water resources has hit Kenya pushing the country into a crisis as water sources dry up in what experts say is a looming ecological disaster. The shortage has been complicated by drying up of water sources including rivers, lakes , dams ,wells and springs and worsened by a an ongoing 10 month drought.
Zimbabwe has dismissed allegation of any fresh farm invasions, a preliminary report of the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee fact-finding mission said. The Minister of Industry and Commerce, Professor Welshman Ncube, said the committee was in its second week to determine if there are reports of farm invasions in the country but said present findings have revealed that there are only a “spate of land disputes” as opposed to intrusions.
The MDC MP for Chipinge South, Meki Makuyana, was on Thursday convicted on ‘trumped up charges’ of kidnapping. Magistrate Samuel Zuze sentenced Makuyana to 18 months in prison with hard labour - 6 months were suspended. This means the MP will serve an effective 12 months in prison. This brings to 4 the number of MDC MP’s, all from Manicaland Province, who have been convicted and sentenced to jail by magistrates on the ZANU PF payroll. Coincidentally all the MDC MP’s targeted so far beat ZANU PF cabinet ministers in last year’s parliamentary elections.
A confidential memo by the head of a delegation of the Kimberley Process, which recently wrapped up an investigation into the reports of violence and killings in Marange, has detailed the ‘horrific violence’ used by the army against civilians there. The Kimberley Process, a scheme tasked with halting the trade in ‘blood diamonds, sent the delegation to investigate Zimbabwe’s ‘compliance’ with international diamond trade standards.
Madagascar's foreign minister has said that the Indian Ocean island's army-backed government was ready to hold elections before the end of 2009 if the "means" were available. Madagascar has been rocked by political instability since Andry Rajoelina took power in March from then president Marc Ravalomanana with the help of dissident soldiers -- a move that was labelled a coup by many countries and regional blocs.
Nigerian militant leader Henry Okah, who is on trial for gun-running and treason, has accepted a government offer for "unconditional" amnesty, his lawyer told Reuters on Thursday. President Umaru Yar'Adua last week ordered his interior minister to extend the amnesty offer to Okah and promised to release him if he accepted.
The arrival of four international fibre cables in East Africa and the Indian Ocean islands will give larger markets in these regions a significant “growth bump” in what might otherwise be uncertain times. The price reductions on the new fibre capacity makes it just so much cheaper that it should bring a price reduction dividend for both wholesale customers and retail end-users.
Sourth Africa's Justice Minister Jeff Radebe says the new law to register cellphone users will not be used to spy on citizens. He was briefing the media on the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication Related Information Act, which has come into effect. "Our people are protected by the constitution and there will be no illegal interception (of calls). The law prescribes heavy fines for intercepting private calls without the permission of a judge," Radebe said.
Google's new Chrome operating system (OS) will be good for people who live on the Internet. However, Joburg Centre of Software Engineering (JCSE) head Barry Dwolatzky questions whether it will be good for developing economies. The US Internet search giant announced it had released the first version of its Chrome OS, aimed at netbooks, which are mainly used for accessing the World Wide Web.
Nine candidates are competing for the presidency in Mauritania, in a campaign that runs from July 2nd through the polls on July 18th. Observers believe a balance between majority and opposition leaders in the election – agreed in June's Dakar Agreement – will ensure transparency.
In a landmark case in Namibia, 22 hotel workers are taking their employer and a doctor to court for allegedly testing them for HIV without their informed consent. In February 2000, the owner of Oshakati Country Lodge in northern Namibia hired a doctor to conduct HIV tests on all the lodge's employees. Those who asked about the nature of the test were told it was for general hygiene.
Ahead of the G8 summit in L’Aquila that takes place from 8-10 June 2009, Italy, members of civil society movements gathered in Sardinia in the alternative G8 summit called "Gsott8".
A new joint initiative of ESCR-Net and the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at NYU School of Law seeks to provide advocacy and educational resource of first-hand human rights documentation on the impacts businesses have on human rights around the world. Send your contributions.
The boom in the acquisition of arable land in Africa by foreign companies and governments has stirred an international debate between international institutions such as the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and non-governmental groups and independent experts. The debate centres on whether the transfer of land from local farmers to foreign investors represents a development opportunity for the continent.
With women now comprising 61 percent of all people infected with HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa, international donors, governments and advocacy organisations are looking more closely at the connections between HIV/AIDS and gender inequality. A new report released last week by two Washington-based think tanks, the Centre for Global Development (CGD) and the International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW), more closely explores the connection between HIV/AIDS and gender inequality, and to what extent donors and countries are using this knowledge to help in the fight against AIDS.
The fourth largest river in Africa, the mighty Zambezi, is a lifeblood to 32 million people, from land-locked Zambia to Mozambique on the Indian Ocean. But its blessing is also its curse. Climate change is blamed for an increase in rainfall and flooding along the river's 2,574 kilometre course through Angola, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
Uganda, Rwanda and the United Nations High Committee on Refugees set a target date of July 31 for all Rwandan refugees in Uganda to return home, with the U.N.'s refugee commission planning to reduce support for remaining Rwandans in August. The closer that date gets, the more it worries Beatrice Mukasekuru, who has asked that her real name not be used to protect her privacy.
Climate change in Malawi interacts with environmental degradation, notably deforestation, and it is women who suffer most. Women have multiple roles as farmers and bringers of water and firewood and so depend very directly on natural resources. At the same time their position in society means that generally they have less access to income and credit and little or no voice in decision making. That resulting increased vulnerability feeds the spread of HIV and AIDS, for example if women resort to selling sex for food during the hungry months before the harvest. This Oxfam report details the impact of climate change on livelihoods in Malawi, and outlines the ways in which people are adapting to these changes.
This bulletin, published by the Population Reference Bureau, provides a sketch of urban health in developing countries, documenting the intra-urban differences in health for a number of countries and showing how the risks facing the urban poor compare with those facing rural villagers. It begins with an overview of the multiple dimensions of urban poverty and a summary of internationally comparable evidence on the urban health differentials associated with poverty.
Concerned about gender based violence, rapidly spiraling out of control in South Africa, a group of committed donors have established a Joint Gender Fund with the aim to provide grants to civil society organisations in support of projects that integrate fighting gender based violence and HIV and AIDS.
A stringent Bill against homosexuality is in the offing, the state minister for ethics and integrity, Dr. James Nsaba Buturo, has said. Addressing a press conference at the Media Centre, Buturo said the country was besieged by homosexuality, pornography, prostitution, human sacrifice, drug abuse, embezzlement and witchcraft to the extent that it was “dangerously becoming a permissive society.”
The 07-07-07 Campaign, has condemned the 20th postponement of Zoliswa Nkonyana’s murder case, citing incompetence from both the presiding magistrate and the Khayelitsha Magistrate Court. Nkonyana’s case went to court again two weeks ago where it was postponed to 28 September this year. “The delays in Zoliswa’s case have reached ridiculous levels, there have been 20 postponements and 15 of these have been due to delays by defense lawyers”, says Joint Working Group coordinator, Emily Craven.