Human rights activists on Monday said the government's recent attack on Angola's private Radio Ecclesia, accusing it of practising "radio terrorism", was a setback for the fostering of democracy in the country.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) and UNICEF began a workshop this week to develop innovative strategies and an action plan to promote girls' education in five regions that have wide gender gaps and low girls' school enrolment rates.

As abortion-related mortality continues to rise, attitudes and lack of supportive policies on reproductive health are conspiring to send more young women of reproductive age to the graveyard. There is apparent need to increase the awareness on risks of unsafe abortions, but for those who abort, the intervention would be to improve post-abortion care, argues this commentary.

This publication aims to promote the organisation of small-scale milk collection and processing as a sustainable, income-generating activity for household food security. It also tries to be a means to improving the safety, quantity and quality of milk and milk products available for consumers in developing countries.

Individual telecenters have been shown to foster profound developmental outcomes within the communities they serve. Yet the role of telecenters in rural development and in the development of marginal urban areas is not clear. Moreover, there are many kinds of telecenters. Which telecenters are most successful in providing access to the poor and reducing rural poverty? Which business models work best? Do different countries and different kinds of communities require different types of telecenters and/or different business models? Why do so many Telecenters fail?

In the preparatory discussions for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), to take place in December, a rift has emerged between the visions aiming to put new technology at the service of business, or of citizens. The differences were evident from the beginning, in Monday's sessions of Prepcom-2 in Geneva, convened by the United Nations to discuss how to achieve greater equality in access to information and communications technology.

Joining a growing trend, a South African government council recommended an official policy that promotes the use of open-source software - but stops short of jettisoning proprietary applications. The recommended policy for Africa's wealthiest nation expresses a preference for open-source applications when proprietary alternatives don't offer a compelling advantage. Other nations have taken more extreme positions, mandating the use of open-source software unless no other practical alternatives exist.

Businessmen Mohamed Zaki, Ibrahim Moosa Luthfee, Ahmed Ibrahim Didi and a young woman who worked as a personal secretary to Ibrahim Luthfee, Fathimath Nisreen, were arrested in January and February 2002, because of their alleged involvement with an Internet publication called Sandhaanu. While Sandhaanu publishes articles which are severely critical of the government, it does not advocate violent political opposition. In July Mohamed Zaki, Ibrahim Moosa Luthfee and Ahmed Ibrahim Didi were sentenced to life imprisonment. Fathimath Nisreen was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Please write, calling for the immediate and unconditional release of prisoners of conscience Mohamed Zaki, Ibrahim Moosa Luthfee, Ahmed Ibrahim Didi and Fathimath Nisreen. Raise concerns that their trial was not fair and that they were denied legal representation throughout.

With less than a week to go before the controversial France/Africa Summit, the French government has revealed that the New Economic Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad) will be the main focus. The summit will tackle issues such as the prevention and settlement of conflicts, development of natural resources, health, education and the improvement of agriculture with a view to poverty reduction.

The National Assembly is likely to take action against former African National Congress chief whip Tony Yengeni for lying to Parliament when he made a special statement proclaiming his innocence to the House on March 28 last year. It is also understood that Parliament will soon move against ANC MP Winnie Madikizela-Mandela soon, despite her lawsuit. Madikizela-Mandela was guilty of contravening Parliament's code of conduct, in that she failed to disclose donations of R50000 a month to supplement her monthly income.

The United Nations World Health Organisation (WHO) is leading a joint team of health experts and clinicians rushing to control an outbreak of the Ebola virus, which has reportedly killed more than 60 people in the northwestern part of the Republic of the Congo.

It is hard to be a boy in South Africa these days. A recent survey of 30 schools in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province found that, across all races, male students and teachers experience uncertainty about their role and status and a sense of displacement due to the loss of their privileged space in society. The study examined how masculinity is constructed and maintained in schools to better understand how deeply-held notions of masculinity lead to high-risk behaviour for HIV infection among men and women.

President Kibaki has assured Kenyans that he was in charge of the nation and that he would lead the fight against corruption from the top. Delivering his first public address since being sworn in on December 30, Kibaki said corruption had undermined most of Kenya's important institutions and tarnished the reputations of Kenyan leaders.

Women and girls in particular experience conflict and displacement in different ways from men because of the gender division of roles and responsibilities. Increasingly, says this UN report, modern warfare is wreaking havoc on the lives of women and girls, and on the health and educational services that are key to family and community survival and development.

A non-governmental organisation has sued the Kenya government to compel it to make public the report of the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) for a titanium mining project in Kwale District of Coast Province. The case against the National Environmental Management Authority (Nema) was filed in the High Court by George Mulama Wamukoya on behalf of the Centre for Environmental Legal Research and Education (CELRE) on February 6.

Issue 16 of Forced Migration Review for January 2003, published by the Refugee Studies Centre in association with the Norwegian Refugee Council/Global IDP Project, is now available online. Entitled African Displacement: Roots, Resources and Resolution, titles of articles include 'Camps and freedoms: long-term refugee situations in Africa', 'Western Sahara and Palestine: shared refugee experiences' and 'IDP protection in Angola: has momentum been lost?'

A new campaign was launched on Valentine's Day aiming to persuade consumers in the United States not to buy diamonds mined in African war zones and to urge U.S. lawmakers to quickly pass legislation barring the import of "conflict diamonds."

Archbishop Desmond Tutu delivered inspirational messages about overcoming racism in South Africa and America to two very different audiences during recent speaking engagements. He reminded students that racism not only fueled apartheid - the legal discrimination against nonwhites in South Africa - but also fueled slavery and lynchings in America and the Holocaust in Germany. He told students that skin color doesn't say anything about a person's intelligence, compassion or ability to have fun.

One of the first draft laws the South African Parliament will debate this year is the Anti-Terrorism Bill. This article from the Freedom of Expression Institute says the bill poses a threat to domestic activism and betrays the political history of the ruling ANC by preventing other international liberation movements from charting a similar course to its own.

In a landmark decision, Zambia's Supreme Court has ruled that parliament acted legally and properly last year in removing the immunity of former president Frederick Chiluba. This means that Mr Chiluba no longer enjoys protection from the law as guaranteed in the constitution and paves the way for an imminent arrest on charges of corruption.

The candidate will develop & manage a 3-year multi level campaign to enhance the quality and quantity of coverage of health issues in the African media with a focus on HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria. Fluent written and spoken English and French are essential. This position requires an experienced journalist with knowledge of public health issues in Africa and a proven track record of coordination and management of media projects in Africa.

Soweto pupils were further empowered on Saturday when a leading bank donated 52 mobile libraries to 26 schools in the area. The libraries, complete with the first 100 books selected in conjunction with the Gauteng Department of Education, came at a cost of R466 000 and were donated by Standard Bank.

Although the National Assembly has attempted to water down some democratic precepts by the numerous amendments that they have allowed, the fact remains that the spirit and purpose of democracy still exists in our supreme law. The many attempts, including the removal of the recall provision, the abolishing of the second chamber, and the senate so far have not fully eroded the basic spirit of democracy and the accountability of the Executive through the people’s representatives.

In a move considered a breakthrough for a country with high levels of stigma and discrimination, Batswana using antiretroviral drugs have come forward to tell their stories in a series of educational videos released this week.

The human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell will file a complaint with the general prosecutor of Paris, requesting that Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean President, be arrested on torture charges when he arrives for a two-day summit of African leaders. The legal action, using the UN Convention Against Torture, which France has signed, is likely to be symbolic because there is no precedent of a foreign leader being prosecuted in France while in office.

The history of public broadcasting in Africa in relation to elections, democracy and human rights can be mostly summarised in six words, "abuse of power by incumbent governments". This may seem harsh, but this is the truth.

From Egypt to Zimbabwe, Gambia to Ethiopia and in almost every country between the four points of and centre of Africa - North, South, West, East and Central Africa - most governments have converted the power of public broadcasting to the abysmally selfish motive of sustaining themselves in power - indefinitely if possible.

Were this to be of no consequence to the social, political and economic development of African countries and the continent as a whole, this observation could be considered an exercise in intellectual ball juggling. However given the unrivalled power of the broadcast media to shape public opinion, its continued abuse by numerous African governments can be likened to the use of a dis-information nuclear option by governments against their own people.

How has the abuse of the broadcast media by these governments been used to damage the development of Africa and what can be done to end it? The first and most blatant indicator of the abuse of public broadcasting in Africa is its now infamous description as 'state broadcasting'. 'State' radio and television are often seen as one of the prizes of capturing power.

The dangerous consequence of this is that public radio and television are seen as a means to propagate the opinion and agenda of governments or the state to the exclusion of the rest of society. In the 'state' controlled media, the interests of the state are merged with that of the ruling regime, and its leadership. The interests of the leadership in turn become the 'public interest.' The 'state' media is therefore used to, and sees its role as that of promoting the interest of the state, the ruling party or regime and its leadership - all of which have become indistinguishable from each other and the 'public interest'. Going by this, any opinions or events that may be opposed to or embarrass the 'state' are often not transmitted by the state broadcaster since this is assumed not to be in the interest of the public, i.e. state, i.e. leadership of the ruling regime.

The clearest manifestation of this can be seen in the role of the 'state' media during most elections in Africa. The ruling party and its candidates are given wall-to-wall coverage, and everything good that happens is attributed to them with the possible exception of sunrise. The opposition on the other hand are excluded from or allocated the minimum coverage possible, which is almost always bad news. In the present world context of the "war against terrorism", legitimate activity of the democratic opposition could even be portrayed as "terrorist activity". Even paid or sponsored election campaign advertisements are not guaranteed airtime and have been considered subversive. We saw this happen in Zimbabwe and again to a lesser extent during the recent Kenyan elections in December 2002.

Most opposition parties complain bitterly only because they are victims of such abuse. However, their philosophical perception of public broadcasting is no different from that of incumbent governments.

The primary implication of denying the legitimate and democratic opposition appropriate visibility to the public via equitable access to the public broadcast media is the lack of a level playing field for competing political ideas. This applies not only to elections, but also to in-between elections when the 'state' media bombards the public with a constant stream of subtle and overt propaganda.

The secondary implication of this is that anything that is perceived as being of possible help to the opposition is censored by the state controlled broadcast media. Censorship as we know, leads to lack of accountability, and lack of accountability reinforces dictatorship. In countries where the private or independent print media is located mainly in the cities, or where income and illiteracy limit their scope, the broadcast media becomes the eyes and ears of most of society. Since government with the exception of FM stations with limited reach largely controls the broadcast media, state control and abuse of the public media is bound to give governments an unhealthy capacity to control the flow of news and information. Such control lends itself easily to the manipulation of public opinion and thus society.

For instance, where there is an impending famine and tens or even hundreds of thousands are facing mass starvation, as is presently the case in southern Africa and the Horn of Africa, news of this is censored. In other words, the public is denied the benefit of advance warning, knowing the causes of this, and debating potential short and long-term solutions in the public broadcast media. The lack of a collective sense of impending disaster and the opportunity of collective preparation for it means the first that the public knows of a famine is when it has actually hit them.

But state censorship is only fully effective when backed with the full force of the levers of power. This means the subversion of democracy and in particular freedom of expression and opinion by means of manipulating public broadcasting is necessarily followed by the suppression of human rights in general, and media freedom in particular. This highlights the fact that media freedom cannot be secured in isolation from other pillars of democracy such as the right to freedoms of association, assembly, political participation and rights to be free from discrimination and persecution.

It is therefore not out of place to posit that an open and accountable public media, which is guaranteed its editorial independence and facilitates equitable access to all shades of opinion in society is vital alongside other factors, to the sustenance of democracy.

In order to achieve this several specific steps must be taken.

Firstly, civil society must campaign unrelentlessly for the appointment process of boards and senior editorial and management staff of the public broadcast media to be removed from the control of executive arms of government. This campaign must involve all sectors of society, the professional associations, trade unions, NGO's and so forth. The body overseeing these appointments together with parliament must also reflect this diversity.

Secondly, principles of editorial independence and the protection of journalists from political persecution for refusing overtures from political interests must guide parliamentary oversight. This editorial independence must go along with the media's obligation to promote accountability in both the public and other sectors of society.

Thirdly, media freedom must be guaranteed for both the print and electronic, private or independent media.

Fourthly, freedom of expression must be a constitutionally protected right that cannot be curtailed arbitrarily. Civil society must also make it clear, that for the political opposition to be accepted as legitimate, it should also sign up to these principles and not just oppose the government opportunistically.

With specific regard to elections, certain principles are essential and must be institutionalised in respect of the public broadcast media:

- Guaranteed equitable access to publicly owned broadcast media for all political parties.

- A commitment to voter education with respect to the voting process, venues, times, political parties and candidates.

- A limited number of brief and free slots for electoral campaign broadcasts be given to all political parties to outline their programme and candidates at relevant levels of government. This will ensure that at least all parties and candidates are given the equitable visibility necessary for genuine democracy.

- A ceiling on the fees to be charged by all broadcast media for any additional election campaign broadcasts.

- A ceiling on the total number of election campaign broadcasts that any one political party and its candidates can run over the period of the campaigns. This will prevent the outright buying of the elections by parties backed by richer members of society.

- No discounts to any one political party for paid election campaign broadcasts.

- A code of conduct and ethics regarding what is appropriate to run in an election advert or campaign. This will also cover incitement, hate speech, defamation and other standards agreed in advance by all parties.

- No turning away of campaign adverts of any party to the advantage of other parties.

- The rights of reply and correction for candidates that may have been defamed.

- That the publicly owned media must not to be used by incumbent political parties to attack other political parties, and that ruling parties in particular not undermine the editorial independence of the broadcast media.

- Guarantee of the safety and security of journalists, editorial and management staff, and media houses that exercise the right to editorial independence.

- Fair, balanced and equitable news coverage of political party campaign activities especially during news broadcasts. This should include distinguishing between government activities and campaigning.

- An agreement on fair, balanced and equitable coverage of election debates.

- No broadcasting of speculative results that may truncate the will of the electorate and lead to conflict or violence based on electoral disputes. Any results broadcast should be based on results obtained from polling stations and agreed by agents of all parties present. Also, that coverage of disputed results not be broadcast in such a manner that is inflammatory and could lead to violent conflict.

Significantly, these requirements for the public broadcast media to be able to play its role in facilitating democracy are not unique to Africa. Some of these and more are currently applicable in many countries around the world including in Africa. However, many countries around the world including the majority of African ones are yet to institutionalise these and other principles not outlined here. The institutionalisation of these principles is one of the urgent tasks facing African civil society and there must be no delay.

But this is not a task for African civil society alone. The African Union must prove its relevance by not only adopting these principles, but also ensuring that its member states implement them.

* Sankore is Coordinator of CREDO for Freedom of Expression and Associated Rights an international organisation focussing on rights issues in Africa.
* Send comments on this editorial to

Cholera has claimed 33 lives in Mozambique since the first case of the present outbreak was diagnosed in the northern province of Niassa in September 2002, reports Monday's issue of the Maputo daily "Noticias".

How far will Mozambique go with its promising economic recovery if the price is a damaged environment, nature conservationists are asking? ''From a proposed new highway that will devastate the rainforest in the Inhambane province, to the potential destruction of coral reefs in the Indian Ocean, sacrificed to shipping, mining and tourism, red warning flags are being raised all over this beautiful country,'' conservationist Manuel Chissano told IPS.

The road to the ballot box in Liberia's political contest seems to be rocky as insecurity, violence and intimidation of political opponents rise in the run up to October's general elections. The race kicked off a few days ago with attacks, arrests and intimidation of political opponents and in one case the shooting of an opposition activist - raising the questions of insecurity, unhindered canvassing and level-playing field in the forthcoming elections.

There is need for an alternative development paradigm to counter capital led globalisation, argues an article in the latest edition of the Seatini Bulletin that reflects on the recent World Social Forum. This essentially means that non-governmental organisations, civil society, individuals and governments have to evaluate their engagement with the social and economic challenges that confront the peoples of the world. Governments particularly need to link themselves more with social movements and peoples aspirations than with big businesses and profit.

Over 2,000 teachers are due to be been transferred in a massive shake-up of staff in secondary schools nationwide.
Some 400 teachers have already received transfer letters.

With the world poised for war in Iraq, thousands of participants gathered in Kyoto for the 3rd World Water Forum are expressing their concern over another potential source of conflict - water. "Our discussions will have far more effect on humankind for the 21st century than the current crisis in the Middle East, or any other political problem of the day," believes William Cosgrove, vice president of the World Water Council, a think tank on water founded in 1996. To date, no fewer than 300 potential water conflict zones have been identified by the United Nations.

Africa's economic revival plan this week received a financial boost from the United Nations aimed at kick-starting the ambitious project more than a year after it was launched.

Legendary Senegalese band Orchestra Baobab, who reformed last year after 15 years apart, are the biggest winners at this year's BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards. The group, one of the most popular bands on the world music scene, won the prestigious critics' choice award and were named best African artists.

President Bush has received kudos for his announcement that the administration will propose $15 billion over five years to combat HIV/AIDS abroad. But, says a commentary from Foreign Policy in Focus, many AIDS activists and experts are still waiting to see whether the administration will actually be able to wrestle the money away from a less enthusiastic Republican-controlled House of Representatives. There is also concern that the proposal has slighted multilateral efforts to combat HIV/AIDS - particularly the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria - in favour of a renewed emphasis on bilateral initiatives.

Reporters sans frontières (RSF), has urged the three rebel groups that operate in the western city of Man to do everything possible to secure the release of a reporter from the independent daily "Soir Info", who was detained by rebels on 6 February 2003.

Despite having no electricity, coupled with an unreliable telephone system, Burundian refugees living in camps in northwestern Tanzania can now access the Internet, the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refuges (UNHCR) reported last Wednesday.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Sergio Vieira de Mello has expressed "grave concern" over the growing violence in Côte d'Ivoire, condemning the propaganda carried by some national media aimed at inciting war, hatred and xenophobia. de Mello reminded all concerned that grave human rights violations were punishable as international crimes.

This document - produced by UNAIDS - provides an overview of the impacts of the HIV/AIDS epidemic by gender and considers prevention and care issues, especially as they relate to women.

Processes of globalization have highlighted the need for ethical standards and norms wherever conflicts arise, particularly in developing countries which often have weak institutions and systems of redress. Through careful and sensitive exploration of case studies spanning the entire developing world, this publication shows how these new standards might be approached and the conditions they must meet to address fundamental issues of land rights, mineral and oil extraction, environmental ethics and development strategies. By showing what legal and institutional innovation is needed to mediate disputes and to enforce new ethics in the global economy that promote both human rights and environmental sustainability, this book makes a significant contribution to the development process as a whole.

Nigeria's national assembly, long seen as one of the main centres of graft in a notoriously corrupt polity, is expected to begin within weeks public hearings on a document that will cause it great embarrassment. A 300-page annual report on government spending submitted last month by Vincent Azie, the country's auditor-general, reads like an extended charge sheet against parliament, the president's office, government ministries and the judiciary.

Hundreds of people have been streaming into camps for previously displaced people in the western suburbs of the capital, Monrovia. Earlier last week, rebels from the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (Lurd) group were reported to be on the outskirts of Monrovia, sparking panic, but this later proved to be a false alarm.

People living with HIV/AIDS (PWAs) in rural Western Kenya are learning to improve the quality of their lives through better food production. The Kenya AIDS Intervention Prevention Project Group (KAIPPG) is a local NGO that has been running HIV/AIDS programmes in rural communities in the small town of Mumias, 50 km from the Uganda border.

The African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS) is a Pan- African organisation, established in The Gambia in 1989. Since its inception, the Centre has been at the forefront in promoting and protecting human rights and democracy in Africa, through training, action-oriented research, publications and documentation. The 11th Training Course on the Use of International Human Rights Procedures for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in Africa, is one of the main tools of ACDHRS to promote and protect human rights in Africa.

Community media provide a vital alternative to the profit-oriented agenda of corporate media. They are driven by social objectives rather than the private, profit motive. They empower people rather than treat them as passive consumers, and they nurture local knowledge rather than replace it with standard solutions. Ownership and control of community media is rooted in, and responsible to, the communities they serve. And they are committed to human rights, social justice, the environment and sustainable approaches to development. Read more about community media at the web site provided.

A military observer team should be deployed in Mambasa, near the Ituri river in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a United Nations-led inter-agency rapid assessment mission organised by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has recommended.

Two thirds of the population of Eritrea are facing food shortages and 10,000 children are severely malnourished, the UN said last Friday. Musa Bungudu, head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Eritrea, said that children were already starting to die in the tiny Red Sea state.

Free and compulsory primary education for Kenyan children was one of the key pre-election promises that led the current government, led by President Mwai Kibaki, to power in December 2002. Since then an estimated 1.5 million children, who were previously out-of-school, have turned up to attend classes. "We will not be content until every child of primary school age is enrolled…By educating the children we are investing in the future of this country. In the long term, educating children is one way to eradicate poverty," said the Minister for Education, George Saitoti, last week. Parents and children alike have greeted the move with euphoria.