As public involvement in creating a new constitution for Zimbabwe draws to a close, a rights group reports the process has sparked increased human - rights violations. The Zimbabwe Peace Project says ZANU-PF supporters were the main perpetrators of intimidation at the outreach program. The Zimbabwe Peace Project said it has monitors around the country and they have witnessed many acts of physical intimidation at public meetings.

On 9 September 2010, the International Press Institute (IPI) granted the 'Free Media Pioneer' to Okapi Radio, the UN radio in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The radio has been broadcasting since 2002 in an effort to contribute to the peace building process in the country.

Margot Wallstrom, the United Nation's special representative on sexual violence and conflict, and Zainab Salbi, the founder and CEO of Women for Women International, an organisation that aids women in conflict zones, were recently interviewed on violence against women in conflict zones. 'It's very extensive, unfortunately. It has happened historically. It is taking one of the worst shapes in Congo. About a thousand women is getting raped every month in the last 12 years, according to the state department.' This post includes video and audio.

Sudan has delayed the registration of voters for January's referendum on secession for the south until November, raising tensions over the timetable. The chairman of the referendum commission said this was to allow for staff training and delivery of forms. Tanzania's former President Benjamin Mkapa, appointed by the UN to encourage a smooth vote, has told the BBC many challenges lie ahead.

The University of East London's School of Law is seeking to appoint an international scholar with an outstanding research record to lead our research in the area of international and comparative human rights and to become Director of the Centre on Human Rights in Conflict

South Africa plans to invest in a solar power energy park in order to help meet increasing electricity demands, the department of energy has announced. The solar park will be built in the Northern Cape Province and generate 5,000 megawatts of energy, about 11 per cent of the country's current power capacity.

Ugandan authorities should either release a Kenyan human rights activist who is being held on terrorism charges or provide details of the charges, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said in a joint letter to the Ugandan government. Al-Amin Kimathi was arrested, along with Kenyan lawyer Mbugua Mureithi, on September 15 after the two travelled from Kenya to Uganda to observe a hearing of six Kenyans charged with terrorism in connection with the July bomb attacks in Kampala, which killed over 76 people who were watching the World Cup final.

Findings published by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) expose how in their drive to maximise catch and minimise cost, illegal ‘pirate’ fishing operators ruthlessly exploit the crews working aboard their boats. EJF’s new report ‘All at Sea – the abuse of human rights aboard illegal fishing vessels’ documents how individuals working on pirate fishing vessels can be subject to excessive working hours, incarceration, and physical abuse up to and including murder.

The protection of civilians in conflict situations is a key challenge for blue berets across the world, but what would it take for peacekeepers deployed in Africa to do better? This question has gained added urgency from the mass rape by armed rebels over four days in late July and early August 2010 of more than 300 civilians in villages in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo that lie close to a UN peacekeepers’ base. According to Paul Williams, associate professor at George Washington University, 'For many, civilian protection is the very essence of peacekeeping. But protecting civilians in Africa’s war zones raises huge challenges.'

Commenting on largely disappointing statistics about Tanzanian children’s reading and arithmetic levels, Uwezo Tanzania stresses that the country must focus more on learning outcomes rather than mere educational facilities.

The discussion on World Trade Organisation (WTO) compatibility in the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the EU and ACP countries has so far been very narrowly defined, and largely from the perspective of the European Union. This analytical note from the South Centre presents a matrix providing a comparison of the EPA commitments the EU is asking ACP countries for, and treatment of these issues in the WTO, including where appropriate, the type of flexibilities available for the different developing country groupings at the WTO.

In the semi-arid Laikipia district of Kenya’s Rift Valley province, research scientist Sarah Ogalleh Ayeri travels from one village to another, documenting methods used by peasant farmers as they attempt to adapt to changing climatic conditions. She is a research scientist at the Centre for Training and Integrated Research for Arid and Semi-Arid Lands Development and her study is titled 'Lessons from Farmers: localised adaptations in agriculture as building blocks to climate change adaptation in Laikipia district'.

ARTICLE 19 and four other international freedom of expression organisations are calling on the government of Uganda to respect its international and constitutional obligations to safeguard freedom of expression. The International Freedom of Expression Partnership four - day mission was undertaken in September 2010 to assess the deteriorating freedom of expression situation in the country, in the wake of the killing of two journalists and in the light of forthcoming elections in 2011.

Much as developing countries have often taken the approach that 'no deal is better than a bad deal' at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), a strong joint negotiating position would leverage larger gains in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) governance reform process due to be concluded by the end of 2010. Possible gains from a tough negotiating position include a rewriting of the IMF quota formula, double majority voting, more developing country seats on the board, and an end to the US veto.

The United Nations initiative to boost the number of female police officers deployed in peacekeeping missions around the globe has made real progress since it was launched a year ago, according to the world body’s top police official. The so-called Global Effort was launched in August 2009 with the aim of more than doubling the proportion of women comprising UN Police (UNPOL) to 20 per cent by 2014.

Girleffect.org tells the story of girls creating a ripple impact of social and economic change on their families, communities and nations. Last week, at the Clinton Global Initiative, the Girl Effect launched a new video that builds on the original message, and discusses important issues like child marriage and early pregnancy for adolescent girls.

It has been 18 months at the helm of one of South Africa’s toughest cabinet portfolios and already Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has endured a disgruntled doctors’ strike, a crippling public sector work stoppage, the untimely death of his deputy minister and complex debates on a National Health Insurance initiative, which is really the critical transformation of the health system. However, Motsoaledi is proving to be a survivor and a tactician who is determined to turn the health sector around.

The cancellation by Egyptian security of an international NGO conference in Cairo, just two days before it was to take place, is a brazen example of the government’s increasingly hostile behavior towards civil society, according to Freedom House. The conference, entitled 'Freedom of Association in the Arab World: Reality and Expectations', was organised by One World Foundation in cooperation with Al Sadat Association.

Malaria, and other common African infections, may make women more susceptible to HIV/AIDS than they are in the developed world, according to a study that may help solve the mystery of the vastly different infection rates around the globe. Researchers who compared immune cells in the genital tracts of women in Kenya and the United States, found that Kenyan women had more 'activated' cells, which are more vulnerable to attack by HIV. Cells can become activated as a reaction to infection.

The number of Congolese refugees repatriated from neighbouring Zambia by UNHCR since 2007 has topped the 40,000 mark. The milestone was passed last Sunday when a UNHCR-chartered boat carrying 555 people arrived at Moba in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's Katanga province after crossing LakeTanganyika from the north Zambian port of Mpulungu.

The widening levels of inequality and poverty globally, coupled with sharp increases in the prices of agricultural products have aggravated the challenges of food security. Moreover, the diversion of land for the production of fuels (bio-fuel) in the face of environmental degradation as a result of climate change has aggravated the food crisis The recent debilitating economic slowdown has adversely impacted the situation on the African continent that is faced with a largely unsuccessful approach to agricultural production and food security and thus heavily reliant on imports and aid to meet its food requirements.

For hundreds of years, pastoralists in Tanzania’s Ngorongoro District have lived off cattle, managing grazing land communally. But this way of life is under threat, as business interests trump traditional land rights, with the blessing of the government. Susanna Nordlund has written a blog about her visit to Loliondo to explore reports of conflict between local Masaai communities and a foreign-owned safari company, in which she raises a number of allegations. We reproduce her post in the hope that this might stimulate a serious investigation of these events.

Socio-economic problems are the major cause of xenophobia in South Africa, the United Nations refugee agency said in Johannesburg on Wednesday. 'No society is xenophobic by nature, these attacks were caused by lack of development,' UN High Commissioner for Refugees deputy regional representative Sergio Calle Norena told the Congress of South Africa Trade Unions' summit on xenophobia.

In support of the hundreds of thousands of refugees who have fled from conflict and disaster areas, Ericsson and Refugees United, in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and mobile operator MTN in Uganda, have launched the first project to locate and reconnect refugee and IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) families through the innovative use of mobile phones and internet. The program enables refugees to use mobile phones to register and search for loved ones via an anonymous database.

When children work in order to ensure the livelihoods of themselves and their families, should this be defined as child labour, asks Salma Maoulidi.

Under one per cent of poetry books published in the UK are by black or Asian poets. 'This is, quite simply, not fair,' says Bernardine Evaristo, one of the editors of Ten, a poetry anthology published by Bloodaxe Books. A week before the launch of Ten, Jeremy Hunt, the secretary of state for culture, Olympics, media and sport told delegates at the Media Festival Arts that he is firmly in favour of 'broadening participation' in the arts and is 'very ashamed' that we still live in a country 'where many, many people don't get a chance to access the arts'. Unfortunately, writes Lara Pawson in the London Guardian, what he said next was not as hopeful: 'The debate has got to move on from the kind of box-ticking targets approach that says that in return for your grant from the Arts Council, you will get so many people from particular ethnic or social backgrounds.'

Ethiopia’s central bank announced a devaluation of national currency the birr by a fifth on 1 September, reportedly on the instructions of a macro-economic team chaired by President Zenawi. Placing the devaluation within in a wider political context, Seid Hassan outlines what the move means for the country’s economy and why it might please the IMF.

If we are to create and provide space and a platform for African autonomous thinking on issues of the future of the continent, we have to begin by liberating ourselves from Western ways of thinking and draw knowledge and inspiration from our own heritages, argues Dani W. Nabudere, in the second half of a two-part article based on his inaugural address to the newly formed Nile Heritage Forum on political economy.

Friends of the Earth International, the world's largest federation of grassroots environmental organisations, is proud to announce that its chair, Nnimmo Bassey from Nigeria [1], will be a recipient of the 2010 'Right Livelihood Award'. [2] The Right Livelihood Award, often referred to as the 'Alternative Nobel Prize' will be delivered in Stockholm on December 6.

Nnimmo Bassey, who is also Executive Director of Friends of the Earth Nigeria, was nominated ‘for revealing the full ecological and human horrors of oil production and for his inspired work to strengthen the environmental movement in Nigeria and globally.’

Between October 14th and 17th October 2010, a Million Women Rise (MWR) delegation of British women will be attending the Third International Action of the World March of Women in Bukavu (province of South Kivu) in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The promise of legal aid is an empty one for most people in Africa, thanks to a shortage of lawyers, many of whom are located in capital cities rather than in rural areas. But a new approach that uses paralegals to provide frontline services could make legal aid a real option for people across the continent, writes Adam Stapleton, with plans underway for the establishment of ‘an international alliance of organisations to promote primary justice services to the poor.’

Rwanda President Paul Kagame and security…

A report released by the East African literacy project Uwezo shows that educated parents – even just at the primary school level – make for better-educated children, Chambi Chachage writes. As well, the Tanzanian system has focused too long on education ‘inputs’ such as teachers and classrooms, rather than ‘outcomes’ such as high literacy, critical thinking and creativity.

‘The tragedy in Zamfara State is not only a resource curse but a wakeup call,’ writes Uche Igwe. Illegal minerals mining in Nigeria's Zamfara State sheds light on the problems posed by extractive industries in developing countries. While the revenue potential is huge, federal oversight has been weak and international support is ambiguous. More transparency is urgently needed so that the mistakes made in the Niger Delta are not repeated in Zamfara.

On 27 August 2010, President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya promulgated the country’s new Constitution. This was the culmination of a journey that begun over two decades ago when the first attempt was made to reform the constitutional order that Kenya had inherited from Britain, its former colonial power, in 1963. The draft Constitution was approved in a poll that took place on 4 August 2010, by 68 per cent of those who voted. Tim Murithi outlines what is at stake in the implementation phase.

A political scrap between a young challenger and a veteran politician points towards a possible candidate for future Tanzanian president, writes Chambi Chachage.

Writing as Nigeria marks 50 years of independence, Sokari Ekine stresses that as vivid as the photos within Ed Kashi’s work ‘Curse of the Black Gold’ are, the reality for Niger Deltans is even worse.

The decisions of the last Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) meeting confirmed that China can take on board the need to respond to critical reactions to its African engagement. But, asks Stephen Marks, how far are Western researchers and policy advisers taking on board the lessons that may be learned from China’s rise and its impact on low-income countries?

The excessive and arbitrary use of pretrial detention critically undermines socioeconomic development and is especially harmful to the poor, argues Kersty McCourt. Pretrial detention disproportionately affects individuals and families living in poverty: they are more likely to come into conflict with the criminal justice system, more likely to be detained awaiting trial and less able to make bail or pay bribes for their release, McCourt stresses. For individuals, the excessive use of pretrial detention means lost income and reduced employment opportunities; for their families, it means economic hardship and reduced educational outcomes; and for the state, it means increased costs, reduced revenue and fewer resources for social service programmes.

The Optional protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (OP-ICESCR) adopted by the General Assembly of the UN on 10 December of 2008 and opened to signatures and ratifications on 24 September 2009 enables new channels for the justiciability of the right to food at international level. The OP will enter in to force three months after its 10th ratification. On the first anniversary of the opening to signature and ratification, the NGO Coalition working for the ratification of the OP has launched a statement promoting the 10 first ratifications until 10 December.

From the Contents:
* The land is not for sale!
* Mission to the World Trade Organisation
* The impacts of climate change on human rights
* The CFS - platform for global governance of food security
* Kenya: Landmark decision on indigenous people's rights
* India's National Food Security Act: prospects and challenges
* Right to Food and Nutrition Watch 2010
* New publications

Big investment banks are making a killing out of reckless speculation, with disastrous consequences for the lives of poor people around the world. Come and find out how, and what we’re going to do to stop them.

On 1 - 2 September, in popular neighbourhoods of Maputo, capital of Mozambique, and in the town of Matola, in the industrial belt of Maputo, there were extremely violent demonstrations and looting. UNAC, the National Union of Peasant Farmers, condemns both the use of blind repression and lethal force on the part of the forces of law and order, and the unjustifiable destruction by some elements of the population of buildings, vehicles , filling stations and other structures.

The Mutambara Peace Village is a unique effort to reconcile Hutus and Tutsis by giving them homes to live together in the same village. Today, some 1,600 Hutus and Tutsis live as neighbours in 300 identical two-room homes constructed of concrete with tin roofs.

Animal production - that is nutrition.” The statement by Victoria Tsekpo of Ghana’s Food and Agriculture Ministry summed up one of the themes that emerged at a nutrition forum of the Economic Community of West African States – helping nutrition find its place in the agriculture sector. Health, nutrition and agriculture experts from the 15 ECOWAS countries said nutrition usually gains attention only in the context of crisis and emergency response, but it should be integral to agricultural and development programmes if countries are to pre-empt child malnutrition.

Forced expulsions, violent recriminations, mass exodus, peaceful co-existence - just some of the possible outcomes for hundreds of thousands of Southern Sudanese living in the North, and to a lesser extent, vice versa, after a January referendum when the South is likely to vote to transform its semi-autonomy into full independence. 'We are worried for the future, of what happens after the referendum,' said James Jok, a vegetable seller who has lived in the Northern capital Khartoum since fleeing violence in the Southern state of Jonglei over two decades ago. 'I am frightened that if there is independence, we will just be told, "go home",' he added.

The Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) is finalising investigations on ten corruption cases involving people who participated in Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CM) opinion polls recently. The PCCB boss, Dr Edward Hoseah, said the cases would be sent to court before the 31 October general election. Speaking during the 15th anniversary of the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) the PCCB executive director said the PCCB were waiting for more evidence so that legal action could be taken on other allegations.

Uganda joined the rest of the world to celebrate Access to Information Day with a call on the government to show commitment and implement the Access to Information Act, passed by Parliament five years ago. The activists were also asking the government to either repeal or amend existing laws that are a draw-back on the right of access to information. The say the negative laws include the Oath of Secrecy Act and the Official Secrets Act, whose provisions are at variance with the Access to Information Act and Article 41 of the Constitution.

Top officials from three African nations have called for the continent to have a permanent representative on the Security Council, saying it was a travesty that the region that comprises so much of the body’s work does not have a permanent place.