On Tuesday 22nd August 2006, history was made by the Nigerian Senate following its first reading of an Executive Bill for the domestication of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

This document, published by the Stop TB Partnership, describes the level of care that all practitioners should seek to achieve in managing patients who have, or who are suspected of having, tuberculosis (TB). It states that the basic principles of care for persons with, or suspected of having, tuberculosis are the same worldwide: a diagnosis should be established promptly and accurately; standardised treatments of proven efficacy should be used with appropriate treatment support and supervision; the response to treatment should be monitored; and essential public health responsibilities must be carried out.

This new working paper explores trends in aid, the motivations for aid, its impacts, and debates about reforming aid. It begins by examining aid magnitudes and who gives and receives aid. It discusses the multiple motivations and objectives of aid, some of which conflict with each other.

Failing to limit our emissions of carbon dioxide will have severe consequences for the world’s oceans. This report contends that the marine environment is doubly affected: continuing warming and ongoing acidification both pose threats. Accordingly, proactive and resolute action is needed in order to ensure that the oceans do not overstep critical system limits.

Children’s Institute (CI) seeks a dynamic forward-thinking individual to take up the post of Director with immediate effect. The criteria for appointment to the Directorship will be: a Master’s degree as minimum qualification, but preferably a doctorate; strong leadership qualities; a proven track-record of sound management practice in a similar environment; national and international standing; good understanding of the social policy and political environment; a commitment to child rights. A personal academic track-record is highly desirable.

In the last two decades, many countries in Africa have had difficulty extending primary and secondary schooling to an increasing fraction of their youth, or in building high quality university training and parallel research institutions. Opinion is divided on how to refocus resources and determine priorities to improve the prospects for the future.

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This paper, published by Information for Development (infodev), looks at information and communication technology (ICT) interventions in the health sector in developing countries. It argues that ICTs have enormous potential as tools to increase information flows, disseminate evidence-based knowledge, and empower citizens. ICTs have been used to enable remote consultation through telemedicine; encourage collaboration among health workers; and support more effective health research.

A prominent South African clergyman and opponent of apartheid has told how an apartheid-era minister washed his feet in a gesture of contrition. Rev Frank Chikane survived a murder attempt in the 1980s. He said he was grateful for the gesture made earlier this month by ex-minister Adriaan Vlok.

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The U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) believes that the growing environmental degradation of Africa is perhaps most starkly reflected in satellite images beamed from the skies. And so, the Nairobi-based U.N. agency introduced a new atlas at an international water conference here which shows "the dramatic and damaging" environmental changes sweeping across the beleaguered African continent.

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VSO needs an exceptional fundraiser to fight domestic abuse in South Africa, leading the KwaZulu Natal Network on Violence Against Women as a Fundraising Manager. As a paid VSO volunteer, you'll secure crucial income, inspire colleagues, and directly improve the lives of countless women across the province.

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Eskom is planning up to 15 extra coal-fired power stations to cater for South Africa’s soaring electri¬city demand -- which would at least double South Africa’s contribution to global climate change. Eskom coal specia¬list Johan Dempers identified the Waterberg in Limpopo as a new expansion area. He reportedly told a coal conference in Lephalale there was potential for eight new Eskom power stations in the Waterberg coalfields over the next 20 years.

QuickGuides are 24 page books, readable in an hour, covering the fundraising and management needs of both large and small organisations. QuickGuides are the perfect way to learn about a subject quickly and easily, and because they are written and reviewed by knowledgeable professionals from all around the world they will be useful wherever you operate as they are not country specific. And with 6 new titles to add to our current 22 and more planned for 2007 - from sources of funding to events planning, motivating staff to marketing – it’s all there.

Book Review: Ansell, Nicola. 2005. Children, Youth and Development. London and New York: Routledge.

Nicola Ansell’s ‘Children, Youth and Development’ provides a much-needed critical introduction into young people’s experiences in contexts of poverty, ‘development’ and globalisation. Although 90% of young people under the age of 18 and 85% of 15- to 24-year-olds (p. 1) live in the Third World, Ansell rightly points out that insufficient attention has been paid to the ways in which they experience, and are affected by, global processes. This book is a step towards correcting this imbalance, by offering a comprehensive, but succinct and readable, overview.

It adopts a textbook format, with clear explanations, interspersed with boxes, tables and figures. Each chapter contains bulleted lists of principal themes, key ideas, discussion questions and further resources. The book begins with a definition of key terms, and chapters outlining conceptualisations of childhood and youth, global processes of ‘development’ and globalisation, and cultural contexts at local levels. These chapters maintain a careful balance between young people’s common experiences of age-based discrimination, with recognition of diversity due to gender, disability, ‘race’, class, familial contexts, religion, etc. Ansell also manages to highlight the ways in which young people may experience global processes differently than adults, while situating these within multiple relationships and contexts. Although writing in clear, pedagogic language, Ansell does not ‘dumb down’ complex debates, but highlights critical insights into complex issues. In particular, she contextualises and challenges Western ‘exportation’ of childhood and youth ‘models’, as well as development and globalisation processes, into Third World areas.

Chapters 4 to 6 explore three key areas in which young people interact with global processes: health, education and work. Each chapter provides an overview of different conceptualisations of each theme. Ansell then highlights key issues and debates in each area, as they relate to young people. She offers critical analysis of the ways in which international policies affect young people’s access and choices, with particular attention to effects of structural adjustment policies on social service provision, and international legislation regarding children’s work.

Chapter 7 uses UNICEF’s term “children in especially difficult circumstances” (CEDC) to focus on children in war, those with disabilities, children exploited for labour and commercial sex, street children, children affected by AIDS and children in institutions. This chapter marks a problematic departure from the contextualised and historicised approach adopted in the rest of the book. By mirroring UNICEF’s CEDC framework, Ansell implicitly reinforces labels such as ‘street children’, even while problematising them. This is apparent in her change in terminology: from emphasising ‘young people’ as a broad and diverse group, to specifically focusing on ‘children’ and portraying certain circumstances as inherently ‘difficult’. While other chapters situate young people vis-à-vis broader social processes at micro, meso and macro levels, chapter 7 groups together a vast array of different groups and does not allow enough space to interrogate issues in depth. This leads to some problematic generalisations about categories of young people, which detracts from more nuanced arguments made elsewhere in the book.

Ansell’s concluding chapter returns to her more critical analytical perspective in evaluating issues surrounding rights, participation, activism and power. She historicises and critiques the emergence of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and argues that rights are not ends in and of themselves; improving young people’s lives in the Third World also requires broader structural changes. The chapter also provides a good introduction to the potential and challenges of young people’s participation. It concludes with the necessity of political change, recognising young people as actors, but also the structural challenges they face.

At the beginning of ‘Children, Youth and Development’, Ansell sets out four principles guiding her approach: recognising the diversity of young people in contrast to homogenising discourses; focusing on social contexts in which young people live, rather than exclusively on young people themselves; highlighting the importance of young people not only for the future as ‘human becomings’, but also in the present; and, approaching them as actors in their own lives, rather than “merely objects of development or victims of history” (p. 6). With the exception of the shortcomings in chapter 7, the book achieves these objectives and thus provides a timely overview of the diversity of young people’s experiences in complex ‘development’ and globalisation processes in the Third World.

* Christina Clark is a Commonwealth Scholar at the Department of International Development, Oxford University, where she is currently completing research on the political roles of Congolese young people in Uganda.

* Please send comments to or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

Last year, in November 2005, the EU and the US called for respect for human rights in Ethiopia, an end to mass arrests, the lifting of restrictions on the opposition, and the freeing of political detainees. In January 2006, the donor community halted direct budget payments to Ethiopia over concerns about its commitment to human rights This article argues that: “Until the political situation shows remarkable improvement, budget support from the donor community translates into the undermining rather than the building of democracy in Ethiopia. The donors must not reward the arrogance and rigid stance by the regime.”

The Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, appeared on BBC recently asking the donor community to give budget support to Ethiopia. Remarkably, apart from a British EU MP, the critics of the Meles government were not invited to the programme. The lack of opposition representation, when the BBC deals with the question of Ethiopia's aid dependency is a serious omission. This article therefore, is in part a response to the BBC report on this issue.

In Ethiopia today, elected opposition leaders are in jail. More than 20 journalists are in prison. Thousands of political prisoners are languishing in prisons throughout the country. It must be emphasised that they are innocent. They were arrested because they dared to contest the rigging of the election last year. They are in jail because they hold different political views. They are in jail because their conception of a democratic state, human rights and good governance contradicts that of the government. Independent observers agree that the elections were rigged. Most serious political analysts reject the regime's claim that there were no irregularities in the counting of ballots. A significant component of the international community took a symbolic step by suspending budget support to show their disquiet regarding the mishandling and subsequent excessive violence by the regime against those who protested against electoral injustice.

As a consequence, Britain, the EU and even the World Bank made a symbolic gesture by suspending budget support alleging breakdown of 'trust' (Hilary Benn) mainly because of the government crackdown on democracy, the people and the opposition. The understanding was that the political situation had to improve first before budget support could be reinstated. That seemed to be the overall donor position regarding the political situation in Ethiopia.

However, it now looks like the World Bank has found a trick to make it seem as if it is not giving budget support to the regime directly while, in reality, it is giving funds to branches of the local regional government indirectly. Budget support to the current government only helps the regime and not the poor. Aid should go directly to the people or to the programmes that yield direct benefits to the people. It should go directly to the health services, schools and other local services to the people, but not to the local government offices, which are run by one and the same political party, and its overt and covert structures of control. The World Bank is fully aware that the central and the local Government are run by one and the same party, as a number of its own studies on the budgetary flows between the centre and regions attest. The indirect aid to the Meles government agreed to by the World Bank will strengthen the government, and this is going to prove to be a further barrier on the efforts to bring about the much anticipated democratic transition in the country.

The situation has NOT changed

The crackdown continues. The elected opposition leaders are still in jail. If health and education services are suffering due to budget cuts, who is to blame for the situation? The responsibility falls entirely on the shoulders of the Government. It is not to be ruled out that the Government can tamper with these vital services to protest the donor community's just action to suspend budget support direct to its coffers. It has always been the government's position that aid be channelled directly to its coffers. We encourage the donor community to be creative by finding alternative avenues that will enable it to reach directly the people or civil society groups, especially community, faith-based and other grassroots groups, which are interested in providing communities with sanitation, water, health, education, farm support and other local needs. The donors must not give the money to the Government knowing that the regime wants to have complete control of the flow of aid in Ethiopia. Until the political situation demonstrates remarkable improvement, the current budget support by donors translates into the undermining rather than the building of democracy in Ethiopia. The donors must not reward the arrogance and rigid stance by the regime. The goal of providing monetary aid should be to empower the public, strengthen civil society, and to build an independent media and organise independent judiciary.

If Meles wants budget support desperately he should not persecute the opposition. Meles has submitted conditions to the donor community on how he should receive aid. He has asked the donor community not to take the lid of aid on and off, meaning he indirectly begs them to put the lid on rather than take it off. The current development assistance prioritises good governance, democracy, human rights as paramount for aid. Meles has been violating these values and principles - most glaringly during the election in May 2005. If the donors uphold these principles that he has violated, they should be congratulated. When they fail, they should be criticised. At the moment, it is the regime in Ethiopia that is violating these principles. It is principled not to give money to those who kill and violate the rule of law, abuse human rights and put in jail the opposition. The BBC should have invited the opposition to explain and clarify why budget support was suspended in the Ethiopian in the first place. There was no opposition representative to put the case forward. The BBC should redress this omission in the future. Generally speaking, the BBC, the donor world and others must understand that the Meles regime has structural and objective weakness that will sooner or later cripple it. Internally the Ethiopian people are against its chicanery and fraudulent actions. There is growing urban and rural resistance. Externally it has been embroiled with Somalia's Islamic Court. It has a war-like relationship with Eritrea for nearly a decade now. There are pockets of resistance sprouting for this or that reason everywhere. Regardless of what problems the opposition camp may have, the Meles regime has even bigger and more structural problems.

The opposition forces grouped around Kinjit, the new Alliance for Freedom and Democracy, have called for a national dialogue with the regime in order to change the political environment. The regime seems hell-bent on undermining national reconciliation and is determined in its belief that it can fight on all fronts as long as it can hoodwink the Bush administration as its partner in the 'global war on terror.' The regime has been blinded by its own arrogance, and appears more desperate to win back its loss of budget support by its inexhaustible willingness to assume the role of regional policeman, than to release political prisoners and create a favourable environment for a broad-based, all inclusive national dialogue and reconciliation.

The international community must hold firmly to the position by linking budget support to the immediate and unconditional release of the political prisoners in Ethiopia. Nothing is acceptable other than this. First, the prisoners must be released, and then budget support can follow. Not the other way around. We call upon the international community not to sacrifice political prisoners who have risked their lives for no other crime than trying to create a sustainable system of democratic transition. In order to bring back budget support, the pre-condition of the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners must be a top priority.

The Struggle for Democracy Continues

At present, Ethiopians inside and outside the country are united in their desire and motivation to see the birth of a democratic transition within a united national framework in their country. Ethiopians want to achieve, at a time when their own millennium is just around the corner, the following: the structural uprooting of poverty and inequality by instituting a comprehensive, effective and capable system for fair representation in politics, fair distribution in economics, fair governance in administration, fair treatment in the eyes of an impartial legal/judicial system, and freedom, rights, justice, dignity and security for all. A lot of Ethiopians in the Diaspora have decided to act as a moral community by focusing on the larger issues of making our country achieve a major civilization shift from authoritarian and tyrannical traditions to democratic, participatory and people empowering frameworks and traditions. May 15 2005 saw a massive voter turnout serving as a guidepost and as a huge resource for effecting the transition from tyranny to democracy. Ethiopians at home and abroad united, and struggled tooth and nail to show how debased it was for that massive turnout to be marred by accusations of fraud in the post-election period. Those who remained true to their principles and fought to the end against this gross abuse of peoples' trust were thrown into jails. The donors must not finance this gross injustice by funding their jailors.

Concluding Remarks

We call on the international community not to finance injustice owing to unrelated and possible expedient reasons to the development of Ethiopian democracy. We urge the international community to stand firm against injustice. It is only by upholding such principles that a democratic renaissance in Ethiopia could come into existence. In Ethiopia, the immediate and unconditional release of the prisoners comes first. It actually brooks no delay. Withholding budget support and supporting other well-targeted boycotts are necessary to change the rigidity and arrogance of the regime. Financing its rigidity is to court injustice and not to serve justice. The international community must support the people, the opposition and especially those who are languishing in jail such as the renowned human right activist like Prof. Mesfin, the elected mayor of Africa's capital, Dr. Berhanu, elected party leaders such as engineer Hailu and judge Birtukan, journalists and civil society activists, and an unaccounted number of innumerable rural and urban young people across the breadth and depth of Ethiopia. Above all, the media and others should not exclude and must include the voice of the opposition for justice, freedom, democracy and dignity for all Ethiopians.

* Professor Mammo Muchie , Chair of NES-Scandinavian Chapter, Berhanu G. Balcha, Vice- Chair of NES-Scandinavian Chapter, Tekola Worku, Secretary of NES-Scandinavian Chapter.

* Please send comments to or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

As the elected leaders of a post-conflict state, the DRC government's top priorities must be to heal the wounds that have been inflicted on many Congolese by colonialism and civil wars in that country. Yav Katshung Joseph writes that: "Victims of serious human rights violations in the DRC are begging for justice and reparations. The new government should place this issue on its agenda in order to grant them reparations. It is true that reparation takes time. However, a step must be taken."

Introduction

Some outbursts of violence between soldiers of the presidential guards "DSSP" and the guards and private army of presidential contender Jean-Pierre Bemba marred the announcement of the election results in the DRC on 20 August. Two hours before the announcement by electoral officials that a runoff is to take place, soldiers from both rival contenders have been involved in a number of attacks. Since none of the 32 presidential candidates who contested in the 30 July elections won 50% plus of the vote, the DRC will hold a runoff election between Joseph Kabila (44.81% of the vote) and Bemba (20.03% of the vote). The fighting left at least 16 victims dead, with many more wounded, but the overall toll is not known and the two sides denied responsibility for the escalation in violence.

The need for unity must take account of the duty to remember and the right to justice necessary to all credible, lasting processes of reconciliation. Accountability for human rights violations is an important instrument in breaking the cycle of impunity, and is an indispensable component of the process of healing the wounds of grave violations committed in the DRC, reconciliation, reconstruction, and peace. It is also the foundation for post-conflict reconstruction based on the rule of law and respect for human rights.

As the focus on a national and international level is towards the post-election period in the DRC, we should also not forget the nightmare in which Congolese citizens have been living from the colonial period till today. The elected government must address the question of reparations for victims of human rights violations in the DRC.

To put this into perspective, over the last decade there have been intense debates internationally and locally about reparation for victims of gross and systematic human rights violations. Discussions arise in post-conflict situations regarding serious violations of human rights, such as genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and other forms of injustices of the past. In the DRC, millions of people have been severely affected by the conflicts and violence of the past.

If we are to get over the past and build national unity and reconciliation, we must make sure that people who suffered gross human rights abuses are acknowledged by providing them with reparation. These measures cannot bring back the dead, nor can they adequately compensate for pain and suffering suffered, but they can improve the quality of life for victims of gross human rights violations and/or their dependants. However, one important question is posed: how does a nation like the DRC seek to repair harm, restore rights, and build trust when the number of victims runs to millions over the period from colonial times to the Mobutu regime, and the 1996-1997 Kabila-led war, and the 1998-2003 war and the continuing conflict in some parts of the country? [1]

The question of reparation in the DRC

The Congolese have had to deal with violence and conflict since the DRC's independence from Belgium in 1960 and even before independence. It is for this reason that the questions on when and how to repair the harm inflicted to victims should be put on the agenda. However, this has not been the case in this country and there appears little discussion on the possible processes available and appropriate to secure justice for the victims of the gross and systematic human rights violations.

To ensure that justice translates into accountability and punishment for perpetrators, and, on the other hand, reparation or redress for victims, is not simply a moral imperative. It is a political necessity to combat a culture of impunity stretching unbroken from colonial times through the Mobutu regime, till today. The elected government of the DRC should be pushed to break away from this culture of impunity.

Mechanisms of reparation in the DRC

In principle, at the national level, victims have two mechanisms through which to seek reparation: the judicial and non-judicial mechanisms.

Judicial mechanisms
The judicial reparation mechanism in the DRC is mostly based on reparation proceedings associated with the criminal prosecution of individual perpetrators, with victims participating and seeking reparation as civil claimants. The challenge here is that many victims of violence and atrocity may not have access to the courts or the resources needed to undertake lengthy and costly prosecutions that are not guaranteed to culminate in the payment of reparation.
The judicial reparation mechanism should be strengthened by the International Criminal Court (ICC). If not, the victims' prospects for achieving judicial remedy and reparation will remain minimal. The case of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo [2] proves this point. Dyilo, a founder and leader of the Union des Patriotes Congolais (UPC), was arrested and transferred on the 17 March 2006 to the International Criminal Court. He is accused of committing war crimes as set out in article 8 of the Statute. However, so far, no one else has been brought to justice for serious human rights abuses and war crimes perpetrated in DRC - a situation compounded by a shattered justice system.
We hope that the Court under article 75 of the Statute will provide reparation to the victims, if Dyilo is found guilty. [3]

Non-judicial mechanisms

There are a wide variety of non-judicial mechanisms and the Congolese Truth Commission is one of them. The work of a truth commission, when properly carried out, should automatically lead to some form of reparation. However, in the DRC, despite the fact that the truth and reconciliation commission was established in July 2004, it is unable to conduct investigations into human rights abuses. The Congolese TRC was not created and is not operated transparently in order to sustain democratic legitimacy and therefore, to work for reparation. There is a clear lack of citizen involvement in the creation and functioning of the TRC, and a lack of openness to ensure domestic legitimacy. Moreover, there are many criticisms because commissioners come from different factions previously or currently involved in the conflict and were not chosen by means of a transparent process which espoused a democratic spirit,practice.

Therefore, it seems that the purpose of such a commission, is to become a Truth Omission instead of a Truth Commission. As such it cannot satisfy the quest for reparation in the DRC.[4] There is also the question of source of funds, given the vast number of victims who may claim reparations.

Trends towards reparation in the DRC

The question arises: how should reparation be done? The whole process can become a difficult task especially when emerging from a protracted conflict, with ethnic divisions. It should be noted that not all perpetrators can be brought to book if such prosecutions both outstrip available resources and risk a dangerous frailty, further divisions, possible balkanisation and instability.

Also, one delicate question relates to contributions from foreign governments and individuals. How possible is it for foreign countries and individuals being held accountable for their roles in the civil war to pay reparation? For instance, in the recent judgement by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Uganda was found liable to compensate the DRC for violations of public international law, international human rights law, and international humanitarian law. The amount of money to be paid in reparation is still to be determined through bilateral negotiations between Uganda and the DRC. It is unlikely that victims will benefit from it.

On a positive note, on 12 April 2006, the Military Garnison Court in Songo Mboyo [5] in the DRC sentenced seven military officers of the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC) to life imprisonment. This after the FARDC battalion based in Songo Mboyo(troops of the ex-Liberation Movement of Congo), rebelled against its commanders who they accused of withholding their army salaries, robbed almost all the houses in the villages of Songo-Mboyo and Bongandanga and then committed collective rape of at least 119 women and girls on 21 December 2003. Many of the women were less than 18 years old.
As a form of reparation, each victim's family will be paid compensation of 10,000 US dollars. The other victims who were raped will each receive 5,000 US dollars Compensations ranging between 500 to 200 US dollars are to be set aside for businessmen and villagers who were victims of robbery. This is the first sentence against military personnel of the FARDC for crimes against humanity. The same verdict stipulates that the Congolese state must ensure that the victims are compensated. This court's decision is a significant step that will help advance the fight against impunity and provide reparation. However, more still needs to be done.

Conclusion

Victims of serious human rights violations in the DRC are begging for justice and reparation. It is true that reparation takes time. However, the new government must take a step in the right direction by placing this issue on its agenda.

Erik Doxtader says that “in the face of a history that will not 'end', reparation requires close attention to the question of how to craft a present for the future. Much more than an ideal to be achieved in some vague time yet to come, its hope for transformation is a call to act right now. The fact that reparation can neither erase history's pain nor fully compensate for its losses is not a reason to conclude that what is past is past or that legacies imply an inevitability which defies correction. But, this is not to say that there are ready-made solutions. Much more that just a set of policy decisions or court judgements, the power of the reparative may reside in an attitude, a willingness to see historical deprivation and inequality as a common problem that demands the struggle for a future in which things can be made otherwise.” [6]

* Yav Katshung Joesph is a lecturer at the Faculty of Law, University of Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo and an Advocate at the LubumbashiBar Association. He is the Executive Director of CERDH, and Coordinator of the UNESCO Chair for Human Rights, Peace, Conflict Resolution and Good governance. He has published numerous articles on human rights, law and transitional justice in scholarly journals. For contact: [email][email protected] or [email][email protected]

* Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

References:

[1] There is a debate in the DRC on the responsibility of Belgium for the barbarity and humiliation associated with the past oppression during the colonial period. Congolese civil society are demanding compensation from the Belgian government. As it is true in the world, there has been an increase in the incidence of claims for reparations related to injustice committed long time ago, including those related in colonialism.

[2] Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, a Congolese national, has been the president of the Union des Patriotes Congolais (UPC) since its inception in 2000. In September 2002, he established and led the Forces Patriotique du Congo (FPLC), a military group affiliated with the UPC and dedicated to carrying out its goals using violence. He is alleged to have enlisted and conscripted children to serve as soldiers in this organisation. The UPC/FPLC is based in the Ituri district of the DRC, one of the most violent regions in the country. During the war in 2000, Lubanga's organisation is alleged to have been responsible in part for many of the massacres and other abuses that took place in the Ituri region. More recently, his group has been involved in disputes to gain control over the mineral wealth of the region.

[3] The benefits of victims from reparations under the ICC may not be linked to finding a perpetrator guilty. The Court is yet to pronounce itself on this.

[4] "The relationship between the International Criminal Court and Truth Commissions: Some thoughts on how to build a bridge retributive and restorative justice", by Josephy Yav Katchung. Available at: http://www.iccnow.org

[5] In the northwestern province of Equateur, precisely at 600km northeast of the provincial capital Mbandaka.

[6] Erik Doxtader, "Reparation" in Charles Villa-vicencio and Erik Doxtader, Pieces of the Puzzle, 2004, p 32

I read Dr Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem's article in sheer wonder and disbelief as he twisted facts and history, abused logic, and conveniently ignored other inconvenient facts to premise an illogical argument. I think in the end, the article belittled him as an intellectual (see No matter how much he likes the Hezbollah and Hamas, no matter how much he sympathizes with their cause, if he wants to make an intellectual argument on the issues, then he must respect the facts, he must be balanced, he should be fair and just, and he should try to be logical, otherwise he should simply abandon any claim to intellectualism and focus on demagogery and propaganda.

He roundly condemns Israel which, at least in this case, is exercising its right of self-defence as a nation. He cannot run away from the fact that Israel has a right to defend itself. He fails to even acknowledge that Hezbollah provoked this latest violence, with no provocation at all, six years after Israel withdrew from Lebanon. He does not have a single critical word for Hezbollah for this. He prefers to ignore the facts as it suits his purposes better to award to the Hezbollah the victory for "expelling" Israel from Lebanon. He stands logic on its head and moves into the realm of untenable speculation by declaring that "it is clear to anybody that even if the two soldiers were not abducted Israel would have found another reason for 'reinvading' Lebanon."

He refuses to acknowledge that the Lebanese government bears any responsibility by omission or commission. He closes his eyes and intellectual mind to the fact that Hezbollah is continuing to fire hundreds of rockets daily into Israel, also killing innocent civilians, and remains unrepentant. Perhaps in his mind, the death of innocent Israeli civilians, women and children means nothing! They are fair game in his human rights mind. There is no suggestion in his article that Hezbollah itself, which started all this, should stop. He twists the facts and alleges "a campaign of blockade and sanctions that punishes the Palestinians for voting democratically" when the truth is that Western governments (Europe and the United States) have simply said that they cannot continue to support a government that has committed itself to the destruction of another State and refuses to renounce terrorism.

He blames Britain and the United States for their "uncritical" support for Israel while himself betraying his uncritical support for Hezbollah and Hamas, despite the atrocities they are committing in the Middle East, even against Arabs! Whatever his beef is with the Israelis, the Americans and the British, he is an intellectual and must think like one. We do human rights work, but it is based on the principles of truth, fairness and justice. If we start to propagate falsehood, or become unfair and unjust in our human rights work, we lose the moral high ground and have nothing else. Dr Abdul-Raheem should take the pains to establish the facts fairly, he should try and see all sides to the issue, and understand the different perspectives. Otherwise, he will not stand a chance in hell of proffering any realistic or workable solution. He certainly lost me with his article.

Following interviews for the post of Online News Editor for Pambazuka News, Fahamu is pleased to announce that we have appointed Mandisi Majavu to the position. Mandisi is a writer/journalist who has written widely on topics such as race, socio-economic conditions in Africa and civil wars in the DRC, Eritrea/Ethiopia, Burundi and Sudan. Mandisi, a cultural critic, has extensive experience of working for online journals and with alternative information providers that are online based. He is based in Cape Town.

We hope all subscribers will join us in issuing a very warm welcome to Mandisi as he begins work on Pambazuka News.

We would like to thank the more than 80 applicants who applied for the position of Online News Editor. We wish everyone the best of in the future.

The Girl Child Network of Zimbabwe, an American Jewish World Service grantee since 2004, was awarded the United Nations Development Program Red Ribbon Award on Thursday, August 16, at the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto. This newly-created award provides worldwide recognition to an organization that has been creatively addressing HIV/AIDS prevention in Zimbabwe for the past seven years.

Victims of censorship in South Africa, especially the poor, will now have better access to legal justice, thanks to a new legal aid clinic opened by the Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI). FXI has recently been registered as a law clinic, which enables it to provide free legal services to members of the public whose rights to freedom of expression have been violated.

Strengthening Policy and Practice. 20 - 24 November 2006 and 16 - 20 July 2007. A one week course designed to meet the needs of staff working in international, national and governmental agencies with advisory and management responsibility for relief, development, rights and peace-building programmes. Held in Birmingham, UK.

Working with Conflict course. April 23rd - June 29th 2007. An intensive, practical and participatory course for practitioners working for peace and justice in situations of instability and conflict. The overall aim of this course is to provide participants with a broad understanding on a variety of issues and topics relevant to their work and situation, thereby contributing to the capacity of organisations and communities to work for positive change. Held in Birmingham, UK.

The silent storm of HIV/AIDS is ravaging communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where over 2.6 million people are living with HIV/AIDS. Some one hundred thousand people have died of AIDS and more than 700,000 children have lost one or both parents to this preventable disease that, if not tackled directly by government policy, has the potential of evolving into a raging pandemic.

At a meeting in April 2006 in Washington, a group of about 40 global justice campaigners agreed that the time was ripe for a decisive campaign to shrink or sink the IMF.The urgency of eliminating the IMF's singularly destructive influence on the lives of peoples and countries in the Global South and former Soviet bloc has not diminished one bit over the 25 years (and counting of "structural adjustment" and the "Washington consensus."

The ABN is now looking for a dynamic, energetic and skilful person who can take on the job of Coordinator of the seed security and alternatives to genetic engineering thematic area of the network.

Incidences of politically motivated violence have continued unabated in all provinces. The arms of the state such as the police have reportedly continued to harass opposition MDC members and sympathizers. The month was characterized by cases of assault, intimidation and harassment, arson, malicious injury to property. In one extreme case a murder was recorded in Mashonaland East Province.

The Republic of Benin's National Assembly voted July 17 to pass the country's first comprehensive sexual harassment legislation aimed at protecting girls and women in schools, workplaces and in homes, according to the Women's Rights Initiative, a program of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition (August 23) is an important occasion to remind the international community of the particularity of this tragedy, of its persisting consequences for modern societies, and of the role played by both enslaved Africans and abolitionists in bringing to an end this crime against humanity.

In recent years, nations have challenged the activities and very existence of non-governmental organizations. Russia, Zimbabwe, and Eritrea have enacted new measures requiring registration; "Open Society Institute" affiliates have been shut down in Eastern Europe; and Venezuela has charged the Súmate NGO leaders with treason. In Iraq and Afghanistan, staff of Western charitable NGOs (CARE and Doctors Without Borders) have been assassinated.

The first session of the new U.N. Human Rights Council was largely successful in laying a foundation for its future work, but there are signs that it may repeat some of its predecessor’s mistakes, Human Rights Watch said today (July 30). The inaugural session of the council concluded today. " The council’s singling out the Occupied Palestinian Territories for special attention is a cause for concern. The human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories deserves attention, but the new council must bring the same vigor to its consideration of other pressing situations. "

The future National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC will fight the tendency not to dwell on slavery and other negative events because these experiences are often essential to African American culture. It will also provide inspirational stories and lessons, and highlight the importance of African American history to the United States.

A UN convention that would protect the rights of the world's disabled has made progress but still faces difficulties and lacks U.S. support, UN and American officials said. The leadership of the committee drafting the treaty "was pleased by the progress on a number of key issues" but 150 proposed amendments received over the weekend "could jeopardize reaching an outcome," Thomas Schindlmayr of the UN Secretariat helping with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities said Monday (August 21).

In order to advance towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), gender equality cannot merely be limited to a number of specific objectives, but must be the lens through which all the targets are viewed, say experts and representatives of women's movements in Argentina.

Ever since the breakup of the Soviet Union, NATO has been working to transform itself from a cold-war, Europe-focused bulwark against a communist threat to a military and political alliance relevant to the world of the 21st century. The answer has been for an expanded NATO - now including some of the very Eastern European nations that were formerly considered the enemy - to broaden its sense of defense and to take on out-of-area challenges that are seen as crucial to global security broadly and the West's well-being specifically.

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Environment Minister Anselme Enerunga has allegedly being illegally trading exotic birds for weapons to arm renegades in the volatile east of the country, according to allegations passed onto Business Day by intelligence sources.

Educationalists often assume that teachers, students and textbooks speak the same language. In Botswana government policy requires English - one of the country's official languages to be used as the language of instruction for math from the second grade of primary school. How can maths teachers cope when many of their pupils are not fluent in English?

Beetroot, lemon, garlic and African potato were at the heart of a bitter conflict between Health Minister Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang and AIDS activists over government’s AIDS programme at the International AIDS Conference in Toronto over the past week (August 15-19).