The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) expresses its deep concern regarding the ruling issued by al-Warraq Misdemeanor Court yesterday morning against Journalist Ibrahim Eissa, editor-in-chief of ed-Destour and Sout el-Ommaha newspapers. Ibrahim Eissa, Sahar Zaki (an editor at ed-Destour) and Saed Mohamed Abdullah (citizen) were sentenced to one year in prison with labor, a bail of L.E. 10 000 and L.E. 2001 as temporary compensation.

The Gambian government has blocked a non-governmental forum of freedom of expression scheduled to take place in Banjul on June 19 and 30, prior to the African Union summit in the Gambian capital. But media freedom groups will still be focusing on threats to free expression in Gambia and demanding an investigation of the murder of Gambian journalist Deyda Heydara, which took place 18 months ago.

Are you people only out to 'get' governments (The tragedy of Mustafa Mahmoud Park, Summary of report from Force Migration Review
)? The main culprit in all of this was UNHCR. It is, in my view, disastrous for refugee/government relations that only the Egyptian government gets the bad publicity when they had remained patient for threelong months. It is very well-known, certainly to UNHCR, who called for the demonstrator to be removed, that the security in Egypt is not trained for a peaceful break-up of demonstrations. Had UNHCR simply allowed other refugees to attend their offices from another direction and kept 'in business', the refugees would not have believed their sit-in to have been so successful.

Voters in the poverty stricken West African nation of Mauritania overwhelmingly approved a new Constitution in a weekend referendum, Interior Ministry officials said on Monday 26 June. Officials said that based on early returns they believed that 80% to 90% voted on Sunday 25 June to approve the Constitution, the first in a series of votes to return the country to democracy, reports the Mail and Gaurdian.

With South Africa still struggling to improve education standards, a new report has called on the government to consider using local languages as a medium of instruction in schools. "An inadequate command of language, whether by the teacher, the learner or both, constitutes a serious barrier to effective schooling and education," said the report.

A probe into more than 30 senior former public officials accused of corruption is proof of the new Comoran government's commitment to tackling graft, Vice-President Idi Nadhoim told IRIN. Moderate Sunni Muslim religious leader Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi was elected president last month in the first peaceful change of power since the country's independence from France in 1975.

The number of cholera deaths continues to rise in Guinea this year as state radio reported a new flood of cases in the Forest Region of the southeast. State radio on Wednesday reported the deaths of 16 persons in the Kissidougou prefecture, 500 km southwest of the capital Conakry, and local clinics have registered a further 173 cases of the water borne disease.

A rise in HIV infection rates in South Africa's Western Cape Province could be linked to the growing popularity of a relatively new but highly addictive and easily accessible drug, some analysts are beginning to suspect.

A session on gay sexuality proved one of the draw cards of the second Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights in Nairobi, with participants scrambling for space in the small room allocated to the proceedings. Many countries in Africa still outlaw homosexuality, including Kenya where it is punishable with jail terms of up to 14 years, reports the Mail and Gaurdian.

Activists familiar with street protests outside the venues of annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) are in for a different treat at this year's gathering. In Singapore, the host country, universally accepted democratic principles -- such as the right to freedom of association -- are banned. The World Bank, however, has stepped in to assure activists that space for civil society is being negotiated, reports the Mail and Gaurdian.

South Africans, it is fair to say, are frightened by China. We complain about the cheap imports that are doing South African garment workers out of their jobs, we fret about the “insatiable” demand for natural resources, and the re-ordering of influence on the rest of the continent. And when we are really nervous, we talk about drug gangs that trade smuggled abalone for mandrax in the coastal villages of the Western Cape.

Kofi Annan, Bob Geldof and Nigeria's President Obasanjo are to sit on a panel set up to track aid promises made to Africa, Tony Blair is to announce. The UN secretary general will chair the panel, being set up a year after G8 pledges and a popular campaign pushed Africa up the international agenda. Backed by Bill Gates, the body will monitor issues such as debt and trade. Mr Blair will also warn against Africa slipping down the global priority list.

The G8 summit last year promised a lot to Africa. The economic headlines were debt relief, better trade opportunities and more aid. Trade, in particular, is turning out to be very difficult. The G8 leaders were hoping for decisive progress at the WTO's ministerial meeting in December in Hong Kong. In the event, Hong Kong was a wash-out.

The telecom revolution yet has to reach the Rwandan countryside, but a new project promises to bring infrastructure and business opportunities for local entrepreneurs. A new "Tel'imbere" service is to provide micro-loans to potential rural mobile phone central operators, who are to provide regions currently offline with affordable telecom services.

Malawi's Information Minister Patricia Kaliati has disclosed that the government is advertising for the second fixed line operator to enhance competition with the country's only operator the Malawi Telecoms Limited (MTL), 'The Chronicle' has learnt. "If we can have a competitor in this area, then the quality of service would subsequently improve," said Minister Kaliati

African Parliamentary officials from eleven countries, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Parliamentary Forum and the Pan African Parliament will discuss at a United Nations workshop the benefits of applying information and communications technologies to their work in order to promote parliamentary democracy.

African Union Commission chairman Alpha Oumar Konare has called for a vast expansion in AU powers to achieve the long-term goal of a “United States of Africa”. Konare said the areas in which the AU might play a far larger role included peace and security, good governance practices, the development of sectors such as health and education, food security, infrastructure, etc.

While the West must shoulder some responsibility for Africa’s dire plight, last year’s commitments to help the continent were based on a pledge from African leaders for good governance and transparency. Over the past year several African leaders have increased dictatorial powers while fresh allegations of huge corruption have emerged. Of the world’s top ten failed states in the world in 2006, six are African.

Cape Town is home to 35,000 refugees, and Muizenberg has become home to the city's largest concentration of Congolese: several thousand, it is believed. Listening to their stories of xenophobia and administrative bungling, it becomes clear that South Africa - a country that sees itself as Africa's leader in the human rights field – does very little for refugees.

For the average adult in Kaiama area of Bayelsa State, a typical day starts with farming in the morning and schooling in the evening. Having suffered untold neglect and deprivation for many years, even though it has been playing host since the early 1950s, to all Nigeria's oil and gas resources and provided about 90 per cent of the country's foreign exchange earnings, they are not really literate.

Strong measures are needed to promote good governance in Africa, combat corruption and avoid the manipulations of national constitutions to extend rulers' terms in power, the chairman of the African Union (AU) commission, Alpha Konare, has said. "The problems we face are often a result of poor governance," said Konare.

Race is still a key factor in access to wealth in South Africa, says a government report on macro-social trends. The 109-page document released in Pretoria, 'A nation in the making: A discussion document on macro-social trends in South Africa', revealed a society still grappling with transition. Race is still a big factor, in economic access, identity and social relations, says the document.

In an historic agreement France and Cameroon have signed the first ever debt-for-nature swap. The agreement signed by France and Cameroon will see US$25 million spent on protecting the African state's tropical forests, part of the world's second largest rainforest, dwarfed only by the Amazon. It also requires Cameroon to earmark further funds for education, health and infrastructure.

Museveni has been a strong and dominating leader in government, the armed forces and his party for more than 20 years.

But he has never been confident enough to have his way in all matters through the formal structures and channels. So he has always used informal structures to have certain things done which he thought he could not have done formally.

He has never outgrown the methods of work of his guerilla days and even now he remains suspicious of institutional pluralism. Even in institutions where his power is total, informalism is the method of work. Thus during elections, you had a proliferation of the Kakooza Mutale, kakuyege/nyekundiire type of activities, side by side with the formal task forces. You have the Cheeyes in intelligence and journalism; the Tinyefuza role in intelligence side by side with the Security Minister Amama Mbabazi; the Media Centre side by side with the Presidential Advisor on the media and a media spokesman (Onapito) and a Minister responsible for information who is also a spokesman of government.

You have an Inspector General of Police who is also a presidential military assistant. You have a Gen. Tumwine who is a serving military officer, an MP and a Chief Judge (3 in one) of the court martial, the complete negation of the separation of powers.

All these unusual things are not accidental. They inform everyone that what Museveni wants is the law and the norm. It promotes the image of omnipotence which grants him the latitude to do so many things outside the law and to use the structures and the normal channels of government accordingly. Legal niceties or checks and balances are dismissed off hand. So if he gives Shs 20 bn to Basajja, so what? Even if he adds another Shs13.4 bn to him.

If he allocates prime land, with government buildings on, to favoured companies and individuals, so what? That it is Museveni who has done it puts a full stop to any questions. So what if he sends Black Mambas to surround the High Court or boda boda to show his displeasure at judges who passed a “wrong” judgement against government. So what if he sends his opposition opponent to jail and Court Martial on tramped up charges.

So what if creates informal armies, Arrow Boys, Amuka etc… So what if he nullifies the results of elections - Ruremera in Kibaale.

So what if he invades Congo a number of times, makes incursions int the Sudan all without parliamentary approval. So what if creates other kings in Buganda. So what if he abuses religious leaders for not supporting his life presidency project. So what if he aspires to be President of the East African Federation without thinking of the expected requirement of complying with political convergence? Stage by stage he accumulated personal power controlling all appointments and promotions that matter and deciding on the allocation of government revenue.

What all this says is that he always gets his way with anything he wants. This is what is called absolute power, when power goes to the head. He has an infallibility complex. The sovereignty of the country is now resident in the President.

There is absolute concentration of power in the President. Kamuzu Banda put it more succinctly in 1972 when he said that: "Nothing is not my business in this country: everything is my business, everything. The state of education, the state of our economy, the state of our agriculture, the state of our transport, everything is my business."

Thus the multiplicity of offices and ministers goes with their disempowerment since all significant decisions are made in State House. This personalization of power is both cause and effect of the desire for longevity in power. How can the "father" who is responsible for the people's welfare retire? How can he have intermediaries between him and the people? And so on and so forth.

With this background, it becomes clear why disagreeing with him becomes treason. That is why Dr Kizza Besigye is considered to have gone too far. Not only did he disagree with him, but he dared to stand against him. Preposterous is it not?

He must be punished and severely too so that others may see what befalls those who disagree with him. That is the same with Brig Henry Tumukunde. That is why that "fellow" Ruzindana is a traitor as well. How dare he oppose the coveted life presidency and then compound it by not giving way when the President's wife expressed a desire to be an MP? What impudence, he is a traitor. Shun him.

Prof Ali Mazrui has an explanation for this traitor business. Writing on " Political Leadership in Africa: Seven Styles and Four Traditions" he had the following to say about the " monarchical tendency" (Sabagabe): "Even African societies which were not themselves monarchical were influenced by the royal paradigm. Kwame Nkrumah attempted to create a monarchical tradition in independent Ghana by declaring himself life president, by sacralising (making sacred) his authority with the title Osagyefo (Redeemer), by surrounding himself with a class of ostentatious consumers passing themselves as Ghana's new political aristocracy, and by increasingly regarding political opposition to the president as the equivalent of treason (a monarchical version of intolerance)".

In Uganda, the new political aristocracy with its ostentatious consumption is a fact of daily life. The labeling of political opponents as traitors comes from the Sabagabe himself. Intolerance is the order of the day. The "father" has graduated to king. What then is the status and fate of the Kabaka with his quest for Federo, another power centre?

Magnanimity also goes with absolute power. Thus those who have disagreed with him but later repented or recanted may be rehabilitated but at the expense of losing their standing in society. Museveni gives and Museveni takes away.

Historical precedents abound, but Mobutu's on-again, off-again relationship with Nguza Karl-I-Bond and Etienne Tshisekedi, in which the two men were brought back from disgrace and even prison, to occupy high level positions in Mobutu's Cabinet will do for now.

Meanwhile everyone fawns on him as wisdom incarnate. The diplomatic community makes faint polite protests and acquiesces and finances the goings on, on the pretext that there is no one else available.

"Who else" is the refrain. Civil society organizations busy themselves with innocuous causes; the academia gets co-opted; the urban populations grumble silently; and the peasants continue dancing at public events for visiting dignitaries. Everybody goes into hiding. Impunity prevails. National numbness and paralysis are mistaken for stability. This could be a prelude to a gathering storm.

The author is FDC Deputy Secretary General for Policy, Research and former Ruhaama MP.

The regional economic group ECOWAS has promised to finance the payment of three months of unpaid teachers, doctors and other government worker salaries after unions called a national strike. The main worker’s union, the Bissau National Worker’s Union (UNTG), called a three day strike on Tuesday and vowed to keep pressure on the government until workers’ wages were paid.

Shops opened, public transport resumed and markets were bustling in the Guinean capital on Monday after the government made significant concessions to trade unions, ending a crippling nine-day strike that was marked by violence.

reports that bridging the digital divide has long been at the top of every socio-economic development agenda, and more and more studies and reports are confirming that universal access to mobile communications is the most effective way to achieve it. “Making it happen in practice depends on facing the affordability challenge in its three dimensions: total cost of ownership of mobile communications, the cash barrier faced by users to get and stay connected, and the regulatory environment.”

The Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa, in collaboration with the Open Society Justice Initiative, AfriMAP, and Partnership Africa Canada, will be holding a civil society event entitled Strengthening Civil Society: Ensuring Compliance with African and International Standards on Human Rights and Good Governance, prior to the African Union Summit in Banjul, Gambia from June 26 – 28, 2006.

South Africa's new health legislation, the National Health Act 61 of 2003, designed to tackle the public health crisis and the HIV/Aids pandemic, conflicts with binding commitments made by the former apartheid regime under the World Trade Organization's General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). This illegitimate trade treaty makes meeting the health needs of most South Africans far more difficult, says a new report released by the South African Municipal Workers Union and the Municipal Services Project.

South Africa’s new flagship health legislation, designed to combat a daunting and urgent public health crisis, conflicts with legally binding commitments the former apartheid regime negotiated under the World Trade Organization’s (WTO’s) General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).

This trade treaty conflict threatens to undermine the much-needed legislation and, if left unresolved, would make meeting the health needs of the majority of the population far more difficult.South Africa’s dilemma should serve as a world-wide warning that health policy-makers, governments and citizens need to be far more attentive to negotiations that are now underway in Geneva to expand the reach of the GATS.

South Africa’s National Health Act (NHA) aims to remedy past injustices by creating a more uniform and egalitarian national health care system. It is the current government’s chief legislative response to continuing health care challenges in a country where the social and economic costs of the worsening HIV/AIDS pandemic have greatly exacerbated the structural problems inherited from the apartheid era. Scarce health resources are still disproportionately directed to rich and urban citizens. South Africa’s National Health Act (NHA) aims to remedy past injustices by creating a more uniform and egalitarian national health care system.

The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) is no ordinary trade treaty. It is exceptionally complex and broad in scope. It aims to expand international commerce by restricting government measures that impede the ability of foreign companies and investors to maximise profit by supplying services, including health services. Once a national government agrees to cover a particular service sector under the GATS, this “specific commitment” binds all future governments, under threat of punitive trade sanctions.

This is the difficult situation in which the current South African government finds itself. In 1994, South Africa made GATS commitments covering a huge swath of the country’s health services. Almost all human health services delivered outside of hospitals by doctors, dentists, nurses, midwives and other health professions are directly and explicitly covered. However, these commitments are not classified under health but under the Professional Services sub-sector of Business Services. This bizarre classification system, together with the commitments having been made by the apartheid regime some 10 years before the drafting of the National Health Act probably explains why both South African trade and health officials denied for so long that the country’s health services are covered under the GATS.

The conflicts between South Africa’s health legislation and the international services treaty are substantial. In general, public planning policies that allocate health resources more equitably between urban and rural areas, between rich and poor people, and between public and private sectors conflict with the GATS prohibitions against limiting the numbers or activities of private sector service providers.

In particular, the NHA’s “certificate of need” system conflicts with the GATS Market Access rule (Article XVI). This system is the legislation’s primary policy instrument, requiring all health establishments to acquire a “certificate of need” in order to operate. The legislation gives the health minister the authority to grant or refuse certificates based on community needs, and to set conditions on certificates, such as requiring health establishments to service poorly-served regions or populations, or to train community health care professionals.

These basic measures, which are moderate and typical by world health policy standards, conflict with GATS Article XVI:2. This GATS provision explicitly prohibits the application of such “economic needs tests” to the approval of new facilities or the expansion of existing health establishments. The GATS also threatens the health legislation and related policies in other ways. The application of the GATS National Treatment rules (Article XVII) to all health sectors and sub-sectors listed in the South African schedule of commitments creates a host of regulatory issues and problems. Community-based control and decision-making, local training and technology transfer options, directed health care subsidies and incentives, and black economic empowerment policies are all at risk.

GATS negotiations are currently underway on Domestic Regulation (GATS Article VI:4). If these negotiations result, as planned, in new restrictions on non-discriminatory government regulation, the apartheid-era commitments covering health services would create further problematic conflicts with the National Health Act.

The approaches embodied in South Africa’s current health policies and its GATS commitments are incompatible. The government can choose either to conform to legally binding, but illegitimate, treaty commitments made by apartheid-era negotiators, or it can implement the NHA and related policies to try to achieve a more equitable health care system. The existing inequities within the health care system are in need of urgent reform. There is also an overarching responsibility, enshrined in South Africa’s now democratic constitution, for the state to protect health and other basic human rights. Accordingly, the morally and constitutionally valid way for the government to resolve these conflicts is to bring the country’s GATS commitments into conformity with South Africa’s health policy imperatives.

Failure to resolve this trade treaty issue promptly could, over time, divert effort and scarce resources from the central task of health care reform. It would enable foreign for-profit health service corporations, through their home governments, to launch GATS challenges that could thwart the implementation of the National Health Act and related policies.

There are several possible options for dealing with the GATS problem. One option is for South Africa to implement the National Health Act as planned, and deal with any potential GATS issues as they arise. This “wait-and-see” approach is, however, unlikely to be effective over time. Due to the stark inconsistency between the NHA and the GATS, disputes are to be expected. Losing such a case would expose South Africa to the threat of trade sanctions targeted against the country’s key exports.

Another option is for South Africa to withdraw its GATS commitments covering health services. This approach would resolve the immediate GATS threat to the NHA. A drawback, however, is that South Africa would be required to negotiate increased GATS coverage in other sectors to compensate affected WTO member governments for their service suppliers’ lost “market access” in health services.

A third, more ambitious approach would begin with the withdrawal of the GATS commitments. This would be accompanied by the South African government leading or participating in collective action by like-minded governments and citizen movements to tackle the threats that the GATS poses to progressive health policies. This would be consistent with the GATS and similar treaties being fundamentally changed to address the basic incompatibility between their commercializing imperatives and policies to realise health as a human right for all. The GATS is corrosive to a variety of public service systems and to regulation in the public interest.

Instead of the current negotiations to broaden and deepen GATS coverage, there needs to be a thorough assessment of the treaty’s defects from a health policy and public interest perspective, and joint international action for concrete changes to remedy its structural flaws. Bringing South Africa’s GATS obligations into line with its new national health legislation should be viewed as a necessary first step towards the vital goal of creating more democratic international governance frameworks for human and social development. Instead of the current negotiations to broaden and deepen GATS coverage, there needs to be an assessment of the treaty’s defects and joint international action to create more democratic international governance frameworks.

South Africa’s predicament is a cautionary tale. All the evidence suggests that the drafters of the Health Act either did not know about the country’s health commitments under GATS or had forgotten about them. The officials who knew about GATS resided in South Africa’s Department of Trade & Industry. But they knew nothing about the Health Act until it had already passed through parliament and were alerted to the problem by the South African Municipal Workers' Union (Samwu). These same trade officials now publicly accuse Samwu of being “unpatriotic” in bringing public attention to the conflict between GATS and the National Health Act.

* This is a summary of a report "The GATS and South Africa's National Health Act: A Cautionary Tale" based on a research project commissioned by the South African Municipal Workers Union and the Municipal Services Project, published in June 2006. Contact Jeff Rudin of Samwu ([email protected]) for more information or a copy of the report.

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

Laurie Nathan, formerly the head of the Centre for Conflict Resolution in Cape Town, was a member of the African Union (AU) mediation team based in Abuja that facilitated negotiations for the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA). In this interview he offers some perspectives on the negotiations and the Agreement.

Pambazuka News: Many analysts and observers have warned that the ceasefire promised by the DPA is unlikely to be attained. What are the main problems in this regard?

Laurie Nathan: The most obvious problem is that the Agreement has not been signed by all the armed groups in Darfur. Two of the rebel movements that participated in the AU mediation – the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) that is headed by Abdul Wahid Mohammed al-Nur – refused to sign. The Agreement concluded on 5 May was endorsed only by the Sudanese government and the SLM/A faction headed by Minni Minawi. Abdul Wahid is the rebel leader with the most popular support in Darfur. Without his endorsement of the Agreement, there is little prospect of a lasting peace. [Note from Pambazuka News editors: Subsequent to this interview, reports indicate that some groups have now committed to the terms of the agreement. See for further details.]

In addition, there are numerous armed groups in Darfur that were not present at the Abuja negotiations. Most significantly, these groups include the Janjaweed, the rampaging militia that have been responsible for so much of the death and destruction in the region and that are used by the government to crush the rebels and their communities.

It should also be recalled that the government, JEM and the SLM/A have signed several humanitarian ceasefire agreements over the past two years and then violated these agreements repeatedly and egregiously. This constitutes fair warning of the possibility of further violations, especially if the signatories are not genuinely committed to the new agreement.

Another huge problem is that the AU peacekeeping mission in Darfur is hopelessly ill-equipped to oversee the ceasefire and protect civilians from attacks by government, militia, rebels and bandits. The AU has roughly 7,000 troops when it needs, according to the AU Force Commander, as many as 60,000 troops to cover inhospitable badlands the size of France.

Pambazuka News: Do you think the signatories are genuinely committed to the new agreement?

One of the most remarkable things about the Abuja peace process was that, for months on end, the negotiating parties were unable or unwilling to engage in serious negotiations. They made no effort to accommodate each other’s positions and showed no interest in trying to forge common ground. None of them was willing to make concessions to its opponents. There was no bargaining, let alone collaborative problem-solving.

Instead, the parties spent their time reiterating their demands ad nauseum, rejecting the positions of their opponents, trading accusations and recriminations, grandstanding for the benefit of the international observers and attempting to win support for their positions from the mediators. In the midst of this immensely frustrating experience, the head of the AU mediation team, Sam Ibok, was quoted as saying that “our experience over the past sixteen months had led us to conclude that there is neither good faith nor commitment on the part of any of the Parties”.

In light of all this, one of the most important points about the DPA is that it is not by any stretch of the imagination a negotiated settlement. It is a document which was drawn up by the mediators and which the Sudanese government and Minni Minawi signed under pressure from sections of the international community. The final draft of the text prepared by the mediators was presented to the parties on a take-it-or-leave-it basis five days before the final deadline of 30 April set by the AU Peace and Security Council.

The government and Minawi evidently believed that their interests would not be served by refusing to sign the document and being portrayed as spoilers. In the absence of real negotiations and hard-won concessions, however, none of the Sudanese parties has any sense of ownership of the Agreement and it is therefore unlikely that they are committed to it.

Several commentators have pointed out that the DPA contains more compromises on the part of the rebels than on the part of the government, particularly in relation to power sharing. (A summary and critique of the DPA appeared in the Sudan Tribune on 3 May; see www.crisisgroup.org and www.hrw.org The Darfur Relief and Documentation Centre has an excellent website (www.darfurcentre.ch). I would also strongly recommend “Darfur: A Short History of a Long War” by Julie Flint and Alex de Waal.

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

The African Charter of Human and Peoples’ Rights came into force in 1986, making 2006 the 20th year of its existence. As African heads of state prepare to meet in Banjul, The Gambia for the 7th African Union Summit, Ahmed C Motala evaluates the successes and failures of The Charter for the protection and promotion of human rights on the continent.

The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the African Charter) was adopted on 27th June 1981 by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), predecessor to the African Union (AU), at its Assembly of Heads of States and Government in Nairobi, Kenya. This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the entry into force of the African Charter, which came into force in October 1986. Some commentators have hailed the African Charter as a progressive document that, amongst others, recognises the indivisibility of civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights, distinct from other international human rights treaties. The African Charter was also the first human rights treaty to refer to the right to development, although it did not define this right. Others have criticised the African Charter for its many shortcomings, in particular its ‘claw-back’ clauses, which make certain rights subject to domestic law. For example, Article 9(2) of the African Charter states: “Every individual shall have the right to express and disseminate opinions within the law.” Other rights such as the right to privacy do not feature in the African Charter and some rights including the right to fair trial are inadequately defined.

The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Commission), the body created under the African Charter to monitor compliance by states with the treaty, currently functions in an environment plagued by civil wars in several countries including Sudan, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo and Chad. Serious human rights violations continue throughout the continent from Egypt to Equatorial Guinea and Ethiopia. The phenomenon of coup d'état and counter coups continue to haunt many countries. Measures adopted by governments throughout Africa to counter terrorism make serious inroads into long-standing human rights values. A growing commitment to human rights by a handful of progressive countries including Mali, Benin and South Africa on the other hand offer some optimism that the continent is intent on improving its human rights record.

At the time of the drafting and adoption of the African Charter the OAU Charter entrenched the central principle of State sovereignty and non-interference in domestic affairs. This principle prevented the OAU and African States from intervening to prevent serious human rights violations including the massacre of civilians by dictators such as Idi Amin of Uganda, Emperor Bokassa of Central African Republic, Mengistu Haile Mariam of Ethiopia, Valentine Strasser of Liberia, Hissene Habre of Chad and Samuel Doe of Liberia. In fact, former dictators such as Mengistu and Habre continue to enjoy the hospitality of Zimababwe and Senegal respectively, with both States refusing to extradite them to stand trial for international crimes.

After its creation, the African Commission too failed to deal effectively with some of the most serious human rights violations committed on the continent, most recently the genocide in Rwanda. Being a creation of the OAU, and now reporting to the AU, the African Commission has been hampered, amongst others, by the lack of political will and initiative of its political masters to deal with serious human rights violations. After all, the dictators and human rights violators have been part of the same club of heads of states to which the African Commission was required to submit its annual report, which included information on serious violations of human rights.

With the establishment of the African Union, on paper at least there is a stronger commitment to human rights. The objectives of the AU as enshrined in its Constitutive Act include “to promote and protect human and peoples’ rights in accordance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and other relevant human rights instruments”. The AU is also based, amongst others on the principle of “respect for democratic principles, human rights, the rule of law and good governance”. The key question is whether the values enshrined in the Constitutive Act are implemented by AU member states or the institutions of the AU? There is little evidence to suggest that the AU is willing to hold member states accountable for human rights violations. Zimbabwe is a case in point. Despite the African Commission presenting a report to the AU Assembly in July 2004 on the human rights situation in Zimbabwe and recommending measures to be taken to redress the situation, the Assembly failed to hold the Zimbabwean authorities accountable. Instead, it took cognisance of Zimbabwe’s objections that it had not had an opportunity to comment on the report and delayed the adoption of the African Commission’s annual report for six months.

However, the Peace and Security Council seems to have acted with considerable resolve in attending to conflict situations. In trying to address the conflict in the Darfur region of western Sudan, the Council authorised the deployment of an AU peace-keeping mission against the wishes of the Sudanese Government of President Omar El Bashir. The Constitutive Act has narrowed the ambit of state sovereignty by stipulating “the right of the Union to intervene in a Member State pursuant to a decision of the Assembly in respect of grave circumstances, namely: war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity”. This right of intervention was the consequence of the severe criticism of the OAU for its failure to act in the face of the genocide in Rwanda. It is encouraging to see that the AU is willing to act in accordance with its right of intervention, even against the wishes of the member state concerned. Whether the AU Mission in Sudan has been effective in reducing human rights violations is the subject of another article.

How has the African Commission fared over the last two decades? An analysis of the work of the African Commission would show considerable progress over the last twenty years. However there also have been many obstacles that have hampered its work and consequent effectiveness on the continent.

The African Commission rendered numerous decisions on complaints filed before it, primarily by NGOs. These decisions have been against a range of countries including Egypt, Algeria, Sudan, Malawi, Nigeria, Cameroon and Botswana. Its jurisprudence has improved considerably over the years with recent decisions being well-reasoned. However, the African Commission would have to improve its decisions considerably if it expects the newly established African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights to uphold its decisions. The current staff of the African Commission comprises of dedicated but inexperienced lawyers. Without skilled litigators and experienced legal researchers on its permanent staff, the African Commission is not likely to improve its decisions to a level that would be to the satisfaction of the African Court. Unfortunately most States have ignored the rulings of the African Commission and its parent body the AU Assembly has failed dismally to hold these states accountable. As long as African States that are the subject of such complaints ignore the decisions of the African Commission, its status as the main body on the African continent responsible for the protection and promotion of human rights would remain minimal.

The mandate of the African Commission includes formulating and laying down rules upon which African States may base their legislation. In this regard the African Commission has made considerable contribution by adopting a range of principles and guidelines. These include: Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa, Guidelines and Measures for the Prohibition and Prevention of Torture, Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment in Africa and Principles and Guidelines on Fair Trial and Legal Assistance in Africa. The intrinsic value of these pronouncements by the African Commission is that they articulate standards that are of pertinence to the situation prevailing in African countries. Regrettably there is little evidence that African States have considered these declarations in the development of their own legislative framework.

The African Commission has been plagued by inconsistency in its performance, which has been dependent on its composition. The effectiveness of the treaty body depends on the independence and impartiality of the Commissioners. Disappointingly, African States have undermined the independence of the African Commission by nominating and electing Commissioners whose independence was compromised or who were perceived to lack independence by virtue of their position in their government. Over the last twenty years various Commissioners have held positions of ministers, attorney-generals, ambassadors and advisers to their president. This has not only coloured the perception of the African Commission but has resulted in it lacking initiative to tackle some of the most serious human rights violations facing African countries. One example is that of the African Commission’s Special Rapporteur on Extra-judicial Executions whose appointment came on the eve of genocide in Rwanda in April 1994. During his tenure he failed to investigate the events in Rwanda or to visit the country. During his tenure at the African Commission the incumbent was the diplomatic representative of his country in Ankara and subsequently in Geneva.

The lack of adequate resources has considerably hampered the work of the African Commission. The annual budget allocated by the AU for 2005 was US$1,142,051, considerably less than some large national NGOs. This despite repeated resolutions adopted by the AU Assembly urging that the African Commission has to be provided with adequate resources. The African Commission has had to rely on assistance from foreign donors including the European Union and individual European governments. This should be a source of embarrassment to the African Union that it is unable to provide sufficient resources to its primary human rights body. It also calls into question the commitment of the AU and its member states to the protection and promotion of human rights on the continent.

The protection of human rights in Africa will be enhanced by the establishment of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Court). The eleven judges of the African Court were elected at the AU Assembly in January this year and are to be sworn in at the forthcoming Assembly at the beginning of July 2006. With the African Court having the authority to hand down binding decisions and the Executive Council of the AU being required to monitor implementation of the decisions, the protection of human rights on the continent is likely to improve. However, errant states are only likely to fully implement its decisions if the Executive Council is willing to take measures against states that fail or delay in applying the decision of the African Court. Lack of resources is likely to plague the African Court too unless the AU establishes the voluntary human rights fund recommended by the First AU Ministerial Conference on Human Rights held in Kigali in May 2003 and African states make considerable contributions to that fund.

We are at the dawn of a new era in the protection of human rights. Establishment of the African Court is only the first step in the journey through this era. Much still has to be done in the identification of a suitable location for the African Court, in the provision of adequate facilities and resources and in recruitment of suitably qualified and experienced staff. In all of this and in the effective functioning of the African Court the political support of the AU and its member states is of the utmost importance.

African states bear considerable responsibility for the protection of human rights. Domestic institutions including national human rights commissions and courts should bear the primary duty for the protection of human rights. The establishment and strengthening of an independent judiciary in each African state and respect of and adherence to the decisions of the national courts is of vital importance. The regional system of human rights protection only becomes relevant where the national courts either fail to protect human rights or in instances where the state ignores the decisions of its own courts.

* Ahmed C Motala is Executive Director of the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation

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

Pambazuka News, the electronic weekly newsletter and website focusing on social justice issues in Africa, is seeking an ONLINE NEWS EDITOR. You will be a forward thinking and independent person with a strong background in journalism and experience and/or a strong interest in the power of the internet for information delivery and campaigning.

Responsibilities will include: Assuming responsibility for the weekly production of Pambazuka News, including the coordination of editorial support staff; Editing, proofing, researching and posting content online in line with weekly production deadlines; Maintaining a contacts list and editorial diary, including research and commissioning of articles to ensure coverage of key events and issues; Research and writing of comment and analysis items on events and issues related to Africa; Participating in strategic and development issues that relate to editorial content, future development and editorial staff and interns; Completion of necessary administrative tasks. For the full job advertisement, please click on the link below.

The United Nations is planning to send a humanitarian mission to the Somali capital, Mogadishu, to see how to best address the critical needs of civilians, a senior UN official said. However, the mission would only go to Mogadishu if there were guarantees of security on the ground.

An evaluation of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative by the Bank's Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) released in April begs the question: What next for debt relief efforts? The evaluation builds on a 2003 evaluation of HIPC, but stops short of assessing the meaning of the new Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative. The evaluation fails to offer any advice on how to speed up or broaden HIPC coverage.

As Sudan's feared Janjaweed militia step up their cross-border attacks into Chad, there is worrying new evidence that some Chadians have joined forces with the Janjaweed to attack their own countrymen. Victims of attacks say that some Chadians are acting as "guides" to the Janjaweed, directing them to certain villages and suggesting which cattle to steal. Many victims also say that some Chadians are taking part in the actual killings.

The AU-MONITOR site has been reactivated! To keep up with the latest news and information from Banjul, please go to:

This site has been established by Fahamu to provide regular feedback to African civil society organisations on what is happening with the African Union. In the immediate period we'll be uploading regular news from the summit in Banjul, The Gambia.

Oxford African Refugees and Families Development Community (OARFDC) is a developing not-for-profit group with a main focus on supporting refugees and Asylum Seekers based in Oxford. The group has produced a bilingual (English/French) newsletter called Africa in Oxford. The aim of this newsletter is to provide practical advice, information and support for refugees and Asylum Seekers and to help them become useful members of their new community in Oxford.

EthioPundit (http://ethiopundit.blogspot.com/2006/06/catch-up.html) comments on “ethnic, religious and tribal politics” in Ethiopia, Eritrea and Tigray. For Ethiopundit the issue is “dead” and questions whether the “TPLF represents the interests of Tigrayans or that the OLF represents the interests of Oromos”.

“Without cooperation as well as competition by the Oromo or Tigray or Amhara et al, Ethiopia would not exist today and of course would simply cease to exist in the future. Without them and others it will all fall apart into so many unviable mini-states whose destiny would be failure and suffering for tens of millions…To imagine that further bantustanization would benefit anyone or that any tribal liberation front actually speaks for the people that it is named after is simply absurd.”

Zimbabwean group blog, Enough is Enough (http://enoughzimbabwe.org/coltarts-procrastinated-decision-evidence-of-a...) comments on David Coltarts decision on his political future. Enough is Enough believes the decision is one that is common in Zimbabwe, placing person before duty and what he calls “cheap politics”.

“Zimbabwe's politicians have a complex [task] regardless of what part or party faction they belong; they take themselves way too seriously. Mr. Coltart's actions over the last few months illustrate my point well…Our politicians make decisions that have national and global ramifications without so much as batting an eyelid, yet [when] it comes to their personal involvement in politics, they take a much more cautious approach. They are in politics for their stomachs and enlarged egos, they haven't given their lives over to their convictions.”

Chippla's Weblog (http://chippla.blogspot.com/2006/06/bakassia-future-uncertain.html) continues his second part of an in depth report on the Bakassa Peninsula, a small piece of land claimed by both Nigeria and Cameroon. In 2002 the International Court of Justice ordered Nigeria to hand back Bakassa to Cameroon and recently President Obasanjo agreed to abide by the decision of the court.

“While one is left uncertain about what Nigerians think about their government's decision to hand over Bakassi (I am unaware of any opinion polls), the feelings of most Bakassi residents are well known. Mainstream media reports indicate that they see themselves as Nigerians (what else would you expect - Bakassi has been ruled as part of the Nigerian Republic for decades) and would want to see the Nigerian government reject the ICJ ruling.”

Chippla goes on to comment on the arbitrary borders of African countries drawn by the colonial government and asks:

“Is Bakassi a part of Cameroon? Given the arbitrary borders of most African nation-states, such a question might seem difficult to answer. But this old map seems to clearly indicate that Bakassi was governed as a part of German Kamerun. Well, so were Mubi and Uba, according to the map. But today, Mubi and Uba constitute part of Adamawa State in northeastern Nigeria. By the way, Cameroon also has a province called Adamawa (spelt Adamaoua) which borders Adamawa and Taraba States in Nigeria.”

Black Looks (http://www.blacklooks.org/2006/06/the_asylum_game.html) remembers World Refugee Day by publishing the outcome of “The Asylum Game” which replicates the “dangers, the perils the reality faced by migrants trying to reach Europe (in this case Norway) from Liberia and Iran”. The game is in Norwegian and a friend details her experience of “trying” to seek asylum in Norway from Liberia.

“I seek asylum and am rejected. I cheat and try the wheel of fortune again, and after about five tries I am finally granted asylum. I realize that I am no longer 26 years old, I am now over 30 and have to start my life over. I also realize that I am one of the lucky ones that actually made it. I cheated more than 15 times.”

Sotho (http://sotho.blogsome.com/2006/06/20/why-is-africa-poor/) writes on why he thinks Africa is poor. He first introduces some current thoughts on the answer:

“Africa is economically poor. Some Afri-philes and some Africans sometimes blame colonialism as part of the reason why the continent is economically poor. Afri-phobes insist that after half a century of freedom from colonialism, that particular excuse is no longer valid, and that we need to look elsewhere. Some people suggest that Africa is poor because Africans are inferior to other races.”

He concludes however that Africa is waking up and ends with a suggested list of “musts” for Africa to succeed in turning things around.

“As far as I'm concerned, the continent had to go through a period of realising its own worth, in order to be able to produce goods and do business in its own image and right, as only it knows how.”

Rantings of a Sandmonkey (http://www.sandmonkey.org/2006/06/20/anti-ghana-ism-redux) comments on the ongoing “anti-Ghana-ism” taking place in Egypt following their win and flying of the Israeli flag by a Ghanaian team member.

He runs through some of the Egyptian press headlines:

"Egyptians supported the Ghanaian team all the way until the 82nd minute, and regretted it after the Israeli flag (waving)," screamed a bold red headline in the independent daily Al-Masry al-Yom Monday. "As soon as the referee blew his whistle to start the match, Egyptians were out enthusiastically, almost hysterically supporting Ghana, until defender John Paintsil took out the Israeli flag," read the paper's front page article.

The live commentator on the Arab satellite channel broadcasting all World Cup matches in the region abruptly cut short his trademark "goooaaaaaaal" when Paintsil brought out the flag. "What are you doing, man?" the bewildered commentator said.

Apparently the real reason is many Ghanaians go through Israeli football training camps! And "the training program for these children starts every morning with a salute to the Israeli flag," Mestekawi claimed. So the questions are: Ghanaians please explain this Israeli flag flying business and why are your children saluting the Israeli flag every morning?

* Sokari Ekine produces the blog Black Looks,

* Please send comments to [email protected]

The trial of the six trustees of the independent radio station "Voice of the People" (VOP), began at the Magistrates' Court, Rotten Row, Harare. The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (OBSERVATORY), a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), have sent a trial observer to monitor whether the proceedings comply with international standards for fair trial and whether the charges comply with international human rights law.

The board of directors of the US Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) suspended the Gambia's eligibility for MCC assistance June 16, citing a pattern of actions inconsistent with MCC's selection criteria. The board based its decision on documented evidence of human rights abuses in the country and increased restrictions on political rights, civil liberties and press freedom by the government, as well as worsening economic policies and diminishing anti-corruption efforts, an MCC statement said.

Agenda intends to publish a journal in December 2006 focussing on the topic of human trafficking. While we, as a feminist media project, will mainly focus on the trafficking of women and girl-children, the content of the journal should portray that also men and boys are affected by this crime.

The Sudan Organisation Against Torture reports that on 12 June 2006 at 12:30pm, five men allegedly working for the security forces detained Omar Altaj Al-Nageeb, (25 yrs), a recent medical graduate from Omdurman Islamic University, Omdurman. Mr. Al-Nageeb was detained whilst distributing flyers in support of students suspended from the University for Non Payment of tuition fees.

The Geoseed Project is a non-profit volunteer organization based in the Silicon Valley. Our mission is to stimulate the desire for learning in children. A Geopack is a set of 12 recent issues of the prestigious, educational and colorful National Geographic Magazine.

Mariam Denton Nee Jack, a prominent human rights lawyer, has been detained now for 2 months in The Gambia without lawful charges. Please help us voice our concern to the Head of State! Please help her by signing the petition below. This letter will then be sent to the Head of State in The Gambia. Your support is greatly needed. Please pass this on to everyone you know.

Tajudeed Abdul Raheem asks who the real terrorists are in Mogadishu: Those who have held the people to ransom for two decades or those who have chased them away?

When a people have suffered for a long time under a dictatorship the tendency is to declare that nothing could be worse than what they were experiencing. Lived experience does teach a different lesson. No matter how bad the situation is it could always be worse. But the opposite is also true. No matter how good it is it can always be better.

Who would have thought that the jubilations at the exit of Somalia's long term dictator, Mohammed Siad Barre, in 1991 would quickly turn into a prolonged nightmare for his compatriots who have not known peace or even enjoyed the protection of a legitimate government since then. Siad Barre lies reburied in Mogadishu after his body was returned from Nigeria where his life ended peacefully after being given a 'safe haven' by the Nigerian government. The country he led with 'iron fists' and 'velvet tongue' for more than two decades is wasted and wasting between different pretenders to Barre's crown, who are all warlords well-equipped to destroy states but possess no skills for building a nation.

Somalia also tragically epitomises a number of contradictions for those of us who proclaim 'African solutions to African problems' and Pan Africanism, rightly eschewing external meddling by imperialist powers in African affairs but sometimes ambiguous about the sub imperialist meddling of fellow African states. One, is our loyalty to a state or to peoples? The state of Somalia has collapsed and probably may never be one state again, but somehow the international system has kept it existing because it remains the unit of discussion whether at the AU or UN. Somali peoples, like all victims of colonialism, are divided among many countries: Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti in addition to Somalia itself. In Somalia itself the south is claiming to be Somaliland while Puntland is also claiming to be independent of both Somalia and Djibouti. Though the Somali state has collapsed the Somali people continue to exist.

Two, it is not about fixing the Somali state but actually looking at it beyond the colonial borders and finding a regional solution to it. It points to federal and con-federal arrangements of the East and Horn of African states. But this logical political conclusion challenges the basis of all our states. That is why even the laudable work of the IGAD states backed by the AU and supported by genuine friends of Africa internationally is falling short of achieving peace and stability in Somalia and the region. They are looking at it as a Somali problem (and a hard dose of prejudice of them being 'difficult' Muslims prone to clan violence) instead of being a Pan African problem.

If we respond to it boldly it will not be limited to Somalis. It will address the historical problems of being part of but not belonging, of many arbitrarily nationalities across this continent: Banyarwanda, Banyamulenge, Bafumbira, Ewes, Ja luos, Ba samia, Hausa, Yoruba, Tswana, Basuto, Tigre, to mention just a few. But it will also change the map of Africa. It is the lack of political will to face the inevitable that is making our leaders engage in half-measures that often give disproportionate influence to war lords at our negotiating tables. IGAD states did a great job in patiently facilitating and negotiating for peace in Somalia, leading to the formation of the transitional government two years ago. However the reality now is that that government has been overtaken by major political developments. To insist on it and deal with it as though it is a normal government risks making not just the TFG but also the IGADD and the AU irrelevant in resolving the Somali issue.

There are a number of reasons for this. First, though the TFG is the result of tortuous and complex negotiations that seemed all-inclusive, the warlords had more power and influence in the shape of it. Their crimes, many of them qualifying as 'crimes against humanity' were rewarded with impunity.

Two, precisely because they were rewarded instead of them changing their old ways they continued business as usual in Mogadishu, trying to gain advantage over each other. That's why the TFG has metamorphosed from a refugee government based in Kenya into an internally displaced government first hosted by the warlord, Mohammed Dheere, in Jowhar, but now relocated to Baidoa, and why the interim president, Abdulahi Yusuf, is being hosted by yet another war lord.

Three, while the TFG enjoys the diplomatic and political recognition of the AU and internationally, it does not seem to enjoy popular legitimacy and it is unable to impose its legal authority at home. Can the world force Somalis to accept a government that is ineffective and doomed to remain ineffectual? This is the context which some of the neighbours of Somalia and global geo-political power mongers are exploiting. While officially publicly offering support for the TFG their actions have helped to undermine and erode its fragile legitimacy. Chief among these are the US and Ethiopia.

The militias in Mogadishu have used both countries' unprincipled alliances in Somali politics and their obsession with 'Islamic fundamentalism' to gain support. Meanwhile Somalis fed up with the militias and wanting a 'law and order' environment and a guarantee of personal and group security for their lives and property turn to their culture, traditional structures and religion. The Union of Islamic Courts led by an ordinary teacher Sheikh Sharif Sheik Ahmed, is the umbrella under which ordinary Somalis have united to get rid of militias and warlords backed by various foreign interests. The ease with which they have moved from Mogadishu to other areas of the country should caution us from joining the sponsors of defeated and fleeing warlords who call them yet another 'Muslim fundamentalist' group. They are giving indications of being a popular movement . As yet they are unclear of their purpose as a government and probably ill-equipped to govern a modern state but they are able to bring security and peace based on notions of Islamic rule of Law and social justice. They have rendered the TFG a dead horse. For how long are we going to be insisting that Somalis ride this dead horse?

What is now happening in Mogadishu, Beledweyne and other cities is quite similar to what has happened in Somaliland, where a coalition of similar Islamist forces (up to now not recognised by any other state in the world) have managed to maintain peace and security based on a mixture of cultural order and conservative Islamic values. Neighbours and other foreigners should not be allowed to hide their sub imperialist and imperialist interests behind support for the TFG . There are reports (denied by Addis Ababa) that Ethiopia has sent troops to Baidoa and is arming the TFG, while the Americans have also denied supporting the defeated and fleeing warlords. Two of them, Bashir Rage and Sudi Yallaow, were allegedly rescued by American marines off the coast of Somalia while they were fleeing. Another war lord, Mohamed Abdi Qanyare is reported to have fled to El-Dheere while his name sake Mohammed Dheere is reported to have fled to Addis Ababa.

Meanwhile the other warlords in Mogadishu, Hussein Aideed and Ali Ato, have willingly surrended themselves to the Union of Islamic courts, hoping to join 'the storm' thy could not stop. Ato reportedly compared the highly successful routing of all the warlords by the Islamists to being 'hit by hurricane'.

As the AU meets in Banjul, Gambia next week our leaders have to reflect very seriously on the admittedly difficult challenges posed by the latest twist in the tragedy of Somalia. The IGADD states and the AU need to be sufficiently flexible and nuanced in handling this new situation. It is possible that the Union of Islamic courts may cooperate with the TFG but as long as the TFG does not insist on formal legalism. The TFG could also use the Union to build a popular legitimacy if they are seen to be cooperating. So far the Union has not been imposing leaders - rather they ask all the residents to choose their leaders to work with the new order. In some cases, significantly in Mogadishu itself, where people have opted for the leader put there by the TFG, the Union has not refused to honor that choice, hence the mayor of Mogadishu remains the same.

There needs to be clarity as to who will have sanctions imposed on them. Is it those who are now restoring order or the fleeing former warlords? If the AU encourages Ethiopia, the USA and other meddlers to continue to arm the TFG in the name of being the legitimate government it will be fueling more death and destruction and giving the fleeing warlords a new lease of life. For decades, the Somali state has been formed and reformed and deformed around the interests of various militarised local elites and various external geo-political interests. Now the voice of the people of Somalia seem to be coming out loud and clear. So the fundamental question is: Are you for the state or the people? Who are the terrorists in Somalia? Those who have held the people to ransom for two decades or those who have chased them away?

* Dr Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem is General-Secretary of the Pan African Movement, Kampala (Uganda) and Co-Director of Justice Africa

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

The international community should do more to assist returning Liberian refugees if peace is to take root there, said Antonio Guterres, top official of the UN’s refugee agency UNHCR, while visiting neighbouring Cote d’Ivoire. But the UN High Commissioner for Refugees warned that peace alone could not guarantee Liberia’s future stability.

This paper discusses the issue of migrant women and women's integration in Maputo within the context of the new trends of female migration. For a year about fifty women were interviewed in Maputo as well as in the Niassa province. The objective of this study is to demonstrate that women's migration has occurred within problematic decisions and choices for movement influenced by women's emancipation, SAPs and global trends in Mozambique and in the world economy.