PAMBAZUKA NEWS 142: RWANDA TEN YEARS AFTER THE GENOCIDE: SOME REMINDERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE TO THE CRISIS
PAMBAZUKA NEWS 142: RWANDA TEN YEARS AFTER THE GENOCIDE: SOME REMINDERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE TO THE CRISIS
The UK-based Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (JRCT) - a long-standing donor to South African development projects - initiated a consultative review of its South African grantmaking programme in 2002. The review has now been concluded and the Trust has announced some important changes.From 2004, the JRCT only considers applications for projects in KwaZulu-Natal, and primarily in the rural areas of the province.
The Natal Witness reports that South Africa is set to receive an initial US$40mn grant from the United States to fight the spread of HIV/Aids in 2004. The US Embassy in Pretoria will be responsible for the administration of the funds and has already identified worthy projects in consultation with NPOs and government.According to the US ambassador to South Africa, Cameron Hume, the grant allocated to South Africa is not enough to combat the Aids scourge but is a step in the right direction.
African Trade Agenda is produced by the Political Economy Unit, Third World Network-Africa. TWN-Africa is co-ordinator of the Africa Trade Network. For more info contact: TWN-Africa, Box 19452, Accra-North, GHANA. Tel, 233 21 511189/503669
The Media Foundation for West Africa is a regional independent, non-profit, non-governmental organisation based in Accra, Ghana. It was established in 1997 to defend and promote the rights and freedoms of the media, and generally, to help expand the boundaries of freedom of speech and expression in West Africa through:
- Advocacy and promotion of Media Rights and Freedom of Expression;
- Monitoring, alerting and publicising violations of and attacks on freedom of thought and expression;
- Defence and support of Journalists, Writers, Artists and other Communicators against intimidation and other controls that could undermine free expression;
- Research into issues affecting Media Rights and Freedom of Expression;
- Training and support for professional practice and media capacity building;
- Promoting and facilitating programmes of informed political debate, civic empowerment and popular participation.
The 2005 budget submitted to Congress this week includes far lower levels of funding for HIV/AIDS programs in Africa and globally than what is needed, and what was earlier promised by the President, lobby group Africa Action has noted. The White House's request for next year includes only $2.8 billion for programs to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria globally, with only a portion of this money going to Africa. In his 2003 State of the Union address, President Bush had promised $3 billion per year on an emergency basis to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean. Salih Booker, Executive Director of Africa Action, said: "Bush's budget request reveals the misplaced priorities of the current Administration. AIDS represents the greatest threat to human security in the world today, but while the President requested more than $400 billion for military defense, he asked for less than 1% of this amount to fight the deadly global threat of HIV/AIDS."
A new report by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions on core labour standards in Gambia, produced to coincide with the trade policy review of Gambia at the WTO, criticises Gambia's lack of compliance with the eight ILO conventions known as "Core Labour Standards". The report notes legal restrictions on the right to organise and, furthermore, that civil servants cannot exercise this right. The Labour Act imposes general restrictions on the right to strike, and civil service employees are completely denied the right to strike. More than half the workforce is employed in the informal economy, depriving workers of necessary protections and making existing legislation hard to enforce.
A new study by the International Labour Office (ILO) says the benefits of eliminating child labour will be nearly seven times greater than the costs, or an estimated US$ 5.1 trillion in the developing and transitional economies, where most child labourers are found. What is more, the study, conducted by the ILO International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), says child labour - which involves one in every six children in the world - can be eliminated and replaced by universal education by the year 2020 at an estimated total cost of US$ 760 billion.
In observance of Africa Health Day, the World Health Organisation (WHO), in partnership with the African Medical Research Foundation (AMREF), Africare and Medilinks, is organising an exhibition and a panel discussion on 19 February 2004 in New York highlighting health and development issues in Africa. Although Africa is the richest continent in the world, it has historically been perceived as a continent of relentless humanitarian emergencies caused by political instability, disease, famine and war. This perception fails to recognize the many positive development initiatives in Africa that have succeeded and flourished and resulted in improved health conditions for the children, women and men of Africa. Africa Health Day will aim to raise public awareness of these positive health programs in the Region and offer opportunities to further explore how to build a bridge to sustainable development.
Driving through the arid dustbowl around Birak in eastern Chad, just a few kilometres from the western border of war-torn Sudan, you could easily miss the influxes of refugees. Hidden away from the naked eye, only local people can point to where the thousands are gathering in scattered groups. Spread out across 600 km of desiccated desert, protected only by trees and bush, and foraging to survive in the scrub, are up to 135,000 people from the Darfur region of western Sudan. Hidden from the outside world, and extremely hard to find for aid workers trying to assist them, refugees in Kourbileke (about 2 km from the border) told IRIN they had fled for their lives from Sudanese bombs on 16 January.
Gunfights raged Tuesday in the third day of fighting between rival armed gangs in Nigeria's volatile oil delta, leaving at least 10 people dead, residents and police said. The violence flared up Sunday in the town of Bukuma in southeastern Rivers State among rival bands within the Ijaw ethnic group and was said to be over control of revenues and jobs granted by the multinational Royal/Dutch Shell Group.
Schools in the rebel-held north of Cote d'Ivoire were supposed to have reopened this week for a belated start to the academic year, but officials said on Wednesday that few classes had started. They predicted that it would be at least another two weeks before lessons began in those schools in the main towns which were able to muster enough teachers to start the new term.
Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels attacked a camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Oneko, 10 km west of the northern town of Gulu, on Monday night, killing two people near the camp, according to local sources and the Ugandan army. The sources said the rebels attacked a nearby army barracks, killing the son and wife of a soldier stationed there to defend the camp. Eight other people were wounded in the raid. "They [the LRA] also burned a number of huts, but we don't know about any abductions," a source told IRIN.
The closure of a Saudi-funded charity linked to the al-Qaeda network could have a devastating impact on thousands of orphans in Somalia. The al-Haramain Islamic relief agency has run a number of orphanages in Somalia for years. The centres also provide food and medicines for other children. In Mogadishu crying children were seen in front of some of the closed centres.
Which interests are being served by World Bank and IMF operations is just one of many questions raised by observers. Others include: Are WB and IMF interventions, creating or recreating the conditions for war? What are the implications of various policy choices, as well as the pace and sequencing of reform in transition from conflict? Are Bank and IMF frameworks and instruments conflict-sensitive? Should they integrate explicitly geostrategic factors in their analysis when allocating assistance and designing their interventions? What are the limits to the Bank's role? Is the Bank the best-placed actor to facilitate and administer donor assistance in reconstruction? The jury is still out on these questions, which could have serious implications for the Bank's and the Fund's mandates and work methods. An article in the latest edition of the Bretton Woods Update explores these questions in depth, with reference to Iraq, Afghanistan and several conflicts in Africa.
Rwandan authorities have come under fire for forcibly rounding up hundreds of street children in the capital, Kigali, ahead of an African leaders summit. When heads of state arrive later this month for a summit of the New Partnership for African Development (Nepad), they are unlikely to see many of the street children who used to loiter in the city centre, begging and sometimes stealing. Police have launched a wave of round-ups since December aimed at getting the children off the streets. Hundreds have been detained in a transit centre outside the capital.
The world's biggest agrochemical companies and the US government are rushing to introduce genetically modified (GM) crops into West Africa, starting with cotton. A new report from GRAIN shows that Monsanto, Syngenta and Dow AgroSciences, supported by USAID, are finalising plans with the Malian government to convert the West African country’s cotton crop to transgenic varieties over the next five years. Cotton is Mali’s number one export. Yet local farmers and the general public are in the dark about this.
Three years ago World Bank President Wolfensohn agreed to commission an Extractive Industries Review (EIR) to examine its controversial support for the oil, gas and mining industries. In mid-January the report of the review was tabled, containing many strong criticisms of the Bank's record in this sector and a series of detailed recommendations, reports the latest edition of the Bretton Woods Update. Nur Hidayati of WALHI, an Indonesian environmental NGO, commented: "The review acknowledges that the benefits of oil, mining and gas projects are often questionable and that there is much evidence that the extractive industries violate indigenous peoples' rights and are associated with loss of livelihoods and climate change."
Alcan, a Canadian-based aluminum company, is awarding a US$1mn prize to NPOs globally in recognition of their contribution to economic, environmental and/or social sustainability.The prize is intended to assist NPOs to continue and further their impact on sustainable development. Co-CEO of the World Economic Forum, Maria Figueres, will be chairing an international selection panel.
After six years of growing Genetically Modified (GM) crops for animal and human consumption in South Africa without proper public knowledge and consent, the Department of Health (DOH) recently published its belated labelling regulations for GM foodstuffs. "These regulations do not require that GM foodstuff be labelled and effectively defeat the very purpose for labelling of any sort, namely to give the consumer the right to choose. They are totally unacceptable in that they don't require mandatory labelling of any of the major GM crops currently grown in South Africa. The Department of Health has cunningly provided industry with a way out of mandatory labelling by invoking the discredited and scientifically flawed concept of 'substantial equivalence'," said Andrew Taynton of the Safe Food Coalition.
Since the mid-1990s, millions of Congolese have fled their homes to escape fighting between rebel groups and the national government in a complex conflict which has, at times, involved as many as nine neighbouring states. The UN estimates that 3.4 million people currently remain displaced, although the figure could be much higher since many of the displaced are not registered. Violence flared in May and June 2003, with hundreds of thousands fleeing fighting in the north-eastern district of Ituri. The situation stabilised in the second part of the year, following the establishment of a transitional government which incorporated several rebel groups; and the strengthening of international peacekeeping operations. As a result, IDPs got better access to assistance and many thousands started to return home.
"We the social movements united in Assembly in the city of Mumbai, India, share the struggles of the people of India and all Asians. We reiterate our opposition to the neoliberal system which generates economic, social and environmental crises and produces war. Our mobilisation against war and deep social and economic injustices has served to reveal the true face of neoliberalism. We are united here to organise the resistance against capitalism and to find alternatives. Our resistance began in Chiapas, Seattle and Genoa, and led to a massive world-wide mobilisation against the war in Iraq on 15th February 2003 which condemned the strategy of global, on-going war implemented by the United States government and its Allies. It is this resistance that led to the victory over the WTO in Cancun. The occupation of Iraq showed the whole world the existing links between militarism and the economic domination of the multinational corporations. Moreover, it also justified the reasons for our mobilisation. As social movements and mass organisations, we reaffirm our commitment to fight neoliberal globalisation, imperialism, war, racism, the caste system, cultural imperialism, poverty, patriarchy, and all forms of discrimination - economic social, political, ethnic, gender, sexual including that of sexual orientation and gender identity. We are also against all kinds of discrimination to persons with different capacities and fatal illnesses such as AIDS."
ActionAid International is relocating its headquarters from London to South Africa. Brendan Gormley, Chief Executive of the Disasters Emergency Committee "believes the ActionAid International model is the future" as the organisation strives to transform itself into an organisation made up of equal partners from the developed and developing world.Senior staff members will relocate to Pretoria whilst the fundraising staff, long-term aid and disaster relief programmes will be administered from the UK.
The international protection of the majority of the world’s refugees has traditionally been the domain of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). For some time, however, several operational humanitarian non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have claimed territory in this area as well. They have developed protection policies and/or designated protection capacities within their offices and field teams. The question is, as a result, are these NGOs and UNHCR working as competitors or companions?
The World Social Forum (WSF) must continue to expose the fraud in the present international economic system, says this article in the latest edition of the SEATINI Bulletin. "The current economic system where development is made hostage to free trade is untenable. The way forward for Africa is a gradual and systematic disengagement from the current model of economic order that is driven by purely commercial interests. This disengagement is with a view to re-linking with the rest of the world when Africa is united and stronger. This is long term. In the short term we need to delay the process of further integration so that we have time to reflect. This means that delaying and even refusing to continue with Cotonou and WTO negotiations."
The vision that drives the New Economic Programme for Africa's Development is not unrealistic, chairman of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad) steering committee Wiseman Nkuhlu said on. Opening the first-ever African ministerial conference on open learning and distance education, he said Nepad was driven by a "people's vision" of African recovery, renewal and renaissance. "In my official duties I have travelled enough to see that this vision is catching fire and catching hold all over the African continent and throughout the African Diaspora.”
The General Assembly of the Global Anti-War Movement has called on the world to fill the streets on March 20 to demand an end to the occupation of Iraq. The General Assembly of the Anti-War Movement convened on January 19 at the World Social Forum (WSF) in Mumbai, India. Meeting for the whole day, the Assembly began with an assessment of the current political situation, followed by reports from various activists involved in various anti-war movements around the world. The Assembly ended with the call for an International Day of Action on March 20, the anniversary of the attack on Iraq. It calls for all movements in all continents to organize mass protests on that day to demand the end of the occupation of Iraq.
Africa's share of world trade fell further in 2002, according to a new trade report, prompting renewed calls for the revival of global trade negotiations that, it is hoped, will increase developing countries' participation in world trade. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) International Trade Statistics 2003 report shows that African merchandise imports and exports grew 2%. This is half the sluggish rate of world trade growth at 4% that year. This pointed to "a further loss in Africa's share of world trade", said the report, which was released at the weekend. Foreign direct investment on the continent also dropped sharply in 2002.
Land is considered the most fundamental resource to the poor and is essential to enabling them to lift themselves out of poverty. More than 60 percent of the active population in Southern Africa is dependent on land for livelihood. The last three decades have witnessed some land reforms in Southern Africa, some of which were aimed at land redistribution and introducing land titling for customary tenure. While the issue of land tenure reform has not been given sufficient attention, land distribution has tended to be the core issue in many of the Southern African countries’ land policy reforms. However today there is a growing recognition of the centrality of land tenure in sustainable development process in the region as witnessed by a number of regional and national initiatives and meetings.
The African Social Forum has grown in stature and can now meet IC criteria required for an entity to be seriously considered to play a leading role in the convening of the annual global meeting that parallels the Davos World Economic Forum. In my opinion, the main one was the ASF role in strengthening and mobilising social movements in Africa to participate in WSF as part of the process leading to consolidation of the world social movement. Its processes saw the building of an African space for the formulation of concerted alternatives to neo-liberal globalisation, based on a diagnosis of the latter's social, economic and political effects. The Forum helped define social, economic and political reconstruction strategies, including a redefinition of the role of the State, the market and citizens' organisations.
Armed with two basic documents crafted in Bamako (Mali) in 2002, and Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) in 2003, those pursuing anti-capitalist struggles within the framework of WSF will acknowledge that ASF has opened new avenues to define citizen control procedures to ensure that political change promotes the expression and implementation of alternative, credible and viable responses to corporate-led globalisation. The Mumbai Africa meeting failed to consolidate this foundation and found itself bogged down in process issues that should have been addressed before all proceedings. In my reading of the programme, some of the concerns should have been captured in the first session. We would have been briefed of developments in the IC and what issues Africa was chasing in the context of Mumbai.
This would have been the moment to emphasise that after Addis, the ASF recommendations, placed emphasis on the following working themes and strategies: promoting national, sub-regional and thematic forums and making sure that these spaces, initiated in a decentralised and autonomous way, are organised by national and sub-regional social and grassroots movements. Secondly, it would have been prudent to reiterate that emphasis was now being placed on promoting the participation of organisations of the African social movement in the World Social Forum through activities, alliances and a marked presence, and finally, encouraging alliances between components of the African social movement and international social movements, especially those in the south. Thirdly, we should also have been told that the African social forum activities being held in the context of Mumbai 2004 have resulted from a number of processes on the continent and scenarios had emerged after organising two Forums in Africa, that our context (distance, local priorities of the movements, multiplicity of agendas both at continental and international levels, poverty) compels us to define a more appropriate pace to link up with the global movement without competing with continental and regional priorities. Fourthly, the organising committee of the African Social Forum should have outlined how it had come to the conclusion that it was preferable for the global forum to serve as a space for the convergence of decentralised and autonomous initiatives rather than a repetition of continental events.
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The World Social Forum is one of the most significant civil and political initiatives of the past several decades. Since the first World Social Forum (WSF) was held in Porto Alegre in January 2001 in Porto Alegre, Brazil, as a counterpoint to the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland, its call for ‘Another World is Possible!’ has been echoing as an alternative to challenge the neoliberal order. This year’s gathering in Mumbai, India, between 16-21 January was the fourth edition.
Official statistics estimate that about 80 thousand people represented by 2 660 organisations from 132 countries participated. Others put the number of participants at 150 000. The Mumbai gathering was different from the previous WSF meetings. First, Mumbai as a venue was no place to romanticize about poverty, unlike Porto Alegre, where poverty can be hidden. Despite the fact that it is India’s financial capital, two-thirds of Mumbai's people live in indescribably dirty shantytowns, where there are no water, taps or toilets in most homes. Taking a walk through Mumbai, one could not afford to ignore the signs of a sick economy.
Secondly, bringing the WSF to India afforded an opportunity for most poor Asians who could not in the past meet the cost of flying and living in the rather posh Brazilian city of Porto Alegre to have a feel of what happens at such world jamborees. One can safely say the majority of those who attended were from India and its neighbouring countries. Besides the usually refined criticism about the lack of transparency and democracy in the World Trade Organisation, International Monetary Fund and World Bank that characterizes these meetings, this time the majority, mostly Asian delegates, came, spoke, sung, danced, marched and denounced problems associated with the caste system, war, cultural imperialism, deep social and economic injustices and capitalism. They condemned the “Bushes and Blairs” of this world for the allied forces’ presence in Iraq, hailed socialism/communism and condoned Dalitism, as well as denounced the apartheid regime of Israel. Issues about dwelling rights and liveable cities, the caste system and “untouchable” Indians, the unsustainable situation of debt in poor countries of the world, and the coercive use of force by governments, multinational corporations and international financial institutions dominated the discussions.
The third difference was the African Social Forum (ASF) scenario. Of prime importance, Africans made a break-through in terms of their numbers at the WSF. Compared to the past three gatherings I attended, the Mumbai edition recorded the highest attendance of African civil society activists in the history of the WSF. I think around 350 to 400 Africans residing and working in Africa were in Mumbai. This was a big enough group to put the continent’s problems across. The ASF under the leadership of its secretariat in Senegal produced a daily paper, Africa Aflame, that captured and took into consideration Africa’s uniqueness and issues.
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Game parks often have an aura of elitism. Those who frequent them generally need money to buy the equipment that allows the wilderness to be enjoyed in comfort - and a stable job so that they can take the time off to do so. This is particularly true of St Lucia in South Africa, long a playground for those with four-wheel-drive vehicles, fishing boats and diving gear. But ever since the area was declared a World Heritage Site in 1999 - and 260,000 hectares of forest, military land and scattered game farms joined to create the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park - playtime in the area has been severely curtailed.
The contentious topic of abortion in Kenya was revisited Wednesday, during events to mark African Women's Health and Rights Day. At present, the procedure is banned in the East African country. However, women's groups are urging government to open a debate on this policy.
Meseret, from the Lalibela district in northern Ethiopia, was only 13 when she became pregnant. Married at 12, her underdeveloped body was not ready for the stress of giving birth. After six days of gruelling labour her child was finally born, but it was dead. As a result of the long labour, Meseret suffered crippling injuries.
While African culture may venerate the aged, the continent's pensioners don't always find themselves living out a peaceful retirement. This is nowhere more true than in Nigeria, where the collapse of pension schemes has pushed many former civil servants into poverty. A number of retired government workers have been awaiting pension payouts for periods of between 10 months and two years. Perhaps the worst part of their plight is that many are people who resisted benefiting from the rampant corruption that has characterised Nigeria's government for most of its recent history.
PAMBAZUKA NEWS 141: NEPAD: SOUTH AFRICA, AFRICAN ECONOMIES AND GLOBALISATION
PAMBAZUKA NEWS 141: NEPAD: SOUTH AFRICA, AFRICAN ECONOMIES AND GLOBALISATION
The US Government (USG) Mission in South Africa invites applications from prospective partners in response to President Bush’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The announcement, issued in an Annual Program Statement (APS), appears at the following website: http://www.fedgrants.gov/Applicants/AID/OM/SOU/674-04-008/listing.html
Interested applicants are encouraged to sign up for e-mail notification at this website to receive any updates.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation (NMF) and the University of Fort Hare (UFH) have established the Unit for Rural Schooling & Development at UHF to implement the NMF’s Rural Schools Development Programme in the Eastern Cape. The aim of the Programme is to enhance the quality of teaching and learning in rural schools by strengthening links between schools and communities.
Interfund, with assistance from the European Union, is launching a Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) Helpline to provide information and advice to NGOs and CBOs. The NPO Helpline will provide callers from NPOs with a range of information and details to assist their organisations to access support to better manage and support their activities.
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda has handed down two life sentences to former Education and Culture Minister Jean de Dieu Kamuhanda for the crimes of genocide and extermination, committed during Rwanda's 1994 genocide, which claimed 800,000 lives. On eight other counts of complicity in genocide, crimes against humanity for murder, rape, and other inhuman acts and serious violations of the Geneva Conventions, Kamuhanda was found either not guilty or the charges were dropped.
Nine more judges have been accused of corruption and abuse of office, in a formal report by the Law Society of Kenya. The five Appeal Court and four High Court judges - eight of whom are still serving - are among a total of 14 named in the report on graft in the Judiciary which has yet to be released. Five of the 14 have already been named in the Ringera report on corruption on the bench, and have either resigned or are waiting to appear before disciplinary tribunals which will decide their fate.
Amnesty International has welcomed the entry into force of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights establishing an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights (the Protocol) after the Union of Comoros became the 15th state to ratify the Protocol on 26th December 2003. Once it has been established, the Court will consider cases of human rights violations referred to it by the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (African Commission) established pursuant to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (African Charter) and states parties to the Protocol and, where a state party accepts such a jurisdiction, by individuals and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Unlike the African Commission, the African Court possesses the authority to issue a binding and enforceable decision on cases brought before it. By clicking on the link below, you can read the full Amnesty International statement, a statement from The National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) in Namibia welcoming the statement, and a press release from the African Union.
The blame for recent attacks on the United Nations Mission (MONUC) in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as well as summary executions of civilians, abductions and daily extortion, has been laid at the feet of a recently promoted militia leader, MONUC says. "Witnesses and complainants have accused Commander Bosco Ntaganda of committing gross human rights abuses. He is charged, among other things, with the summary executions of two people in Bunia in March 2003, kidnappings, rapes, barbaric acts on civilian populations, daily extortion of people's money and items in Ituri, illegal levying of taxes and other offences," MONUC said.
The international community will work with the Angolan government for the elaboration of a national action plan for human rights in Angola. For this purpose, UN consultant for human rights, Vera Duarte, was in the country last Tuesday, to work with the Ministry of Justice and representatives of the UNHCR.
Amnesty International has called on all states who participated at a recent donor conference for Burundi to make sure that there are sufficient funds for human rights promotion and protection. In two documents, 'Burundi: Commitment to Human Rights is Essential, An appeal to participants of the international donor conference', and its background briefing, 'Burundi: A Critical Time', published to coincide with the donor conference (13-14 January), Amnesty International outlined a human rights agenda for international donors and the Government of Burundi involved in the country's peace and reconstruction efforts as well as providing up-to-date information on the critical human rights issues which must be addressed.
Vitamin deficiencies are damaging the health of a third of the world's population and holding back the economic development of nearly every country in the Southern Hemisphere, according to a joint report released by UNICEF and the Micronutrient Initiative. The report, released at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, says vitamin and mineral deficiencies have left 2 billion people living below their physical and mental potential and are having devastating consequences on children.
Fifty-three new unregistered political parties and organisations have formed a coalition protesting their exclusion from the on-going talks between the Ugandan government and multi-parties, reported official media on Friday. The Ugandan government delegation held two preparatory talks with a total of 11 political parties this week on transition to pluralism in the east African country. Seven political parties were invited on Monday's talks and another four parties invited on Thursday.
The Zambia National Women's Lobby (ZNWL) has proposed that issues of gender equity should be enshrined in the electoral laws. The Women's movement submitted in Lusaka that all structures managing elections must be committed to the concept of gender equity and employ women at all levels of development. ZNWL chairperson Mary Nandazi said acts of violence during elections had negatively affected women's participation in elections and called for intensified police operations to ensure the security of the electorate.
The Foundation for Democracy in Africa (FDA) – a U.S.-based African diaspora-led human rights organisation – has been instrumental in establishing an International Studies Partnership exchange programme involving FAWE Girls’ School in Kigali, Rwanda and Miami Carol City Senior High School in Miami, Florida. The programme aims at promoting cultural and curriculum exchanges between the two schools. The Education for Development Initiative (EDDI)/ USAID and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation are sponsoring the programme.
The Foundation for Democracy in Africa and New College of Florida are pleased to announce a new scholarship program aimed at bringing more talented Africans to the state Honors college. The scholarship is designed to identify and help an African student to attend a four-year degree program at the New College of Florida. Desired students should have passed the TOEFEL and completed the secondary school placement exams in their country. All applicants must meet the New College of Florida’s admission requirement to be eligible. For more information on the African Scholarship Program, please contact The Institute for democracy in Africa: 600 Brickell Avenue Suite 704 Miami, Florida 33131. U.S.A Tel: 305 416-9201 Fax: 305 416-9203 www.democracy-africa.org
The U.K. government’s Department for International Development (DFID) recently sponsored a conference on remittances and livelihoods. “Migrant remittances, defined as transfers of funds from migrants to relatives or friends in their country of origin, have become an increasingly important feature of modern economic life.” The website has conference background papers, papers delivered at the conference and links to some organisations working on livelihoods and/or remittances. For further information, contact: Doug Pearce, Financial Sector Team, Policy Division, Department for International Development (DFID), Email:[email protected], Tel: +44 20 7023 0963, Fax: +44 20 7023 0437, 1 Palace Street, London SW1E 5HE, UK
Manuel Orozco, Inter-American Dialogue, Washington, DC, [email protected], presents some useful slides looking at remittances, hometown associations and rural development from a Latin American perspective.
Kacoke Madit (KM) – an organisation set up by Acholi people living in the diaspora in response to the escalation of the northern Uganda conflict – has repeated its call on the government of Uganda to extend a blanket amnesty as an important means of confidence-building with the Lord’s Resistance Army and other groups. However, KM has stressed that amnesty is only one element among many required for supporting a broader peace settlement. KM publishes a regular newsletter focusing on issues relating to the conflict.
The Sixth Section is a groundbreaking documentary that blends digital animation, interviews, cinema verité and home video to tell the story of the transnational organising of a community of Mexican immigrants in New York. The men profiled in the film form an organisation called “Grupo Unión”, which is devoted to raising money in the United States to rebuild the Mexican town that they've left behind. Grupo Unión is one of at least a thousand "hometown associations" formed by Mexican immigrants in the United States. These groups are beginning to have a major impact in the politics and economics of both the U.S. and Mexico.
The Africa Business Club at Harvard Business School presents: The Way Home: Cultivating Opportunities in Africa, February 27-29, 2004.
Distinguished Keynote Speakers:
Sam E. Jonah, CEO, Ashanti Goldfields, Ghana
Maria Ramos, CEO, Transnet, South Africa
Alex Cummings, CEO, Coca-Cola Africa
Panel Highlights:
Titans: African CEOs Speak
Young Africans: Living and Working in Africa
Women in Business: Challenges and Opportunities
Spotlight on the Media: Bringing Africa to the World
Information and Communications Technology: The Big Leap Forward
Social Marketing: New Approach to Development
Private Equity in Africa: Show Me the Money
Multilateral Organizations: Providing the Building Blocks
Other Conference Highlights include:
Featured Companies: Successful entrepreneurs share their stories
Career Fair: Network with potential employers, investors and business partners [Alumni Reception]
AFFORD, the African Foundation for Development (http://www.afford-uk.org), will be partnering Pambazuka News in producing News from the Diaspora. If you would like to contribute information to this section, email your news to [email protected].
The East African Law society has added its voice to calls for Uganda president Yoweri Museveni to step down at the end of his constitutionally stipulated two terms. Speaking at the launch of the inaugural East African Human Rights Report for 2003, the chief executive officer of the East African Law Society, Donald Deya, said debate on the constitutional reform to allow Museveni another term should not be allowed. "We urge the president of Uganda not to violate the constitution in any way to allow himself another term of presidency," he said.
Participants at a recent small arms conference in Malawi noted that the country has not been as affected by the spread of small arms and light weapons as its neighbours. However, Malawi has been experiencing an increase in firearms-related crime including armed robbery and poaching, and there are growing concerns about the influx of weapons from neighbouring countries and the local production and use of muzzle-loading guns. Participants agreed therefore that the time is right to develop a new initiative to tackle the spread of small arms before the situation gets out of control. As a first step in the process it was seen to be important that more research into the problem of small arms is carried out. The Malawi National Focal Point Stakeholders Meeting was held between 9-10 December 2003 at the Lilongwe Hotel, Malawi.
The Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) says it expects the Electoral Commission to seriously consider extending further the registration period for elections later this year to enable those that failed to register because of lack of materials to have a chance to register. "The registration exercise should serve as a lesson to all stakeholders (donors, civil society organisations and the MEC) on the importance of voter and civic education for the success of this election. It is hoped that the lack of resources by civil society organisations to conduct voter and civic education, which has negatively affected the registration process, will be rectified so that the electorate will see the need to fully participate in the May 18 elections.”
Jeremy Corbyn MP is hosting a meeting on the British reaction to the Congolese conflict. Three million people have died in five years. What is Britain's role in the Democratic Republic of Congo? And how do we react to the Congolese survivors in Britain? Click on the link for more information.
I just read Ms Gutridge's article and it moved me (Pambazuka News 139: Our Sacred African Anger). I feel the same way she does about all that she has discussed.
I am 24 years old and have lived in different countries in Africa all my life including Zimbabwe and South Africa. From a young age I learned the effects that USA policies have on our continent and have had a negative impression of the US. I have made friends of people from the US but always criticised and usually disagreed with almost every stand I ever heard the US had made. A friend who is half-Namibian and half-American suggested that I should not be so quick to judge a country that I had never been to so last year I embarked on a three-month tour of the country.
I tried to be open-minded but found that most of my opinions were correct, on the whole my impression of Americans is that they are ignorantly arrogant and convinced of their own importance. At the same time, they seem ignorant of the suffering of others at the hands of their government and also unconcerned with the internal policies of that same government. It seems not to matter to them that this government of theirs that they defend so loudly is spending more money on armaments and space exploration than they do on health and education combined. It’s tragic that this should be the most powerful country in the world. Thank you Ms Gutridge for your articulate and compassionate article. And thank you Pambazuka for keeping me informed.
Yes, you poured out all you had in your mind, but, believe me, no one is listening. American folks are not tuned to do that. It is so true, that there will come a time when the power of cruise missiles and "smart" bombs will not count, human spirit will prevail. Not in this world arrangement, though. Implosion as a result of overweight and overbearing is bound to take place. Not today nor tomorrow. For the time being, let us be the suckers.
Please pass on my sincerest appreciation for Ms. Gutridge's editorial on 'Our Sacred African Anger' (Pambazuka News 139). It is an amazing piece, impassioned, witty, poignant and timely. There are many Americans here who feel similarly, including myself. We too would say good riddance to the 'axis of evil'- Bush, Cheney and the puppets of the extreme right. I will not even attempt a justification of this administration's wrongs, there is none. I will endeavour to suggest, however, that for many Americans, the propaganda and hatred of this administration, and the imperialist legacy of this country, are not manifest in our hearts, our minds or our beliefs. If only we had more courageous politicians that would deliver the same honest, scathing and accurate accounting that you have. Thank you for your words.
Earlier this week Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, hosted a seminar to debate the adoption of a draft bill of law on the rights and obligations of HIV-positive people. The seminar, attended by doctors, lawyers, magistrates, social workers and Members of the Transitional Council (CAR’s law advisory body) was organised by UNAIDS, in conjunction with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the national anti-HIV/AIDS body, the Comite National de Lutte contre le Sida.
One year after the signing of a French-brokered peace agreement, the fighting has stopped, but Cote d’Ivoire remains a country deeply divided and reconciliation remains an elusive ideal yet to be achieved. Nobody is starving and people and goods move relatively freely between the rebel-controlled north and the rebel-controlled south. That in itself represents considerable progress. However, President Laurent Gbagbo has been slow to implement political reforms demanded by the peace agreement ahead of general elections in October 2005 and the rebels have so far refused to disarm and allow the government to re-establish a civilian administration in the north of the country.
With people still left guessing as to whether he intends holding formal talks with his country's opposition, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe added a new dimension to the drama this weekend when he was allegedly rushed to South Africa after collapsing at his home in Harare. The speculation about the Zimbabwean leader comes at the tail end of a week of debate about South Africa's role in helping to resolve the political situation in Zimbabwe. On Thursday South African President Thabo Mbeki said Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party had agreed to enter into formal talks with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) on resolving Zimbabwe's long-running political crisis. But the MDC's Secretary for Information and Publicity, Paul Themba Nyathi, told IPS that his party was extremely sceptical about "the nature of Mugabe's commitment to a process of dialogue".
When a student-led Islamic sect launched an armed uprising last month with the aim of setting up a Taliban-style Muslim state in northern Nigeria, the authorities were swift to quell the insurrection. However, political analysts and security officials fear the emergence of the Al Sunna Wal Jamma (Followers of the Prophet) group may be an indication that extremist Islamic groups have found enough foothold in Nigeria to make Africa's most populous country a theatre for worse sectarian violence than it has seen in recent years and acts of terrorism.
Malawi's three main opposition parties have pulled out of a coalition deal that seeks to wrestle power from the ruling United Democratic Front in the May 18 general elections. The refusal to join the coalition has dashed hopes of a united opposition ever getting into power in Malawi as did Mwai Kibaki's Rainbow Coalition in Kenya in December 2001. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and the Movement for Genuine Democracy (Mgode) last Friday snubbed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing ceremony in the commercial centre, Blantyre, leaving six other relatively small parties to go it alone.
The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, MONUC, is to send a team to investigate a reported massacre in Ituri District, eastern DRC, a MONUC official told IRIN. According to local authorities, armed men said to belong to a militia group called the Front des nationalistes integrantistes (FNL) killed at least 100 people in Gobu, a lakeside village some 60 km north of the town of Bunia.
The London-based human rights organisation Amnesty International has welcomed the suspension of a flogging sentence against a 16-year-old girl convicted last year of adultery, but urged the Sudanese authorities to treat the case in accordance to their obligations under international human rights law. Sudan's chief justice last Wednesday suspended the sentence against Intisar Bakri Abd al-Qadir, pending her appeal against it. She was to have received 100 lashes.
An outbreak of cholera killed 11 people in southern Chad earlier this month, but the outbreak has been brought under control following repairs to the water supply system in the town of Moundou, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said last Thursday. Dr Abdoulaye Yam, the leader of a WHO team which investigated an outbreak of acute diarrhoea in Moundou, an industrial town 600 km south of the capital N'Djamena, said the disease had been confirmed as cholera.
The Ugandan army has hailed the killing of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) overall army commander, Yadin Tolbert Nyeko, as "one of the most significant victories against the LRA since the launch of Operation Iron Fist" in 2001. "This guy was army commander, so this is a big defeat for them. There are now only two above him – Vincent Otti and [Joseph] Kony himself. It weakens their morale. That's why they fought so hard to get his body back from us, but we repelled them," the spokesman of the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF), Maj Shaban Bantariza, told IRIN on Wednesday.
Related Link:
* The war that won't go away
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39180
The 2003 (6th) edition of the Corporate Social Investment (CSI) Handbook is out. If you engage with - or want to engage with - the corporate sector in a development context, this is a must-read. CSI Handbook captures the breadth and depth of the social investment arena through a combination of in-depth primary and secondary research and independent editorial content.
What is multigrade teaching? How do teachers manage a multigrade classroom? The websites provided (http://multigrade01.tripod.com/multinset/ and http://petermerckx.tripod.com/multinset/) give guidelines for organising a multigrade teaching workshop, tips for the multigrade teacher and demonstration lesson plans.
The water crisis is an ecological crisis with commercial causes but no market solutions, argues Vandana Shiva, a physicist and activist who directs the Research Foundation for Science, Technology, and Natural Resource Policy. "Higher prices under free-market conditions will not lead to conservation. Given the tremendous economic inequalities, there is a great possibility that the economically powerful will waste water while the poor will pay the price. “The solution to an ecological crisis is ecological, and the solution for injustice is democracy," says Shiva, who argues that man-made water scarcity and ubiquitous water conflicts can be minimized with the recognition of water as a common resource. "The current war against water scarcity can be won only through massive movements for water democracy. People’s movements have shown the possibility of creating abundance out of scarcity."
An immigrant from the Ivory Coast is to get damages from the Home Office in the United Kingdom after a High Court judge ruled last week that her detention for six months with her young daughter while they fought for asylum was unlawful. UK policy states that detention involving families should be a last resort and for a short a time as possible. Miss Konan, 29, arrived in the UK using a false French passport in February 2001 and claimed asylum five days later.
A further 18,000 Sudanese refugees flooded into eastern Chad over the past week following continued heavy fighting in Sudan's western Darfur region. This brings the number of refugees flowing into Chad to over 110,000 since two rebel groups seeking autonomy for Darfur launched a guerrilla war against the Sudanese government early last year. In addition, the UN estimates that over 600,000 have been internally displaced within Darfur.
Ferial Haffajee really has something to smile about. The 36-year-old journalist has been appointed the new editor of South Africa's weekly Mail and Guardian - making her the first female editor of a major newspaper in her country. The M&G, as it is known in the industry, is an investigative, campaigning newspaper, born during the height of the anti-apartheid struggle in 1985. It appears on the newsstands in South Africa every Friday. Haffajee has come full circle, starting at the M&G as a journalist trainee in 1991. She takes up her new job as editor on 1 February. Her appointment comes in an important year for South Africa, which is celebrating its 10th democratic anniversary and preparing for the country's third non-racial elections. In this interview with allafrica.com, she outlines her future plans for the newspaper.
The United Nations must spearhead a worldwide mobilization of conscience against racial intolerance in a time of globalization when the Internet is being used for both conciliation and divisiveness. The Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights Bertrand Ramcharan was speaking to the Commission on Human Rights working group against racism which is meeting in Geneva to follow up on the decisions taken at the anti-racism conference in Durban, South Africa, in 2001.
Although decentralisation is often heralded as a means to promote democracy and poverty reduction, there is little reliable evidence to prove these claims. In fact, ruling parties and ethnic elites in Africa have used decentralisation to further strengthen their own power and influence at a local level. New research argues that on its own, decentralization will not reduce poverty. Just as important is an ideological commitment to the poor and democratic accountability.
Debt relief should be financed as it is more efficient than new aid, and because it reduces the burden of managing aid, argues this paper from the UN Economic Commission for Africa. The paper says that debt relief is an important source of finance for African countries but on its own will be woefully insufficient to allow African countries to finance the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and achieve long-term debt sustainability. The paper also examines the rationale for further debt relief and the ways in which debt relief can be financed.
An essential element in the International Criminal Court's (ICC) efficient operation will be the cooperation of the States, since, orders and requests of the ICC are to be enforced through national jurisdictions. Like all international treaties, the enforcement of the ICC Statute will depend on States political will to implement it. Moreover, lack of universal support will seriously undermine the Court. Whether the ICC will develop as a truly important institution in international law enforcement remains to be seen. This is according to a paper in the latest edition of the Peace and Conflict Monitor that analyses differences in the jurisdiction of the ICC and the jurisdictions of the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
Ghana earlier this month began providing antiretroviral treatment to some HIV-positive people living in the country, Reuters reports. Sekyi Amoah, director-general of the Ghana AIDS Commission, said, "We started providing free antiretroviral drugs to patients in four hospitals around the country this month. Our target is to have 6,000 people on the drugs each year over the next two years."
Interventions by the African Union in Africa's worst conflicts must include a stronger human rights component fully integrated into all aspects of peacekeeping operations, says the Africa section of the Human Rights Watch World Report for 2004. The report notes that peacekeeping is a limited remedy which can save lives and bring about significant improvements in short-term security, but do not in themselves necessarily address the underlying structural causes of conflict, including ensuring respect for human rights, accountable government, and the rule of law. NEPAD, notes the report, proposes four key areas for building Africa’s capacity to manage all aspects of conflict, including the need to strengthen regional institutions for conflict prevention, management, and resolution; for peacekeeping; for post conflict reconstruction; and for “combating the illicit proliferation of small arms, light weapons and landmines.” "Nobody could argue that these are not urgent matters, but in the absence of a strategy to deal with deeper causes they are unlikely to be successful," notes the report, citing deeper causes such as widespread impunity not only for the worst atrocities but also for the more mundane large-scale theft of public funds; the illegal extraction and sale of Africa’s primary resources; and systematic discrimination on ethnic or regional grounds.
African countries are coming under increasing pressure from international seed companies to embrace genetically modified (GM) foods, say South Africa's anti-GM lobby. "Africa is the last chance for the GM seed companies and that's why they're pushing so hard. The European market has closed for these companies - as we've seen with [American GM seed giant] Monsanto pulling out of the European cereal market - so they are looking to Africa," says Glenn Ashton of SAFeAGE (South African Freeze Alliance for Genetic Engineering).
This issue includes:
* Modernity, tradition and the demystification of cattle in Lesotho by David Turkon;
* From Manenberg to Soweto: race and coloured identity in the black consciousness poetry of James Matthews by Mohamed Adhikari;
* Inland fisheries, tenure systems and livelihood diversification in Africa: The case of the Yae´re´ floodplains in Lake Chad Basin by Christophe Be´ne´, Koane´ Mindjimba, Emma Belal, Thomas Jolley, Arthur Neiland;
* When tea is a luxury: The economic impact of HIV/AIDS in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe by Miriam R. Grant, Andrew D. Palmiere.
The first issue of the Kwani? literary journal proved that Kenyans are interested in Kenyan writing, with 1 000 copies being snapped up in the first months and 2 500 copies having being distributed to date. Readers work in corporate Nairobi, or in the NGO sector or policy institutes and think tanks. Anyone interested in advertising in subsequent editions of Kwani? and reaching Kenyans in Kenya and abroad can find out more about the journal and advertising rates by clicking on the link below.
The battle to uphold the rights and well-being of children exposed to armed conflict "has reached a watershed moment," the Secretary-General's Special Representative on the issue told the Security Council. During the annual Council debate on children and armed conflict, Under-Secretary-General Olara Otunnu said that while there has been significant progress on many fronts for children, too many parties go unpunished despite continuing to violate their rights. "The general situation for children remains grave and unacceptable," Mr. Otunnu said, citing the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Indonesian province of Aceh, Iraq, Liberia, the occupied Palestinian territories and Uganda as areas where children have particularly suffered over the past year.
Whilst it is children working in carpet, clothing and sports equipment industries that grab the headlines, the majority of working children actually labour on farms operated by their own families. What explains the apparent paradox that children in households with land are often more likely to be in work and less likely to be in school than kids from families without land? A paper from Bristol University challenges the assumption that child labour emerges from the poorest households. The report produces evidence that children of families who own or farm land are more likely to be working and less likely to be attending school.
In the last two decades, Africa has witnessed complex but dynamic political struggles to invent a new culture of politics, and norms of political governance. These processes have attacked dominant orthodoxy, and forced entrenched political habits and old barriers to give way. This book interrogates Africa's current strides towards democracy and good governance, and the interposition of the civil society in the process.
This is a new collection of interviews with a remarkable group of some of Kenya's most prominent literary writers, gender activists and public figures. The interviews are concerned with diverse aspects of Kenyan women's lives: what it is to be a women, a writer, politician, activist and mother; how Kenyan women feel about Western feminism; feminist literature and identities; ideas on liberation and their relevance to the African context and more. The interviews include a long exposition from Wanjiku Kabira on the history and future of the women's movement in Kenya and her role, and on institutions of power and polygamy; and Majorie Olughe Macgoye, on being a British born woman and writer who married into Luo society.
The rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) has begun to demobilise a large number of child soldiers in the volatile western Upper Nile region of the south, according to the United Nations Children's Fund. SPLM/A commanders had ordered the first batch of 94 children, during a ceremony in the village of Tam, to put down their weapons, return their uniforms, and go back to their families and schools, the agency said in a statement on Friday.
You will have at least 2 years experience working in a management or coordination role at the level of primary health care and a minimum of 2 years relevant work experience in a third world context, preferably Africa. Proven experience in health policy formation, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, experience in formal training and theoretical and practical experience of community-based health care delivery system are essential.
The first group of 255 people displaced by war in the Pool region of the Republic of Congo returned home on Sunday in a government led effort supported by UN agencies and NGOs. A special train carrying the group arrived in Matoumbou, 45 km southwest of Brazzaville, for onward transport by truck to Kinkala, the largest town in the Department of Pool, then to their homes.
You will have at least 3 years' direct work experience of planning and implementing HIV & AIDS activities with young people and communities and experience of training young people and adults both in a formal and non-formal setting. You should have a relevant qualification in youth and community development work or similar. Proven experience with participatory rural appraisal methodologies such as stepping-stones or other participatory techniques, experience of liaison with a range of different organisations, and experience of/understanding of the role of advocacy in promoting change on issues relating to HIV & AIDS are essential.
Two additional crossing points on the Tanzania-Burundi border will be opened in coming months to facilitate the return of Burundian refugees living in Tanzania, according to officials. More concerted steps would also be taken to prepare for the return of Burundians living outside Tanzanian camps and those who have been living in Tanzania since the 1970s, known as the "old caseload", the Tripartite Commission on Voluntary Repatriation of Burundian Refugees from Tanzania concluded on Wednesday at the end of its seventh meeting in Arusha, northern Tanzania.
The new UNICEF Representative in Liberia says her priority would be directed toward children's education. Upon Ms. Angela Kearney's arrival in the Country Tuesday, she said, "I will support the Ministry of Education for the children to go to school," adding that UNICEF would, in collaboration with the Education Ministry, have to build schools, playgrounds, and other facilities for the smooth learning process of children.
Dedicated to women's empowerment, The Centre for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA) promotes positive change through partnership projects, training, and advocacy. The Senior Advisor will have primary responsibility for expanding and implementing CEDPA's HIV/AIDS program portfolio. The HIV/AIDS/Director, Advocacy/Reproductive Health will serve as a member of the management team for a USAID-funded Policy Project and as director of advocacy - one of four major Project components.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has rated Nigeria among the nine countries with the highest rate of illiteracy in the World. Education Minister, Professor Fabian Osuji, dropped the hint at a press conference in Owerri at the weekend.
You will have at least 3 years' work experience in organisational development in NGOs or CBOs and proven experience in training/facilitation methodologies and direct training ability experience. You should have a degree or qualification in the area of Organisation and/or Management Development or in any other relevant discipline. You should have a working knowledge of the field of HIV & AIDS as a development and human rights issue and the ability to work and to analyse the work of small organisations and identify their training needs. Proven experience in and the ability to train people in Strategic Planning, Fundraising, and Monitoring & Evaluation is essential.
A regional women's network based in Nairobi, Kenya is seeking to employ a Communications Officer for a two-year full time contract. A probation period of three months shall apply. Applications for this consultancy should be sent by Friday February 20th 2004 to the Executive Director, African Women's Development and Communications Network (FEMNET), P O Box 54562, Nairobi, Kenya, Email: [email][email protected] The application should include a letter explaining your interest in and expectations of this consultancy and your CV with copies of supporting documentation and three references. Please also include samples of your writing, editing and/or audiovisual production with your application.
"I had little knowledge or confidence in financial management but now my mind has been opened. I have learnt a lot which I'll take back to my organisation." This course provides a practical introduction to financial management for NGOs. It is aimed at senior managers and finance staff of NGOs wishing to expand their knowledge and understanding of financial management and the role it plays in successful programme management. The course content includes the building blocks and tools of financial management: keeping and understanding accounts, financial planning and budgeting, internal control and audit, financial reporting and monitoring.