---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sat, 03 Nov 2001 15:11:02 -0800
From: charlotte utting <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [WASAN] FW: KABISSA-FAHAMU-SANGONET NEWSLETTER 40: STATEMENT TO
THE FIRST US - SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA TRADE AND ECONOMIC COOPERATION FORUM
----------
From: [log in to unmask]
Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Sat, 03 Nov 2001 13:24:39 -0600 (CST)
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: KABISSA-FAHAMU-SANGONET NEWSLETTER 40: STATEMENT TO THE FIRST US -
SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA TRADE AND ECONOMIC COOPERATION FORUM
KABISSA-FAHAMU-SANGONET NEWSLETTER 40 * 7856 SUBSCRIBERS
This Newsletter is an advocacy tool for social justice. It is open to any
organisation committed to this goal. You can use this Newsletter to tell
others
about your work, events, publications, and concerns. The quality and range
of
information depends on you.
CONTENTS: 1. Editorial, 2. Conflict, Emergencies, and Crises, 3. Rights and
Democracy, 4. Corruption, 5. Health, 6. Education and Social Welfare, 7.
Women
and Gender, 8. Refugees and Forced Migration, 9. Racism and Xenophobia, 10.
Environment, 11. Media, 12. Development, 13. Internet and Technology, 14.
eNewsletters and Mailing Lists, 15. Fundraising, 16. Courses, Seminars, and
Workshops, 17. Advocacy Resources, 18. Jobs, 19. Books and Arts, 20. Members
Corner, 21. Letters and Comments
If you have e-mail access, you can get web resources listed in this
Newsletter
by sending a message to [log in to unmask] with the web address (usually
starting with http://) in the body of your message.
/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\
1.EDITORIAL
STATEMENT TO THE FIRST US - SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA TRADE AND ECONOMIC
COOPERATION
FORUM
October 29, 2001
http://www.africapolicy.org/desk/U.S.af0110.htm
We, the undersigned groups, believe that a new approach is required toward
US-
Africa economic relations.
When representatives of the wealthiest country in the world sit down this
week
with representatives of countries from the world's poorest region, the new
U.S.-
Sub Saharan Africa Economic Cooperation Forum should be used to promote a
new
form of economic cooperation less narrowly centered on trade and more
focused
on supporting sustainable development of African societies.
Washington should recognize that its limited efforts to promote trade as the
principal arena of economic engagement with Africa have benefitted few
African
countries. Current U.S.-Africa trade policy is limited to the providing
market
access for low wage, low skill, and raw material based production for export
which due to inherent volatility and structural declining terms of trade
simply
sustain poverty as opposed to supporting development. Moreover, the U.S.
obsession with trade and free market solutions to development challenges in
Africa is dangerously misguided at this critical juncture.
Africa is the region most vulnerable to external shocks and with warnings of
an
impending global economic crisis in the wake of the Sept 11th terrorist
attacks
on the U.S. it should be evident that Africa requires extraordinary support
beyond the prevailing programs of cooperation.
We believe that a new framework for economic cooperation between the U.S.
and
the countries of Africa must include the following:
1. Cancellation of Africa's external debts
2. Support for Africa's key positions at the World Trade Organization
3. An increase in U.S. development assistance
4. A shift in U.S. trade policy to simplify expanded market access to the US
market for a larger number of African products and to lift economic
conditionalities imposed under the U.S. Trade and Development Act of 2000
Finally, we call on the U.S. administration to withdraw its unseemly effort
to
force "fast track" (renamed the Presidential Trading Authority-PTA) through
Congress by wrapping free trade in the flag of patriotic duty. Giving the
President executive privilege to negotiate binding trade agreements with
other
countries without for example requiring environmental protection and labor
rights guarantees, or other necessary measures, is a recipe for disaster for
U.S. workers and African countries alike.
The inauguration of a new forum to regularly discuss and negotiate
U.S.-African
economic cooperation at this important moment provides the opportunity to
forge
a more comprehensive approach that joins the instruments of Aid, Trade,
Investment and Debt relief together in pursuit of sustainable development in
Africa.
(1) Cancel the Debt
Sub-Saharan Africa's massive external debt is perhaps the single largest
obstacle to the continent's development efforts and its economic
independence.
The more than $300 billion which African countries owe to international
financial institutions and foreign creditor governments represents an
unsustainable burden that undermines Africa's attempts at economic growth.
Any
serious effort at promoting Africa's economic development must therefore
begin
by removing the crippling burden of its foreign debt.
The 48 countries of sub-Saharan Africa spend $13.5 billion each year
repaying
debts to rich foreign creditors. The debts themselves are largely
illegitimate,
based on their origins and their effects. Repaying these debts diverts money
directly from spending on health care and education, and economic
development.
Over the past two decades, African countries have paid out more in debt
service
to foreign creditors than they have received in development assistance or in
new loans. As a result, throughout Africa, average incomes have declined and
conditions of poverty have worsened. The creditors of Africa's external
debt,
including the US and other governments and especially international
institutions like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, continue
to
insist that the debts be repaid, despite the economic and social costs of
this
massive outflow of resources. Africa's debt crisis traps the continent in a
perpetual cycle of underdevelopment.
The current international debt relief framework, the Heavily Indebted Poor
Countries Initiative (HIPC), launched by the World Bank and IMF in 1996
and "enhanced" in 1999, has failed to provide a solution to the debt crisis.
In
the 22 countries that have qualified for HIPC debt relief to date,
governments
still spend more on debt repayments than on health care. On average, these
countries have seen only a 27% reduction in annual debt repayments. In two
African countries, Zambia and Niger, debt repayments have actually increased
since qualification for HIPC assistance.
Despite the clear flaws in this debt relief framework, the leaders of the
world's richest countries, meeting at the G-8 summit in Genoa in July 2001,
refused either to further enhance the initiative or to acknowledge that it
has
failed. The reality is that the HIPC initiative is designed to serve
creditors
by squeezing the maximum possible in debt payments from the world's poorest
economies. It does not benefit debtor countries, and it should therefore be
considered obsolete. United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has
concluded
that the HIPC Initiative does not provide an adequate response to the debt
crisis and has called for an immediate moratorium on debt repayment.
If the world's richest countries and financial institutions are serious
about
committing themselves to Africa's development, they must cancel the
continent's
unsustainable burden of debt. They should also consider who bears the
responsibility for failed economic policies imposed on Africa, as well as
the
longer historical reasons for Africa's impoverishment, and ask the
question "who really owes whom?".
The US is a both a bilateral creditor of African countries, and the single
largest shareholder in both the World Bank and IMF. As such, it holds major
influence over the international response to Africa's debt crisis. As the US
holds its first annual economic summit with African Trade and Finance
Ministers, it must commit itself to the cancellation of Africa's external
debt
as a first step to true economic cooperation and as a prerequisite to
Africa's
economic growth.
(2) Support for Africa at the World Trade Organization (WTO)
Economic conditions in Africa remain highly fragile. Only a few countries
have
combined high growth rates with rising domestic savings and investment. The
deregulation of agricultural markets does not appear to have triggered the
acceleration of growth. Trade liberalization may have increased the
importance
of international trade for Africa, but Africa's share of world trade has
declined. Africa entered the new millennium increasingly integrated into the
global economy at the bottom.
More horrifying for Africa's millions of people living under the poverty
line
is the loss through trade of over half of all net resource flows to the
region
as a result of market barriers, declining terms of trade and other external
factors. Added to debt interest payments, profit remittances and other
capital
outflows, this loss is a direct net transfer of real resources from Africa
to
the rest of the world.
The UN panel on Financing for Development estimates the total cost of trade
barriers in the North to Southern exports at more than $100 billion each
year.
This figure is many times more than the total development aid provided by
the
developed countries. Dismantling these trade barriers would significantly
increase income and assist poverty alleviation in Africa by providing added
impetus to economic growth.
Until this happens, understandably, poor people, the general African public
and
their Governments are wary of new trade relationships that fail to address
economic security and net resource transfers in 2001. We share their
concerns.
Last month's OAU meeting of African Governments in Abuja, Nigeria reflected
on
the relevance of a new WTO round for Africa and on the African Growth and
Opportunity Act (AGOA), now enacted under the Trade and Development Act.
African Governments stressed the need for a rules-based multi-lateral
trading
system that promotes economic development, facilitates African regional
integration, and contributes to the eradication of poverty.
There is an urgent need to support meaningful and effective Special &
Differential Treatment provisions, for developing countries in general, and
Africa in particular, given the structural weaknesses in their economies and
declining share of world trade. These provisions are included in trade
agreements to allow for special difficulties faced by developing countries.
But
such measures are not now strong enough to spare these countries from being
forced to implement policies that are only appropriate for much stronger
economies, with often devastating effects.
Seattle collapsed under the weight of a lack of transparency and unfair
policy
privileges in favor of the developed nations. It collapsed because the US
and
Europe delegations negotiated in a manner that reduced the WTO to a
multilateral vehicle for their domestic interests.
Sadly, recent statements by the US, EU and multilateral institutions such as
the World Bank and UNDP champion the need for a new round of trade talks
without seriously considering the weight of existing legitimate grievances
by
African and other developed countries with the current rules. Without
changing
this context, it will be impossible to find common global ground in a
democratically oriented international body in the fourth WTO ministerial
conference.
We support the unified position of African Governments that a new round
should
only take place when there is agreement on a new and specific development
and
poverty eradication agenda, as well as more equitable, transparent and
accountable procedures for negotiating. The following three demands are
central
to this:
* The next round must enable flexibility in the Agreements on Intellectual
Property Rights and Agriculture to support the rights of developing
countries
to protect farmers' livelihoods, food security, access to labor, and the
supply
of essential herbs and medicines. Particularly important is the proposed
declaration by African and other developing countries affirming that nothing
in
existing trade agreements "shall prevent members from taking measures to
protect public health."
* The United States and other northern countries should eliminate all
domestic
and export subsidies to agriculture that artificially increase their big
agribusiness sectors' competitiveness and crowd out exports from poor
farmers
in African countries.
* The US should support the adoption of a decision at the WTO meeting that
makes respect for Special & Differential Treatment provisions for developing
countries legally binding on developed countries.
The Economic Cooperation Forum launched today should produce new U.S.
support
for these key African positions at the upcoming WTO meeting.
(3) Increase Development Assistance
Foreign aid (Official Development Assistance) from donor governments is a
key
source of funding for the development efforts of African countries. The
immense
social and economic challenges faced by these countries since independence
require greater resources than African governments themselves command, and
the
sources of finance available are limited. The importance of this type of
support from the US and other wealthy economies to African countries cannot
be
underestimated, and such assistance has been in decline during the past
decade.
In an era of ever-increasing economic globalization, those countries that
benefit the most from the world economy must share in the necessary public
investment for those parts of the world that bear more than their share of
the
disadvantages.
The US has a special obligation to provide assistance to African countries
for
several reasons. As the world's richest country, it is in a position to
provide
strong financial support to promote economic growth and development in
African
countries. The US also has a special historical relationship with Africa
that
brings with it a unique responsibility towards the continent and its social
and
economic circumstances. Yet the US has consistently failed to devote
bilateral
aid to African countries that is commensurate either with its obligations or
with these countries' needs.
During the Cold War, US foreign aid to developing countries was dictated
less
by the actual needs and capacities of recipient countries than by strategic
concerns. For much of this period, development assistance was used for
political patronage. When the Cold War ended, over a decade ago, the changed
global context meant that aid could be directed towards true development
objectives. However, in the post-Cold War era, levels of development
assistance
have fallen in a consistent downward trend, and US spending on foreign aid
has
declined, relative both to the size of the US economy and to the federal
budget.
While the world's richest countries, represented in the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), have repeatedly promised to
devote
0.7% of gross national product (GNP) for official development assistance to
poorer countries, only five small European countries now meet that target,
and
the US ranks at the very bottom. The US provides only 0.1% of GNP for
development assistance, and sub-Saharan Africa receives only about one-tenth
of
this. The total of Official Development Assistance from all sources to Sub-
Saharan Africa has fallen by 29% since 1990.
This decline in aid comes at a time when Africa needs financial support more
than ever. Throughout the continent, the burden of external debt, the
massive
health crisis, and the effects of failed economic policies often imposed by
foreign creditors have left countries facing overwhelming challenges.
Development assistance is critical to enabling African governments to
address
these difficulties. Further lending to poor countries is inappropriate as a
primary method for funding development when it only exacerbates the debt
crisis
and entrenches economic dependency. Prior to the G8 meeting in Genoa, Italy,
President Bush suggested that the World Bank should provide development
grants
rather than loans to poor countries.
Recent polls in the US have also shown that the American public believes
that
the US has vital interests in Africa, and that foreign aid forms an
important
part of how the US promotes mutual interests with Africa. If the US and
other
wealthy countries are serious about promoting sustainable development in
Africa, they must dramatically increase the levels of development assistance
they provide. It is in their own interests to do so, because social and
economic development in Africa will ultimately promote greater stability at
an
international level. The U.S.-Africa Economic Cooperation Forum must place
increasing development assistance prominently on its agenda.
(4) Reform the African Growth and Opportunity Act
On May 18, 2000 former President Bill Clinton signed into law the Trade and
Development Act of 2000, which contained both the African Growth and
Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the US-Caribbean Basin Trade Enhancement Act.
Many
American and African officials said that AGOA symbolized a new American
political-economic partnership with Africa.
With the evolution of bilateral, regional and multilateral trade
liberalizing
initiatives, international trade has become the latest "mainstream"
dimension
of international development. In the case of Africa, neo-liberal based
arguments suggest a causal relationship between Africa's poverty and African
societies being marginalized in an increasingly globalized world economy.
From
the premise that African economies are poor because of they are
relatively "closed" to the wonders of free trade and capital flows, trade
liberalization and export orientation are offered as viable development
policy
prescriptions. However, these policies also link national economic growth to
increasing volatile global capital expansion and developed nation import
growth. Based on this flawed premise and inadequate analysis of the
structural
causes of Africa's poverty and complexity of development challenges, US
economic policy under AGOA concentrates on increasing Africa's integration
into
the global economy. However, such policies tie national economic growth and
development to the inherently volatile boom and bust logic of global capital
flows and rich nation import growth.
AGOA is fundamentally a U.S. policy tool for liberalizing the structure and
orientation of the "playing fields" governing trade and investment
activities
between African societies and America. AGOA is not trade and investment
agreement per se, it is a framework for negotiating future economic
relations.
AGOA represents a pro-active, bilateral example (in tandem with other
multilateral trade and development approaches in the WTO, IMF and World
Bank)
of how US Government policy and institutions are utilized as instruments to
re-
create or perpetuate the economic rules of the game, often at the expense of
Africa's development needs.
The failure of AGOA to address the structural sources of Africa's poverty
and
constraints on development, raise questions about its ability to serve as a
source of total net resource transfers for supporting sustainable growth and
development in Africa societies. Even with the technical adjustments in the
AGOA textile provisions now being considered as "AGOA 2", this approach will
have limited positive impact.
An alternative approach to US economic policy would seek to: help Africa
reverse its declining terms of trade; remove the burden of foreign
indebtedness; support gross domestic capital formation; increase levels of
effective demand, domestic consumption and purchasing power; provide
technical
assistance to address human and productive capacity constraints; provide
market
access to African agricultural products; and permit African nations greater
authority to utilize national and regional trade, investment and industrial
policies as strategic tools for governing national resources, markets and
factors of production to support internally oriented development processes.
We support the call of African Governments that AGOA provisions be amended
to
encompass a wider range of African products and the simplification of rules
to
match the industrial capacity of African countries. We further call for the
elimination of eligibility criteria that impose economic policies on African
countries and undermine their sovereignty and democratic control of
development
policies.
Signed,
Africa Action
Oxfam America
ActionAidUSA
President Bush's speech to the African Growth and Opportunity Forum:
http://allafrica.com/stories/200110300042.html
Bush Adminstration Reduces Africa Aid Bid:
http://allafrica.com/stories/200110260001.html
Why AGOA Will Not Benefit African Countries:
http://allafrica.com/stories/200110220587.html
/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\
2.CONFLICT, EMERGENCIES, AND CRISES
BURUNDI: PEACE IN SIGHT?
http://allafrica.com/stories/200110290377.html
Nelson Mandela, former South African president and mediator of the Burundi
peace process, together with several African leaders, are scheduled to
attend
the installation of a transitional government in the Burundian capital
Bujumbura on Thursday, 1 November.
BURUNDI: SOUTH AFRICA'S PROTECTION FORCE ARRIVES
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/cea/countrystories/burundi/20011029.phtml
An advance party of 230 South African troops arrived in Bujumbura, Burundi,
on
Sunday as part of a 700-member special protection unit for returning Burundi
exiles expected to take part in the transitional government and institutions
due to begin functioning on 1 Nov., Burundi army spokesman Col. Augustin
Nzabampema told IRIN.
DRC: REBEL GROUPS UNITE TO DISARM "NEGATIVE FORCES"
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/cea/countrystories/drc/20011029b.phtml
Two armed opposition movements in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
have agreed to form "a joint military force to track down, arrest and disarm
negative forces" including the Interahamwe (Rwandan Hutu militias), the
ex-FAR
(former Rwandan Armed Forces), and the Mayi-Mayi (Congolese militias),
rebel-
controlled RTNC radio reported in Goma on Monday.
HOW TO LOSE A WAR
After over two weeks of Anglo-American bombardment of Afghanistan, once one
gets beyond the sound and fury of American bombs and the smokescreen of CNN
propaganda, it appears that in the war between the United States and Osama
bin
Laden, the latter is coming out ahead.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3805
LIBERIA: SHIPPING REPLACES DIAMONDS IN WAR CHEST
http://globalarchive.ft.com/globalarchive/article.html?id=011024000350&query
With the United Nations' embargo on Liberian diamonds impinging on revenues,
the country's ruling elite has turned to Liberia's maritime registry to fund
the war in neighbouring Sierra Leone.
MALAWI: ACTION NEEDED NOW TO AVERT STARVATION
Feeding programmes to assist the poor should begin soon to prevent
starvation,
and possible death, by the end of the year, World Vision relief manager for
Malawi, Elton Ntwana, warned on Wednesday.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3740
RWANDA: NATION CAUGHT IN AID DILEMMA
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/cea/countrystories/rwanda/20011026.phtml
One of Rwanda's main dilemmas is the belief that the country is no longer in
need of humanitarian aid when "many people" still suffer from food
insecurity
caused by drought or, paradoxically, heavy rains in March and April, OCHA
reported on 30 September.
SOMALIA: HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS AT RISK OF FAMINE
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/cea/countrystories/somalia/20011025a.phtml
Hundreds of thousands of Somali's in the southwestern region of Gedo are at
risk of starvation following drought and poor harvests, a spokesman for the
French NGO Action contre la faim (ACF) told IRIN on Thursday.
SUDAN: ANNAN STRESSES NEED FOR FULL HUMANITARIAN ACCESS
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/cea/countrystories/sudan/20011024.phtml
Millions of people in Sudan are in a precarious humanitarian position, and
the
situation requires "unrestricted access by aid workers in order to save
lives",
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan stated in a report released on Tuesday.
SUDAN: SPLM/A AIMS TO SHUT DOWN OILFIELDS
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/cea/countrystories/sudan/20011023a.phtml
The Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) said on Tuesday that it
aimed to shut down all the oilfields run with government backing in southern
Sudan.
SUDAN: UN OFFICIAL CALLS FOR GREATER EFFORT ON ABDUCTEES
UNICEF regional representative Thomas McDermott has called on the Sudanese
government to increase efforts to repatriate Ugandan children abducted by
the
Ugandan rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and held captive inside Sudan.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3739
UGANDA AND RWANDA HOLD FRIENDLY TALKS
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/africa/newsid_1627000/1627594.stm
The defence ministers of Uganda and Rwanda have ended a meeting in the
Ugandan
border town of Kabale, agreeing to try to reach an amicable solution to
rising
tensions between their two states.
US AND KENYA CLASH OVER ANTHRAX TAINTED MAIL
http://ens-news.com/ens/oct2001/2001L-10-25-03.html
Kenya and the United States are locked in a war of words over whether a
parcel
sent to a Kenyan doctor actually contained anthrax spores.
WITH US OR AGAINST US
http://www.christian-aid.org.uk/news/stories/011023s.htm
Is the emerging global coalition with or against eradicating poverty? Mark
Curtis, Christian Aid's Head of Policy, fears that in the aftermath of
September 11, the 'with or against' edict may result in policies that
further
harm poor people.
ZIMBABWE MISSION ENDS IN FUDGE
http://www.zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=2890
The Commonwealth was accused of giving President Robert Mugabe an easy ride
yesterday as it wrapped up its mission to Zimbabwe by avoiding censuring his
government for failing to uphold the rule of law and order.
ZIMBABWE: LITTLE PROGRESS MADE
http://www.zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=2872
Britain and the Commonwealth of its former colonies are making little
progress
in efforts to force Zimbabwe to stop the violent invasions of white-owned
farms, Britain's top aid official said on Wednesday.
ZIMBABWE: NO EARLY END TO CRISIS
http://www.zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=2892
A statement issued at the end of a Commonwealth mission to probe what steps
have been taken to end violence on Zimbabwe's farms in exchange for help
with
land reforms showed there is little hope for an early end to the crisis.
/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\
3.RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY
AFRICA: USE TRADE LAW FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
The United States is not doing enough to implement the human rights criteria
of
the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), Human Rights Watch said
today.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3792
BURUNDI: NATIONAL ASSEMBLY APPROVES TRANSITIONAL CONSTITUTION
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/cea/countrystories/burundi/20011029a.phtml
Burundi's national assembly adopted by acclamation on Saturday the
transitional
constitution that will guide the workings of the three-year government due
to
begin functioning on 1 Nov., the state-owned ABP news agency reported.
GAMBIA: ARRESTS FOLLOW ELECTIONS
http://allafrica.com/stories/200110240553.html
Less than a week after presidential elections in The Gambia there are
reports
of arrests of members of the opposition and human rights activists, and
attacks
on the homes of some senior members of the main opposition party.
IMF AND WORLD BANK ERODE HUMAN RIGHTS
Five Case Studies
http://www.globalexchange.org/wbimf/imfwbReport2001.html
The policies of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have
systematically undermined democratic principles and eroded human rights
protections in dozens of countries around the globe, argue The Global
Exchange.
JUSTICE NOT WAR
A New Agenda To Counter Terrorism
http://www.fpif.org/justice/tobedone.html
America needs a new agenda for combating terrorism--one that secures against
terrorist attacks and that integrates the use of force within an
international
legal and policy framework. This agenda must bring international terrorists
to
justice, debilitate their capacity to wage terrorism, and undermine the
political credibility of terrorist networks by addressing related political
grievances and injustices.
KENYA: ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
Intervention Requested
71 political activists have been arbitrarily arrested and held in detention
in
Kenya. According to the information received, 71 members of the Release
Political Prisoners (RPP) pressure group and their friends – comprising 66
men
and 5 women - have been arrested as they were celebrating the so-called Mau
Mau
Day on October 20th 2001, being held to honour freedom fighters.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3738
KENYA: NEW BATTLE OVER OGIEK LAND
http://www.dfn.org/focus/kenya/ogiek-new-battle.htm
The Kenyan government has announced that it will go ahead and collect more
than
170,000 acres of public forest for private use. Among the targeted forests
is
the one inhabited by the Ogiek indigenous community who may finally lose
their
cultural land.
LIBERIA: 'JUDICIAL PARALYSIS UNENDING'
The Press Union of Liberia (PUL) is becoming increasingly concerned about
the
apparent unending paralysis of the judicial system as a result of the
standoff
between the House of Representatives and the Liberia National Bar
Association.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3772
NIGERIA: ANOTHER NORTHERN STATE PREPARES FOR SHARIA
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/wa/countrystories/nigeria/20011029a.phtml
Islamic Sharia law will come into effect on Friday in northern Kaduna State
despite opposition by Christians there, news organisations reported on
Monday.
State Governor Ahmed Makarfi, who made the announcement in a state-wide
broadcast on Friday, said that the Islamic legal code would only be
applicable
in areas where there was a Muslim majority, BBC reported.
NIGERIA: KILL SOLDIERS, INVITE DISASTER, SAYS OBASANJO
http://allafrica.com/stories/200110290244.html
In what appeared as his first public reaction to last week's reprisal
killings
by soldiers in Benue State, President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday stated
that
anybody who kills a Nigerian soldier should be ready for the consequences
because such people would be inviting disaster on themselves.
NIGERIA: SOLDIERS MASSACRE CIVILIANS IN REVENGE ATTACK
Human Rights Watch today condemned the massacre of more than 100 civilians
by
Nigerian soldiers in several villages in Benue State, apparently carried out
as
revenge for the killing of 19 soldiers earlier this month.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3793
RWANDA: FORMER PREFECT PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO GENOCIDE
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/cea/countrystories/rwanda/20011029.phtml
At his initial appearance at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda,
the former prefect of Kigali-rural prefecture, Francois Karera, pleaded not
guilty on Friday to charges of genocide and crimes against humanity.
SOMALIA: PARLIAMENT VOTES OUT INTERIM GOVERNMENT
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/cea/countrystories/somalia/20011029.phtml
The interim government of Prime Minister Ali Khalif Galayr was voted out of
office on Sunday after it failed to defeat a no-confidence motion tabled by
disgruntled members of the Transitional National Assembly (TNA).
SOUTH AFRICA: REPARATIONS:
Three Years On And Victims Are Still Waiting
October 29 2001 marks the third anniversary since the Truth and
Reconciliation
Commission (TRC) handed its final report to then State President, Nelson
Mandela. In Volume Five of this report, the TRC identified persons who were
victims of apartheid's gross violations of human rights and proposed a
reparations and rehabilitation policy that encompassed both individual and
community forms. The TRC specifically recommended that urgent interim
reparations grants, as well as final individual reparations be given to the
victims. Since 1999 however, victims have been waiting for government to
decide
on and implement its policy for reparations.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3865
SUDAN: DIPLOMAT CRITICISES REBELS ON CHILDREN'S RIGHTS
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/cea/countrystories/sudan/20011025.phtml
A Sudanese government delegate to the United Nations General Assembly, Ilham
Ibrahim Muhammad Ahmad, on Tuesday urged the international community to
condemn
the actions of rebel groups, mainly in the south of the country, where, she
said, "children are kidnapped and forced to fight or, if they refuse, used
as
[human] shields".
US REPORT ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IS FLAWED
The State Department's annual report on international religious freedom has
failed to single out a number of egregious violators that are members of the
U.S.-led "anti-terrorism" coalition, Human Rights Watch said today.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3784
ZAMBIA: CHILUBA WARNS ELECTION OBSERVERS 'NOT TO INTERFERE'
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/sa/countrystories/zambia/20011025.phtml
Zambian President Fredrick Chiluba said on Wednesday that international
election observers were welcome to monitor the country's upcoming general
elections, but warned that they should not interfere. Chiluba has yet to
announce an election date.
ZIMBABWE REJECTS EU SANCTIONS THREAT
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/africa/newsid_1625000/1625506.stm
Zimbabwe's ruling party is standing firm against sanctions threats by the
European Union.
ZIMBABWE: EU THREATENS TO IMPOSE SANCTIONS
http://www.zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=2873
The European Union will give Zimbabwe a final warning next week that it will
impose sanctions if President Robert Mugabe refuses to accept European
observers at the leadership elections next year.
ZIMBABWE: MUGABE'S POLICE SEIZE NEWSPAPER DIRECTOR
http://www.zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=2870
The Zimbabwean police detained the country's most respected human rights
activist yesterday as a visiting six-nation Commonwealth delegation began
assessing implementation of last month's accord reached in Abuja, Nigeria,
on
restoring the rule of law.
/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\
4.CORRUPTION
CROSSING THE THIN BLUE LINE
Published by Transparency International-Czech Republic, this review focuses
on
measures employed by 25 countries world-wide to combat the threat of police
corruption.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3868
GHANA: WHEN DOES A GIFT BECOME A BRIBE?
http://allafrica.com/stories/200110280023.html
Experts addressing a forum on corruption and good governance last Friday
called
on the Kufuor Administration to provide and disseminate anticorruption
guidelines, especially with regard to gift giving and receiving.
GLOBAL CORRUPTION REPORT (.PDF FORMAT)
http://www.globalcorruptionreport.org/
Released on October 15, this new annual report from Transparency
International (TI, see the September 7, 2000 Scout Report for Business &
Economics) reviews the "state of corruption" worldwide, July 2000-June
2001. After the introduction and prefatory material, the report is divided
into
three main sections: Regional reports, Global issues (such as money
laundering
and an update from OECD on implementing the Anti-Bribery Convention), and
Data
and research, which summarizes a wide variety of research projects from
governments, private organizations, scholars, international organizations,
and
more. The About the GCR link on the front page of the report gives a summary
of
authors contributing to the different report sections and an overview of the
report as a whole. The report is designed for a wide audience and should
appeal
both to policymakers and interested members of the general public.
Source: From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2001:
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/
KENYA: BELGIUM TO STOP AID
http://allafrica.com/stories/200110250020.html
Citing corruption and poor governance, Belgium has omitted Kenya from
countries
to benefit from its aid, its ambassador has said.
KENYA: NEW COMMITMENT TO FIGHT CORRUPTION
http://library.northernlight.com/FD20011019190000083.html?cb=0&dx=1006&sc=0#
doc
For the first time ever, a joint delegation of Kenyans attended the 10th
International Anti-Corruption Conference in Prague, Czech Republic, (October
7th to 11th 2001) and signed a Joint Commitment Statement to combat
corruption.
NIGERIA: OBASANJO'S ANTI-GRAFT CAMPAIGN RATED 'LOW'
http://library.northernlight.com/FC20011022100000348.html?cb=0&dx=1006&sc=0#
doc
The Executive Director of Transparency International (TI), Mr. Miguel
Schloss,
has rated President Olusegun Obasanjo's anti-graft campaign low.
TANZANIA: NGOS TO PROFILE SCALE AND SCOPE OF CORRUPTION
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/cea/countrystories/tanzania/20011023.phtml
A consortium mandated by the Tanzanian government to evaluate the state of
corruption in the country has launched an internet appeal and questionnaire
in
an effort to increase public participation in the anti-corruption campaign.
ZAMBIA IN GRIP OF SOCIAL CRISIS
http://www.bday.co.za/bday/content/direct/1,3523,954698-6098-0,00.html
There is little to celebrate in Zambia, where after 37 years of independence
from British colonial rule, debt, corruption, crime, disease and poverty
reign.
ZAMBIA: PRESIDENT FAILS TO NOTICE AS SALARY IS STOLEN
http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2001%2F10%2F20%
2Fwzamb20.xml
Zambians are asking how President Frederick Chiluba, a leader with a taste
for
Rolex watches and gold jewellery, failed to notice the theft of his entire
government salary for more than a year.
/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\
5.HEALTH
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES SEIZE ON US THREAT TO BREAK CIPRO PATENT
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_hiv.cfm#7679
HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson's threat earlier this week to break the patent
of
Bayer's antibiotic Cipro if the company did not reduce the drug's price
has "emboldened" developing nations hoping to "convince international trade
rule makers that poor countries should be allowed to exercise such powers to
improve access to essential medicines," including HIV/AIDS drugs, the Wall
Street Journal reports.
ETHIOPIA: MINISTRY LAUNCHES NEW MALARIA PLAN
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/cea/countrystories/ethiopia/20011025.phtml
The Ethiopian Ministry of Health said on Wednesday that the government had
launched a strategic plan designed to reduce malaria mortality by 50 percent
by
the year 2010.
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION JOINS UNAIDS
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) today announced that
the International Labour Organization (ILO) has formalized its commitment to
fighting the global HIV/AIDS epidemic by becoming a Cosponsor of UNAIDS.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3799
POPULATION REFERENCE BUREAU
E-Library, a service from the Population Reference Bureau, enables users to
obtain publications and website material by e-mail. E-Library is funded by
the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as part of a PRB initiative to heighten
awareness and use of population and health information, especially among
audiences in lower-resource settings. We hope that you find this service
useful
and we welcome your comments.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3810
SOUTH AFRICA: ACTIVISTS CRITICIZE PFIZER'S HIV/AIDS DRUG PROGRAM
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_hiv_recent_rep.cfm?
dr_cat=1&show=yes&dr_DateTime=22-Oct-01#7569
While Pfizer officials defend their "seemingly generous" plan to give away
the
antifungal medication Diflucan to government clinics in South Africa, many
AIDS
advocates are criticizing the program, calling it a "very conditional gift,"
Forbes reports.
SOUTH AFRICA: AIDS SUMMIT MOOTED
http://www2.womensnet.org.za/news/show.cfm?news_id=743
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has proposed that an HIV/AIDS summit
for the mining sector be held next month to map out a common approach to the
pandemic.
SOUTH AFRICA: GOVERNMENT WILL NOT PROVIDE 'HIGHLY TOXIC' AIDS DRUGS
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_hiv_recent_rep.cfm?
dr_cat=1&show=yes&dr_DateTime=23-Oct-01#7596
Pharmaceutical companies, AIDS activists and churches are trying to "force"
the
South African government to dispense AIDS drugs that are "almost as bad as
the
illness that they are supposed to alleviate," government spokesperson Smuts
Ngonyama has said.
SOUTH AFRICA: NEGLIGENCE SUIT FILED ON BEHALF OF HIV-POSITIVE BABY
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_hiv_recent_rep.cfm?
dr_cat=1&show=yes&dr_DateTime=22-Oct-01#7569
Attorneys representing a six-month-old infant who contracted HIV from her
mother are suing South African health authorities for negligence for failing
to
inform the mother of means available to reduce the odds of vertical
transmission, the Johannesburg Mail & Guardian reports.
/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\
6.EDUCATION AND SOCIAL WELFARE
COPING WITH TRAUMATISED CHILDREN
http://www.earthtimes.org/oct/terrorismalessonoct19_01.htm
Children who have been through traumatic events need special care and
attention. Here is a brief on a workshop where handy tips on dealing with
such
children were discussed in New York.
ETHIOPIA: CHILDRENS RIGHTS "THE NUCLEUS OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT"
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/cea/countrystories/ethiopia/20011029.phtml
No society could think of a successful future and sustained development
without
making the issue of children its priority, Lulit Zewde Gebremariam, an
Ethiopian representative told a UN General Assembly meeting on children's
rights, on 26 October.
SA: SPECIAL CARE FOR THE SPECIAL
http://www.teacher.co.za/200110/hope.html
This school near Durban has excelled itself in more ways than one by
providing
special care for children with special needs.
TANZANIA: ENVOY EXPLAINS PUSH ON PRIMARY SCHOOLING
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/cea/countrystories/tanzania/20011029.phtml
Tanzania is determined to see to it that no child is denied the right to
education just because parents cannot afford to pay, and the government has
committed itself since July to providing basic primary education free of
charge
to all, Tanzanian envoy Christine Kapalata told a UN General Assembly debate
on
child rights on 26 October.
TANZANIA: WORLD BANK BACKING FOR PRIMARY EDUCATION
http://allafrica.com/stories/200110120003.html
The World Bank on Wednesday announced its approval of a US $150 million
interest-free credit to support the government's efforts to improve
education
quality, expand school access and increase school retention at the primary
level.
TEACHER EDUCATION IS KEY TO QUALITY EDUCATION
http://www.id21.org/education/e3df1g1.html
Using Ghana as a case study, this report shows why rapid enrolment expansion
in
many developing countries, and subsequent concerns over worsening
educational
quality, has prompted renewed interest in teacher education.
UGANDA: ENVOY EMPHASISES GOVERNMENT COMMITMENT TO CHILDREN
A Ugandan government diplomat to the United Nations, Catherine Otiti, on
Tuesday told a committee of the General Assembly that "the rights of
children
are the supreme priority in all programme processes in Uganda", and that the
government was particularly
concerned about their situation in northern and western parts of the
country.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3794
WEST AFRICA GETS ITS FIRST PONTIFICAL VARSITY
http://allafrica.com/stories/200110210069.html
West Africa's first pontifical university is to be inaugurated later this
month. Located near Enugu, Nigeria, the varsity will offer courses in
theology,
philosophy, social science, human resources, entrepreneurship, agriculture
among others.
/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\
7.WOMEN AND GENDER
ACCEPT: GENDER & ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE
Lebanon, 12-14 November, 2001
Machreq/Maghreb Gender Linking & Information Project is organizing its
seventh
regional gender workshop entitled "ACCEPT: Gender & Organizational Change"
as
part of MACMAG GLIP's on-going gender training and capacity building
initiative. Participants represent partner development and local
organizations
from Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria who have
been
engaged in a process of mainstreaming gender in policies and programmes in
working towards positive transformation in gender relations.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3741
Contact: [log in to unmask]
AFRICA: WOMEN WARN OF FOOD CRISIS
http://allafrica.com/stories/200110300010.html
Human Rights activists yesterday warned that Africa is sinking into a food
insecurity crisis because women, the main agricultural producers, are denied
access and control of land.
HOME IS WHERE THE HURT IS
http://www.isiswomen.org/pub/wia/wia101/hurt.html
What seems to be evident from historical accounts on marriage and the human
family is that these institutions evolved from various property
relationships.
The word "family," in fact, is derived from fammulus, which referred to the
total number of slaves owned by a man. Today, even with women’s inevitable
rise
out of property/slave status, her transformation from property into person
continues to challenge the foundations of intimate heterosexual
relationships,
especially within marriage.
SOUTH AFRICA: CENSUS BLUNDER APOLOGY
http://www2.womensnet.org.za/news/show.cfm?news_id=747
Stats SA, tasked with conducting the current census has apologised for its
inconsistency in collecting data in respect of gay and lesbian couples.
SOUTH AFRICA: RULING ON ADOPTION WELCOMED
http://www2.womensnet.org.za/news/show.cfm?news_id=745
The Equality Project has welcomes the ruling by the Pretoria High Court that
lesbian and gay couples can now co-adopt children.
SUDAN: GOVERNMENT CLOSES DOWN THE GENDER CENTRE IN KHARTOUM
On Thursday October 11th Ms. Omaima Al Mardi, Director of the Gender Centre
went to work as usual, to find out that the office has been occupied by
security agents who ordered her to close the Centre and leave immediately.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3744
Contact: [log in to unmask]
UNIFEM CALLS FOR GENDER RESPONSIVE BUDGETS
http://www.unifem.undp.org/gender_budgets/
Speaking at a high level conference with finance ministers in Brussels on
Oct
17, UNIFEM's Executive Director, Noeleen Heyzer, called on all governments
to
review their national budgets by 2015 to see how the budgets impact women
and
girls differently from men and boys.
WEST AFRICA: WOMEN NEED 30 PERCENT MORE ENERGY THAN MEN
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/wa/countrystories/other/20011029.phtml
A recent nutrition study conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organisation
(FAO) in Cote d'Ivoire found that women need 30 percent more energy than
their
male counterparts, the agency said in a statement last week.
WOMEN PREPARE FOR EARTH SUMMIT 2002
The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD 2002) will be held in
Johannesburg, South Africa from 02 to 11 September 2002. In preparation for
this important event, the Women's Environment and Development Organization
(WEDO) is calling on concerned women's organisations to participate in the
global consultation that aims to come up with a Women's Action Agenda for a
Healthy Planet 2002(WAA2002). This will be launched in the World Summit.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3798
Contact: [log in to unmask]
WOMEN'S LAND AND PROPERTY RIGHTS IN CONFLICT AND RECONSTRUCTION
http://www.unifem.undp.org/public/landrights/
A reader based on the February, 1998 Inter-Regional Consultation in Kigali,
Rwanda. This publication brings together case studies, testimonies and
analytical studies drawn from countries in situations of conflict and
reconstruction from across Africa, South and Central America, the Balkans,
the
Middle East and the Asia-Pacific Region.
WOMEN'S SPACES AND FEMINIST AUTONOMY
http://www.isiswomen.org/pub/wia/wia101/spaces.html
The issue of male presence, in physical and ideological terms, within what
should be women-only spaces is not just a matter of ideological contestation
and concern within the Women’s Movement globally; it is also a serious
expression of the backlash against women’s attempts to become autonomous of
men
in their personal/political relationships and interactions.
/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\
8.REFUGEES AND FORCED MIGRATION
ANGOLA: CURFEW COULD TRAP ANGOLAN REFUGEES - UNHCR
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/sa/countrystories/angola/20011029.phtml
A dusk-to-dawn curfew along a 450 km stretch of the Kavango river could
prevent
Angolans fleeing intense fighting between government and rebel forces in
Angola's southeastern Cuando Cubango province from seeking asylum in
Namibia,
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has warned.
ANGOLA: MORE CIVILIANS FLEE AS FIGHTING CONTINUES
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/sa/countrystories/angola/20011026.phtml
Increasing instability in Angola's interior had led to a steady influx of
internally displaced people into "most provincial capitals" from 8-12
October,
according to the UN's World Food Programme (WFP).
EAST AFRICA: IFRC WARNS OF DECLINING REFUGEE PROTECTION
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/cea/countrystories/other/20011026.phtml
Humanitarian organisations are increasingly concerned by declining standards
in
refugee protection in East Africa, the International Federation of Red Cross
and Red Crescent Societies reported this week.
KENYA-TANZANIA: ZANZIBARI REFUGEES DWINDLING IN DADAAB
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/cea/countrystories/kenya/20011025.phtml
The UN refugee agency said on Wednesday that most of the Zanzibari refugees
remaining in Dadaab, northeastern Kenya, could be voluntarily repatriated
within not much more than a week.
NIGERIA: UP TO 300,000 DISPLACED IN CENTRAL REGION
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/wa/countrystories/nigeria/20011029.phtml
Up to 300,000 people are currently displaced in Nigeria's central region as
a
result of communal clashes and recent attacks launched against several
communities by the army, local officials said.
/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\
9.RACISM AND XENOPHOBIA
BORN FREE AND EQUAL?
Talent Consortium now has VHS cassette copies available of 'Born Free and
Equal?', a video produced for broadcast during the World Conference against
Racism. Born free and equal? is a 30-minute documentary which explores some
of
the issues of race and gender in southern Africa that keep people from
enjoying
their rights to the full, and that contribute to continued poverty and
discrimination.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3791
Contact: [log in to unmask]
SOUTH AFRICA: ZIMBABWEANS FEAR FOR THEIR LIVES AFTER ATTACKS
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/sa/countrystories/southafrica/20011024.phtml
Dennis Dube lost everything when his neighbours torched his home and
threatened
to kill him if he was seen in the area again. "I'm just so sad that they
(South
Africans) can treat me like this, I've never known anything like this," he
told
IRIN on Wednesday.
ZIMBABWE: MUGABE HOUNDS ANTI-RACIST
http://www.guardian.co.uk/zimbabwe/article/0,2763,582157,00.html
Judith Todd, who combated white rule, now faces harrassment from Mugabe's
forces as she fights for the freedom of Zimbabwe's press.
/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\
10.ENVIRONMENT
AN ENVIRONMENTAL WAR ECONOMY
The Lessons Of Ecological Debt And Global Warming
http://www.jubilee2000uk.org/ecological_debt/Reports/War%20Economy.pdf
Global warming is spilling over – seas over defences, rivers over banks, one
wave of issues on top of another. The always-contentious balance of power
between rich and poor countries is about to flip. A paradigm shift is
emerging
not from politics or ideology, but from a deep fissure opening up between
two
great continental plates – on one hand, the way the world does business, on
the
other, the limited tolerance of the earth’s environment that business
depends
on.
ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
http://www2.cid.harvard.edu/cidbiotech/events/Obasi_101601.pdf.
The Distinguished Environmental Lecture, "Increasing the Contribution of
Atmospheric Sciences to Sustainable Development: Experiences of WMO in
International Environmental Governance," by Godwin P. Obasi, Secretary
General
of the World Meteorological Organization, delivered at Harvard University on
October 16, 2001, is now available online as a pdf file.
BABOONS CAN THINK ABSTRACTLY
http://ens-news.com/ens/oct2001/2001L-10-26-07.html
An international team of psychologists has demonstrated that baboons are
capable of abstract thought - making them the first non-human, non-ape
animal
shown to share a central aspect of human intelligence. The findings have
profound implications for the evolution of human intelligence and the stuff
that separates homo sapiens from other animals.
EVENTS OF SEPT. 11 CAST LONG SHADOW OVER ENVIRONMENT
http://www.earthtimes.org/oct/climatechangeeventsoct26_01.htm
Reducing emissions of manmade greenhouse gases, using "sinks" to soak up
excess
carbon in the atmosphere, and transferring energy efficient technologies to
developing nations have all had to take a back seat to what is widely seen
as
more pressing concerns. One of the biggest tasks facing the delegates in
Marrakesh at the upcoming UN Conference on Global Warming is convincing the
rest of the world that what they are doing is relevant. Indeed, just getting
the international media's attention for anything longer than a sound bite
would
be a small triumph.
GHANA: CYANIDE SPILL WORST ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER
http://ens.lycos.com/index.html
Villages in the Wassa West District of Ghana's western region have been hit
by
the spillage of thousands of cubic metres of mine wastewater contaminated
with
cyanide and heavy metals. The cyanide-laced waste contaminated the River
Asuman
on October 16 when a tailings dam ruptured at a mine operation owned by the
South African company, Goldfields Ltd.
TALKS TO FINALIZE CLIMATE RULEBOOK OPEN IN MOROCCO
http://ens-news.com/ens/oct2001/2001L-10-29-01.html
Climate talks have resumed to finalize the procedures and institutions that
will make the Kyoto Protocol fully operational. The world’s governments are
meeting here from today through November 9 to work out exactly how to reduce
the emissions of six greenhouse gases that are linked to global warming.
/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\
11.MEDIA
GABON: SATIRICAL NEWSPAPER 'LE GRI-GRI INTERNATIONAL' BANNED
According to information collected by RSF, on 18 October 2001, Mr. Barre,
head
of Sogapresse, asked that shipments of "Le Gri-Gri International" be
stopped.
Yet, a week earlier, Sogapresse had ordered more copies of the newspaper
because of high demand for it in Gabon.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3765
MEDIA MONITORING PROJECT ZIMBABWE
Media Update # 2001/42
The President’s official announcement that his government had “dumped” ESAP
dominated Zimpapers and ZBC during the week, but none of them explained that
government had effectively abandoned the policy years ago.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3749
NAMIBIA: SWAPO MEMBER CALLS FOR CLAMPDOWN ON JOURNALISTS
South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) party backbencher Doreen
Sioka
unleashed a barrage of criticism during the National Assembly, accusing the
media of being a bunch of "liars, distorters and creators of conflict," "The
Namibian" reported on Monday 22 October.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3769
NIGER: NEWSPAPER DIRECTOR IMPRISONED
According to reports, on 19 October Mr Tiogo, publication director of the
weekly Le Canard Liber was sentenced by a court in Niamey to six months in
jail
and ordered to pay fines and damages totalling 5.1 million CFA francs
for "defamation". He was immediately imprisoned.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3756
NIGERIA: JOURNALIST'S UNION CONSTITUTION CRITICIZED
http://allafrica.com/stories/200110250138.html
An opinion piece in the Daily Trust based in Abuja, argues that "phony
amendments" to the constitution of the Nigeria Union of Journalists are to
blame for recent developments that "have tended to portray the union as one
huge bunch of jokers and mediocrities."
SOUTH AFRICA: INVESTIGATIVE REPORTERS EXPOSE CASES OF CORRUPTION
http://allafrica.com/stories/200110240503.html
Former ANC chief whip Tony Yengeni is one of 37 officials and employees of
all
races that have been exposed for corruption and forced out of office by the
investigative reporting of three award-winning Sunday Times journalists.
SUDAN: IS THE DUTCH GOVERNMENT PROLONGING CONFLICT
http://www.ejc.nl/mn/shownews.hmx?1003960800
The Dutch government's 'Voice of Hope' radio station, broadcasting into
Sudan
and aimed at a southern Sudanese audience...has been a disappointment and
embarrassment to the Dutch government, according to critics.
SUPPRESSION STIFLES SOME SITES
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,47835,00.html
Amid the nationalistic furor sweeping the United States in wake of the Sept.
11
attacks, many government and private websites are yanking content that could
be
deemed unpatriotic or risky to national security.
SWAZILAND REPRESSION
COSATU Statement
The Congress of South African Trade Unions deplores the attack by armed
police
on the press conference called by the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions
(SFTU) on Friday 19 October. It condemns the assault on journalists and the
attack on free speech that this incident represents.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3767
US HONES IN ON PROPAGANDA WAR
http://www.mediachannel.org/atissue/conflict/
As the United States continues its aerial assault on military targets in
Afghanistan, a second front is quickly emerging in the war against
terrorism--
the fight for the hearts and minds of Muslims around the world.
/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\
12.DEVELOPMENT
AFRICAN GROUPS CALL FOR DEBT SWAPS
http://www.jubilee2000uk.org/worldnews/africa/group_calls_debt_swapt_burden.
htm
African groups call for a new debt initiative to tackle the continent's
crippling debt crisis. Structural Adjustment Programmes and the HIPC
Initiative
have failed sub-Saharan Africa, creditors must now donate debts to non-
governmental organisations for developing local communities.
AGAINST THE WORKERS
IMF And World Bank Undermine Labour Rights
http://www.essential.org/monitor/
Multinational Monitor reviewed loan documents between the IMF and World Bank
and 26 countries. The review shows that the institutions’ loan
conditionalities
include a variety of provisions that directly undermine labor rights, labor
power and tens of millions of workers’ standard of living.
CRISIS IN WTO TALKS
The US and EU, as well as the WTO Secretariat, are showing desperation in
their
attempts to ram through a new round of trade negotiations with a host of new
issues by the WTO Ministerial on 9 November even though more than half of
the
members remain totally opposed to new issues being brought in.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3806
HOW STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT WORSENS POVERTY
http://www.essentialaction.org/imf/
Structural adjustment -- the standard IMF/World Bank policy package which
calls
for slashing government spending, privatization, and opening up countries to
exploitative foreign investment, among other measures -- has deepened
poverty
around the world. In the two regions with the most structural adjustment
experience, per capita income has stagnated (Latin America) or plummeted
(Africa). Structural adjustment has also contributed to rising income and
wealth inequality in the developing world.
NIGERIA: REVISION OF UNICEF DIRECTORY OF NGOS
UNICEF is in the process of updating the UNICEF Directory of NGOs in
Nigeria.
In this respect, UNICEF has commissioned CASSAD to identify and categorize
all
viable and credible NGOs operating in all development sectors in all the
regions of Nigeria, with a view to facilitate access to them for development
purposes. The exercise will: Identify, assess and classify all NGOs in
Nigeria;
Keep a record of all viable and credible NGOs; create an NGO database, and
produce a revised and updated Directory of NGOs in Nigeria for wide
dissemination. All NGOs, operating in Nigeria, are hereby invited to provide
information on themselves by completing and returning the NGO Profile
Questionnaire. Deadline 22 November 2001.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3732
Contact: [log in to unmask]
SOUTH AFRICA: THE PEOPLE’S BUDGET
COSATU Statement
The People’s Budget campaign awaits the Minister of Finance’s first Medium
Term
Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) since the publication of the People’s Budget
document. In particular, we hope that this year’s MTBPS will lay the
foundation
for expanded public investment in human development in the 2002/03 budget.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3785
SQUARE PEGS IN ROUND HOLES:
THE WTO AND DEMOCRACY
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) is founded and maintained on many myths.
The
most all-pervasive myth is that the WTO upholds and promotes free trade for
all
countries through a rules based, multilateral trading system. In truth, the
trade regime enforced by the WTO is hardly free, nor are the rules of this
system favourable for developing countries. The WTO has facilitated
unfettered,
global economic and political expansion by a handful of rich and powerful
countries, who use trade as political instruments with impunity (in another
time and era, this would be called imperialism).
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3807
US-AFRICA SUMMIT TO FOCUS ON PARTNERSHIP
http://allafrica.com/stories/200110280071.html
The U.S.-Africa Business Summit hosted by the Corporate Council on Africa
(CCA)
begins Tuesday in Philadelphia. It will be the largest gathering of U.S. and
African business and government leaders ever to come together on U.S. soil
(outside the United Nations in New York). AllAfrica.com's Charles Cobb Jr.
spoke with CCA President Stephen Hayes about AGOA and U.S. trade and
investment
in Africa.
/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\
13.INTERNET AND TECHNOLOGY
AFRICAN E-STRATEGIES: ACTING UPON, INSTEAD OF REPEATING, STUDIES
e-Readiness assessments and e-strategies seem to be all the rage at the
moment.
In an understandable desire to try and understand the impact of ICT on their
countries, African governments (and their external funders) commission these
documents to help provide a focus for action. Sadly all too often these
studies
are long on aspirations and short on implementation and action. The more
complicated task of knitting together active initiators of a strategy in
government, the private sector and civil society is sometimes overlooked or
avoided. Margareet Visser of Durban-based Bridges.org provides an overview
of a
field littered with forgotten studies.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3872
BASIC DATA INTEGRITY AND NETWORK SECURITY
An international security monitoring group (CERT, the Computer Emergency
Response Team Coordination Center) warned that Internet attacks are expected
to
double this year. Read NetAction's useful guide to Internet security and
data
integrity.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3883
ENGLISH SECOND LANGUAGE (ESL) RESOURCES DATABASE
A boon to teachers of English as a Second Language (ESL), this database of
ESL-
related educational resources comes from the National Clearinghouse for
Bilingual Education and the ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics,
with funding from the US Department of Education's Office of Bilingual
Education and Minority Languages Affairs (OBEMLA) and Office of Educational
Research and Improvement (OERI).
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3875
FREE ACCESS: SAGE E-JOURNALS DURING NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 2001
http://www.sagepub.co.uk/frame.html?http://www.sagepub.co.uk/freeaccess/
SAGE Publications is providing free access through the intermediary,
ingenta,
to over 250 electronic journals during the months of November and December
2001. This includes full text files for the 2001 subscription year, as well
as
back files for 2000 and 1999 where available. If you already have an account
with ingenta, access will automatically be available to all SAGE's journals
at
no charge during these two months. If you do not have an ingenta account,
then
simply register with ingenta at their website: www.ingenta.com. Access will
then be available to all SAGE's journals at no charge, direct from the
relevant
journal page on this website.
Contact: [log in to unmask]
HOT TOPICS FROM CAMBRIDGE SCIENTIFIC ABSTRACTS (CSA)
The Hot Topics series provides a free sampling of the resources in Cambridge
Scientific Abstracts (CSA) and the Internet Database Service (IDS). The 30
topics span subjects in the humanities, engineering, environmental policy,
and
medicine.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3876
INTERNET SOCIETY (ISOC) OFFERS BRIEFING PAPERS
http://www.isoc.org/briefings/
The Internet Society (ISOC) has recently launched a new series of papers
directed to their members. You can see some of the briefings on their web
site
(primarily very technical papers on Internet development). It is currently
soliciting papers on any digital divide issues.
Contact: [log in to unmask]
LIVING WITHOUT MICROSOFT
Resources And Discussion
There are alternatives to Microsoft software. Many people are sceptical of
them, and so they should be. Can you use it? Can you maintain it? What about
applications for email, web browsing and word processing - are they
available
and do they work? This site presents sensible answers and is very
interactive.
It lists options and claims not to have a biased agenda, but simply to
provide
information for those who wish or need to use another product.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3878
MSN: ONLY VISIBLE WITH INTERNET EXPLORER
http://web.siliconvalley.com/content/sv/2001/10/26/opinion/dgillmor/weblog/t
bl.h
tm
Dan Gillmor interviews Tim Berners-Lee on Microsoft's latest "browser
tricks".
Microsoft has not made a smart move by making the MSN web site accessible to
Internet Explorer users only, explains Berners-Lee. It flies in the face of
the
spirit of the Web, which is open communication and information sharing. The
interview contains advice to web designers/ coders and this page has links
to
many other weblogs.
WORLD LECTURE HALL (WLC)
http://www.utexas.edu/world/lecture/
World Lecture Hall (WLC) is a portal to free online course materials from
around the world. Try the advanced search function if you are looking for
something specific.
/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\
14.eNEWSLETTERS AND MAILING LISTS
BRIDGING POLICY AND EDUCATION - ON-LINE DISCUSSION
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3903
Contact: [log in to unmask]
CDRA NUGGETS: MAKING THE LEARNING ORGANISATION LITERAL
Sue Soal, CDRA, October 2001
http://www.cdra.org.za/Publications/nuggets/CDRAs%20homeweek%20by%20Sue%
20Soal.htm
People are often surprised when they hear about CDRA's monthly "Homeweek"
because it is unusual for an NGO to devote that much time to learning. Many
NGOs have been inspired to develop their own kind of homeweeks and sought
our
support in their design. So we often get asked to write up something about
this
homeweek – its role, what it consists of and how it works. This Nugget
attempts
to provide this, certainly not as a blueprint but as an example of what we
have
experienced as effective internal organisational practice.
Contact: [log in to unmask]
EDITORIAL ON THE NILE BASIN INITIATIVE
Nile News Volume 1, Issue 1 October 2001
http://www.nilebasin.net/news/nn1/nn1.htm
The NBI is the hope for real development in Nile Basin countries (NBCs). The
10
countries of the Nile Basin include 6 of the 10 poorest nations of the
world.
But, is the NBI taking the right way to development? Most probably it is, in
view of the sensitive political issues it has to address.
Contact: [log in to unmask]
GLOBAL ALLIANCE FOR VACCINES AND IMMUNIZATION FOCUS: OCTOBER 2001
Special Report -- Do your data measure up? - Kenya puts its immunization
records under the auditors' microscope (DQA). News -- Yellow fever vaccine
stocks still low as fears of new outbreaks grow. Grassroots -- Training
vaccinators in a time of change: preparing to cope with new vaccines and new
equipment. Briefing -- Why the fridge loses its cool: finding solutions to
the
problems of maintaining the cold chain.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3904
Contact: [log in to unmask]
/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\
15.FUNDRAISING
CITIZEN BASE AWARD - LOCAL RESOURCES
http://www.comminit.com/awards/sld-1817.html
An international challenge competition providing seed capital to NGOs for
innovation in local resource mobilisation offered by The Citizen Base
Initiative, a programme of Ashoka, aims to spark, identify and support local
resource mobilisation as an alternative to international fundraising.
Contact: [log in to unmask]
GATES FOUNDATION AWARDS $10 MILLION TO AFRICAN AIDS INITIATIVE
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/globalhealth/hiv-aids/announcements/announce-
427.htm
GRANTS: GLOBAL FUND FOR WOMEN
http://www.globalfundforwomen.org/3grant/index.html
Works to strengthen women's organizations outside USA by providing small,
flexible and timely grants in general support ranging from US$500 to
US$15,000.
The Fund supports organizations that demonstrate a commitment to women's
equality and human rights.
Contact: [log in to unmask]
LOAN MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE FOR MICRO-FINANCE INSTITUTIONS
Deposit tracking, loan tracking, and general ledger. Handles individual
loans
as well as group loans, used as Grameen Banking as well as Village Banking
organisations and Credit Unions.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3909
Contact: [log in to unmask]
MICHENER - DEACON FELLOWSHIP - JOURNALISM
http://www.comminit.com/Fellowships/sld-1511.html
Fellowship provides $20,000, for study-leave over a 4 month period.
Applicants
should be mature journalists interested in studies or programmes that
benefit
the community at large and at the same time enhance their competence.
Contact: [log in to unmask]
RESEARCH TRAINING GRANTS
http://www.comminit.com/Scholarships/sld-3120.html
Applicants for the Grants offered by the UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special
Programme
for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases must be nationals of, and
employed in, the developing disease endemic countries. Grants are awarded
for
studies leading to a postgraduate degree or for acquiring specialized
skills.
Studies must be on one or more of the TDR target diseases (listed in
details).
Contact: [log in to unmask]
ROBERT F. KENNEDY HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD
http://www.comminit.com/awards/sld-3138.html
Annual prize of US$ 30,000 awarded to individuals who, at great personal
risk,
stand up to oppression in the nonviolent pursuit of respect for human
rights.
Contact: [log in to unmask]
ROCKFORUM.ORG: A NEW WEBSITE FOR RESEARCH GRANTS
Information on grant application procedures, present and past grants,
grantees
and students, and research accomplishments from past and present grants by
the
FORUM.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3907
Contact: [log in to unmask]
SAIS - NOVARTIS INTERNATIONAL JOURNALISM AWARDS PROGRAMME - JOURNALISM
http://www.comminit.com/awards/sld-3139.html
Annual prize of a $15,000 cash award and an expense-paid trip to Washington
DC
presented by The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and
Novartis. Journalists from around the world are invited to compete in
competition for excellence in international journalism.
Contact: [log in to unmask]
TI SEEKS ASSISTANT PROJECT MANAGER
Global Corruption Report
Starting date: ASAP (posting date 29.10.2001). Based in Berlin.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3917
Contact: [log in to unmask]
/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\
16.COURSES, SEMINARS, AND WORKSHOPS
AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT FORUM POSTPONED
http://www2.womensnet.org.za/news/show.cfm?news_id=744
The Third African Development Forum (ADF III), to have taken place at the
headquarters of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) from
9 -
13 December 2001, has been postponed and will now be held from 24 - 28
February 2002.
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: SECOND INDEPTH-NETWORK SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE
Addis Ababa: 21st To 25th January 2002
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3897
Contact: [log in to unmask]
CALL FOR PAPERS: RESHAPING THE NURSING LANDSCAPE CONFERENCE
Johannesburg: 18 - 20 June 2002
http://www.wits.ac.za/fac/med/nursing
Closing date: 28 November 2001
Contact: [log in to unmask]
DEMOCRACY & DIVERSITY GRADUATE SUMMER INSTITUTE
Cape Town: January 11-26 2002
The deadline for applications is November 12, 2001
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3900
Contact: [log in to unmask]
FIRST ANNUAL QUEER DISABILITY CONFERENCE 2002
San Francisco: June 2-3, 2002
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3901
Contact: [log in to unmask]
HUMAN RIGHTS/NEGOTIATION
Cape Town: 27-29 November 2001
Southern Hemisphere is currently offering two new exciting courses in
Negotiation Skills and Human Rights Indicators. Both courses offer the most
up
to date material, with facilitation by experts in the fields. Due to popular
interest, and demand Southern Hemisphere is also running its Project
Monitoring
and Evaluation Course for a third time this year. This course is currently
on
offer as an in-house programme.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3880
Contact: [log in to unmask]
WORLD BANK INFODEV SYMPOSIUM AND CONFERENCE SCHOLARSHIP FUND
Washington DC: December 5-6 2001
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3902
WORLD CIVIL SOCIETY FORUM
Geneva: 14 - 19 July 2002
Mandat International is a non-profit-making non-governmental organization
which
has as its principal missions to welcome and help non-governmental delegates
(in particular those from developing countries) coming to Geneva to
participate
in international conferences. The themes of this conference will be: The
themes
to be covered will be: Information society, Civil society, International
Organization cooperation, Health promotion, Environment, commerce and
sustainable development, Indigenous women, Human rights and humanitarian
law,
The right of people to self-determination, Civil society, private sector
cooperation, Peace and disarmament.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3898
Contact: [log in to unmask]
/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\
17.ADVOCACY RESOURCES
SOUTH AFRICA: HIV/AIDS PROTEST
Nov 26, Cape Town
http://www2.womensnet.org.za/events/show.cfm?id=284
The mother-to-child transmission preventio(mtctp) court case has been set
down
for the 26th of November. There will be a march in Cape Town on this day to
demand that the government implements a country-wide mtctp programme.
TRADING RULES MUST PUT PEOPLE FIRST
http://www.debtchannel.org/cgi-bin/babel/showdoc.cgi?
root=1410&url=http://www.wdm.org.uk/campaign/WTO.htm
The World Trade Organisation stands accused of failing poor countries and
citizens in favour of rich nations and corporations. As the Qatar meeting
approaches, it is now vital that huge public concern about WTO rules voiced
in
Seattle is not lost. The challenge is to transform this into a real
commitment
for change.
/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\
18.JOBS
DEVJOBS: DEVELOPMENT JOBS WEBSITE AND MAILING LIST
http://www.devjobsmail.com
DEVJOBS is a a large mailing list to receive international job ads that are
related to various development fields: microfinance, poverty alleviation,
community development, institution development, governance, health care,
population, food security, agriculture, education, human resource
development,
natural resource management, information technology, disability
rehabilitation
and rural development. Membership is totally free! Hundreds of jobs posted
each
week.
Contact: [log in to unmask]
FELLOWSHIPS: FACING GLOBAL CAPITAL, FINDING HUMAN SECURITY: A GENDERED
CRITIQUE
http://www.ncrw.org/initiatives/rockefeller_grant.htm
This interdisciplinary program will explore the uses of a human security
framework for identifying non-discriminatory, sustainable policies for women
and girls, drawing into dialogue critical theories in the humanities and
social
sciences, and discourses of policymakers and activists. Applications for
2002/2003 are due 31 January 2002.
Contact: [log in to unmask]
SOUTH AFRICA: FUNDRAISER
NICRO is an organisation that works for a Safer South Africa. Our Provincial
Office is situated in Durban, although the work of the organisation
stretches
throughout KwaZulu Natal. A confident and extrovert person is required to
carry
out our fund-raising marketing and media work.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3882
Contact: [log in to unmask]
SOUTH AFRICA: LABOUR BULLETIN EDITOR
The Editorial Board of the Labour Bulletin seeks to appoint a new Editor to
lead the exciting process of restructuring and re launching South Africa's
premier labour publication.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3843
Contact: [log in to unmask]
SOUTH AFRICA: PROJECT CO-ORDINATOR
The Youth Developments Network (YDN) is a national network of seven youth
development NGO's and currently seeks a Project Co-ordinator: Research and
Documentation.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3845
Contact: [log in to unmask]
UK: REDRESS SEEKS VOLUNTEERS
Fulltime/part-time interns and volunteers sought for the following
programmes:
1. Civil Reparation for Human Rights Violations
2. Research on Universal Jurisdiction
3. Country Research on Reparation for Torture
4. Preparatory Commission for the International Criminal Court
5. REDRESS' casework programme
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3918
Contact: [log in to unmask]
/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\
19.BOOKS AND ARTS
AFRICA : A CONTINENT SELF-DESTRUCTS
By Peter Schwab
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/031224018X/qid=1004365173/sr=1-
69/ref=sr_1_2_69/103-0040613-6739805
Can Africa survive? Many of the nations of sub-Saharan African have all but
ceased to exist as organized states: tyranny, diseases such as AIDS, civil
war
and ethnic conflict-and border invasions threaten the complete
disintegration
of a region. Peter Schwab offers a clear, authoritative portrait of a
continent
on the brink. Palgrave; ISBN: 031224018X, 2001.
CONTEMPORARY MALIAN ART
http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/contemporary/roy1.html
The contemporary urban environment in Africa has nurtured ever increasing
numbers of artists who are creating art that is directed at local or
international markets rather than for use in ancient religious practices.
These
artists strive to create art forms that reflect their own cultural
backgrounds
but that express new ideas about the struggle to deal with a difficult and
quickly changing African environment.
FILM BRINGS ETHIOPIA’S RED TERROR BACK INTO FOCUS
http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/world.cfm?id=119824
An Ethiopian film, The Father, that has been winning awards across Africa,
is
serving as a reminder that President Robert Mugabe has been sheltering one
of
the world’s most notorious dictators in Zimbabwe for the past decade.
Colonel
Mengistu Haile Mariam, the "Butcher of Addis Ababa", ruled Ethiopia for 17
years, imposing a regime based on a strategy of total fear that he himself
called the "Red Terror".
HARRY MUTASA
http://www.africancolours.com/?content/harryatwork.html
Harry Mutasa, sculptor from Harare has won a Commonwealth award in April
2001
and is currently working as an artist-in-residence at OCAD in Toronto,
Canada. "Through struggling as a young artist l used to work on different
subject matters like heritage and things l needed to research and always
ended
no way. Then l realized that my feelings are the only true thing l really
know
in my alien being trying to fit in and overstand life. Being African and
being
from this culture is what people tell me l am, so my art is not african,
cultural, black, human or any titles, it is me, the inner, the soul which l
am
still uncovering with feelings which comes out."
IDRC HANDBOOK FOR SOUTHERN AFRICA
http://www2.womensnet.org.za/news/show.cfm?news_id=746
The Canadian International Development Research Centre (IDRC), in
collaboration
with the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), has launched a new
publication covering the most significant information policy formulation and
implementation processes in Southern Africa.
ISSUES IN AFRICAN HISTORY
Professor James Giblin, University Of Iowa
http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/history/giblinhistory.html
Like the art of all peoples, the art of Africans expresses values,
attitudes,
and thought which are the products of their past experience. For that
reason,
the study of their art provides a way of learning about their history.
Through
the study of African art we can study the questions which have long
preoccupied
historians of Africa. This essay -- written by a historian who studies the
African past -- presents an introduction to these questions. Its purpose is
to
encourage students to use their knowledge of African art to think about
issues
in African history.
THE RIGHTS WAY TO DEVELOPMENT
Policy And Practice
This easily accessible new publication from the Human Rights Council of
Australia revises and brings together two earlier publications “The Rights
Way
to Development A Human Rights Approach to Development Assistance” and “The
Rights Way to Development Manual for a Human Rights Approach to Development
Assistance”. It outlines the conceptual basis of the human rights human
rights
approach to development, as well as providing practical guidance for
development programmers interested in applying the
approach.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3790
Contact: [log in to unmask]
THE UNDERNEATH OF THINGS:
Violence, History, And The Everyday In Sierra Leone
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0520225430/ref=pd_sim_books/103-00406
13-
6739805
by Mariane C. Ferme.
In this erudite and gracefully written ethnography, Mariane Ferme explores
the
links between a violent historical and political legacy, and the production
of
secrecy in everyday material culture. The focus is on Mende- speaking
southeastern Sierra Leone and the surrounding region. Since 1990, this area
has
been ravaged by a civil war that produced population displacements and
regional
instability. The Underneath of Things documents the rural impact of the
progressive collapse of the Sierra Leonean state in the past several
decades,
and seeks to understand how an even earlier history is reinscribed in the
present. University of California Press; ISBN: 0520225430, 2001.
/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\
20.MEMBERS CORNER
/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\
21.LETTERS AND COMMENTS
HOYI MKANDAWIRE
Thanks a million.
JANE MAGIGITA
Are there no news from Tanzania it seems you have only for S. Africa,
Zimbabwe,
Nigeria and Uganda.
Our reply: We try to cover news as widely as possible from across Africa,
but
are inevitably constrained by the agendas and priorities of our news and
information sources. If you have information that you would like to see
featured in KFSN, please submit your information to us. Details on
submitting
items can be found below.
M.GRIMAUD
Dear Editor, Thank you for your Notice. I look forward to visit your site
frequently.
I am in the process of setting up an environmental NGO that deals
specificaly
with solid waste management. How right you are about the 'western paid
consultants'. In my view they are paid exurbitant sums of money to say a lot
which means nothing to a county's uprateing. Especially in solid waste
management in the 3rd world countries, strategies are dreamed up just to
push
western technology. Any way keep up the good work. I am interested to make
contact with African NGOs interested in Solid Waste management. One only
hears
of solid waste when it is too late and contamination is rampant. It does not
have to be like this. Solid waste (when well managed)can be a source of good
jobs in sorting, recycling etc.
Contact: [log in to unmask]
NIGERIA: BATTLING THE SCOURGE OF CANCRUM ORIS (NOMA)
Correction
In the last edition of KFSN we ran an item on The NOMA Children's Hospital
in
Northern Nigeria, but failed to mention the source of the report: Dateline
Health Nigeria No. 57, 2001, available at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Datelinehealth-Nigeria/message/163. We
apologise
for failing to credit the source, and we will endeavour in the future to
always
credit our sources, without which we could not put this newsletter together.
/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\
THIS NEWSLETTER IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY KABISSA, FAHAMU AND SANGONET
Kabissa - Space for change in Africa
5130 Connecticut Ave, NW #306, Washington DC 20008, USA
[log in to unmask]
http://www.kabissa.org
fahamu - learning for change
38 Western Road, Oxford OX1 4LG, UK
[log in to unmask]
http://www.fahamu.org
Southern African Non-Governmental Organisation Network (SANGONeT)
P O Box 31
Johannesburg, 2000
South Africa
[log in to unmask]
http://www.sn.apc.org
The Newsletter is an advocacy tool for social justice. The Newsletter is
open
to any organisation committed to this goal. You can use this Newsletter to
tell
others about your work, events, publications, and concerns. The quality and
range of information depends on you.
SUBMIT YOUR NEWS
If your organisation is a regular provider of information, please ensure
that
your information is widely read by adding [log in to unmask] to your
addressbook and mailing lists. Help us in particular by making sure that
sections relevant to your work are well represented. We consider every
submission to that address for inclusion. Please attribute original sources
by
including a website address and/or contact e-mail.
SUBSCRIBE
The Newsletter comes out weekly and is delivered to subscribers by e-mail.
Subscription is free! To subscribe, send an e-mail to <kf-newsletter-
[log in to unmask]> with only the word 'subscribe' or 'unsubscribe' in the
subject or body.
WRITE AN EDITORIAL
We welcome original editorials. Typically, editorials run 300-500 words and
include links and contact details of their authors. Space is available
through
the website for longer editorials. Please inquire to [log in to unmask]
FAIR USE
This Newsletter is produced under the principles of 'fair use'. We strive to
attribute sources by providing direct links to authors and websites. When
full
text is submitted to us and no website is provided, we make the text
available
on our website via a "for more information" link. Please contact
[log in to unmask] immediately regarding copyright issues.
The views expressed in this newsletter, including the signed editorials, do
not
necessarily represent those of Kabissa, fahamu and SANGONeT.
(c) Kabissa, fahamu and SANGONeT 2001
If you wish to stop receiving the newsletter, unsubscribe immediately by
sending a message FROM THE ADDRESS YOU WANT REMOVED to kf-newsletter-
[log in to unmask] Please contact [log in to unmask] should you need
further assistance subscribing or unsubscribing.
/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\
------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
Internal Cell Phone Antenna
Boosts reception on all cellular phones.
Just $19.99 at Youcansave.com
http://us.click.yahoo.com/L11sED/PkNDAA/ySSFAA/DKgolB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->
Next WASAN meeting is Wednesday, Nov 28. Location: Safeco Jackson Street Center, 306 23rd Ave. S at S. Main St, Suite 200 , Seattle
7:00 PM WASAN business meeting
7:30 PM Program: TBA
We usually meet the fourth Wednesday of the month. For a calendar of local Africa events see www.ibike.org/africamatters/calendar.htm . To post a message: [log in to unmask] To subscribe send a message to [log in to unmask] To unsubscribe send a message to [log in to unmask] . All past postings are archived at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wa-afr-network
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>
To view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]
<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>
|
