---------- 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! 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