---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sat, 13 Jul 2002 17:09:38 -0700 From: charlotte utting <[log in to unmask]> Reply-To: [log in to unmask] To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [WASAN] FW: PAMBAZUKA NEWS 72 - PEOPLE VS BIG OIL: RIGHTS OF NIGERIAN INDIGENOUS PEOPLE RECOGNIZED ---------- From: [log in to unmask] Reply-To: [log in to unmask] Date: Fri, 12 Jul 2002 06:52:44 -0500 (CDT) To: [log in to unmask] Subject: PAMBAZUKA NEWS 72 - PEOPLE VS BIG OIL: RIGHTS OF NIGERIAN INDIGENOUS PEOPLE RECOGNIZED PAMBAZUKA NEWS 72 A weekly electronic newsletter for social justice in Africa 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. 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. Want to get off our subscriber list? Write to [log in to unmask] and your address will be removed immediately! /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 1.EDITORIAL PEOPLE VERSUS BIG OIL: RIGHTS OF NIGERIAN INDIGENOUS PEOPLE RECOGNIZED Jim Lobe, Foreign Policy In Focus http://www.fpif.org/commentary/2002/0207nigeria_body.html At a time when the petropolitics of the Bush administration seem to reign supreme, the rights of peoples affected by the global hunt for oil have received an important boost. An African commission has ruled the Nigerian government should compensate the Ogoni people for abuses against their lands, environment, housing, and health caused by oil production and government security forces. Nigerian and international groups say that the ruling by the nine-member African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) is a sweeping affirmation of what the human rights community calls ESC rights-- defined by the UN's International Covenant on Economic, Social, and, Cultural Rights. The commission called on Nigeria to undertake a "comprehensive cleanup of lands and rivers damaged by oil operations." It must also ensure that the social and environmental impact of future oil development on its territory does not harm local communities. Human rights groups are hailing the commission's decision as a major breakthrough in the battle for international recognition of ESC rights, which have long been given lesser status--particularly by Western countries--than political and civil rights. "This is the first decision by the African Commission to specifically and comprehensively address violations of economic and social and cultural rights under the Africa Charter," said Felix Morka, director of the Lagos-based Social and Economic Rights Actions Centre (SERAC), which launched the case against the military regime of Gen. Sani Abacha in 1996. Morka observed that the recent ruling was the strongest and most articulate statement on the validity and enforceability of economic and social rights emanating from any intergovernmental human rights body. "It is a remarkable decision indeed," said Bronwen Manby, a Nigeria specialist at the London office of Human Rights Watch (HRW). "The very fact that it's a decision by the African Commission--which is a body of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and appointed by governments--means that it will certainly form a part of the body of international jurisprudence on economic and social rights." The case was filed shortly after the execution in November 1995 of nine leaders of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), including the world-renowned playwright and author, Ken Saro-wiwa. MOSOP and Saro-wiwa had led a global campaign to publicize the plight of the Ogonis, a minority in the oil-rich Niger Delta region, whose lands and rivers had been polluted for years as a result of operations by Shell Petroleum Development Corporations, the area's largest foreign oil producer, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC). Protests by the Ogoni, especially in the early 1990s, were met with fierce military repression, including what one internal government memo called "wasting operations" against Ogoni villages and suspected MOSOP activists. Scores of people were killed and their property looted and burned. After the 1995 executions, Shell became a target of an international consumer boycott, while a number of Western countries slapped diplomatic and other sanctions on the military regime, most of which lifted only after the return of civilian rule in 1999 when retired Gen. Obusegun Obasanjo won elections. Apart from one submission that confirmed the main allegations filed by SERAC, the Obasanjo government did not participate in the case, forcing the Commission to conclude that Nigerian courts were not prepared to act on the plaintiffs' case. Although the judgement was communicated to the government early last month, Abuja has not yet reacted officially. The decision, which runs 14 pages, asserts that the government violated seven articles of the 1981 African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, to which Nigeria is a signatory. They included the rights: "to enjoy the best attainable state of physical and mental health," "to a general satisfactory environment favorable to [the peoples'] development," and to "freely dispose of their wealth and natural resources." According to the ruling, "By any measure of standards, its practice falls short of the minimum conduct expected of governments." In a direct reference to the role of the oil corporations, the commission observed: "The intervention of multinational corporations may be a potentially positive force for development if the State and the people concerned are ever mindful of the common good and the sacred rights of individuals and communities." The decision is important for people throughout the world who suffer from corporate practices, said Roger Normand, director of the New York-based Center for Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (CESR), which co-sponsored the case with SERAC. "I believe that this can serve as a precedent not only throughout Africa, but also for all similar efforts to hold governments accountable for gross human rights violations linked to abusive corporate practices," he added. Normand and others also agreed with Morka that the decision is the strongest affirmation to date by an inter-governmental body of ESC rights. Despite their inclusion in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, this family of rights have tended to be given second-class status by the West, including Western-based human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. Western nations agreed most recently at the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna that all rights in the Universal Declaration are indivisible and interdependent, however, "for most of the past 50 years, these rights were totally neglected by governments and human rights NGOs," according to Larry Cox, senior program officer for international human rights at the New York- based Ford Foundation. "But in the last five years, we've seen the beginning of real momentum on these rights, led first and foremost by groups in the Global South who are in many ways the most adversely affected by the lack of such rights," he noted. "That's the history of the human rights movement: people who make these rights real are the victims who are fighting for them." Although the U.S. government has long agreed that all of the rights included in the Universal Declaration are indivisible and interdependent, Washington has tended to treat economic and social rights more as privileges than as core rights. Indeed, the State Department's annual human rights country reports do not explicitly cover economic and social rights. In that respect, said Normand, the African Commission's decision "is moving ahead of western standards in the protection of economic, social, and cultural rights--an important achievement for Africa, but an example for the rest of the world." /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 2.CONFLICT, EMERGENCIES, AND CRISES BURUNDI: CEASEFIRE TALKS FOR NEXT WEEK SAYS PRESIDENT BUYOYA http://www.africantimes.com/articlepg1.asp?ID=49404 Burundian President Pierre Buyoya said Wednesday his government will hold peace talks with Hutu rebels in Tanzania next week, a report reaching here said. Briefing journalists upon his return from Durban, Buyoya said he met on the sidelines of the African Union summit with South African Vice President Jacob Zuma and Gabon's President Omar Bongo,as well as the head of the regional initiative for Burundi, Uganda's Yoweri Museveni. DRC-RWANDA: PRESIDENTS KAGAME AND KABILA HOLD ''CONSTRUCTIVE'' TALKS Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) held talks late on Tuesday in Durban, South Africa, on issues concerning the DRC conflict, news agencies reported. Central to the discussions - brokered by South African President Thabo Mbeki - was the issue of a security zone to be created along the border between Rwanda and the DRC to prevent incursions of Hutu rebels from the DRC into Rwanda. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=8851 DRC: RWANDAN TROOPS REPORTEDLY IN MOBA, KATANGA PROVINCE http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=28674 The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), known as MONUC, confirmed last Friday it had received reports of the presence of hundreds of Rwandan troops and their Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD) allies near Moba, in the northern part of Katanga Province. If fighting were to break out between these forces and pro-government forces, it could further endanger the efforts to bring about a political and diplomatic solution to the DRC's long-running war, analysts said. DRC: SCORES DIE IN TWO DAYS OF FIGHTING IN BUNIA Scores of people have died in fighting between the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie-Mouvement de liberation (RCD-ML) and a militia representing the Hema people, in the northeastern town of Bunia, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). "We have counted 40 dead among the soldiers, and we do not know how many casualties there are on the other side," Ernest Uringi Padolo, a RCD- ML official, said from Bunia. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=8847 DRC: TALKS ON TRANSITIONAL GOVERNMENT STALL OVER ARMY http://allafrica.com/stories/200207090249.html Disagreements over command and control of the army constituted the factor causing talks on a transitional ruling body between the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the former rebel Mouvement de liberation congolais (MLC) to stall on 5 June. ETHIOPIA: OROMO REBELS DENY DEFEAT http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=28665 The rebel Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) last Friday denied claims by the Ethiopian army that it had "completely annihilated" separatist forces in the west of the country. "This is not the first time the Ethiopians have claimed total victory against our forces," OLF spokesman Lencho Bati told IRIN. "Our forces are intact." He admitted that OLF troops had sustained casualties in the fighting which has been raging in the Gambela region for the past two months when the OLF launched an offensive in the area. LIBERIA: GOVERNMENT TROOPS RETAKE TUBMANBURG Liberian government troops on Tuesday recaptured the town of Tubmanburg, northwest of the capital, Monrovia, from rebels of the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), the government has reported. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=8819 MADAGASCAR: LENGTHY POLITICAL CRISIS OVER http://www.rnw.nl/hotspots/html/madagascar020708.html The political crisis in Madagascar appears to finally be at an end. Saying the incoming President seems to be "a chap who can actually deliver on things," Richard Cromwell of the Institute of Security Studies in Johannesburg discusses how the crisis was resolved and what lies ahead for the impoverished island nation. SIERRA LEONE: NEW GOVERNMENT MUST ADDRESS WAR LEGACIES http://hrw.org/backgrounder/africa/sl-bck0711.htm. The new government of Sierra Leone must act decisively to address the issues that gave rise to the bloody decade-long war, Human Rights Watch says in a new briefing paper. President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah, who will preside over the formal opening of a newly-elected parliament, must set as top priorities steps to establish the rule of law and seek accountability for past abuses. Failure to do so will undermine efforts to establish lasting peace and stability. SOMALIA: BAIDOA CEASEFIRE DOCUMENT SIGNED http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=28739 The warring sides in the southern town of Baidoa have officially signed a ceasefire document, local sources told IRIN on Wednesday. They said the ceasefire, which was arranged by a mediation committee and announced over the weekend, has been observed by both sides, even before it was officially signed. Fighting between rival factions of the Rahanweyn Resistance Army (RRA), which controls much of Bay and Bakol regions in southwestern Somalia, erupted last week. SOMALIA: PEACE TALKS FIXED FOR SEPTEMBER http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=28733 The UN Security Council on Tuesday confirmed that the planned Somali peace talks to be held under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, are now scheduled to take place in September. SUDAN: REBELS AGREE TO NUBA CEASEFIRE EXTENSION http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=28715 The rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) has agreed to the extension of a ceasefire in the Nuba Mountains region of south-central Sudan, sources close to the rebel group told IRIN. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 3.RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY AFRICA: AFRICAN UNION SHOULD SPOTLIGHT HUMAN RIGHTS The African Union must strengthen the region's human rights institutions if its promise is to become reality, Human Rights Watch says. The African Union's Constitutive Act pledges respect for human rights and rejects the widespread impunity that has characterized armed conflict and political repression in many African countries. In "grave circumstances" such as occurred during the Rwandan genocide, the Constitutive Act authorizes the African Union to intervene. But the existing regional human rights institutions the African Union will inherit have been crippled by a lack of resources and political will. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=8748 AFRICA: AFRICAN UNION SUMMIT CLOSES http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-1870158,00.html The first summit of the African Union ended Wednesday with lofty promises of a new era of economic development and good government on a continent plagued by poverty and oppression. Still to be seen is whether member states have the political will to turn those goals into reality. AFRICA: AU MUST BE RELEVANT TO AFRICANS http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=28746 Civil society organisations have urged that African Union (AU) leaders speed up the implementation of two key institutions, which will ensure the accountability and transparency of the AU following its launch. At a meeting on the sidelines of the historic summit, which has seen the AU replace the Organisation of African Unity, activists committed themselves to ensuring that the Union fulfilled its promise of being more "people oriented". AFRICA: ZIMBABWE CASTS SHADOW OVER AU LAUNCH http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=28729 The African Union (AU) was launched with much pomp and ceremony in Durban, South Africa, on Tuesday. However, the crisis in Zimbabwe cast a shadow over the festivities. The leader of Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Morgan Tsvangirai - unable to attend the launch - sent a videotaped message saying the biggest challenge for the AU was the "illegitimate" government of President Robert Mugabe. CAMEROON: OPPOSITION WANTS ELECTIONS ANNULLED Church leaders and opposition politicians have described legislative and municipal elections held in Cameroon on 30 June as flawed. The politicians have also called for the polls to be annulled. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=8737 COTE D IVOIRE: LOCAL ELECTIONS RECORD LOW TURNOUT http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=28755 The ruling Front populaire ivoirien (FPI) and the former ruling party, le Parti democratique de Cote d'Ivoire (PDCI) each took 18 councils in Cote d'Ivoire's first-ever local elections. A total of 58 councils (called departments) were contested in Sunday's polls. Voter-turnout was however a low 30 percent and allegations of fraud have emerged. KENYA: RIFT IN RULING PARTY http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/africa/newsid_2120000/2120822.stm A split has emerged within the ruling Kanu party in Kenya over the announcement by some party members that the son of Kenya's first president, Jomo Kenyatta, should be the party's presidential candidate at the next election. MALAWI: NO THIRD TERM FOR MULUZI http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=28678 President Bakili Muluzi of Malawi publicly accepted defeat after a bid to run for a controversial third term was rejected by the country's parliament last Thursday. SOUTHERN AFRICA: POLICING TO PROTECT HUMAN RIGHTS http://web.amnesty.org/ai.nsf/recent/afr030042002 Human rights are under attack every day in countries in southern and eastern Africa. Under pressure to deal harshly with rising levels of crime or through political manipulation, police inflict torture and ill-treat criminal suspects and political activists. Excessive or unjustified lethal force is used to suppress peaceful protest and government opponents are arbitrarily detained, according to a new report from Amnesty International. SWAZILAND: CONCERN OVER PROPOSED NEW CONSTITUTION King Mswati's efforts to use the constitution to permanently enshrine absolute monarchial power and ban political opposition is being challenged by Western envoys stationed in the kingdom. "The aspirations and basic rights of all Swazi citizens must be guaranteed," warned United States Ambassador to Swaziland, James McGee, in his formal address at an observation marking America's Independence Day last week. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=8752 /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 4.CORRUPTION SOUTH AFRICA: FORMER SOUTH AFRICAN ANC CHIEF FACES ARMS FRAUD TRIAL http://www.transparency.org/cgi-bin/dcn-read.pl?citID=40259 A prominent South African politician went on trial on Tuesday charged with fraud and corruption linked to a multi-billion-dollar arms deal. Tony Yengeni, 47, former chief whip of the ruling African National Congress and Michael Worfel, a German who is former head of European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co (EADS) in South Africa, appeared in a Pretoria court. SOUTH AFRICA: TOP GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL SUSPENDED http://www.dispatch.co.za/2002/07/08/southafrica/BTOP.HTM The chief director of the Department of Public Enterprises, Andile Nkuhle, has been suspended amid allegations he had received money from a company which won the bid for a R335million state forestry deal, the department said. TANZANIA: TRA DENIES CASH REGISTER ALLEGATIONS http://www.newafrica.com/news/articlepg1.asp?ID=49329&countryid=49 The Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) has no contractual relationship with any firm in its decision requiring businessmen to have electronic cash register (ECR) machines. TRA Director for Taxpayer Education, Protas Mmanda, said in Dar es Salaam that businessmen were free to buy ECRs machines from anywhere in the world provided they meet TRA specifications. He was reacting to allegations raised by one "disappointed businessman" that TRA was promoting ECRs being sold by a company he did not name. UGANDA: ARMY TO ELIMINATE CORRUPTION, SAYS DEFENCE MINISTER http://www.transparency.org/cgi-bin/dcn-read.pl?citID=40230 Defence Minister Amama Mbabazi has said the army is seeking to achieve savings by eliminating wastage and corruption by instituting more efficient financial management systems. He said the army would prioritize its missions. Mbabazi was speaking at the opening of a South to South seminar meant to discuss the African experience on security sector transformations. UGANDA: COMPANY WARNED ABOUT BRIBE http://www.newvision.co.ug/detail.php?subCatId=6&subCatName=Front% 20Page&story=45846 The United States Department of Justice is reported to have alerted AES Corporation about the US$10,000 bribe a contractor in the Bujagali dam construction consortium gave a Ugandan official in 1999. “When the US Department of Justice tipped AES about the bribe, the company immediately instituted a probe into the allegations,” said a source. ZIMBABWE: $50 BILLION LOST IN MONEY LAUNDERING OVER LAST SIX YEARS http://www.transparency.org/cgi-bin/dcn-read.pl?citID=40240 An estimated US$1 billion has been laundered over the past six years in Zimbabwe, according to the National Economic Consultative Forum. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 5.HEALTH AFRICA: AIDS CONFERENCE CRY IS FOR 'MUCH MORE MONEY' http://allafrica.com/stories/200207090002.html On Barcelona's streets outside the Aids conference, treatment advocates, doctors and people with HIV/AIDS plan to stage "massive" protests. South Africa's Treatment Action Campaign chairman, Zackie Achmat, says that treatment advocates are also planning a "new pan-African treatment movement, demanding everything from vitamins to anti-retrovirals." The protests are just one sign that this may be the most complex of the Aids conferences since the first took place almost a decade and a half ago. And while much of the noise coming from the 14th Aids International Conference in Barcelona, Spain that began Sunday will be the sound of argument about how much weight to give treatment versus prevention, the real battle cry, raised by voices focused on prevention as well as treatment, is for much more money for the Aids fight. AFRICA: CALL FOR SUPPORT TO FIGHT AIDS IN AFRICA http://allafrica.com/stories/200207100004.html "It’s not knowledge that’s the barrier. It’s political wealth. The world stood by while AIDS overwhelmed Subsaharan Africa. Never again," said Peter Piot, executive director of UNAIDS, in an address to the International Aids Conference in Barcelona. AFRICA: CHALLENGE OF TREATMENT ACCESS The World Health Organisation (WHO) has thrown down a challenge to the international community at the AIDS 2002 conference in Barcelona this week, calling for three million people to have access to antiretroviral (ARV) therapy by 2005. WHO's goal represents half of the six million people who need treatment now, and a fraction of the 40 million currently living with the virus. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=8823 AFRICA: DOCTORS CALL FOR SUPPORT ON GENERICS http://www.msf.org/content/page.cfm?articleid=CACAC71B-FF8D-431C- B4E33789E5854491 Calling the lack of action taken by international governments to prevent the AIDS crisis a "crime against humanity", a group of doctors asked leaders at the International AIDS conference in Barcelona to stop debating cost-effectiveness and start providing more generic drugs to third world countries. AFRICA: THROW OPEN THE DOORS! - ACTIVIST OFFERS THE DRUG COMPANIES A DEAL http://www.aids2002.com/ViewArticle.asp?article=/T- CMS_Content/News/7112002030456AM.xml Zackie Achmat, the ailing South African AIDS activist, has called for drug companies to waive patent restrictions and throw open the doors to a competitive market in generic drugs throughout the developing world. “The partial price reductions and insufficient donations by drug companies will not assist in the long term to deal with the epidemic in a sustainable and an effective manner,” said Achmat, speaking to an Aids conference in Barcelona, Spain. AFRICA: WIDESPREAD INFECTION FROM AIDS VIRUS THREATENS TO DESTABILISE AFRICAN NATIONS http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/story.jsp?story=312977 The Aids virus threatens to destabilise entire nations in Africa, an international conference on the disease was warned this week. Ministers from Botswana told the 14th International Aids Conference that their country was facing "extinction" because nearly 40 per cent of adults were infected. Their warnings came as activists marched on the conference in Barcelona to demand that two million infected people in the developing world were guaranteed access to anti-Aids drugs. BURUNDI: HUMANITARIAN COMMUNITY TACKLES CHOLERA OUTBREAK http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=28696 The Burundi Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) presented on Monday a coordinated plan to counter the latest cholera outbreak, the UN agency reported. Two cholera-related deaths and 101 cases have been recorded since the outbreak began on 17 June in Bujumbura Mairie, the city centre. GAMBIA: WHO, UNICEF HELP IN THIRD MENINGITIS VACCINATION DRIVE http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=28702 A two-week mass vaccination exercise against meningitis, which kills hundreds of people in West Africa each year, began on Monday in The Gambia. KENYA: ACTIVISTS UNHAPPY WITH NEW HIV/AIDS LAW Activists in Kenya are seeking ways to reverse a new law which they say blocks the importation and local manufacture of much-needed cheaper, generic AIDS drugs. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=8733 KENYA: NEARLY 300 KILLED IN MALARIA EPIDEMIC The Kenyan authorities have given details of an outbreak of highland malaria, which has killed a total of 294 people since June. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=8848 NIGERIA: PROMOTING DUAL PROTECTION IN FAMILY PLANNING CLINICS IN IBADAN Research Paper http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/2808702.html Integrating dual-protection counseling and female condom provision into family planning services appears feasible, as is service providers' acceptance of dual- protection objectives. While providers and clients are key to transforming family planning to dual-protection services, the attitudes and behaviors of clients' male partners must be considered in gauging the success of the dual- protection intervention. SOUTH AFRICA/UGANDA: ARV TREATMENT CAN WORK IN POOR COMMUNITIES Two pilot antiretroviral (ARV) programmes, underway in South Africa and Uganda, have demonstrated that AIDS treatment campaigns are possible in poor communities. What's missing to scale-up these initiatives into national programmes is funding, and the political will, healthcare workers say. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=8730 TANZANIA: MALARIA DRUG CAUGHT UP IN SIDE EFFECT SCARE Tanzania's new first line drug for treating malaria, Sulphadoxine Pyrimethamine (SP), has been embroiled in a high profile media scare over its potential side effects. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=8767 /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 6.EDUCATION AND SOCIAL WELFARE AFRICA: A WORLD FIT FOR CHILDREN http://allafrica.com/stories/200207080482.html Eleven years ago, at the World Summit for Children, world leaders made a joint commitment and issued an urgent universal appeal to give every child a better future. Since then, much progress has been made. However, achievements and gains have been uneven, and many obstacles remain, particularly in developing countries. A brighter future for all has proved elusive, and overall gains have fallen short of national obligations and international commitments. AFRICA: NUMBER OF CHILDREN ORPHANED BY AIDS WILL RISE DRAMATICALLY http://www.hrea.org/lists/hr-headlines/markup/100702.php A major international report released at the XIV International AIDS Conference in Barcelona, Spain finds that an already grim global orphan crisis is set to get much worse as more and more adults with children die from AIDS, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. The report, Children on the Brink, calls for action at all levels to assist children, families and communities who are affected by the unprecedented emergency. KENYA: 22 000 TEACHERS NEEDED http://allafrica.com/stories/200207090608.html Kenya has a shortfall of 22,000 teachers in both primary and secondary schools. The shortfall will be reduced through recruitment beginning this month, the government says. KENYA: WHERE AIDS ORPHANS SEE PROSTITUTION AS A WAY OUT FOR A LIVING http://allafrica.com/stories/200207050008.html Prostitution is not a new trade in Rangwe, South Nyanza, but social workers are astounded by its meteoric rise in the height of the Aids pandemic. Nearly 500 orphaned girls in the district have become sex workers. "The epidemic has left them fending for themselves," says Ms Nereah Seda, a community worker. Neglected by relatives, their behaviour is reactive and reckless. NAMIBIA: PLIGHT OF ORPHANS IN SPOTLIGHT http://allafrica.com/stories/200207050099.html "Dumping" orphans into special child-care centres should only be considered as a last resort, it was agreed during Namibia's second national conference on the plight of orphans, held in Windhoek last week. WEST AFRICA: COCOA INDUSTRY MOVES AGAINST CHILD LABOUR http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=28645 Chocolate-manufacturing companies, NGOs and other stakeholders have set up an international foundation to eliminate child labour in West Africa's cocoa industry. ZIMBABWE: SCHOOL CLOSED AS ZANU PF MILITANTS BEAT UP TEACHERS FOR SUPPORTING OPPOSITION http://allafrica.com/stories/200207100256.html Mapanzure High School near Masvingo town was on Monday shut down indefinitely after some of the 50 teachers at the school were beaten up by suspected supporters of the ruling Zanu PF party. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 7.WOMEN AND GENDER AFRICA: ADVANCING WOMEN'S ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS http://www.whrnet.org/specialfocus.html This month, our Special Focus is on advancing women's economic, social and cultural rights. The section covers initiatives to highlight economic, social and cultural human rights (ESCRs) in gender-specific forums, as well as efforts to include gender perspectives in agendas and forums addressing ESCRs. Over the coming weeks, we will provide links to key documents and details of related projects and upcoming events. AFRICA: AIDS STALKS WOMEN http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/columnists/ny-vpcoc092777962jul09.column ? coll=ny%2Dopinion%2Dcolumnists The face of AIDS is female. The international conference on AIDS being held this week in Barcelona bares the truth. Women - heterosexual women in sanctioned relationships - are the world's chief victims of AIDS. They are not yet a majority of those who suffer from AIDS but they will be, and soon. Some 44 percent of those who are HIV-positive are now women, according to a United Nations report prepared for the conference. AFRICA: EMPOWERING WOMEN TO PREVENT HIV/AIDS As long as women were denied basic needs such as access to condoms and power to negotiate their sexual relationships, the HIV/AIDS epidemic would continue to increase, activists say. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=8738 AFRICA: ENDING BIAS KEY TO STOPPING SPREAD OF HIV TO WOMEN http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/967 Gender inequality is sometimes fatal, as people are learning this week at the International AIDS conference in Barcelona. In this, the third decade of the global AIDS pandemic, stigma against women infected with HIV/AIDS is one of the single greatest challenges that face us as we try to slow the spread of this deadly disease. GHANA: TWO-DAY WORKSHOP ON THE SITUATION OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN http://allafrica.com/stories/200207090824.html The Ministry of Women and Children Affairs yesterday began a two-day workshop on the situation of women and children in the country. The theme of the workshop "Promoting Gender Mainstreaming and Children's Rights Protection in Ghana" has the objective of creating a good working relationship between the ministry and the media to help educate the public on the harm of gender imbalances. LIBERIA: WOMEN PROTESTERS HOLD 700 OIL WORKERS HOSTAGE At least 150 women protesters have besieged Chevron-Texaco's main oil export facility in Nigeria's southern oil region to back demands for jobs for their children, company officials said on Wednesday. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=8822 MALAWI: GIRLS FACE OBSTACLES TO EDUCATION Girls in Malawi have to overcome a mountain of sometimes insurmountable obstacles if they hope to complete their education, a new study has found. The girls' battle to get an education falls within the shocking statistic that only 20 percent of Malawi's children complete primary school. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=8751 SOUTH AFRICA: RISKING DEATH TO STAY ALIVE http://www.aids2002.com/ViewArticle.asp?article=/T- CMS_Content/News/7112002123334AM.xml A third of all women canvassed at three ante-natal clinics in a study in Soweto, South Africa, admitted to having had “transactional sex” in return for food, clothing, transportation, school fees, cash or gifts for their children – and were HIV positive. SOUTH AFRICA: WOMEN IN NEW APARTHEID LAWSUIT http://allafrica.com/stories/200207080542.html Maverick US attorney Ed Fagan and a team of South African lawyers have lodged a new class action that categorises women and children as specific complainants in a multibillion-rand lawsuit against companies thought to have benefited during the apartheid era. UGANDA: POOR REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN IN MANAGEMENT http://allafrica.com/stories/200207100736.html Women are still poorly represented in management, a report from the Federation of Uganda employers released recently says. The report shows huge disparities in gender when it comes to management positions. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 8.REFUGEES AND FORCED MIGRATION ANGOLA: REFUGEES RETURNING, BUT LITTLE AID AVAILABLE http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=28668 "This is my motherland," said Pedro Mtondo, 27. "When I went to Zambia I went because of the war and now that I see my country is okay I want to come back - so I can do something so they can have a better life here." Between 8,000 and 10,000 former refugees are believed to have returned to Angola since the signing of a ceasefire between the Angolan government and the UNITA rebels on 4 April. BURUNDI-TANZANIA: DWINDLING NUMBERS OF REFUGEES OPTING FOR REPATRIATION http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=28698 An increasing number of Burundian refugees in camps in western Tanzania are "dropping out" of the repatriation process, despite having registered for it with the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). BURUNDI: FUNDING FOR BURUNDIAN REFUGEES FACES CRISIS IN TANZANIA http://www.newafrica.com/news/articlepg1.asp?ID=49292&countryid=49 Five camps hosting Burundian refugees in Kibondo, western Tanzania, face a severe funding crisis, greatly hampering the provision of adequate assistance, particularly in education, water and sanitation, a relief organisation told PANA Monday. DJIBOUTI: REFUGEES TO START REPATRIATING TO SOMALILAND Refugees will return from Djibouti to Somaliland on Saturday, the UN refugee agency UNHCR announced on Wednesday. It said these first voluntary repatriations were taking place after "long negotiations" between the Djibouti and Somaliland authorities. About 14,000 refugees - out of a total of 21,700 - have registered to return. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=8766 ETHIOPIA: DROUGHT LOOMS HIGH IN AFAR AS 500,000 PEOPLE ARE DISPLACED http://allafrica.com/stories/200207050536.html About 500,000 people have been displaced in Afar and are migrating to neighboring regions as an imminent drought is just around the corner due to the failure of rains for the past two years. ETHIOPIA: US DONATES MONEY FOR REFUGEE FEEDING Refugees in Ethiopia are to benefit from a US $1.7 million donation from the US government to help make up food shortages. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=8817 KENYA: OPERATIONS IN DADAAB CAMP TO CONTINUE, UNHCR SAYS The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has said it will continue to administer to refugees in Dadaab camp, northeastern Kenya, despite threats by local politicians who this week accused the agency of ignoring the welfare of local communities around camp. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=8765 NAMIBIA: HUNDREDS OF NAMIBIAN REFUGEES TO RETURN HOME http://www.newafrica.com/news/articlepg1.asp?ID=49275&countryid=7 Some 700 Namibian refugees from Botswana's Dukwi refugee camp are set to return home in August when the UN High Commissioner for Refugees completes preparation for their repatriation. UGANDA: UGANDA REBELS ATTACK U.N. REFUGEE CAMP, KILL SIX http://www.africantimes.com/articlepg1.asp?ID=49338 Rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) attacked a United Nations-run refugee camp in north western Uganda, killing five refugees and a government soldier, the U.N. said on Tuesday. WEST AFRICA: UNHCR SEEKS OVER US $10 MILLION FOR REFUGEES FROM LIBERIA http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=28701 In response to an outflow of refugees from Liberia into neighbouring countries, the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) asked donors on Friday for US $10.4 million to fund its emergency relief operations in the region. The bid for funds "comes amid increasing concern over the condition of tens of thousands of displaced Liberians and Sierra Leonean refugees caught up in the conflict", UNHCR spokesman Rod Redmond said in Geneva. "It also follows the arrival of more than 76,000 fresh Liberian refugees in neighbouring countries since the beginning of this year - an exodus continuing." /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 9.RACISM AND XENOPHOBIA SOUTH AFRICA: SAMWU WORKER KILLED IN RACIST ATTACK http://southafrica.indymedia.org/ Three workers were knocked down by a car when they were leaving a march, even though they were walking on the pavement. Other workers were around and said that an unidentified white man drove directly at them. One worker has been killed and the other two are in hospital. The driver tried to speed off but the other workers caught his number plate. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 10.ENVIRONMENT AFRICA: AFRICA NEEDS GREEN GROWTH TO FIGHT POLLUTION, SAYS U.N. http://enn.com/news/wire-stories/2002/07/07052002/reu_47735.asp Africans are likely to suffer increasing pollution, ill-health, and loss of farmland unless the continent adopts "clean" technologies and the world does more to fight global warming, the United Nations said last Thursday. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), releasing what it called the most authoritative assessment of Africa's environment ever produced, said many African countries were trying hard to protect their farms, coasts, jungles, and deserts. AFRICA: AFRICA WARNED OF LOOMING ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS http://www.scidev.net/frame3.asp?id=0407200217413649 Africa is likely to face increasing poverty, environmental decline and ill- health unless urgent action is taken to ensure that development takes environmental impacts into account, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)has warned. Soaring pollution levels, land degradation, droughts and wildlife losses are among the threats to the continent outlined in the UNEP report Africa Environment Outlook (AEO). In addition, climate change and the uncontrolled expansion of cities will have an increasing impact over the next three decades. AFRICA: LINK BETWEEN NORTHERN POLLUTION AND AFRICAN DROUGHT http://enn.com/news/enn-stories/2002/07/07112002/s_47612.asp The smokestacks of North American and European factories may have spawned the devastating droughts that killed millions of people in Ethiopia and other parts of the Sahel region of Africa. Scientists have been puzzled about the source of the 40-year dry spell, among the most severe in recorded history. Now a global climate model developed by Leon Rotstayn of CSIRO Australia and Ulrike Lohmann of Dalhousie University in Canada appears to link the two phenomena. AFRICA: WORLD SEEN FACING SLUMP AS NATURAL RESOURCES RUN OUT http://enn.com/news/wire-stories/2002/07/07102002/reu_47786.asp Humanity is heading for a sharp drop in living standards by the middle of the century unless it stops its massive depletion of the Earth's natural resources, according to a report issued Tuesday. Titled "Living Planet Report 2002," the study said there was so much pressure on water supplies, forests, land, and energy sources that within 150 years the planet's riches could be exhausted and temperatures pushed inexorably upwards. WWF figures show while rich nations draw heavily on Earth's resources, people in poor African states eke out an existence without using all that is available to them within their national borders. BURKINA FASO: OPERATION LAUNCHED TO INDUCE RAIN http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=28747 Hard hit by insufficient rainfall, Burkina Faso launched on Tuesday "Operation Saaga" in which it is using two planes to drop chemicals into the clouds to induce rain. "Saaga" means rain in local languages. ETHIOPIA: RARE ETHIOPIAN WOLF AT RISK http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=28686 The Ethiopian wolf - one of the rarest animals in the world - is being threatened by farmers using poisons to protect their livestock, campaigners told IRIN on Monday. It is the first time that the wolves, listed by the World Conservation Union as "critically endangered", have been killed as a result of poisoning. Conservationists blame poison for wiping out most other wildlife in the country, such as lions. GAMBIA: CRD FORESTRY PROJECT A DREAM COME TRUE http://allafrica.com/stories/200207080481.html The formerly thick forests of The Gambia have been degraded and reduced during the last century because of large-scale destruction through bush fire, exploitation of forestry resources and cultivation. Because of this development, the government reacted in the early eighties in the western parts of the country through the Gambian-German Forestry Project (GGFP) and in 1996 a forestry project was started. NIGERIA: 'ECOLOGY WILL WORSEN IN 30 YEARS ' http://allafrica.com/stories/200207100677.html The ecological situation in Nigeria will make life unbearable for future generations if an adequate and systematic approach to land degradation is not seriously tackled, Governor Umar Musa Yar'Adua of Katsina State said during the launching of the state "Operation Keep Katsina Clean." SOUTH AFRICA: SOUTH AFRICA WAGES WAR ON WATER-SUCKING INVADERS http://enn.com/news/wire-stories/2002/07/07092002/reu_47763.asp Armed with machetes and escorted by comrades toting assault rifles, the group thrusts into the bush singing and shouting. It could be mistaken for a lynch mob, but the quarry is actually an invasive plant: the innocuous-looking prickly pear, which resembles a green cactus. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 11.MEDIA AFRICA: IFJ MOURNS LOSS OF UNION LEADER The International Federation of Journalists has expressed sadness at the "tragic loss" of Angels Banda, President of the Zambian Union of Journalists, as well as the first President of the Southern Africa Journalists Association that was launched last year. Angels Banda was killed on Friday in a car accident while attending a union-backed seminar near Lusaka. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=8855 BOTSWANA: RADIO STATION, PRESENTER SUED Popular Gabz FM radio presenter and MISA-Botswana Chairperson Solomon Monyame and Gabz FM management have been jointly sued for the sum of Botswana Pula 1.7 million (approx. US$279,330) in damages over announcements broadcast on the station's breakfast show on 6 June 2002. On 6 June, Monyame announced between 6:45 and 6:55 a.m. (local time) that he would interview Radio Botswana 2 (RB2) announcer Gloria Kgosi on allegations that she was harassed by Botsalo Ntuane, executive secretary of the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), on RB2's premises, thus delaying the airing of the national news by seven minutes. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=8856 CONGO REPUBLIC: SENIOR POLICE OFFICIAL THREATENS JOURNALIST Colonel Jean François Denguet, Police Services director-general, recently threatened to kill Radio France Internationale (RFI) and RSF correspondent Alain Shungu. The incident took place in Brazzaville. The death threat followed the publication of an article in which it was reported that the colonel banned a meeting that had been organised by opposition leader André Milongo in Makélélé. In addition, the colonel also threatened to personally contact the Communications Ministry and see to it that the journalist's accreditation was revoked. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=8853 ERITREA: LETTER TO PRESIDENT AFEWORKI International PEN, the world association of writers representing members in 95 countries, is deeply concerned about the continued detention of the journalists Yusuf Mohamed Ali, Mattewos Habteab, Dawit Habtemichael, Medhanie Haile, Temesken Ghebreyesus, Emanuel Asrat, Adowit Isaac, Fesshaye Yohannes, Said Abdelkader, Selayinghes Beyene, Simret Seyoum and Fitzum Wedi Ade. All the detentions took place in the aftermath of the closure of the private press on 18 September 2001. International PEN considers the prolonged detention of the journalists without trial to be thoroughly alarming, and is particularly concerned by the transfer of the nine journalists on hunger strike to undisclosed locations. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=8843 ETHIOPIA: TWO EDITORS RELEASED ON BAIL Melese Shine, editor-in-chief of the weekly "Ethiop", was released on bail of 12,000 birr (approx. US$1,440) on 25 June 2002. He had been detained since 19 March when he was charged with publishing and disseminating an article defaming the head of government, and publishing an interview with an alleged member of an illegal group. Gizaw Taye, the editor-in-chief of the "Lamrot" newspaper, was also released on bail on 24 June. He had been held since 15 March on press charges. It is estimated that there are at least 80 such cases waiting to go to trial involving journalists. Lubaba Said, the former editor-in-chief of the "Tarik" newspaper, continues to serve her one-year sentence handed down on 3 April for "fabricating news that could have a negative psychological effect on members of the armed forces and disturb the minds of the people". Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=8852 IFJ OUTLINES CHALLENGE OF GLOBALISATION FOR WORLD SUMMIT ON INFORMATION The International Federation of Journalists, the world's largest organisation of journalists, set out its action plan for the UN World Summit on Information Society to take place in Geneva in 2003 and Tunis in 2005, and called for globalisation to respect social and professional rights of journalists. The Swiss Federation of Journalists (SFJ), representing the IFJ during the Preparatory Committee for Civil Society from 1 to 5 July 2002 in Geneva, introduced the position of journalists during a working session on media professionals. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=8854 LIBERIA: LEADING JOURNALIST FEARED DEAD AMID CRACKDOWN ON MEDIA Freedom-of-expression organisations have raised concerns over the fate of Hassan Bility, a prominent Liberian newspaper editor. The journalist is missing and feared dead, say the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF), while Human Rights Watch (HRW) is concerned that he may be at risk of torture and ill-treatment. Bility, the editor of the independent weekly "The Analyst," was arrested on 24 June, together with three other Liberians, on suspicion of operating a rebel terrorist cell in Monrovia, says HRW. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=8842 MALAWI: REGULATORY AUTHORITY BACK-PEDALS ON THREAT TO RADIO STATION The Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) has back-pedalled on its recently issued threat that the Malawi Institute of Journalism radio station (MIJ FM) risked losing its broadcasting licence for what MACRA described as anomalies and bias in its reporting. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=8844 MAURITANIA: NEWSPAPER CENSORED BY THE AUTHORITIES The latest issue of the weekly newspaper "La Tribune" has been banned, apparently because it contained criticism of recent government efforts to interfere with the election of the president of the national bar association. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=8840 NIGERIA: PANEL BARS JOURNALISTS Journalists have been barred from the proceedings of the Justice Bolarinwa Babalakin panel set up by the National Judicial council (NJC), to probe the bribery allegation leveled by the former Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. General Ishaya Bamaiyi, and his co-accused against a Lagos High Court Judge, Justice Augustine Ade-Alabi. It was the second time that journalists would be barred from the panel's sitting. Newsmen had earlier on April 1 been asked out of the venue of the panel's sitting at Kirikiri prisons, Lagos. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=8857 /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 12.DEVELOPMENT AFRICA: ENGAGEMENT WITH NEPAD, AU A PRIORITY Civil society have resolved that continued engagement with the African Union and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad) must be an “ongoing priority”. “African unity and development have long been a vision of African people. African civil society, therefore, resolves to be vigilant in ensuring that African leaders remain true to their commitments as enunciated in both the Constitutive Act of the AU and the principles of the NEPAD process.” This was the conclusion of a meeting of representatives of African civil society organisations (CSOs), meeting in Durban, South Africa from 1 to 2 July. The meeting was held to discuss the role of CSOs with respect to the African Union (AU) and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=8760 AFRICA: THE ECONOMICS OF HIV IN AFRICA http://www.msf.org/content/page.cfm?articleid=46CF6FAC-D98B-448A- A63C797C070B88B5 The G8 leaders allocated US$6 billion to Africa, not all of it new, and a paltry sum compared with the US$40-50 billion annually that the World Bank estimates is needed. Unfortunately Africa, and hence AIDS, seems to have dropped down the G8 leaders' list of priorities. The summit chairman, Jean Chrétien, put fighting terrorism first on his list of achievements of the summit. This reordering of priorities does not make sense. The scale of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and its economic implications, are given in the UNAIDS document, Report on the global HIV/AIDS epidemic, prepared for the 2002 AIDS conference taking place in Barcelona, Spain. MALAWI: IMF BOSS BLAMES WORLD BANK AND EU FOR MALAWI BLUNDER http://www.jubileeplus.org/worldnews/africa/malawi040702.htm Ratcheting up the debate over how and why Malawi sold its emergency food supply, the chief of the IMF has told British parliamentarians that the fault lay with the World Bank and the European Union. MOZAMBIQUE: DEBT RELIEF PROVIDES A GLIMMER OF HOPE http://allafrica.com/stories/200207080099.html The government of Mozambique is breathing a little easier these days. In May, the Southern African nation was forgiven over $730 million in debt. Britain, Italy, Germany and oil-producing Opec nations cancelled the sum under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) programme administered by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. SOUTH AFRICA: 'DEBATEABLE' ROLE IN WTO EXAMINED http://www.tni.org/ In the context of widespread criticism of the WTO , South Africa chose to project itself internationally as the "bridge between the developed and the developing world". But within South Africa, government spokespersons have been proudly proclaiming South Africa's "leadership role" in the WTO "in the best interests of the developing world". As the evidence in this analysis shows, it is highly debateable whether this self proclaimed "leading role" is a reality among developing countries. SOUTH AFRICA: WHEN PRIVATISED WATER BECOMES TOO EXPENSIVE http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/news/white_gold.htm Just down the road from the wealthy Johannesburg suburb of Sandton, home to the World Summit on Sustainable Development 2002 venue, a human and environmental tragedy is being played out that has nothing to do with sustainability and everything to do with big business’ push for profits at any cost. Though just a few miles from Sandton, Alexandra is not a wealthy suburb. It could fairly be called a shanty-town; a settlement of largely self-built homes of poor black Africans, hardly changed since the apartheid era, where unemployment and AIDS are rife. Some of the homes have mains water, but since the city’s water services were sold off to French-based multinational Suez (formerly Suez Lyonnaise) the bills have tripled and many people can no longer afford to keep the water flowing. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 13.INTERNET AND TECHNOLOGY HALF THE WORLD http://www.shirky.com/writings/half_the_world.html Clay Shirky makes some interesting observations about telecommunications myths in the developing world."Something incredibly good is happening in parts of the world with dynamic economies, and that is what people concerned with the digital divide should be thinking about. If the world's poor are to be served by better telecommunications infrastructure, there are obvious things to be done." KENYA: IT SUMMIT AIMS TO DRIVE TECHNOLOGY More than 500 IT and telecoms professionals and policy makers from across the continent are expected to attend the fourth annual African Computing and Telecommunications summit. SOUTH AFRICA: CRAY SUPERCOMPUTER FOR HIV AND GENOME RESEARCH http://allafrica.com/stories/200207090009.html The first supercomputer in Africa devoted specifically to research was officially switched on at the University of the Western Cape on Monday by Education Minister Kader Asmal. UGANDAN INTERNET & MOBILE USE SOARS http://www.nua.com/surveys/?f=VS&art_id=905358141&rel=true The East African reports that the communications sector in Uganda is growing rapidly. According to the National Information and Communication Technology Policy, the number of mobile phone subscribers in Uganda grew from 3,500 in 1996 to the current total of 360,000. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 14.eNEWSLETTERS AND MAILING LISTS EMAIL SERVICE WITH A FOCUS ON FUNDING http://www.chapel-york.com Chapel & York's email-Information Service helps you find the resources you need from amongst the vast amounts of information available for charities, non- profits, & NGOs on-line. The focus is on new funding information, and international and cross-boarder funding. POPULATION AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH PORTAL http://www.developmentgateway.org/pop The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Development Gateway Foundation have launched the Population and Reproductive Health Internet Portal, a community-built database of shared population information, including data, research, projects, ideas and dialogue. Visitors to the website are able to sign up for free membership, which entitles them to receive regular updates on new resources that are added. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 15.FUNDRAISING DONORS AGREE TO FUND IDA PROGRAMME http://allafrica.com/stories/200207080617.html Donor countries have agreed on a three-year plan to fund the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA) programme. According to a World Bank Group statement, approximately US $23 billion in resources would be made available during the three years, of which almost US $13 billion would come from new contributions from 39 donor countries. GHANA: US GIVES $185,000 TO FIVE ORGANISATIONS http://allafrica.com/stories/200207080730.html The United States Government has given an amount of $185,000 to fund the activities of five Ghanaian organisations to deal with violence against women and children. OPEC TO DONATE $8.1 MILLION TO 12 AFRICAN NATIONS FOR HIV/AIDS EFFORTS http://allafrica.com/stories/200207080770.html The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will give $8.1 million to 12 African nations to fight HIV/AIDS. The money will be awarded to World Health Organization projects in Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Togo, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. SOUTH AFRICA: HIGH SCHOOL GIVEN A NEW COAT http://www.dispatch.co.za/2002/07/08/easterncape/COAT.HTM Volunteers from the Umsobomvu Youth Fund changed the dull face of the historic St Matthew's High School last week by giving it a fresh coat of paint as a symbol of hope. The fund is working with the Eastern Cape Provincial Council of Churches on the St Matthew's R40000 project -- its biggest project in the country. SOUTHERN AFRICA: DONORS RESPOND TO APPEAL http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp? ReportID=28693&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=SOUTHERN_AFRICA Donors have begun to respond to the World Food Programme's (WFP) massive US $500 million appeal for the millions in need of food aid in six Southern African countries. The United Kingdom had donated US $28.1 million, Canada nearly US $1 million and the Netherlands US $500,000. ZAMBIA: COPPERBELT INDIAN BUSINESS COMMUNITY DONATES TO THE MMCI http://www.zana.gov.zm/news/viewnews.cgi?category=7&id=1025963986 The Copperbelt Indian business community has donated medicines worth k10 million and 60 blankets to the Maureen Mwanawasa community initiative (MMCI). ZAMBIA: MCCI DONATES TO KABWE GENERAL HOSPITAL http://www.zana.gov.zm/news/viewnews.cgi?category=7&id=1025110411 The Maureen Mwanawasa community initiative (MMCI) has donated hospital equipment and accessories worth us$300,000 dollars to Kabwe general hospital. The MCCI also donated medicine and mattresses worth K21 million to the children's ward at Kabwe general hospital. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 16.COURSES, SEMINARS, AND WORKSHOPS POVERTY ALLEVIATION, EMPLOYMENT PROMOTION AND GENDER EQUALITY The International Training Centre of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) based in Turin, Italy in collaboration with the Commission on Gender Equality (CGE) South Africa is offering an on-line distance learning programme of 12-weeks duration. Twenty participants will be registered on the three- module programme, running from 15 August to 15 November. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=8728 SOUTH AFRICA: EXECUTIVE COURSE IN POLICY RESEARCH http://watt.sn.apc.org/public/sn-announce/msg00310.html As a public policy researcher or analyst, are you able to describe a problem meaningfully, eliminate irrelevant material, say it with numbers, and focus on the central, critical factors? This course is meant to assist you in defining policy problems in a way that eliminates ambiguity. SOUTH AFRICA: HTML AND WEB PUBLISHING COURSE http://watt.sn.apc.org/public/sn-announce/msg00313.html This 2-day course will enable participants to create a basic website, maintain their organisations' websites - add content to existing pages, add new pages, adapt a site's design, and develop the content and structure of a website. WOMEN CELEBRATING THE RIGHT TO HEALTHY MINDS, BODIES AND SOULS African health rights activists and researchers from all sub-regions of the continent will meet to discuss issues with policy makers and health service providers -- bringing a forum for debate on some of the most critical issues of Gender and Health in Africa between 4 and 7 February, 2003 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=8810 WORKSHOP ON SCIENCE COMMUNICATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT SciDev.Net is holding a four-day workshop in Entebbe, Uganda between 29 September and 3 October on Science Communication for Sustainable Development. It will bring together a group of scientists, public relations officers, print and radio/TV journalists along with professionals from academies of science, government departments, science and technology policy institutions and non- governmental organisations. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=8811 /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 17.ADVOCACY RESOURCES SUDAN: DETAINEES SUBJECTED TO TORTURE The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Sudan Organisation Against Torture (SOAT), a member of the OMCT network, that 35 detainees from the Rizeigat tribe, including three children, were subjected to torture and are now awaiting their sentences following an unfair trial in Darfour Province, Sudan. The OMCT requests that you write to the authorities in Sudan protesting the treatment. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=8860 /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 18.JOBS ADMINISTRATOR / OFFICE MANAGER MISA MISA, a media advocacy organisation whose objective is to promote media freedom, diversity and pluralism is seeking to fill the position of Administrator/Office Manager. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=8741 ETHIOPIA: PROJECT MANAGER Save The Children Canada http://www.fpa.org/jobs_contact2423/jobs_contact_show.htm?doc_id=115291 Since 1996, Save the Children Canada and UK have been jointly implementing a capacity building project with the Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission (DPPC) of the Government of Ethiopia, to strengthen disaster management capacity. The Project Manager is responsible for overall leadership and management of the project, including project design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. MALI: PROGRAMME MANAGER Islamic Relief http://www.fpa.org/jobs_contact2423/jobs_contact_show.htm?doc_id=115286 Established in 1984 in the UK, Islamic Relief is an international NGO seeking to promote sustainable economic and social development by working with local communities - regardless of race, religion or gender - through relief and development activities. We are active in Mali since 1998. Currently, our activities are being implemented in both development and emergency fields. We require an experienced and skilled Programme Manager for our Mali office. NAIROBI: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ACORD ACORD is looking for a new Executive Director to be responsible for the strategic leadership and overall organisational management of all areas of ACORD’s work. S/He will continue the process of change we have been undergoing. This involves changing the focus of our programming to working with communities and social movements in both the North and South and using advocacy and research as tools for change. We are relocating the secretariat from the UK to Africa by the end of 2004 and increasing the status, skills and responsibility of our Programme Managers to strategically manage their programmes. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=8745 NAIROBI: PROGRAMMING DIRECTOR ACORD We are looking for a dynamic person to manage the delivery of all aspects of its programming across 18 countries in Africa and through four cross-cutting thematic programmes and a global programme which gives the overall strategic framework to our programming. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=8746 NIGERIA: PEACE AND JUSTICE PROGRAM OFFICER Ford Foundation http://www.fpa.org/jobs_contact2423/jobs_contact_show.htm?doc_id=114852 Working with the representative in Lagos and other Ford Foundation staff, the Program Officer will be responsible for the Foundation's West Africa programming on human rights issues in the region. SOUTH AFRICA: HELPERS NEEDED FOR WSSD http://watt.sn.apc.org/public/sn-jobs/msg00215.html Talent Consortium is looking for helpers to staff exhibition stands at the upcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development. SOUTH AFRICA: SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR http://watt.sn.apc.org/public/sn-jobs/msg00216.html The Electoral Institute of Southern Africa (EISA) is looking for a Systems Administrator. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 19.BOOKS AND ARTS NEW WAVE OF AFRICAN FILMS ATTRACTS AUDIENCES IN CANADA Calgary Africa Film Festival In June 2002, a small, but well selected festival of African cinema, showed that the new wave of African filmmaking is yielding excellent quality that can attract world audiences. In the days preceding the G8 meeting of the political leaders of the world's wealthiest countries, in Kananaskis, Canada, a festival of African films & music helped to raise consciousness about issues concerning Africa. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=8740 THE ASSASSINATION OF LUMUMBA Ludo Do Witte http://versobooks.com/books/cdef/de_witte_lumumba.shtml Patrice Lumumba, first prime minister of the Republic of Congo and a pioneer of African unity, was murdered on 17 January 1961. Lumumba was at the centre of the country’s popular defiance towards the relentless exploitation of its Belgian coloniser. When independence was finally won in June 1960, his unscheduled speech at the official ceremonies in Kinshasa, which described Belgian rule as "a humiliating slavery imposed by brute force," received a standing ovation and made him a hero to millions. Within months he was arrested, tortured and executed. This book unravels the appalling mass of lies and betrayals that have surrounded accounts of the murder. THE NO-NONSENSE GUIDE TO FAIR TRADE David Ransom http://versobooks.com/books/nopqrs/ransom_nng_fair_trade.shtml The uproar at the World Trade Organization conference in Seattle focused attention on the conflict between the mainly western-owned global corporations and the poorer nations whose natural resources and cheap manpower sustain corporate profits, and who are also the unwilling purchasers of overpriced and inappropriate goods. In this book David Ransom vividly reveals the realities of trade as experienced by coffee-growers in Central America or the workers making jeans in Bangladesh sweatshops. He examines the roles played by the WTO, UNCTAD, ILO, IMF, G7, and other powerful organisations hiding behind bland initials. Even when their motives are benevolent, he argues, their activities are often inadequate and misguided. THE NO-NONSENSE GUIDE TO GLOBALIZATION Wayne Ellwood http://versobooks.com/books/cdef/ellwood_nng_global.shtml Globalisation: it’s a buzzword you can’t escape. For some it’s the ticket to a democratic world of instant communications and global prosperity. For others it’s a money-mad juggernaut, spinning wildly out of control, threatening both cultural and biological diversity. Today the Western consumer model has seeped into every corner of the globe while gaps in wealth, food security and social provision continue to grow. The No-Nonsense Guide to Globalisation traces the journey towards a borderless world. And in the process it shows that the promise of globalisation is seductive, powerful, and ultimately hollow. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 20.LETTERS AND COMMENTS ISMAIL OLAWALE Stockholm International Peace Research Institute Please subscribe me. As an African, I am interested in keeping pace with events on the African continent. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ THIS NEWSLETTER IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY FAHAMU, KABISSA, AND SANGONET Fahamu - learning for change Unit 14, Standingford House, Cave Street, Oxford OX4 1BA, UK [log in to unmask] http://www.fahamu.org Kabissa - Space for change in Africa 24 Philadelphia Avenue, Takoma Park, MD 20912, USA [log in to unmask] http://www.kabissa.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. 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