PAMBAZUKA NEWS 114: FROM RHETORIC INTO REALITY - THREE STEPS TO END CHILD SOLDIERING
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 [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the web address (usually starting with http://) in the body of your message. Want to get off our subscriber list? Write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and your address will be removed immediately! /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 1.EDITORIAL FROM RHETORIC INTO REALITY - THREE STEPS TO END CHILD SOLDIERING Christina Clark Recent years have witnessed a growing international consensus on the illegality and immorality of recruiting and using children as soldiers. Child protection advocates have worked to strengthen international legal standards, based on an underlying assumption that a child-oriented body of international law will help to counter the culture of impunity surrounding crimes against children. However, international law is not enough; more effective implementation is required to end child soldiering. International legal standards and child soldiering The prohibition on all recruitment of children under the age of 15 into both armed forces and armed groups has acquired a customary international law status. It is therefore binding on all armed forces and armed groups regardless of whether the State is a party to specific international treaties, or even if there is no State. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) allows for prosecution of those who recruit and use child soldiers. The Statute defines as a war crime the recruitment and use in hostilities of children under the age of 15 by any armed force or armed group, in both international and non-international armed conflicts. Moreover, it includes sexual slavery as a crime against humanity. This is important as some child soldiers are also forcibly held and used as sex slaves. The ICC has jurisdiction over crimes committed after the entry into force of the Rome Statute, on the territory of, and by nationals of, all State parties. There is increasing international consensus on the prohibition of conscription or forced recruitment of children under 18. This higher standard is embodied in the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict (Optional Protocol), the International Labour Organisation Convention 182 (ILO 182) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC). Challenges to implementation While these legal developments do set important standards of child protection, too often they do not effectively prevent child soldiering, because of inadequate implementation. In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), for example, all parties to the conflict continue to recruit and use children, some as young as nine, despite a prohibition on under-18 recruitment. What steps can be taken to prevent continued child soldiering in violation of international law? 1. Knowledge of children's rights and/or capacity to assert them Where children, families and communities are unaware of children's rights, they are not empowered to resist child recruitment. Sensitization and public education are important advocacy and prevention tools. Moreover, child rights training sessions with governments and armed groups will help them to understand their commitments, translating legal treaty provisions into practical terms. However, social awareness is not enough. Efforts must also be made to address "push" factors for child soldiering, rooted in poverty, militarisation of society and break-down of social structures. These issues go beyond a narrow focus on the legal abolition of child soldiering, to broader development and peace building efforts. 2. Monitoring and reporting Child recruiters more readily violate international law if they feel they act outside public scrutiny. In response, several initiatives have been undertaken recently to gather data on the recruitment and use of children. Monitoring and reporting are inherently difficult, because of political sensitivities, limited access to affected populations and generalised break-down in infrastructure due to war. While precise figures are often difficult to obtain, trends and patterns can highlight problems and motivate appropriate actions for redress. In November 2002, the Secretary General produced a list of parties to armed conflict on the Security Council agenda that continue to recruit and use children as soldiers in violation of international obligations. Based on the provisions of Security Council Resolution 1379, the list was limited, but a significant precedent in publicly "naming and shaming" child recruiters. Subsequently, Security Council Resolution 1460 called for on-going monitoring of parties on the list and other groups of concern, as well as proposals for more effective monitoring and reporting within the UN system. The impact of the weight of national and international public opinion on recruitment behaviour will vary from group to group. At the governmental level, regimes that are heavily dependent on international aid and/or domestic support will likely be more concerned with tarnishing their image, while "rogue states" and strong, repressive regimes may be less susceptible to public pressure. Similarly, non-state armed groups tend to react to public scrutiny of their actions in a way that reflects their ultimate aims. For example, the Rassemblement pour la démocratie-Goma (RCD-Goma) perceives itself as the legitimate authority in eastern DRC. As a "government in waiting", the RCD-Goma has publicly stated on numerous occasions its intention not to recruit child soldiers, and to cooperate with international agencies in demobilising some child soldiers within its ranks. On the other hand, the Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army is intent on fulfilling its interpretation of a higher spiritual calling; therefore, it is less concerned with international and domestic public opinion and regularly commits atrocities against civilian populations, including the abduction and brutalisation of children for military purposes. 3. Accountability Unless the international community acts upon information obtained through monitoring and reporting, child recruiters will be tempted to limit actions to public relations exercises, without effectively changing the situation on the ground. In the DRC, for example, the government demobilised less than 200 child soldiers in a high profile ceremony, but kept thousands more children within its ranks. The RCD-Goma has tracked demobilised children, re-recruiting them once they have left the safety of rehabilitation centres. Where clear evidence of child soldiering exists, it is important that perpetrators are brought to account. In Resolution 1460, the UN Security Council endorsed the Secretary General's call for an "era of application" and expressed its intention to "enter into dialogue" with parties guilty of child soldiering "in order to develop clear and time bound actions to end this practice". The Special Court for Sierra Leone has set an important precedent by indicting several men accused of conscripting and enlisting children under the age of 15 years into their groups or using them to participate in hostilities, enslavement, pillage, intentionally directing attacks against humanitarian personnel or peacekeepers, unlawful killings, abductions and hostage-taking. Members of the international community have also called for leaders of groups that recruit and use children in the DRC to be declared war criminals and prosecuted by the ICC. In formal judicial processes, prosecutors only have the capacity to bring to justice those who bear the greatest responsibility for the most serious crimes. It is therefore important that crimes against children are also mainstreamed in parallel reconciliation processes. Truth Commissions in South Africa and Sierra Leone, for example, have specifically addressed violence against and by children. Traditional justice processes, based at the community level within the socio-political sphere governed by village elders and chiefs, should also be conducted in a child-sensitive way. Moreover, traditional cleansing and healing ceremonies in Angola, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and Uganda have allowed some communities to recognise and assuage the guilt that child soldiers carry. In all accountability processes, appropriate and meaningful child participation should be incorporated. This requires careful reflection on the ways in which children have been involved in, and impacted by, conflict. The best interests of the child should be the guiding principle in discussions surrounding juvenile justice for child soldiers accused of war crimes, and participation of child witnesses in formal judicial processes. Conclusion Increasing international momentum has led to the criminalization of the recruitment and use of children as soldiers. This legal progress must be matched by practical implementation. This is a multi-step process involving increased community sensitization and public awareness; adequate monitoring and reporting; and accountability processes for child recruiters. The increasingly robust body of international law prohibiting child soldiers is an accomplishment, but not an end in itself. More must be done to translate this rhetoric into reality. * Christina Clark is Programme Officer for Africa at the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers. This editorial is written in her personal capacity and should not be attributed to the Coalition or its members. * Please send comments to [EMAIL PROTECTED] * An estimated 1.2 million children - both boys and girls - are trafficked each year into exploitative work in agriculture, mining, factories, armed conflict or commercial sex work. World Day Against Child Labour on June 12 aims to focus attention on trafficking in children to prevent and stop the practice. Visit http://www.ilo.int/public/english/bureau/inf/events/cl2003/index.htm for more information. * In Soweto South Africa, thousands of black school children took to the streets in 1976 to protest against apartheid education policies. Hundreds were shot down. In the two weeks of protest that followed, more than a hundred people were killed and more than a thousand were injured. To honour the memory of those killed and the courage of all those who marched, the Day of the African Child has been celebrated on 16 June every year since 1991, when it was first initiated by the Organisation of African Unity. The Day also draws attention to the lives of African children today. To find out more about this year's Day of the African Child visit http://www.unicef.org/noteworthy/day-african-child/. SUPPORT FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: SIGN THE CREDO AND FAHAMU PETITION CREDO for Freedom of Expression and Associated Rights and Fahamu have launched a petition calling on African Union Heads of State to release all incarcerated journalists and repeal all anti freedom of expression legislation. The petition is to be presented at the African Union meeting of Heads of State in Maputo in July and is addressed to President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, the current Chair of the AU. Click on the link below to read the full letter and join the petition. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15668 /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 2.CONFLICT, EMERGENCIES, AND CRISES AFRICA: CONFLICT, UNREST AFFLICT SEVERAL NATIONS ON AFRICAN CONTINENT http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/134965228_africa11.html In one of several conflicts reaching a boiling point across Africa, gunfire and explosions rattled the Liberian capital this week. In civil-war ravaged Congo, meanwhile, French peacekeepers arrived, and the United States welcomed the failure of a coup in Mauritania. And in Zimbabwe, an opposition leader was ordered held in custody on charges of inciting protests aimed at toppling President Robert Mugabe. AFRICA: WORLD LEAVES AFRICA PEACEKEEPING TO THE POOR http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=18619 The United Nations is trying to prevent a major humanitarian disaster in Central and West Africa by dispatching a battalion of diplomats and a contingent of peacekeepers to the politically troubled continent. But non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and peace activists say the international community is doing too little too late to prevent the spreading crises in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ivory Coast, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, Burundi and the Central African Republic. BURUNDI: U.N. CONGO-BURUNDI MISSION SHOULD PRIORITISE CIVILIAN PROTECTION The U.N. Security Council must focus on wartime violence against civilians in its upcoming mission to the Great Lakes region of Africa, Human Rights Watch said in a press release. In an open letter to the Security Council, Human Rights Watch also urged the Council to raise the need for justice for abuses with the leaders in the region. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15537 DRC: CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE DIAMOND INDUSTRY http://partnershipafricacanada.org/index.shtml The United Nations Security Council must as a matter of priority address the issue of conflict diamonds in the DRC, says a new report from Partnership Africa Canada (PAC) on the diamonds trade. PAC recommended that the UN Security Council embargo all unofficial diamond exports from the DRC, and insist that the Kimberley Process develop a more rigorous approach to statistics and monitoring. PAC further recommended that civil society organisations take an active role in promoting a Publish What You Pay campaign. "The sooner there is consensus on basic corporate transparency in developing countries, the sooner corruption can be diminished." said the report. DRC: NEW FIGHTING FLARES http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2980922.stm A new round of clashes has broken out in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as United Nations troops deploy to stop bitter ethnic fighting in the town of Bunia. The latest fighting is in North Kivu province between the rebel RCD-Goma and the RCD-ML groups, a separate conflict to that between ethnic Hema and Lendu militias around Bunia. LIBERIA: DESPERATE SITUATION IN MONROVIA http://allafrica.com/stories/200306100132.html As virtually all international embassy, business, and non-governmental agency staff evacuate Monrovia, Liberians find themselves in an increasingly desperate situation in the capital, Monrovia, according to the independent medical aid organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Fighting continues for the fourth consecutive day, and there is no functioning water supply, hospitals have no electricity or other source of energy, and Monrovians are now fleeing their homes to find safety elsewhere. LIBERIA: TALKS IN GHANA DELAYED AS WEST AFRICA PURSUES A TRUCE http://allafrica.com/stories/200306100643.html With fighting intensifying in Liberia, the peace conference that opened here last week has taken a pause while West African leaders seek to broker a truce between the warring parties. On Monday, Ghana's Minister of Foreign Affairs Nana Akufo-Addo and Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, executive secretary of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) left Accra in search of a ceasefire. Chambas said they would stop in the Sierra Leonean capital Freetown and spend the night in Conakry, Guinea, before heading to Monrovia Tuesday. Related Link: * BBC Country Profile http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/1043500.stm * Botched Taylor arrest embarrassing http://www.ghanaian-chronicle.com/230606/page1.htm LIBERIA: TAYLOR AGREES TO STOP FIGHTING AGAINST REBELS http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34691 A day after calling on the United Nations to deploy a peacekeeping force in Liberia, President Charles Taylor on Wednesday agreed to cease hostilities against rebels who control the western suburbs of the capital, Monrovia, paving way for ceasefire discussions. MALAWI: FOOD DISTRIBUTIONS CONTINUE IN DROUGHT STRICKEN MALAWI http://www.redcross.org/news/in/africa/030604malawi.html The lack of rain has affected the agricultural productivity of the entire southern Africa region. In Malawi the food crisis has been particularly devastating as drought conditions alternated by floods and the selling off of government grain reserves have left Malawian farmers in dire straits. MAURITANIA: OULD TAYA SURVIVES COUP ATTEMPT http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34631 Mauritanian President Maaouiya Sid Ahmed Ould Taya took to the airwaves on Monday to praise loyal army units for seeing off a coup attempt which led to two days of heavy fighting in the capital. Less than 24 hours earlier, Ould Taya appeared to have been ousted as rebel forces took over the presidential palace after launching a coup early on Sunday morning. SOMALIA: RENEWED FIGHTING IN MOGADISHU, AT LEAST SEVEN KILLED http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34675 Fighting broke out again on Tuesday in the Medina district of Mogadishu, according to local sources in the Somali capital. SOUTH AFRICA: SA TO SEND TROOPS TO THE DRC http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?a=37&o=21890 South Africa said on Sunday it will provide troops for the international peacekeeping force set to deploy in turbulent northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where ethnic violence has killed hundreds in recent weeks. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 3.RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY AFRICA/GLOBAL: PARLIAMENTARIANS OPPOSE RENEWAL OF RESOLUTION 1422 The open meeting of the Security Council on Resolution 1422 must carefully consider the need, merit and legality of a renewal of the resolution, said Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) this week. Resolution 1422, adopted last July, provides UN peacekeeping personnel from countries that have not ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) with a 12-month suspension from investigation or prosecution for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity by the Court. It is due to expire on June 30, 2003. "As parliamentarians committed to the fight against impunity, we expect our governments to reaffirm their support for the ICC and take into account the compelling arguments against Resolution 1422 before the Security Council takes action on its renewal," said a press release. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15645 ANGOLA: ELECTIONS AND CHANGE - THE TREND IN DEMOCRACY http://www.wmd.org/documents/AngolaElectionsRecommendations.doc The political opposition and social forces that seek change face "serious constraints" due to the prevailing and absolute disrespect for the basic rules of democracy, concluded a recent meeting of civil society and opposition leaders. Among the constraints highlighted was the absolute party control of state institutions and the media. GREAT LAKES: HUMAN RIGHTS NGO DECRIES RIGHTS VIOLATIONS http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34674 Human rights violations continue unabated in Burundi, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to a new report issued by a regional human rights NGO, Ligue des Droits de la Personne de la Region des Grands Lacs (League for Promotion of Human Rights in the Great Lakes). In its 92-page annual report, the organisation said as a result of years of civil strife in the three countries, poverty levels and insecurity had increased, forcing people to abandon their daily activities and to be constantly on the move, retarding development. IVORY COAST: CONCERN AT HUMANITARIAN SITUATION http://www.europaworld.org/week132/concernat6603.htm While welcoming recent progress in the implementation of the Linas-Marcoussis peace accord for Côte d'Ivoire, members of the United Nations Security Council this week stressed again their concern at the humanitarian situation in the country. SOMALIA: OPPOSITION ACCEPTS ELECTION RESULT http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34668 The main opposition party in the self-declared republic of Somaliland, northwestern Somalia, says it now recognises the legitimacy of disputed April elections. The Kulmiye party's presidential candidate, Ahmad Muhammad Silanyo, told IRIN on Wednesday that "after the intervention of elders and others, we have decided as a party to accept the results". SWAZILAND: BALANCING ROYAL INTERESTS AND PEOPLE DEMANDS http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34583 The draft of Swaziland's first home-grown constitution has tried to balance the concerns of a royal establishment keen to retain power, and local and international demands for political reform. The much-delayed constitutional project was initiated by King Mswati III, over the objections of pro-democracy groups who wanted a "people-driven" constitution. TOGO: WHY OPPOSITION FAILED TO KICK OUT EYADEMA http://allafrica.com/stories/200306100600.html The ruling RPT party, the former state sponsored party of Togo, was formed in the historical town of Kpalime in 1969. But significantly, the people of Kpalime in the Kloto district voted massively against President Eyadema in Sunday's polls by giving the opposition candidate Bob Akitani a whoppish 89.573 votes while reserving for the incumbent only 28.082 votes. According to observers here, this development amounted to a total rejection of the former ruling Togo Peoples Rally in the Kioto district of Southern Togo. The trend also represented a kind of voting along ethnic loyalties. This has deeply polarised Togo into two distinct political divisions, the north and the south. Related Links: * Fall-Out From Presidential Election: Togo to have 3 heads of state? http://allafrica.com/stories/200306110880.html TUNISIA: NEW REPORT REVEALS A DECADE OF ENDEMIC HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE http://www.amnesty.org.uk/deliver?document=14591 Amnesty International has called on the Tunisian government to urgently reform its justice system as the human rights organisation published a new report revealing endemic human rights abuse in Tunisia, where even the number of people held in its prisons is a secret. ZIMABABWE: WHAT NEXT AFTER THE MASS STAY AWAY? http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=2&ItemID=3759 The mass action in Zimbabwe last week organised by the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) should be seen in the context of a protracted struggle that is part of a process of building a successful movement, says this commentary published on the www.zmag.org site. The harsh reaction of the state to the protests had been a "rude awakening" for the MDC and the party would now have to go back to the drawing room to reorganise. There was a need for civil society to be involved in this process and the ball was in the MDC's court to immediately call in civil society and work together in strategizing for the future. ZIMBABWE: RIGHTS CONDITIONS DECLINE Human rights conditions have deteriorated markedly in Zimbabwe over the last few months, Human Rights Watch said in a new briefing paper. The briefing paper, "Under a Shadow: Civil and Political Rights in Zimbabwe," details the government's policy of repression and the harassment of opposition party members by state institutions and supporters of the ruling party. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15572 ZIMBABWE: THE STRUGGLE WILL CONTINUE WITH GREATER INTENSITY MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai has pledged that the challenge to the Mugabe regime will continue with greater intensity. "From now onwards we will embark on rolling mass action at strategic times of our choice and without any warning to the dictatorship," he said in a statement. Tsvangirai said Mugabe had been exposed as a "violent and illegitimate dictator with absolutely no pretence to any semblance of civil mass support. He continues to shamelessly hang on to power through brutal force." Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15662 ZIMBABWE: TSVANGIRAI'S SHODDY TREATMENT SLAMMED http://zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=6966 Shackled in leg irons and handcuffs, Morgan Tsvangirai was brought into court visibly shivering from cold. Despite the winter weather, he was wearing only scant prison-issue khaki shorts, a short-sleeved shirt and loose sandals. But after complaints on Wednesday by defence counsel George Bizos, Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change leader was allowed to change into a suit. Related Link: * Mugabe keeps Tsvangirai behind bars http://zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=6959 * Hunger strikers urge Mbeki to use his clout to free Tsvangirai http://zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=6960 ZIMBABWE: ZIMBABWE COUNTS THE COST AFTER A WEEK OF STRIKES AND SAVAGERY http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/story.jsp?story=413386 Zimbabweans returned to work after a week of strikes and violently repressed attempts at protests. But the country's daily suffering - including shortages of food, fuel, electricity, cash and even blood - is expected to bring a rapid return of tension. A five-day strike called last week by the Movement for Democratic Change was successful, but its attempt to bring people out on the streets "in your millions" was violently repressed by the security forces and their notorious militia allies, known as the "Green Bombers". /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 4.CORRUPTION AFRICA: A BLIND EYE http://politics.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,9115,974031,00.html Governments in rich countries demand that regimes in poor countries clean up their acts and eradicate corruption if they are to be given aid, and yet the governments of rich countries turn a blind eye when western multinational companies bribe on a huge scale to win contracts in poor countries, with the financial backing of those same governments. The Corner House, a think tank campaigning for environmental and social justice, has examined nine projects which Britain's export credits guarantee department (ECGD) has backed in the past two decades and concludes that there has been "a series of institutional practices within the ECGD that have permitted corrupt practice to go unpunished". For instance, Corner House believes little has been done to investigate the case of the Lesotho Highlands Water project. The ECGD's support to four British companies amounted to £215m. But, according to Corner House, it continued to give this support even after warning signs of possible corruption first surfaced in 1994. AFRICA: DOLLARS STUFFED INTO MONSIEUR AFRICA'S SALAD http://ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=18662 Prosecution has demanded heavy jail sentences for former bosses of the oil giant Elf Aquitaine over their dealings in Africa. Prosecutor Catherine Pignon asked a Paris court to sentence André Tarallo, formerly the company's top manager for Africa affairs, to eight years imprisonment and to impose a fine of 5.8 million dollars. This is the first move by the prosecution against the top bosses of the company. Tarallo, 76, who came to be known as Elf Aquitaine's 'Monsieur Africa', managed the company's business in Africa for 20 years from the late seventies. AFRICA: STRIKING IT POOR: OIL AS A CURSE http://tinyurl.com/e19d The pipes are already laid in southern Chad, where they snake south underground through tropical forests from the oil fields of Doba to a marine terminal off the coast of neighboring Cameroon. At the port of Kribi, the 660-mile pipeline will empty up to 250,000 barrels a day of coveted crude into tankers waiting to transport the unctuous black gold to Western markets. The World Bank says this multi-billion dollar project will help to reduce poverty, but many critics find that assessment surprising, given that scholarly studies for more than a decade have consistently warned of what is known as the resource curse: that developing countries whose economies depend on exporting oil, gas or extracted minerals are likely to be poor, authoritarian, corrupt and rocked by civil war. GHANA: CORRUPTION UNDERMINES DEVELOPMENT http://www.ghanaian-chronicle.com/230606/page2g.htm The rampant presence of corruption in a country seriously undermines its management and economic development, the executive director of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Prof. Emmanuel Gyimah-Boadi, has said. GHANA: ZERO TOLERANCE FOR CORRUPTION IS DYING, SAYS CDD http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=37329 The Executive Director of the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) Ghana, Professor E. Gyimah-Boadi, has said that the government's commitment to the policy of zero tolerance for corruption is gradually waning in the light of its failure to significantly empower and resource official anti-corruption and countervailing agencies. KENYA: ANTI-CORRUPTION POLICE PROBE LOSS AT JUSTICE MINISTRY http://www.transparency.org/cgi-bin/dcn-read.pl?citID=65098 Anti-corruption police are investigating the loss of more than 36m shillings (approximately 450,000 US dollars) from the Attorney-General's chambers. This is part of a wider inquiry on corruption in the Justice and Constitutional Affairs Ministry. KENYA: POLICE TO INVESTIGATE ALLEGED 1.6BN DOLLAR TELECOM SCAM http://www.transparency.org/cgi-bin/dcn-read.pl?citID=65133 The government has lost 120bn shillings [about 1.6bn dollars] in the last five years through illegal use of Telkom facilities for private business. Those involved in the scam install communication dishes to make international calls. MALAWI: CORRUPTION, WEAK LEADERSHIP WORRY DFID http://www.transparency.org/cgi-bin/dcn-read.pl?citID=65138 Levels of corruption and poor accountability in the country may deteriorate further between now and the general elections next year, the British Department of International Development (DFID) said on Monday. Launching the Country Assistance Plan (CAP) for Malawi in which DFID will provide K22 billion to Malawi for the next three years, head of DFID Malawi Mike Wood said: "There is a risk that government may divert development resources for purely political purposes," reads the CAP document released on Monday. NIGERIA: NIGERIA WARNS INVESTORS ON FAKE CRUDE OIL OFFERS http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=15630 Nigeria on Wednesday warned potential investors about fake documents offering crude oil for sale on behalf of the state-run oil group Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). The NNPC said fraudulent persons and groups are offering non-existent crude oil for sale, using forged documents. NIGERIA: PUBLIC STANDARDS: A SYSTEM THAT SUCCESSFULLY RESISTS CHANGE http://www.transparency.org/cgi-bin/dcn-read.pl?citID=65118 The retired major-general with a mission to fight the corruption in Nigeria's public life works from an office in the back yard of a small poultry business in the sprawling outskirts of Lagos. Bearded, wearing a grey singlet and jeans, he cuts an unusual figure for a former top-brass officer. Ishola Williams heads the Nigerian branch of Transparency International, the anti-corruption lobbying organisation whose last ranking classed Nigeria as the world's second most corrupt nation, after Bangladesh. He sees in Nigeria a whole political system that has successfully resisted attempts to change its habits. ZAMBIA: CHILUBA FACES ANOTHER ARREST http://allafrica.com/stories/200306090121.html Former president Frederick Chiluba faces another arrest over alleged abuse of the Zamtrop account. According to sources, Chiluba, former Ambassador to the United States Atan Shansonga, former finance permanent secretary Stella Chibanda, former intelligence chief Xavier Chungu and former Ministry of Finance chief economist Bede Mphande were listed for re-arrest on fresh charges related to the Zamtrop account. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 5.HEALTH AFRICA: AIDS CASH FOR AFRICA WILL MAINLY GO TO DRUG COMPANIES http://news.hst.org.za/view.php3?id=20030604 Leaders of the world's richest countries agreed at the G8 summit to provide billions of dollars to help fight AIDS in Africa but, under present trade rules, much of that cash will go to multinational pharmaceutical companies. To the disappointment of pressure groups monitoring the summit, the leaders failed to make progress on new trade rules to allow poor countries to buy cheap, generic versions of new medicines - including the drugs which arrest AIDS. AFRICA: GLOBAL FUND FACES BANKRUPTCY http://www.health-e.org.za/view.php3?id=20030602 Health activists at the G8 meeting in Evian said it was outrageous that US President George Bush had attempted to block bipartisan efforts to increase American contributions to the Global Fund to Fight Aids, TB and Malaria and described as "shocking" revelations that the European Development Fund was sitting on 10 billion unspent euros. "The heads of state created this fund and pumped it for positive publicity two years ago. Now they have decided to orphan it after deliberately manipulating the hopes and expectations of millions of people with HIV in developing countries," said Sharonann Lynch of Health GAP. AFRICA: QUESTIONS PROMPT REVIEW OF DIRTY NEEDLES' ROLE IN AFRICAN HIV INFECTIONS http://www.unwire.org/unwire/util/category_search.asp?objCat=health Questions about what percentage of Africa's HIV infections are caused by dirty needles has prompted U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson -- who is also the chairman of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria -- to order a review of all research linking HIV/AIDS and medical injections, Associated Press has reported. The review could affect how funding from the $15 billion U.S. initiative to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean is distributed, AP reported. ETHIOPIA: MEASLES CAMPAIGN TARGETS MORE THAN 5 MILLION CHILDREN http://allafrica.com/stories/200306060024.html A measles vaccination and vitamin A campaign, targeting more than five million children aged between six months and 15 years, was launched on Friday by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the health ministry. "This campaign is part of our joint efforts to fight the major childhood killer diseases in Ethiopia," said Dr Mahendra Sheth, the head of UNICEF Ethiopia's health and nutrition section. KENYA: KENYA LEADING IN TB INFECTIONS, SAYS REPORT http://www.eastandard.net/headlines/news10062003004.htm Kenya is among nine African countries with the highest number of Tuberculosis (TB) infections. Kenyan Assistant Minister for Health Gedion Konchellah said there had been an upsurge of TB due to the HIV/Aids epidemic, urbanisation, increasing poverty and declining social economic trends. NAMIBIA: NAMIBIAN FIRM WILL PRODUCE AIDS DRUGS, SAYS MINISTER http://www.namibian.com.na/2003/june/national/03D7C6D117.html The Namibian Government has teamed up with a local company to produce cheap AIDS drugs, Health Minister Dr Libertina Amathila announced. Speaking during a discussion between visiting UN Special Envoy on AIDS Stephen Lewis and a group of Ministers, Amathila said Cabinet last week gave approval for an Ondangwa-based company to produce generic HIV-AIDS drugs that will be affordable to Namibians infected and affected by the disease. NIGERIA: ROW OVER NIGERIA SICKLE CELL PATENT http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=848&language =1 A controversy has erupted in Nigeria over the sale to a foreign company of the rights to a patent on a locally developed drug for sickle cell anaemia. The drug, NIPRISAN, was developed by a traditional medicine practitioner working in collaboration with researchers at Nigeria's National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Development (NIPRD) in Abuja. SOUTH AFRICA: WESTERN CAPE SETS THE PACE IN ARV ROLLOUT http://allafrica.com/stories/200306110049.html The Western Cape was the first province to defy South African government policy by providing AIDS drugs to HIV-positive pregnant women in the public health sector. Two years later, the rollout campaign has achieved universal coverage and now babies and children living with HIV/AIDS are also to get access to treatment. Meanwhile, the South African cabinet is expected to discuss a national ARV costing report this week, ahead of a meeting between AIDS lobby group the Treatment Action Campaign and the National AIDS Council on 14 June. AIDS activists hope recommendations handed down by the report will end months of a bitter stand-off between them and the department of health over its refusal to implement a treatment policy. UGANDA: 'AIDS PATIENTS TAKE UP 80 % HOSPITAL BEDS' http://allafrica.com/stories/200306090277.html People living with HIV/AIDS take up about 80 percent of Ugandan hospital beds. This was revealed by Major Rubaramira Ruranga of the Uganda Joint Clinical Research Centre (UJCRC) during an aids awareness conference recently. "80 per cent of the hospital beds are occupied by people living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda. This shows that the disease is still an epidemic," said Mr Rubaramira. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 6.EDUCATION AND SOCIAL WELFARE AFRICA: UNICEF URGES LEADERS TO FOCUS ON CHILD DEVELOPMENT http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34689 The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Wednesday called on African leaders attending an economic summit in South Africa to embrace "child-centred standards as the primary measure for gauging progress" across their continent. DRC: SCALE UP EFFORTS TO PREVENT USE OF CHILD SOLDIERS, NGO SAYS http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34639 A UK-based NGO, Save the Children, has urged the multinational force currently mobilising in Bunia, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), to take an active role in efforts to prevent use of children by armed groups in the region. ERITREA: CHILD MALNUTRITION IN DROUGHT-HIT ERITREA AT ALARMING LEVEL, SAYS UN AGENCY The rate of malnutrition in Eritrea, now in the fourth year of the worst drought in a decade, is rising to alarming levels, with more than 1 in 5 children not getting enough to eat, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) says. According to the agency, 21. 7 per cent of children are suffering from malnutrition; normally, a hunger rate of just 13 to 14 per cent is considered alarming. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15538 ETHIOPIA: 2,500 SEVERELY MALNOURISHED CHILDREN ADMITTED TO THERAPEUTIC FEEDING CENTERS http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34619 More than 2,500 malnourished children in Ethiopia have been admitted to emergency feeding centres in recent weeks, the humanitarian organisation Save the Children USA said on Monday. It said a further 2,000 children were on the "brink" of starvation as Ethiopia faced what has been described as its worst food crisis in two decades. LIBERIA: CONCERN FOR CHILDREN TRAPPED IN CONFLICT UNICEF has expressed concern for children caught up in the escalation of civil war in Liberia and appealed to all warring parties to ensure that civilians, especially children, are protected from harm. "As heavy fighting forces thousands of civilians to flee the shelter of camps on the outskirts of Monrovia, we are deeply troubled about the plight of Liberian children and the civilian population caught up in the mayhem," said Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of UNICEF. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15571 MOZAMBIQUE: 'OBSERVATORY' SET UP TO AID DRIVE AGAINST POVERTY http://www.undp.org/dpa/index.html Mozambique has established a "poverty observatory" to monitor its national plan to reduce one of the world's highest levels of deprivation. The observatory will collect and analyse data on poverty to track the plan's progress. The country's first report on progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, released last year, spells out the challenges: nearly 70 per cent of Mozambique's 17 million people live below the poverty line, subsisting on less than 40 US cents a day. SOUTH AFRICA: FREE EDUCATION ON THE CARDS http://www.sabcnews.com/south_africa/education/0,1009,60201,00.html Education Minister Kader Asmal has announced that government is looking at the possibility of exempting 40% of South Africa's poorest from having to pay for education. The announcement comes at a time when scores of parents are facing legal action for non-payment of school fees and some pupils are forced to drop out of school. SOUTH AFRICA: SUMMIT OF MIXED FORTUNES FOR COSATU http://allafrica.com/stories/200306090398.html Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi's passionate and emotive speech at the Growth and Development Summit spared no one from criticism. The speech embodied the frustrations felt by the federation and organised labour in general about many things, such as the absence of a deal on the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS, high unemployment and the deepening poverty levels, as well as the relatively low commitment on the part of business to invest in job-creation projects. UGANDA: 'DOUBLE SANITATION, WATER EXPENDITURE' http://allafrica.com/stories/200306090071.html The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) resident representative, Daouda Toure, has asked the Government to double its current water and sanitation expenditure as a primary solution to the high infant mortality rates in the country. UGANDA: SECONDARY EDUCATION MUST BECOME A PRIORITY, AFRICAN CONFERENCE IS TOLD http://allafrica.com/stories/200306090312.html "Knowledge and information are power," said Uganda's Education Minister, Khiddu Makubuya. "Our future is in our youth and we must offer them the best possible start in life". One would be forgiven for thinking that the words refer to kindergarten or primary school education in Africa. But he was talking about secondary schooling at the opening, Monday, of the first regional conference on secondary education in Africa, being held in the Ugandan capital, Kampala. To date, secondary schooling has played second fiddle to primary education, which has attracted most of the funds and attention of both donors and African governments in recent years. ZAMBIA: PROJECT REACHES ORPHANED AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34623 A targeted urban intervention programme in Zambia is helping to keep orphans and vulnerable children in school by supporting their caretaker families. Zambia is among six countries in Southern Africa experiencing food shortages due to a combination of factors, including drought and the impact of HIV/AIDS. ZIMBABWE: "I WILL FACE THE GUN TO FIGHT FOR ACADEMIC FREEDOM" http://www.nearinternational.org/alerts/5226345h1lk1243kt13451.php Higher education institutions in the country, the University of Zimbabwe in particular, have lost their status as academic institutions ready to offer a haven for constructive criticism of government excesses, writes Tapera Kapuya, the former Secretary General of the University of Zimbabwe Student Union. 'Bomber' militia run university security. Students are harassed and beaten with apparent impunity. Members of the secret police watch dissident lecturers and students, and armed riot police are ready to pounce at any slightest show of discontent by members of the academic community. As Brian Raftopoulos, a professor at the university's institute of development studies and chair of the Crisis in Zimbabwe Committee, said in his Canon Collins Memorial Lecture in London last week, its academics are polarised between adjuncts to the Zanu PF propaganda machine and critics of the regime. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 7.WOMEN AND GENDER AFRICA/GLOBAL: GENDER EQUALITY AND THE MDGS http://www.unifem.org/www/resources/progressv2/ A report from the United Nations (UN) Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) that presents data, statistics and analysis to show a picture of women's empowerment in the new century, and illuminate what remains to be done to achieve true gender equality, shows that Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest levels of achievement, primarily because of a devastating combination of national poverty, conflict and the effects of HIV/AIDS. The report shows that the level of women's representation in national governments has been improving. "The rise in women's share of parliamentary seats is primarily due to special measures - such as quotas - being introduced and is not tied to a nation's relative wealth or poverty." AFRICA/GLOBAL: WOMEN IN CONTEMPORARY DEMOCRATISATION http://www.id21.org/society/s8bsr1g1.html Why are women hugely under-represented in parliaments across the world? What strategies can bring women's interests into the policy-making process? What are the pros and cons of quotas reserving parliamentary places for women? How can participants in women's movements avoid being co-opted? A paper from the UN Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) takes a look at a subject largely ignored in the mainstream literature on democratisation. It notes the contrast between the lively debates on the reform of governments in ethnically segmented societies with the deafening silence on women's absence from the world of institutional politics. GHANA: THE EFFECTS OF WATER PRIVATISATION ON WOMEN http://allafrica.com/stories/200306090356.html Water experts have predicted that a worldwide water shortage is set to worsen significantly over the next 25 years with billions of people affected by an unprecedented global crisis. The experts also forecast that women and children, especially in Africa, are the group that would be hit hardest. During a recent international workshop on the privatization of essential services participants sent distress signals that women would be the worse affected if water were put in private hands. KENYA: MAASAI WOMEN TURN TO DAIRY GOATS When 54-year old Mary Kuluo saw a poster urging Maasai women to rear dairy goats that had high milk potential she got interested. "The women are only allowed to own chickens, goats and donkeys", says Bernard Momanyi, the Narok District Agriculture and Livestock Extension Officer. "Thus any introduction of dairy goats among the Maasai had to involve women and they are excited about it". Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15579 NIGERIA: ABORTION STILL A PROBLEM, SAYS NGILU http://allafrica.com/stories/200306080083.html A two-day conference on women's participation in politics opened in Abuja this week, with a call on women to work towards neutralising male-dominance in politics, with a view to contributing towards the sustenance of democracy in the country. Held by the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) and the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), the conference is expected to analyse and work out strategies for supporting women's participation in politics. SOMALIA: WOMEN CALL FOR PEACE http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34645 Sixty women peace activists in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, have appealed for the restoration of peace and stability in the city. Their call was made during a women's forum held in Mogadishu, organised by the Centre for Research and Dialogue (CRD), an affiliate of the War-Torn Societies Project International, according to Maryam Mahmud Haji, a CRD gender officer. SOUTHERN AFRICA: WOMEN ECONOMISTS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA UNIFEM Southern African Regional Office is currently compiling a database on women economists in Southern Africa. The objective of the exercise is to facilitate networking as well as creating a pool of resource persons who can be hired to either write articles on gender and economics or to make presentations at workshops. The targeted persons should have wide knowledge in macroeconomics, trade, gender and human rights issues. If you are interested, please contact Rachel Mujuru. Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] SUDAN: CONCERN OVER REPORTED ARREST OF WOMEN ACTIVISTS http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34614 The Swiss-based human rights group, World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), has expressed concern over a recent incident in which Sudanese security forces reportedly arrested a group of women activists, and it urged the authorities in Khartoum to conduct a "thorough and impartial" investigation. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 8.REFUGEES AND FORCED MIGRATION ANGOLA: REFUGEES CAN TUNE IN FOR REPATRIATION INFORMATION http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34579 Angolan refugees planning to return home from southern African countries will be able to receive information on the repatriation process and conditions back home from special weekly radio bulletins. The office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will send a weekly update on the conditions refugees can expect to find as they voluntarily return to Angola after more than a year of peace, UNHCR external relations officer Matthew Brook told IRIN. BOTSWANA: PROTESTS MAR VISIT OF BOTSWANA PRESIDENT Peaceful protests are expected to dog President Mogae of Botswana throughout his visit to Britain this week. The Botswana government has evicted hundreds of Gana and Gwi Bushmen from their ancestral land and dumped them in bleak resettlement camps, earning worldwide condemnation. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15578 CAR: 200 REFUGEES RETURN HOME FROM DRC http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34637 The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) began on Monday to repatriate 2,562 Central African Republic refugees, who have been living in neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo since June 2001. ETHIOPIA: GOVERNMENT DEFENDS RESETTLEMENT SCHEME http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34539 The Ethiopian government has said that a scheme which provides for the resettlement of some two million people over the next three years, but has faced criticism from the international community, is necessary if Ethiopia is to stave off future food emergencies. It has also said it will not shy away from the scheme and has urged the international community to support it fully. LIBERIA: IDPS FLEE CAMPS AS REBELS ADVANCE INTO MONROVIA http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34594 Liberian rebels surged into the western outskirts of the capital Monrovia last Friday after heavy fighting overnight which sent thousands of displaced people fleeing in heavy rain into the city centre. LIBERIA: UNHCR CONCERN FOR LIBERIAN REFUGEES http://tinyurl.com/e54a The UN refugee agency has evacuated its international staff from Monrovia amid weekend fighting near the Liberian capital and reports of violence and looting in the nearby refugee camps. UNHCR has expressed concern for 33 national staff who stayed behind, as well as some 15,000 Sierra Leonean refugees previously hosted in camps near Monrovia. SOUTHERN AFRICA: A REFERENCE GUIDE TO REFUGEE LAW AND ISSUES IN SOUTHERN AFRICA A new guide provides a comparative analysis and factual guide to refugee law throughout Southern Africa, including in-depth country guides for Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The new publication 'A Reference Guide to Refugee Law and Issues in Southern Africa' is produced by The Legal Resources Foundation (Zambia - http://www.lrf.org.zm/ ), the Legal Resources Centre South Africa ( http://www.lrc.org.za/) and the Zambia Civic Education Association. It is hoped that the guide will be a wealth of information in the areas of domestic and international refugee law, as well as the factual situation of refugees across Southern Africa. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15548 SOUTHERN AFRICA: MOBILE POPULATIONS AND HIV/AIDS http://www.sarpn.org.za/documents/d0000365/index.php In much of the literature on HIV/AIDS and mobility, mobile populations and/or migrants are described and treated as one, homogenous group. This report from the International Organisation for Migration examines the different sub-groups of mobile populations, and looks at their commonalities and differences. The report notes that mobile groups are vulnerable to HIV/AIDS in different respects, which complicates prevention and mitigation strategies. Vulnerability to HIV/AIDS is often related to a particular stage of the mobility process. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 9.RACISM AND XENOPHOBIA GAMBIA/SENEGAL: CURFEW IMPOSED TO STEM ANTI-SENEGALESE VIOLENCE http://allafrica.com/stories/200306090001.html The Gambia government Sunday imposed a 7pm to 6am countrywide curfew to stem rising anti-Senegalese violence across the country. The curfew came after a day of looting and attacks on Senegalese nationals and properties in the country. Sunday's violence was a reaction to violent attacks upon Gambian players and fans attending the African Nations Cup qualifying match between the two countries by Senegalese football hooligans on Saturday. SOUTH AFRICA: BOEREMAG TRIAL DELAYED http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,6119,2-7-1442_1371119,00.ht ml The treason trial of 22 alleged members of the rightwing Boeremag organisation was postponed once again in the Pretoria High Court on Monday. Judge Eben Jordaan postponed the trial until next week Tuesday while talks about legal aid for the accused were set to continue. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 10.ENVIRONMENT AFRICA/GLOBAL: RICH COUNTRIES' GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS BALLOONING http://ens-news.com/ens/jun2003/2003-06-09-02.asp The emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from Europe, Japan, the United States and other industrialized countries could grow by 17 percent from 2000 to 2010, despite measures in place to curb them, according to a new United Nations report. Greenhouse gases blanket the Earth, trapping the Sun's heat close to the planet's surface. AFRICA: UN MAKES GLOBAL PLEA ON ENVIRONMENT DAY http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=565&fArticleId=164782 The head of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation made a global call last week for nations to safeguard water, calling it the source of food security. Jacques Diouf, the general director of the UN body, singled out the Horn of Africa and parts of north Africa, the Middle East and southeast Asia as particular trouble spots. The call was made to mark World Environment Day 2003, which was celebrated under the theme 'Water - Two Billion People Are Dying For It!' AFRICA: WETLANDS CONSERVATION - SAVING THE KIDNEYS OF THE EARTH http://www.choike.org/cgi-bin/choike/links/page.cgi?p=ver_indepth&id=1185 Wetlands are areas of marshes, swamps, peatlands or water-covered surfaces, whether stagnant or flowing, fresh or brackish waters; they include floodplains or adjacent coastal areas, as well as islands or seawaters within wetlands. This definition may not stress the importance that wetlands have for the environment, an importance which has also led them to be dubbed "the kidneys of the earth", due to their role as natural filtering processes, replenishing groundwater and making it apt for human consumption. KENYA: DISASTERS BLAMED ON GLOBAL WARMING http://allafrica.com/stories/200306080118.html Global warming has precipitated the frequency and severity of droughts and floods, the Executive Director of Network Africa, Ms Grace Akumu says. Akumu said climate change was causing weather variability and that displaced weather patterns would be further witnessed in the future. KENYA: GOVT TO ACT TOUGH ON POLLUTION http://allafrica.com/stories/200306090753.html The Government will soon take action against management of factories which pollute rivers and other water resources in the country, Environment Minister Dr Newton Kulundu said. Kulundu said the Government had put in place new laws to regulate factories from discharging pollutants into water resources. MOZAMBIQUE: AFRICAN ENVIRONMENT MINISTERS MEET IN MAPUTO http://allafrica.com/stories/200306091050.html Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano warned on Monday that, since the "Earth Summit" held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, there had been "a lack of political will to make available the resources necessary for the balanced and harmonious development of the planet". Speaking at the opening in Maputo of a Special Session of the Conference of African Environment Ministers, Chissano said that, despite all the commitment expressed verbally at Rio, "we are still witnessing a pattern of development that steps up the unsustainable use of natural resources". SOUTH AFRICA: CHILDREN ARE MAJOR VICTIMS OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION The people of South Africa bear a double burden of environmental threats to their health, says Dr Anthony Mbewu, Executive Director for Research Development at the Medical Research Council. According to Dr Mbewu industry as well as under-development in informal and inner city settlements causes environmental pollution. He added that it is estimated that one-third of the burden of disease in the world is cause by environmental factors. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15542 UGANDA: MULTINATIONALS WALK OUT ON CONTROVERSIAL UGANDAN DAM http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=18648 Two European firms building the controversial Bujagali hydro-electric power plant in Uganda have stopped work on the project amid talk of financial difficulties for the main contractor, U.S. energy giant AES Corp, corruption probes and complaints from Uganda that the project is highly overvalued. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 11.MEDIA AFRICA: CHILD RIGHTS AND THE MEDIA: PUTTING CHILDREN IN THE RIGHT http://www.ifj.org/pdfs/childrights.pdf This online publication explores the need for journalistic training for all levels of reporting in regard to the importance of children's rights. This includes examining how media works, how existing principles of accountability apply and how media must be free from political and economical pressures that can limit professionalism and undermine ethical standards. DJIBOUTI: NEWSPAPER EDITOR RE-ARRESTED Reporters sans frontières (RSF) has protested against the re-arrest of newspaper editor Daher Ahmed Farah on 5 June 2003, just two days after his release from custody. The organisation has called on the authorities to release him immediately. The editor of "Le Renouveau" newspaper and head of the opposition party Movement for Democratic Renewal and Development (MRD), Farah is the subject of several libel suits filed by the armed forces. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15573 LIBERIA: CONCERN FOR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION Three armed men wearing uniforms of the Presidential elite guard, the Anti-Terrorist Unit (ATU), attacked Stanley McGill, a journalist working with the independent newspaper "The News" on May 27. Journalism institutions have voiced concern about the abuse of the freedom of expression rights of Liberians and the persistent threats and attacks on journalists and the private media in the country. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15563 LIBERIA: MEDIA FOUNDATION SHOWS SOLIDARITY WITH LIBERIAN JOURNALISTS The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has issued a statement in solidarity with all journalists, media practitioners and human rights advocates who have been the worst victims of the campaign of repression, predation and mayhem that have institutionalised the culture of impunity as an instrument of rule since President Charles Taylor came to power in Liberia on August 2, 1997. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15562 LIBERIA: RADIO STATIONS CLOSED The government of Liberia has shut down six amateur FM radio stations operating in Bong County, central Liberia, and Margibi County, some 40 kilometres east of the capital, Monrovia. The stations affected include Y-FM, Bright FM, Jet 89.9, The Voice of Kakata and the Voice of YMCA. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15564 MAURITANIA: ISLAMIST WEEKLY BANNED Reporters sans frontières (RSF) has voiced its concern about the banning of the Islamist weekly "Raya" and the closure of its offices under an Interior Ministry order on 1 June 2003. "As far as we know, this Islamist publication has never called for violence, contrary to what the Mauritanian authorities say," RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard said. "One cannot help thinking that this ban on a newspaper that was never sparing in its criticism of the government is simply a means to gag a part of the opposition six months before the presidential election," Ménard added. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15560 NIGERIA: POLL RATES GOVT ON MEDIA FREEDOM The government of President Olusegun Obasanjo has been rated by Nigerians on the level of interference in the work of the mass media and on freedom of expression generally. The verdicts were delivered via an opinion poll conducted by The Guardian newspaper. The poll, which sampled 2800 opinions, saw 40.5 percent or 1,134 of the respondents answering "Moderate Degree" to the question: "To what extent has government allowed newspapers and magazines to operate without interference?" Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15643 ZIMBABWE: DAILY NEWS TARGETED IN CRACKDOWN The privately owned daily The Daily News was targetted in the Zimbabwean government crackdown on protests last week, with the newspaper reporting acts of vandalism by ZANU PF youths who destroyed its papers across the country. Soldiers also reportedly barred some vendors from selling the paper because it was allegedly "fanning the protests". Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15561 ZIMBABWE: JOURNALISTS DETAINED, INTERROGATED, BEATEN, SEARCHED; EQUIPMENT CONFISCATED http://www.africapulse.org.za/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=1269 Two journalists from the Voice of the People Communications Trust were detained, interrogated, beaten and had their mobile phones and recorders confiscated by ruling party Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front youths and war veterans. In a related incident, the home of John Masuku, Coordinator of Voice of the People, was searched and Voice of the People administrative files and a computer used in the production of programmes, confiscated. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 12.DEVELOPMENT AFRICA/GLOBAL: NEW GLOBAL INVESTMENT AGREEMENT MUST BE STOPPED http://www.actionaid.org/newsandmedia/agreement.shtml A new global investment agreement proposed at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) carries huge risks for the world's poorest people, says leading development agency ActionAid. In its new report, Unlimited Companies, the agency calls on the UK Government and the EU to drop their support for the agreement and stop putting the interests of big business before the needs of poor countries. The report comes at a crucial time in trade negotiations, as the Working Group on Trade and Investment meets in Geneva for the last time before the WTO Cancun Ministerial in September. AFRICA/KENYA: GATS AN 'UNACCEPTABLE INSTRUMENT', SAYS CIVIL SOCIETY The World Trade Organisation (WTO) is not just about imports and exports of goods, but increasingly is encroaching on people's democratic control over and access to resources and on governments' abilities to regulate social and economic policies and formulate human development. Civil society groups from Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe, Canada and New Zealand met in Nairobi from 27 29 May 2003 to study, analyse and exchange views on the impact of neo-liberal globalisation specially on the south manifesting itself in the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and the forthcoming WTO Ministerial Conference in Cancun. The GATS represents a powerful and totally unacceptable instrument that limits policy space and restricts popular access to services which are essential to people's livelihoods and economic development, a statement on the meeting said. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15540 AFRICA: AFRICA NEEDS GLOBALISATION OR RISK BEING LEFT OUT IN THE COLD, WEF MEETING HEARS http://ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=18724 The losers in this world are those who are excluded from globalisation and Africa stands the risk of being left out, Norway's Minister of International Development, Hilde Frafjord Johnson warned Thursday. Addressing the plenary session of the World Economic Forum - Africa Economic Summit 2003 taking place in Durban, South Africa, Johnson said it was important not to overlook Africa, while the focus was on Iraq. The African Economic Summit, which kicked off Wednesday afternoon, is focussing on harnessing the power of partnership in developing Africa. It is being attended by African government officials, the business community, non-governmental organisations and civil society groups. AFRICA: GLOBALISATION AND GMOS http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20030623&s=hayden With the end of the Iraq war, the globalisation war is heating up around trade again, this time over the issue of genetically modified food. George W. Bush is once more attacking "Old Europe," claiming that it is denying food to starving Africans, after several African countries declined US aid in the form of genetically modified food out of concern that it might taint their own crops and block sales to Europe. And once again the United States is opposing a United Nations approach, this time in the form of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, signed by more than 100 nations, which establishes rules to regulate GMOs. UGANDA: AFRICA SUBSIDIZING THE WEST, SAYS MUSEVENI FOLLOWING MEETING WITH BUSH http://allafrica.com/stories/200306110133.html African commodities and raw materials are processed in wealthy nations and then resold by companies and corporations in those nations at prices many times greater than what is paid to the producers, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said Tuesday night at a well-attended reception just hours after his meeting at the White House with President George W. Bush. WEST AFRICA: REGIONAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT: ANY HOPE FOR WEST AFRICA? http://allafrica.com/stories/200306110604.html Since 1990, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has compiled an annual report to show the level of development in various countries of the world, across all social strata. A new Regional Human Development Report has emerged to analyse the global report from the African perspective. Africa currently contains 34 of the 49 Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in the world, with 300 million persons, or over 45 percent of the continent's population living below the poverty line. And according to the last Global Human Development Report (2002), 29 countries out of the 36 with a low Human Development Index (HDI) in the world are in Africa. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 13.INTERNET AND TECHNOLOGY AFRICAN CONNECTIVITY NO GUARANTEE OF ECONOMIC UPLIFTMENT http://www.centerdigitalgov.com/international/story.php?docid=53434 Connectivity is generally assumed to be a passport to opportunity and economic upliftment, but the experience in Africa suggests the opposite may be true. This is according to African ICT delegates attending the recent Acacia Conference in South Africa. Riff Fullan of Bellanet, a non-profit organisation funded in part by Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC), argued that ICT is, in fact "as likely to worsen poverty as to alleviate it." The evidence suggests ICT has exacerbated existing inequalities, added Fullan. BEYOND THE DIGITAL DIVIDE: HARNESSING ICTS FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT http://www.id21.org/society/s4brc1g1.html Policy-makers and donors should seize the opportunities new ICTs provide to reduce the amount of public information that is under-utilised or captured by local elites while avoiding the temptation to pursue 'one-size-fits-all' ICT applications. They should also realise that the rural poor need to be able to operate in increasingly sophisticated input and output markets: ICTs can improve inadequate extension services and ensure farmers have access to reliable information about agricultural technologies and markets. This is according to an Overseas Development Institute (ODI) paper that examines the untapped potential of ICTs to free up public information resources to stimulate rural development and more efficient markets and institutions. CASE STUDY ON THE JUDICIAL INSPECTORATE OF PRISONS' ONLINE REPORTING SYSTEM http://www.africapulse.org.za/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=1268 An online system is giving new momentum to prison reform by helping to improve the reporting of poor conditions in prisons and violations of prisoners' rights. There are many examples of human rights violations against prisoners in South Africa that are given little or no attention by the police. But thanks to the new online system - which makes reporting about prisoner treatment more efficient and transparent - prison officials and the police are being held accountable. GHANA TRUMPS MIGHTY MICROSOFT http://www.scidev.net/Features/index.cfm?fuseaction=readFeatures&itemid=168&; language=1 UK-based Hermann Chinnery-Hesse was on holiday in his home country of Ghana when he accepted a school friend's bet to try to make his fortune in West Africa. In this article, Briony Hale describes how - starting with a battered old personal computer in his bedroom - Hesse developed Ghana's own software firm which, for the moment at least, is holding Microsoft at bay. WEBSITE HELPS ZAMBIAN ORGANISATIONS USE THE NET http://www.balancingact-africa.com/ In 1999 there were only a handful of websites on Zambia and most of the sites lacked the aura of being able to attract potential visitors and investors to the country, writes Leonard Nelson. Furthermore a large number of Zambians residing in other countries were often dismayed by the slow response time and low uptime of other sites. To address these problems, The Zambian was established with the sole purpose of being able to deliver content to anyone interested in the country. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 14.eNEWSLETTERS AND MAILING LISTS DISCUSSION ON CHILDREN AFFECTED BY AIDS The Africa America Institute would like to invite you to participate in an online discussion forum to be held in June 2003. We will be exploring the theme: Children Affected by AIDS (CABA) - The need for a broad based response. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15607 E-CIVICUS 202 - CONNECTING CIVIL SOCIETY WORLDWIDE News on civil society from around the globe. To subscribe or unsubscribe please email [EMAIL PROTECTED] Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] KUBATANA - KEEPING YOU INFORMED http://www.kubatana.net/ The NGO Network Alliance Project aims to improve the accessibility of human rights and civic information in Zimbabwe. Visit their web site and subscribe to their newsletter. Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 15.FUNDRAISING KENYA: DONORS BACK $60M POWER PLAN http://allafrica.com/stories/200306100168.html A Sh4.5 billion project to end frequent power blackouts has won donor backing. The project is expected to be completed by May next year and would improve power distribution. RWANDA: EU GIVES 10 MILLION EUROS FOR POVERTY ERADICATION http://allafrica.com/stories/200306100056.html The EU has pledged 10 million euros (US $11.7 million) for a new poverty reduction programme, known as "Ubudehe" in the Kinyarwanda language, an EU official said on Monday. The programme seeks to decentralise poverty reduction efforts and is designed to involve local communities directly in the implementation of the National Poverty Reduction Strategy. SOUTH AFRICA: CONCERT TOUR TO RAISE FUNDS TO FIGHT AIDS http://www.thusanang.org.za/index.php?option=news&task=viewarticle&sid=267 The world-renowned rock singer, Carlos Santana, has pledged to donate proceeds from an upcoming concert to fight HIV/Aids in South Africa, according to Daily Dispatch. The tour is organised under the auspice of Artists for a New SA (Ansa) Amandla Aids Fund. SOUTH AFRICA: DSG GIRLS SWIM ENGLISH CHANNEL TO RAISE FUNDS FOR AIDS http://www.thusanang.org.za/index.php?option=news&task=viewarticle&sid=266 A group of girls from the Diocesan School for Girls (DSG) in Grahamstown will swim across the English Channel to raise funds for the fight against Aids. The girls have already received funds and pledges totalling R800 000. The proceeds of this fundraiser will be used to buy and renovate an Aids day care, testing and counselling centre in Grahamstown. SOUTH AFRICA: LACK OF LOTTO FUNDING TOPS THE AGENDA OF COMMUNITY CHEST MEETING http://www.thusanang.org.za/index.php?option=news&task=viewarticle&sid=268 Charities' dissatisfaction with Lotto funding will be one of the items on the agenda for the meeting of the United Community Chests of South Africa, being held in Pretoria. Despite dwindling income for Community Chests due to the scrapping of scratch cards after the introduction of the National Lottery, applications for compensatory funding from the Lottery have been turned down. ZIMBABWE: BUSINESSMAN DELMA LUPEPE DONATES $100 MILLION TO UNIVERSITY http://allafrica.com/stories/200306100143.html Bulawayo businessman Mr Delma Lupepe has donated $100 million to the Great Zimbabwe University in Masvingo and pledged more money over the next five years. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 16.COURSES, SEMINARS, AND WORKSHOPS GLOBAL APARTHEID, PRIVATISATION AND A SOCIALIST ALTERNATIVE June 21 And June 22, South Africa The May 2003 conference on "The Work of Karl Marx and Challenges of the 21st Century" was held under the auspices of Cuban trade unionists, philosophers and economists. More than 500 attended, and in addition to lengthy interventions by Fidel Castro, papers were presented by the likes of Samir Amin, Fred Bienefeld, Liudmila Boulavka, Simon Clarke, Francois Houtart, Diane Flaherty, Barbara Foley, Marta Harnecker, David Kotz, Michael Lebowitz and Istvan Meszaros. The Rosa Luxemburg Foundation (Johannesburg) has made available resources to discuss the conference and its implications for South and Southern African social change movements. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15594 HUMAN RIGHTS AND PEACE SEMINAR 14-16 June 2003 A seminar on Human Rights and Peace will take place in Casamance in Senegal from the 14 to 16 June. During this meeting, a round table on the International Criminal Court will be organized on Monday June 16. Another workshop will allow participants to discuss the concept of amnesty vis-à-vis the requirements of international criminal justice. Many other topics on human rights issues will be discussed. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15646 JUSTWRITE - AN ONLINE COURSE ON EFFECTIVE WRITING Is your writing getting the results you want? Perhaps you find writing a chore. Perhaps you know what you want to say, but not how to say it. Perhaps you need to polish your skills. If so, then JustWrite is just what you need. JustWrite is a unique online learning experience, created for anybody needing to write powerful, persuasive documents. It is ideal for anybody producing a research report; thesis; book or book chapter; advocacy document; paper for publication; essay; - or any other substantial piece of writing. In three intensive weeks, JustWrite will guide you from conception to final draft. The next online course begins on 14 July 2003. You can be anywhere in the world to benefit from this course; you only need access to a computer and email. Places are limited, so book early. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15595 Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] WANTED: WRITERS Writing Skills Programme Write for power! Apply to be part of the Agenda Writing Programme. The programme aims to help women get their voices out and people to express their ideas and experiences of gender. It helps writers develop their writing skills, especially to write for publication. It also gives writers tools to analyse gender issues. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15565 /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 17.ADVOCACY RESOURCES AFRICA/GLOBAL: CALL FOR UNIVERSAL RATIFICATION OF THE UN CONVENTION ON THE PROTECTION OF THE RIGHTS OF ALL MIGRANT WORKERS http://www.december18.net/UNConvention010703.htm That the human rights of migrants are not a priority for most governments is nothing new. Abuse and discrimination are experienced by migrants themselves on a daily basis around the world. The entry into force of the UN Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families scheduled on July 1, 2003 won't change this situation overnight. But it is an additional tool in the hands of non-governmental organisations, one that is needed for our fight for more justice and respect. You can join a call for universal ratification of the UN Migrants Rights Convention by clicking on the URL provided. REJECT NOMINATION OF BUSH AND BLAIR FOR NOBEL PRIZE http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/302184339?ts=1055139681&sign[partn erID]=1&sign[memberID]=173204728&sign[partner_userID]=173204728 Harald T. Nesvik, a Right-wing Norwegian Member of Parliament, has nominated U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair and U.S. President George W. Bush for the Nobel Peace Prize for their "decisive action against terrorism". Sign this petition to say you agree on rejecting Bush and Blair for Nobel Prize Nomination. SUPPORT FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: SIGN THE CREDO AND FAHAMU PETITION CREDO for Freedom of Expression and Associated Rights and Fahamu have launched a petition calling on African Union Heads of State to release all incarcerated journalists and repeal all anti freedom of expression legislation. The petition is to be presented at the African Union meeting of Heads of State in Maputo in July and is addressed to President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, the current Chair of the AU. Click on the link below to read the full letter and join the petition. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15669 TIME TO DROP THE DEBT http://www.actsa.org/Debt/action_intro.htm Five Africans die every minute as a result of HIV/AIDS. But Africa is unable to wage full-scale war on the disease because it is crippled by debts. Even with debt relief, African governments are still being forced to make repayments of over $14 billion every year. Join ACTSA's latest campaign by sending a message to Tony Blair urging him to deliver debt cancellation for Africa now. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 18.JOBS EAST/CENTRAL AFRICA: REGIONAL PROJECT MANAGER - IRIN OUTREACH RADIO http://www.reliefweb.int/w/res.nsf/wDocs/AD62FDE55FF0AB33C1256D3600388863 In 2002, IRIN launched its Outreach Radio project, a new initiative designed to help strengthen universal access to impartial news and information, especially among conflict affected and other vulnerable populations through a cooperative partnership with community radio stations. Having completed a successful pilot project in Somalia and Burundi, IRIN is now set to develop the project further, emphasising the provision of training and capacity-building support to local radio partners and expanding coverage to other crisis-affected countries in Africa and Asia. To facilitate this expansion, IRIN is seeking a dynamic Regional Project Manager for East and Central Africa with extensive programme management experience in the development of community radio. SENEGAL: CONSULTANT, EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS Oxfam http://www.reliefweb.int/w/res.nsf/wDocs/5EE7A9D48A296ABBC1256D350051012D The purpose of the position is to implement a work plan agreed by the regional director to prepare the contingency plans at national and community level for Senegal, The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau in accordance with Oxfam International standards. ZIMBABWE: FOOD SECURITY ADVISOR Save The Children http://www.reliefweb.int/w/res.nsf/wDocs/B70826D97F0AFDF5C1256D3500564926 Zimbabwe is facing a humanitarian crisis unprecedented in its history. Save the Children has been running a food aid intervention since October 2001, and has also been providing technical support to two local NGOs undertaking supplementary and general feeding programmes. This postholder will work alongside a second food security advisor and be responsible for providing technical guidance on the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of food security interventions in Zimbabwe. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 19.BOOKS AND ARTS DEVELOPMENT AND THE CHALLENGE OF GLOBALISATION Edited By Peter Newell, Shirin M. Rai, Andrew Scott http://styluspub.com/books/book5533.html Amid a torrent of claims and counter-claims about the pros and cons of globalization, this book takes a critical look at the actors, institutions and processes that mediate the relationship between the forces of globalisation and the poverty experienced by the majority of the world's people. The chapters in this important book clearly demonstrate that globalisation is a process with repercussions that extend far beyond the power centres of the North where global economic policies are formulated. The book will be of interest to researchers, practitioners and activists in development. FAMINE EARLY WARNING AND RESPONSE: THE MISSING LINK Edited By Margaret Buchanan-Smith, Susanna Davies http://styluspub.com/books/book2124.html Drawing on case studies from Ethiopia, Sudan, Chad, Mali and Kenya (focusing on Turkana district) during the drought years of 1990-91, this book investigates why early warning signals were not translated into timely intervention. It examines, for the first time, the role of early warning information in decision-making processes, particularly within key donor agencies. GANGS OF AMERICA: THE RISE OF CORPORATE POWER AND THE DISABLING OF DEMOCRACY http://www.gangsofamerica.com/ Corporations are the dominant force in modern life, surpassing even church and state. The largest are richer than entire nations, and courts have given these entities more rights than people. Where did this powerful institution come from? How did it get so much power? In Gangs of America: The Rise of Corporate Power and the Disabling of Democracy, author Ted Nace probes the roots of corporate power, finding answers in surprising places. JOURNAL OF REFUGEE STUDIES -- TABLE OF CONTENTS ALERT June 2003; Vol. 16, No. 2 This issue includes: * The Politics of Refugee Hosting in Tanzania: From Open Door to Unsustainability, Insecurity and Receding Receptivity Sreeram Sundar Chaulia, pp. 147-166 http://www3.oup.co.uk/refuge/hdb/Volume_16/Issue_02/160147.sgm.abs.html * Preventive, Palliative, or Punitive? Safe Spaces in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Somalia, and Sri Lanka Jennifer Hyndman, pp. 167-185 http://www3.oup.co.uk/refuge/hdb/Volume_16/Issue_02/160167.sgm.abs.html Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15581 LUNATICS TO HIT SOUTH AFRICA http://www.africapulse.org.za/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=1273 A Dutch theatre group called The Lunatics have come to South Africa to perform at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown. On their way to Grahamstown they will perform in Newtown, Johannesburg. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 20.MEMBERS CORNER /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 21.LETTERS AND COMMENTS GOLDEN MUNYAKA I want to take this opportunity to thank you for the article on "Ending the siege on Zimbabwean people is vital for African progress." I found the article to be a grounded approach to the Zimbabwean crisis. OPEN LETTER TO ZIMBABWEAN PRESIDENT ROBERT MUGABE We are writing to implore you to seek a peaceful and just solution to your country's escalating national crisis. Those signed below are Americans of Africa descent - many of them representing major organisations of civil society in the United States - who have worked for decades to support the liberation movements of Africa and the governments that followed independence which promoted and protected the interests of all of their nation's people. We form part of an honorable tradition of progressive solidarity with the struggles for decolonization, and against apartheid and imperialism in Africa. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15663 SIMON HINDS Your 'THE CHALLENGES BEFORE AFRICA AND THE AFRICAN UNION' raises vital issues that black people inside and outside the United Kingdom should not only consider but also become active on. Although I agree with the demand to free imprisoned journalists in Africa, I have a problem with 'freedom of expression' in Africa. You don't focus on Zimbabwe, but the Western media has. Yet I fully support the Zimbabwean government in illegally expelling Andrew Meldrum. Meldrum was a propagandist for the MDC whose leadership are treacherous. (I am doing a study of a sample of Meldrum's work precisely to show the extent to which Meldrum operated as a public relations officer or a journalist.) It is not unknown that Western governments will financially support news media to undermine a government that is representing its people. Propaganda is an important tool used to deny human rights to people in the South. If I were in Zimbabwe, I would certainly advocate legislation that curbs media propaganda. Any campaign about media in Africa has to address this problem as well as the well-known issue of dictators harassing reporters who offer legitimate criticism of them. There needs to be a charter for journalism that African heads of state should sign. A lot of thinking needs to be done to spell out what the charter says. It should support reports about human rights and good governance. It should also allow for reports about foreign involvement and interference in Africa. It should report on the actions of the IMF and World Bank. I hope your campaign isn't used to attack Zimbabwe. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ PAMBAZUKA NEWS IS PUBLISHED BY FAHAMU In Association With SANGONeT Fahamu - learning for change 14, Standingford House, Cave Street, Oxford OX4 1BA, UK 620 Overport City, Durban 4001, South Africa [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.fahamu.org [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.fahamu.org.za Editor: Firoze Manji, Fahamu Research and compilation: Patrick Burnett, Fahamu Contributing Editors: Alan Finlay, SANGONeT http://www.sn.apc.org Rotimi Sankore, CREDO [EMAIL PROTECTED] Pambazuka News is hosted at Kabissa 1519 Connecticut Avenue NW Suite 301, Washington DC, 20036 USA [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kabissa.org SUBMITTING NEWS: send to [EMAIL PROTECTED] SUBSCRIBE The Newsletter comes out weekly and is delivered to subscribers by e-mail. Subscription is free. To subscribe, send an e-mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> with only the word 'subscribe' in the subject or body. To subscribe online, visit: http://lists.kabissa.org/mailman/listinfo/pambazuka-news 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 [EMAIL PROTECTED] immediately regarding copyright issues. The views expressed in this newsletter, including the signed editorials, do not necessarily represent those of Fahamu (c) Fahamu 2003 If you wish to stop receiving the newsletter, unsubscribe immediately by sending a message FROM THE ADDRESS YOU WANT REMOVED to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] should you need further assistance subscribing or unsubscribing. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\
