The April 2012 issue of the Fahamu Refugee Legal Aid Newsletter is now available on our .

In this issue:

- ‘We are in hell’: Legal aid needed for detained asylum seekers in Romania
- Legal aid battles in the Lords: a report from the United Kingdom
- Country of Origin specialists: engaging at what cost?
- ‘Experts’ in the asylum process: are good intentions good enough?
- Court injunction forbids Israel from deporting South Sudanese
- Update: Syrian refugees in Turkey
- Syrian men barred from leaving country without military approval
- More resettlement places in Europe?
- Court rules conditions in Dadaab to be ‘inhuman and degrading’
- Canadian government to include Mexico on ‘Safe Country of Origin’ list
- Mock trial for Europe aims to shed light on human rights
- Petition: Support Refugee Action’s ‘Access to Justice’ initiative
- Petition: Campaign to save North Korean refugees in China from refoulement

Also in this issue: Announcements; Country of Origin and legal news; Deportation news; Requests; Resources; Publications; Vacancies & Opportunities; Calls for papers; Conferences and courses.

Leading a dedicated team to accompany the development and implementation of campaign strategies led by progressive African social justice movements, the Utetezi Director will support innovative strategies to amplify grassroots demands and realize people-centred change.

Former President Benjamin Mkapa put up a spirited defence for the decision of his third phase administration to privatise state firms, at a public forum held in Dar es Salaam. He told participants at the fourth Mwalimu Nyerere Professorial chair that the poor performance of the firms was due to bad management, in reaction to accusations directed at him personally from some participants. Mkapa said during his time in office when he decided to adopt the privatisation, some 386 state owned industries were privatised, 180 of which were sold to locals. According to Mr Mkapa, all the 386 companies have since collapsed due to what he termed as bad management.

PEN American Center has named Eskinder Nega, a journalist and dissident blogger in Ethiopia, as the recipient of its 2012 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award. Nega, a leading advocate for press freedom and freedom of expression in Ethiopia, was arrested on September 14, 2011, and is currently being tried under the country’s sweeping anti-terror legislation, which criminalizes any reporting deemed to 'encourage' or 'provide moral support' to groups and causes which the government considers to be 'terrorist'. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

A documentary on the life of Prof Neville Alexander, 'Glimpses of a Life: Neville Alexander', by local filmmaker Nicki Westcott was launched in March. His work and life's legacy is widely celebrated, but who's the man behind UCT's Professor Neville Alexander? Few knew the inner workings of this acclaimed linguist and anti-apartheid struggle veteran - he's fiercely private and humble - until now.

Zille's comments brought back memories of the Afro-phobic attacks of 2008; but this time, invoking such phobia between people already living in South Africa.

Monday 16 April, 7 - 9pm, Amnesty International UK Human Rights Action Centre, 17-25 New Inn Yard, London EC2A 3EA.

This is a podcast prepared by Mbonisi Zikhali based on the launch of the African Awakenings book that we held last night in Ottawa hosted by Octopus Books, Inter Pares, Carlton University and Friends of Pambazuka.

The continued theft of large quantities of diamonds by dealers and cartels is a threat to national security and may undermine the work of the inclusive government in Zimbabwe.

Equality Now and the Movement for Solidarity for African Women’s Rights (SOAWR) recently produced “A Guide to Using the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa for Legal Action.” The Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa is renowned for its strong and comprehensive provisions on women’s rights. The how-to guide aims to equip activists with strong tools to protect and advance women’s rights at the local, national, and regional levels.

The guide is on the SOAWR .

To learn more about Equality Now and its work promoting the rights of women, please see its website (in English, French, and Arabic).

On a related note, on March 9, 2012, Cote d’Ivoire ratified the Protocol. For a map of African countries that have signed and ratified the Protocol, please see the SOAWR website.

Oil transparency activists have vowed to continue a legal battle to require the government of Uganda to publish Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs) that it has reached with international oil companies. This comes after a court rejected an application from the African Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO) and three other civil society organisations for permission to present evidence at an appeal by two journalists against a separate ruling which denied them access to the PSAs.

Between 1-4 April, hundreds of Sierra Leonean small land owners and community members from all over the country will come together in Freetown to organize against land grabs. Join the Oakland Institute in our pledge to raise $10,000 to fund travel, food, and lodging for 100 participants.

The East Africa Association of Grantmakers (EAAG) is elated to announce the call for nominations for the inaugural East Africa Philanthropy Awards (EAPA) 2012. Launched in 2011, the Awards seek to identify, recognize and celebrate outstanding contributions of individuals and organizations to strategic social development and to the growth of the philanthropic movement in East Africa.

Senegal's political transition will be affected by its response to the youth. Nearly 44 per cent of the population is under the age of 15. Like many other African countries, Senegal will need to find ways to address the challenges facing the majority of the populace – typically employed in agriculture – while also addressing young people's needs, says this article on The Guardian UK blog.

There has been a development and shift away from privatisation as the dominant strategy towards the so-called corporatisation and commercialisation of public water services. The main purpose of this report is to analyse the strategic development in policy that has taken place, the World Bank's neoliberal strategy on corporatisation of urban water services and concrete case studies of corporatisation projects in Sub-Saharan Africa as examples of this strategy.

With hundreds of thousands fleeing the conflict in northern Mali, civil society groups in Mauritania are working to ensure the refugee community integrates peacefully with local residents. 'Solidarity for all in Mauritania', a conglomerate of civil society organisations, held a Nouakchott seminar March 20th on activities to support the local population in the border towns of Fassala and Bassiknou. The forum discussed how best to reduce the repercussions of the poor living conditions in areas in light of the dual crises.

The 2012 Conference focuses on building the type of leadership Africa needs to successfully face challenges in the 21st century. The conference will bring together young and emerging academics, students, entrepreneurs, activists, and politicians to discuss and debate the challenges of the day in Africa.

Statement of Feminist and Women's Organisations on the very Limited and Concerning Results of the 56th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women.

Reporters Without Borders has written to the UN Special Rapporteur on torture, Juan E. Mendez, to inform him of its deep concern about the persecution of journalists in Djibouti. The press freedom organization asked the UN official to intervene urgently on behalf of radio journalist Farah Abadid Hildid, who works for the Europe-based station 'La Voix de Djibouti'. The station broadcasted on short wave and is now available on the Internet, although access to its website is blocked in Djibouti.

A pilot version of an online mapping tool has been launched in Africa which enables researchers and policymakers to identify how climate change vulnerability, conflict, and aid intersect. Researchers from the Strauss Center's Climate Change and African Political Stability (CCAPS) programme, United States, integrated data from areas of climate change vulnerability and active aid-funded projects in Malawi, and mapped this information onto the locations of Malawian conflicts up to 2010.