In the face of intimidation and repression, peasant farmers from all parts of the country came together in November 2010 in Kolongo, Mali to publicly denounce land grabs. They also announced a collective plan to: identify and document cases of land dispossession and human rights violations; widely disseminate information about land grabbing at home and abroad; and pursue legal action to defend land and human rights in national, regional and international courts.

Kenya may be headed for its most significant confrontation with Western allies since the early 1990s if the government persists in its defiant reaction to the International Criminal Court’s requests for cooperation. 'There can be no doubt that the international community shares the desire by the broad majority of Kenyans for justice to be done to end the culture of impunity,' says Kenya National Commission on Human Rights commissioner Hassan Omar. 'If the government continues to block these efforts, it is natural that there will be consequences.'

The Centre for Constitutional Rights has presented its third annual Human Rights Report Card on South Africa. 'During the past year South Africans have continued to enjoy most of the constitutional rights to which they are entitled. However, proposed legislation and government initiatives raise very serious concerns with regard to some core rights such as freedom of expression; property rights; important aspects of the right to equality; and freedom of trade, occupation and profession; labour relations; and the right to freedom and security of the person,' the report says.

Eleven years ago, 192 countries - all the United Nations member states - agreed to step up the integration of women in international peacebuilding and security processes, a promise that has remained largely unmet. Mavic Cabrera-Balleza, international coordinator of the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP), notes that by having specific provisions compelling their members to implement and report progress, regional organisations like the European Union and the African Union 'are a step ahead' of the United Nations, which lacks a regular accountability mechanism.

About 20,000 pupils from various schools across Cape Town marched on Parliament on 21 March, appealing to the Department of Education to build libraries and to adopt 'norms and standards' for all schools in the country. The huge turnout at the Equal Education event rivalled the government's rally featuring President Jacob Zuma, which took place just 10km away at Athlone Stadium. The march was part of Equal Education's campaign to put pressure on the national education Ministry to build infrastructure, including libraries, at schools.

Years of working in poorly ventilated mines, inhaling silica dust - present in high concentrations in deep-level gold mines - can lead to silicosis, a crippling and progressive disease caused by scarring of the lungs. A study of former gold mine workers by the Aurum Institute, a non-profit health research organisation, found that nearly 25 per cent had silicosis. The disease has no cure and sufferers are also more prone to tuberculosis (TB). Now, two court cases have thrown a spotlight on the predicament of hundreds of thousands of former mineworkers in southern Africa who have received little or no compensation for occupational lung diseases.

The burden of paying for education in Madagascar has shifted to the poor after donor funding was frozen in the wake of a coup on 17 March 2009. About 70 per cent of the education sector had been funded by donor countries, but since Andry Rajoelina seized power from former President Marc Ravalomanana with the backing of the military, state financial support to the education sector has become erratic.

The AU might not be able to impose a no-fly zone on Libya or Côte d’Ivoire, but there are other options.

Thousands of failed Zimbabwean asylum-seekers face deportation back to their home country despite reports of human rights abuses by the Mugabe regime. The move comes after asylum judges ruled there was no evidence that those being returned would generally be at risk of harm, reports the London Independent.

Vegetable seller Caroline Tibet recently lost about US$420 in aubergines, cassava and okra when gunfire broke out near the truck just loaded up with her goods near the town of Duékoué in western Côte d'Ivoire. 'My investment went up in smoke,' she told IRIN. That has not, however, stopped Tibet and hundreds of other women in the commercial capital Abidjan from braving gunfire, curfews and ubiquitous and often dangerous roadblocks to keep the city's central food market stocked.

The Institute of Peace Leadership and Governance (IPLG) at Africa University seeks to contribute to a culture of peace, good governance, security and socio-economic development in Africa through research, teaching, networking and community-level action.

Patrick Rakotomalala

Patrick Rakotomalala

'In addition to ensuring women's participation, there will need to be a strong commitment during the transition period to protecting and promoting women's human rights by abolishing discriminatory laws and practices,' writes Nadya Khalife for about the Egyptian revolution. 'That means repealing family law provisions that discriminate against women and instead giving them equal rights in marriage, divorce, guardianship, custody and inheritance. New laws to make domestic violence and sexual harassment crimes should be adopted and enforced as well.'

Kenya takes shuttle diplomacy to another level.

A week after the date of the revolution supposed to 'dethrone' Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos and his royal court, the situation in the country appears calm. It is as if there had never even been a call for revolution, reports Global Voices. The actions of the State contributed greatly to this. A preemptive manoeuvre involved putting troops at the ready and convened pro-MPLA rallies from Cabinda to Cunene.

African governments must ensure transparency and accountability in the management of natural resources, including oil, to generate revenue for growth through diversifying economies, a United Nations official told delegates at an industrial policy conference in Ghana. 'African leaders must have bold visions and good planning,' Kandeh K. Yumkella, the Director-General of the UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), told delegates attending the two-day conference in Accra entitled 'Competitiveness and Diversification: Strategic Challenges in a Petroleum-Rich Economy'.

A Nigerian militant group claimed responsibility for an attack on an Agip oil facility in the Niger Delta on Wednesday (16 March), but the military said it was an isolated incident carried out by local youths. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said in a statement emailed to media that its fighters had carried out the attack on the Clough Creek oil flow station late on Tuesday and warned of more strikes on energy infrastructure.

As the world discusses the protests and battles sweeping North Africa where is the African Union (AU)? asks Wangari Maathai. 'In discussing the situation in Libya, US president Barack Obama did include the AU in a list of partners for finding a solution. But, by and large, the voice of the AU has been faint and largely ignored by the international media. Surely the AU should have been among the first international organisations consulted as internal conflict engulfed AU member states in North Africa.'

'There is a critical need for greater investment to support agriculture and livestock production in the area. In particular, policies should promote the local production of food with improved nutritional value, especially among the poorest groups,' says a Save the Children briefing investigating why it is that a fertile and agriculturally productive region like the DRC that can produce a variety of foods is the very same region where child stunting has reached a staggering rate of 50 per cent.

A pensioner has been convicted of trafficking and exploiting an African woman she used as a slave. While it was the first prosecution of its kind, could there be many more cases behind the UK's front doors? Caroline Haughey, prosecuting, told Southwark Crown Court the Tanzanian woman, from her arrival in England, had been 'made to sleep, work and live in conditions that fall by any understanding into that of slavery.'