Swaziland unions have condemned the prime minister's suggestion that dissidents should be beaten on their feet with spikes. Barnabas Dlamini also said foreigners who meddled in the affairs of sub-Saharan Africa's last absolute monarch should be subject to the traditional punishment, known as "sipakatane".

The arrest and conviction of seven Quranic teachers who forced boys trusted to their care to beg is a significant move forward for children's rights in Senegal, Human Rights Watch has said. The men were sentenced on September 8, 2010, marking the first application of a 2005 law outlawing the practice; two more men are scheduled to face the same charges on September 9.

At least 17 people have drowned in northern Ghana in recent weeks after nearby Burkina Faso opened spillway gates to dams following heavy rains, the country's relief agency said on Friday. "As at yesterday, the death toll in the three northern regions stood at 17 and a number of farmlands have been destroyed," National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) spokesman Nicholas Mensah told AFP.

This policy note argues that the effectiveness of monetary policy relies on a viable domestic market for trading public securities, and a commercial banking sector willing and able to lend to the private sector. However, the paper deems that with the exception of South Africa, no country in the sub-Saharan region has these necessary conditions.

The Refugee Law Project (RLP), Faculty of Law, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda is working with Northern Uganda Transitional Initiative (NUTI) to create a war archive and museum in Kitgum District. This archive will serve as a resource centre for studies in extremism, violence and displacement can be studied. The RLP is currently gathering materials for the museum-like archive and is looking for two volunteers to work alongside the Programme Manager.

In Senegal many women refuse to take mentally disabled children on public transport; families hide children with mental or neurological disorders, and some parents disown them outright. Such is the stigma of having a child with these widely misunderstood illnesses. "In Senegal people simply regard children with such conditions as 'abnormal', whatever the disability - mental or physical," said Ngor Ndour, a psychologist specializing in mental disorders in children.

Offering a bold example for the possibilities for press freedom, the Liberian government has passed a freedom of information law, report the Center for Media Studies and Peace Building (CEMESP) and the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA). The House of Representatives of Liberia unanimously voted to pass the Liberia Freedom of Information Law on 22 July, thereby making information accessible to all Liberians. The law has been forwarded to the Senate and is expected to be signed into law by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf by the end of August.

The Lesbian and Gay Equality Project (LGEP) fully supports the South African public sector employees’ demands for a decent living wage and good working conditions. We recognise that the strike action being undertaken by public sector workers comes after months of negotiations. Public sector unions have moderated their demands to a 8.6 per cent wage increase and R1,000 housing allowance. We also recognise that striking, historically and currently, is one of the only means of mobilising by workers once reasonable demands are not met.

MISSION
Fahamu (www.fahamu.org), Regional Office for West Africa, is seeking a regional pan-African campaign Coordinator, to work with Rural Women’s Associations in a campaign to promote family farming and food sovereignty.

The campaign is led by rural women's associations engaged in the practice and promotion of ecological agriculture. It is part of a global pan-African campaign conducted by a coalition of farmers’ organizations, farmers networks and African producers.

The rural women's associations, in a parallel and convergent way with the pan-African campaign, will conduct their own activities according to their needs and priorities. Having an independent yet related campaign, will give them voice and ensure they play a leading role in the pan-African campaign.

The campaign will initially cover West African countries, but shall gradually involve the other regions of the continent.

LOCATION
The Coordinator is based in Dakar, at Fahamu West Africa Office.

JOB DESCRIPTION
Fahamu seeks
- A Coordinator Project who will be responsible for :
• identification, mobilization, orientation, coordination of activities
• monitoring and evaluation of the campaign
• management and reporting of grants for the campaign
• fundraising for ongoing campaign activities

The Project Coordinator will:
• Work with rural women’s association networks, farmers platforms, producer organizations and potential partners, to develop campaign strategies and ensure their implementation.
• Coordinate, at the regional level, the activities undertaken in the different countries by local associations
• Conduct research to gather relevant information (studies, literature) to establish coherent and strong arguments on the issues and stakes of the campaign
• Develop relevant communication tools for the campaign and advocacy initiatives
• Document, guide, develop training and communication approaches for organizations and networks of women's organizations in order to sensitize and mobilize them
• Recruit and supervise consultants who will develop training modules to be delivered as part of the campaign
• Contribute to the elaboration of a joint advocacy programme for a regional campaign
• Conduct research partners
• Coordinate with other campaigns in order to promote family farming in Africa
• Organize / Participate in coordination meetings, workshops, advocacy and mobilization activities or the campaign
• Write reports of meetings, workshops and other activities
• Produce and coordinate the production of materials to publish in the Fahamu electronic newsletter Pambazuka News and on the site that will be created for the campaign.

QUALIFICATIONS
Fahamu seeks an expert in social sciences (Sociology of development, communication, etc.), fulfilling the following criteria:
• Good knowledge of issues related to agricultural development in Africa
• At least 5 years experience in strategic analysis, development and implementation and project management
• Bilingual in French and English
• Good skills in writing and oral communication
• Excellent organisational and time management skills
• Experience in fundraising
• Demonstrated commitment to social justice movements, including civil society networks
• Experience of working with African civil society, particularly women's organizations at grassroots level
• Computer skills (Microsoft Word, e-mail).
• Autonomy in work and ability to work independently
• Flexibility to travel

PROJECT DESCRIPTION
In recent years, African farmers' organizations have expressed their fears and have developed resistance to agricultural policies oriented towards the world market rather than for local or national needs. In a context marked by multifaceted crises, African governments are more and more involved in these policies inspired and financed by multinational corporations and international institutions. Among other examples is the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa - AGRA).

But according to organizations and African farmers' organizations platforms, agricultural crises Africa is confronting require other solutions. The alternatives they advocate are more focused on the preservation and promotion of family farming that feed, produce surpluses and give them capacities to be competitive in our markets. This approach relies on the development of a peasant endogenous proven expertise, whose relevance depends on understanding the environment and agricultural practices more respectful of the preservation of the ecosystem.

This approach, whose aim is to ensure food sovereignty, is not yet supported by an organized, coherent, popular and well informed mobilization.

Peasant organizations and platforms of farmer organizations in Africa are therefore engaged in a coalition to lead a pan-African campaign to promote family farming through endogenous farmers' experiences based on agro-ecological approaches, as a response to cyclical agriculture and food crises and as alternatives to industrial agriculture oriented towards international markets.

These organizations include, among others, the Network of Farmers Organizations and Producers of West Africa (Réseau des Organisations Paysannes et des Producteurs d’Afrique de l’Ouest - ROPPA), African Biodiversity Network, Daughters of Mumbi / Jubilee South Africa (Kenya), the Coalition for the Protection of African Genetic Heritage (Coalition pour la Protection du Patrimoine Génétique africain - COPAGEN), the Guinean Association for the Relief of Women's Burden (l’Association Guinéenne pour l’Allègement des Charges des Femmes) the Network to Support West African and Tchad Rural Women Citizenship (Réseau d'appui à la citoyenneté des Femmes Rurales d'Afrique de l'Ouest et du Tchad - RESACIFROAT).

As part of a pan-African campaign, associations of rural women will undertake, in parallel, a joint campaign. This will give space and capacities to raise their voices, to highlight issues specific to them, to develop the endogenous practices which they are holders and assert their leadership. Women play key roles in agricultural production, providing 70% of food production, managing nearly 100% of processing activities, being involved in the maintenance of family herd and investing also on markets sales activities. Thus agricultural and food crises have a greater impact on them and install them in situations of extreme insecurity.

Campaign Objectives:
- Document and promote best practices and associated knowledge, known and perpetuated for generations in Africa (agroecology, endogenous production of seeds, etc.), ensuring the continent's food sovereignty
- Change attitudes and perceptions in relation to imposed social development model ;
- To alert decision makers for awareness and better governance;
- Develop practices related to family farming

DURATION OF PROJECT:
3 years

SALARY: GBP 18,000.00 per year

Deadline for applications: September 15, 2010
To apply please submit the following to the address at the top of this document.
- A CV
- A letter indicating your interest in the position, and how your skills and experience fit the criteria required to carry out this role.
- Three references

Availability: Immediate

Send your application to [email][email protected].

Fahamu has a vision of the world where people organise to emancipate themselves from all forms of oppression, recognise their social responsibilities, respect each other’s differences, and realise their full potential. Fahamu is looking for a qualified and passionate ICT Officer.

Job Description

The ICT officer will report to the Programme manager and be responsible for:

1. Providing ICT technical support for Fahamu offices.

2. Provide design support for Fahamu’s programs.

3. Create, update and manage the Fahamu website and associated program sites, including but not limited to the AU Monitor and the Emerging Powers in Africa sites, including, where appropriate, the migration of these sites to appropriate content management systems.

4. Create, update and manage partner and associated websites where support is required.

5. Provide advice and support to Fahamu’s program staff and partners to implement new media strategies in human rights and social justice protection and advocacy including where appropriate, through trainings and workshops and development of curricula.

6. Assist in the setting up and maintenance of the Pambazuka platform

7. Assist in the implementation of ICTs for learning including support for Fahamu’s distance learning courses and other online training platforms.

8. Assist in the development and update of Fahamu and partners’ online presence on Facebook, Twitter and other social networking platforms

9. Provide advice on Fahamu’s database management system.

10. Maintain Fahamu and partners’ listserves and online newsletters.

PERSON SPECIFICATIONS

Essential

• Competence with the following software: Macromedia technologies: Authorware, Flash, ActionScript, LINGO, Adobe Photoshop/PaintShop Pro, and Illustrator, HTML/Scripting languages
• Familiarity with video/sound editing: Adobe Premier, QuickTime Pro, Sound Edit 16/Cool Edit Pro
• Experience of Web development and issues of bandwidth and compatibility
• At least two years experience of developing CDROM and/or web base learning materials
• Experience with Win 98/2000/NT and Mac OS, and general computer hardware
• Competence in developing in Drupal, PHP5, XML and web 2.0 technologies.
• Comfortable with both PC and Mac platforms
• A degree in ICT from a recognized University or equivalent work experience
• Good understanding of design and layout
• Self-motivated/self-starter
• Experience in database management
• A keen interest and experience in innovating new and exciting ways of using ICT for social justice

Desirable

• Qualification in multimedia technologies
• Ability to nurture young activists in using ICTs for social justice
• Ability to provide ICT support to staff and partners with limited ICT knowledge and experience
• Ability to work under pressure and to tight deadlines
• Commitment to the mission and values of the Fahamu
• Background in publishing

Location: Nairobi, Kenya

A competitive salary and benefit package will be provided. The salary will be dependent on experience, educational background and salary history of the successful candidate.

If interested submit your application letter and curriculum vitae by email to [email][email protected] Please include “ICT Officer application” in the subject line.

Deadline for application is 24th September 2010. Applications received after this date will not be considered. Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.

Fahamu is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

The future of Thulani Rudd, a Swaziland lesbian arrested in 2009 following a mysterious death of her girlfriend Pitseng Vilakati, looks bleak since she has been in custody for more than a year now, has no legal representation and it is still unclear when her case will resume. It is alleged that some gay rights groups that earlier assisted Rudd with legal representation have had to withdraw since when she was arrested she made a voluntary statement that implicated her to the murder.

Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) seeks a consultant to conduct an external evaluation of its Project “Promoting and Improving Access to Agricultural Information using ICTs in Northern Uganda.” The duration of the assignment is 20 days including travel to the project area and desk review. The consultant should have strong skills in both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis, good practice of participatory methodologies and experience in working with/in diverse cultural settings. In addition, he/she should have a proven track record in conducting evaluations of ICTs for development projects and in assessing gender concerns.

Five years after a local charity opened a university to offer this bullet-scarred city’s youth an alternative to militia life and emigration, the first degrees have been awarded. "I want our people to know that education is the ladder of life and that every step of development that a community makes depends on the level of the community's education," one of the 27 new graduates, Qoole Qowden*, recounted.

Fahamu’s Refugee Programme is pleased to announce the September issue of the [pdf], a monthly publication that aims to provide a forum for providers of refugee legal aid. With a focus on the global South, it aims to serve the needs of legal aid providers as well as raise awareness of refugee concerns among the wider readership of Pambazuka News.

The newsletter follows recent developments in the interpretation of refugee law; case law precedents from other constituencies; reports and helpful resources for refugee legal aid NGOs; and stories of struggle and success in refugee legal aid work. It welcomes contributions from legal aid providers, refugees and others interested or involved in refugee legal aid.

No state in the world has recognised the Moroccan annexation of Western Sahara. Still, the EU is paying millions of euros annually to the government of Morocco to allow EU vessels to fish in the waters of Western Sahara. The EU fisheries activities in Western Sahara must immediately come to an end. Morocco continues to refuse to cooperate with the decolonisation process in Western Sahara, thereby defying more than 100 UN resolutions that insist on the Saharawi people’s right to self-determination. Simultaneously, Moroccan authorities commit human rights violations against Saharawis who voice their political views. No EU states, nor the UN, recognise the Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.

The Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) is pleased to announce an opening for the position of Executive Director.

The Open Society Institute works to build vibrant and tolerant democracies whose governments are accountable to their citizens. To achieve its mission, OSI seeks to shape public policies that assure greater fairness in political, legal, and economic systems and safeguard fundamental rights. On a local level, OSI implements a range of initiatives to advance justice, education, public health, and independent media. At the same time, OSI builds alliances across borders and continents on issues such as corruption and freedom of information. OSI places a high priority on protecting and improving the lives of marginalized people and communities.

Investor and philanthropist George Soros in 1993 created OSI as a private operating and grantmaking foundation to support his foundations in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Those foundations were established, starting in 1984, to help countries make the transition from communism. OSI has expanded the activities of the Soros foundations network to encompass the United States and more than 60 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Each Soros foundation relies on the expertise of boards composed of eminent citizens who determine individual agendas based on local priorities.
OSIWA is a private Foundation which supports, makes grants and advocates for initiatives that promote Open Society values in eight focus countries of West Africa (Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone). OSIWA’s principal niche is to build capacity of West African government institutions and civil society organizations through support to catalytic and innovative initiatives.
OSIWA operates programs around four major strategic pillars, which are Governance; Law, Justice and Human Rights; Health and Development; and Information Technology, Communication & Media. OSIWA has identified the following 5 strategic objectives, which will drive its interventions in 2010-2011: strengthened democratic institutions, processes and structures; reduced levels of impunity; enhanced citizenship and public participation in decision-making; enhanced protection of groups exposed to discrimination; and improved equity and transparency in the management of resources.
The core of OSIWA’s interventions has been built around promoting, strengthening and working towards ensuring credibility in the governance process by promoting transparency and accountability. The Foundation, therefore, pursues efforts to identify avenues for building the capacity of both public institutions and civil society to ensure good governance. OSIWA’s intervention strategies are at three levels: sub-regional based initiatives built around the ECOWAS to cover the countries under its mandate, working mainly at the policy level; using multi-country interventions that cover initiatives across a number of countries, with emphasis on the need to share experiences and address issues of various levels of similarities; initiatives that are supported within a single country or local council, and generally meant to serve as pilot cases for duplication in other countries and local communities, within and outside the area. The sub-regional and multi-country foci have given OSIWA the leverage to widen its program reach to all the countries in the sub-region.
A. Key Duties and Performance Areas

OSIWA leadership and development
• Provide strategic direction and initiative in the development of the foundation, constantly identifying opportunities and threats to the foundation and articulating leadership objectives in relation to these opportunities and threats.
• Conceptualize open society issues and strategies in the Western African context, effectively relating these to African and global trends and dynamics, and interpreting the same in leadership to stakeholders.
• Continually position OSIWA as a leader in promoting open societies in Western Africa, exploiting and developing the foundation’s ability to combine programming approaches ranging from advocacy, convening, grantmaking, capacity building, and work through partnerships.

OSIWA management
• Manage all aspects of OSIWA, including its human and financial resources.
• Assume and responsibly exercise overall legal and executive authority for the offices, programs, positioning, relationships, risks, assets and liabilities of OSIWA in Dakar, Abuja, Monrovia, Freetown and any other site out of which the Board may in future direct the location of OSIWA’s operations or those of its affiliates.
• Manage and develop responsive relationships with the foundation’s stakeholders.
• Report to and closely work with the foundation’s Board of Directors, effectively carrying out the mandate and directions of the Board as developed from time to time.

OSIWA partnerships, networking and communications
• Define and maintain strategic relationships with West African regional and national civil society partners, governments, private sector entities, and other actors relevant for the construction and sustenance of open societies in the region.
• Provide intellectual and strategic leadership and support to the heads of OSIWA spin offs including West Africa Democracy Radio (WADR) and West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI).

OSIWA fundraising and resource development
• Effectively raise resources for the foundation from traditional as well as new donors.
• Maintain strong and mutually enriching relationships with donor organizations working on human rights-related issues in the region.

B. Key Outcomes

An effective and highly dynamic foundation, maintaining its ability to proactively model African leadership on the complex challenges of West African societies today, with respect to the existence and depth of the ideals, institutions, policies, laws, and practice of open society.

C. Person Specifications

• At least a Master’s degree in a relevant discipline, preferably from the social sciences/ humanities or management sciences.
• Senior management experience within a multilateral, and/or donor organization.
• Evidence of creative leadership over at least five years in the not-for-profit sector, including demonstrable exposure to complex questions of leadership in the West African regional context, and a track record of delivery.
• Close knowledge of, and evidence of contribution to, the major discourses in human rights development and public policy in West Africa, including the nexus between these and broader African and international issues.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills;
• Fluency in English and French;
• Role competence as a Representative, including the possession of superior communication skills; ability to effectively operate in relevant regional languages beyond English and French will be a distinct advantage.
• Independent functionality with office computer packages such as MS Word, Excel, Internet and E-mail required.
• Commitment to social justice, human rights, and development.
• Strong ability to inspire others and to work in a team.
• Demonstrated experience in managing inter and intra-organizational relationships in complex organizational environments;
• Capacity to work long hours towards multiple objectives in a pressured environment, and to organize own work as well as information.

Start Date: Immediately

Compensation: Commensurate with experience. Excellent benefits package.

To Apply

Please email resume and cover letter with salary requirements before October 15, 2010 to: [email][email protected] Include job code in subject line: ED-OSIWA

OR

Open Society Institute
Human Resources – Code ED-OSIWA
400 West 59th Street
New York, New York 10019
FAX: 212.548.4675

No phone calls, please. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for an interview.

The Open Society Institute is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Fahamu seeks a suitable, passionate individual to fill the position of ICT officer, based in Nairobi, Kenya. A competitive salary and benefit package will be provided. The salary will be dependent on the experience, educational background and salary history of the successful candidate. Deadline for application is 24 September 2010. Applications received after this date will not be considered. Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.

Kivulini was established in 1999 by six women who felt compelled to respond to the needs of women experiencing domestic violence in the city of Mwanza in Tanzania. The organisation seeks to address the root causes of domestic violence by working closely with community members and leaders to change attitudes and behaviours that perpetuate violence against women. In Swahili, Kivulini means "in the shade/shelter" and is intended to imply a safe place where women, men, and children feel supported.

Eliminating malaria, especially from its hotspots in Africa, will be impossible without new types of intervention, a newly published model has confirmed. To eliminate malaria in Africa, current interventions would need to reach far more people than health and transport infrastructures permit, according to Prof Azra Ghani, an infectious disease epidemiologist, and colleagues at Imperial College, London.

Months before Southern Sudan holds a referendum on possible secession from the north, officials have warned that feeding the influx of expected returnees will pose a problem. “A lot of people came just before the census, more came just before the elections,” said Matthew Abujin, Southern Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (SSRRC) secretary in charge of Central Equatoria. "With the referendum, we are expecting a very big number. Nobody wants to stay on the wrong side of the border.”