This posting contains a sign-on letter on Africa policy to be sent to G7 finance ministers. The letter is initiated by ActionAid USA, Africa Action, the 50 Years Is Enough Network; and TransAfrica Forum.

Nigeria's Supreme Court has endorsed the federal government's anti-corruption campaigns, delivering a verdict that its anti-corruption agency is constitutional, valid and in force throughout the country, local media have reported. The Supreme Court ruled that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has power to arrest and detain corrupt officials in the country as a constitutionally functioning body.

The situation of relative stability obtaining in northern Uganda - boosted by improved relations between Uganda and Sudan, and the Ugandan army's subsequent assault on the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) - has translated neither into reduced displacement in the troubled region nor the return of children abducted by the rebel group, according to a new donor update from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

South Africa is the first major sub-Saharan African country that is trying to create a competitive connectivity market. How it is done and whether it succeeds will have important lessons for the rest of the continent.[News Update]

At their meeting in Canada in June, the Group of Eight (G8) richest countries will have it in their power to radically transform the lives of millions of children and adults worldwide by taking concrete steps to end the global crisis in education. As a worldwide coalition of trade unions, popular educators, child rights activists and NGOs, we are asking for your help in making this happen.

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has now joined with Action for Southern Africa (Actsa)in a new phase of campaigning to improve access to treatment for HIV/AIDS by lobbying the British government to demand that it lives up to its promise to prioritise Africa. Countries in the Southern Africa region, which is home to one third of the world's HIV-positive population, simply do not have the resources they need to fight AIDS and the response from the international community has been bitterly disappointingly.
Join the campaign at: http://www.actsa.org/HIV/main.htm

A recent rapid assessment by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), an associate organisation of the United Nations, has found that child labour is "common" in Zanzibar, with prostitution, fisheries and seaweed farming among the "most hazardous" sectors in which children are involved.

A new government study on child labour in Kenya reflects the tough economic realities which, combined with the negative effects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, are causing an unprecedented rise in poverty levels among Kenyan households, according to a leading child rights activist. Entitled "The 1998/'99 Child Labour Report", it concluded that many children in Kenya were in the workplace, often under hazardous conditions, despite the legal provisions and intervention programmes put in place to combat child labour.

The Kenyan government plans to launch a major measles vaccination campaign towards the end of June to tackle a disease that kills about 50 children in the country every day. Julius Meme, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Health, said on Wednesday that the US $15 million campaign, to be held from 17 and 23 June, would target more than 14.6 million children between nine months and 14 years of age.

We the undersigned, as individuals concerned about the abuse of human rights in Zimbabwe, find it puzzling and rather appalling that the international police organization, an organization that claims to value the respect of human rights, would invite to the Interpol Conference in the city of Lyon, a known and documented abuser of such rights in the nation of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe's Police Chief, Mr Augustine Chihuri.

The record of the police force in Zimbabwe as being a highly corrupt organization, and the force's political allegiance to Mr Mugabe are not issues of debate. We the undersigned hereby wish to register that we are appalled by the choice made by Interpol, to allow Mr Chihuri to attend the Interpol Conference despite his inclusion on the list of Zimbabwean officials affected by the "Smart Sanctions" imposed by the EU and the USA. Your choice is hereby taken as an indication that you do not stand in solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe to secure their basic human rights. We cannot conceive of a logical explanation as to why the invitation to the Interpol Conference, of an individual on an oppressor's payroll, could benefit the oppressed people of Zimbabwe. We request that Mr Chihuri be removed from his post as Vice President of Interpol, unless your organization wishes to retract its claim to the respect of human rights as one of its core values.

To sign this internet petition, please go to www.PetitionOnline.com/zwIpol/

Northern governments are guilty of rigging the rules to protect their own markets while calling for developing countries to open their economies and trade themselves out of poverty, fair trade campaigners argue. The debate over debt forgiveness has largely been won by activists looking to reform the international financial system. But the issue of protectionism and demands for fairer market access for developing countries are taking centre stage.

A coalition of non-governmental organisations dealing with conflict management has noted with great concern the continuation of human rights violations on farm workers throughout the country. These violations have been noted on both designated and undesignated farms during the fast track land redistribution exercise. Farm workers are among the poorest members of our society and yet, the resettlement programme has been instituted without any consideration for the welfare of thousands of farm workers and their families. The methods being used to implement the resettlement programme violate the basic human rights of the farm workers. The programme has resulted in a sudden termination of their employment resulting in an immediate loss of income with no provision for compensation or retrenchment packages. There is the forced and oftentimes violent removal from their homes and the destruction of their property. These people can no longer feed their families nor educate their children. This situation does not provide any form of hope and security for the thousands of displaced farm workers and their families. With the exception of a very small number, the farm workers have not benefited from the land resettlement exercise. A large majority are the descendants of people of foreign origin and are therefore not considered Zimbabwean citizens. This is despite the immense contribution made by generations of farm workers to Zimbabwe’s economy. The coalition believes that the situation of the farm workers can be improved in a number of ways. Contact: Coalition on Conflict Management, c/o Box CY 369 Causeway, Harare; email [email protected], telephone +263-(0)4-791 994.

ICAS is mobilizing petitions to the Nigerian government to pardon second women Ameneh Lava who became pregnant after separating from her husband from stoning to death.

The Labour Department has committed R62 million over the next five years to the Thuthuka skills project to improve the quality and teaching of mathematics and accountancy.

We, concerned Malawians living in South Africa, petition Your Excellency, President Dr. Bakili Muluzi on matters raised below on the basis of the oath of office you took in promising to uphold and defend the Malawi Republican Constitution at all times. Malawians entrusted you with the responsibility of providing them with leadership that is founded on natural justice, human rights and democratic governance. We recognize that it is also our patriotic duty to bring to your attention those issues that impact on national integrity and survival of Malawi as a nation.

Your Excellency, as you may be aware, Malawi is besieged by political conflict and uncertainty that is negatively impacting on the SADC region in realizing the goals of New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and thereby damaging the investor confidence that the region desperately needs.

You are aware that there is a campaign going on in Malawi on, your behalf, calling for the Malawi Republican Constitution to be amended to allow you to run for a third presidential term of office. We know that you have said nothing on the matter despite the negative effects of uncertainty that this campaign is creating. The uncertainty and hopelessness that has gripped Malawi today as a result of the political campaign that your political party is waging has a negative effect on the country and the region. Additionally, Malawi experiences political instability that robs Malawians of unity required galvanizing patriotic efforts by citizens to move their country forward.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns the increased persecution of and threats against Togolese journalists.

Dozens of Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) supporters and perceived supporters, have been abducted and sometimes "disappeared" in what appears to be a systematic campaign of intimidation against government opponents. MDC polling agents and other members of the party structure remain at high risk of attack from state-sponsored militia, which include veterans of the liberation war that led to independence in 1980.

Zimbabwean election regulations required that the names and addresses of MDC polling agents and other members of the party structure had to be printed in newspapers, and reports confirm that the militia are using these lists to target their attacks and abductions. Sign the Amnesty petition online.

Time and again, writing letters to those in power has proved to be one of the most effective tools for securing concrete change for tribal peoples. Survival letter-writing campaigns have helped tribal peoples win recognition of their land rights, put an end to logging or mining on their land, or halt government violence and oppression.

Your letter really can make a difference to the Gana and Gwi Bushmen. Please write a brief and polite letter or fax (in English, Setswana, or your own language), including the following points:

The Botswana government is ignoring international law by failing to recognise the Gana and Gwi's ownership rights over the land they have traditionally lived on and used.
Services on which the Gana and Gwi Bushmen have become dependent should be maintained – the cost is not prohibitive and the European Union has offered to fund it.
The Gana and Gwi Bushmen have the right to decide for themselves how they want to live – they are not 'primitive' simply because they are hunters.
Please send your letter to:

The Hon F G Mogae
President of the Republic
Private Bag 001
Gaborone
Botswana

Togo's office of the International Catholic Child Bureau, using a US $343,000 contribution from the French government, has launched a three-year project to combat child labour across the country.

By tradition, Swazis of all generations and genders show their devotion to their monarchs and fealty to their chiefs by providing labour for chores both practical and symbolic. Recently, the custom has drawn fire from pro-democracy groups, who claim the practice of tribute labour violates human rights.