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.

Kubatana, the web network of the Zimbabwe NGO Network Alliance Project will be running a series of electronic activism and advocacy workshops. These will be practical, fun & inspiring. If you want to take part, email the site.

The United Nations General Assembly is holding a Special Session on Children from 8 to 10 May. Heads of government, senior officials, as well as representatives from non-governmental organisations will decide what steps need to be taken in order to improve children's lives and assess progress made since the 1990 World Summit for Children. Despite commitments made ten years ago, child slavery is growing. One area of particular concern is trafficking.

The ANC is keen to prevent possible protests at Johannesburg's World Summit. Senior government leaders briefed the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) on the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad) this week, in what is seen as a move to head off possible protests at the World Summit on Sustainable Development later this year.

Two years ago - on 25 April 2000 - African leaders met in Abuja, Nigeria and promised to help fight malaria by dropping taxes on treated mosquito nets.

Yet, two years later, 26 African countries have not kept this promise.

Remind African leaders of the promise they made to DROP THE MALARIA TAX. No more taxes on treated mosquito nets that can protect the lives of Africa's women and children!!!!

Yes, I am signing this petition, which is my vote against child labour and for education for all children, decent jobs and respect for trade union and other labour rights for adults, calling on:
All governments to say YES to education for all children and NO to child labour, by ratifying and implementing ILO Child Labour Conventions 138 and 182.

Africa Affiliates of Transparency International (TI), the global non-governmental organization devoted to curbing corruption worldwide, has stepped up its campaign for the repatriation of Africa's stolen wealth estimated between 20-40billion dollars.

The Alliance for Children's Entitlement to Social Security (ACESS) is a national alliance of 70 organisations sharing a common vision and mission of ensuring that children's rights to survival and development are promoted and protected through the development of a comprehensive and effective social security system. It is currently seeking a National Co-ordinator, and Advocacy co-ordinator.

In a function attended by former president Nelson Mandela, Aventis Pharma announced that it was to contribute R150-million to a campaing agaist TB.

We ask for your and your organization's endorsement of the July 7th 2002 ATTN (AIDS Therapeutic Treatment Now) March to take place in Barcelona, Spain immediately prior to the opening ceremonies of the International AIDS Conference. If you are able to do so, please complete the endorsement information below, or respond to [email protected].

Exciting new developments around African control of Internet access for our continent. Take a look at this weeks edition of News Update for more details.

The Ceasefire Campaign invites you to its AGM. The Guest Speaker will be Gavin Woods and the topic will be "The Arms Deal -- What next?".

London, United Kingdom. To be part of a team consolidating BOND's advocacy work with its members on aid quantity and quality, and on civil society-government relations. Distribution of responsibilities will be based on the mix of skills and
experience in the team, but it is anticipated that this post will have a
significant research and writing component. All BOND staff work closely
with member NGOs. The postholder should have a background working in international development
issues; experience of aid or civil society issues would be an advantage.

In a letter release to South African President Thabo Mbeki, Africa Action, TransAfrica and actor/activist Danny Glover criticize the South African government's HIV/AIDS policies for "blocking needed medical efforts to address[the AIDS] crisis." The letter charges that the shortcomings of Mbeki's approach are responsible for the loss of countless lives and for undermining the larger global fight against the AIDS pandemic and the structural inequities that sustain it. The letter to President Mbeki emphasizes the urgent need for strong policies that cover treatment as well as prevention. It also highlights the important role that the South African government must play in the larger struggle to defeat the pandemic in Africa and globally.

The Initiative aims to build capacity among individuals and organisations engaged in advocacy for improving abortion access, either through legal change or by increasing access to and quality of services. This was a collaborative effort of 18 NGOs worldwide, 11 of whom conducted research in their respective countries looking at factors that promoted or impeded access to abortion. A book consisting of 12 chapters and detailing the findings from 11 countries was published in 2001. 11 chapters interrogate factors that promoted or impeded abortion access, either through legislation or service provision in 11 individual countries. The 12th chapter is a comparative analysis that looks at all the findings. The project is now in its second phase and we are sending out a call to NGOs in Africa who are interested in sharing the lessons that were generated through the collective experiences of the 18 participating countries.

With its focus on stigma and discrimination, the Campaign will encourage people to break the silence and the barriers to effective HIV/AIDS prevention and care. Only by confronting stigma and discrimination will the fight against HIV/AIDS be won.

Which global injustices gain your sympathy, attention, and money? Rarely the most deserving. For every Tibetan monk or Central American indigenous activist you see on the evening news, countless other worthy causes languish in obscurity. The groups that reach the global limelight often do so at dear cost—by distorting their principles and alienating their constituencies for the sake of appealing to self-interested donors in rich nations.

Registered Commercial & Financial Accountants, A. Cloete and Associates, offers services rendered to Close Corporations, Companies, Partnerships, Sole Proprietors, and NGO's.

We would like to bring to your attention the case of a 35 year-old Nigerian woman, Safiya Hussani, sentenced to death by stoning for having a child outside marriage. The sentence will be revised within six days, and all human rights organisations are trying to put the maximum pressure on the Nigerian government to stop the sentence. The organisations have opened up websites in English, French and Spanish to collect signatures for a petition addressed to the President of Nigeria to pardon Ms Hussani. Please visit any of these sites to sign the letter.

There is just one month remaining to enter the 2002 ICT stories competition! Deadline for submission is April 15th 2002. Visit the web site for detailds and submit your story.