UNHCR is deeply concerned about the week-long clashes in the Somali capital Mogadishu that have claimed many civilian lives and sparked a new wave of displacement. The latest fighting, some of the heaviest seen in Mogadishu this year, between forces loyal to the Transitional Federal Government and opposition groups, erupted last week and have so far claimed the lives of more than 135 people and 315 injured, while dislocating an estimated 30,000 people.

The United Nations Security Council should focus on the protection of civilians, justice, and human rights during its upcoming visit to Africa, from May 14-21, 2009, Human Rights Watch has said in a letter to the council member states. The 15 members of the Security Council will visit Liberia, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and meet with African Union officials in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, about the crises in Somalia and Sudan.

The United States Senate should move beyond collecting testimony in its commitment to help prevent and punish rape in conflict, Human Rights Watch has said in a written submission to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The US is in a strong position to provide active global leadership and to press for international action, Human Rights Watch said.

The wars that have wracked the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 1996, killing well over 5 million people (International Rescue Committee, 1/08) in what may be the deadliest conflict since World War II, are officially over. A peace agreement was signed in 2002, and general elections were held in 2006.

Applications are invited from suitably qualified persons for appointment to the established post of Director of the Institute. The selected candidate will be expected to provide dynamic, innovative and versatile leadership and management of the Institute, including high level academic and professional leadership in all aspects of teaching and research. In addition, he/she will provide intellectual support to a comprehensive programme of outreach activities involving conferences, workshops, seminars, retreats and related activities, organised for particular groups and in collaboration with network partner institutions.

The Institute of Peace, Leadership and Governance (IPLG) at Africa University invites applicants for a Senior Lecturer or Lecturer in Human Rights. The post is full-time and the appointment will be made at an appropriate level. The Institute 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. IPLG provides a focus for training, research and documentation in the areas of peace, leadership and governance in Africa with a view to developing the skills of students and practitioners in these areas.

The African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) should focus on demanding accountability and supporting efforts to tackle impunity, the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Network (EHAHRD-Net) declares in an intervention to the 45th Session of the Commission. The intervention focuses on Kenya, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia and Eritrea, countries in the East and Horn of Africa region where the present human rights situation is of particular concern.

It is reported that there has been a major spill of toxic sludge from Barrick's Mara mining operation into River Thigithe that flows into the Mara River. This happened Monday the 11th of May and nearby residents have reported that there are dead fish and all kinds of other dead water life along the river.

This latest report from the International Crisis Group, analyses the situation on the ground in the wake of the five-week joint military operation between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda against Rwandan Hutu rebels, the Forces Démocratiques pour la Libération du Rwanda (FDLR), in the Kivus. That effort did not produce significant results and highlights the need for a new tack. The report presents a five-point strategy to drive a renewed process forward.

Thousands of people associated with a former rebel group in Burundi could threaten the country's new-found peace because they have been excluded from a demobilisation and army integration programme on the grounds they were not actual combatants, according to analysts. Agathon Rwasa, leader of Burundi's Forces Nationals de Libération (FNL), recently handed in his weapons and uniforms to formally start the programme.

Aid agencies are racing to position food and other relief supplies for some 18,000 men, women and children from Central African Republic who fled to southern Chad, most of whom have taken refuge next to the border. Rains due in the coming weeks will cut access to the refugees, aid workers say. Up to 100 Central Africans continue to pour into Chad each day, fleeing armed attacks on civilians and fighting between rebels and government forces in northern CAR.

Judges at the Special Court for Sierra Leone have rejected a request by Charles Taylor, the former Liberian president, that he be acquitted of war crimes charges. The special tribunal meeting on Monday in The Hague said he must account for allegations of waging a campaign to terrorise Sierra Leone through mass murder, rape and mutilation.

Ogeste Gelevasi sits in front of his humble house, looking out over fields of cassava and tobacco with a wide smile of contentment. He feels at home here in western Tanzania after almost 40 years as a refugee from neighbouring Burundi. For Ogeste, the country he fled aged two is a foreign country; that's why he, like an estimated 165,000 of the remaining so-called 1972 Burundians living in Mishamo and two other "old settlements," have decided to accept a landmark offer by the government to settle in Tanzania and apply for citizenship.

Moroccan associations and human rights organisations want the practice of child marriage to stop. Campaigners from various associations recently criticised the way the Moudawana (Family Code), which was intended to limit child marriages, has been applied. The legal minimum age for marriage in Morocco is 18 years, although family judges are empowered to allow exceptions. This loophole has enabled thousands of families to marry off their daughters prematurely.

Amnesty International today called on the Ethiopian government to immediately disclose the names and fate of more than 35 people believed to be held by its security forces on political grounds since 24 April. Additional arrests have reportedly been carried out over the past several days and sources in the country have told Amnesty International that further arrests are expected.

Since January 2009, Madagascar has been experiencing serious political unrest, characterized by sporadic demonstrations and violence in the capital city of Antananarivo and other main urban centres. As of 5 May, some 1,332 casualties, including 191 fatalities, have been recorded in hospitals by WHO. The situation has provoked a climate of fear and uncertainty, leading to a rise in unemployment in key sectors, as well as disruptions in social services. In addition, a number of aid projects throughout the country have been experiencing delays due to difficulties of access and implementation.

Since the end of the civil war seven years ago, the Sierra Leonean authorities and child welfare agencies have been battling to remove children from the diamond-mining fields, a trend which began at the height of the conflict, when children were abducted by rebel forces and coerced to work in the mines. "It is now a major post-conflict problem and a threat to social stability," remarks Patrick Tongu of the Network Movement for Justice and Development (NMJD), which monitors mining activities in the country.

Heavy ground fighting between Chadian troops and rebels has erupted in the east, a day after the government said a rebel offensive had been defeated. The government said its forces had killed at least 100 rebels and some of its own soldiers had also died in an hour of combat near Am Dam. It said the rebels were retreating and looting as they left.

Darfur has welcomed the support from leaders across Africa who pledged to stand in solidarity with the civilians of Darfur as they meet in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to construct a mandate for their future. According to a press statement issued by Africa Forum for former heads of state and government, the Elders and the Coalition for Dialogue on Africa (CoDA) all welcomed the initiative.

Saviors and Survivors: Darfur, politics and the war on terror
Written by Mahmood Mamdani - Herbert Lehman Professor of Government, Columbia University, New York

Saviors and Survivors is the first account of the Darfur crisis to consider recent events in the context of Sudan’s history. It is a devastating critique of the powerful Western lobby’s calls for a military response in the name of ‘humanitarian intervention’.

When: Tuesday 2 June 2009, 7.30 pm
Where: TOWN HALL, St Aldates, Oxford

Further details from
Pambazuka News, 51 Cornmarket Street Oxford OX1 3HA
01865-727006 [email][email protected] Fahamu Trust is a registered charity: 1100304
Oxford Transitional Justice Research
http://www.csls.ox.ac.uk/otjr.php

PAMBAZUKA NEWS - African Forum for Social Justice
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