The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has provided temporary housing and relief supplies to more than 2,000 Darfurians who were left homeless after a fire swept through part of the Goz Amer refugee camp in eastern Chad last week. The agency has distributed mats, blankets, kitchen sets and jerry cans to some 2,130 refugees from Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region, who are currently being housed in three schools at the camp until family tents arrive in the coming days.

An Egyptian military court sentenced 25 members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood to jail on Tuesday - a verdict described by Amnesty International as a "perversion of justice". “This trial appeared to be politically motivated from the start, when President Mubarak sent the defendants for trial before a military court despite an earlier civilian court ruling that some of them should be released,” said Amnesty International.

The Sudan Organisation Against Torture (SOAT) is concerned about the fate of an unknown number of Darfuris arrested following student protests in Khartoum. At least some of those detained have suffered serious physical abuse in custody.

As part of its Knowledge Building and Mentoring Programme, the Conflict, Security and Development Group (CSDG) at King’s College London in collaboration with the Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), is pleased to announce a call for applications for the MA Studentships and Mentoring Programme 2008-9. The deadline for applications is now the 21 April.

Welcoming the convening of the 11th ordinary session of the Islamic Summit Conference in Dakar, and that this historical occasion represents an opportune moment for the leaders of the Muslim World to take stock of the progress of work on issues and projects addressed in their declarations at the 10th Ordinary Summit (2003) and the Extraordinary Summit (2005), and call on leaders of the Muslim World to devote time, energy and resolve to address emerging issues that affect the Muslim Ummah, particularly the humanitarian situation in Darfur and also Palestine.

The West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) would like to announce the start of admissions to the West Africa Peacebuilding Institute (WAPI) for 2008. This year’s Institute will be held from September 1 – 19, 2008 at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra, Ghana. Deadline for application is 31st May 2008.

As Turkey continues in its efforts to stem the flow of irregular migration, a refugee rights group has published a report detailing the limited access to rights and the poor conditions that refugees in Turkey face in detention, including severe beatings by the police. The report was released in the wake of cases in Istanbul in the last two years involving in one case an African migrant who was killed in police custody, and in another the police forcing African men to perform manual labor.

The report "Country at a Crossroads: Challenges Facing Young People in Sierra Leone Six Years after the War" is based on the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children's February 2008 visit to Sierra Leone to look at young people's needs, what services appear to be working and what more is needed. Country at a Crossroads
highlights how six years after the war, young people in Sierra Leone continue to lack opportunities and face barriers to achieving quality education.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/364/47409uga.jpgAs Uganda tries to find peace and justice, Doreen Lwanga grapples with the questions: Is there a price that is just too high? Can there be peace without justice?

It is horrifying that there are certain people in favor of buying peace supposedly to convert warlords into civilians, by giving them either monetary or political to lay down their arms and rejoin the society that they have traumatized and destroyed for decades. Several voices including those who call themselves human rights activists so loudly support reconciliation with rebel groups, and many have created their careers out of “negotiating with rebels” and reconciling with warlords. To me this brings back the question…whose rights matter anyway…in the campaign for peace? Most importantly, how did we get there –buying justice from warlords?

In Uganda where I am from, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) under the leadership of Joseph Kony have managed to turn themselves into innocent victims of a ‘greed’ political leader –President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni (M7). Many Ugandan political commentators and “peace activists” argue that President M7 sought to score political points when he forwarded a case against Joseph Kony and the LRA senior commanders to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Opponents of this ICC indictment of Kony and his senior commanders argue that it has sabotaged transition to peace in Uganda—particularly in Northern Uganda which is the hardest hit by the war between the LRA rebels and the Uganda government for more than 20 years. But is this allegation really true or is Kony simply scoring apologists pity? A look back into history of the peace process shows that the LRA rebels had not laid down their arms when President M7 referred Kony to the ICC. They were still kidnapping, maiming, abducting, raping and destroying entire livelihoods in Northern Uganda. Now the same group is comfortably pausing as peace spokespersons on behalf of the people of Uganda.

On the BBC Africa Today Podcast of Friday 07 March 2008, Dr. David Matanga, LRA Head of Delegation and Spokesman had this to say, “….Ugandans have said, they do not want the ICC…they want peace now. They do not want to hear Mr. Ocampo (ICC Chief Prosecutor) speaking everytime. He is not Ugandan. We are Ugandans. You think only White justice can work….”

Since when did the LRA start speaking on behalf of Ugandans? Interestingly, overtime the LRA voice on international airwaves is overshadowing that of the elected leader and spokesperson for the people of Uganda –President M7. One wonders whether his silence on the LRA issue proves previous observations; that he forwarded the Kony case to the ICC to score political points. First, President M7 went internationally public to the ICC when he needed international legitimacy for his regime, and now he chooses silence regarding the LRA issue to score national points as a ‘man for peace’.

Fortunately for the LRA, they have a platform larger than the people of Northern Uganda whose livelihoods they have destroyed. I happened to be in Kampala around November 2007 when negotiations between the LRA negotiation team and the Uganda government were taking place. A friend of mine was also participating in closed-door negotiations at Hotel Africana with included several LRA senior officials, officials of the Uganda government and members of civil society organizations. My friend asked if I had a camera to take pictures of them, and thanks to my ‘prying and tourist’ nature I had one with me. The meeting was followed by evening tea with lavish hors d’oeuvres, as is the culture with most of Ugandans large NGO and government meetings held in hotels. For my political mind, it was an opportunity to engage in ‘investigative conversations’ with the LRA team and put out some questions that have bothered me about this LRA peace negotiation.

I paused the question to my friends whether it was really justifiable to spend money on rebels? That the government can use taxpayers’ money to dine, house, transport and maintain the lifestyles of rebels in 5-star hotels around Kampala. Yet the taxpayers can neither get a decent public transport system nor proper sewage disposal in their neighborhoods. Secondly, I was shocked to see people designated as rebels walking around Kampala freely with bodyguards without being arrested by security forces. My naivety has always made me believe that rebels are unwanted people and need to be controlled and prevented from mixing with the civilian public. Even people in Northern Uganda whose lives have been most destroyed do not get this kind of protection but are instead tucked away in squalid internally displaced people’s camps. Joseph Kony can demand mobile phone airtime and the government readily sends it to him. Alternatively, the so-called humanitarian agencies operating in Uganda quickly pick up the tab to facilitate the lavish lives of Kony and his rebel gang in the name of ‘negotiating peace’ for Northern Uganda.

Amazingly my ‘human rights friends’ are comfortable with this modus operandi. Why should we buy peace from Kony and his rebels when we have failed (and objected) to hold them accountable for crimes against humanity, crimes against natural justice or crimes against peace? There is no evidence that buying peace creates peace, a popular international diplomacy game played mostly by the United States. It has not worked in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Sudan or Somalia, and it will not work with Northern Uganda. On the contrary, buying peace and feeding rebels/paramilitary groups has prolonged wars and destruction in Cambodia, Horn of Africa, Sudan, Colombia, Afghanistan and Iraq, among others. Already, Kony recently put his foot down and refused to sign the peace deal with the government of Uganda on Thursday April 3 2008 in Juba reportedly because he was sick. Yet he is not ashamed of putting up continued demands for ‘freebies’ at the expense of Ugandans. Since we have taken the lowest moral ground by feeding rebel groups, why not go ahead and ‘sniper their leaders’ as a tool for peaceful transition. It happened to reknown UNITA rebel leader, Jonas Savimbi, and now Angola is on the road to peace with many refugees returning home. If not, then we should use the Charles Taylor approach, track down warlords and forward them to international justice. It makes no sense buying peace with mobile phones, airtimes or political positions for those who have destroyed livelihoods and generations in the name of justice for warlords.

*Doreen Lwanga is a PanAfricanist who writes about African security and regionalism.

**Please send comments to or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/362/47407onion.jpg Nderitu argues that development, security and human rights should be the priorities in Kenya post conflict reconstruction; and not creating a bloated cabinet under the guise of power-sharing

It’s official. We have a grossly overpaid cabinet of 40, the largest ever in East Africa. The 34- 44- 40 cabinet debate in Kenya is an ominous pointer to what our politicians consider priorities; positions and not needs. Yet our needs are the embers which opportunely stoked ignite into conflict. Kofi Annan argued as UN Secretary General in 2005 that we cannot enjoy development without security, security without development, and we will not enjoy either without respect for human rights and that unless all these causes are advanced, none will succeed. This are needs, not positions. He repeated this statement when he came to Nairobi to mediate. What does this statement have to do with our post conflict priorities? Let us use a human rights education training method on analysis, the conflict onion to understand what he meant. To do so we have to peel the onion together.

Experience teaches us that in peaceful situations people relate and act on the basis of their actual needs (what we have to have). The lack of basic access to must have needs lays the basis for the presence of structural violence characterised by resentment which does not necessarily translate into open conflict. As instability rises, people coalesce around collective interests (what we want) rather than needs. With the escalation of the conflict people then withdraw to certain positions (what we say that we want). The positions we then demand at this point and as apart of conditions for peace deals have their roots in the dynamics of the conflict but have little to do with actual needs.

In Kenya, the needs are the core of our onion, the first ring of the onion the interests and the outer ring of the onion the positions. Let’s peel the outer ring. What are the politicians saying that we want? Positions in Government for all parties because it’s the only way to for everyone to benefit and guarantee peace. Let’s peel the second ring - But what are our interests? What do we want? Equality and non-discrimination on all fronts especially ethnicity, disability, gender and equitable access to resources, participation and inclusion, accountability and the rule of Law. The interests are in their totality human rights based approach to development principles.

LET’S NOW TAKE THE CORE OF THE ONION APART. WHAT MUST WE HAVE?

We urgently need roads in good conditions; to markets for our produce, to a hospital with medicine, to a school with teachers and books, to a water point. We need security. We need leaders we can speak to who will listen just as we do as they address political rallies and religious gatherings. We need the IDP‘s resettled, MP’s salaries reduced and our taxes manageable, we must have an end to impunity and a Truth and Justice and Reconciliation Commission. We must have support for arts and sports and debunk the myth that education is the only way out of poverty for our youth. Sportsmen like Catherine Ndereva, Paul Tergat and musicians like Tony Nyandundo did not hone their skills in examination rooms. We need to afford maize and wheat flour, to get direct benefits for the cane and coffee farmer. We must have our textile industry back on its feet again. We need opportunities for the neglected North Eastern Province. We must have massive land education initiatives similar to the HIV-AIDs campaigns at the community and policy level. We need well remunerated Doctors, nurses, University lecturers and law enforcement officers. We need jobs for our youths.

Peeling onions is a tear shedding business so let’s ask the loaded question; to what extent is the creation of a bloated cabinet based on prioritising of positions truly suited to promoting Kenyans needs and interests? Numbers do not mean delivery of services to meet our needs. Kenya’s post conflict reconstruction will be founded on the basis of solutions to needs and well-understood interests, not political positions.Granted; conflicts do undergo transformations that have nothing to do with the original reasons such as the need for self protection, revenge or the economic or political opportunities offered by the conflict.

But working out the conflict issues (at the level of the various positions and interests) and the conflict causes (at the level of the interests and needs) from wherever you stand will help us all examine our own positions and assist us gain an understanding of the interests and needs of the other side. This will help us lay the foundations for the permanent resettlement of the IDP’S hand in hand with enforcement of the rule of law. Try it. You will be surprised that our original needs are in fact perfectly compatible with each other and that in fact Positive peace encompasses human security, stability and development as needs, not positions as priorities to guarantee peace. And that a cabinet of 40 just adds to our socio economic dilemmas. Brace yourselves Kenyans. We are in for tough times.

*Alice Nderitu is a Nderitu is a senior human rights officer, Kenya National Commission on Human Rights.

**Please send comments to or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

Security in the Mt Elgon region of western Kenya, where the army was deployed in March to stop a local insurgency, has improved, but civilians still fear being targeted in the ongoing operation. "There is an improved sense of security and people are able to access the markets more," Sokwony Laikong, a local resident, told IRIN on 10 April. Most farmers were now able to reach their gardens, although they were suffering from high prices of inputs, such as fertilizer.

Susan Shabangu, the South African deputy security minister, has caused a political uproar after she said police should shoot-to-kill when confronting armed criminals. In remarks broadcast on local television and radio on Wednesday, Shabangu said that if threatened, police should "kill the bastards".

According to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), by July 2007 the number of Zimbabweans deported from South Africa to their home country had reached 17 000 each month. Cross-border movements on this scale inevitably feed into issues of public concern, whether well-informed or not, such as crime, corruption, and xenophobia. This paper reports on a regional workshop held in November 2007 to address the issues raised by Zimbabwean migration.

On April 7th and 8th local reaction to the government’s violent crackdown on a peaceful strike on April 6th has grown and intensified as residents express their anger over the brutal actions taken by Egyptian authorities that culminated in the death of fifteen year old Ahmed Mohamed Hammad. Yesterday thousands of people have taken to the streets destroying public property including pictures of Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak which are displayed in Mahalla’s main square.

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) express their deepest concern regarding the arrest of George Ishak, a prominent opposition activist and former leader of the Kifaya movement, after the movement backed a nationwide strike earlier this week.

Ugandan government negotiators quit peace talks on Friday after Uganda's fugitive rebel commander Joseph Kony delayed signing a final deal. "We are going back to Uganda until we are informed by the chief mediator when the Lord's Resistance Army will be ready to sign," Internal Affairs Minister Ruhakana Rugunda said on the remote Sudan-Congo border.

Condemning continued armed activity of rebel groups in eastern Chad, members of the Security Council have expressed their concern over the humanitarian situation in that region and the neighbouring north-eastern Central African Republic (CAR), as the number of displaced persons continues to swell.

Following the March 2007 Ouagadougou Peace Accord, some of Côte d’Ivoire’s internally displaced people (IDPs) have started to return home, either spontaneously or in a few cases assisted by the government and humanitarian agencies. Some tens of thousands of IDPs are believed to have returned, from over 700,000 counted in just five government controlled regions in 2005.

Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa has called an emergency meeting of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to discuss the Zimbabwean presidential poll delay. This is the first move by Zimbabwe’s regional neighbours to intervene since the elections on 29th March 2008. President Mwanawasa is the current Chairman of the 14-nation South African Development Community.

The Congolese government through its police forces has again targeted the people of Bundu Dia Kongo (BDK); a religio-political organization made up of the Kongo people in the Bas Congo province of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The government crushed the group in February of 2007 pursuant to protests in Bas Congo stemming from corrupt provincial elections.