Her Excellency Navanethem Pillay High Commissioner for Human Rights Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Palais des Nations CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
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Fifty four people trying to reach Italy from Libya died of thirst after a 15-day voyage in which their rubber boat gradually deflated, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday 10 July, citing the sole survivor. It said the man, an Eritrean national, was rescued by Tunisian coastguards in a state of advanced dehydration clinging to the remains of the boat after being spotted by fishermen the previous night, the agency said.

A Liberian parliamentary delegation on security says it was told of the presence of rebel training bases in Grand Gedeh County, near the border with Cote d’Ivoire. The disclosure is contained in a report by the legislators to the House of Representatives. And it comes at a time when Ivorian authorities have been warning that disgruntled supporters of ousted president Laurent Gbagbo could be regrouping across the border in Liberia to wage war against the government of Alassane Ouattara.

Abdramane Keita, managing editor of privately-owned bi-weekly L’Aurore newspaper was on the night of 2 July 2012 violently attacked by unknown armed men in the capital Bamako, accusing him of causing confusion in the country. The Media Foundation for West Africa’s (MFWA) correspondent reported that Keita’s assailants abducted him the same night and abandoned him at Senou, a town located in Bamako after seizing all his possessions including an unspecified amount of money.

South Africa's education system is spiralling out of control and failing millions of pupils. From failure to deliver textbooks to unpaid bills and corrupt education officials, not much has been achieved since 1994. Former health minister Barbara Hogan has added her voice to the growing list of critics lambasting the failures of the country's education system. Speaking at non-governmental organisation Equal Education's national conference, Hogan urged young people to mobilise and 'start holding government accountable', adding the 1976 Soweto uprising showed pupils' strength.

Apartheid will not end and black people will not have real freedom until free and high quality education becomes a reality, says Zwelinzima Vavi. 'Education is certainly not free and equal for all, we have huge inequalities in our education provision,' Cosatu's general secretary said on Sunday. Vavi was speaking at the opening of the Equal Education national summit.

Call for applications for masters, doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships in the Humanities and Social Sciences, 2013: The Programme on the Study of the Humanities in Africa (PSHA) at the University of the Western Cape invites suitably qualified candidates to apply for masters, doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships for the 2013 academic year. The PSHA is an exciting research platform based in the Centre for Humanities Research (CHR) dedicated to redefining Humanities research in and about the postcolonial world and making sense of the driving forces of globalization and nationalism. It is backed by a generous grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Liberian education law is silent on what should happen to girls who get pregnant while enrolled. Pregnancy and subsequently dropping out of school is just one of many problems limiting access to education for girls in Liberia. Girls in the rural areas have even more obstacles in their paths. Traditional practices along with a lack of schools and financial support are some of the challenges they must overcome.

Madagascar has launched an online research network, the Research and Education Network for Academic Learning Activities (iRENALA), which aims to boost science, technology and education in the country, as well as internationalise its science. The network, launched earlier this month (8 June), will promote discussions between worldwide researchers, students and policymakers, and facilitate access to digitised documents available in virtual libraries, according to Horace Gatien, president of Toamasina University. It will also encourage remote learning in the higher education sector, he said.

The Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)-Wellcome Trust Research Programme is facing discrimination charges brought by six former employees. The group, dubbed the KEMRI six, are accusing the programme of exploiting African employees, impeding their career development, and giving preferential treatment and pay to researchers from developed countries. They also allege their work was stolen and given to researchers from developed countries. Many consider the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme to be a model North-South partnership, praising its substantial support of African researchers. But others criticise what they perceive to be a failure to promote African scientists, or to involve them in setting research agendas. According to scientists in Africa and Europe, partnerships between rich and poor nations often generate tensions.

Through The MasterCard Foundation, students may apply for a scholarship that will cover the costs related to the attainment of a Bachelor’s degree at Arizona State University (ASU) including: tuition; round trip airfare from the student’s home country to Phoenix, Arizona; housing; food; living expenses; and experiential learning abroad.

A complete application for The MasterCard Foundation Scholars Program at ASU is available at Scholarship applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until 15 July 2012.

The Legal Resources Centre (LRC) has welcomed the news that the Department of Basic Education (DBE) will work closely with Section27 to resolve the text book crisis in Limpopo and that they have indicated that they intend meeting with civil society. This was revealed in a joint statement by Section27 and the DBE on Thursday 28 June 2012. Sarah Sephton, the LRC’s director in Grahamstown said the LRC has not had any response from the Minister of Basic Education’s office on the non-delivery of workbooks in the Eastern Cape and urged the Minister to adopt a similar approach to this issue as she has taken to the text books.

Twaweza has developed a draft note, 'Three Experiments to Improve Learning Outcomes: Delivering capitation grants better and testing local cash on delivery,' on incentivizing learning in schools. The basic idea involves paying a set amount for every child that achieves proficiency in early grade literacy and numeracy, and to contrast it with an input based incentive such as the capitation grant. A set of randomized control trials (RCTs) will be used to rigorously measure impact. The idea has been developed in consultation with the Center for Global Development, the Jameel Poverty Action Lab (JPAL) at MIT, the Tanzania government, local Members of Parliament and the teachers’ trade union.

Human rights organisations in Sudan are calling on the government to release more than 1000 protestors reportedly arrested in the last two weeks over strikes which started on 16 June. The protests have been going on in the capital Khartoum and other regional towns, were triggered by the government's cut on fuel subsidies but generally they are due to economic hardships. Using tear gas and rubber bullets Sudan's anti-riot police units and plain clothed security agents of the National intelligence and Security Services (NISS) engaged in running battles with protestors arresting some in the process.

The colloquium will discuss the topic 'The Reproduction of Cheap Labour in Post-Apartheid South Africa' according to two themes:
I. The low wage regime problem in South Africa
II: Strategies towards a wage-led and sustainable growth path.

An investigation in Libya by multiple human rights organisations paints an alarming picture of the treatment inflicted on the migrant population, in the confusion that currently reigns in the country. With rich oil reserves and a small population, Gaddafi’s Libya relied heavily on migrant labour to serve the economy. During the conflict hundreds of thousands of migrants fled to Tunisia, Egypt and neighbouring countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, fearing for their lives. More than six months since the conflict’s end, migrants and refugees in Libya continue to be victims of grave violations of their human rights.

Senegalese security agents have arrested over a hundred illegal immigrants in the capital Dakar and its suburbs in a major operation at the weekend. The round up was sparked by the killing of a Nigerian national allegedly by three Senegalese over fake currency notes.

Sudanese activists said the security forces have dealt with protesters over the last three days with unprecedented violence, saying that Sunday was the bloodiest day in Sudanese street history. Sudan’s capital Khartoum has seen mass protests, which started on Friday, when hundreds of students took to the streets in protest of high costs of living and plans to cancel fuel subsidies.

Fixed-term contract of one year in duration
London
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The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) is pleased to announce its Small Grants Programme for Thesis Writing for the year 2012. The grants serve as part of the Council’s contribution to the development of the social sciences in Africa, and the continuous renewal and strengthening of research capacities in African universities, through the funding of primary research conducted by postgraduate students and professionals.