The Royal Advisory Council for Human Rights (CCDH) of Morocco in a unique report confirms the killing of 352 'disappeared' Saharawis from 1958 to 1992. Out of these, over 200 died in military bases and secret detention centres, including children.

Two hundred and fifty activists from across South Africa met last week to form a united front against big capital. In the concluding conference statement, they called for unity and mobilisation.

The self-declared republic of Somaliland has introduced free education at primary and intermediate levels and doubled teachers' salaries but these decisions will be hard to sustain and could affect the quality of public education, say experts. 'We need to ask ourselves, does the Somaliland government have the capacity to handle this [salary] increase? The short answer is "no",' Saeed Osman, a Uganda-based researcher in Somaliland's education development, told IRIN.

The government wants to focus on job creation, not spend time debating whether it is worthwhile creating jobs that do not meet certain standards, says Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant. Her comments reinforce those last week of African National Congress secretary-general Gwede Mantashe, who said demanding that new jobs should be decent was 'putting the cart before the horse' - a departure from President Jacob Zuma’s promise in 2009 that the 'creation of decent work will be at the centre of our economic policies'.

The University of Ilorin in Nigeria has established the Association of West African Universities, AWAU, as a sub-regional body that will coordinate and promote the ideals of University education in West Africa. According to a communiqué signed by Dr Mahfouz A Adedimeji, deputy director of the Directorate of Information and Protocol in the vice-chancellor's office, the association was established on 10 January to strengthen and develop the capacity of leadership in universities in West Africa to address the challenges confronting the region.

Uganda has approved the setting up of an international university that will partner with institutions from around the world to deliver accredited courses and degree programmes to students in Uganda and other East African countries as well as Southern Sudan and Nigeria. The five member countries of the East African Community, EAC, are Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.

Within the framework of its strategy for building comparative knowledge on Africa produced from within the African continent, the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) invites proposals from researchers based in African universities and centres of research for the constitution of Comparative Research Networks (CRNs) to undertake studies on or around any of the themes identified as priority research themes within the framework of the CODESRIA strategic plan for the period 2007 – 2011.

Oxford University’s Master's programme in International Human Rights Law is offered jointly by the Department for Continuing Education and the Faculty of Law. It is conducted on a part-time basis over 22 months. It involves two periods of distance learning via the internet as well as two summer sessions held at New College, Oxford. The degree programme is designed in particular for lawyers and other human rights advocates who wish to pursue advanced studies in international human rights law but may need to do so alongside work or family responsibilities. The aim of the degree programme is to train and support future leaders in the field of international human rights law. A central objective of the course is to ensure that participants not only know but can also use human rights law. The curriculum places roughly equal emphasis on the substance of human rights law, its implementation, and the development of human rights advocacy skills.

The IIE Scholar Rescue Fund (SRF) is pleased to announce a call for applications for threatened academics whose lives and work are in danger in their home countries. Fellowships support temporary academic positions at safe universities and colleges anywhere in the world. Professors, researchers, and lecturers from any country or field may apply.

The Revenue Watch Institute (RWI) is a non-profit policy institute and grant-making organization that promotes the transparent, accountable and effective management of oil, gas, and mineral resources for the public good. RWI provides expertise, capacity building and funding to help countries maximize the long-term economic benefit of their natural riches.

The roundtable discussion is aimed at bringing together participants from African, Asian and Latin American civil society organisations and movements to discuss the concept of South-South cooperation from a peoples’ perspective. The roundtable will interrogate the challenges and opportunities for people centered South-South cooperation in the context of Southern ‘emerging powers’ and increased intergovernmental relations.

RADICAL-8 is an open political think tank blog aiming to trigger a global uprising against war, poverty, and misery in Africa. It advocates a 180º directional change on the continent while simultaneously pushing for peace, progress, and prosperity for all. Ultimately, Radical-8 ambitions to change Africa for the better one day at a time, one intellectual battle at a time, and one mind at a time.

Building on his acclaimed book Limits to Change, Marais examines South Africa's most pressing issues – from the real reasons behind President Jacob Zuma's rise and the purging of his predecessor, Thabo Mbeki, and how the African National Congress replenishes its power, to a devastating critique of the country's continuing AIDS crisis, its economic path and its approach to the rights and entitlements of citizens. South Africa Pushed to the Limit presents a riveting, benchmark analysis of the incomplete journey beyond apartheid.

Soldiers from 42 lnfantry Battalion in Gutu on Friday 14 January 2011 allegedly banned vendors from selling Masvingo province's weekly independent newspaper, The Mirror, after it published a story alleging that army personnel had beaten up people at Mupandawana growth point on Christmas Eve.

The American Political Science Association (APSA) and the Institute for Development Studies (IDS) University of Nairobi, are pleased to announce a call for applications from individuals who would like to participate in a workshop on 'Representation Reconsidered: Ethnic Politics and Africa’s Governance Institutions in Comparative Perspective' from 23 July to 6 August 2011. The Workshop will be held at the Institute of Development Studies in Nairobi, Kenya. The organizers, with a grant secured from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, will cover all the costs of participation (travel, lodging, meals, daily stipend, and materials) for up to 23 qualified applicants (20 African, 3 U.S.). The working language of the workshop is English.

There is currently a vacancy at BCR for a senior fellow or a part-time researcher for a 2-year period. As a specialist in governance studies or impact research, the successful candidate will carry out collaboratively-funded research and coordinating work within BCR’s CORE team.

Cameroonian gay rights activist Alice Nkomo has come in for sharp criticism over a European Union grant meant to provide health training for sexual minorities in the conservative country. News of the euro 300,000 grant which was finalised last week has heightened already widespread sentiment against lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders in the west African country. Anti-gay movements in the country have urged the government to take the EU to task for providing the funds to Ms Nkomo’s organisation.

A leading academic has ripped into the country's education system saying it is failing South Africa's youth. Speaking at the graduation ceremony for the Eastern Cape Student Sponsorship Programme at Selborne College in East London, Rhodes University vice-chancellor Dr Saleem Badat called the state of education in the country a 'tragedy'. 'It is an absolute scandal that the South African school system functions the way it does in 2010, 16 years after the start of democracy in our country,' Badat said.

In its push to expand participation in tertiary education, the government announced last week that opportunities for South Africans who passed school-leaving examinations in December would grow by 56 per cent this year. And under political pressure to provide free higher education, President Jacob Zuma promised students on state loans a free final year if they graduate.

Traditional funding sources for NGOs are drying up and grants are being reduced due to various factors, says this article on Externally, the fact that South Africa is viewed as a middle income economy has resulted in decreased funding opportunities. It has also been noted that the inadequate expenditure of funds by the South African government has contributed to the decrease in donor funding. The recent economic recession has seen some funding organisations in the United States merging to survive, just like their United Kingdom counterparts. Some have indicated that they intend to focus on programmes that are replicable regionally, say, in a number of countries within the Southern Africa Developing Countries (SADC).