Help give Nigeria a voice at Chevron's Annual General Meeting this year by donating your frequent flyer miles or proxy vote to the JINN delegation. Each year, Chevron stakeholders gather for the company's Annual General Meeting at the end of May.

Shareholders have the opportunity to speak--or to donate their shares to allow others to speak at the meeting as their proxy. JINN needs your help in increasing Nigeria' representation at the meeting by providing proxy votes and frequent flyer miles. If you own shares in Chevron and wish to donate your proxy vote, or if you have frequent flyer miles on any airline, please
contact Abby at (415) 990-0792 or [email][email protected]

The 19th African Human Rights Moot Court Competition will be held at the University of Abomey-Calavi, Cotonou, Benin from 4 - 9 October 2010. The deadline for Faculty registration was 28 February and individual registration is 15 May 2010.

In debates about Zimbabwe's political crisis and the role of the international community, it is difficult to sort out reality from rhetorical smoke and mirrors, write Briggs Bomba and William Minter. The current debate on ‘sanctions’ is a classic example: There is much strong language for and against, but rarely do debaters bother to say which measures are actually in place and what specific effects they have or should have.

Thousands of construction workers are being laid off in Angola because the government has failed to settle over $2 billion in arrears to foreign firms rebuilding the African nation, a union leader said on Thursday. Francisco Jacinto, leader of the country's largest union CGSILA, said the arrears and a slowdown in the construction sector were the two main reasons behind the lay-offs.

With an increasing number of civil society organizations seeking consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, the NGO Branch of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), is increasingly being called upon to engage with these organizations worldwide on a wide range of issues on the United Nation’s development agenda. There is now a growing demand from organizations from both the developed and developing countries to contribute to the UN’s economic and social agenda, including to the internationally agreed development goals. In order to facilitate this engagement and provide a suitable platform for civil society, UNDESA has launched a knowledge-based, open networking platform called CSO Net - the Civil Society Network

A pre-trial chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has authorised the opening of formal investigations into the post-election violence in Kenya; the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (EHAHRDP) is however concerned that the ICC has not yet implemented measures necessary to ensure the protection of human rights defenders (HRDs) involved in the forthcoming investigation. In a policy brief sent to the ICC Registrar today EHAHRDP therefore called on Court to put in place a protection strategy for HRDs, as key intermediaries, immediately.

Civil society organisations are making public, worldwide, a communication by the Provincial Government of Benguela (Angola) that banned the demonstration that would take place in Benguela, last Thursday (March 25th), against the brutal demolitions and forced evictions that have become a regular occurrence in major cities and rural communities in Angola.

A strike by mineworkers at South Africa's Gold One stretched into a fourth day after workers and management failed to agree on a pay rise. About 1,000 mineworkers at the company's Modder East mine, some 30km east of Johannesburg, downed tools on Tuesday night in a wage protest.

A group of international campaigners has launched an online petition against Ethiopia's huge Gibe III dam project. The group wants to put pressure on Western donors and banks not to fund the dam, saying it would destroy the livelihoods of some 500,000 people.

Campaign against human trafficking - Africa has launched a new two-pronged campaign to address the challenges of trafficking in persons, particularly women and children, thr o ugh regional workshops and the launching of the African Union's Initiative against Trafficking (COMMIT) in the Regional Economic Communities (RECs).

In an indication that the global climate justice movement is becoming broader, there is now intense opposition to a climate-destroying energy loan for South Africa. The campaign’s leaders are community activists in black townships allied with environmentalists, trade unionists and international climate activists.

Perhaps more than anything today, Haiti needs a new macro-economy, one based above all on meeting the needs of its citizens. Post-earthquake economic restructuring could include equitable distribution of resources, high levels of employment with fair compensation, local production, and provision of social services.

International sporting events have become fertile ground for human trafficking. The documented patterns of flagrant trafficking of children and women for sexual and labor exploitation at these events create a dire picture. “More than 500,000 international visitors are expected in South Africa for the 2010 World Cup, and more than 500 criminal gangs are estimated to be involved in human trafficking for the sex trade in South Africa.”

It is curious that natural disasters are unpredictable and governments establish early warning systems and trigger mechanisms to respond quickly when they happen to mitigate its effects, writes Luis Samacumbi. For the demolition of Lubango, one or the other mechanism was implemented but the disaster was caused by a decision without weighing the consequences of such an act. If it were possible such disasters would be avoided. In the case of Angola disasters are created.

From April 15, everyone attending a clinic or hospital will be offered an HIV test, regardless of whether they have symptoms of the disease or not. Dubbed the HIV Counselling and Testing campaign, or HCT, this is the most ambitious HIV testing campain in the world, according to SA National AIDS Council (SANAC) co-chairperson Mark Heywood.

On Tuesday, March 16, thousands of Nigerians marched on the capital, Abuja, to show their frustration with the woes that continue to besiege the country. This sort of protest has not been a common feature of the Nigerian political scene – at least not in this decade– though this demonstration is one of several that have taken place this year.

* One year Certificate/Diploma of Higher Education/ BA degree.
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A campaign dubbed "Borderless Trade", which is aimed at fighting against hindrances to the free movement of people and goods in West Africa, was launched on Wednesday in Krak', at the border between Benin and Nigeria.

The Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD) has launched the second edition of a grassroots training manual on public debt. The booklet was unveiled in Harare at a reflective meeting held for ZIMCODD members, on debt sustainability measures for Zimbabwe. The launch coincided with the tenth anniversary of the social and economic justice coalition, which was established in year 2000.

On March 10th MPs discussed the Chagos islands as the subject of a Westminster Hall debate, with the overwhelming message from parliamentarians being that the Government should resolve its legal dispute with the Chagossians and restore their right to return. The debate was initiated by Chairman of the Chagos Islands APPG Jeremy Corbyn, who urged the Government to reach a friendly settlement to the impending European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) case.