The success of the anti-corruption crusade in Ghana depended on peoples' willingness to question the actions of people in authority at all levels. Mrs Hilary Gbedemah, Senior Legal Advisor of the Women In Law and Development in Africa (WILDAF), made the point at a public forum on how to deal with corruption in Ghana.

Corruption is one of the major factors holding back Africa's economic growth, South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel acknowledged last Thursday, adding more needed to be done to both prevent corruption and punish the corruptors.

Cameroon has volunteered to be among the first 17 countries programmed to undergo evaluation as part of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), which is the enforcement component of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). However, the country is far from being prepared particularly in the field of governance - a key component of the NEPAD initiative. There is an acute problem of transparency and accountability in this well endowed sub Saharan African country.

International development agency, Oxfam New Zealand has welcomed the proposal by the G8 to cancel $NZ145 billion of Iraq’s foreign debt. But Oxfam NZ Executive Director Barry Coates pointed out the deep inconsistency in the G8’s approach. African countries have waited for more than two decades for debt cancellation. Now they are being offered a pittance as a sweetener to persuade other countries to back the US proposal on Iraq debt.

Malawi's main opposition party, the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), has thrown its weight behind a legal challenge to last month's presidential elections. The MCP's move bolsters the opposition's case, which took a knock when Gwanda Chakuamba, the head of the seven-party Mgwirizano coalition, and a key opposition leader, signed a post-election cooperation agreement with the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF).

On 8 and 9 June 2004, the Campaign for a Democratic Angola convened Angolan civil society and political parties to discuss the status of elections and electoral reform, as well as plans for Constitutional reform. With over 200 participants in attendance, including key figures from over fifteen political parties and members of civil society organisations, the two-day Conference concluded with the issuing of declarations and recommendations regarding the most appropriate way to proceed with the drafting of a new Constitution, and the imperative nature of holding national elections in 2005. The recommendations also addressed other critical matters of central interest to the Angolan population.

Police shot and injured two protesters in the Nigerian capital Abuja on Thursday as a nationwide general strike against a 20 per cent increase in fuel prices entered its second day, witnesses said. Streets that are normally clogged with traffic in the commercial capital Lagos remained deserted. Schools, offices and businesses stayed closed there and in most other Nigerian cities.

"The meeting noted that NEPAD as a regional development framework has already set the stage for excessive exploitation of Africa's mineral resources. The meeting regretted that while NEPAD identifies mining as a critical area for market access for achieving sustainable development in the 21st century it however fails to develop adequate strategies for maximising the returns on mining and mitigating its impact. NEPAD as a regional development framework is fundamentally flawed in a number of respects: a) it lacks an international framework for environmental governance; b) it sets out conditionalities that are a direct replica of the IMF/WBG conditionalities."

On 19th April 2004, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced receipt of the referral of the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The referral, transmitted to the office of ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo in a letter signed by DRC President Joseph Kabila, requests that the Prosecutor investigate allegations of crimes falling within ICC jurisdiction, (namely genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes,) if committed anywhere in the territory of the DRC since the July 1, 2002 date of entry into force of the Rome Statute of the ICC. But the ghost of impunity continues to haunt the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) despite the referral of the situation to the ICC.

By means of the letter, the DRC asked the Prosecutor to investigate in order to determine if one or more persons should be charged with such crimes, and the authorities committed to cooperate with the ICC. After receiving several communications from individuals and non-governmental organisations, the Prosecutor had announced in July 2003 that he would closely follow the situation in the DRC, indicating that this would be a priority for his Office.

Since then, the Office has continued its work in analyzing the situation in the DRC, especially in Ituri. Following various procedures and in accordance with the Rome Statute, the Prosecutor will now proceed to determine whether there is a reasonable basis to initiate an investigation in respect of the situation referred. The Office of the Prosecutor will therefore assure itself of the basis for an investigation under the Statute and examine the modalities for such an investigation, in order to reach an informed decision.

The Congolese Dilemma

Since 1998, the DRC has experienced horrific armed conflict in which impunity for war crimes and crimes against humanity has been, and continues to be, the norm. Attacks against the civilian population, killings, and use of sexual violence continue to be committed in the East. These crimes will not stop as long as those who commit them are not held responsible for their acts. Accountability for those responsible for serious crimes is essential if the DRC and the region are to make a transition to a durable peace. Therefore, we salute the initiative of the DRC to refer its situation to the ICC in order to put an end to impunity.

But although the ICC may be an answer to crimes committed in the DRC, what will happen to crimes committed from 1998 to July 2002, a period that is beyond the scope of the ICC? While the DRC's ratification of the Rome Statute allows the ICC to try crimes committed after July 1, 2002, there is no mechanism to thoroughly investigate and prosecute the gravest crimes committed during the five-year war and put an end to impunity.

The national justice system is unable, due to its current state of disarray, even with massive help, to address past crimes perpetrated in the DRC since 1998. The ICC is also not competent because of lack of jurisdiction to deal with these crimes. Thus the necessity of possible justice mechanisms to investigate and prosecute crimes against humanity and war crimes committed prior to the entry into force of the ICC Statute.

Furthermore, the current transitional period in the DRC is particularly marked by the creation of several institutions “purported” to support “democracy”, among which is the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). This TRC would consider political, economic, and social crimes committed from 1960 until 2003 in order “to establish truth and help bring individuals and communities to reconciliation.”

But one question remains: Is the establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in the DRC meant to end impunity or to cover up gross violations of human rights committed in the DRC? The response seems to be known in advance, since one individual suspected of involvement in human rights abuses was appointed to the executive committee of this TRC.
The ghost of impunity continues to haunt the DRC and the important thing now is to look at the challenges in addressing impunity for the horrific crimes that have been committed in the DRC since 1998. If not, the impunity for these atrocities will sends the message that such crimes may be tolerated in the future.

Therefore, the question arises as to how possible it is to establish an International Criminal Tribunal beyond the borders of the DRC, to include the Great Lakes Region for crimes committed in the DRC since 1998?

* Yav Katshung Joseph is executive director of the CERDH (www.cerdh.tk)

* Please send comments to

Good to see someone talking about the crisis in Zimbabwe, and looking at the real issues (Pambazuka News 155: Zimbabwe - 'The government wants the people to give up hoping').

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) expressed concern on Tuesday over ongoing tension in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), near the border with Rwanda, saying this could hinder its efforts to help refugees on both sides. The agency reported that following Rwanda's closure of the border on Sunday, no new arrivals had been reported in Rwanda's western province of Cyangugu. The government had given assurances that Congolese refugees would still be allowed to cross into Rwanda. Since 26 May, when fighting broke out between loyalist and dissident Congolese troops in the eastern Congolese town of Bukavu, thousands of refugees had crossed into Cyangugu before the announcement of the border closure.

Child soldiers, uprooted from their families and plunged into Liberia's civil war, are lingering in temporary camps because they are too scared to return home and insufficient facilities have been created to cater for them, child protection agencies and a government commission said. After turning over their weapons, the young ex-combatants are entitled to a three-month stay in care centres, which offer medical aid, counselling, reading lessons and help tracing families. But the stop-gap is turning more permanent for many.

Over 100.000 children might become orphans by the year 2005, due to the growing proliferation of HIV/Aids, said the Angolan Minister of Welfare and Social Reintegration, Joao Baptista Kussumua. According to the minister, three decades of the war have left a "serious humanitarian legacy", which continues to cause the death of more than 180.000 children aged between 0 and 5 years old, due to difficulties in accessing health services and water, and poor food, personal and family hygiene, and housing conditions.

More than 100 million girls over the next decade will marry before their 18th birthday, including many aged as young as eight or nine, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) warned at an international meeting in Washington. Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Executive Director of UNFPA said: "Married adolescents have been largely ignored in the development and health agenda because of the perception that their married status ensures them a safe passage to adulthood," adding "nothing could be further from the truth."

It's a phenomenon that became noticeable in the 1980s, and is now a permanent feature of the urban landscape in Nigeria: children hawking goods on the streets. Take 10-year-old Bimbo Dada, for example. Last week, IPS found her meandering between vehicles in one of Lagos' many traffic jams - also referred to as "go slows" - selling sachets of water to motorists. Although the Lagos State government has banned trading in traffic jams because of the dangers it poses to hawkers, the practice continues unabated due to lack of enforcement.

Childcare agencies working with former captives of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in war-ravaged northern Uganda are getting overwhelmed by the increasing number of children rescued or escaping from rebel captivity, a relief worker said. Michael Oruni, the coordinator of a programme run by the Christian charity, World Vision, to rehabilitate and reintegrate former child captives into society in the northern region, said the capacity of the childcare centres had been stretched thin.

Intensively educated about HIV/AIDS, refugees in East Africa have made progress in the fight against the infection by changing their sexual behaviour, according to a HIV/AIDS expert in the UN refugee agency.

Environmentalists and development advocates have decried the World Bank's announcement of support for renewable energy as mere spin. Stating that the proposed increase is marginal at best and does nothing to address the Bank's ongoing bias towards fossil fuels, the groups called on the Bank to adopt the recommendations of its own studies and phase out support for coal and oil while dramatically increasing its support for renewable energy. "Marginally increasing the funding for renewables is not enough because the World Bank's own numbers show that lending for polluting fuels is growing even faster." said Stephan Singer of WWF International.

* Comment and Analysis: G8 summit 2004: Africa’s cheque remains unsigned and un-cashable
* Conflict and Emergencies: “Darfur 2004” may join “Rwanda 2004” as shorthand for international shame, says ICG
* Human Rights: Nigeria High Court to review Taylor asylum
* Refugees and Forced Migration: Forced migration online resources
* Women and Gender: Engendering national budgets
* Development: The G8 and global apartheid
* Health: African nations to be compensated for brain drain
* Social Welfare: ‘Kids as commodities? Child trafficking and what to do about it’
* Environment: Civil society proposes forest reform
* Internet and Technology: Email control looms in Zimbabwe

We representatives of some of the largest continental organisations and national networks headquartered in several African cities, bringing together women's organisations, labour, researchers, development and advocacy NGOs across Africa note that a pre-occupation with domestic issues and international security priorities have displaced the capacity of the G8 to meet it's obligations to Africa in 2004.

Two years after the Africa Action Plan was announced, G8 commitments to Africa appear buried beneath an avalanche of inaction on core areas such as HIV/AIDS, poverty eradication and debt. Africa's cheque remains unsigned and un-cashable in spite of obvious need and progress by the African Union and member-states to meet their obligations to Africa's poor and marginalized.

We nevertheless call upon the G8 to do the right thing in 2004, by announcing a comprehensive debt cancellation strategy for heavily indebted countries; greater market access for African commodities; an end to World Bank/IMF conditionality and delivery on the Africa Action Plan. Should these actions be taken at the upcoming G8 Summit on the Sea Islands, it would dramatically change current trends and create conditions for the determined pursuit of the Millennium Development Goal's in Africa.

Debt Cancellation

Noting the emerging consensus within the G8 on the need for debt cancellation for Iraq and that current debt relief mechanisms are unable to address debt sustainability among several African Countries, we call on the G8 to announce debt cancellation for heavily indebted countries in Africa. If there is one obstacle that stands in the way of Africa meeting the millennium developments goals and assuring basic human rights for its citizens, it is the odious debt that strangles public expenditure and domestic economic growth.

In many African countries, significant resources are being diverted away from basic social services into debt repayment obligations. Broadening access to HIPC for African countries such as Somalia, Sudan and Liberia for instance and deepening the relief, is a step in the right direction but a miniscule step. HIPC countries' sustainability criteria needs to be broadened beyond its narrow link to exports and relate more to poverty and government expenditure on basic social services. The cost of servicing debt continues to be a major source of state failure in Africa. Prioritising only collapsed states and states that have clearly become important to the war on terror for the G8 is short sighted and could open the door to future crises.

The G8 must ensure that all future calculations of debt sustainability for poor countries are linked to the Millennium Development Goals. In addition, the G8 must commit an additional $2.3 billion to ensure that all HIPC countries are brought down to the agreed 150 per cent debt to exports threshold.

Trade Justice

The G8 must address the systemic imbalances in current trade agreements which continue to prop up a multilateral trading system that undermines economic growth and poverty alleviation. Current reform of these agreements would help even the playing field and advance Africa's economic interests. At the World Trade Organisation (WTO), emphasis must necessarily shift away from expanding the trade agenda in favour of addressing existing asymmetries.

The G8 must therefore commit to dropping demands on expanding the WTO agenda to include new multilateral rules on the Singapore Issues. The recent proposals within the European Union to reduce domestic subsidies and open up market access for products of export interest to developing countries can create a firm basis for progress on the Doha Development Agenda.

All G8 members must rally support for this proposal and submit tangible and time-bound commitments on reduction of domestic and export subsidies including all forms of export credits that have a subsidy component. The G8 needs to take greater leadership in injecting political momentum towards realizing the objectives of the Doha Development agenda.

The G8 must make trade count for Africa by addressing World Bank/IMF trade liberalisation conditionality, the dramatic fall in the value of Africa's primary agricultural exports, current G8 tariffs on Africa's exports including non-tariff barriers that continue to discourage processing and value-adding of African commodity exports.

HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis AIDS continues to undermine Africa's development, adversely impacts on the provision of health services and constraints food security and agricultural productivity particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa which has been most affected by the epidemic. Access to affordable life-saving medicines and policy flexibility on intellectual property rights is a pre-requisite in the fight against AIDS. This G8 must go beyond empty promissory notes and support the Global Fund on fighting HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis by increasing funding to enable WHO meet its target of placing 3 million people, predominantly from sub-Saharan Africa, on ARV treatment annually over a five year period. The G8 must also not unnecessary fetter African countries keen on using available flexibilities on parallel importing and compulsory licensing to avail affordable life saving medicines.

Continental Integration

Despite the failure so far of the G8 to live up to its promises regarding support to important African initiatives, African States have embarked on an ambitious programme of continental institutional renewal with the formation of the Peace and Security Council, pan African Parliament, African Court of Justice and the African Peer Review Mechanism (2001-2004). Progress continues to be made on all these fronts.

Nevertheless, a lot more remains to be done by our leaders to enable poor and vulnerable citizens to inform their governments' priorities and trade offs of national and international policy making. As the G8 meets African leaders, we call on the latter to commit to deepening democratic practise and public accountability across our continent by supporting on-going initiatives and strengthening institutions that enhance democratic culture and principles.

* Please send comments to [email protected]