Africa, the world's most impoverished continent, continued to suffer the world's most pervasive violence during 2000 and in early 2001. Nearly 3 million Africans became new refugees or were newly displaced within their own countries during 2000. New population upheavals last year and in early 2001 occurred in Congo-Kinshasa, Burundi, Sudan, Eritrea, Angola, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Somalia, Uganda, and Zambia.

In May 2001, President Thabo Mbeki observed that all South Africans must be vigilant against “any evidence of xenophobia” against African immigrants. He noted that it is “fundamentally wrong and unacceptable” that South Africans should treat people who come to South Africa as friends as though they are enemies. This is a long-awaited and critically important statement from the highest level of the South African government. In the aftermath of the World Conference on Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, the President’s words will hopefully be acted upon by all South Africans.

Euromed is asking, under the joint impact of globalisation/regionalisation and ageing of the European populations, for a new opening of various European countries (France, Spain, Germany…) to a "regulated" migratory flow coming from the South, as frustration is increasing among the populations of the South and East of the Mediterranean who knock at the doors of the European Union.

If satire died on the day Henry Kissinger received the Nobel Peace Prize, then last week its corpse was exhumed for a kicking. As head of the United Nations peacekeeping department, Kofi Annan failed to prevent the genocide in Rwanda or the massacre in Srebrenica. Now, as secretary general, he appears to have interpreted the UN charter as generously as possible to allow the attack on Afghanistan to go ahead.

The humanitarian situation in Angola remained "serious, particularly in inaccessible regions where credible evidence indicates that conditions have deteriorated markedly", UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in his latest report to the Security Council.

Zambia's Vice President Enoch Kavindele said on Monday that opposition Forum for Democratic Development (FDD)presidential candidate Christon Tembo would not be allowed to stand in the election because his parents were from Malawi.

With European Union (EU) ambassadors to Eritrea about to leave, following their recall by their home governments "for consultations", and with more arrests of opponents witnessed in recent days, the Eritrean government has defended a recent crackdown on its opponents and the media.

A preliminary round of the inter-Congolese peace and reconciliation dialogue began as scheduled on Monday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, without the participation of Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) President Joseph Kabila.

Following the conclusion of the latest round of Burundi peace negotiations held last week in Pretoria, Jean-Bosco Ndayikengurukiye, the leader of the Forces pour la defense de la democratie (FDD) Hutu rebel group, said he was "reassured" by the inclusion of Gabonese President Omar Bongo as a mediator in the talks, and suggested the FDD might be amenable to a cease-fire.

Sudan's Presidential Adviser for Political Affairs Qutbi al-Mahdi said on Wednesday that scheduled talks with the US in November would be aimed at establishing relations based on dialogue, respect for each others' sovereignty and joint interests.

The Sudanese armed forces claimed on Sunday to have recaptured the strategic town of Raga, Western Bahr al-Ghazal, news agencies reported.

A 30-year old woman, Safiya Hussaini Tungar-Tudu was sentenced to death by stoning by the upper Sharia court Gwadabawa for committing adultery.

The Sudanese security authorities have launched a new campaign against a variety of civil society organisations.

With European Union (EU) ambassadors to Eritrea about to leave "for consultations",the Eritrean government has defended a recent crackdown on its opponents and the media.

Edited by Sandra Fredman, Professor of Discrimination Law at Oxford University. This set of essays constitutes a key contribution to the debate about the role of human rights law in combating race discrimination. Including essays by a range of leading experts, the book is a particularly important source of information and critical analysis for students, researchers, and policy-makers aiming to understand both the new race Directive adopted by the EU, and the role of international human rights law which is the focus of the UN world conference on racism in 2001.

Protais Zigiranyirazo, a former member of the Akazu, the inner circle of the late President of Rwanda, Juvénal Habyarimana, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of extermination or alternatively murder as crimes against humanity.

Embracing Egypt as a close ally despite its poor human rights record could be even more counter-productive after September 11 than it was before, Human Rights Watch warned today.

Human Rights Watch today hailed the announcement that the United Nations and its Secretary General, Kofi Annan, were awarded the 100th Nobel Peace Prize. "As UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan has been particularly forceful in highlighting the importance of human rights as an essential foundation for long-term security," said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch.

Authorities in the northern Nigerian city of Kano confirmed at least 18 dead Sunday, after two days of clashes between police and anti-US protesters. Others said hundreds may have died.

Deliberate acts of arson, violence and intimidation have become the norm on the country's commercial farms - dashing hopes that the situation would normalise after the signing of the Abuja accord last month.