Africa Middle East Refugee Assistance (AMERA), a UK-based refugee rights organization assisting refugees who seek asylum in Egypt, is seeking an experienced human rights advocate to lead its work advising and representing asylum-seekers in the process of refugee status determination and in rare cases for resettlement in third countries. The application deadline is 22 May 2010.

The first anniversary celebration of the life and legacy of Dr Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem, pan-African friend, comrade, brother and inspiration to so many, is to be held in London on:

Date: Saturday 22 May 2010
Venue: Amnesty International Human Rights Action Centre,
17 – 25 New Inn Yard, London EC2A 3EA
Time: 1pm - 6pm

The celebration is open to the public and all are welcome to attend.

The celebration is jointly organised, in the spirit of Pan-Africanism, by friends of Tajudeen, including his widow Mounira Chaieb, Justice Africa, the Centre for Democracy and Development, the Pan African Development Education and Advocacy Programme, the Royal African Society and Pambazuka News.

The day will comprise speeches on the life and works of Tajudeen, the launch of a book of the compilation of Tajudeen’s postcards entitled , performance poetry and traditional African music and the launch of the Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem Educational Trust.

We welcome all other organisations, groups and persons who wish to join our efforts to honour and continue the work of Tajudeen.

'Forward ever, backward never' Kwame Nkrumah (1909–72)
'Don't agonise, organise!' Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem (1961–2009)

Official results of Mauritius's most recent elections released on 6 May 2010 shows a 0.5% decrease in women's representation in parliament, sliding from 17.1% to 16.6%. Unless this situation is corrected with the best loser system, Mauritius will follow the trend of gender losses in two Southern African countries that had elections in 2009, Botswana and Namibia.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Africa Division
Deadline for applications: May 31, 2010

Human Rights Watch ("HRW") is seeking a highly-qualified, senior-level professional to head its Africa Division.
Description: The Executive Director of Human Rights Watch’s Africa Division is responsible for developing effective research, advocacy and communications strategies for maximum impact on human rights in sub-Saharan Africa. S/he is responsible for setting priorities and responding to emergencies. S/he oversees detailed research on human rights issues in sub-Saharan Africa, the publication of analytical and credible reports and other advocacy materials on those issues, and the use of these materials to generate domestic and international pressure to curb human rights violations. S/he represents the organization frequently before the international media and advocates with high-level officials from governments, UN, AU and other international and regional organizations. S/he coordinates with key colleagues, both within HRW and externally with allied organizations and NGOs. S/he manages staff based in three continents, including offices in Nairobi and Johannesburg, supporting staff and office development and overseeing their security. The Africa Executive Director is also responsible for fundraising, identifying and recruiting donors, and drafting funding proposals. S/he has overall responsibility for projecting Human Rights Watch’s wider international concerns on the continent. The successful candidate will have excellent leadership skills and a depth and breadth of management and organizational skills, including the demonstrated ability to lead a team of talented professionals in multiple global locations. S/he will preferably be based in the organization's New York City headquarters or an office in Africa, but other locations may be considered. Frequent international travel required.

Qualifications: The ideal candidate will be a self-motivated, creative, strategic thinker with substantive, senior-level experience working on human rights issues in Africa and will have the capacity to serve as an effective advocate and activist. S/he will have excellent leadership, management and organizational skills, including the demonstrated ability to lead a team of talented professionals in multiple global locations. S/he will be able to juggle multiple tasks and work collegially in a demanding, diverse, and fast-paced environment. The ideal candidate will have excellent oral and written communications skills in English and ideally another relevant language, keen political judgment, proven initiative and follow-through, the ability to work quickly and well under pressure, and a commitment to human rights. An advanced degree in law, international relations, African studies, public policy, or a related field is desired, as is familiarity with international human rights law.

Salary and Benefits: HRW seeks exceptional applicants and offers competitive compensation and employer-paid benefits. HRW will pay reasonable relocation expenses and will assist employees in obtaining necessary work authorization, if required; citizens of all nationalities are encouraged to apply.

PLEASE APPLY IMMEDIATELY by emailing in a single submission: a letter of interest describing your experience, your resume, names or letters of reference, salary requirements and a brief writing sample (unedited by others) no later than May 31, 2010 to [email]program@hrw.org Please be sure to indicate where you learned of this vacancy. Please use “Executive Director, Africa Division Ref 10-1021-I” as the subject of your email. Only complete applications will be reviewed. It is preferred that all materials be submitted via email. If emailing is not possible, send materials (please do not split a submission between email and regular post) to:
Human Rights Watch

Attn: Search Committee (Executive Director, Africa Division Ref 10-1021-I)

350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor

New York, NY 10118-3299

Fax: (212) 736-1300
Human Rights Watch is an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate in its hiring practices and, in order to build the strongest possible workforce, actively seeks a diverse applicant pool.

* * *
Human Rights Watch is an international human rights monitoring and advocacy organization known for its in-depth investigations, its incisive and timely reporting, its innovative and high-profile advocacy campaigns, and its success in changing the human rights-related policies and practices of influential governments and international institutions.

A 23 year old Congolese woman told Human Rights Watch that the soldiers “raped us and dragged us to their camp which was not far away. I stayed there for one month, under constant supervision. Even when I went to fetch water, he came with me to ensure that I did not run away.... There was no conversation between us, he had sex with me at any moment, when he felt like it, and with a lot of violence. I spent my days crying. I begged God to free me from this hell.”

The People's Republic of China will be among the world's largest investors for a long time to come, writes Derek Scissors. Its official foreign exchange reserves are closing in on $2.5 trillion and its financial institutions hold hundreds of billions more.

China's financial behavior is increasingly important to the United States and the international community. The created by The Heritage Foundation is the only publicly available, comprehensive dataset of large worldwide Chinese investments and contracts beyond Treasury bonds. Details are available on over 200 attempted transactions -- failed and successful -- over $100 million in all major industries, including energy, mining, transportation and banking.

China recently became the latest country to lift travel restrictions on people living with HIV, following in the footsteps of the United States. "Every individual should have equal access to freedom of movement, regardless of HIV status," UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé commented on China's decision.

The Trade Unions Confederation of Tanzania has called for a nationwide strike over government’s reluctance to implement a minimum 100 per cent pay hike proposal for workers in the private sector. The government had, after a series of negotiations with sector players and an industry survey settled for a minimum wage of Tsh120,000 ($88.8).

With more than half of all Ethiopian adults tested for HIV in the past five years and a campaign for behaviour change in place, specialists are now calling for a more targeted approach. “Most-at-risk populations” (MARPs) have to be targeted through better understanding of how the epidemic is affecting them and in turn, to develop a more specific response.

This conference took place on the second anniversary of the first India-Africa Forum held in New Delhi in 2008. Although India and the African continent have been closely linked through long-established trade roots, there has been too little debate and analysis on India in Africa and this conference was an effort to provide a platform for a more balanced and focused debate, away from the existing overemphasis on China and its efforts in Africa.

Zambia is pushing forward with formulating an anti-counterfeit draft law which will include medicines, despite the controversy that has surrounded similar laws in East Africa and despite having existing legislation which has been used to successfully prosecute counterfeiters of medicines

About half of South Africa's population is living in poverty, a problem that is not going to be solved overnight, says the Deputy Director-General of Social Development, Selwyn Jehoma. He said the poverty situation in the country was "very significant" and most people believed it would take about a generation to solve.

Sudan's largest rebel group says it will suspend peace talks with the Sudanese government because of alleged violence in the west of the country. The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) accuses the Sudanese government of bombing its positions in West Darfur state, near the Chadian border.

The Merowe Dam on the Nile in Northern Sudan is one of the largest and most destructive hydropower projects in Africa. Commissioned in 2009, the project affects up to 70,000 people, many of whom were displaced from the fertile Nile Valley to arid desert locations. Thousands of people were flushed out of their houses by raising waters before they were properly resettled.

A public disagreement between Zimbabwe's Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, and Finance Minister Tendai Biti over pay increases in public servants' salaries is being seen as evidence of greater divisions between two of the most senior leaders of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

A decade after the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA), a preferential US trade agreement, became law on 18 May 2000, there are questions over the benefits, if any, derived from the initiative. AGOA was touted by the US government as offering "tangible incentives for African countries to continue their efforts to open their economies and build free markets"; in return, selected countries could access US markets without restrictive quotas or import taxes.

"After two heated debates during the recent African ministers of finance meeting in Malawi, national delegations from South Africa, Rwanda and Egypt succeeded in deleting any reference to budgetary targets for education, health, agriculture and water in the Common Position on MDGs and the conference report and resolutions. Their action brings into question the extent to which African finance ministers are committed to continental integration, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the declarations and resolutions of their own heads of state." - Geoffrey Njora

Governments and charities have spent billions to try to wipe out poverty, but award-winning economist Esther Duflo says we really don't know if that money has been well spent. But as a result of Duflo's pioneering work, we may be getting some answers to that question. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor has led the way in showing how the scientific method can be applied to determining what policies actually work.

Dozens of people are dead or missing after a boat capsized in a river in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The boat, carrying 125 people, overturned on Wednesday evening in the Congo River near the city of Kindu, the capital of Congo's eastern Maniema province.