The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has spoken out against the large number of rapes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), voicing concern at the impunity with which the attacks are being carried out. On average, 14 assaults have been recorded daily over the past three months, but “we fear that the real numbers could be much higher considering that many survivors keep silent for fear of being ostracized,” agency spokesperson Melissa Fleming told reporters in Geneva.

Tanzania is deporting 57 Somali migrants who illegally entered that country last month, officials said. The migrants who were fleeing from the war in Somalia are mostly youth and included six children, officials said.

Two Eritrean rebel groups said they killed 11 government soldiers and wounded some 20 others in a coordinated attack on military camps in southern Eritrea. The groups -- the Red Sea Afar Democratic Organisation (RSADO) and the Eritrean National Salvation Front (ENSF) -- said in a joint statement that they had briefly taken control of the camps on Thursday and seized weapons and military intelligence.

On April 19, an Assembly of the Social Movements was one of the first activities on the agenda at the People's World Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth in Cochabamba, Bolivia. The Assembly highlighted the popular focus of the conference, which was organized by the Bolivian government after the failure of governments and industries to negotiate a plan to stop climate change in Copenhagen last December.The conference is being held from April 19 thru 22 and is meant to amplify the voices of those who were not heard in Copenhagen.

A Cabinet committee has recommended changes to Ndorwa West MP David Bahati’s anti-gay legislation that preclude the possibility of discarding it, Daily Monitor has learnt. But the report, which is yet to be discussed by Cabinet, indicts Mr Bahati for not applying the kind of sophistication that would have anticipated the international condemnation that came after the draft legislation was tabled in Parliament last year.

The sixth Partnership Platform (PP) Meeting of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) opened Thursday in Johannesburg, South Africa, providing participants with an opportunity for multi-partner peer interaction, review and experience sharing among the core institutions and partners involved in CAADP implementation.

The African Union (AU) Commissioner for Human and People's Rights, Sioyata Maiga, on Monday urged the media to publicize human rights related issues in local languages. She made the appeal on arrival in the Angolan capital, Luanda, at the head of a delegation of the African Commission for Human and People's Rights (ACHPR) for an 8-day official visit to assess the progress of human rights in the country.

President Robert Mugabe welcomed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Zimbabwe Thursday, a meeting of two leaders united in fierce opposition to the West. Mugabe met Ahmadinejad at the Harare airport Thursday afternoon.

A Rwandan opposition leader has been conditionally released after being arrested on Wednesday. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza was accused of collaborating with a terrorist group and denying the genocide.

Participants to this week's international meeting on Somalia should press for an immediate end to abuses against civilians by Somalia's transitional government, African Union forces, and armed opposition groups, Human Rights Watch said in an open letter.

Organic agriculture using natural farming methods rather than fertilisers and pesticides has made significant gains in African countries – not just among farmers but among consumers too. Africa needs to triple agricultural productivity by 2050 to keep pace with population growth.

Amnesty International has condemned a reported move by Nigerian state governors to execute death row inmates to ease overcrowding and urged the authorities to instead address the underlying problems in the criminal justice system.

Backing a call for greater action from the United Nations Special Envoy for Malaria, the World Bank has committed $200 million to provide people in sub-Saharan Africa with treated bed nets to protect them from a disease that kills nearly 1 million people every year.

Thuli Brilliance Makama is not everyone's idea of an environmental hero. An attorney in Swaziland, Africa's last absolute monarchy, she has made her name not as a conservationist but by investigating the deaths of suspected poachers.

There are growing calls for a forensic audit into Khomanani, Government’s flagship HIV prevention campaign which has cost the taxpayer millions of rand but has very little to show for it. The Khomanani Communication Consortium (KCC), with principal parties Sadmon Projects and Consulting, Sizwe Ntsaluba VSP, Izwi Multimedia and TBWA Hunt Lascaris, won the lucrative R190-million government tender in May 2007.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA). A 15-year Review of the implementation of the BPfA (Beijing +15) has seen civil society organisations contribute numerous studies, reports, statements and updates on whether or not commitments made have been met and to offer recommendations on how to improve policy and practice. This update from Siyanda brings together a selection of these materials.

Reporters Without Borders has condemned the five-hour detention of Samuel Obiang Mbana, correspondent for Agence France-Presse (AFP) and Africa n°1 radio, at the police station in the capital Malabo on 14 April. The journalist was arrested at Malabo international airport where he went to cover arrivals for an extraordinary summit of heads of state of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC).

Protesters have gathered in central Cairo to condemn calls by two Egyptian politicians and officials loyal to Hosni Mubarak, the president, for security forces to open fire on pro-democracy demonstrations. About 70 people joined the protest on Tuesday, the third in two weeks calling for greater political freedoms and an end to an emergency law that allows indefinite detentions.

As Canadian and European trade negotiators gather in Ottawa for a third round of free trade negotiations, the newly formed Trade Justice Network has publicly released a draft text of the proposed Canada-European Union Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). The network is raising serious concerns about the agreement’s potential impact on public and environmental policy, culture, farmers and public services in both Canada and Europe, and has issued a set of demands that it says must be met before negotiations are allowed to continue.

£24,636 - £27,642 per annum + benefits
London, Waterloo

We’re working with our partners in Angola with the focus “Justice in the use of power”. Together we help communities and groups strengthen their livelihoods, adapt to climate change, reduce the suffering caused by HIV and improve human rights. Take responsibility for monitoring and evaluation, and you’ll be key in helping us achieve our aims.

About the role
Everyone from individuals, churches and businesses to Irish Aid, Comic Relief and others, donate funds to Christian Aid. With your help we can be sure we’re putting that money to the best use. Monitoring and evaluating all of our Angola Programme projects and processes, you’ll look at how we’re using our resources to identify areas of potential improvement. An enthusiastic team player, you will contribute towards the programme’s total quality ensuring you communicate effectively with partners and valuing their experience and knowledge. You’ll also take charge of administrative and finance systems making sure our processes meet with compliance standards. You will use this information to produce and update regular reports, budgets and other documents and create an informative bank of resources that we can use internally, as well as provide to external donors. You will also use your theoretical and practical expertise to help us learn from our partners’ realities and our day-to-day work to improve the programme. At the same time, it’s a huge learning opportunity for you.

About you
You’ll probably join us from an NGO, an association or research centre, a government agency or the UN and you might already be a Programme Officer, or alternatively a Compliance or Finance Officer interested in moving into a more general development role. But no matter what your background, you must have a proven interest in Monitoring and Evaluation, a good understanding of the difficulties faced in Angola, and the experience of supporting development programmes, preferably in Africa. Liaising effectively with colleagues and outside organisations, you’ll need to be confident in networking and your results-orientation skills and desire to learn will help you deliver excellent standards of administrative support, as well as act on your own initiative. And, as you will work daily with our partners in Angola and spend up to 30 days a year in Angola itself, you’ll need excellent written and spoken Portuguese as well as a flexible attitude towards travel.

About Christian Aid
More than half the world lives in poverty. We aim to put a stop to that. So we campaign against the inequalities that keep people poor and we work with local organisations to give people strength to find their own solutions to the problems they face, irrespective of their religion. If you’re as determined as we are to end poverty and injustice across the world, work with us to make change happen.

About the rewards
We value the input of everyone who works for us. That’s why you can expect a wide range of rewards including a generous holiday allowance, a season ticket loan and the flexibility that helps you enjoy a good work/life balance. To find out more and apply, download an application pack at

Reference number: 008/EC
Closing date: 12 noon, Monday 10 May 2010
Interview date: 19 May 2010
This is a fixed term contract until December 2011