Uganda's opposition parties are demanding reforms in the electoral commission as the country prepares for the presidential polls in 2011. The statement presented to parliament yesterday by Forum for Democratic Change president, Kizza Besigye, suggests major facelifts in the way elections are conducted, the announcement of winners, while also calling for the reinstatement of the presidential term limits.

Women in Mauritania who press charges for sexual assault face the risk of jail time because of poorly defined laws and stigma that criminalise victims rather than offenders, according to a local UN-funded non-profit. The subject of rape is still so taboo in Mauritania that there is no mention of it in the law and the word is absent from government documents, according to the NGO Mauritanian Association for Maternal and Child Health, based in the capital Nouakchott.

Ashoka’s Changemakers, in partnership with the National Geographic Society, have launched an exciting online competition entitled “Geotourism Challenge 2009: Power of Place – Sustaining Future Destinations". Our aim is to search for global innovative ideas in tourism that celebrate the distinct destinations of the world by honoring culture, cherishing history and enhancing the environment. Submit your entry by May 20, 2009 at to take advantage of the funding opportunities and global exposure, while contributing to the next big change!

On 14 May 2009 the Constitutional Court will hear the attempt by the shack dweller’s movement Abahlali baseMjondolo to have the KwaZulu-Natal Slums Act declared unlawful. Other provinces have been mandated to develop similar legislation and the decision of the court may have a significant impact on the future of our cities.

The DURBAN SINGS project asks for your attention: Can you lend your ear to the "Singing Durbanites" on Can you write an audio letter to audio activists of the southern hemisphere? Can you pick up on their songs, stories, proverbs and histories, take them to yours, add from your songs, stories, proverbs and histories and post your re-telling re-mix back to them?

The second day of the cleaning campaign on our land in Macassar was even more successful than the first. The police ceased more or less from their intimidatory tactics and there were even more community members present to clean the land

The Institute of Peace, Leadership and Governance (IPLG) at Africa University invites applicants for a Senior Lecturer or Lecturer in Public Policy and Governance. The Institute seeks to contribute to a culture of peace, good governance, security and socio-economic development in Africa through research, teaching, networking and community-level action.

International mediators led by UN special envoy Tiebile Drame have called for a neutral, peaceful and consensual transition in Madagascar before the next national election in 14 months. According to a draft agreement, the mediators tasked the transitional authority, led by former Antananarivo Mayor Andry Rajoelina, to organise fair and transparent elections and establish democratic and stable institutions.

Togo will hold presidential elections between 18 February and 5 March, 2010, a statement by Aboudou Assouma, chairman of the Constitutional Court, issued on Thursday in Lomé said.

On May 26, oil giant Shell will face a groundbreaking trial in U.S. federal court for complicity in human rights abuses. Shell faces a number of serious charges, including conspiring with a Nigerian military dictatorship to bring about the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight fellow activists who led a mass movement against Shell's environmental devastation of their homeland in the oil-rich Niger Delta.

The United Nations Security Council should focus on the protection of civilians, justice, and human rights during its upcoming visit to Africa, from May 14-21, 2009, Human Rights Watch has said in a letter to the council member states. The 15 members of the Security Council will visit Liberia, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and meet with African Union officials in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, about the crises in Somalia and Sudan.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is stepping up its humanitarian activities in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in response to the deterioration of the humanitarian situation that has taken place since autumn 2008. The lack of security arising from ongoing clashes and military operations is exacerbating the already bleak conditions for displaced people (IDPs) – estimated to number more than 300,000 – and their host communities in North Kivu and is having a devastating impact on people's livelihoods.

As Malawi prepares for elections in four days, The International Institute for Journalism, based in Ghana, has launched the first ever elections project for that country. The president of the institute, Kwami Ahiabenu, said it's designed to promote the use of ICT in generating election information.

Religion, cultural norms and tradition promote discrimination and unequal power relations between men and women in Africa. Akina Mama wa Afrika's Christine Butegwa doesn't hesitate when asked what explains the horrific levels of sexual violence against women in conflict-affected areas on the continent.

In order to overcome the constitutional deficit in Africa and contribute to the dynamism of the teaching of constitutional practice in the Continent has developed a programme on « Constitutionalism and Constitutional Rights », which includes the organising of a yearly Academy aimed at improving the knowledge and understanding of institutional mechanisms by the wider public. The Second Session of the ACLJA will be held under the theme “Constitution and Citizenship”

The Institute of Peace, Leadership and Governance (IPLG) at Africa University invites applicants for a Senior Lecturer or Lecturer in Human Rights. The post is full-time and the appointment will be made at an appropriate level. The Institute seeks to contribute to a culture of peace, good governance, security and socio-economic development in Africa through research, teaching, networking and community-level action. IPLG provides a focus for training, research and documentation in the areas of peace, leadership and governance in Africa with a view to developing the skills of students and practitioners in these areas.

A plan by the Africa Commission to side-step African governments and target the private sector to invigorate the continent’s business and agricultural capacity, thereby stimulating job creation, was launched in the Danish capital, Copenhagen, on 6 May. According to the Commission’s committee members – heads of state, members of civil society, academia and international and regional organisations, mainly from Africa – the proposals break from the ever-growing catalogue of help schemes for the world’s poorest continent.

Nigeria's President Umaru Yar'Adua has sent a bill to the national assembly (parliament) which, if passed into law, will make it an offence to discriminate against any person on the grounds of actual or perceived HIV status. The bill makes it an offence for employers of labour, religious houses and operators of other public places to discriminate against those living with or affecte d by HIV and AIDS.

FAWE is offering a 12-month postdoctoral Gender in African Education Research Fellowship at its Regional Secretariat in Nairobi, Kenya, from July 2009. The fellowship will contribute to a FAWE research initiative that aims to build African research capacity on gender in education in Africa with a view to improving girls’ and women’s education on the continent.

Members of the Nigerian National Assembly in charge of investigating the country's electricity crisis have been charged with fraud. The 10 MPs denied charges of siphoning off $42m (£27m) of public funds in a hearing that stretched over two days.