ARTICLE 19 and the Caucus of Women Leaders of Senegal unveiled two documentaries on May 14 2012 to celebrate the second anniversary of the adoption of the law on equal political representation. The first documentary produced by the Caucus, highlights the process that led to the adoption of the law and the commitment of all political actors. The second documentary produced by ARTICLE 19 assesses the level of access to information and freedom of expression in relation to the parity and public debate on political representation of women.

Twenty pan-EU networks have called on the EU to ensure implementation of the Family Reunification Directive for all migrants. According to the Family Reunification Directive, all Member States are obliged to guarantee family reunion which signifies ensuring that there are no legal or practical obstacles to this practice. The full statement is available through the web address provided.

The government plans to spend R2,7bn buying more than 320,000 ha of agricultural land during the current financial year in a bid to advance its land reform programme, says Rural Development and Land Reform Minister Gugile Nkwinti. The government aims to redistribute 24,5-million hectares, equivalent to 30 per cent of agricultural land, to black farmers by 2014 -a target it is far from meeting. The department last year acquired 848 farms totalling 882238 ha, reports Business Day.

The Judiciary has apologised to health activists and advocates for the delay to pronounce itself on a case in which government was sued over high preventable maternal deaths, citing administrative issues, among others. The apology followed a peaceful demonstration by health activists. The activists marched from Kamwokya, a Kampala suburb to the Constitutional Court under police guidance, to express their concern over the seven-month delay.

This letter from African civil society critical of foreign investment in African Agriculture at G8 Summit was presented by Mamadou Cissokho,?Honorary President of ROPPA, ?President Steering Committee CDP/CSO, on behalf of farmers who are members of the organizations listed below.

On the impact of the April 12 coup d’état on vulnerable communities

European leaders in Brussels failed to agree on any concrete measures to deal with the continent’s rapidly worsening economic crisis, reports 'Following last night’s six-hour summit, leaders of the major economies were unable to paper over sharpening disagreements on economic policy, particularly the proposal backed by France’s new Socialist Party President Francois Hollande and reportedly the majority of those present for the issuance of euro bonds, pooling state-backed European debt, and the closely related question of propping up the continent’s crisis ridden banks.'

Africa needs to reduce its dependency on foreign aid and get to the point of financing its own development, some of the continent’s key development experts say. Timing is optimal now that Africa is experiencing an economic boom with annual growth rates of up to eight per cent. 'Africa has become a place where you will make money, not lose money,' said Graca Machel, the wife of former President Nelson Mandela and a renowned women and children’s rights activist. She addressed delegates at the 'Money, Power and Sex: the Paradox of Unequal Growth' conference organised by the Open Society Institute of Southern Africa May 22 to 24 in Cape Town, South Africa.

The Gibe III Dam, now under construction in Southwest Ethiopia, will devastate ecosystems that support 500,000 indigenous people in the Lower Omo Valley and around Kenya’s Lake Turkana. The UN’s World Heritage Committee called on the Ethiopian government to 'immediately halt all construction' on the project, which will impact several sites of universal cultural and ecological value. In August 2011, the Kenyan parliament passed a resolution asking for the suspension of dam construction pending further studies. On 21 June, the World Bank is expected to submit to its Board of Directors a credit of $684 million for a 1,000-kilometer-long transmission line from Ethiopia to Kenya. Strong evidence links this transmission line to the Gibe III Dam.

Personal and social communication have changed substantially with the use of ICTs, social networks and text messages. ICTs create new scenarios, new ways for people to live and these reflect real-life problems. Issues of security, privacy, and surveillance are now part of the debate around ICT development. Women should assert their rights here too, with determination and without delay. Women may not have been an active part of ICT development when the conversation started, but the rapid pace of change online, means they need to participate now to ensure that the future of the internet is shaped taking into account women’s rights concerns, says this report.

A South African court Tuesday 22 May convicted one of the two accused black farmworkers in the murder of white supremacist leader Eugene Terre'Blanche. 'After all the evidence given, I conclude that accused number one (Chris Mahlangu) is guilty as charged,' said Judge John Horn in the High Court sitting in Ventersdorp in northwest South Africa. Co-accused Patrick Ndlovu, who was a minor at the time of the crime, was found guilty only of house-breaking, and not guilty on charges of murder and robbery.

The Raise Hope for Congo campaign has launched 'I Am Congo,' a new video series highlighting voices from the ground. The series profiles five inspiring Congolese individuals - Fidel Bafilemba, Amani Matabaro, Denise Siwatula, Petna Ndaliko, and Dominique Bikaba - who are making a difference in their communities.

Revival of Pan-Africanism Forum presents:

Celebrating the Life of Thomas Sankara with a roundtable discussion on
Revolution and Counterrevolution in Africa

The 25th anniversary of the assassination of Thomas Sankara provides a moment for reflection upon Sankara’s life and his contributions to PanAfrican thought and the relevance of his thinking to the uprisings currently in North Africa and beyond.

Speakers include:

Patricia Daley, Lecturer in Geography at Jesus College, University of Oxford

Jeremy Keenan, Department of Anthropology and Sociology, London School of Oriental and African Studies

Gnaka Lagoke, Founder, The Revival of PanAfricanism Forum

Firoze Manji, Editor in Chief, Pambazuka News

Carina Ray, Department of History, Fordham University

Date: 8 June, 2012

Time: 2.30pm - 6.30pm

Location: Habakkuk Room, Jesus College

For more information, please contact
Joseph Kangah [email]kangahj@gmail.com Amber Murrey [email]amber.murrey-ndewa@jesus.ox.ac.uk or visit us at www.revivalofpanafricanism.org

A minister in Ivory Coast has been sacked over his alleged role in the disappearance of millions of dollars meant for victims of pollution. Adama Bictogo says he has not done anything wrong. The case relates to a 2006 incident in which thousands became ill after toxic waste was dumped in Abidjan.

'The world economy is no less fragile today than it was on the eve of the 2009 Conference. And Developing Economies are just as exposed to downside risks from Advanced Economies as they were then, but their policy space has narrowed in the interim. There can be little doubt that there is a lot Developing Economies could do to strengthen their own fundamentals and reduce dependence on foreign markets, capital and commodities to gain greater autonomy.' This is according to The South Centre's Chief Economist, Dr. Yilmaz Akyüz, who took part as a speaker at the UN General Assembly's two-day Thematic Debate on the State of the World Economy, held in New York on 17-18 May 2012. The presentation can be accessed from the South Centre's website.

As Russia’s new president Vladimir Putin begins a new phase of economic growth, trade experts are keeping a watchful eye on Moscow’s policies with the African continent, which they see as a huge, untapped source of economic opportunity. But experts like Dmitri M. Bondarenko, vice director for research at the Institute for African Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences and a long-time critic of Russia’s stagnant relationship with Africa under Dmitry Medvedev’s administration, is not very hopeful that a new president will bring any change.

Poor countries can expect to see their debt repayments to the rest of the world increase by an average of a third by 2014, as they battle with the consequences of the financial crisis in the west, according to a new report by the Jubilee Debt Campaign. In its report 'The State of Debt', Jubilee uses predictions from the IMF and World Bank to show that among 61 poor countries it analysed, total debt repayments are expected to rise by a third on average over the next two years as a result of the slower growth and shaky financial system in the rest of the world.

Every year, the International Lesbian and Gay Association produces maps on Gay and Lesbian rights in the world as well as its State Sponsored Homophobia report. Most material is available in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French, this year the world map has been also produced in Chinese, Hindi and German. You can download them at the page accessible through the web address provided.

There is mounting concern that The Gambia, Africa’s smallest country, could face yet another shortfall in the 2012/2013 agricultural season in the production of rice, millet, maize and groundnuts, the main crops, crippling its efforts to become food secure. The planting season has begun, yet there is a huge seed deficit. 'It is essential that farmers receive quality drought-tolerant seeds, as well as fertilizer and other production support by the end of May 2012 to start their next production campaign,' said Sonia Nguyen, a spokesperson for the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in the Sahel.

Egypt’s April 6th Youth Movement have declared they are starting a campaign under the slogan 'The eyes of Egypt 2012', to monitor the presidential elections scheduled for May 23 and 24. It said it also adopted the slogan 'participate, elect, monitor and boycott'. The Movement, which has not decided yet which candidate to support in the elections, is also willing to launch a website for the campaign bearing the same slogan 'Eyes of Egypt'.