The Protocol Establishing the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights came into effect on 15 January 2004. More recently, at the AU Assembly in July 2004 a decision was taken to merge the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights with the Court of Justice of the African Union. What are the implications of this merger? Africa needs an effective human rights court to ensure respect for human rights and an eventual end to human rights violations. The Conference would have to consider procedural, logistical and resource issues, which would ensure that the African Court of Human Rights is an effective one.

Amnesty International says it is "particularly concerned" with access to services which are essential for the enjoyment of human rights. "If individuals and communities are denied such access because of their economic status, ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, religious persuasion, or any other arbitrary, discriminatory measure, then that action constitutes a grave violation of their human rights. Denial of access to these services could cause grave violations of physical and mental integrity of individuals and groups, and would thus constitute a human rights violation. Access to basic necessities of life is critical to sustain any society based on human dignity, and the State has an obligation to provide such services."

With warnings that the virus of racism is on the march around the world and urgent calls for a global assault on the scourge, with new proposals to strengthen human rights and panel sessions on overcoming hate crimes, the United Nations today marked the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

Europeans are becoming more intolerant of immigrants and one in five want them sent home, a study released by the European Union racism watchdog showed. The study, based on pan-EU opinion surveys between 1997 and 2003, found a significant increase in support for the view that there were limits to a so-called multicultural society. There was also a significant increase in the minority of people who supported repatriating immigrants, to 20 percent, the study said, without providing the scale of either increase.

The office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported in March 2005 that "the number of asylum seekers arriving in industrialized countries fell sharply for the third year in a row in 2004, reaching its lowest level for 16 years." Despite the lower numbers, governments of industrialized countries still face public concern that the asylum system is "out of control." How much of the drop in applications comes from a lower demand for asylum and how much from stringent legislation is not clear.

On Friday 1 April 2005, organisations and national platforms involved in the Global Call to Action against Poverty are asked to target representatives of rich creditor countries with a demand for debt cancellation, and to wear the white band. Through Embassy Actions, this GCAP mobilisation will focus on the embassies of the G7 - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and US - calling for full cancellation of the debts of the most impoverished countries. Particular emphasis will be on the French and German embassies to encourage their leaders to sign-up to debt cancellation - although each national platform should decide on its own target, based on its own national context. The action comes ahead of the meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Washington DC on 16 and 17 April.

"For too long, when it comes to corruption in Africa, the West's position has been "do as I say not as I do." In Sierra Leone and other countries, debts were racked up knowingly by African ministers and Western lenders in the full knowledge that they would not be repaid. This was not mere irresponsible borrowing, but planned larceny. This – not bleeding heart sentiments – is the reason that its debts should be written off," writes author Aminatta Forna in the UK's Independent newspaper.

The Ministerial meeting of the Group of 20 developing countries operating in the WTO on agriculture issues concluded on 19 March with the adoption of a Declaration and a press briefing in which Ministers from participating countries took part. The Declaration of the G-20 Ministers called for the elimination of all export subsidies in agriculture within five years. It asked for substantial reductions in trade distorting domestic support by developed countries.

Tuberculosis was last year's most overlooked tragedy. TB killed more people than all wars, earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, airline accidents, terrorist acts and murders worldwide the past year, and with much less fanfare. The deaths of these 1.8 million people were arguably all the more tragic as almost every one of them could have been prevented if they had been properly treated with highly-effective anti-TB medicines. This report asks, "Who is succeeding in preventing these tragic deaths?" In examining the most recent data that countries have provided to the World Health Organization, this independent report finds that some countries - even among the poorest such as Cambodia and the Democratic Republic of Congo - are doing quite a lot. The report also finds that some countries - Nigeria being perhaps the most conspicuous example - are doing frightfully little.

The Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF) of the Dhow Countries, East Africa’s largest cultural event is located in Zanzibar around the magnificent, historical venues along the waterfront of Stone Town. The festival celebrates the unique cultural heritage of Africa and the Dhow countries of the Indian Ocean region and their global Diaspora. The Festival promotes an extensive programme of Films, Music & Performing Arts, Exhibitions, and Workshops for Women, Children, Film Industry, Music Industry and Literature.

This paper, the first in the Lancet Neonatal Survival series, focuses on the growing proportion of child deaths that occur in the neonatal period (the first four weeks of life), accounting for 38 per cent of all child deaths in 2000, or 4 million a year. While 99 per cent of neonatal deaths arise in low and middle income countries, research focuses on the one per cent of deaths in rich countries. The highest neonatal mortality rates are found in sub-Saharan Africa. The authors conclude that the Millennium Development Goal for child survival cannot be met without achieving substantial global reductions in neonatal mortality. They argue that inequity should be addressed as a priority.

Introducing his report -- "In larger freedom:  towards development, security and human rights for all" -- to the General Assembly, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged Member States to adopt this year a package of specific, concrete proposals to tackle global problems and enable the Organization to better respond to current challenges. He said the comprehensive strategy he was proposing "gives equal weight and attention to the three great purposes of this Organization:  development, security and human rights, all of which must be underpinned by the rule of law."  The report was called "In Larger Freedom" because he believed those words from the Charter conveyed the idea that development, security and human rights went hand in hand.  The cause of larger freedom could only be advanced if nations worked together; and the United Nations could only help if it was remoulded as an effective instrument of their common purpose. 

The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) at its 49th session (New York, 28 February ­ 11 March 2005) adopted a Declaration reaffirming the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and emphasizing that the full and effective implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform is essential to achieving the internationally agreed development goals including those contained in the Millennium Declaration. The full text of the Declaration is available through the link provided.

As the Indian Parliament prepares to tackle the country's implementation of the World Trade Organization's (WTO) agreement regulating patents on medicines, Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) is urging Indian decision makers to ensure that patients in developing countries will continue to have access to affordable medicines. "MSF has examined the proposed amendments to India's Patents Act of 1970. We believe they will drastically restrict, perhaps even prevent, the production and supply of vital therapies by Indian pharmaceutical companies to other developing countries," said Ellen 't Hoen, director of policy advocacy and research with MSF's Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines. Also included here is a two-page letter sent by the UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Asia and the Pacific, Dr. Nafis Sadik, and the UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, Stephen Lewis, to the Prime Minister and the President of India.

At least 88,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the war-torn district of Ituri, northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), are again receiving relief aid, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), reported. Humanitarian actors have resumed aid to Kakwa, Tché and Gina IDP sites after they suspended services following the killing of nine Bangladeshi UN peacekeepers by militiamen on 26 February in Kafe village.

Despite the official satisfaction expressed at end of the meeting, several of the 33 WTO members which attended the latest in the series of Mini-Ministerial meetings in Mombasa, from 2- 4 March, left privately worried about the chances of WTO making real progress on the issues at stake in time for the Hong-Kong Ministerial Conference of the WTO, reports Karin Gregow of EcoNews Africa in the latest edition of Africa Trade Agenda, a publication of Third World Network-Africa. "The ministers also left behind them scores of members of grass-root organisations still facing charges following their arrest when their attempt to manifest their concerns were disrupted by Kenyan police." Read the full story by visiting http://twnafrica.org/tradeagenda.asp

The United Nations Secretary General has appointed an Independent Expert, Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, to lead a global study on Violence Against Children. The Study, rooted in children's human rights to protection from all forms of violence, aims to promote action to prevent and eliminate violence against children at international, regional, national and local levels. The Study is a UN-led collaboration, mandated by the General Assembly, to draw together existing research and relevant information about the forms, causes and impact of violence which affects children and young people (up to the age of 18 years). A major report will be published in 2006 and recommendations presented to the UN General Assembly.

"The Bush administration has made much of the recent advent of 'democracy' in Iraq. We believe that a precondition for democracy is the withdrawal of US troops. Iraqis can not freely decide their own future before that. Not only was the US war of 'liberation' illegal in terms of the United Nations; not only was it prosecuted despite the open opposition of most of the world; not only has it never turned up the weapons of mass destruction which justified it and not only did Bush and Blair lie about the evidence for their existence; not only has that war of 'liberation' killed up to 100,000 of the very people it claims to liberate; not only has it further destroyed houses, hospitals, sanitation, roads, water and electricity networks - besides all this, it has entrenched US troops in the region as an occupying force, bent on maintaining control of Iraq under a fig leaf of voting." Read the rest of this statement and sign on to petition ahead of the global day of action on Iraq scheduled for March 19.

We braved the chilling cold, snow and rains of London for three days of meetings and briefings of the Commission for Africa, set up by Prime Minister Tony Blair. We were 16 "senior" journalists from Africa sponsored by the British government to interest us in the commission's work. Like so many previous initiatives to deliver Africa from its state of permanent crisis, Blair's effort, in spite of good intentions, is bound to deliver little or nothing because it is not breathing fresh ideas into the debate on Africa's development predicament.

Africans are skeptical that a new Africa recovery plan proposed by Prime Minister Tony Blair will help the poor, and some dismiss it as a public relations gimmick, analysts and campaigners say. Blair's new Africa Commission, in a report due for official release on March 11 but leaked last week, will call for an overhaul in the way rich countries do business with Africa as well as debt cancellation and an end to agricultural subsidies. "The commission raises very, very important issues and if Blair is able to use it to challenge (rich countries) then that is good. I welcome any initiative," said Aseghedech Ghirmazion, director of the East and Horn of Africa office of Germany's Heinrich Boll Foundation, a political and development group. "But will it lead to action? I am very suspicious. I have my doubts that this is going to be anything more than more debates and more talking," he added on Tuesday.