The Ugandan government should immediately order an independent investigation into the killing of unarmed persons during and after riots in Kampala on September 10 and 11, 2009, Human Rights Watch has said. A Human Rights Watch investigation found that at least 13 people were shot by government forces in situations where lethal force was unnecessary.

Although Algeria was affected by large-scale displacement caused by conflict between 1992 and 2002, internally displaced people (IDPs) were not a priority for the government during or after the conflict. As a result, even the most basic information about their number and situation has consistently been unavailable. The European Union estimated at the end of the conflict that violence had displaced one million people, while other sources put the number as high as 1.5 million. The government has not contested these figures.

In a unanimous decision, the Constitutional Council rejected the appeal of MDM against the exclusion of its lists from most provinces. It upholds the CNE’s interpretation of the law, and publishes lists of unqualified candidates to show that MDM simply did not have enough candidates in most provinces.

Regional Campaign Coordinator - Africa
Central London Based
£37,584 plus excellent benefits and relocation package
Permanent contract

As Regional Campaign Coordinator for the Africa Program, you will be responsible for developing AI’s campaigning and crisis response work on sub-Saharan Africa. This will include initiating, coordinating and evaluating campaigns and major actions on the region. Working closely with our membership Mobilization Programme in strengthening the campaigning skills and capacity of AI’s membership structures in Africa, you will contribute directly to the development of our campaigning work worldwide.

You will have knowledge of sources of social, political and economic influence in the region and advise on AI’s strengths in mobilizing such influence in relation to Africa in order to enhance the campaigning activities on the region. Sensitive to the cultures and peoples of sub-Saharan Africa, you will have a sound knowledge of human rights concerns in the region as well as experience of working with civil society in Africa. You must be able to think and plan strategically, have sound political judgement and excellent organisational and communication skills. Fluent English and French language skills are essential.

Amnesty International (AI) is a worldwide movement of volunteers and professionals standing up for human rights. Independent of any government, ideology, economic interest or religion, we have more than 2 million supporters in over 150 countries. Our purpose is to research, speak out and take action to protect individuals wherever rights, justice, fairness, freedom and truth are denied.

Closing date for this position: 25th October 2009.

To find out more and apply, visit and quote reference AFR/09/09.

South Africa’s largest farmers’ union expects to conclude a multimillion hectare farmland deal with the Republic of Congo and agree a smaller land lease with Libya next month, its deputy president said. Theo de Jager, Deputy President of farmers’ grouping AgriSA said on Wednesday the union expected to finalise its 10 million hectare deal with the Republic of Congo in mid October.

The leader of the Union of the Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG) and former Guinean Prime Minister, Cellou Dalein Diallo, who was grievously wounded during Monday's rally at the 28 September Stadium in Conakry, was prevented Wednesday evening from going for treatment abroad, according to sources close to his family. The UFDG leader, who sustained five broken ribs during the bloody repression by the police force on Monday, was about to board a plane to Paris, France when he was forced to return to his room in a local clinic where he was receiving treatment, under heavy military guard.

Zimbabwe's economy is projected to grow by 3.7 percent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund, the first expansion since 1997. The IMF in its latest World Economic Outlook published on Thursday did not give reasons for its assessment. It forecast that growth in the southern African nation's gross domestic product would accelerate to 6 percent in 2010.

Sudanese women who escaped the Darfur conflict to eastern Chad are facing high levels of sexual violence, an Amnesty International report says. Despite the presence of a UN force, women and girls are being attacked when they leave 12 designated camps in search of water, the report says. It also documents cases of refugees being attacked inside the camps by Chadian aid workers.

Guinean security forces should immediately cease violent attacks on demonstrators protesting against the military government, Human Rights Watch has said. Human Rights Watch called upon the government to hold accountable security forces responsible for firing upon and killing dozens of generally peaceful demonstrators in the Guinean capital, Conakry, on September 28, 2009.

14 leading African Finance and Education Ministers have written to development and finance ministers in leading OECD donor countries, appealing for financial help to send 20 million children to primary school for the first time by the end of next year.

On 30 September 2009 Kontax – an m-novel created for the Shuttleworth Foundation’s m4Lit project– launches in South Africa, making world history as the first of its kind to be offered in both English and isiXhosa. The m4Lit project, led by Steve Vosloo, 21st Century Learning Fellow for the Shuttleworth Foundation, aims to not only explore the potential for increased reading and writing for 21st century teens through mobile phones, but also to introduce a more interactive style of story writing and publishing that holds appeal to the participatory culture of youth.

When is a government guilty of mass murder? If a government knowingly allows hundreds of thousands of people to die unnecessarily, what is its responsibility? Is indirect guilt, or guilt by omission, less culpable than direct guilt or guilt by commission? All these fraught questions now arise because Apotex, the Canadian generic drug giant, has sent its final shipment of inexpensive AIDS medication to Africa. The company says that the five-year-old federal legislation meant to facilitate this process is impossible to work with, and the Harper government refuses to fix it, writes Gerald Caplan.

The Portuguese Political Science Association (APCP) is inviting submissions for panels and papers for presentation at its Fifth Conference, which will take place at the University of Aveiro during 4-6 March 2010. Proposals should be sent by email to congressos(at)apcp.pt no later than 31 October 2009.

Namibia’s National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) and the Namibian Chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA-Namibia) have registered a strong protest at the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) for the reported exclusion of certain media houses and, by extension, for withholding voter vital information from a large number of potential voters.

A group non-governmental organizations (NGOs) involved in the work of the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights have written to The Commission of the African Union chariperson, Jean Ping, to request the African Union to remove the Headquarters of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights from the Gambia. The basis for this request is the personally communicated threat by the President of The Gambia, Col. A.J.J Jammeh (Rtd), to kill all human rights defenders who enter The Gambia.

The Leadership and Advocacy for Women in Africa (LAWA) Fellowship Program was founded in 1993 at the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., in order to train women's human rights lawyers from Africa who are committed to returning home to their countries in order to advance the status of women and girls in their own countries throughout their careers. Over 50 women's human rights advocates from Botswana, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe have participated in the LAWA Program. The application deadline for the LAWA Program, is Wednesday, September 30, 2009.

The shoe industry is one of the most globalised industries in the world. Shoes, and in particular plastic shoes that have been analysed in this study, have become a throwaway item for many people the world over. This study has been conducted in collaboration with six of the Swedish Society for Nature Conservtion's (SSNC) co-operation organisations in the Philippines, India, South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania and Indonesia.

Amid the chaos and lawlessness of Eastern Congo, a local organization has developed an innovative approach to settling disputes and promoting justice, one community at a time. , a partner of The Advocacy Project (AP) in Uvira, has created Comites de Mediation et Conciliation (CMCs), or conflict resolution committees, in 24 communities across South Kivu.

New York University Wagner announces a call for applications for the African Women Public Service Fellowship, a fellowship program made possible by a donation from the Oprah Winfrey Foundation, which expands the opportunity for African women to prepare for public service in their home countries. As fellows at NYU Wagner, African women study in one of two graduate programs: the two-year Master of Public Administration or the one-year Executive MPA: Concentration on International Public Service Organizations.

This report, the first of its kind, provides a snapshot of working conditions in Katanga in Chinese-run enterprises. It synthesizes the views, experiences, concerns and recommendations of Chinese and Congolese workers interviewed. The report is based on a survey carried out in 2008 by Rights and Accountability in Development (RAID) into working conditions in Chinese private mining companies in Katanga Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).