A Canada-based rights group has questioned Tanzania's commitment to stop albino murders after courts in the northwest of the African country suspended cases against suspected killers due to lack of funds. At least 53 Tanzanian albinos have been murdered since 2007, with most of the killings taking place in the remote northwest regions of Shinyanga and Mwanza, where superstition runs deep.

The second World Outgames, held in the Danish capital, offered up a veritable smorgasbord of sport, politics and arts while celebrating sexual and gender diversity. But it also reminded participants that bigotry against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, sometimes culminating in violence, remains a scourge across the world.

On July 30, only days before this week's visit of U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton to Kenya, the first stop on her 7-country Africa trip, the Kenyan Cabinet decided to reject special prosecution of those responsible for post-election violence in 2007 and 2008, whether under a domestic special tribunal or by the International Criminal Court (ICC), to which the case has been referred. This AfricaFocus Bulletin contains a brief commentary by Muthoni Wanyeki, executive director of the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), excerpts from an extended interview with Maina Kiai, the former chairperson of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), and links to a number of other related commentaries and reports.

The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) is pleased to announce its 2009 Fellowship in Transitional Justice: a three-week professional development course on transitional justice based in Cape Town, South Africa. This course will be held from November 2nd to November 20th, 2009 in Cape Town, South Africa.

A federal jury has convicted former United States Congressman William J. Jefferson, 62, of New Orleans, of using his office to corruptly solicit bribes, in deals mainly in African states, the Justice Department has announced. After hearing evidence for more than one month, a jury found Jefferson guilty on 11 charged counts, including solicitation of bribes, honest services wire fraud, money laundering, racketeering and conspiracy.

Four African Heads of State have drawn the attention of President Barack Obama's Administration to the fact that Africa as a continent was seeking partnership and not patronage. A release from the World Bank Office in Accra on Wednesday said President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia; President Paul Kagame of Rwanda; President Seretse Khama Ian Khama of Botswana and President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal said this in a joint statement.

On the occasion of African Women’s Day, the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and Media Rights Agenda wish to draw the attention of the Nigerian authorities to the urgent need to address the situation of women and girls victims of gender-based violence and discrimination, in particular sexual abuse.

Nine years since the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) was enacted, Kenya is yet to fully benefit from the legislation. Although the country’s slow pace of economic reforms and growth are largely to blame, US stringent import policies have also undermined the benefits. The Ministry of Trade says Kenya’s volume of exports to the US have been minimal. For instance, in 2006, export to the US amounted to Sh21 billion and Sh19.3 billion in 2007 against imports of Sh24.7 billion in 2006 and Sh44.5 billion in 2007.

The Gender and Media Diversity Journal is the biennial journal of the Gender and Media Diversity Centre (GMDC). The GMDC is a physical and virtual resource centre based in Southern Africa, managed by Gender Links and the Gender and Media Southern Africa (GEMSA) Network, with linkages in Africa and across the globe. The journal is an intellectual but not academic journal. It provides up-to-date and cutting edge information on media diversity in Southern Africa and the space for the dissemination of research findings and projects; case studies; campaigns; policy developments; and opinion and debate on media practice in the region.

The Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society at The Graduate Center of The City University of New York is accepting applications for the spring 2010 Emerging Leaders International Fellows Program. This program provides nonprofit sector leadership training through seminars, applied research and mentorships. The program is designed for young scholars and practitioners from outside the United States who are interested in building Third-Sector capacity in their home countries or regions. The deadline for receipt of application materials is September 3, 2009.

A private oil company in Angola, given permission by the state oil company Sonangol to bid for potentially lucrative oil rights, has shareholders with the same names as Sonangol's chairman and other top officials, Global Witness has learned. Angola is one of the two top oil-producing countries in sub-Saharan Africa but most of its people still live in dire poverty.

Despite Sudan being a signatory to the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People's Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, its discriminatory laws against women contradict the declared government commitment to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed on 9 January 2005 and the National Interim Constitution. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) - which Sudan acceded in 1986 - prohibits torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment such as flogging and protects women's rights to be free from discrimination based on sex.

The Pan-African Reading for All (RFA) Conference is one of the most exciting and most memorable literacy events on the African continent. It is organized bi-annually by the International Reading Association’s International Development Committee in Africa (IRA/IDAC) and the National Reading Association in the host country. Under the theme: “Literacy for Community Based Socio-economic Transformation and Development” participants from all over the world will converge in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania from August 10th – 14th, 2009 to share their experiences in literacy and reading promotion initiatives and practices from different countries.

Horn Relief is an international African based development and humanitarian organization which focuses on increasing sustainable livelihoods for (agro-) pastoralists and coastal communities in Somalia as well as cross-border areas in neighboring countries. Presently it has programmes focusing on water & sanitation, food security, non-formal education, vocational training, cash based responses, as well as other humanitarian emergency interventions.Horn Relief is looking for a Fundraising and Information Coordinator.

As the change in climate is witnessed all over the world, the Congo Basin’s rate of deforestation is being debated as the loss of trees is leading to the destruction of essential animal and tribal habitats at an increasing rate and a large amount of carbon dioxide is remaining in the atmosphere unchanged.

Review of Leadership in Africa (RoLA) is a scholarly journal that provides a forum for the rigorous – theoretical and empirical – examination of the ideas and practices of leadership in Africa in all its ramifications. It publishes original, high quality articles that promote the understanding of the theory, concept and practices of leadership in Africa. The journal invites different perspectives and positions on the leadership question in Africa that allow for a holistic examination of leadership in all its ramifications.

Agenda invites contributions for Agenda journal no. 82, "Gendered Violence in Education". At the forefront of feminist publishing in South Africa for 22 years, the Agenda journal raises debate around women's rights and gender issues. The journal encourages critical thinking, debate and social activism and strengthens the capacity of women and men to challenge gender discrimination and injustices. The IBSS/SAPSE accredited and peer reviewed journal will be published in December 2009.

The key aim of the Graça Machel Scholarship Programme is to help provide the female human resources necessary for economic, social and cultural development in the southern African region and to develop an educated and skilled workforce that can benefit the wider community. Scholarships that target women have long been recognized as an effective approach in addressing gender equality and eradicating poverty.

The Tech Awards program inspires global engagement in applying technology to humanity's most pressing problems by recognizing the best of those who are utilizing innovative technology solutions to address the most urgent critical issues facing our planet. People all over the world are profoundly improving the human condition in the areas of education, equality, environment, health, and economic development through the use of technology.

Burkina Faso’s first plastic recycling centre is paving the way for a new kind of development project. It provides a money earner to the poor while tackling environmental pollution. Local industry also benefits – the recycled plastic granules cost half the price of importing new plastic from abroad.