More than half the world’s population lives in urban areas and by 2050, the world’s population is expected to grow by three billion people. Almost all of this growth will take place in developing countries, and within those countries, in cities and towns—more than doubling the urban population today.

As the world commemorates the 54th International Human Rights Day on December 10th, the Inter-African Network for Human Rights and Development (AFRONET) urges all people throughout the world not to forget the very principles that underlie the day.

On the occasion of the commemoration of the first international Human Rights Day (December 10) following the establishment of the African Union, we are writing to you to express our deep concern over the lack of improvement in the human rights situation in Africa. In the five months of the AU’s existence, rights violations have actually increased in many member countries of the Union while the Union maintains a rather deafening silence.

In Eritrea, for instance, there has been a clamp down on freedom of expression, the rights of Eritrea's people to freely choose their own government and of the media, which has resulted in a ban on the entire independent media. In Liberia and Cameroon, human rights defenders and journalists have either been charged with treason or imprisoned. In Nigeria, a fatwa has been issued against a journalist, Isioma Daniel, calling for her arbitrary and extra judicial murder. And in the past one week, Nigeria's government has prevented several human rights advocates and defenders from travelling out of the country on the unsubstantiated grounds that they are "security risks".

In Egypt, human rights advocates are prosecuted or threatened with prosecution for exercising their right to freedom of expression or making lawful democratic demands. In Côte d'Ivoire, the government presides over the persecution of both its own nationals and nationals of neighbouring African countries.

In Zimbabwe, and Uganda, among other countries, legislation has been introduced which restrict or threaten punitive measures against the media. In these and many countries, individual journalists are still persecuted for reports, which are not denied or proven to be untrue. These attacks on the media and individual journalists by many African governments reflect a trend which shows in real terms that they are yet to accept that democracy and good governance are indispensable to stability and development.

Also, women and in particular young girls continue to suffer violence and from the consequences of conflict and poverty. Although violence against women is a universal problem, there seems to be no hurry to adopt and implement the Draft Protocol To The African Charter On The Rights Of Women In Africa.

Around the African continent, Africans are prevented from travelling freely by immigration rules that privilege non-African nationals. For instance, many Africans travelling to other African countries outside their sub-regions have to wait for between four and six weeks for visas, which many non-Africans can acquire within a week or on arrival at entry points. Collective expulsions of Africans within the continent are also routine practice and refugees and illegal immigrants within the continent continue to be subjected to unspeakable dehumanisation.

In all, twenty-six of the fifty-three member countries of the African Union have engaged in notable rights violations since the formation of the Union in July 2002. To the best of our knowledge, the African Union has not responded robustly to any of these rights abuses. Most rights abuses involve violations of the rights to opinion, expression, association, assembly, free movement and press freedom.

This state of affairs directly contradicts the AU’s stated objectives to “promote democratic principles and institutions, popular participation and good governance” and to “promote and protect peoples' rights in accordance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and other relevant human rights instruments”.

To cap all these, about thirty million people in Africa are now in danger of severe malnutrition and starvation. The situation is particularly bad in Ethiopia and southern Africa. While lack of rainfall and other circumstances are not man made, the lack of adequate short and long term remedies or preventive measures are direct reflections of repressive legal and institutional frameworks, which compel millions to painfully await circumstances which could have been avoided or ameliorated by openness and more democratic participation in government.

The above examples and countless other unreported violations which have gone unchallenged by the African Union are without doubt manifestations of an absence of political will, and an inability to effectively implement existing mechanisms for the supervision of the provisions of Africa's human rights instruments. On this occasion of Human Rights Day, we therefore call on you to without delay utilise your good office to:

*Publicly and unreservedly censure those African governments that violate the human rights of their nationals, foreign residents or inhabitants or deprive victims of such violations of effective remedies;
* Remind African governments of the primacy of the right to life, freedom of expression, participation in government and associated rights, and guaranteeing human rights generally. The AU should announce measures to guarantee that the rights of people to freely choose their governments in free, fair and open elections shall be taken seriously, respected and not be tampered with by the Union or any its member governments;
*Take immediate and active steps to guarantee better funding of the institutions of the African regional human rights system, including in particular the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights and the African Committee on the Rights and Welfare of the Child;
*Take immediate and active steps to ensure that AU member countries ratify the Protocol for the Establishment of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights without further delay;
*Remind all AU member governments of their obligations to observe, promote, protect, and fulfil human and peoples' rights in Africa, including the economic, social and cultural rights of all persons in Africa;
*Take immediate measures to ensure appropriate priority is accorded to the effective protection of refugees and other victims of forced displacement in Africa. We would be pleased if you could address these concerns, and take this occasion to clarify how the AU intends to realise the quite ambitious obligations that are contained in the Constitutive Act concerning the protection of human rights.

The Constitutive Act represents an orientation towards the protection of human rights different from the OAU Charter that it replaced. Articles 4 and 30 of the Constitutive Act require the countries of the Union to be proactive in the protection of human rights generally, and, most especially, in situations of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and unconstitutional changes in government among others. These new and far reaching obligations require African governments and the African Union itself to take the protection of human rights seriously because this is the only way that a degeneration into genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, fratricidal conflict, civil unrest and unconstitutional changes in government can be avoided.

In the OAU Refugee Convention and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, the member States of the Union have a body of norms and obligations, adherence to which would greatly contribute to positively transforming Africa's human rights record. More than one year after the entry into force of the Constitutive Act in May 2001, we are yet to see evidence of a readiness on the part of the Union to provide the leadership that is required by the Constitutive Act in ensuring compliance with Africa's and international human rights standards. The optimism inspired by the adoption of radical new provisions of the Constitutive Act is now at risk of having been in vain.

We look forward to your response to these issues and to the opportunity of working with you and the AU for the effective protection of human and peoples' rights on the African continent.

Yours Sincerely,
Rotimi Sankore
Coordinator
Centre for Research Education and Development of - [CREDO] – Freedom of Expression and Associated Rights

* CREDO is an International human rights organisation based in Senegal and London and focusing on work in Africa.
* Send comments for publication in the Letters and Comments section of Pambazuka News to

Human Rights Day Related Links:
* UN Should Integrate Human Rights Into Security Council Work
http://www.hrw.org/press/2002/12/unhrwork.htm
* Joint Declaration on International Mechanisms for Promoting Freedom of Expression
http://www.article19.org
* Make Human Rights Day Count

On the occasion of the commemoration of the first international Human Rights Day (December 10) following the establishment of the African Union, we are writing to you to express our deep concern over the lack of improvement in the human rights situation in Africa. In the five months of the AU’s existence, rights violations have actually increased in many member countries of the Union while the Union maintains a rather deafening silence.

In Eritrea, for instance, there has been a clamp down on freedom of expression, the rights of Eritrea's people to freely choose their own government and of the media, which has resulted in a ban on the entire independent media. In Liberia and Cameroon, human rights defenders and journalists have either been charged with treason or imprisoned. In Nigeria, a fatwa has been issued against a journalist, Isioma Daniel, calling for her arbitrary and extra judicial murder. And in the past one week, Nigeria's government has prevented several human rights advocates and defenders from travelling out of the country on the unsubstantiated grounds that they are "security risks".

In Egypt, human rights advocates are prosecuted or threatened with prosecution for exercising their right to freedom of expression or making lawful democratic demands. In Côte d'Ivoire, the government presides over the persecution of both its own nationals and nationals of neighbouring African countries.

In Zimbabwe, and Uganda, among other countries, legislation has been introduced which restrict or threaten punitive measures against the media. In these and many countries, individual journalists are still persecuted for reports, which are not denied or proven to be untrue. These attacks on the media and individual journalists by many African governments reflect a trend which shows in real terms that they are yet to accept that democracy and good governance are indispensable to stability and development.

Also, women and in particular young girls continue to suffer violence and from the consequences of conflict and poverty. Although violence against women is a universal problem, there seems to be no hurry to adopt and implement the Draft Protocol To The African Charter On The Rights Of Women In Africa.

Around the African continent, Africans are prevented from travelling freely by immigration rules that privilege non-African nationals. For instance, many Africans travelling to other African countries outside their sub-regions have to wait for between four and six weeks for visas, which many non-Africans can acquire within a week or on arrival at entry points. Collective expulsions of Africans within the continent are also routine practice and refugees and illegal immigrants within the continent continue to be subjected to unspeakable dehumanisation.

In all, twenty-six of the fifty-three member countries of the African Union have engaged in notable rights violations since the formation of the Union in July 2002. To the best of our knowledge, the African Union has not responded robustly to any of these rights abuses. Most rights abuses involve violations of the rights to opinion, expression, association, assembly, free movement and press freedom.

This state of affairs directly contradicts the AU’s stated objectives to “promote democratic principles and institutions, popular participation and good governance” and to “promote and protect peoples' rights in accordance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and other relevant human rights instruments”.

To cap all these, about thirty million people in Africa are now in danger of severe malnutrition and starvation. The situation is particularly bad in Ethiopia and southern Africa. While lack of rainfall and other circumstances are not man made, the lack of adequate short and long term remedies or preventive measures are direct reflections of repressive legal and institutional frameworks, which compel millions to painfully await circumstances which could have been avoided or ameliorated by openness and more democratic participation in government.

The above examples and countless other unreported violations which have gone unchallenged by the African Union are without doubt manifestations of an absence of political will, and an inability to effectively implement existing mechanisms for the supervision of the provisions of Africa's human rights instruments. On this occasion of Human Rights Day, we therefore call on you to without delay utilise your good office to:

*Publicly and unreservedly censure those African governments that violate the human rights of their nationals, foreign residents or inhabitants or deprive victims of such violations of effective remedies;
* Remind African governments of the primacy of the right to life, freedom of expression, participation in government and associated rights, and guaranteeing human rights generally. The AU should announce measures to guarantee that the rights of people to freely choose their governments in free, fair and open elections shall be taken seriously, respected and not be tampered with by the Union or any its member governments;
*Take immediate and active steps to guarantee better funding of the institutions of the African regional human rights system, including in particular the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights and the African Committee on the Rights and Welfare of the Child;
*Take immediate and active steps to ensure that AU member countries ratify the Protocol for the Establishment of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights without further delay;
*Remind all AU member governments of their obligations to observe, promote, protect, and fulfil human and peoples' rights in Africa, including the economic, social and cultural rights of all persons in Africa;
*Take immediate measures to ensure appropriate priority is accorded to the effective protection of refugees and other victims of forced displacement in Africa. We would be pleased if you could address these concerns, and take this occasion to clarify how the AU intends to realise the quite ambitious obligations that are contained in the Constitutive Act concerning the protection of human rights.

The Constitutive Act represents an orientation towards the protection of human rights different from the OAU Charter that it replaced. Articles 4 and 30 of the Constitutive Act require the countries of the Union to be proactive in the protection of human rights generally, and, most especially, in situations of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and unconstitutional changes in government among others. These new and far reaching obligations require African governments and the African Union itself to take the protection of human rights seriously because this is the only way that a degeneration into genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, fratricidal conflict, civil unrest and unconstitutional changes in government can be avoided.

In the OAU Refugee Convention and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, the member States of the Union have a body of norms and obligations, adherence to which would greatly contribute to positively transforming Africa's human rights record. More than one year after the entry into force of the Constitutive Act in May 2001, we are yet to see evidence of a readiness on the part of the Union to provide the leadership that is required by the Constitutive Act in ensuring compliance with Africa's and international human rights standards. The optimism inspired by the adoption of radical new provisions of the Constitutive Act is now at risk of having been in vain.

We look forward to your response to these issues and to the opportunity of working with you and the AU for the effective protection of human and peoples' rights on the African continent.

Yours Sincerely,
Rotimi Sankore
Coordinator
Centre for Research Education and Development of - [CREDO] – Freedom of Expression and Associated Rights

* CREDO is an International human rights organisation based in Senegal and London and focusing on work in Africa.
* Send comments for publication in the Letters and Comments section of Pambazuka News to
Human Rights Day Related Links:
* UN Should Integrate Human Rights Into Security Council Work
http://www.hrw.org/press/2002/12/unhrwork.htm
* Joint Declaration on International Mechanisms for Promoting Freedom of Expression
http://www.article19.org
* Make Human Rights Day Count

Uganda is known as the star-pupil of the IMF in Africa. During the last ten years, the country pursued IMF policies of fiscal austerity combined with structural adjustment, and also implemented a far reaching poverty reduction strategy. Based upon these achievements, Uganda was the first country to benefit from debt relief under both the original and enhanced frameworks of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. But the star-pupil of the IMF does not have a sustainable level of debt even after reaching the HIPC completion point twice – a devastating result for the whole HIPC initiative.

The Anti Corruption Police Unit should be given more powers to deal with election corruption, the Rift Valley Provincial Commissioner, Mr Peter Raburu, says.

My NGO needs your Newsletter as we believe it will be a very good tool in working with the poorest of the poor farmers we work with.

Today sees the opening of the Consultative Group meeting between Tanzania and its development partners. The government will receive the usual plaudits for its sound economic policies, and a commitment of one billion US dollars (100 billion shillings) in grants and loans for the coming year. Inflation is down to under five percent, the economy grew by 5.6 percent last year, foreign investment is high by African standards, domestic and foreign debt are at sustainable levels. Compared to earlier years of 'negative' growth and rampant inflation, these are solid achievements. There's one big blot on this otherwise rosy landscape: the expected benefits of economic stabilisation and growth are not reaching the poor, especially in the rural areas.

Since Pambazuka News started 18 months ago, subscribers to the newsletter have grown from a few hundred to nearly 10 000. Those subscribers continue to tell us that we are providing a valuable resource, but we believe there are thousands more people who don’t know about us and would find use in our weekly e-newsletter. That’s why we would like to enlist your help to spread the word about Pambazuka News. We’re asking our subscribers to forward their edition of Pambazuka News to as many of their friends and colleagues as they think may be interested in the newsletter. We’re also asking subscribers to encourage people to visit or to send an email to editor@pambazuka.org with ‘subscribe’ in the subject line. If all our subscribers recruited only one extra subscriber, we could double our existing subscriber base.

Provide overall leadership and guidance to USAID funded program with objectives of: 1) advocacy on behalf of vulnerable children, specifically those separated and abandoned by parents; 2) meeting the basic needs of children that have been separated or abandoned from/by their parents or guardians; 3) empower and enable local communities to address and appreciate the needs of vulnerable children through community development projects that seek to develop the entire community.

Letter to The Daily News (Zim) 4 December 2002

On the morning of Saturday 30 November 2002, as I watched the winding army convoys of our “gallant” warriors returning from the Democratic Republic of the Congo campaign, I must confess that I did not feel a surge of patriotism. Rather, I was chilled to the bone, for this was not a celebration of the return of conquering and victorious soldiers. It was nothing but a blatant show of naked might and brute force designed to cower an already brutalised and highly disenchanted populace. It is now official. Zimbabwe is a police state and overwhelmingly repressive State machinery is in place, should people dare to speak out and stand up for their rights and dignity. The crunch is beginning.

The Debt Relief Enhancement Act Of 2002, which would have committed the USA to pursuing a policy of limiting annual debt repayments from poor countries to 10 percent of their revenues - 5 percent in the case of countries experiencing severe health crises like the HIV-AIDS pandemic - has failed to get approval from US legislators.

I do not know Isioma Daniels and have never met her, but this is not the point.
I heard of her situation as many people have regarding the Fatwa and that she probably fled to the United States. The first thing any reasonable person would say: We hope that you are safe and fine and that you are recovering from your ordeal. (See Pambazuka News, December 5 edition) Who would think otherwise? Some people have experienced what you are going through, some voices are being heard in your support already. Many people would like to hear from you; given the (electronic) means of communication today, one would hope that you can safely send a message.

The hotly-contested upcoming December 27 election has highlighted serious human rights shortcomings in Kenya, Human Rights Watch says. As the election approaches and Kenya's draft constitution awaits enactment, Human Rights Watch has released a new report urging all candidates to adhere to a clear human rights agenda, which would address the iniquities and abuses that persist in the East African country.

This morning, in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court, all charges against the ninety-three (93) members of APF affiliate, the Soldiers Forum (SF), were finally dropped. This is a resounding victory against the South African state’s continuing, and opportunistic, attempts to repress legitimate political dissent and to criminalize the actions of those who are struggling for socio-economic justice.

About R15m in social grant money has been pocketed by government officials this year throughout the country, Social Development Minister Zola Skweyiya has disclosed.

Urgently required to manage a large operation which provides community service and health programmes for over 130,000 Congolese refugees in three camps, and a community development programme in western Tanzania.

Civil Aviation Authority chief executive Trevor Abrahams was placed on an indefinite compulsory leave of absence last Thursday following allegations of misconduct and impropriety against him.

Thank you for Pambazuka News, which has rich information, touching the continent and the world. Thanks.

It would seem that Nepad is the only African initiative that has the potential to bring an end to the enduring socio-economic morass wreaking havoc in the continent. Despite the conceptual and operational limitations apparent at this stage, it appears that it cannot just be dismissed as a wish-list that will not achieve any of its stated objectives. However, this does not mean that it should be accepted uncritically. Nepad is still in its embryonic stages and there is still a laborious journey to travel before the rebirth of the continent can be achieved. This places a challenge to governments, private sector and civil society to ensure that that journey is travelled in a manner that will deliver to the poverty stricken masses whose expectations have already been elevated.