On 18 November 2009 Jan Egeland gave the tenth annual Harrell-Bond lecture. Mr Egeland is the former UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator and currently director of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. The lecture was entitled 'Beyond Blankets: in search of political deals and durable solutions for the displaced.'

For the first time at a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, at CHOGM in Trinidad & Tobago, there was significant representation of GLBTQ (gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender/queer) activists among civil society participants, and a concerted effort to highlight issues of sexual citizenship and rights.

In this week's emerging powers in Africa watch, Stephen Marks reviews the work of researchers Yoon Park and Barry Sautman who have teamed up to explore the seldom- researched topic of anti-Chinese feeling - and the distinct but interrelated phenomenon of anti-China sentiment - in Southern Africa.

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Lamido Sanusi's financial reform, writes Kola Ibrahim, will do nothing more than re-assert the dominance of a rapacious capitalist class in Nigeria. While public ownership of services rooted in the welfare of Nigeria's people remains most desirable, Ibrahim contends, Sanusi and his ilk can be counted on to simply support the entrenched political class.

Chinese civil society differs from its African counterpart in that its constituent organisations commonly enjoy the direct support of the government in a way that those in Africa do not, writes Yazini April. Greater collaboration between these two parties should at the very least encourage African civil society to follow the Chinese example in becoming genuinely productive, April concludes.

"We are the children of an illusion that consisted in believing that the independences of our countries signified the end of colonization." -- Interview with Houria Bouteldja, spokesperson of the decolonial movement in France known as the "Mouvement des Indigènes de la République"

The Africa Group took the lead in Barcelona in demanding that there be progress in the Kyoto Protocol group on the numbers for emission reduction by developed countries. They insisted that this group focus first on the "numbers", and then only after that deal with other issues.

This year the fourth internet governance forum was playing it safe – perhaps because next year could be its last – but we still saw real progress. Privacy no longer plays second fiddle to security, people’s rights online are recognised as central by all sides. Social networking was the new star centre stage.

A new report by the UN has said almost a quarter of the global population, or 1.5 billion people, live without electricity, and that 80 per cent of those people live in the least developed countries (LDCs) of South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

In recent years, powerful and rich middle-east and Asian countries have been on a quest for the ultimate ‘breadbasket’ of grains to feed their growing population and to combat rising food prices. These powerful and rich Asian countries have gone to poor African countries, such as Ethiopia, with corrupt governments to grab farmland for the purpose of growing grains there, and then exporting them to feed their own people.

In this week's emerging powers news roundup, China seeks to limit greenhouse gas emissions, increases investment in Zimbabwe and Ethiopia, and Africa's trade with the BRIC countries show a marked increase of the last eight years.

The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network is proud to announce the launch of this two-volume legislative resource that offers concrete ways to reform laws to tackle sexual and domestic violence, and family and property issues and protect women’s human rights. The launch of Respect, Protect and Fulfill is timed to coincide with the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign

From November 27 to December 3, the international peasant movement La Via Campesina and Uniterre will gather for the 7th Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva. Thirty delegates from Africa, Asia and Europe will be present to remind ministers of their responsibilities in the current food, financial, economic and climate crises.

Genetically engineered (GE) corn, soybeans and cotton have increased use of weed-killing herbicides — a type of pesticide — by 383 million pounds in the U.S. from 1996 to 2008, according to a new report titled “Impacts of Genetically Engineered Crops on Pesticide Use in the United States: The First Thirteen Years” announced by The Organic Center (TOC), the Union for Concerned Scientists (UCS) and the Center for Food Safety (CFS).

Survivors Connect is a collaborative project to build global advocacy & support networks of survivors and activists working to end modern-day slavery and human trafficking. Survivors Connect uses innovative instruments such as social media, new technologies and other interactive media to empower and enhance protection, prosecution and prevention efforts.

Alyxandra Gomes Nunes

Suely Aldir Masseder

Elisabete Figueroa Santos e Scopinho, R. A

As developed nations attempt to secure supplies of food and biofuels to mitigate the impacts of climate change on the food and energy security of their populations, Khadija Sharife writes in this week’s Pambazuka News about the rush by foreign investors to buy up agricultural land across Africa, all too often at the expense of the wellbeing and livelihoods of local communities.

Chris Alden reviews the recent Forum for China-Africa Co-operation (FOCAC) ministerial held in Sharm El Sheik in early November this year, highlighting China's plans for greater economic ties with the continent and efforts to defend itself against what it considers unfair criticism.

Demba Moussa Dembélé

Société civile du Bénin

Cnooc Ltd., China’s largest offshore oil producer, said the Ghanaian government has not allowed it to bid for Kosmos Energy LLC’s assets in the African nation.