Heroes are immortal. They seem more powerful in their spirit than in their mortal life. Their spirits become the fountain of inspiration to conquer the forces of evil, oppression and human destruction. Nana has joined heroes in the spirit world.

The Igbo genocide was primarily about the protection of strategic British interests in Nigeria. The departing colonialists had secured the collaboration of the northern region, which was vehemently opposed to African independence. Thus Fulani-Hausa elites played a key role in the perpetration of the genocide.

The Igbo genocide was primarily about the protection of strategic British interests in Nigeria. The departing colonialists had secured the collaboration of the northern region, which was vehemently opposed to African independence. Thus Fulani-Hausa elites played a key role in the perpetration of the genocide.

Corporate media, humanitarian agencies and NGOs evoke the imagery of helpless, passive victims when describing refugees to appeal to Western societies for compassion while demonstrating self-affirmation to guard the status quo, rather than depicting them as people with abilities, agency and knowledge facing extraordinary circumstances that need to be addressed.

It is strange that a museum that is under permanent criticism for holding looted objects of others or objects acquired under dubious circumstances now presents itself as “guardian” of looted artefacts.

The New York City Bar’s Committee on African Affairs cordially invites you to a panel on:

CONFLICT MINERALS and HUMAN RIGHTS:
The Dodd-Frank Act’s Reforms and Reporting Requirements

Tuesday, June 16, 2015 6:30 to 8:30 P.M. at the House of the Bar Association, 42 West 44th Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues)

Conflict minerals in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) fuel conflict and finance armed groups committing horrendous human rights abuses. To halt this situation, Congress passed Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act requiring the SEC to adopt rules requiring publicly traded companies to disclose whether “conflict minerals” used in their products come from the DRC or an adjoining country.

If such minerals originate in the covered countries, companies must submit to the SEC an annual report describing the source and chain of custody of their “conflict minerals” (defined in the Act as columbite-tantalite (coltan), cassiterite, gold, wolframite, or their derivatives (tin, tungsten, and tantalum)). The second annual reporting date is on June 1, 2015

The panelists will discuss the effectiveness of the legislation, the reporting required by it, and the Court of Appeals’ decision on First Amendment grounds in the litigation that upheld most of the SEC’s conflict minerals rule.

SPEAKERS

HOLLY DRANGINIS, ESQ., Policy Analyst for the Enough Project, focused on the Democratic Republic of the Congo;
MICHAEL LITTENBERG, ESQ., a partner at Schulte Roth & Zabel, where he advises on the Conflict Minerals Rule and oversees SRZ’s Conflict Minerals Resource Center; and
ZORKA MILIN, ESQ., Senior Legal Adviser, Global Witness.
MODERATOR: ELIZABETH BARAD, ESQ., International Law and Gender Consultant

Co-sponsored by: Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice, (Alexander Papachristou, Executive Director); Securities Regulation Committee, (Sandra Flow, Chair); Financial Reporting Committee, (Michael Young, Chair); and International Human Rights Committee, (Elisabeth Wickeri, Chair).

The program is free and open to the public.

Please RSVP to [email][email protected]

If belonging is articulated in rigid exclusionary terms, where everyone however mobile, is considered to belong to a particular homeland somewhere else, a place they cannot outgrow and which they must belong to regardless of where they were born or where they live and work, then South Africa can only belong to one group of people, those who were there before everyone else: the San.

The book examines how repeated failed counter-terrorism operations throughout Africa, the Middle East and Asia have led to broader interventions and the promotion of the military and intelligence theorists who concoct these operations.

The EU’s new policy is to let as many refugees as possible drown in the Mediterranean to deter others from attempting similar voyages. Yet these refugees are often fleeing from wars and miseries created by the West and its allies.

Awethu! joins the call for an urgent end to the xenophobic atrocities bedevilling the country.

Drawing on decades of on-the-ground experience as a high level negotiator in bodies such as the World Trade Organization, Tandon challenges prevailing orthodoxy, insisting that, for the vast majority of people, and especially those in the poorer regions of the world, free trade hinders development and visits relentless waves of violence and impoverishment on their lives.

When refugees from the Indian subcontinent, sub-Saharan Africa, Central and South America and other places risk their lives for a chance at low-wage precarious labor in Europe or the US, it's because of decisions taken at the center of global economic and political power, places like Washington D, London, Brussels and New York.

Mere ‘be-nice’ appeals and marches will not address the root causes of xenophobia in South Africa. Jacob Zuma’s ANC government is at fault not only for neoliberal, pro-corporate, job-killing policies, but for tightening immigration regulations, compelling refugees to live under illegal informality. That requires resistance.

Maybe President Zuma and his xenophobic countrymen are right, after all. Why would a Nigerian close his barber shop in Karmo ghetto to go operate the same in Soweto? Why would a second degree holder prefer to travel to Johannesburg to be a cabbie when that line of business would have been more profitable in Lagos?

We have seen our fellow women in South Africa take part in the looting and killing of helpless fellow Africans. What example are they setting for the South African girl-child?

The organisation says that it considers the use of speech by the Zulu King to promote hatred and/or incite violence against non-nationals such as Nigerians as a clear violation of the provisions of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

The xenophobic attacks in South Africa reveal the relics of apartheid, colonialism and imperialism; but they are also a starting point for Africans all over to re-think nationalism, being African and black consciousness in the context of enduring inequalities.

Many black South Africans are yet to enjoy the freedom dividend. This is the primary source of their frustration that needs to be addressed urgently. As one of Africa’s leading nations, the country should also intensify its efforts to realize the dream of pan-Africanism.

All those years when South African freedom fighters crisscrossed the continent in search of support for the anti-apartheid struggle, they received only unstinting hospitality and solidarity. Have South Africans forgotten this? What do they teach their children about Africa?

It is truly sad to see brothers and sisters from Africa living in fear of their lives and desperate as they watch their homes and livelihoods destroyed by misguided and violent groups and individuals.