Mahmoud Mamdani

Jacques Depelchin

Charlotte Larbuisson

The subject of child abuse and its long-term implications in adulthood has been widely studied in literature in different areas of the world and across different cultures, notes this article in the The Arab Journal of Psychiatry about a study that looked at Egyptian university students. It found that a large proportion of the sample reported both child abuse and several long-term pathological consequences of abuse in adulthood. 'The problem seems to be serious in this middle class sample and it remains possible that these problems could be worse in lower social classes.'

Ministers from countries within the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) met recently in Lusaka to discuss the progress made towards the proposed tripartite free trade agreement (FTA). The meeting’s discussions centred on the ways to establish a single market by way of a tripartite FTA and thereby promote and attract both cross-border and foreign direct investment. COMESA, SADC and EAC include a total of 26 countries, some of which are already members of more than one of the region’s trade blocs, and a tripartite pan-regional FTA would open up a market of 580 million people.

The Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa is seeking a Program Officer to promote state compliance with governance and human rights standards at the East African Community (EAC) and African Union (AU).

Venue: Cyprian Ekwensi Cultural Centre, Garki, Abuja
Date: 25th May 2011

MEMORIAL SYMPOSIUM

THEME: “Linking Elections to Good Governance – Don’t Agonise,
TIME: 9:00am to 1:00pm
PANEL CHAIR: Mallam Kabiru Yusuf
KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Governor of Ekiti State

SPEAKERS: Dr. Chidi Odinkalu (Open Society Justice Justice Initiative), Dr. Hussaini Abdu (ActionAid Nigeria), Hajiya Saudatu Mahdi (Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative), Dr. Siddique Abubakar (A. B. U. Zaria), Amb. (Hon). Nkoyo Toyo (Member House of Representatives), Dr. Otive Igbuzor (African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development), Oronto Douglas (Presidency), Dr. Mohammed Kuna (INEC) and Dr. Abubakar Momoh (Lagos State University). Chair Organising Committee: Dr Kole Shettima

Greenpeace Africa has appealed for a fairer and sustainable fishing partnership that protects the livelihoods of West African fishing communities. The appeal by Greenpeace Africa was directed to fisheries ministers who are set for a meeting in Brussels to discuss the future fishing agreements. Almost one quarter of all the fish taken by the European fishing fleet is caught outside EU waters especially in the once rich West African waters. This number is set to increase as European fish stocks decline because of overfishing.

British journalist Ian Birrell got into a spirited exchange with Rwandan President Paul Kagame on Twitter recently. Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs & Cooperation Louise Mushikiwabo also joined the discussion. The Daily Monitor has published the full transcript on their website.

The central African Republic of Gabon has been facing a latent political and social crisis since 26 January. André Mba Obame, president of the now banned opposition party ‘National Union', took his oath as the country's president, claiming that he had won the June 2009 election which was officially won by Ali Bongo, son of the former president Omar Bongo. The crisis has since deepened, with protests from students and recently oil workers, despite the exit of Mba Obame from the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) building where he had sought refuge for a month.

Deadly election-related and communal violence in northern Nigeria following the April 2011 presidential voting left more than 800 people dead, Human Rights Watch said 16 May. The victims were killed in three days of rioting in 12 northern states. Nigeria's state and federal authorities should promptly investigate and prosecute those who orchestrated and carried out these crimes and address the root causes of recurring inter-communal violence.

On the occasion of International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, ARTICLE 19 has called on states to combat violence, discrimination and stigma directed against lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender persons around the world by protecting and promoting freedom of expression and the right to information. ARTICLE 19 observes that lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender persons around the world face heightened levels of discrimination simply for expressing their sexual orientation and gender identity.

Since October 1997 – for more than 13 years – the International Justice Committee for Thomas Sankara has called for judicial procedures to be launched in Burkina Faso around the assassination of Thomas Sankara.

From the adoption of marriage laws in Argentina and Iceland, and the decision of the Brazilian Supreme Court recognising rights of same-sex civil unions, to the issuing of a statement signed by 85 countries at the UN Human Rights Council condemning persecution on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, a lot of progress has been made the last year on recognition of LGBTI rights in the world. Though the number of countries criminalising same-sex sexual activities between consenting adults is still the same as last year, namely 76 (including the five which have the death penalty), it is becoming more and more difficult for homophobic states to defend their laws on the international stage. This was one of the conclusions of ILGA’s (The International Lesbian, Gay, Trans, Bisexual and Intersex Association) co-secretary generals Gloria Careaga and Renato Sabbadini in their foreword to the State Sponsored Homophobia report 2011.

An absence of boarding facilities for high school pupils in Zambia's northern province of Luapula is forcing children to share lodgings with their peers - unsupervised by adults - leading to teenage pregnancies and HIV/AIDS infections. Many children live a long way from school and prefer to rent accommodation nearby. Wamunyima Chingumbe, a Health Ministry director in Mansa District, said the absence of boarding facilities at day schools had led to teenage pregnancies and made pupils vulnerable to contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs). After malaria, STIs were the most common ailments recorded at makeshift boarding high schools.

A multi-national study shows that if an HIV-positive person starts taking antiretroviral therapy early on, that is, when their CD 4 count is still high, their chances of infecting their HIV-negative partner can decrease by as much as 96 per cent. The results of the study are viewed as confirmation of untested wisdom among clinicians who have for a number of years thought that people on combination antiretroviral therapy have a lower chance of transmitting HIV to their uninfected partners.

The Government of Liberia and the European Union have signed an agreement to end illegal logging in Liberia. The deal, in the form of a Voluntary Partnership Agreement, will ensure that all timber exported from Liberia to the EU comes from legal sources. It also contains provisions to ensure that the trade will benefit the Liberian people. Illegal logging was common during the country’s civil war in the 1990s. Former President of Liberia, Charles Taylor, was accused of selling timber to fund his regime. Much of this illegal timber found a market in the EU. In response, the United Nations placed sanctions on timber exports in 2006.

The so-called 'cabriolet' became a powerful symbol of failed service delivery ahead of local government elections last week. 'There is nothing more powerful than the image of a woman sitting on a toilet without an enclosure,' said Judith February, head of the political information and monitoring service at the Idasa democracy institute. 'Those are very powerful images and they show the lack of compassion there is when politicians are simply not listening to people. It’s a graphic description of local government failure.'

The wife of ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who was being held on corruption charges, has been released on bail after handing over assets. Suzanne Mubarak turned over a villa in a Cairo suburb and $3m (£1.9m) held in bank accounts in Egypt, officials said.

The March arrest, conviction, and sentencing of Roger Jean-Claude Mbede to three years in prison for being homosexual is a gross violation of Mbede's rights to freedom of expression and equality guaranteed by the Cameroonian constitution, Alternatives-Cameroun, Association pour la Defense de l'Homosexualitè (ADEFHO), and Human Rights Watch said in a letter to Cameroon's top leaders. Under section 347, a person who engages in 'sexual relations with a person of the same sex' can face a prison term of up to five years. Mbede was sentenced after admitting to his sexual orientation while in police custody. However, the law directly contravenes international human rights treaties, which, the Cameroonian constitution states, apply directly in the country.

The Draft Decree is an essential step in preparation of the Tunisian elections for the Constituent Assembly, set for 24 July 2011, which will in turn be responsible for drafting the new Constitution. ARTICLE 19’s analysis of the Draft Decree calls for an improved framework that would fully incorporate relevant international standards on freedom of expression.

While experts are working with the military council to amend the political rights law, news has leaked about the cancellation of the allocation of seats to women, known as the 'women's quota' and which is one of the positive types of discrimination in law. The women's quota is not the only type of positive discrimination. There is another type: the quota of workers and farmers which is 50 per cent of the elected seats. However, there is not any news on canceling this quota, which raises the question on the validity of canceling the women's quota.